Posts Tagged ‘Macomb County’

Dental caries (tooth decay) is the single most common chronic childhood disease – 5 times more common than asthma and 7 times more common than hay fever.  Recent studies have also shown a link between oral disease and low birth weight, cardiovascular disease, respiratory infection, and diabetes.  All of this reinforces what we have all known for a long time – the health of your mouth affects your overall health.

The good news is tooth decay can be prevented with self-care (daily brushing and flossing), fluoride, and sealants.

So, how does poor oral health affect your child’s learning or performance in school?  Dental disease is one of the top causes of absenteeism among elementary school children.  The Office of the U.S. Surgeon General calls dental and oral diseases a “silent epidemic.”   The report stated that nearly 52 million hours of school are lost each year due to dental-related illness.  The symptom that goes hand-in-hand with dental disease is pain.  Pain from oral disease will keep students from concentrating and learning.  Any kind of pain or discomfort around the head will be a big distraction and keep their mind from focusing on the tasks at hand, like math, science, English, history, etc.  Pain and swelling are both symptoms of severe disease.  Sadly, these severe cases are common in our classrooms.

What can we do to improve our children’s oral health?  Unlike taking care of your ears, caring for your mouth requires daily attention, as well as visits to the dentist office for professional care on a regular basis – every 6 months.  Remember, tooth decay is preventable.  That is why it is vital that all children start seeing a dentist at an early age, as early as 12 months old.  Children that see visit a dentist on a regular basis take better care of their teeth and gums and do not have the significant problems that are often present in children who never visit the dentist.  This also gives us the opportunity to identify problems early before they escalate into larger, more expensive problems to treat.

Many people are not aware that poor oral health can have serious effects on overall health.  I have often heard people say, “Oh, they’re just baby teeth, they’ll fall out anyway.”  What they don’t realize is that if you have tooth decay early in childhood, you have a good predictor of future decay.  Establish good oral health habits early. When your child is 12 months old, you can begin using toothpaste, without fluoride, when brushing his or her teeth. However, only use a pea-sized portion on the brush and press it into the bristles so your child won’t eat it.  And, when the gaps between your child’s teeth close, it’s important to start flossing.  Serve as a good role model by practicing good oral health care habits yourself.  Check your child’s mouth for any signs of gum disease, including bleeding gums, swollen and bright red gums, gums that are receding away from the teeth and bad breath.  Let’s all work together to ensure that nothing, including tooth decay and gum disease, is standing in our children’s way of getting the most out of the classroom.

About HPS Advanced Dental Care, PC

Dr. Heather Pranzarone Stratton is a Family and Cosmetic Dentist practicing with a Biological and Biocompatible philosophy in Shelby Township,Michigan. Our practice provides a full range of Family and Cosmetic Dentistry services for your entire family including, professional cleanings and oral cancer screenings, tooth restoration, porcelain veneers, crowns, bridges, root canal therapy, tooth whitening, and dentures.  We are a mercury free and mercury safe dental practice and latex free practice.  HPS Advanced Dental Care, PC easily serves Macomb and Oakland Counties.  We are easily accessible from many metro Detroit cities including: Shelby Township, Rochester, Rochester Hills, Macomb Township, Oakland Township, Washington, Birmingham, Troy, Sterling Heights, Clinton Township, and many more.

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Did you know that every time you visit our office for your routine hygiene therapy appointment you are screened for oral cancer?  Screening for the early warning signs of oral cancer is one of the most important reasons why you should visit our office on a regular basis.  More than 34,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral cancer this year. It will cause over 8,000 deaths, killing roughly 1 person per hour, 24 hours per day. This is a number which has not significantly improved in decades.  In fact, recent statistics published by the American Cancer Society indicate that while the incidence and death rates for cancers overall have decreased, both the incidence and the death rate for oral cancer have increased.  Early detection and diagnosis are essential in successful treatment of the disease.  Oral cancer is 90% curable when found in its early stages.

As your dental team, we are the front line of defense in early detection of this disease.  It is estimated that only about 50-60% of the US population visits the dentist every year.  Unfortunately, only about 15% of those who visit a dentist regularly, report having had an oral cancer screening. This is unfortunate and unacceptable in my opinion, when you consider that historically, the greatest strides in combating most cancers have come from increased awareness and aggressive campaigns directed at early detection. It is now commonplace to annually get a PAP smear for cervical cancer, a mammogram to check for breast cancer, or PSA and digital rectal exams for prostate cancer.  Oral cancer is no different.  Actually, it is easier to follow through with oral cancer screenings, since unlike many other cancer screening procedures, there is no invasive technique necessary to look for it, no discomfort or pain involved, and it is very inexpensive to have your mouth examined for the early signs of disease.

