San Marcos Gentle Dental Blog

Cancer is a disease characterized by an abnormal growth and spread of malignant cells.  It can set up home in any part of your body–some areas being more susceptible to it than others.  While many types of cancer are often in the news–breast cancer, lung cancer, and skin cancer for example–one that is often overlooked is oral cancer, but can be just as serious.  Unfortunately, in the early stages, oral cancer is painless and therefore can go unnoticed.

As with many cancers the main thing to remember about oral cancer is that it can be cured if caught early and treated.  As a matter of fact, oral cancer has one of the highest cure rates of cancers!  This is why we perform an oral cancer screening at every dental hygiene (cleaning) appointment.

Dr. Donnelly is a member of the Board of Directors for the Jack T. Clark Foundation.  Their mission is to improve the public’s oral health by promoting early detection and prevention of oral cancer in conjunction with the education of patients and healthcare providers.  Oral cancer strikes an estimated 35,000 people annually in the United States.  A person dies from oral cancer in the U.S. once every hour of every day.  When detected early, the survival rate of oral cancer is 80-90%.  Unfortunately, the majority of cases are detected as late stage cancer, and the survival rate is currently only 45%.

While everyone should be concerned, smokers and heavy drinkers have the highest incidence of oral cancer.  Smokeless tobacco users also have a significantly higher risk.  The best way to reduce your risk is to stop these harmful habits.

Everyone is different, but there are some common warning signs and symptoms of oral cancer.  If you notice any of the following please contact your dentist for a screening immediately:

* A sore on your gums, lips, tongue or inside your cheek that doesn’t heal within two to three weeks.

* White, scaly patches inside your mouth or on your lips.  The patch may have a “leathery” appearance.

* Any unusual swelling or lump in your mouth, neck, tongue or lips.

* An unexplained numbness or pain in your mouth or throat.

* Repeated oral bleeding with no apparent cause.

Medical technology keeps moving at lightning speed, and the same is true for dentistry.  Just as you’ve heard about the use of lasers in medical care, these state-of-the-art machines are being used more in dentistry.  Laser dentistry minimizes bleeding as the high-energy light beam helps with quick blood clotting.  Bacterial infections are minimized because the laser beam sterilizes the area.  Damage to surrounding tissues is minimized as well, and wounds tend to heal faster.

Here are some ways we use lasers in the office to help our patients:

Hard Tissue (tooth) Laser Dentistry:

*There is a low intensity dental laser than can detect cavities even earlier.

*Hard tissue dental lasers may eliminate the need for a local anesthetic injection and the traditional turbine dental drill for some fillings and tooth preparation.

*Dental lasers may be used to seal tubules responsible for hot and cold tooth sensitivity.

Soft Tissue (gum) Laser Dentistry:

*Lasers may be used when crown lengthening is needed.  This is when gum tissue needs to be reshaped to expose healthier tooth structure.

*They can also be used to reshape gum tissue to expose healthy tooth structure and improve the appearance of gummy smile.

*A laser frenectomy helps children who are tongue tied and babies unable to breast feed adequately due to limited tongue movement.

*Denture wearers can benefit from dental lasers when they are used to painlessly remove soft tissue folds caused by ill-fitting dentures.

Other Dental Laser Uses:

*Lasers are being used to speed up certain whitening procedures.

*Dental lasers may be used to painlessly remove benign oral tumors.

*Low intensity dental lasers can be used to treat cold sores, reducing pain and shortening the heal time.

You know the problems with cavities, but are you aware of tooth erosion, another serious tooth problem?  Tooth erosion is the wearing away of the tooth’s enamel-the tooth’s outer coating that helps protect it. 

How Does This Happen?

When you consume carbonated beverages, fruit juice, or highly acidic foods, the acids attack tooth enamel.  The calcium in your saliva would normally help remineralize your teeth, but if you consume too much acid, it can’t keep up.  Acid attacks can come from a variety of sources:

*Carbonated beverages, even diet versions, contain a lot of acid and can quickly do serious damage.  It is worse when you drink large amounts or continuously throughout the day.

*Pure fruit juice has similar effects on your teeth because it also contains a lot of acid.

