Part 2: Build the Microscopic Army in Your Mouth to Fight Oral Cancer and Improve Dental Health

Posted on May 7, 2021May 20, 2021 by Cass Nelson-Dooley MS

Last week in part 1, oral cancer was defined with a potential cause being oral dysbiosis identified. This week, I will give supporting evidence of this connection along with strategies to avoid this dysbiosis. When we talk about an unhealthy microbiome, we often use the word, “dysbiosis.” Oral dysbiosis is a mouth that is unhealthy because the microorganisms are out of balance. An imbalanced microbiome may lead to symptoms or disease. Symptoms of Oral Dysbiosis: Bad breath Blee...

Part 1: Build the Microscopic Army in Your Mouth to Fight Oral Cancer and Improve Dental Health

Posted on April 30, 2021April 30, 2021 by Cass Nelson-Dooley MS

Oral Cancer Is No Match for a Healthy Oral Microbiome Fostering a healthy oral microbiome can fight oral and other cancers. That’s nothing to say for its benefits on cavities, root canal infections, and gum disease. Your friendly bacteria protect you from disease, fight tumors, cool off inflammation, and boost your immune system. Who wouldn’t want this army of microscopic warriors on their side?! In this two-part blog, you will learn that cancers can be caused by bacteria, viruses, ...

Side Effects Support LLC

Posted on April 17, 2020May 20, 2021 by Jill Meyer-Lippert RDH

As I started my first job in dentistry, my mother received a breast cancer diagnosis and suffered horribly with oral side effects from chemotherapy. Her pain from severe dry mouth and mouth sores (oral mucositis) was dismissed by her oncology team as “just part of treatments.” She received no guidance on how to prevent or reduce her discomfort and there were no oral care strategies implemented to prevent long-term damage to her dental health. Through questioning other cancer survivors, I le...

Relapsed Periodontal Maintenance Patient with Breast Cancer

Posted on November 15, 2019May 20, 2021 by Maria Teague RDH

Challenge: A periodontal maintenance patient of record presented past due for recare. The initial exam revealed signs of active periodontal disease indicating that the patient is no longer in periodontal remission. Medically, the patient is undergoing treatment for breast cancer. Background: A 54-year-old female patient of record, with history of successful periodontal therapy, has relapsed due to missed recare and decreased oral home care. A diagnosis of breast cancer in Spring 2019 has ...

How do you speak Risk of Cancer and Periodontal Disease with your patients?

Posted on September 6, 2019May 20, 2021 by Michael C. Rogers, DDS

Dr McGlennen: Cancer is a word that receives a lot of attention. There are walks, runs and bike rides every day to raise awareness of various types of cancers and billions of dollars are spent on research directed to improve diagnosis and treatments. As health care professionals, we should perform a cancer risk assessment for each patient with a goal to reduce the patient’s risk and to find cancers earlier when cure is more likely. One way that the dental office can contr...