Dentists Play Pivotal Role in Looking for Oral Cancer

Written by Dentistry TodayTuesday, 10 April 2012 10:51



Regular dental visits may be the best way to detect oral cancer, according to the Academy of General Dentistry.

It’s best for people to visit a dentist once every six months based on the recommendation of the Academy of General Dentistry. This issue is being discussed now because April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month.

A dentist may check for lumps or obscure tissue changes in the neck area, head, cheeks and oral cavity. The dentist will also look to see if there are any sores or tissues that are discolored.

More than 30,000 new cases of oral cancer are diagnosed in the United States each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 8,000 of those people die from oral cancer. The five-year survival rate from oral cancer stands at 50 percent.

Like many forms of cancer, the key in treating oral cancer is diagnosing it early enough before it spreads.

Some of the warning signs include bleeding sores in the mouth, sores that don’t heal, lumps in the mouth, a feeling that something is caught in the throat, trouble chewing or swallowing, and many other symptoms. The worries associated with these symptoms can be eased by simply visiting the dentist on a regular basis.

Women in 40s Impacted by Dental Phobia

Written by Dentistry TodayFriday, 13 April 2012 07:25



Women older than 40 are often scared to visit the dentist.

A University of Sydney study came to this conclusion after conducting research among a wide range of age groups. The research had been happening for five years. The conclusion was that women in the 40-plus age range had the greatest chance to be struck by depression and anxiety regarding dental visits.

The study also determined that 40 percent of people in the western world experience some type of fear when visiting the dentist.

The study analyzed the differences among the people who didn’t have a fear of the dentist and people who feared the dentist among patients in Australia in reference to how long they would wait before contacting the dentist. People without a fear of the dentist generally waited 3 days before contacting the dentist about a problem. The people who feared dental visits waited about 17 days before calling the dentist.

There are other studies, like one that the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine did, that indicated that around 30 to 40 million Americans don’t go to the dentist. These people will do anything to avoid going to the dentist because of their fear.

New Test Could Enable Dentists to Detect Oral Cancer Faster

Written by Dentistry TodayTuesday, 17 April 2012 15:20



It’s possible that it may take only 20 minutes to diagnose oral cancer.

The new test involves the dentist collecting stem cells from the patients’ mouths and then utilizing a computer program to analyze the diagnosis one way or the other. The whole process takes 20 minutes, light years ahead of the current methods, which include taking a biopsy and then awaiting the results from a lab. The results may not be in for roughly two to three weeks.

Researchers from the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom and researchers from Rice University have been working on a two-year trial. If the trial is a success, the new method will first be utilized in the UK.

The test uses small sensors and biologic agents that are attached to a portable machine. The actual testing device, known as lab on a chip, is about the size of a credit card. The test can be used in dental practices, providing dentists with the opportunity to test for oral cancer at their practice. The patients wouldn’t have to be anxious about the results for a period weeks and, instead, could learn the results that day.

There are 275 people who have signed up for the trial in the UK. There were 20 of those patients that tested positive for oral cancer and didn’t know they had the disease. The current rate of survival for oral cancer (50 percent) may receive a huge increase because of this test. Early treatment of oral cancer can result in about a 90-percent survival rate.

Professor Martin Thornhill, one of the leaders of the study, thinks the test will become a standard part of dentistry in the UK during the next five years. The test is useful because it can test patients who come in for a basic dental checkup or those patients that have an ulcer, a lesion or some reason to suspect they may have oral cancer. Oral cancer can be confirmed or ruled out in a matter of minutes based on this test.