Awareness of mouth cancer ‘is falling’

Posted by Allie Wright

Dental marketing campaigns may need to educate the public about the dangers of mouth cancer after a new piece of research revealed awareness of the disease has fallen in recent years.

A poll commissioned by the British Dental Health Foundation found only three per cent of people know mouth cancer claims more lives than testicular and cervical cancer.

Some 88 per cent of people said they had heard of the disease, but it was noted by the body that this represents a fall of three per cent since 2009.

Chief executive of the foundation Dr Nigel Carter stated the number of cases of mouth cancer is continuing to grow, but there is not much publicity about the disease.

“This is why we run Mouth Cancer Action Month every November in the UK, raising awareness of the risk factors and what to look out for,” he said, highlighting the fact that early detection is vital to treating the disease.

Healthcare provider Simplyhealth and the British Dental Health Foundation recently teamed up to release a new occupational health sheet to raise awareness of mouth cancer.