Oral Cancer Screening

Oral cancer screening aims to identify mouth cancer early when there is a greater chance for a cure.

Studies show that mouth cancer is on the increase and that early detection dramatically improves the chances of recovery. Mouth cancer screening is a short procedure at the dental practice. It involves a thorough examination of your whole mouth, including using a handheld scanning device to examine any lumps or lesions you might have. This will highlight any risk factors so we can treat or refer you as quickly as possible.

We recommend that you come in for a screening every year. If you have any sores, lumps, or long-term ulcers in your mouth, no matter how small, it is very important that you come in to have it checked out.

Late detection of mouth cancers has resulted in a higher proportion of deaths per number of cases than breast cancer, cervical cancer, or skin melanoma, with about 2,700 deaths per year in the UK.

Because smoking is strongly linked with many forms of cancer and other dental problems, we always encourage our patients to quit smoking. An excellent source of information is the Mouth Cancer Foundation if you require any further information.