Oral Cancer Update New Technology with Cork Dentist.

Oral Cancer Facts.

Oral cancer kills one American every hour annually.

42,000 people were diagnosed in 2013 in the US, out of a population of 380 Million this is thankfully only 0.13%.

However the incidence has increased the last 5 Years in a row which is a trend that other cancers thankfully do not show with most declining.

Oral Cancer Mortality Rates are also higher than Cervical, Hodgkins Lymphoma, Laryngeal and Testicular cancer to name a few.

Most Cancers are picked up visually in Dental Exams or the now annual Oral Screenings. Unfortunately most Cancers at this stage are Stage III or IV reflected in the Mortality rates.

Oral Cancer Diagnosed USA :

 2011 25,000,  2012 32,000,  2013 42,000

Cervical Cancer Diagnosed 2013 10,300

From these figures We Can See that it’s an Issue needing to be addressed.

Oral Cancer Risks.

60% of Cancers are diagnosed in 4 Risk areas.

1. Excessive Alcohol Consumption. ( Alcohol in Mouthwash )
2. Smoking. ( Including Smoke Free e.g Oral Snuff/Tobacco)
3. Age : 40 Years +
4. Previous Cancer Experience.

A New 5th area gives rise to increasing concern HPV (Human Papilloma Virus), I’ll devote the next page to this.

Also be Aware that 40% of cases are not related to the risk factors above, Thus we all need to be aware.

In general Men are Twice as likely this to develop than Women.

Survival Rates:

Stage I/II : 80/90% Survival over 5 Years.

Stage III : 56% Survival over 5 Years

Stage IV : 34% Survival over 5 Years.

Thus it is Early Diagnosis and not Surgery, Radiation or Chemotherapy that is likely to influence Surviving a diagnosis of Oral Cancer.

HPV

The Human Papilloma Virus is a virus that can infect the epithelial cells of Skin and Mucosa. Three out of 4 people will be infected in their lifetime and luckily 99% of these clear without consequence.

2 Particular strains out of about 200 strains of HPV,

HPV 16 and HPV 18 cause both Cervical and Oral/OroPharyngeal cancers.

There is a Vaccine Gardasil that can prevent infection.

This risk factor is the one growing at an alarming rate.

It needs to be addressed by both the Medical and Dental community and also Us as parents with Teenagers and Young Adults. We need to have that uncomfortable talk that Sexual Contact can pass on the Virus even through the so called “Safe Sex” that many young people believe Oral Sex to be can result in contracting HPV and Oral Cancer.

If You require further details on this Speak with Dr Seward, We have brochures dealing with this area and You can get further information from  www.oralcancerfoundation.org

Positive News.

As pointed out earlier the incidence is low but growing.

The most important thing is early diagnosis and now We can introduce the latest equipment in detecting Oral Cancer earlier. We can now Screen with Fluorescence which can detect abnormalities in the Oral Mucosa using a small Laser Torch. It’s quick ( 2/3 Minutes ), Non Invasive ( just Shine it on the Mucosa ) and totally painless.

While it’s not diagnostic of a cancer it has been proven to pick up Stage I and Stage II lesions thus increasing survival rates.

We can incorporate this into Your annual Mouth Exam to bring more certainty and potentially save lives.

Sometimes we will repeat the Exam 2 Weeks later as often burns or trauma show as suspicious and repeating will usually show this cleared up. In cases where We are concerned We will refer for Specialist advice and any necessary treatment.

Please don’t hesitate to ask Dr Seward for advice, Queries in any matter regarding Oral Cancer.

We’re proud to be the 1st Dental Practice outside the USA

to offer Oral ID technology.

Xylitol as a Natural Tooth Decay Prevention.

