Monthly Archives: November 2015

PUBLISHED IN TCI WEEKLY NEWS
November 28th 2015

Recurrent mouth ulcers (recurrent aphthous stomatitis) are painful, round lesions that develop on the linings of the cheeks and lips, the tongue or the base of the gums. The tendency to develop these ulcers is inherited. There can be one or many ulcers at the same time, and they can be recurrent. Multiple ulcers are scattered across the lining of the mouth, not clustered.

Approximately 17% of the US population has recurrent aphthous stomatitis, which is classified into three categories:

• Minor ulcers are less than 1 centimeter in diameter and do not leave scars. The sores usually heal within two weeks.
• Major ulcers (also called Sutton’s disease) are 1cm or more in diameter, take longer than minor ulcers to heal and may leave scars.
• Herpetiform ulcers are clusters of dozens of smaller ulcers. This form is rare.

PUBLISHED IN TCI WEEKLY NEWS
November 14th 2015

Exposure to secondhand smoke at 4 months of age is associated with an increased risk of tooth decay at age 3 years, concludes a study published in The British Medical Journal recently.

There is a high level of dental decay (caries) in deciduous (baby) teeth in developed countries, at a rate of 20.5% in children aged 2-5 in the US and 25% in children aged 3 in Japan. While caries prevention in young children generally focuses on sugar restriction, oral fluoride supplementation and fluoride varnish, some studies have suggested that secondhand smoke plays a role.