Approximately 1.3 million American adults, mostly postmenopausal women, are afflicted with a condition called burning mouth syndrome. Burning Mouth Syndrome is a chronic, often debilitating condition whose cause remains a medical mystery. Only in recent years has science begun to seek an organic basis for the intense burning pain, notes researcher Miriam Grushka, an associate professor of oral diagnosis at the CWRU School of Dentistry. The pain just disappears. According to authors of a case study reported in this month's issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association, dentists may play a significant role in early recognition and diagnosis of basal cell carcinoma on the head and neck.
Early detection is critical and cure is likely if treated early.
Early diagnosis and management may lead to improved cure rates, The authors reported on three cases of oral-facial basal cell carcinoma, demonstrating the range of clinical manifestations from small to large lesions. In the case study, two of the three patients reported to the dental clinic of the Vancouver Hospital and Health Sciences Center, in which the dentist detected the disease in its early stages. Two years after treatment, there was no evidence of recurrence in both cases. Dentists are aware of the signs and symptoms of basal cell and they may be able to recognize the disease in its early stages during an examination, according to the authors. A recent article in an issue of General Hospital Psychiatry in the Netherlands stated that persons taking antidepressant medication are at an increased risk of developing dental cavities and oral infections due to the fact that antidepressants cause dry mouth.