It’s that time of year for New Year’s Resolutions.  One common resolution is the decision to quit smoking.  If you are one of these people, congratulations!!  You have made a life-saving decision that will not only improve your overall health (not just dental) but will also lower your risk for oral cancer.

Here are some facts on oral cancer, taken from the American Dental Association’s fact sheet:

• Oral cancer strikes an estimated 34,360 Americans each year.  An estimated 7,550 people (5,180 men and 2,370 women) will die of these cancers in 2007.¹
• More than 25% of the 30,000 Americans who get oral cancer will die of the disease.²
• On average, only half of those diagnosed with the disease will survive more than five years.⁴

What is the number one risk factor for oral cancer?

You got it – Smoking.  This includes all forms of tobacco use including cigars, cigarettes, and chewing tobacco.

Other benefits to quitting smoking are:  decreased risk of lung cancer, heart disease, COPD, improved circulation and breathing, eliminating exposure of tobacco to those around you via second-hand smoking.  From a dental perspective, you will reduce staining of your teeth and bad breath, and the health of your gums will improve.

For the complete ADA articles on oral cancer and smoking, please refer to

http://www.ada.org/public/topics/cancer_oral.asp

http://www.ada.org/public/topics/smoking_tobacco.asp

In future blogs I will cover more on the specifics of oral cancer detection as well as other dental conditions linked with tobacco use.  Until then…

Your friendly dentist,
Dr. Sarah Po