Today in the UK, mouth cancer kills one person every five hours. Incidences of the disease have reached in excess of 7,500 people a year, doubling within the last decade and without early detection, half of these will not survive.

It is time for all of us to sit up and take notice. During November’s Mouth Cancer Action Month, we will be putting the spotlight on this hidden killer, driving the message that early detection saves lives – under the campaign tagline ‘If in Doubt, Get Checked Out’.

The campaign is also supporting a superb short film by NHS Mount Vernon Cancer Network. ‘Head and Neck Cancer: Improving Early Diagnosis’ is one of four excellent videos by the team, which have been selected a finalist in the Quality in Care (QiC) Excellence in 2013 Oncology Awards.

The ten minute video contains accounts from clinical experts, as well as head and neck cancer sufferers themselves, highlighting the risks and early warning signs associated with mouth cancer.

The messages are really important as we drive to improve awareness of one of the UK’s fastest growing cancers.

  

Oral Health Foundation

The Oral Health Foundation is a charity that works to improve oral health by providing education, advice, and support to millions of people every year, changing lives for the better. Our mission is to support others in achieving a healthier life through better oral health. Our vision is to live in a world where everybody has a healthy mouth and is free of dental disease. Poor oral health can have a harmful and devastating effect on a person’s life – both for their physical health and mental wellbeing. We are determined to help more people achieve good oral health and have a better quality of life. Sadly, oral disease remains common, across the life course. We are taking the challenge to reduce the harm caused by poor oral health and the responsibility to create a healthier future for everybody. We do this because we believe that everybody deserves to have good oral health. To make sure this happens, by 2024, we will:

    • Work towards decreasing the prevalence of oral disease across communities.
    • Increase the number of people accessing our help and information services.
    • Diversify our range of resources to reach more communities.
    • Successfully campaign for policies which help people achieve healthier lives.
    • Generate new and nurture existing income streams that enable us to deliver our charitable objectives.

We are going to achieve success by:

    • Running awareness campaigns like National Smile Month and Mouth Cancer Action Month.
    • Giving anybody who needs it direct support through our Dental Helpline.
    • Influencing policy on subjects like dental access, sugar, and tobacco.
    • Providing consumer advice on oral health care products and working alongside manufacturers to make sure products do what they claim to do.
    • Creating resources and information that communicates positive oral health messages.
    • Working alongside others who share our passion for health and wellbeing.

To find out more about us, visit our website at https://www.dentalhealth.org/

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