A guide to skin cancer of the face for the dental team

Throughout the UK, the incidence of skin cancer is rising. This rise is associated with an ageing population and increasing sun exposure throughout our lifetimes. The three most common types of skin cancer may present on the skin of the face, and therefore the dental team are well placed to recognise suspicious lesions and arrange further management. Skin cancers are grouped into two categories: malignant melanomas and non-melanoma skin cancers. Of the two categories, melanomas are rarer but more lethal. According to Cancer Research UK (2014), in 2011 13 300 cases of skin cancer were diagnosed—that is approximately 37 people every day. Concerningly, skin cancer diagnoses are becoming more frequently found in the younger age groups (15–34 years), with more than two young adults diagnosed every day. Over the last 30 years, rates of malignant melanoma in Great Britain have risen faster than any of the current 10 most common cancers. This increase is thought to be linked to the use of sunbeds, especially among the younger generations.