Dental patients ‘should face quiz in cancer fight’

A leading charity wants to see dentists take a more active role in fighting the disease, which is claiming increasing numbers of lives in the UK.

This could mean practitioners asking patients about lifestyle risk factors such as smoking, drinking and sexual behaviour.

“We would like them to be more aware of the risk factors so that they ask the right questions,” said Hazel Nunn, head of health evidence and information at Cancer Research UK.

Oral cancer affects the lips, tongue, cheek lining, gums, palate and floor of the mouth.

By 2030 it is predicted that 9,200 cases of the disease will be diagnosed each year in the UK, compared with 6,240 in 2009 and 3,030 in 1984. Death rates are also expected to rise by around 22 per cent over the next two decades.

Smoking and drinking are two major risk factors for oral cancer, as is the human papilloma virus (HPV) which can infect the mouth as a result of oral sex.