It is our goal to have 100% of our practice family screened for oral cancer on a yearly basis.  It is important to realize that a visit to our office is no longer about a filling, a crown, or “just a cleaning,” but is actually a matter of life and death. Dental examinations, when properly done and which include a screening for oral cancer will save lives.  How do we do it?  At our practice we utilize a 3 pronged approach:

1. A comprehensive visual examination of the oral cavity, head, and neck by Dr. Heather and Suzy
2. At least a yearly screening with the Vizilite Plus Oral Lesion Identification and Marking System
3. Comprehensive Oral Cancer Risk Assessment with the Previser™ Risk Assessment Software

Please help us reach our goal of screening 100% our practice family for oral cancer every year by starting with you and your family. Call our office today to schedule your regular routine hygiene therapy appointment and oral cancer screening today.

About HPS Advanced Dental Care, PC

Dr. Heather Pranzarone Stratton is a Family and Cosmetic Dentist practicing with a Biological and Biocompatible philosophy in Shelby Township, Michigan. Our practice provides a full range of Family and Cosmetic Dentistry services for your entire family including, professional cleanings and oral cancer screenings, tooth restoration, porcelain veneers, crowns, bridges, root canal therapy, tooth whitening, and dentures.  We are a mercury free and mercury safe dental practice and latex free practice.  HPS Advanced Dental Care, PC easily serves Macomb and Oakland Counties.  We are easily accessible from many metro Detroit cities including: Shelby Township, Rochester, Rochester Hills, Macomb Township, Oakland Township, Washington, Birmingham, Troy, Sterling Heights, Clinton Township, and many more.

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There are many tests that help doctors predict our risk of developing certain diseases.  We routinely get our blood pressure taken to assess our risk of hypertension.  A blood pressure of higher than 120/80 is considered high risk and in need of treatment.  We get our cholesterol checked to assess our risk of heart disease.  A cholesterol score of higher than 200 is considered high risk and in need of treatment.  There are even genetic tests for breast and ovarian cancer and colorectal cancer that tell us if we are in an extremely high risk category for developing these cancers.  Most of us do not question the validity of these results and accept that the treatment that is recommended by our doctor is necessary to better our overall health and reduce these risks.

We are very excited to announce that we now have a risk assessment tool for gum disease!  PreViser™ is an easy tool that you will receive at every routine hygiene therapy and oral cancer screenings appointment at no cost to you!  PreViser™ analytic reports provide you and I with an easy to understand and scientifically validated risk and disease score for gum disease.  The PreViser™ Risk Score tells us, on a scale from 1-5, the probability you have of developing gum disease in your lifetime.  The PreViser™ Disease Score, on a scale of 1-100, tells us how healthy you are right now.

Why is this important?  The earlier that gum disease is diagnosed the faster we can halt it in its tracks.  Gum disease affects more than just your teeth and gums.  Recent research has linked gum disease to other health problems including heart and respiratory diseases; diabetes; preterm, low birth weight babies; stroke; osteoporosis; and even some cancers.

At our practice in Shelby Township, Michigan, we strive to provide you with the best care available.  The addition of PreViser™ to our practice gives us another tool to ensure that we reach our goal of providing you with Optimal Oral Health Care on Every Visit.

About HPS Advanced Dental Care, PC

Dr. Heather Pranzarone Stratton is a Family and Cosmetic Dentist practicing with a Biological and Biocompatible philosophy in Shelby Township, Michigan. Our practice provides a full range of Family and Cosmetic Dentistry services for your entire family including, professional cleanings and oral cancer screenings, tooth restoration, porcelain veneers, crowns, bridges, root canal therapy, tooth whitening, and dentures.  We are a mercury free and mercury safe dental practice and latex free practice.  HPS Advanced Dental Care, PC easily serves Macomb and Oakland Counties.  We are easily accessible from many metro Detroit cities including: Shelby Township, Rochester, Rochester Hills, Macomb Township, Oakland Township, Washington, Birmingham, Troy, Sterling Heights, Clinton Township, and many more.

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