July Monthly News
Certain dental problems can be warning signs of diabetes.
Approximately 10 million Americans - 4 percent to 5 percent of the entire
population - suffer from diabetes. In addition to kidney, eye, and heart problems,
diabetic patients also have special dental concerns, including;
surfacing before the patient is diagnosed with the condition.
Dentists usually take a medical history,
which can give clues of whether the patient is at high-risk for diabetes.
If diabetes is suspected, dentists refer patients to their physician for testing.
People who have diabetes should alert their dentist
so their dental health can be closely monitored.
Four out of five diabetic patients are over 45 years old, an age when cavities
usually diminish, yet they have a high rate of cavities because of the disease.
Xerostornia, or dry mouth, is responsible for many cavities in diabetic people.
Saliva usually washes sugar from foods off a person's teeth.
But dry mouth allows the sugar to stay in the mouth
and attack the teeth, leading to cavities.
The diabetic patient has a higher level of glucose in his or her saliva,
which also can be responsible for more cavities.
If you are diabetic, your dentist may consult with your physician
before starting extensive dental treatment to determine
how well your diabetes is being controlled.
Many parents anxiously await their baby's first words,
then quickly loose track - unless there's a problem.
Dentists often hear about a speech problem first because parents
associate speech with the oral cavity.
The general dentist often works with a team that might include a speech
pathologist, an orthodontist or an oral surgeon to correct a speech problem.
Vowel sounds are initiated in early infancy
and are usually mastered by age three.
Consonant sounds are more difficult and are learned a little later.
Most children can pronounce all consonants adequately and are 100 percent
intelligible by their eighth birthday.
The most common speech defect is lisping,
which is relatively easy to correct. Children who lisp cannot pronounce
the "s," "z," "sh," "ch," and "j" sounds.
A lisp occurs when children cut off an "s" with the tongue instead
of with the front teeth. Prolonged thumbsucking or finger sucking can create
an open bite and result in a lisp.
If a child just lost a primary tooth, he or she might start lisping
until a new tooth comes in. The worst thing parents can do is overreact
to a speech problem, making the child self-conscious.
On the other hand, some children get attention from adults
who think the lisp is "cute." The child may prolong the habit if it's getting
favorable response from parents.
Other causes of lisping can included impaired hearing,
poor ability to discriminate sounds, imitation of a relative or friend
who lisps, mental defects or neurologic disturbances.
A cleft palate can affect a child's speech dramatically,
and often requires oral surgery.
In some cases a general dentist will provide
a plastic plate to cover the opening in the roof of the mouth,
allowing the child to develop normal speech patterns.
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