Following on from My last Blog I'm going to introduce the Protective Factors Week on Week that You can use to help Prevent the Devastating Chronic disease that is Tooth Decay.
Xylitol is a Sugar Alcohol and is a natural product, We actually make Xylitol in the Human Body during the Kreb's Cycle.
Most Xylitol comes from the Birch Tree in Finland but China now has developed a mechanism of extracting from Grass so We can be assured of Supplies into the future and probably less expensive as well.
Most of us are aware of Xylitol in Sugar Free Gum. Unfortunately other Sugars in Sugar Free Gum such as Sorbitol and Mannitol are converted to acid by the bacteria that cause Tooth Decay so it's essential to Choose a Xylitol only Gum or other form of confectionery to gain the benefits of Xylitol.
These benefits include reduced decay as the bacteria cannot metabolize the Xylitol and are eliminated from the mouth. There is also evidence that Xylitol reduces the formation of Glucans in the Dental Plaque making it less easy for bacteria to adhere to the teeth.
Back as far as 1976 in Turku in Finland a Study showed not only decay reductions but reversal of Minimal decayed spots in teeth, i.e the teeth healed with Xylitol in the diet.
In 2000 in the Journal of Dental Research Soderling showed that Pregnant Mothers incorporating Xylitol into their diet reduced their levels of Streptococcus Mutans,  one of the main acid producing bacteria in the Mouth. Following on from this he showed that the Children of these Mums had much less Bacteria and subsequently less decay. Another effect was a reduction in middle ear infections in these same cohort of Children.
The recommended intake of Xylitol is 6 to 10 grams a day to be effective and many specialist confectioners make gums,chocolates and Candies that are Good For Your Teeth.
So here at CorkDental.com your Cork City Dentist says Certain Sweets are Good for Your Teeth!
We're working with one of these to be the distributors for a great Range of Healthy Tooth Friendly sweets that We'll be incorporating into our new Preventive Regime that we'll be rolling out before the end of 2013.

Next Blog I'll focus on the Bacteria and ways We can focus on changing our bad bacteria to good healthy non acid producing bacteria another piece in the No Decay Jigsaw. 

Cork City Dentist introduces new Approach to Treating Tooth Decay.

To date most dentists have treated the effects of Tooth Decay or Dental Caries rather than the disease itself.
The effects can be devastating especially in Young Children, resulting often in Phobic patients.
We know that only 50% of the population regularly attend the dentist. Many others only attend when it's too late and extraction, Root Canal Treatment or costly crown and bridgework are needed.
Now we are introducing a new concept where patients can treat the disease itself and reduce the effects.
Dr., Seward recently completed a training course with Professor John Featherstone from the University of California San Francisco.
Having Met Prof., Featherstone in 2006 at the World Congress of Minimally Invasive Dentistry in Seattle and keeping in touch with him in the intervening Years
Dr., Seward had been changing his approach to this disease. Now with this new information we will be implementing the CAMBRA (Caries Management by Risk Assessment) philosophy into our practice.
We will be utilising cutting edge research to help our patients reduce the effects of Tooth Decay and have healthier mouths with less need for us to intervene.
We will be educating our patients to the cause bad acid producing bacteria and showing how Caries is a transmissible disease and introducing the use of a regime depending on what category of risk, low, medium, high or extreme you fall into.
Use of antimicrobial rinses, Xylitol,Effective Oral hygiene  , Ozone and Fluoride along with Education will help Patients help themselves to reduce greatly and hopefully eradicate the need for us to drill, fill or God forbid extract teeth.
In many cases treating Expectant Mothers can reduce the effects on the newborn by ensuring that they have a healthy bacterial flora and reducing the need for dental intervention.
Contact Us for details of this Programme or to invite Dr., Seward to speak to interested groups.

Cork City Dentist Speaks on Ozone use in Dentistry.

Cork City Dentist Speaks on Ozone Use In Dentistry and Medicine.

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What is Ozone?

                      Ozone is energized Oxygen, Oxygen

exists in the molecular form O2 as two atoms of Oxygen. Ozone occurs in nature after a lightning storm as O3 molecular form, 3 atoms of Oxygen.

It is very reactive and as a gas breaks down quickly into Oxygen.

You can often notice a clean sweet smell after a storm and that’s Ozone.

Why Use Ozone?

                        Ozone forms part of our Preventive approach to dental disease since 2002. We were the first Irish Dental Practice to incorporate the Healozone machine. This was used to treat dental decay, cold sores and tooth sensitivity. It produced Ozone gas from air at 4.5 mcg/ml and was delivered only when a vacuum was created which made it tricky to use in some areas of the mouth.

