November is the Oral Health Foundation’s Mouth Cancer Action Month, which shines the spotlight on the subject of mouth cancer and the importance of maintaining oral health and overall wellbeing. Mouth Cancer Action Month hopes to get more mouth cancers diagnosed at an early stage by educating people on the risk factors, signs and symptoms, while also encouraging the public to discuss them with their dental professional.
A regular check-up can help a dentist to spot the early signs of some serious conditions, one of the most vital being mouth cancer. Although not the most publicised cancer, each year, mouth cancer claims more lives than testicular and cervical cancers combined, and the number of cases is increasing year on year. In 2002, 4,500 mouth cancer cases were recorded in the UK. By 2012, this had increased to 7,300 cases reported, according to research by Cancer Research UK, published in November 2015. That’s a 62% increase in just one decade.
As with other types of cancer, the earlier this is detected, the more chance there is to significantly improve the likelihood of survival. Although more than 2,000 people die each year as a result of mouth cancer, for those patients detected at an early stage, the survival rate improves from 50% to 90%.
Unlike other medical professionals, dentists and dental nurses see ‘healthy’ patients every single day. This provides them with the opportunity to highlight the importance of prevention to reduce the risk of any long-term problems like mouth cancer in the future.
As the main sponsor of Mouth Cancer Action Month, Denplan is again running the popular #BlueLipSelfie campaign with hundreds of organisations and dental practices around the country. The campaign allows dental professionals to talk to patients about the risks, symptoms and prevention of this devastating disease in a more light-hearted way. To take part, all people have to do is take a photo of themselves or their teams with blue lips and share it on Twitter or Instagram using the campaign’s hashtag #BlueLipSelfie.
As well as helping people and their families to look after their teeth and gums, a dental plan can also help them to engage more generally with their overall health. Dental check-ups cover more than just teeth and gums; a dentist appointment involves a check-up on the whole mouth, and is just as important as a visit to the GP.
Dental plans are now a key component to a strong overall benefits package and increasingly, employees are starting to expect one. Almost two thirds (64%) of employees without access to a dental plan, said they would consider a dental plan if their employer offered it, according to Denplan’s Health and wellbeing benefits survey, published in January 2016. A further 60% agree that a dental plan is a tangible, usable benefit and 73% of employees agree that a dental plan is a benefit that can be used regularly and not just for emergencies. Unlike pensions, which might not be accessed for years, and products such as medical insurance and life assurance, which will hopefully need to be used only very rarely, all employees should be visiting the dentist at least once every two years.
Organisations are only as good as their workforce, so if they can help to educate their employees through dental plans and encourage decent oral health, this could in turn help early detection for more serious conditions like mouth cancer. Hopefully this November’s Mouth Cancer Action Month will help further raise this issue among both employees and employers.
Vittoria Gallagher is corporate executive at Denplan
