Bad oral hygiene could create a higher risk of cancer research says.
New research is suggesting that a form gum disease can leave sufferers at a higher risk of developing cancer in the head and neck.
The research claims to have found a link between chronic periodontitis, the most common type of gum disease, and the emergence of squamous cell carcinoma, cancer of the head and neck.
Chronic periodontitis is characterized by progressive loss of the bone and soft tissues that surround and support your teeth. This disease can be caused by plaque on unclean teeth developing into tartar which acts as a hub of bacteria in your mouth. Tartar cannot be removed by brushing and flossing only professional cleaning can rid you of it.
Doctor Mine Tezal, research scientist in the Department of Dentistry and Maxillofacial Prosthetics at Roswell Park Cancer Institute, gave advice about periodontitis to News-medical.net, saying : “Prevent periodontitis; if you have it already, get treatment and maintain good oral hygiene.”
This study, published in journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, found that chronic periodontitis might represent a clinical high-risk profile for cancer of the head and neck. The association was highest in the oral cavity, which was then followed by the oropharynx and then the larynx.
Researchers also discovered that the association persisted more in the patients that had never used tabacco which was a revelation as tabacco is believed to be the most significant risk factor for periodontal disease.
Tezal said that the study also suggested that this gum disease may be associated with poorly differentiated tumor status in the oral cavity but believes that the associations that have been made need further explaination.
Doctor Andrew Olshan, chair of the Department of Epidemiology at Gillings School of Global Public Health, and professor in the Department of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery at the University of North Carolina, supported Tezal’s results saying that it further highlighted the potential importance of poor oral health in this form of cancer.
“Although the study is comparatively small, the researchers were able to also see an association between bone loss and the risk of head and neck cancer,” Olshan added.
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