Our Mission

  • 1 million people are treated for facial diseases and injuries in the UK every year
  • 125,000 people suffer severe facial injuries through accidents or violent exchanges
  • 13,000 people develop mouth and throat cancers
  • 50,000 people need treatment for facial skin cancers
  • 30,000 people need surgery for facial deformity
  • 95,135 people suffer from facial fractures in the UK
  • 569,000 people are living with facial disfigurement in the UK
  • Jaw joint pain and stiffness affects many teenagers

Facial disease, injury and deformity are unlike any other conditions. They can harm our very being – our speaking and eating as well as our appearance. They often leave life-changing physical and emotional scars, undermining self-esteem and dignity, isolating patients from others, affecting their job opportunities and sometimes condemning them to impoverished lives in the shadows.

Saving Faces – The Facial Surgery Research Foundation is the only charity in the UK solely dedicated to reducing the incidence of facial injuries, disorders and diseases including oral cancer worldwide. Our mission is to improve treatment for these conditions and the psychological outcomes by leading research into these conditions. 

Our Achievements

With over 20 years of experience leading research of the highest quality, we pursue our mission by delivering ground-breaking research projects, clinical audits and outreach programmes with real-life improvements for patients in the UK and across the globe:

NFORC – The National Facial, Oral and Oculoplastic Research Centre

Saving Faces has partnered with a number of national surgical organisations including the British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons (BAOMS), in running and funding the world’s only National Facial, Oral and Oculoplastic Research Centre (NFORC). Through NFORC we carry out clinical trials to show which treatment is best for any disease or injury affecting the mouth or face. We do this by collecting accurate data on the results of every treatment and operation carried out by the surgeons with several years of follow-up with the patients. For example, we have run a clinical trial with Cancer Research UK for early mouth cancer in parallel with developing screening and diagnostic tests. The results of these trials have helped improve treatment for patients.

The Royal College of Surgeons of England (RCSEng) has selected NFORC as its head and neck cancer trials centre. This collaborative approach enables our researchers to answer vital questions more rapidly than even the most famous of single institutions.

SEND – Selective Elective Neck Dissection

Our game-changing SEND study was the first nationwide randomised surgical trial on early mouth cancer. It compared 2 different treatments for mouth cancer and showed emphatically which treatment cured more patients. These findings will save 30,000 more people with mouth cancer worldwide every year. Our study was singled out for exceptional praise by the President of the Union for International Cancer Control (UICC) in Geneva. The worldwide impact of our research puts it in the top 5% of all medical research papers. We succeeded because we collaborated with 68 surgeons at 27 hospitals to revolutionise the treatment of this most socially disabling cancer.

HANA – The National Head and Neck Audit

Saving Faces also now manages its biggest project to date, the National Head and Neck Audit for England and Wales (HANA). The audit focuses on patients who have cancer of the head and neck, of which there are 9,000 cases each year. The findings from HANA will contribute to changes in clinical practice and ensure that patients receive the best care possible and experience an improved quality of life.

GRAD – Genomics Radiotherapy and Dysphagia Study

This study is comparing the genomic profiles of patients with and without severe swallowing difficulties following radiotherapy for head and neck cancer, and is identifying genetic factors associated with a higher risk of developing severe complications. We aim to establish the prevalence of patients suffering from complications after having radiotherapy, and to determine if genetic tests can be performed on DNA obtained from a simple saliva test on this group of patients.

The National Wisdom Tooth Study

The National Wisdom Tooth Study is collecting data on the surgical treatment given and its outcome for every UK patient undergoing lower third molar (wisdom tooth) treatment, over a 3-month period in 2022. This is the first national study examining the incidence of problems from third molars, the treatment decisions made and the long-term outcomes of those decisions.

QOMS – Quality outcomes in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery

Saving Faces and NFORC are working with BAOMS and have developed and are running a national, specialty-wide quality improvement, clinical audit and effectiveness programme, called the Quality and Outcomes in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (QOMS) project. QOMS comprises of several clinical registries, the aims of which are to measure and improve quality of care for patients undergoing oral and maxillofacial surgery in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. The QOMS project is managed by the QOMS Project Team with representatives from Saving Faces and BAOMS.

PhD Research

We have funded many PhD students and clinical fellowships to research better investigation and treatment for cancer, facial injury, jaw joint disorder and facial disfigurement. This includes psychological PhDs studying better management for patients with all these conditions and basic science PhDs studying molecular biology of cancer and stem cells behaviour.

Binge Drinking Prevention Study

Adolescents in the UK have one of the highest European levels of alcohol use, binge-drinking and getting drunk. Around 125,000 young people a year attend A&E with severe facial injuries, often associated with alcohol-related falls and assaults. Saving Faces has been working with the Department of Health to inform young people of the consequences of binge drinking. Professor Iain Hutchison also featured on the ITV1 documentary “The Truth About Binge Drinking”.

SFDADS – The Saving Faces Diagnostic Advice Service

Early detection of mouth cancers improves the chance of survival from 50% to 90%. Our rapid telemedicine diagnostic service (SFDADS) has been a life saver giving specialist diagnostic advice to GPs and Dentists within 3 days of receiving photos and a few facts about their patients. We have sped cancer patients to the right surgeon whilst those with benign problems have been rapidly reassured without going to hospital.

Expert Patient Helpline

During COVID, a surge of patients around the world contacted our Expert Patient helpline. If they had facial injuries, infections or cancer we immediately put them in touch with their nearest, best surgeon, even when they were abroad. Saving Faces also links new patients with former patients who can provide advice and support.

Publications

A list of all Saving Faces’ research publications and studies that we have funded and supported can be found here.

View our most recent audited accounts for year ended 30th June 2020

Facial surgery research is severely underfunded despite the vast number of people with facial problems but with your support we can continue to provide our services, maintain our pioneering research and ensure more patients survive.

Whether it’s a  one-off donation,  a regular gift or leaving Saving Faces a legacy, no donation is too small to make a difference, so please donate today.

Thank you. We really couldn’t do it without you.