subject: Ideal Dentist Westminster [print this page] Your Dentist Westminster realizes that oral cancer is a serious issue that needs to be caught in its early stages. While other dental services are also important to one's oral physical wellness cancer detection is paramount to ones total health.
Oral cancer could involve the lips and tongue, cheek lining, gums or top and bottom of the mouth. Those who are most susceptible are folks who smoke or use alcohol excessively but other factors include immune weakening drugs, inadequate dental and oral hygiene, or frequent irritability caused by fillings, teeth with uneven edges or denture use.
Frequently, oral cancer first is seen as an abscess in the mouth or white plaque called leukoplakia. If you feel an ulcer, you will probably notice a bump or a deep crack in your mouth that becomes irritated when eating. Other manifestations of oral cancer include difficult or uncomfortable swallowing, enlarged lymph nodes, tongue difficulties, speech problems and losing weight.
If the Westminster dentist detects signs of oral cancer, the condition can be verified through the use of panoramic x-rays taken using an intraoral camera that can see the inside of the mouth from different angles. This slender instrument sends pictures right to a computer screen for prompt viewing by both you and your dentist.
If oral cancer is suspected, the dentist will then direct you to a specialist for a gum or tongue biopsy. A biopsy involves the cutting out of a small piece of gingival tissue or tongue tissue that will be sent to a laboratory for affirmation.
An innovative cavity detection instrument named DIAGOdent is used to find cavities when they are newly formed so they can be treated before they cause a more serious problem. Regular x-rays are unable to detect them. However, when x-rays are needed to observe the teeth and gums, a digital version is used to ensure that patients are subjected to as small an amount of radiation as possible.
If a tooth is taken out, it can be replaced using a dental implant that is kept in place with a titanium post in place of the extracted roots. The jawbone tissue can meld with this post so agitation of the tooth will likely not happen.
Of course, your Westminster dentist also offers services including bonding to cover cracks or gaps, fillings and bridges, ceramic crowns and crown lengthening along the gum line or to restore broken teeth, inlays and onlays commonly called partial crowns that can be composed of porcelain, composite resin or gold, veneers suited to you, and whitening or Zoom whitening processes that are going to add the finishing touch to that much-desired shining grin.
