John Lennon’s Tooth Gets Patients Talking About Mouth Cancer
A dental practice in Cottingham has found a novel way to get patients talking about mouth cancer in the run up to Mouth Cancer Awareness Month.
Dentist Chris Branfield, from Castle Park Dental, has exhibited a necklace made from one of the music legend’s teeth to bring patient’s attention to oral health issues, including mouth cancer. The necklace was made by a cutting-edge jewellery designer in the USA after the tooth was bought at auction by Canadian dentist Michael Zuk.
Zuk successfully bid for the tooth when it went up for auction in Southport last year; the dentist submitted a telephone bid worth £19,500. Zuk then decided to have the tooth made into a DNA necklace.
Mr Branfield is a member of the Group of Pirates, a national marketing group, which seeks unique and interesting ways to bring dentistry to the attention of the public. When he heard about the DNA necklace, Mr Branfield was very excited and wanted to show his patients the tooth; the surgery is the first centre in the UK to display the tooth and the staff celebrated by wearing Hippie costumes.
The tooth necklace has created a lot of buzz but Mr Branfield said that there is an important message for patients; cases of mouth cancer are becoming more prevalent in the UK and the surgery is eager to raise awareness of the disease and encourage people to look out for the warning signs and symptoms, which include red or white patches in the mouth, lumps or swelling in the mouth or throat and sores that take a long time to heal.
Castle Park Dental Care has recently acquired a new piece of equipment to diagnose oral cancer at an early stage; currently most cases are diagnosed at an advanced stage when survival rates are low and dentists across the UK are working to change this, so that cases are diagnosed as early as possible when the disease is more treatable.
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