This campaign has now closed
Mouth Cancer is a hidden disease in Britain today which kills one person every five hours and the incidence of the disease has increased by 17% over the past four years. It is a cancer which is hard for anyone but a dental profession to diagnose, but early detection improves survival rates from 50% to 90%.
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The British Dental Health Foundation will raise awareness of mouth cancer, particularly amongst the high risk social groups such as the elderly, heavy smokers, drinkers and users of chewing tobacco. The Elderly - The British Dental Health Foundation will set up road shows. These road shows will increase awareness of both mouth cancer and the importance of regular dental check-ups, even for people with dentures. These regional road shows will be staffed by dental hygienists and will offer free check-ups and referrals to local community dental facilities. Heavy smokers and drinkers - Older men who are heavy smokers and drinkers are the largest single high-risk group. An advertising campaign stressing the importance of going for a dental check up and offering free advice via the Dental Helpline will target pubs, motorway service stations and similar venues. Ethnic groups - Many members of ethnic groups in the UK suffer because language, literacy and cultural barriers restrict their ability to gain access to information available to the English-speaking majority. Differences in diet and cultural practices such as the use of tobacco also mean they face oral health problems particular to their own community. The Foundation will make its information available in languages most commonly spoken in the UK - in print, telephone voicemail services and a new audio facility on the Foundation website.