The British Dental Health Foundation started Mouth Cancer Action Month as a charity campaign which aims to raise awareness of mouth cancer and make a difference by saving thousands of lives through early detection and prevention. Mouth cancer kills 1 person every 5 hours. The disease has grown by a third in the last decade – and remains one of very few cancers which are predicted to increase further in the coming years making this campaign important.
Top 8 symptoms of oral cancer
- An ulcer or white or red patch anywhere in the mouth that does not heal within 3 weeks
- A lump or swelling anywhere in the mouth, jaw or neck that persists for more than 3 weeks
- A difficulty in swallowing, chewing or moving the tongue or jaw
- A swelling of the jaw that causes dentures to fit poorly o become uncomfortable
- Numbness of the tongue or other area of the mouth
- A feeling that something is caught in the throat
- A chronic sore throat or hoarseness that persists more than 6 weeks
- An unexplained loosening of teeth with no obvious dental cause