Today Dr Seward is the first dentist outside the USA to use a new “Enaly” ozone generator. He is the first member of the North American Pathfinder Ozone group from outside of the US.

This machine differs from the healozone in that a vacuum isn’t needed and the strength generated is 115 mcg/ml almost 26 times that of the Healozone. We can do this as we now use Medical Oxygen instead of Air to generate ozone, this also cuts the production of Nitrogen compounds that allows us use the Ozone in much more numerous applications with improved results.

What can we treat?

                            We now daily ozonate distilled water to use in our dental units, this results in sterile biofilm free waterlines without using potentially hazardous chemicals.

We also use this Ozonated water in Root Canal Treatments, Periodontal disease treatment and surgical procedures requiring sterile conditions.

We use Ozone gas to sterilise cavities prior to restoring the teeth.

In many cases if we catch a lesion early enough we can avoid totally the need for restoring the tooth where we can encourage the tooth to harden or remineralise.

We use it to treat Periodontal disease in the Gas, Ozonated Water and Ozonated Oils to arrest the disease.

Root Canal treatments also have Gas, Water and Oil applications to sterilise the canals before filling and restoring the tooth.

Mouth Ulcers, Cold Sores, Tooth Hypersensitivity, Wisdom Tooth Infection and dry socket infection are also treated.

How does Ozone Work?

                                  As one of the most Powerful Oxidants known to man, Ozone kills all bacteria, viruses, fungi and even Prions causing CJD disease that aren’t killed by Autoclaving.

It is used worldwide in treating Public Water Supplies to make them safe for drinking as well as in the bottled water industry.

It’s method of action is breaking down the cell walls of these microorganisms which means they can never build up resistance like they do against antibiotics.

Aside from this they have biochemical and physiological effects including increasing blood flow, enhancing the imune response and accelerating healing.

Has Ozone side effects?

                                  Ozone gas is an irritant to eye and lung tissue. If you allow eye contact you get the effect of cutting onions, streaming eyes. Similarly inhaling the gas brings on a coughing reaction. Both resolve with time and due to the very low flow rates and dental suction units used in practice are extremely rare.

In over 5.6 million Ozone treatments in Germany only 40 minor reactions were noted none requiring hospitalisation or with any sequelae, this can be contrasted to 140,000 hospital deaths in the USA in 2007 attributed to antibiotic therapy. 

Is Ozone a Magic Bullet?

                                   No.

However it is a tool with such potential in both Medicine and Dentistry that I believe it will Radically change the way we practice both within my lifetime.

Using Ozone as part of a minimally invasive dental philosophy, as we have here at Corkdental.com, I believe we can drastically reduce the needless amputation of tooth tissue, create healthy mouths and reduce the many needless dental procedures. Together with patients we can change the way we practice dentistry and lead patients to hold onto their teeth for life reducing the stress and trauma of dental visits and cost and time involved.

Ultimately would You like your children treated the way You used to be treated?

What is the Cost of Ozone?

                                       As I explained in the last section on it’s own it’s not a magic bullet. It’s not as expensive as filling or extracting a tooth and certainly nowhere like the cost of an Implant. 

We need to carry out a thorough diagnosis to determine the level of dental disease, work out a programme to arrest this an then keep that healthy for life. This can involve saliva testing, dietary investigation and advice and a willingness on the patient’s part to change dangerous habits and adopt the advice we tailor for each individual, one size doesn’t always fit all. 

The ongoing costs can be very minimal for a healthy mouth whereas a filling is setting a tooth up to fail with all the consequent trauma and cost involved.

Uses in Medicine?

                         The uses in Medicine are even more exciting as in dentistry. 

Typically it’s being used over Europe, South America and especially Cuba in treating Infections of all kinds. Ulcerated Lesions of limbs are notoriously difficult to treat and Often result in amputation of a limb. Professor Domb who I studied under in Los Angeles has used Ozone in Haiti after the Earthquake to save many limbs that were planned for amputation. Burns treatment is another area, nail infections etc.,

There has been a huge interest in dermatological use where skin has been rejuvenated using Ozonated soaps, Oils and injection of low dose Ozone gas into the skin. Much better results have been achieved than Botox which to my mind needs repeating and is derived from a toxin.