Mouth Cancer Case Study

“The impact of unmet oral health care needs is magnified by the well-established connection between oral health and overall health” (Fineberg, H. 2011, p. ix). Oral health status is linked with general health, as evidenced by the association between poor oral health and chronic diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory disease. Poor oral hygiene can also lead to other health issues such as, oral facial pain and digestive problems. “The silent epidemic of oral diseases disproportionately affects disadvantaged communities,

Sometimes a tooth extraction may be necessary. Dental decay can take hold of a tooth and damage it beyond repair. If not decay, then it could be an overcrowded mouth deeming a necessary extraction to make proper room for your teeth and improve on your overall smile.

Other factors that play a role in poor oral care is being disabled and homebound because this also leads to not seeking any oral care. There is Medicaid for individuals 65 and above to get insurance for dental care, however the reimbursements for care are very low and does not cover the entire cost of the treatment. According to the Division of Oral health (2013), “About 25 percent of adults 60 years old and older no longer have any natural teeth.’’ The elderly being toothless indicates a problem with nutrition because being toothless affects mechanical digestion of food. Toothlessness causes the elderly to prefer soft chewable foods and might not prefer to eat essential foods such as fruits, lean meats, poultry, fish, and legumes. Additionally, according to the Division of Oral health (2013), “Oral and pharyngeal cancers, which are diagnosed in some 31,000 Americans each year, result in about 7,400 deaths each year.” The elderly make up the majority of these diagnosed cancers, and these cases are related to smoking and the use of alcohol. The prognosis for this type of cancer is low, with a five-year survival rate for whites being about 56% and African americans being only about 34%. In addition, many older Americans are have polypharmacy therapy, and medication can cause dry mouth. “The reduction of the flow

This first article provides an introduction to the topic by discussing the general and oral health statistics relating to smokers as compared with non-smokers. The second article provides some recommendations for those addicted to tobacco-smoking and the third addresses some of the questions dentists in Arlington Texas are frequently asked about oral health and

Oral cancer is a devastating disease. Over eight thousand American lives are taken by oral cancer and only a fourth of these patients do not excessively drink alcohol or smoke tobacco, which are the two main causes of oral cancer (The Oral Cancer Foundation). Survival rates for oral cancer could be much higher if the population would take precautionary measures to reduce their chances of being diagnosed with oral cancer. When the use of alcohol and tobacco are decreased, the chances of acquiring oral cancer are also decreased. By visiting the dentist at least once every year, new lesions could be found. Unfortunately, only seven percent of the population, who visits the dentist regularly, receives a thorough oral cancer exam(The Oral

2. The increased cancer risk associated with gum disease did not show any difference between smokers and non-smokers.

III. The rise in the number of cases of oral cancer are being diagnosed in young adults and can are directly related to lifestyle choices.

In an attempt to compare the status of oral health between the African American, American-Indian communities and the white population, the researchers carried out their research in the rural counties of North Carolina. The participant pool consisted of 635 people who were aged 60 and above. They carried out their research using different methods like oral examination, cross sectional studies and self reports from the participants. Through their findings, the researchers came into the conclusion that the participants from ethnic minority groups showed significantly poor oral health as compared to the white population. This included results from the oral examinations that the researchers conducted as long as the self reports from the participants. They also concluded that although most of the oral health conditions were related to the socioeconomic status of the participants, the oral health deficits in these populations were also related to the chronic diseases and their risk factors.

But before prevention is knowledge. For you to be properly oriented about oral cancer, here are some facts about the disease.

Though no exact cause for oral cancers is known, the American Cancer Society says that smoking or use of other tobacco products, heavy drinking and human papillomavirus infections have been shown to increase the risk of developing oral cancer. The use of alcohol and tobacco together increases the risk of oral cancer more than for people who don’t use alcohol or tobacco. Stopping the use of alcohol and tobacco products is the first step in decreasing your chances of developing oral cancer. Seeing your dentist regularly can help to detect any problems while they’re in the early stages.

It important to have good dental health, brushing and flossing daily leads to a happy, healthy mouth. However, many people do not realize unhealthy teeth covered in plaque can possibly contribute to issues that affect the rest of the body such as cancer. There is a link between the health of a person’s mouth and the condition of their body.

Oral potentially malignant disorder (OPMD) is a common term suggested to replace oral pre-cancer, Including both oral precancerous lesions and oral Precancerous conditions. All oral lesions that carry a risk of malignant transformation are included under this term. Oral submucos fibrosis in of the oral potentially malignant disorders3.

Oral cancer is considered to be any cancer that affects the head or neck with the exclusion of the brain. According to The Oral Cancer Foundation, over 43 thousand people will be diagnosed with oral cancer yearly and of that number over 8 thousand of these cases will result in death (Hill, Deitz, & Sax, 2014, p. para 1). Oral cancer consists of squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, lymphoma, and benign oral cavity tumors. Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common type of oral cancer and is responsible for at least 90% of all oral cancers (Ignatavicius & Workman, 2013, p. 1196). Oral cancer is initially formed by an

October 2011 was a strange month. On October 5th, the world learned that Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, died after a long bout with pancreatic cancer. A week later, on October 12th, a Swedish study linked variations in oral bacterial populations with pancreatic cancer. This discovery surprised the author of this article-a Boston dentist. On October 20th, American researchers reported that gum disease may be associated with breast cancer. With all these reports linking gum disease to overall health, we need to look at the facts.

This section will discuss the background of the issue in question. The section will also provide a rationale for the selection of this topic for study. Oral health problems are common in most countries with some countries like the United States of America recording over 500 million patients each year (Larsen, 2009). Despite the fact that most problems related to oral health are preventable using simple measures, many people incur huge costs treating these problems when they occur. Problems related to oral health range from dental caries to oral cancer. Dentists have identified more than 120 health conditions that are directly related to oral health. Some of these conditions are health threatening, although they are