DENTISTS spend half their lives peering into the mouths of other people.

But they are not always inspecting teeth, they are often looking for clues to mouth cancer.

It is the time of year when the British Dental Health Foundation alerts people to the dangers of this disease.

It says 4,400 new cases of mouth cancer are diagnosed every year - but the good news is that nine out of 10 cases are curable if found early enough.

Now the foundation wants people to inspect their own mouths and look for such things as a persistent ulcer, red or white patches, a lump or anything unusual.

If they have any of those symptoms, they are urged to visit a doctor or dentist to have it checked.

Smoking is said to be the most common cause of mouth cancer and the advice is to stop. Chewing tobacco is not good either and drinking alcohol to excess is also a risk.

A healthy diet is a better way to promote a healthy mouth, with plenty of fruit and veg, fish and eggs, nuts, seeds and wholewheat rice.