The new President of the Irish Dental Association has said raising awareness of the dangers of mouth cancers amongst the general public will be one of his main priorities during his term of office.

Dr Conor McAlister, a Dublin based General Practitioner, told delegates at the Association’s annual conference that up to 400 cases of mouth cancers were diagnosed every year but awareness of this cancer type remained extremely low.

Mouth cancer is a highly lethal disease and is one of the most debilitating and disfiguring of all malignancies. At least two Irish people die from the disease every week and the incidence of the disease is increasing, particularly among younger people. Recently there has been an increase in the incidence rates among women and in younger men, particularly in respect of cancer of the tongue. Where previously the male female incidence ratio was 6 to 1 it is now less than 3 to 1.

Oral cancers are often called the 'Cinderella cancers' because even though they kill more people annually than the more well-known melanomas and cervical cancers, they have a much lower profile.

In his address Dr McAlister pointed out that dentists were ideally placed to provide frontline screening for mouth cancer and he stressed that an early diagnosis greatly improves the chances of survival.

“Notwithstanding the cutbacks to Medical Card and PRSI dental schemes, most people must remember that they are entitled to a free check up and should avail of that entitlement” Dr McAlister said.

Dr McAlister pointed to the success of the Mouth Cancer Awareness Day which was held at the Dublin and Cork Dental Hospitals in September last year. Over 3,000 patients attended for free mouth examinations and six people were diagnosed with mouth cancer.

“Checking for mouth cancer is not a major inconvenience. Dentists routinely screen for it as part of a painless oral examination and it takes less than 5 minutes. Following the success of last year's Awareness Day, I am delighted to announce we will be staging an expanded awareness day on the 21st of September this year where free mouth examinations will be offered at participating dental practices throughout the country as well as the Dublin and Cork Dental Hospitals. Irregular visitors to the dentist are particularly welcome to attend as are those who have no teeth and wear dentures” Dr McAlister said.

Research show that smoking and drinking alcohol are the main risk factors and the risk is even greater if a person smokes and drinks. There is also increasing evidence of a link between mouth cancer and the Human Papilloma virus (HPV) which may be transmitted by oral sex.

Note to Editor

Dr Conor McAlister, who is married with four children, is from Terenure in Dublin. He qualified from Trinity College in 1979 and was awarded a Masters Degree from the University of London in 1984. A General Practitioner with a specialist interest in restorative dentistry, his practice is based in Walkinstown in Dublin.