Archive for March, 2007
March 30, 2007 at 9:15 pm by Ian Kerr
Filed under Dental Research Update
The statistics on oral cancer do not make very comfortable reading. The number of cases diagnosed annually is increasing whilst the survival rate (50%) has not improved for the last few decades. In Europe over 100,000 cases are diagnosed each year and in the UK alone over 1500 people each year die from this condition.
The increases in the disease that we have seen are not entirely attributable to the usual risk factors of smoking and alcohol use and so research in to the condition has now expanded to include areas such as diet, human papillomavirus and genetics. One piece of good news that has come out of this research is that regular daily portions of fruit and vegetables can half your risk of developing this disease. This evidence comes in the form of an exhaustive review of sixteen separate studies involving over 5,000 individuals and was reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. This research built on earlier work begun by the World Cancer Research Fund and showed that each portion of fruit or vegetable consumed per day reduced the risk of oral cancer by 50%
Although the overall survival rates for oral cancer are poor they can be significantly increased by early detection. Listed below are the signs to look out for, all of which should be checked for by your dentist at every review. At StoneRock Dental Care we provide cancer screening for every patient, which takes less than two minutes and is entirely painless. If you have concerns about this condition and would like to find out more then please do not hesitate to call the surgery and we will be happy to help you.
Signs and Symptoms of Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer
1.A sore or ulcer in the mouth that does not heal within three weeks
2. A lump or overgrowth of tissue anywhere in the mouth
3. A white or red patch on the gums, tongue, or lining of the mouth
4. Difficulty in swallowing
5. Difficulty in chewing or moving the jaw or tongue?
6. Numbness of the tongue or other area of the mouth
7. A feeling that something is caught in the throat
8. A chronic sore throat or hoarseness that persists more than six weeks, particularly smokers over 50 years old and heavy drinkers
9. Swelling of the jaw that causes dentures to fit poorly or become uncomfortable
10. Neck swelling present for more than three weeks
11. Unexplained tooth mobility persisting for more than three weeks - see a dentist urgently
12. unilateral nasal mass / ulceration / obstruction, particularly associated with purulent or bloody discharge
March 26, 2007 at 10:17 pm by Ian Kerr
Filed under Behind the Headlines
An article in last Saturday’s Times 2 section (Saturday 17th March 2007) highlighted an example of how it is possible for some people to be miserable about just about anything. The article in question revolved about the columnists “dilemma” over what to do about the free whitening treatment she had received as a raffle prize.
According to the lady in question her friends were trying to put her off by telling them horror stories of painful treatments and shocking results - one of her friends complained her teeth were too white and another mentioned some sensitivity. Clearly her friends were of the “only happy when they’re miserable” brigade and can’t wait to tell people how bad things are because the truth is whitening is an amazing step forward in dentistry that allows patients a chance to dramatically alter their smile with no damage to the teeth and relatively minimal cost.
I am currently whitening my teeth which will take 2 weeks of night time use of whitening trays followed by a single use of the more concentrated gel for one hour, at the surgery. I am one week into the work and the effects are already apparent. I am getting some sensitivity but this is controlled by Sensosdyne Toothpaste and some desensitising varnish provided by the manufacturer.
Personally I can’t wait to see the finished result and am delighted that I no longer have to tolerate yellow teeth in my photos. (I’ll post them when it’s finished). No doubt if I had been a reporter getting it done for free I would have not been so happy about it, but fortunately I won’t have to face that terrible dilemma
March 26, 2007 at 10:00 pm by Ian Kerr
Filed under General
Now I know I will never convince anyone that modern dentistry is cheap but in terms of value for money I think we occasionally do have a drum to bang. So please let me bang mine just a little!
I recently completed a fibre reinforced direct white filling for a patient that restored the tooth at less than half the price of crown. The total fee for the work was £235 and the patient very reasonably asked how long they could expect it to last. I explained that it is very difficult to give accurate figures but a reasonable guess would be 8 to 10 years with normal use and good daily maintenance. The patient seemed a little disappointed at this and wondered why it wouldn’t last for life. This is not an uncommon question and one I do find a little surprising. I have tried to think of any other goods or commodities that we buy for under £250 and then use all day every day for 10 years and expect it to last with out fail for this time or longer. My guess is that anything that does this is the exception and certainly not the norm.
When the author John Mortimer was asked in interview what, if anything, had improved over the last 50 years; he paused for a while and answered “dentistry”. I think he was right! We have come an incredibly long way over this time and have made huge improvements in both prevention and cure. I know that the price of the work can seem daunting on occasions but for long term value for money we are quite often in a class of out own.
PS This article was written just after receiving a legal bill for the costs of setting up the new partnership and may have been prompted by the jaw droppingly large some of money that this represented.
March 26, 2007 at 9:53 pm by Ian Kerr
Filed under Dental Research Update
One of the re-occurring arguments against saving infected teeth is that the infection from the tooth may, in the long-term lead to problems else where in the body. This argument has been around since the 1930’s and is often called the “focal point infection” debate.
When a tooth has an infection it can be treated with a root canal filling (endodontics), which in over 90% of cases will lead to the complete resolution of the infection. Sadly, however, in a small number of cases the infection can remain, which is where the debate arises. It has been argued that the presence of this chronic infection can lead, to amongst other things, coronary heart disease at a later stage in life. Well we can all now breath a collective sigh of relief as a 32 year follow up study of 708 men showed no such link (J Dental research 2006). In reality this is no great surprise as the “focal point infection” argument has never really found support in any research but has always hung around in the background, occasionally making a come back.
The risk to patients of acute, untreated dental infection is very real and significant (I had to arrange for an emergency hospitalisation of a very sick patient last year who presented with a severe dental abscess) and should receive appropriate care as soon as possible. People should not be put off getting the correct dental treatment for any fear of possible long-term outcomes of that treatment.
If you would like to know more about root canal fillings and how they might help relieve your dental pain or infection then please do not hesitate to call the surgery and we will be happy to help.
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