Oral Cancer Screening

Did you know…

• There are over 400 cases of mouth and head and neck cancer diagnosed every year in Ireland.
• Oral cancer incidence increases with age.
• Oral cancer is the 6th most common cancer among men and is becoming more common in women.
• Studies have shown that the death rate from oral cancer is about 4 times higher for cigarette smokers than for nonsmokers.

The incidence of oral cancer is on the rise. If it is detected early, the survival rate can be 80 percent or higher. Unfortunately, many oral cancer victims don’t discover this malignancy in the early stages, in those cases the cure rate is much lower.

We perform a full mouth cancer screen.

The examination will include looking for lesions, including areas of leukoplakia (abnormal white patch of cells) and erythoplakia ( abnormal red patch of cells). More than half of oral cancers have spread to the lymph nodes by the time they are found.

Regular check ups are important.

To help prevent mouth cancer –

• Do not use tobacco of any kind including cigarettes ,cigars and pipes.
• Drink alcohol moderately
• Follow a healthy diet with lots of fruit and vegetables.