*Besides acids you ingest, there are also acid attacks from bulimia and acid reflux.  In both of these, the damage comes from stomach acids.

How do I Know if I’m Suffering from Tooth Erosion?

There are a wide range of signs and symptoms-from its early stages (sensitivity, discoloration, rounded teeth) to the later, more severe stages (cracks, severe sensitivity, cupping). 

Here is how they break down:

*Sensitivity-with the protection from enamel wearing away, you may feel pain when you consume hot, cold, or sweet foods and drinks.

*Discoloration-teeth can take on a yellow cast as the dentin layer of the teeth is exposed.

*Rounded teeth-you may notice your teeth have a rounded or “sand blasted” look.

*Transparency-your front teeth may become translucent near the biting edges.

*Advanced discoloration-as more of the enamel wears away, more of the dentin is exposed.

*Cracks-small cracks and roughness may appear at the edges of teeth.

*Severe sensitivity-sensitivity increases as more enamel is worn away.

*Cupping-small dents may appear on the chewing surface of the teeth; you may also notice fillings appearing to rise up out of the tooth.

When Can I Do?

You don’t have to accept tooth erosion as a fact of life.  There are lots of things you can do to avoid the damage altogether, or at least, to mitigate against it.  For instance, if you swear off carbonated beverages, you are avoiding that source of acid outright.  Short of that, you can reduce the damage from these tasty treats by doing things like:

*Drinking through a straw.  This helps limit contact between the acids and your teeth.  And don’t swish carbonated beverages around or hold them in your mouth for long periods.

*If you consume acidic food or drinks, rinse with water to neutralize the acids.  You should also wait an hour before brushing your teeth.

*Increase saliva production by chewing sugar-free gum.  This helps your teeth to remineralize.

*If you suffer from bulimia or acid reflux, see your doctor for help.

The thermometer outside is rising, and all you can think about is how good that chocolate ice cream cone or fruity popsicle is going to taste.  On a diet?  Then maybe it’s a glass of ice cold tea your mouth is watering over. 

You go inside, open the fridge, and prepare your cold treat.  But as soon as it hits your mouth….ouch!  Uh-oh, your teeth are temperature sensitive.

According to research, one of the causes of this frustrating problem can be found in the dentin tubules (tiny tube-like passageways) of the teeth.  The tubules in those with temperature sensitive teeth are larger than in those without a problem.  There is also a highly significant increase in the number of surface tubules in sensitive teeth compared with non-sensitive teeth.

There are other possible causes of tooth sensitivity as well.  You may be brushing too hard and damaging the enamel coating protecting your teeth.  If your gums are receding, exposing more of the tooth than normal, this too can lead to sensitive teeth.  If a single tooth is affected, come in immediately-that tooth may have a cavity, crack, or an old filling may be loose. 

You don’t have to suffer from this problem though.  If your teeth are overly sensitive, come in to the office right away.  We will perform a thorough examination to determine what is causing it and provide you with options to handle your sensitive smile.

Even the most diligent patients who practice thorough home hygiene can not get to every area bacteria and plaque can.  Getting below the gumline especially can be difficult.  We have seen patients with absolutely beautifully cleaned teeth-above the gumline-but with tarter building up below and out of sight.  This leads to one of the advantages to having the hygienist regularly cleaning your teeth.  She can see what you can’t.  From her bird’s eye view, she can see plaque and tartar building up in places you miss.

The tools we use are designed specifically for removing the hardened tartar.  Hygienists are trained to perform this type of removal without harming your gums.  This is very important!  The soft tissue of the gums can be easily damaged if you poke them or brush too vigorously.  This can expose the delicate roots of your teeth to more attack from plaque-causing bacteria.

How often you should come in for a professional dental cleaning depends on the health of your gums.  Some patients only need to be seen twice a year, but others need more frequent cleanings.

At your hygiene appointment, we check your gums for early signs of periodontal disease.  If caught early, the damage can be halted and treated before it leads to tooth loss and other serious health conditions.  For instance, studies are finding connections between periodontal disease and things like heart disease and stroke.  So don’t put off that professional teeth cleaning-for the health of your teeth, gums, and body.