Chief dental officer encourages the public to be mouth aware to detect signs of mouth cancer

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The chief dental officer for Northern Ireland has encouraged the public to be mouth aware to detect symptoms of mouth cancer.

Caroline Lappin shared advice to raise awareness of this year’s Mouth Cancer Action Month, which runs throughout November. Mouth cancer has become more prevalent in Northern Ireland in the last decade, and across the UK, one person is diagnosed with the disease every hour.

Ms Lappin highlighted the main risk factors, which include smoking and drinking alcohol, and encouraged everyone to keep a close eye on their mouths and carry out basic self-assessment. Checks take a few minutes and they can make the difference between living and dying from oral cancer. Symptoms and changes to look out for include abnormal lumps and swelling, mouth ulcers that take longer than 2-3 weeks to heal, persistent hoarseness and red or white patches in the mouth or throat.

Statistics show that mouth cancer is most common in men aged over 50. However, there has been an increase in the number of cases among women and younger people.

Ms Lappin is urging anyone who has concerns about changes in the mouth or throat or unusual symptoms to get checked out by a dentist or a GP. During November, some practices are offering free oral cancer screening to support Mouth Cancer Action Month.

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