Mouth can indicate body’s overall health
November 15th, 2009 - 11:26 am ICT by ANI ( Leave a comment )Washington, Nov 15 (ANI): The mouth or oral cavity area is an excellent indicator of the whole body’s health, says a University of Maryland Dental School professor.
Professor Li Mao insists surface tissues inside the cheek could be checked to detect tobacco-induced damage in the lungs.
This could prove to be an important advancement in designing future lung cancer prevention trials.
“We hypothesized that tobacco-induced molecular alterations in the oral epithelium are similar to those in the lungs,” said Mao.
The expert added:”This might have broader implications for using the mouth as a diagnostic indicator for general health.”
“I feel that dentists should play a major role in prevention of cancer and Dr. Mao is the leading oral cancer researcher in the country. He crosses the bridge between medicine and dentistry,” said University of Maryland Dental School Dean Christian S. Stohler, DMD, DrMedDent, a leader in the movement to retool dental education.
“Being a physician helps expand dental health care and he wants to change how patients are being treated because his background is in head and neck cancer,” Stohler added.
The study is published in the journal Cancer Prevention Research. (ANI)
- Estrogen may promote spread of precancerous cells in oral cavity - Jan 04, 2011
- Harsher pictorial warnings on tobacco packs from Dec 1 - May 28, 2011
- Mothers' oral hygiene affects child's health - May 18, 2010
- Tobacco control is most cost-effective way to prevent cancer - Feb 04, 2010
- Toothpaste with triclosan/copolymer kills mouth bacteria - Apr 14, 2010
- Harsher pictorial warnings on tobacco packs from Dec 1 (Lead) - May 28, 2011
- Inadequate, say health activists of new anti-tobacco warnings - Jun 01, 2011
- Scientists stumble upon 'stop cancer' gene - Nov 16, 2011
- Smokeless tobacco damages DNA, key enzymes - Jun 17, 2010
- By 2015, 2 million people would die annually from tobacco-induced cancers - Aug 26, 2009
- Over 12 million Delhiites have tooth ailments: Sheila - Dec 15, 2009
- Harsher cancer warning on tobacco products in the offing - May 25, 2011
- Unique approach to 'improve dental hygiene in dementia patients' found - May 02, 2011
- Don't ignore that jagged tooth! - Oct 17, 2010
- Government trying to create more jobs for dentists: Azad - Jan 17, 2011
Tags: cancer prevention research, cancer prevention trials, cancer researcher, dean christian, dental education, dental health care, dr mao, epithelium, head and neck cancer, journal cancer, lung cancer prevention, maryland dental school, molecular alterations, oral cancer, oral cavity, professor li, school dean, school professor, stohler, surface tissues
