Award-Winning Dental Practice Set to Provide Free Oral Cancer Screening for Teenagers
An award-winning dental practice in Beverly is set to provide free oral cancer screening for teenagers.
The team at Perfect 32 will host its annual oral cancer screening day for adult patients, but this year a team will also visit students at nearby Bishop Burton College. The screening session will take place on the 16th November.
The aim of the day is to raise awareness of oral cancer, a disease which kills more people than cervical and testicular cancer combined. Despite figures revealing that oral cancer is becoming more common, many people are still unaware of the causes and symptoms of the disease and as a result many cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage, when treatment is likely to be less successful.
Recently, oral cancer has become more common in young people, as drinking, smoking and exposure to the Human Papilloma Virus are all major risk factors. Principal dentist, Dr Gary Rowland, said that it is extremely important that people are made aware of the possible implications of their actions. People who drink and smoke are up to 30 times more likely to develop oral cancer and this has lead to more young people being diagnosed with the disease.
Dr Rowland added that early detection and treatment was key, as survival rates are up to 90% higher if the disease is caught at an early stage.
The team from Perfect 32 will take the opportunity to talk to students about the causes and risk factors for oral cancer and educate them about the signs and symptoms they should be looking out for, including white or red patches in the mouth, slow-healing sores and unusual swellings in the mouth or throat.
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