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Oral cancer and the dental nurse’s role

6 mins read Oral health and mouth cancer
Mouth cancer has firmly established itself as a modern day silent killer. Karen Coates, Oral Health Educator for the BDHF, talks about the risk factors which are contributing to this latest epidemic and discusses why dental nurses should be at the frontline of patient education and early diagnosis

During November, the British Dental Health Foundation ran a major campaign called Month Cancer Action Month to help raise awareness of mouth cancer both in the UK and around the world.

The latest figures suggest that more than 6 000 people will be diagnosed with mouth cancer this year in the UK alone (Cancer Research UK, 2012a). In fact, mouth cancer is one of the UK’s fastest growing cancers, increasing by more than 45 per cent in the last decade. This trend is set to continue, with forecasts predicting that incidences of mouth cancer will double by 2030. Now I’m sure you will agree that is a particularly harrowing thought, especially when cancer rates in general are estimated to fall in the coming generation.

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