So many people do not realize how important their oral health is to their total well being. This page is an attempt to breifly touch on some of the areas of concern our patients should consider. This is not all the information available, and it is not intended to scare you, but it is a beginning of needed knowledge to help you gain power over conditions in your life that you may have felt powerless about before.
Diabetics and Oral Health
There are more than 24 million diabetics and 57 million pre-diabetics in the United States, nearly a quarter of the nation's population. Never has it been more critical for Americans to understand the connection between dental health and diabetes. It is the sixth leading cause of death in the U. S. As many as 65% of deaths from diabetes are attributed to heart attack or stroke. Heart disease and stroke rates are as much as four times higher among diabetics. Every 21 seconds another diabetic is diagnosed. One in eight households contains a diabetic. The Center for Disease Control predicts that one in three children born after the year 2000 will become diabetic in their lifetime. Diabetes is a disease that accelerates aging.
* Diabetics are twice as likely to develop gum disease. This is especially true if your diabetes is not under control. The gum disease then worsens your diabetes through an automatic response that your body uses to fight infection says the American Academy of Periodontology.
* People with gum disease are 270% more likely to suffer a heart attack than those with healthy gums... from a study presented to the International Association of Dental research by R. Genco, editor emeritus, Journal of Periodontology.
* People who have diabetes and severe gum disease have a permature death rate nearly eight times highter than those who don't have periodontal disease.
* Those who have gum disease and diabetes together are more than three times likely to die of combined heart and kidney failure.
* In people who have type 2 diabetes, gum disease is a predictor of end-stage kidney disease.
* In people who have prediabetes-- blood glucose levels that are highter than normal but not in the diabetic range -- gum disease makes it more likely that they will become diabetic.
* Once established in a person who has diabetes, a chronic infection that causes gum disease makes it more difficult ot control diabetes, and increases damage and complications in blood vessel disease.
As frightening as this information is, proper oral health care can come to the rescue. Clinical studies confirm that treatment of gum disease reduces oral inflammation, which removes the factor that trigger the body's inflammatory response which, in turn, plays a major role in compounding the effects of diabetes. Dental treatments that fight gum infections also help improve control of blood sugar levels in diabetics.
If you are a prediabetic, your dentist may actually be able to help you prevent diabetes. If you already have diabetes, your dentist may be able to help you keep it under control, improve your quality of life and reduce the risk of premature death.
Even better news is that it is never too late to improve oral health care. Even if you already have severe gum disease or other dental problems, proper treatment can help you stop it in its tracks. In many cases, we can even reverse the damage done to your teeth and gums as well as help you manage the metabolic elements of diabetes. If you have not developed any symptoms of diabetes - related oral health problems, your dental team can start a prevention program that will help you stay in control of your diabetes and maintain better health and enjoy a preferred quality of life.
All a diabetic needs to do to get started is to make an appointment with your dentist. The best time to start is right now. Your oral health is much more import to your over-all well being than you ever thought!
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Need for Oral Cancer Screening
Many patients do not understand the need for regular checkups and cleanings. They do not realize that their dental professional is checking for more than caries (cavities) and cleaning their teeth. The oral cancer exam is part of a patient's regular checkup and takes a small amount of time to perform, yet is a very important part of a patient's regular dental visit.
Check out the facts below and see how many of them you already know about.
Do you know that…
… one American dies every hour of every day from oral Cancer?
…and that 25 percent of all oral cancer patients have none of the traditional risk factors we were all taught about in school?
…and that the fastest growing group of oral cancer patients is nonsmokers, under the age of 40, with females outnumbering males?
…and there is a proven link between oral cancer and human papilloma virus (HPV)?
…the mortality rate for oral cancer is 50 percent?
Now, do you see why regular checkups and cleaning appointments are so very important?
If there is found a small innocent-looking lesion, early detection of oral cancer can save your life and your dental office is where oral cancer is usually first suspected. It is not worth the risk of being wrong about an innocent-looking lesion. The worst thing that happens is that you find out something you suspected was nothing, really is nothing. The best thing that happens is that a lesion is removed when it is at stage I rather than at stage III or IV.
Let us help you by visiting our office for regular checkups and cleanings and if you suspect a place on your tongue or in your mouth call and have it checked out. We are now using the new Identafi 3000 for these oral cancer screenings. The cost for this screening is $35.00.