Every appointment counts: the dental team’s role in spotting mouth cancer

When it comes to mouth cancer, a routine appointment could save a life. Jocelyn Harding explores the dental team’s vital role in mouth cancer detection and awareness.

Dental professionals are often the first, and sometimes the only, healthcare workers to see inside a patient’s mouth in any given year. That makes every appointment, whether a routine check-up, a hygiene visit or a quick review, a chance to detect changes or mouth cancer early, when survival chances are at their best.

The scale of the problem

The Oral Health Foundation’s State of Mouth Cancer UK Report 2024 shows a disease still on the rise. A record 10,825 people were diagnosed in the UK last year, passing 10,000 for the first time. That compares with 8,864 the year before, and it is a 133% increase over 20 years.

Sadly, 3,637 people lost their lives to mouth cancer in the most recent figures, around 10 people every day. In the previous report, the figure was 3,034 deaths, so the toll is climbing.

Late diagnosis is a major reason survival has improved so little. The Oral Health Foundation has previously reported that just over half of cases are diagnosed at stage four, the most advanced stage.

Around 80% of the public cannot recall seeing any public messaging about mouth cancer, so people rarely know what to look for. That is where the dental team comes in.

Staying vigilant at every visit

Often, patients will not mention any symptoms or realise they matter. Asking directly – and documenting what you find – can make the difference.

Smoking and alcohol remain the biggest risk factors. Around two thirds of mouth cancer cases are linked to smoking, and people who both smoke and drink heavily face a risk around 30 times higher. Smokeless tobacco, betel quid, and vaping are also worth discussing, and every appointment is a chance to raise lifestyle habits sensitively and without judgement.

The human papillomavirus (HPV) is also a growing cause, particularly of cancers at the back of the throat, including the tonsils and base of the tongue. HPV-related cancers affect people who may never have smoked or drunk heavily, so they can be unexpected.

Mention the HPV vaccine as part of prevention conversations with patients, and do not assume a ‘low risk’ patient has nothing to worry about.

Patients are your messengers

Patients talk. What you say in the surgery travels home to partners, parents, friends, and colleagues. When you explain why an ulcer that lasts more than three weeks needs checking, or recommend a particular toothbrush, interdental cleaning routine or mouthwash, those messages get passed on.

A patient who leaves understanding the warning signs may be the person who tells a neighbour to book an appointment about a lump they have been ignoring.

Make that easy. Offer leaflets, point patients to trusted resources, and encourage them to share what they xhave learned. The Mouth Cancer Foundation website is one such resource, with more than a million people helped by its information each year.

Mouth cancer can affect anyone, and the numbers show it is no longer a rare disease. Staying alert at every appointment could save a life.

Check thoroughly, ask the right questions, talk openly about risk factors, and encourage patients to spread the word.

Mouth cancer resources

Further information about mouth cancer can be found at:

• Mouth Cancer Foundation
• Oral Health Foundation
• Dentistry.co.uk.

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