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Symptoms And Treatment Of Cardiac Surgery

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When a patient is seen for his or her routine dental examination, these are some of the major points involved. First: The patient is asked to fill out a recent medical questionnaire. In most cases this is a verbal confirmation, where the patient is asked about recent health concerns, changes or new medications. The oral area cannot be separated from the general health of a patient. A recent heart problem should be addressed, as there could be dental / general health ramifications. For example, cardiac surgery may involve premedication with antibiotics, as a thorough dental cleaning could cause oral bacteria to enter the circulatory system. This can cause potentially serious problems in areas where recent scar tissue has formed. As well …show more content…

She / he can often detect cavities through the manual act of scaling. When the dentist comes for the exam phase, the hygienist will be able to supplement this exam with observations that he/she has seen. This team work helps a patient achieve the greatest of care. The dentist will physically touch each tooth with a sharp instrument called an 'explorer" This can show if an area of concern is in fact decay or just a stain. An interesting addition to the dental exam is a laser instrument that can detect decay. One model is a Diagnodent. It emits a low power laser beam which is directed, from close distance, to the tooth surface. Some of the light reflects back and is read by the instrument. The nature of the reflected light will signify a possible decay. This has been an excellent way of detecting decay before it gets larger.

The dentist will also do, what is termed,a soft tissue exam. The tongue, cheeks, palate, upper throat, and gum tissues are examined for any problems. Of special concern are smokers, who do have a tendency to have more intra-oral cancers. As well the neck from the collar bone to the chin is examined for any hard lesions. The dentist is looking for cysts, signs of infection and cancers.

The gums are given a thorough exam both visually and with an instrument called a probe, which is demarcated in millimeters. A normal gum pocket, the area around the teeth, is 3 mm. In gum disease some pockets can range to 10 mm. In such severe cases the patient is

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