Check Your Mouth Save Your Life

The Canadian Cancer Society statistics for 2017 estimated the percent distribution of oral cancer cases to be 9^th overall for males and 14^th for females. The    lifetime probability of developing oral cancer was estimated at 1 in 68 for males and 1 in 136 for females. The Check Your Mouth™ campaign features an interactive website (www.checkyourmouth.org) that offers easy-to-use tools and tips for a quick visual and tactile examination of the oral cavity.  Individuals can learn to self-discover the early symptoms of disease and then seek further evaluation from a dental professional if necessary. Caught early, every negative part of this; from treatments to ultimate outcome, are lessened in severity.

They are going to show you how to do easily routine self-exam in about 5-10 minutes once a month.

Video is available at: http://checkyourmouth.org/#!/video

Periodontal Disease can easily recur.

The bacteria which cause periodontal disease are always present in your mouth, and are constantly attacking the teeth and gums. Continual maintenance is an absolute necessity to insure that periodontal problems do not begin again, There is scientific evidence that the most important aspect of periodontal treatment is the MAINTENANCE THERAPY.

BUT EVERYTHING FEELS FINE TO ME

When periodontal disease recurs following treatment, it almost always does so without bothering the patient. The disease may progress much more rapidly and destructively if left unmaintained. If a person waits for his gums to bother him before he returns to the maintenance therapy, many times the problem is beyond successful treatment.

WHAT OCCURS DURING PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE THERAPY APPOINTMENTS?

Evaluate the health of you gums tissues and check for any signs of the disease returning. Monitor your periodontal status by performing pocket depth measurements. Remove harmful deposits (calculus, plaque) from the tooth surface above and below the gum line.

HOW OFTEN ARE THESE MAINTENANCE APPOINTMENTS NECESSARY?

Everyone responds differently and therefore each patient has a different need for MAINTENACE TREATMENT. The frequency of these appointments depends upon the degree of residual pocket depth following treatment, the effectiveness of one’s plaque control, and individual susceptibility. It has been shown that those bacteria causing gum disease can recur below the gum line within a three month period. For this reason, periodontal patients should be seen every three months Circumstances beyond one’s control (e.g. illness) compromise one’s ability to clean resulting in increased plaque and calculus have accumulated.

NATURAL RESISTANCE OR SUSCEPTIBILITY

Most people have a varying resistance to the disease at different times in their lives. A person’s resistance may be normal for years and then resistance may diminish. No matter what your susceptibility or resistance, proper PERIODONTAL MAINTENANCE CARE will slow down or arrest periodontal disease.

Fact: bacterial conditions in the mouth can adversely affect the entire body.

New information about this “oral-systemic link” is changing the way dentists, dental hygienist, doctors and patients view oral health. We know now that oral infections have a role in heart disease and stroke, diabetes, respiratory illness and pregnancy outcomes.

Physicians and dental providers are aware that even mild oral infections can trigger adverse changes in other areas of the body. For example, oral bacteria with a certain genetic structure will invade the blood vessels to the heart and form clogging plaques. “Patients with moderate to severe periodontitis should be informed that there may be an increased risk for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease associated with periodontitis.” The American Journal of Cardiology (July 2009). This is a very important discovery.

Clearly the mouth is the “gateway” to the rest of the body. This means that anyone with an oral infection – e.g. bleeding gums, halitosis, gum disease etc – is at a much higher risk for more serious problems involving the entire body. Therefore the best way to stay healthy is to control and eliminate oral infection by regular dental hygiene appointment and proper home care.