10 years of operation of the Foundation „With a smile through life”

Foundation „With a smile through life” – dedicated to raising awareness and preventive measures for oral cancer – celebrates its 10th anniversary. On this occasion, it presents 10 facts about its functioning.

– The beginnings of the Foundation were not easy. Most dentists knew little about oral cancer. Over the years, awareness of the problem has increased and dentists increasingly pay attention to suspicious changes in the oral cavity, maintaining oncological vigilance when examining a patient – reads the announcement.

1. The Foundation is the first and only non-profit organization in Poland dedicated to oral cancer prevention. Its goal is to spread awareness of these cancers among dentists, hygienists and patients under the principle that prevention is better than cure.

2. During the 10 years of its activity, the Foundation has been the organizer or co-organizer of six conferences on oral cancer and numerous clinical and screening trainings for dentists.

3. „Open days” in dental offices – action „Dental prevention, cancer prevention”:

– 157 conducted „open days”,

– 110 dental offices that participated,

– 5762 patients examined, of which 790 referred for further diagnosis.

4. The Foundation maintains a website that includes information on oral cancer, its causes, prevention options and methods for its early detection. Educational and instructional videos for doctors (clinical trials, links to diagnostic equipment, etc.) are also posted.), information on clinics that provide preventive tests for oral cancer, and since 2016. information about the nationwide Head and Neck Cancer Prevention Program. The Foundation is also present with the latest information on head and neck cancer on Facebook.

5. The foundation conducts education among doctors and patients. Develops and provides informational materials for both groups – leaflets and instructional-educational videos.

6. The Foundation has taken the initiative to the Minister of Health and the National Health Fund to accurately describe the reimbursable dental procedure „dental check-up with oral hygiene instruction once a year”. According to the Foundation, supported by the acceptance of dental authorities, this description should include an order to check, in addition to the condition of the teeth, the condition of the oral mucosa (tongue, cheeks, gums, lymph nodes, after the removal of all removable prosthetic restorations).

7. Demonstration prevention campaigns at major dental fairs:

#I Am Oncology Vigilant – Krakdent

The aim of the campaign conducted during and in conjunction with the Krakdent Fair was to promote oncological vigilance among dentists. Still too few people are aware that during a routine visit, a dentist can diagnose even early stages of cancer, as long as they know what symptoms to look out for.

Doctors from the Department of Integrated Dentistry, the Department of Oral Surgery and the Department of Periodontology and Clinical Oral Pathology at the Institute of Dentistry at the Jagiellonian University Medical College participated in the #I'mOncologyVigilant campaign. They conducted screening demonstrations with the participation of invited guests – authorities of the dental community.

„Open your mouth, say no to cancer” – CEDE, preventive examinations

During the Poznan CEDE 2018 and CEDE 2019 fairs, students from PTSS Poznan together with supervising doctors examined 173 residents of Poznan (119 women and 54 men). Employees of the Medical Universities of Poznan, Krakow, Lodz and Szczecin took part in the action, under the supervision of prof. Marcin Kozakiewicz from the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery at the Faculty of Medicine at the Medical University of Lodz, Poland. The Foundation conducted the study in cooperation with the local government of Poznań and the organizer of the CEDE Fair.

#SensitiveOncology – International Fair and Congress of Dentistry and Aesthetic Medicine Warsaw Dental Medica Show.

The aim of the campaign, conducted in conjunction with the organizer of the Show, was to raise awareness among dentists of the importance of their role as general practitioners in detecting potentially carcinogenic lesions in a patient's mouth. During the 2018 and 2019 Warsaw Dental Medica Show. show preventive examinations conducted by pp. Dr. Hanna Chaciewicz and Dr. Anna Deptała, doctors who have been cooperating with the Foundation for years.

8. In 2014. Students from the scientific circle at the Department of Integrated Dentistry at WUM – in cooperation with the Foundation – conducted screening tests among WUM patients. Their work resulted in a presentation on 25. European Student Conference at Charite University in Berlin.

9. Cooperation with PTSS:

– the foundation took honorary patronage of the 15th anniversary of the PTTS, promoting oral cancer screening among students and young dentists,

– from 2015. The Foundation supports PTSS students during the action „Blue mouth”, providing information materials about oral cancer and supporting preventive examinations for these cancers (this is an action during which, in November, dental students perform free dental check-ups and screenings, provide advice and guidance on proper oral hygiene).

10. In 2017. The Foundation partnered with the PAPS Hygienists' Olympiad and became the medical and media patron of the Olympiad, preparing a webinar-educational material for hygienists on oncological vigilance. In addition, members of the Council of the Foundation actively participated in the organization of the Olympiad: Dr. Malgorzata Giezek-Kaczmarek prepared questions on oncological vigilance of hygienists, and Dr. Magdalena Pawelczyk-Madalinska became a member of the examination committee.

We have written many times about the important role of dentists in the early detection of cancerous lesions in the oral cavity. Patients over 40. year olds, smokers, alcohol users – are an obvious group of people with a higher risk of detecting oral cancers. However, Dr. Hanna Chaciewicz, a dentist associated with the Foundation „With a smile through life”, points out additional factors to consider.