Fruit And Vegetables Essential For Preventing Oral Cancer

Mon, 19 Jan 2009

An increase in people’s daily intake of fruit and vegetables could dramatically cut rates of mouth cancer in Britain, a dentist has claimed.

Dr Darsh Naidoo, who works at Ollie and Darsh Dental centre in Liverpool, said a New Year’s resolution to eat five portions of fruit or vegetables a day could help reduce the 5,000 mouth cancer cases reported each year in the UK.

According to a study by the British Dental Health Foundation (BDHF), those that add to the recommended ‘five-a-day’ by eating at least six portions of fruit and veg are 30 per cent less likely to develop head and neck cancers than those eating just one and a half servings.

"Switching to a healthy eating lifestyle could make a huge difference because one-third of oral cancers are linked to poor diet," Dr Naidoo added.

The Liverpool dentist stressed that early detection of oral cancer is vital as it improves survival chances to nine in ten cases.

"As part of an oral health check up, we examine the entire mouth to ensure the wellbeing of the person sat in the chair," he continued.

"We screen for oral cancer and also use digital X-rays to discover what is going on behind the smile to spot any potential problems."

"Warning signs include ulcers which do not heal within three weeks, red and white patches in the mouth and unusual swellings in the mouth and neck."
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