HEALTH
REPORT - Dental Examinations
This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
Teeth are an important part of any holiday celebration.
After all, it's difficult to enjoy a meal without them. So this week
we talk about dental health.
Dentists say people should have their mouth examined
about every six months to make sure their teeth are healthy. But dentists
look for more than holes in teeth and problems with the gum tissue around
them. Examinations are also important because they can show medical
problems in other parts of the body.
In fact, the mouth is considered a warning system
for sickness, and more. For example, signs of damage can mean that a
person has been the victim of violence. The mouth can also show that
a person has an eating disorder, bulimia. People with bulimia eat large
amounts of food, then force themselves to vomit. The insides of their
teeth will appear worn. This is because the chemicals in stomach acid
eat away the surface of the teeth.
A dentist can also see in a patient's mouth the beginning
of diseases such as measles or mumps. An area of unusual skin on a patient's
lip may be a sign of syphilis, an infection spread through sex.
If the patient has bone loss in the mouth, a dentist
will suspect the disease diabetes. Someone whose gums appear white may
have leukemia -- blood cancer. And a person whose gums appear too red
may not get enough vitamin D. Lack of vitamin D causes a disease called
rickets.
Experts say early signs of more than forty health
problems can be seen in a person's mouth or on the tongue. These include
the deadly disease AIDS and a lack of many different vitamins. When
dentists recognize possible signs of disease, they send the patients
for medical tests, or to a doctor for treatment.
In the case of people who use tobacco, some dentists
organize programs to help people stop. Smoking cigarettes can cause
mouth, lung and throat cancer. It also can increase the severity of
other mouth problems such as gum disease. Chewing tobacco can also cause
mouth cancer. The nicotine in tobacco affects the gum and soft tissue
inside the cheek.
Finally, as any dentist will tell you, teeth require
daily care. This means not only brushing them, but also using dental
floss to help prevent gum infections.
This VOA Special English Health Report was written
by Nancy Steinbach.
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