Mouth Cancer Action Month – November 2024
Once again, we, at Woodcock Lane Dental Care are supporting the Oral Health Foundations’s Mouth Cancer Action month. By diagnosing mouth cancer early, there is a much better chance of beating it.
Signs and symptoms of mouth cancer/oral cancer include:
- Mouth ulcers that don’t heal within 3 weeks.
- Red or white patches in the mouth.
- Lumps and swellings in the mouth, head or neck.
- A persistent sore throat.
- Having pain or difficulty swallowing.
- Speech problems.
- Weight loss.
- Bad breath.
This short YouTube video demonstrates how you can check your own mouth at home:
If you notice anything out of the ordinary, make an appointment with your dentist or doctor to get it checked by a professional.
Here, at Woodcock Lane Dental Care, we perform a mouth cancer check at every single check up/routine examination. If you don’t currently have a dentist and have concerns about mouth cancer, during the month of November 2024, we will provide a mouth check for oral cancer, free of charge.
During Mouth Cancer Action Month we are promoting the message ‘if in doubt, get checked out’.
The risk factors for oral cancer are:
- smoking (including cigarettes, pipes and cigars)
- second-hand smoke (at home or in the workplace)
- alcohol
- HPV
- smokeless tobacco (gutka, khaini, paan (betel quid), shammah and maras powder, snus, snuff, and many others)
- diet (it is recommended that you eat a healthy, balanced diet including lots of fruit and vegetables each day, increasing evidence also suggests that Omega 3, found in foods such as eggs and fish, can help lower your risk. Foods high in fibre such as nuts, seeds, whole-wheat pasta and brown rice, are also said to do the same.)
- UV radiation (Too much ultraviolet (UV) radiation is a known cause of skin cancer. This can occur either from natural sunlight or sunbeds. Skin cancer can develop on the lips. Protect yourself by wearing a lip balm with a high SPF.)
- previous history of cancer
- family history of mouth cancer
- genetic conditions affecting the bone marrow, skin or fingernails and HIV or AIDS
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