gum disease – Page 2 – Oral Cancer News

Smokeless tobacco may be on its way out of Major League Baseball parks

Source: www.latimes.com Author: Karen Kaplan, Los Angeles Times Major League Baseball begins the 2011 season in two days, and if public heath officials have their way it will be the last season during which players will be able to chew and spit smokeless tobacco on the field. The leaders of 15 public health departments in cities with professional baseball teams sent a letter Monday to MLB Commissioner Bud Selig and Michael Weiner, executive director of the union representing major league players, urging them to forbid the use of smokeless tobacco products. Tobacco has been banned in baseball’s minor leagues since 1993. “The use of smokeless tobacco endangers the health of Major League ballplayers and sets a terrible example for the millions of young people who watch baseball at the ballparks and on TV,” the health chiefs wrote. The letter continues: Tobacco use is the number one cause of preventable death in the United States, killing more than400,000 people each year. As cigarette smoking has declined, the tobacco industry has increased its marketing of smokeless products and is spending record sums to promote them. But smokeless tobacco use is itself very dangerous, causing serious diseases of the mouth, including oral cancer. In addition, there is reason to worry that smokeless tobacco use by young persons may serve as a gateway to cigarette smoking, this nation’s leading preventable cause of premature death and disease. As officials in Major League cities around the country, we know that baseball is important to civic life [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2011-03-30T10:26:31-07:00March, 2011|Oral Cancer News|

Tobacco ‘mints’ tied to kids’ poisoning

Source: msnbc.com Author: JoNel Aleccia Smokeless, flavored tobacco products that look like candy and come in packages shaped like cell phones may be contributing to accidental poisonings in very young children, new research suggests. Nicotine-laced pellets, strips and sticks that dissolve completely in the user’s mouth — dubbed “tobacco candy” by critics — have joined chewing tobacco and snuff to become the second-most common cause of unintentional tobacco ingestion in kids younger than 6. Between 2006 and 2008, nearly 1,800 U.S. youngsters — almost 600 a year —accidentally consumed smokeless tobacco products, according to an analysis of 13,705 tobacco-related reports to the nation’s poison control centers. That’s a fraction of the nearly 3,600 poisonings a year that involved cigarettes and filter tips, but it worries authors of the new study published in the journal Pediatrics. "Novel smokeless tobacco products, including dissolvable, compressed tobacco products ... are now of major concern, with their discreet form, candy-like appearance and added flavorings that may be attractive to children," the authors write. Potential poisonings add to the growing list of worries from those who fear that tobacco makers thwarted by anti-smoking laws are trying to peddle their addictive products to a new generation of users. Tasty flavors and packaging that resembles Tic Tac mints could be a powerful draw to young users, critics say. “Our response has been one of dismay,” said Cathryn Cushing, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Tobacco Prevention & Education Program. Oregon is one of three states, along with Ohio and [...]

Charlotte Parker2010-04-19T11:31:12-07:00April, 2010|Oral Cancer News|

Smoke signals

Source: waldo.villagesoup.com Author: Dr. Jonathan M. Goss, DDS Dr. Jonathan M. Goss and the Staff of Camden Hills Dental Care would like to provide you with the following information from the Academy of General Dentistry for the education and care of your oral health. Smoke Signals Using tobacco can harm your mouth, including your teeth and gums, in a number of ways. There is no safe form of tobacco—using it produces many problems and risk factors, from tooth discoloration and gum disease to throat, lung, and oral cancer, and ultimately, even death. It is important to understand what happens to your mouth when you use any form of tobacco, and to discuss those effects—and how to quit—with your dentist and physician. What happens to my mouth when I smoke? Smoking reduces blood flow and the supply of vital nutrients to your gums, including vitamin C. Without the proper nutrients, you can develop gum disease, bone loss, and even tooth loss. This is because smoking triggers the accumulation of bacteria in plaque. Smoking also reduces the amount of saliva that flows through your mouth. Saliva is important for cleaning your mouth and preventing tooth decay. In addition, when you smoke, the temperature in your mouth increases and the heat kills important cells in your mouth. You also can see the effects of tobacco use. Nicotine and tar, the major ingredients of cigarettes, discolor your teeth—yellow and brown stains will appear and the sticky tar deposits will adhere to crevices. The roof [...]

Oral Cancer Foundation News Team - A2009-03-17T08:32:01-07:00March, 2009|Oral Cancer News|

Dental Calamities That Can Truly Hurt

Source: New York Times Writer: Nicholas Bakalar DENTAL cavities are not good news, but when it comes to preventive oral health, they may be among the smaller problems. The advice is familiar: brush and floss regularly, use fluoride mouthwash, limit snacks and sweet drinks, visit the dentist twice a year. Good suggestions, even if not everyone follows them: by age 12, 50 percent of children have cavities. But there are two much more serious problems, common dental diseases that can lead not only to loss of teeth but also to loss of life: periodontal disease and oral cancer. Periodontal disease — a chronic bacterial infection of the gums that destroys the bone and tissues that hold the teeth — is the leading cause of tooth loss in adults. Some people are genetically susceptible, and the problem can be aggravated by smoking, taking certain medications, stress and other factors. Several studies have found that gum disease is associated with an increased risk for heart attack. “It isn’t nailed down yet,” said Dr. Martin J. Davis, professor of clinical dentistryat the College of Dental Medicine at Columbia, “but there seems to be a link between the inflammation of gums and the inflammatory markers of heart disease.” It may be that oral bacteria enter the bloodstream, attach to fatty plaques in the coronary arteries and cause clots to form. Or maybe inflammation itself increases plaque buildup. A 2007 study showed that periodontal disease increased the risk of heart disease in men by one third and doubled it in women, even [...]

Webmaster2009-02-17T09:56:09-07:00February, 2009|Oral Cancer News|