Dental students scrum for Mouth Cancer Action Month

Published On Wed 16 Nov 2016 by Dominic Younger

Dental students from the University of Dundee have teamed up with Scottish rugby legend Scott Hastings and oral health experts in a bid to raise awareness of mouth cancer.

Hastings, patron of the charity Let’s Talk About Mouth Cancer will be visiting Dundee on Wednesday, 16^th November to launch this year’s Mouth Cancer Action Month campaign in Dundee. This initiative will see students and health professionals take to the streets to offer oral health advice and teach locals the self-assessment process in order to check for symptoms of mouth cancer.

Members of the public will be taught how to examine themselves for signs of mouth cancer while any patients visiting the School of Dentistry’s Accident & Emergency department throughout the month of November will be taught the same process and invited to complete a survey detailing their knowledge levels about mouth cancer.

“Early detection is key and can lead to a higher chance of survival,” said Scott Hastings. “Our campaign will bring a life-saving message to the public in a friendly and accessible way. It's a very simple check that we should all know about.”

The disease, the symptoms of which include oral lumps that grow in size, bleeding and red and white patches in the mouth, accounts for more deaths than road traffic accidents across the UK. Scotland currently has the highest rate of mouth cancer in the UK, with a diagnosis of mouth cancer in Scotland now more common than female cervical cancer and male testicular cancer combined.

Dr Stephanie Sammut, Consultant Oral Surgeon at Dundee Dental Hospital, said, “Many patients we see in our dental A&E tend to be poor attenders at the dentist, and often are erratic users of health services. It is vital that these patients are empowered to self-examine their mouths to pick up any changes early on – this could be potentially be life-saving.”

The students’ bid to raise awareness is part of a nationwide Mouth Cancer Action Month, which includes oral health activities across the city.

Let’s Talk About Mouth Cancer has produced a short video demonstrating how anyone can easily check their own mouth for symptoms of the disease.

For media enquiries contact:
Dominic Glasgow
Media Relations Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
Tel: +44 (0)1382 385131
Email: d.w.glasgow@dundee.ac.uk