Your dental check-up could save your life.

Sadly, today we hear about cases of cancer more and more frequently but amidst all of this there is one type of cancer that still does not have the level of awareness that it needs: mouth cancer. Figures from Cancer Research UK show that oral cancer is the fifteenth most common type of cancer to be diagnosed in the UK and accounts for 2% of all new cancer diagnoses, it just goes to show that oral cancer is something that we should be paying attention to. Confirmation on the causes of oral cancer is still unavailable but evidence is emerging to suggest that oral sex may have a part to play in its development.

Like any other cancer those who smoke, drink regularly or have a genetic history of cancer are statistically more likely to develop oral cancer but the effects of oral sex may be just as important. It has been shown that oral cancer and oral sex are linked through viral infections, namely the human papilloma virus (HPV). Most of us know what HPV is, or have at least heard of it. Teenage girls are regularly vaccinated against it in schools to help prevent the development of cervical cancer. So how does a virus that is associated with cervical cancer come to be linked with mouth cancer?

Scientists have found that the mechanisms behind HPV and mouth cancer work in the same way as HPV and cervical cancer as both the mouth and the cervix provide the same conditions in which the virus can live. It is believed that around 25% of oral cancers and 35% of throat cancers are due to the HPV virus which is transmitted almost entirely through oral sexual contact. Most sexually active people will have been exposed to this virus but only about 2-3% will actually develop any symptoms.

Currently there is little evidence to determine whether men or women are more likely to develop oral cancer from contracting the HPV virus but it is known that oropharyngeal cancer is twice as common in men as it is in women and is most common in heterosexual men aged between 40 and 50. This relationship between the higher diagnoses of HVP in men suggests that sexual activity performed by a man on a woman increases the likelihood of contracting HVP over a woman performing sexual favours for a man. It is therefore likely that the HPV vaccination would also be effective in helping with the prevention of oral cancer and would benefit boys as well as girls.

A study conducted in America in 2009-2010 found that approximately 10% of men and 3.6% of women had an oral HPV infection and many of us (around 90%) will have been infected by the virus by the time we are 25 but, the good news is, our bodies will naturally be clear of it within a couple of years.

Even though HPV vaccinations are available and are seemingly having an effect on the rates of HPV infection, it is still recommended to see your dentist on a regular basis. Early diagnosis is the best way to beat any type of cancer and your dentist is best placed to spot the early warning signs of oral cancer.

If you seem to be getting unexplained lumps or ulcers more frequently than normal or there are odd red or white patches then a visit to your dentist may just save your life. Symptoms can easily be mistaken for other minor oral ailments and quite often go unnoticed. Your dentist is the health professional best placed to give you the advice and treatment needed to deal with the onset of mouth cancer. If caught early enough the prognosis for oral cancer is very good as the survival rate is one of the highest of all cancers.

So now you know that your dentist isn’t only there to tell you off for not flossing, they could be the one to save your life!

Written by Dr Daniel Winston BDS MSc, principal dentist at Mossley Dental Care