Meopham Dental Surgery Hosts Oral Cancer Day
A dental surgery in Meopham has hosted an open day to raise awareness of oral cancer and encourage people to have a screening test.
The Meopham Dental Centre hosted an open day on Wednesday 30th November to encourage people to get checked out. Screening checks were available for patients and non-patients and staff were on hand to offer advice and provide information about oral cancer.
The mortality rate for mouth cancer is around 50 percent, which is largely due to late diagnosis. Many people are unaware of the symptoms and signs of mouth cancer and as a result of this, most cases are diagnosed when the disease is at and advanced stage.
Alison Mellor, principal dentist at the practice, said that the team has detected many cases of oral surgery during routine examinations and dentists can play a very important role in the early diagnosis of mouth cancer if patients visit for regular check-ups.
Dentists at the practice have advised anyone who has ulcers that take a long time to heal, swellings or lumps in the mouth or throat or red and white patches in the mouth to see their dentist. Early detection can improve survival rates by up to 90 percent.
The open day was held as part of Mouth Cancer Action Month, a national campaign run by the British Dental Health Foundation to raise awareness of mouth cancer.
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