Oral Cancer

Oral cancer is dangerous, someone dies from oral cancer every hour of every day.This cancer, found in the mouth, lips or throat, is often highly curable if diagnosed and treated early.

Main Causes:-

1) Heavy use of tobacco.

2) Heavy use of alcohol.

Symptoms:-

1) Oral Cancer could look like a common ulcer, cold sore or a discoloration of tissue.

2) If you have any type of lesion in your mouth, or on your lips, that doesn’t heal within two weeks, or a difficulty in swallowing for a prolonged period of time, it is very important to see your dentist right away.

How it can be detected?

The FDA has recently approved a device to detect oral cancer called a VELscope.VELscope is non-invasive and uses a bright blue light to emphasize any changes in the mouth that a dentist or hygienist could not normally see.

Treatment:-

If your dentist does find a suspicious lesion in your mouth, he / she might remove it, but will most likely send you to a specialist for a removal and biopsy, which is a painless procedure.
If oral cancer is detected early enough, it could possibly be treated with surgery alone.

What is Biopsy?

A biopsy is the process of removing a small piece of tissue for a pathologist to determine, under microscopic examination, if it is cancerous. A soft tissue biopsy is the most common type of biopsy used in detecting oral cancer.

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Various Types of Dentistry

There are different types of dentistry some of them are given below:-


1) Cosmetic Dentistry:- Cosmetic dentistry is the field of dentistry related to improving the appearance of one’s mouth through dental procedures.

2) Laser Dentistry:- Laser dentistry eliminates many of the common complaints of traditional dentistry. A laser device replaces the rotary tool and can be used for everything from surgery to tooth bleaching.

3) Dental Implants:- A dental implant is a synthetic “root” which is literally implanted permanently, within the space where the natural tooth once lived. The root resembles a screw or rod. A custom-made artificial tooth is then affixed to the screw, creating a stable and natural-looking replacement for the lost tooth.

4) Dental Veneers:- Dental veneers are also called as Porcelain veneers are wafer-thin shells of porcelain that can be bonded onto the front side of teeth to make a cosmetic improvement in the teeth’s appearance

5) Dental Crowns:- crown is a tooth cap that is placed over a tooth thus covering the tooth to restore its shape, its size and its strength, thus making it look more attractive and ’normal’.

6) Teeth Whitening:-If you are an individual that suffers from tooth discoloration, a change in eating and drinking habits and/or quitting smoking or other tobacco use is recommended then you need teeth whitening treatment.

7) Dental Bonding:- Dental bonding involves the use of composite resin that is specially designed so that it can be color-matched to each patient’s teeth to provide a completely natural-looking result.

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Connection between obesity and dental health

Harvard researchers claim to have found evidence of obesity occurring prior to periodontal disease in a large group of people and suggest the two are connected.

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health and the University of Puerto Rico set out to answer the question of whether or not there was an association between obesity and one's dental health.

A total of 36,903 men from the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study were examined by the researchers. All participants were reportedly free of periodontal disease at the start of the study and were followed for 16 years. The men were mailed a questionnaire every two years with the participants self-reporting their obesity measurements as well as any indication of periodontal disease.

At the end of the study, it was found that those who were obese at the beginning of the research had a 25 to 29 percent increased risk of dental health problems when compared to men who were not obese.

The researchers concluded the study was significant due to the high prevalence of obesity in society. Health officials have recommended certain diets and nutritional supplements to maintain a healthy weight as well as routine dental care.

News Source:- Connection between obesity and dental health

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Connection between dental health and heart disease

Researchers have found two specific types of bacteria in the mouth that may be directly involved with causing heart attacks.

The study was conducted at the University at Buffalo, where the connection between gum disease and heart disease was first discovered, and found that Tannerella Forsynthesis and Preventella Intermedia had a "statistically significant association with an increased risk of heart attack."

"The message here is that even though some specific periodontal pathogens have been found to be associated with an increased risk of coronary heart disease, the total bacterial pathogenic burden is more important than the type of bacteria," said Dr. Oelisoa M. Andriankaja, who led the study. "In other words, the total number of 'bugs' is more important than one single organism."

A total of 386 men and women between the ages of 35 and 69 who had suffered a heart attack participated in the study, along with a control group of 840 people. Though the heart disease group had more bacteria in their mouth than the control group, they also had significantly more of two specific types of bacteria.

This discovery may lead to more urgings by dental care officials for people to schedule regular visits with a dentist.

News Source:- Connection between dental health and heart disease.

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