Experts fear dental access crisis could lead to thousands of missed mouth cancer cases
Health experts fear that the NHS dental access crisis could lead to thousands of missed mouth cancer cases.
Almost half of cases are diagnosed during investigations carried out following a routine check-up. As a recent BBC report suggested that 90% of dental practices in the UK are not accepting new NHS adult patients, there are concerns that patients who have early symptoms will slip through the net because they are not able to access routine appointments. Dentists check for oral cancer symptoms during check-ups and will refer patients who have suspicious signs.
Dr Jane Wilcock, chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners North West, explained that many patients are unaware that they have potential symptoms of mouth cancer until they are spotted by a dentist or a dental hygienist during routine appointments. Patients up and down the country are struggling to get appointments, which means that they are missing out on important, potentially life-saving checks. As there are fewer check-ups being carried out, Dr Wilcock said that it was inevitable that cases of cancer would go undetected.
Patricia Price, chair of Radiotherapy UK and co-founder of the campaign #CatchUpWithCancer, said that the speed of diagnosis and starting treatment is “hugely important” for patients with oral cancer. Without access to routine check-ups, patients are missing out on opportunities to identify symptoms early, which reduces the probability of successful treatment meaning that “more oral cancer patients will die needlessly.”
The government has injected an extra £50 million into NHS dental services to fund more appointments but every day, there are reports are patients being unable to see a dentist, DIY dentistry horror stories and more practices closing or stopping NHS work.
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