Mouth Cancer Awareness Day gathers more support

Mouth Cancer Awareness Day will be held on 19 September this year in Ireland.

Organised by the Irish Dental Association (IDA), this year’s event builds on the outstanding success at the launch of this initiative in 2011, which involved 700 dental surgeries countrywide.

The IDA has developed the project in association with Dublin and Cork Dental Hospitals, the Irish Cancer Society, the Dental Health Foundation and a group of oral cancer survivors.

Given the large number of patients seen by dentists every year, the vigilance of the dental profession in screening for the disease is a major factor in ensuring that malignancies are not overlooked. In addition to the involvement of the dental team it is important to adequately engage with large numbers of the public so that they actually participate in the examination.

This event is particularly valuable in encouraging people who might not regularly attend a dentist to come and get their mouth checked for early signs of disease.

Dental Protection is the major provider of dental indemnity to dentists in Ireland and strongly supports the efforts of the IDA in this public health initiative. Early awareness on the part of the patient is empowering and serves to optimise future treatment decisions.

Kevin Lewis the Dental Director of Dental Protection said; ‘The dental team should not forget the importance of keeping good records for every oral examination. The purpose of record keeping is to be able to demonstrate over a period of time, whether it is long or short, that the clinician has logically written down the findings of one or more clinical events, in sufficient detail that the event can be recalled with accuracy, without relying upon memory alone. The records should include both positive and negative findings. Any unusual finding is best described by the use of diagrams or digital photography.’

For more information on Mouth Cancer Awareness Day, visit www.mouthcancerawareness.ie/index.html.