Ill-fitting dentures causing irritation in the mouth? You may be at a risk of oral cancer!

New Delhi: If your dentures don't fit you properly and are irritating you, don't hesitate in visiting your dentist.

This is normally a situation many people would term petty and delay an appointment with the dentist. But, a study, carried out by three Indian doctors, has warned against the hesitation saying that chronic irritation resulting from ill-fitting dentures could, in fact, be a risk factor for oral cancer.

About 1,00,000 new cases of oral cancer are detected in India every year and it also leads to about 50,000 deaths annually.

"Chronic mucosal irritation resulting from ill-fitting dentures may be considered a risk factor for the development of oral cancer, such cancers occur commonly over the lateral border of the tongue," said the research conducted by Hitesh Rajendra Singhvi, Akshat Malik and Pankaj Chaturvedi from the Department of Head and Neck Oncology at Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai.

However, no association has been proven between the duration of denture use and cancer formation, the doctors said.

Five-year survival of patients with early oral cancer is between 55 percent and 60 percent and it decreases to 30 percent and 40 percent in cases of advanced oral cancer, it said.

The doctors reached the conclusion after reviewing 22 studies from across the world exploring links between mucosal trauma and cancer.

Nearly 80 percent of these cancers are associated with the use of tobacco, areca nut (supari), smoking and alcohol consumption. However, nearly 10 percent patients of oral cancer may not have history of such addictions.

A mucosa is a membrane that lines various cavities in the body and surrounds internal organs. Dentures are removable appliances that can replace missing teeth.

The doctors said that as per recent data from the Dental Council of India, there are about 1.5 lakh registered dentists for a population of about 1.3 billions, out of which 72 percent live in villages which remain deprived from dental care.

Amongst many reasons, low level of awareness among the population and the care providers even, has led to continued neglect of dental care.

(With PTI inputs)