• 6/26/2005
  • Lansing, MI
  • press release
  • biz.yahoo.com

The 5,900-member Michigan Dental Association will launch a new campaign to alert the public that a healthy mouth is vital to a healthy body. The new campaign, “Want a healthy body? Start with a healthy mouth,” kicks off June 27 with two television commercials that will air statewide, and will inform the public of some startling new research, including connections between dental health and birth complications in expectant mothers.

To view the commercials and learn more about the campaign, go to http://www.smilemichigan.com and click on the public section. Each MDA member dentist will have patient education brochures and posters available in their offices.

“More and more research shows that there is an important connection between oral health and overall health,” according to Josef F. Kolling, DDS, MS, president of the MDA. “Since the condition of your mouth mirrors the condition of your body as a whole, your dentist may be the first health care provider to see signs of a health problem,” according to Kolling. “If something unusual is discovered, a follow-up with your physician may result in early detection and successful treatment of a more serious medical problem.”

Kolling says, “The dentist may see symptoms on the lips, tongue and gums that can warn of trouble in your general health. Your dentist can screen for oral cancer, and may also observe oral symptoms of conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and pregnancy complications.”

Oral Cancer

Oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer in the U.S. and about 25 percent of people diagnosed with oral cancer have none of the traditional risk factors, such as the use of tobacco products or drinking alcohol. African Americans in Detroit have one of the highest rates of oral cancer in the country and have the highest mortality rate due to oral cancer among all race and gender groups. In addition, 46 percent of all deaths related to oral cancer in Michigan are found in the Detroit/Wayne County area.

Dentists can now use a new tool to detect oral cancer in its earliest stages. The brush biopsy allows the dentist to scrape cells from the tissue and send them to the lab for analysis. According to Kolling, “This simple screening device represents a breakthrough in the fight against cancer and is expected to aid in the early diagnosis of oral cancer and improve the survival rate.”