Improving patients’ oral hygiene is an option for preventing postoperative pneumonia that may be caused by aspiration of oral secretions. Whether preoperative oral care by a dentist can decrease postoperative complications remains controversial. A retrospective study was undertaken to assess the association between preoperative oral care and postoperative complications among …
With well over 400 medications having a side effect of dry mouth, the number of adults taking medications and suffering from dry mouth issues has risen dramatically over the past 10 years, but often goes unaddressed by dental and medical offices. The results can be disastrous and expensive! The Huffington …
In an article for the Philadelphia Inquirer (2/7), Dr. Eric T. Stoopler, an associate professor of oral medicine, discusses a patient who suffered from treatment-resistant mouth sores and skin lesions and “died of respiratory failure about a year after he first noticed the mouth sores.” Before his death, “immunological blood …
As use of electronic cigarettes continues to climb, especially among youth and young adults, researchers at Wake Forest (N.C.) School of Medicine sought to determine whether there was a relationship between e-cigarette use and smoking cessation in a sample of college student smokers. They published their findings in the August …
Anyone can develop cancer. Since the risk of being diagnosed with cancer increases with age, most cases occur in adults who are middle aged or older. About 78% of all cancers are diagnosed in persons 55 years of age and older. In the US, men have slightly less than a …
Lots of questions still come up today about silver fillings versus tooth colored fillings. Questions such as “Which one is better?”, Which ones cause me harm?”, and “What should I do?”. Let me first talk about silver fillings (known as amalgam fillings) which have been around proior to 1900. As …
With the widespread awareness that actor Michael Douglas has oral cancer, this killer disease has once again caught the attention of many people. And it’s for good reason: Oral cancer has only a 50% survival rate, making it a deadly and potentially grossly disfuguring disease. This is a disease that …
