Apr 20, 2016
Our teeth are under constant threat by the hazards that lead to periodontal disease: sugar and bacteria. For smokers, these threats become magnified by a factor of four! That’s right, smokers are four times more likely to develop periodontal disease, also known as gum disease. What’s more, once you have gum disease, smoking makes it harder for treatments to manage it.
The link between cigarette smoke and cancer is well known. With respect to oral health, this includes all oral cancers. Smoking increases the chances of developing oral leukoplakia, which has the appearance of thick, white patches along the gums, tongue, or cheeks. If you’re a smoker and you’ve noticed these white patches, it’s important that you try to stop smoking and consult your dentist or physician. If you continue smoking, leukoplakia could lead to mouth, tongue, or throat cancer.
Smoking can also affect the beauty of your smile. The same plaque and tartar buildup that can lead to gum disease can also make your teeth look unattractive. Smoking also leads to yellowing of the teeth and bad breath, which can impact your self confidence in addition to your smile.
If you are concerned about the impact smoking has had on your teeth, call us today to schedule an appointment.
smoking and dental hygiene oral cancer awareness month
Apr 28, 2014
Are you a daily mouthwash user? Are you using mouthwash more than once a day? If so, you may be interested to know that a recent study suggests that the frequent usage of alcohol-based mouthwashes can be bad for your health. In fact, there may be a “link between excessive mouthwash rinsing and people who use it to mask the small of smoking and alcohol,” both of which are independent risk factors for oral cancer.
The study, which was undertaken in order to isolate risk factors for oral cancers affecting the mouth, esophagus, larynx, and gullet, was not entirely conclusive in its findings, according to Professor Damien Walmsley, who is an adviser to the British Dental Association. However, he also stated that the study does “reaffirm that smoking together with heavy drinking and a poor diet over time are strong risk factors for developing cancers of the oral cavity and esophagus.”
Though the results of such studies have yet to produce a strong enough association between oral cancer and alcohol-based mouthwashes to be considered conclusive, we at FDA prefer to err on the side of caution. We provide a mouth rinse in our office that is alcohol-free, called Closys, and we’re also in the process of adding a new, all-herbal rinse as well.
Apr 28, 2014
In observation of Oral Cancer Awareness Month, we wanted to provide you with some information about the human papillomavirus (HPV) and oral cancer and the links between the two.
There are more than 40 types of HPV that can affect the mouth and throat areas, most of which congregate near the base of the tongue and tonsil area, known as the “oropharynx.” HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in the United States, but only HPV type 16 has been found in oropharyngeal cancer.
The human body typically fights off the HPV infection naturally, but the infection has the potential to turn regular cells in infected skin into irregular cells—sometimes irreversibly so. According to the U.S. Center for Disease Control, “about 7% of people have oral HPV,” and of that number, “only 1% of people have the type of oral HPV that is found in oropharyngeal cancers.”
