While most people consider fall and winter to be the more common illness-spreading seasons, the truth is that it is distressingly easy for illness to proliferate. No matter the season, if preventative measures aren’t taken, you could be trapped inside during the summer with a nasty bout of bronchitis or some other highly infectious illness.
Here at Radiance Family & Cosmetic Dentistry, we wanted to focus in on oral illnesses, some which will only affect you as it spreads as well as covering orally-spread illnesses. We want to offer advice from our dentist on how to prevent the spread of both of these types of oral illnesses.
Dentists Can Be First To Identify Several Illnesses
It surprises some people when their dentist is the first medical professional to identify their illness, perhaps because there is no dentistry service labeled “Illness Assessment”. Yet, if you come in for your biannual dental cleaning or any other dental service we offer, our dentist has the training to identify when something is wrong with your oral health. Some of the illnesses our dentist might recognize are:
- Oral cancers – There are several types of oral cancers which can go unnoticed while being masked by other symptoms.
- Leukemia – Some common signs of leukemia are visible to dentists, such as canker sores, bloody gums, and swollen lymph nodes.
- Diabetes – Inflamed gums which tend to bleed and chronically bad breath no matter how consistent your oral care can be some signs of diabetes which a dentist can identify.
- Oral infection – Often an oral infection can hide out of sight and may cause people to think they have the flu. Yet, an untreated oral infection can become an abscess which can lead to serious complications. Our dentist will be able to identify and treat an oral infection so you don’t suffer more serious consequences.
Ways To Prevent Outside Illnesses And Infections
Outside of preventing personal illness spreading, there are outside illnesses which you can prevent from spreading to you. While you can’t stop catching all illnesses, there are some steps you can take to increase your chances of staying healthy.
- Sanitize public equipment prior to use. One example of this is wiping down a public computer keyboard before you use it.
- Always wash your hands after using the restroom.
- Refrain from personal contact (hugs, handshakes, etc) during flu season as much as possible.
- Stay hydrated to support proper homeostasis.
Also, you don’t have to skip your dentist appointment because you feel a head cold coming on. As long as you are not coughing and no airways are obstructed, you should be fine to come in for your dental appointment. To set up an appointment with Dr. Taylor, feel free to call or use our “Request An Appointment” form online.
