WHEN Glenda Boulter returned to the dentist with a pain in her mouth she thought it was the after-effects of having a wisdom tooth out.

But the 60-year-old retired teacher soon discovered she had potentially fatal bone cancer in her jaw after the dentist spotted an ulcer in her mouth and urged her to get it checked out.

Now she is calling on other people to get themselves checked. And the dentist who saved her life is offering free screening at her practice.

Ms Boulter, a retired teacher from Standlake, near Witney, counts herself lucky as nine out of 10 mouth cancer sufferers die from the disease if it is not picked up soon enough.

She said: “It’s difficult to describe how I felt when I was first told. I felt numb with the enormity of it, and I was very, very frightened.”

She had skin and bone grafts to reconstruct her jaw at the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, four years ago and is still not in the clear.

She said: “I feel very lucky that I’m getting through this, and very lucky that I had access to excellent treatment.”

She said there was no question that her early diagnosis was the reason she has survived, adding: “The message from this is get it checked out.

“Mouth cancer kills more people than testicular and cervical cancer together, but if it’s caught early it is curable.”

She said people often don’t realise that a long-lasting mouth ulcer or sore tongue can be the early warning signs, and urged people to visit their dentist or GP if in doubt.

The death rate plummets to one in 10 if detected early.

About 42 Oxfordshire people get the disease every year and 16 die. This compares to 20 testicular cancer cases, with one death, and 26 cervical cancer cases, with eight deaths.

Her dentist, Dr Helen James, of Helen W James Dentists, Corn Street, Witney, is offering free mouth cancer checks to coincide with this month’s Mouth Cancer Action Month. They will be available until the end of the year.

The check takes a few minutes and can save lives, she said.

She said: “Mouth cancer is very much seen as an old person’s disease, and people who smoke or drink regularly, but that’s changing. We don’t know why, but the disease is affecting younger people, non-smokers and non-drinkers.”

WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR

SYMPTOMS to look for include:

  • Red, or red-and-white, patches on the lining of your mouth or tongue.
  • One or more mouth ulcers that do not heal.
  • A swelling in your mouth that lasts for more than three weeks.

Cases have risen by more than 20 per cent in the past 30 years.

The major risk factors are cigarette smoking and prolonged and excessive alcohol consumption.

The disease is two to three times more common in men, mostly because of higher alcohol misuse.

If in doubt, make an appointment to see your dentist.