Free dentist trips see 21 diagnosed with cancer

It’s the free trip to the dentist that could just save your life.

Irish dentists, who have seen some 18,000 people as part of a free mouth cancer screening initiative, have diagnosed 21 people with various forms of mouth, neck or head cancer over the last three years.

And they have encouraged people to avail of this year’s free screening programme which takes place across the country tomorrow following a steady increase in the incidence rate of cancer of the mouth in women — up 3% every year since 1994.