When you come for a check-up at Sheen Dental, your dentist in SW14, we won’t just be looking for tooth decay and gum disease, we will also be on the lookout for mouth cancer.
Mouth cancer is on the up. Worldwide, it is now the sixth most common cancer. According to Cancer Research UK, over the last decade, there has been a 21% increase in the number of deaths from mouth cancer. About equal numbers of women are dying as men. The numbers look set to continue to increase, with another 38% rise in deaths from mouth cancer in the UK between now and 2035. By then, predictions are for 7 deaths per 100,000 people.
Why the big rise? Well, mouth cancer is a lifestyle disease, it seems. Smoking, not eating enough fruit and vegetables, and drinking alcohol, in that order, are all linked to mouth cancer. This could be why very slightly more men get mouth cancer than women, and why it appears more in people between the ages of 50-74.
At Sheen Dental, your dentist in SW14, we look for the early signs of mouth cancer during your bi-annual check-up. You will notice us doing this after we have checked your teeth for signs of decay and damage, and your gums for signs of gum disease.
You will notice us carefully checking the linings of your mouth. We will look at the palate (roof of your mouth), inside your cheeks, your gums and lips. We will then carefully check your tonsils and saliva glands, and the part of the throat that connects your mouth to your windpipe (pharynx). Tumours here are rarer.
You can assist us by telling us about any of the following possible indicators:
painful mouth ulcers that refuse to heal when treated
strange lumps that don’t go away
teeth coming loose
sockets that don’t heal after teeth are extracted
numb lips or tongue, or odd feelings there
white or red patches
changes in your speech, such as a lisp appearing for no reason.
Here at your SW14 dentist, we check for mouth cancer so that we can catch it early and then hopefully cure it with minor surgery.
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