Patient whose life was saved by dentist check gives dire warning about NHS

21 April 2024 , 19:54

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Patient whose life was saved by dentist check gives dire warning about NHS

A mouth cancer patient whose life was saved by a dental check-up warns the collapse in NHS dentist access is costing lives.

Tony Page, 73, was referred to hospital in 2014 after his dentist spotted an abnormality in his mouth.

A hospital diagnosis soon followed. Within six weeks cancerous parts of his tongue and jaw had been removed. But now NHS dentist availability near Tony’s home has vanished. Tony, of Folkestone, Kent, said: “You can’t get an NHS dentist within 50 miles. Some people could die through the lack of availability.

“It also costs the NHS more money... as later detection is likely to lead to more extensive surgery, worse outcomes and longer hospital stays.”

Tony Page before his operation

In the UK, around 3,000 people die of mouth cancer each year and 9,000 people are diagnosed with it. Early detection results in a 90% survival rate, falling to 50% after a later diagnosis.

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Eddie Crouch, chairman of the British Dental Association, warned: “Oral cancers already claim more lives than car accidents. Numbers will skyrocket if ministers remain asleep at the wheel.”

The Mirror is campaigning for a return of the right to an NHS dentist for all – as most are no longer accepting new patients. Our online petition on the 38 Degrees platform, in partnership with the British Dental Association, has now reached 220,000 signatures.

The Department of Health said: “The NHS has seen and treated record numbers of cancer patients over the past two years, with survival rates improving across almost all types of cancer, including mouth cancer.”

Martin Bagot