Last week our oral health team made their bimonthly trip to the rural town of Robinvale to continue their incredible work with Murray Valley Aboriginal Co-Op (MVAC).
Over three-days, dozens of children and adults were able to receive check-ups and other oral health treatments. Our team saw one family that purposefully timed their holiday from Sydney to coincide with our visit. It’s fantastic to have formed such strong relationships with the community and MVAC.
During this visit we also partnered with Amcal and ThroatScope to provide community members with an oral cancer screening trial. Mortality rates for oral cancer have not improved over the past three decades with the risk factor for the disease increasing through everyday activities like:
- Smoking and tobacco
- Unsafe exposure of the outer lip to UV via sunlight
- High alcohol consumption
Early detection of oral cancer can improve treatment outcomes – we encourage our community to ask our oral health team about cancer screenings.
Our team will continue to raise awareness for the disease during Dental Health Week 2018.