The dental school at UCSF published an interesting article yesterday that discusses the side effects of radiation therapy for head/neck cancers--namely the loss of saliva production. However, they've been able to rebuild these structures again in mice--hopefully success in human study participants will follow one day! In the meantime, those who've undergone this kind of treatment still have to deal with permanent dry mouth. Why is this such a problem? They've exchanged one oral health problem for another. Even if oral cancer goes into remission, permanent dry mouth means that individuals don't have the body's natural mouth-cleaning agent anymore; and, they may need to stay on medication to mitigate the possibility of tooth decay and periodontal disease. Dry mouth is just one "small" issue of oral cancer, patients my have to undergo treatments to remove portions of their tongue, voicebox, or even jaw tissue. Because oral cancer can cause such devastating effects, even after treatment, patients--especially high-risk seniors--need to know what they are facing and what to look for:
You can learn more about oral cancer screenings at dentaloasisofoc.com/preventive-dentistry/oral-cancer-screenings/ Even though this cancer is common in seniors (and those who drink or smoke heavily), the good news is that it doesn't have to get out of hand. Dental prevention is key. So what's the bad news? The bad news is that only a minuscule amount of American seniors actually has dental care that could help prevent cancer:
Dentists and insurance providers should work closely with their patients on flexible payment plans and policies. And patients need to be educated and more concerned about their oral health as they age. No one should have to suffer such severe symptoms and treatments when they could have easily been checked out by a dentist in the beginning! The article Seniors Should Focus on Oral Cancer Prevention is courtesy of: Dental Oasis Dental Blog Dental Oasis Of Orange County 7777 Edinger Ave #232 Huntington Beach, CA 92647 (714) 894-7700 [email protected] Google My Business Listing Google Map Directions to our office Yelp Page via Blogger Seniors Should Focus on Oral Cancer Prevention
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