One of the sad facts about cancer is that often people die from it because it was not detected early enough. Not all cancers have good survival rates but mouth and throat cancers do, provided they are detected in their early stages. Most cases of mouth cancer occur in older adults aged 50 to 74.

Detecting mouth cancers is not difficult. All that is required is a visual check of the mouth, and feel around in the neck, once a year. We carry out mouth cancer screening in Guildford here at Farnham Road Dental Practice, and we want to make sure that every one of our patients over about the age of 35 receives an annual screening. This is easy to achieve as long as our patients book a check-up twice a year; we just add a mouth cancer screening onto the check-up. It only takes a few minutes.

Taking a good look round

There are no complicated requirements for mouth cancer screening. All we have to do is take a careful look at your lips and inside your mouth, using a mirror for those hard-to-see places, such as under your tongue. We are on the look out for lumps and bumps that seem to have no reasons, red or white patches, and lesions that don’t heal.

We also use our fingertips to feel gently around in your neck and through your neck to your throat for anything that should not be there.

We will also have a chat with you and ask if you have noticed anything odd. You may have had tingling sensations that don’t go away, for example.

When we catch mouth cancer early, it is easy to treat. It is also fast growing, which is why, if you are worried about a lump or any hoarseness that hasn’t gone away after 3 weeks, you need to come in and get it checked out by your dental practice.

You are more at risk of mouth cancers if you are over 40, have been a smoker, drink alcohol, are obese or have the HPV virus. November is Mouth Cancer Action Month, come into to us to find out more.