Free dental check-up scheme reveals 22 cases of mouth cancer

Twenty two people have been diagnosed with mouth cancer on foot of an initiative designed to encourage the public to avail of free dental check-ups.

The number diagnosed with oral malignancy represents approximately 0.1% of the 20,000 people who have availed of free mouth cancer examinations since they were first offered in 2010.

Dental oncologist Eleanor O’Sullivan, who carries out oral surgery at the Cork University Dental School, said there was “irrefutable evidence that early detection and treatment significantly improves the prognosis of patients with mouth, head, and neck cancer” (HNC).