Oral Cancer

February is Dental health month. I find myself thinking of the impact dentists can have on their patients lives. In my career I have found 3 lesions which were diagnosed as cancer. Fortunately they were all small and completely cured. Each of these cases were OUTSIDE of the mouth. Two were on the face one on the tip of an ear (one person was an extended family member). As dentists we share a very close and personal space with our patients, we may notice things others do not. In general we look for things that are Brown, Red, or White. We look for lumps or bumps and things that look like un-explained wounds. I read this morning on the Oral Cancer Foundation website http://oralcancerfoundation.org/facts/pdf/Us_Cancer_Facts.pdf that 1.47 million Americans developed cancer in 2009. Of those 71440 were oral cancer. That means about 10% of all cancers found in America are found in the mouth.

In my efforts to keep our patients healthy, I have purchased an oral cancer screening light.
I have attached a video of how it works but the summary is this: normal mucous membrane cells will fluoresce when certain wavelength light is shined on them. Abnormal cells will not reflect light, they will absorb it. This allows me to see a dark spot before a color change or other clinical sign of cancer appears. Having lost an aunt to breast cancer I have been too close to the fact that EARLIER IS BETTER.

TMJ Appliance part II

I have worn my night guard (created special to keep my jaw in the proper resting position) for two nights now. I noticed my muscles more at rest on morning one. For the second morning I realize that my jaw sits more forward with the new appliance. Due to my missing lateral incisors my top jaw is smaller than the bottom. This should be opposite in fact. My bottom jaw is then constantly held to far backward. This produces muscle stress which builds over time. It seems that this new appliance allows my bottom jaw to rest in a more forward position and my muscles are resting. In reference to my post yesterday, rest is good for the muscles of the face as well!

Sleep Apnea and the Dentist

Rest is a vital part of our general health. During the night our bodies repair our cells. Without proper rest even the mind suffers. Recognizing sleep deprivation is important for everyone especially those of us in health care. If you are feeling tired through the day, if you fall asleep during the day or if you feel a general mental cloudyness there is a chance you are not resting properly. Some of us just need to get an early night and ACTUALLY REST. At times we find that there are other underlying issues. Sleep Apnea is at times an unrecognized root cause. Sleep Apnea can be caused by many issues: be they genetic, small lower jaw size, excess weight, alcohol consumption etc. Apnea is occurs when during deep sleep the soft palate or the tongue touches the back of our throat. This stops air flow and thus stops oxygen from getting into the body. The lack of oxygen causes us to wake up just a little bit. We don't remember this happening but it stops rest. If this continues for a long time it can cause deadly health problems.

Sleep Apnea can be recognized by your dentist. If confirmed with a sleep study dentists can actually fabricate a special night-guard that can alleviate or improve symptoms. By holding the bottom jaw more forward we open the passageways that allow us to breathe. If we are breathing normally we are sleeping properly and resting properly. With proper rest we will remain healthy longer!

TMJ appliance

As the Hair Club president was also a client; so I must also tend to dental issues.
I am genetically missing a tooth. A lateral incisor to be exact. As a result my orthodontist did the best he could with a compromised situation. My jaw as you could imagine is not perfectly lined up. I wear a night guard and this helps greatly. It relieves the clicking and popping. The guard buffers improper pressures and helps to relax the muscles. I have taken a course on such problems and learned to take specific measurements and realign the jaw. Today I received my new "Digitally Corrected" night guard. By placing the jaw in a corrected position (allowing my muscles to relax) I should help relieve muscle tension and jaw stiffness. I will wear it tonight and give feedback as to what I am feeling.

New Office Photo

This coming week I will be mounting a six foot version of this photograph in our reception area.
I took this just after our big "pre-Christmas" snow storm this year.

this is a link to the Flickr site in case you cannot see it here.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4001/4270968661_c4dac7964c_o.jpg

I suppose the bridge motif is echoed within the dental profession :)

Thyroiditis

Today we had a patient return to thank us for referring her to an ENT.
She had a sore throat for weeks. Her physician had her on antibiotics but with no help.
On her dental examination we noted that she had swelling in her neck (near her Adam's Apple).
It turns out that her sore throat was due to Thyroiditis. An endocrinologist who completed a blood work up which diagnosed the condition. Fortunately the Thyroiditis resolved on its own.