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- Ελληνικά
Investing in prevention and aiming to inform the public, the Dental Services of the Ministry of Health in collaboration with the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery of the Nicosia General Hospital, organize for the 11th consecutive year an awareness and prevention campaign on oral cancer, from the 4th to the 10th of December 2023. The campaign is supported by the School of Dentistry of the European University Cyprus. There will be information on oral diseases with emphasis on oral cancer and a free oral examination will be offered
- On Friday, 8/12/2023, between 08:00 - 13:00, a free examination will be offered to citizens through mobile dental units outside the Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca Old Hospital and Paphos Hospitals
- On Friday, 8/12/2023, a scientific workshop for Cypriot dentists will be organized in cooperation with the Schools of Dentistry of the European University Cyprus and the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens. On the same day, a press conference will be held at the Cultural Centre of the European University, addressed by the Director General of the Ministry of Health
- During the awareness week, free public examinations will be offered by private dentists by appointment
The main slogan of the campaign is that "Prevention and early diagnosis save lives". Therefore, it is reminded that all beneficiaries of the General Health Plan in Cyprus are entitled to a free oral examination and teeth cleaning once a year by dentists contracted with OAI.
It is noted that lip and mouth cancer is the 16th most common cancer (11th in men and 18th in women). Recent figures report that in 2020, 377,713 new cases of oral, lip and oropharyngeal cancer were recorded worldwide.
In Cyprus, during the last decade (2011 - 2020), a total of 550 new cases of cancer in the wider region of the oral cavity, salivary glands, oropharynx and tonsils (categories C0 - C10) have been recorded, accounting for 1.5% of the total number of cancers recorded in Cyprus. The majority of cases are located in the tongue and oral cavity and the survival rate is 66%, a rate comparable to other European countries. In general, in the last five years, about 60 new cases are diagnosed annually with men being twice as likely to be affected as women.
The importance of prevention and early diagnosis of oral cancer is vividly illustrated by figures from the World Health Organization, which states that by adopting the right prevention strategies, new cases of cancer can be reduced by 30% and, if oral cancer is detected at an early stage, the survival rate increases from 50% to 80%.
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