Question

_{the name of the course is oral health promotion}

Analyze the causes of two diseases of the oral cavity. What are the primary and secondary causes of the two diseases you chose?

As a healthcare provider, what preventive measures can you recommend?

references

Answer 1

The food that we chew mixes with the saliva and the mechanical action of chewing and eating, causes some microbes that thrive in the mouth. These microbes cause damage to the teeth and cause infections that spread beyond the mouth and sometimes throughout the body.

The microbies causes cavities of the teeth, which is known as dental caries, these microbial lesions cause damage to the teeth. As time passes, the lesion grow through the outer enamel layer to infect the underlying dentin. If dental caries are not treated in time , the infection can become acute that spreads to the deeper tissues of the teeth, near the roots. This results in Tooth decay which is an activity of microbes that live on the teeth. In due course a layer of proteins and carbohydrates forms when clean teeth come into contact with saliva. Microbes are attracted to this food source and form a biofilm called plaque. When a disaccharide sugar from food, is broken down by bacteria in the mouth, glucose and fructose are produced. The glucose is used to make dextran, which is part of the extracellular matrix of the biofilm. Fructose is fermented, producing organic acids such as lactic acid. These acids dissolve the minerals of the tooth, including enamel.

To name some of the common oral diseases are dental cavities, periodontal disease, oral cancer, oral infectious diseases, trauma from injuries, and hereditary lesions. Here oral health has an effect on other chronic diseases. Risk factors for oral and dental ill health is poor diet and hygiene, trauma, stress, smoking, alcohol use, and use of illegal substances.

A recent research indicates that poor oral health affects general health and some diseases can affect oral health. To mention here that oral cavity is an essential part of the body and contributes to total health. A variety of diseases involve the oral cavity, out of which the two main oral diseases present worldwide and lead to tooth destruction or tooth loss is dental caries, the disease that leads to cavities in the teeth and periodontal disease, which leads to loosening of teeth.

Both these diseases are preventable and efforts are made to control them. Other diseases and their conditions are much less prevalent, yet serious, and sometimes it even threatens the life.

As you know, the dental caries developed by the localized dissolution of the tooth hard tissues, caused by acids that are produced by bacteria in the biofilms on the teeth and eventually lead to cavities. The destructive acids are produced when fermented carbohydrates reach these biofilms, resulting in tooth damage. Untreated caries give rise to infection of the tooth pulp, which spread to the supporting tissues and the jaws, culminating in advanced disease conditions that are often painful and serious.

Now about periodontal disease is caused by the inflammation of gum tissue caused by bacteria accumulating in the plaque. This results in the breaking down of the supporting tissues of the teeth, which lead to loosening of teeth and tooth loss. This is caused due to cigarette smoking and diabetes mellitus as they are two major risk factors associated with periodontal disease and appear markedly to affect the initiation and progression of the disease.

However, there has been a growing awareness between some systemic diseases and oral disease, especially periodontal diseases. This may be considered as one of the complications of diabetes. Effective control of periodontal infection in diabetics appears to reduce the levels of advanced glycogen end products in the serum.

Proper oral hygiene practices do prevent both gingivitis and advanced periodontal disease. All intervention programs leading to improved oral hygiene are instrumental in the control of periodontal disease and will reduce risk of future tooth loss. Treatment of periodontal diseases consists of plaque removal, scaling, and sometimes surgery, plus motivation and instruction in oral hygiene.