Hello,

April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month. This year alone, the American Cancer Society estimates that 58,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral and oropharyngeal cancer. About 12,000 people are expected to die this year from these types of cancers.

Oral cancer is typically not hard to discover or diagnose but when it is discovered late in development, it is often too late to prevent serious consequences of the disease.

The good news is that dentists often check for signs of oral cancer at routine dental appointments, and in many cases, can find tissue changes or actual cancer while it’s in the earliest stage.

Add the short oral health bite below to your intranet or another employee communication as a way to promote the importance of regular dental visits with your staff.

 Did you know that dentists often perform an oral cancer screening at preventive appointments? Oral cancers are more than twice as common in men as in women. The lifetime risk of developing oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer is about 1 in 59 for men and 1 in 139 for women.

 The five-year survival rate for oral cancer is 66.2 percent, making early detection key. Recognize April as Oral Cancer Awareness Month and schedule your next preventive appointment with your dentist.

 Additional resources:

• Article: Oral cancer awareness
• Rack card: Oral cancer
• Video: Oral Cancer…We Need to Talk About It

These resources and many more are available at www.deltadentaloh.com/lifesmile.