Periodontitis, candidiasis, neglected dental implants, poor oral hygiene increase the danger. This tumor attacks the tongue, gums, cheeks, palate and lips. Every year 4,000 new diagnoses in Italy
Periodontitis, candidiasis, neglected dental implants, poor oral hygiene: the cancer prevention also switch from attention to mouth health. Every year, in Italy there are circto 4 thousand new cases of oral cancer which comes very often diagnosed at an advanced stage also because many people are not aware that cancer can also affect this area and they wait months before asking their doctor or dentist for advice. Early diagnosis of this type of malignancy is simple and does not require invasive methods – he stresses Andrea Edoardo Bianchi, scientific director of the Italian Dental Institute of Milan -. If the tumor is identified in the early stages, not only are the chances of a definitive cure greater, but it is also possible to intervene with conservative surgery and avoid demolitive treatments with disabling consequences, especially when it comes to the face.
Watch out for these symptoms
The oral cavity includes tongue, gums, cheeks, floor (i.e. the lower part) of the mouth, palate and lips. Swellings and growths, white or reddish lesions e wounds that do not heal spontaneously they can be the manifestation of pre-tumor or tumor lesions and a visit to the general practitioner or dentist is often enough to identify suspicious signs and start the necessary investigations. Understanding if something is wrong is simple because they are clearly visible disturbances, but still too many people neglect them.
Prevention
On the occasion of World Cancer Day, which is celebrated on February 4th, from the Dental Institute recall the main prevention rules to limit the risk of mouth cancer. To prevent these tumors, it is important to have a correct lifestyle, to take care of oral hygiene, to be particularly effective attention to chronic microtraumas of the mucous membrane of the mouth due to dental prostheses – says Bianchi, specialist in maxillofacial surgery -. The most common infections of the oral cavity concern the teeth and the supporting periodontal tissues such as the gum, the periodontal ligament and the bone: usually in the first period of life they cause carious pathologies, but later they can cause gingivitis and deep periodontitis (commonly called pyorrhea). Some studies have also shown an association between periodontitis severe and tumors of other districts, a correlation that can be explained by the passage of pathogenic bacteria from the mouth to the rest of the body, in particular to the digestive tract.
The mouth microbiota for the health of the whole body
Keep a good oral health therefore also important to prevent inflammation of the hard and soft tissues of the oral cavity from directly or indirectly mediating distant pathologies. Destructive caries such as to cause fractures of the dentin and enamel are also traumatic causes for the tongue and cheeks, representing a risk factor for a possible transformation of soft tissue lesions into malignant tumors of the oral cavity, adds the expert. Oral candidiasis should not be overlooked either, an infection that can lead to the onset of carcinoma squamocellulare. The mechanisms of action that increase the risk appear to be different: the increased inflammatory activity, immunosuppression, the promotion of malignant transformation, the secretion of carcinogens – says Bianchi -. Scientific research provides data that increasingly illustrate both the centrality of the oral microbiota for the health of the whole organism and the strong influence that periodontal disease can have not only on the risk of cancer, but also on the aggravation of chronic inflammatory diseases ( primarily atherosclerosis, with the involvement of target organs such as the heart and kidney) and on the mechanisms of insulin resistance that can aggravate diabetes.
Rule one: cleanliness
According to a study commissioned by the Straumann Group in 2022, during the pandemic years more than half of Italians neglected their mouth health, also thanks to the use of the mask. There are several reasons: fear of the virus, cost of dental visits, economic problems, less frequency with which we relate to people and, to a minimal extent, even a low level of hygiene. on the other hand, it is essential to scrupulously carry out the daily cleaning of the teeth and prostheses – concludes the specialist -. Just as it is decisive to cure periodontal disease, also through proven implant-prosthetic methods. Dental implantology, conducted through strict scientific protocols, is a therapeutic reality that allows a better quality of life and sometimes avoids possible injuries caused by the movement or sinking into the oral tissues of unstable mobile prostheses, a possible cause of the onset of cell alterations .
January 31, 2023 (change January 31, 2023 | 09:58)
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