Other Complications of Diabetes
Jahangir Moini, Matthew Adams, Anthony LoGalbo in Complications of Diabetes Mellitus, 2022
Thrush is a condition also known as candidiasis. White or red patches develop on the gums, tongue, cheeks, or roof of the mouth. Thrush is prevented via proper cleaning of dentures, removing dentures for part of the day or night, and soaking them in a prescribed medication. Xerostomia is another condition linked to diabetes mellitus, and is commonly known as dry mouth. There is insufficient saliva, increasing risks for tooth decay and gum disease. There may be mouth pain, cracking of the lips, and sores or infections. Xerostomia results in problems chewing, eating, and even swallowing or talking. Humidifying devices increase moisture in the air surrounding the patient. There may be a need to avoid spicy or salty foods, since they can cause pain in a dry mouth. Oral burning may occur in the mouth because of hyperglycemia. There may be a bitter taste, and symptoms often worsen throughout the day. Oral burning may require changes in diabetes medications. Once the blood glucose is controlled, the condition resolves. Other symptoms in the mouth include sores or ulcers that do not heal, dark spots or holes in the teeth, loose teeth, pain while chewing, altered taste sensations, and chronic bad breath. Some patients have pain chronic pain in the mouth, face, or jaw.
Abdominal surgery
Roy Palmer, Diana Wetherill in Medicine for Lawyers, 2020
Some understanding of the function of the abdominal organs is important. The oesophagus transmits food from the mouth to the stomach. It has no digestive function, although a number of medical conditions affect the oesophagus and make it difficult to swallow. The stomach acts as a reservoir; it produces dilute hydrochloric acid which initiates digestion. The liver is responsible for metabolizing digested food products. Bile, an emulsifying agent which aids digestion, is produced in the liver and concentrated in the gallbladder. When a particularly fatty meal is digested, the gallbladder contracts squeezing bile into the bile ducts and then into the duodenum, the first part of the small bowel. The food becomes emulsified with the bile and digestion is initiated. The pancreas produces enzymes that aid digestion. These enzymes are particularly caustic and if they escape from the pancreas can cause severe inflammation (pancreatitis). The pancreas also has one other function and that is sugar regulation; it produces insulin.
Hygiene
Barbara Smith, Linda Field in Nursing Care, 2019
Oral hygiene is the practice to keep mouths clean and free from disease by regularly brushing teeth and gums and checking around the mouth and between the teeth, this needs to be done regularly, the teeth and gums need to be cleaned at least, twice daily (NHS Choices, 2018). It is important that patients are assisted to meet their oral hygiene needs. A variety of grips for toothbrushes and sculptured handled toothbrushes are available from specialist equipment shops and large pharmacies to help people with restricted hand movement, for example due to arthritis. Exhibit 4.2 offers some tips on maintaining a healthy mouth (Department of Health, 2017). Good oral health is about not having pain or disease, it is about having the ability to eat, drink and communicate properly. Poor oral health can lead to dehydration and malnutrition which will delay recovery and can lead to extended hospital stays. Good oral health is important so that the person’s dignity can be maintained (Doshi, 2016).
Profile of the oral microbiota from preconception to the third trimester of pregnancy and its association with oral hygiene practices
Published in Journal of Oral Microbiology, 2022
Xuena La, Hong Jiang, An Chen, Huajun Zheng, Liandi Shen, Weiyi Chen, Fengyun Yang, Lifeng Zhang, Xushan Cai, Hongfang Mao, Lu Cheng
Our study also found that some specific oral hygiene practices, such as the duration and frequency of tooth brushing and mouth rinse after meals or sweets, would influence the composition of the oral microbiota. The pathogenic taxa tended to be more abundant in the oral cavity of those who brushed their teeth less frequently and for a shorter period, and those who did not have the habits of rinsing their mouth after meals or sweets, which indicated the importance of maintaining oral hygiene. Blaustein et al. found that oral hygiene frequencies of tooth brushing and flossing were inversely related to the diversity of toothbrush microbiome [41]. Shi Huang et al. designed a double-blind, randomized controlled trial among 91 adults with moderate gingivitis with two regimens: the brush-alone treatment and the brush-plus-rinse treatment to explore the impacts of various anti-gingivitis treatments on the plaque microbiota. It was found that Actinobaculum, TM7 and Leptotrichia were consistently reduced by both treatments. They also found that a brush-plus-rinse group exhibited more profound temporal changes in both alpha and beta diversity of the plaque microbiota than the brush-alone group [42]. Therefore, oral health care education should be advocated for improving oral hygiene practices, and more attentions should be paid to preconception and pregnant women.
Dysphagia and medicine regimes in patients following lung transplant surgery: A retrospective review
Published in International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 2021
Anna Miles, Sujay Barua, Naomi McLellan, Lejla Brkic
Xerostomia is perhaps the most common medicine side effect and has a detrimental impact on oral, pharyngeal and oesophageal transit as well as mealtime enjoyment (Logemann et al., 2001). Oral and dental health are also vulnerable in patients with xerostomia (Thomson, Lawrence, Broadbent, & Poulton, 2006) and poor oral health is associated with increased risk of aspiration pneumonia (Langmore et al., 1998). The majority of our patients had more than one medicine prescribed with a listed side effect of xerostomia: anticholinergics, antidepressants, antiemetics, ACE inhibitors, antihistamine, diuretics, opiates and antipsychotics. Dietary changes and behavioural strategies should be advised to alleviate dry mouth. Stringent oral care regimes are critical post-operatively. Appetite, smell and taste all contribute to mealtime enjoyment and nutrition – both important in patients post-lung transplant where nutritional status is a critical factor in positive health outcomes (Jomphe, Lands, & Mailhot, 2018). Antibiotics, anticholinergics and psychotropic medicines are common contributors to reduced appetite, smell and taste. Nutrition should be monitored carefully and all opportunities to maximise mealtime enjoyment should be initiated.
DBD-FISH, an effective marker for detecting genotoxicity in buccal mucosa exfoliated cells of patients with oral cancer
Published in Toxicology Mechanisms and Methods, 2021
Elva I Cortés-Gutiérrez, Jorge G. Garza Molina, Martha I Dávila-Rodríguez, Pablo Zapata Benavides, José M Faz Eguía, Ricardo M Cerda-Flores
Oral cancer is included in the 10 types of malignant neoplasia with a highly rising incidence worldwide and is especially frequent in developing countries (Marchioni et al. 2007; Warnakulasuriya 2009), is one of the 10 most recurrent cancers as declared by World Health Organization (WHO), each year, there are 575 000 new cases and 320 000 deaths annually worldwide (Halder et al. 2004). In 2018, Globocan recorded that in Mexico, 1.1% of all neoplasms are of the oral cavity, causing death in 0.81% (IARC, WHO 2018). Data on the development of Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma (OSCC) in Mexican and Latin-American communities are limited (Hernández-Guerrero et al. 2013). In other records OSCC constitutes more than 90% of malignant neoplasms of the mouth (Bagan et al. 2010). Their principal anatomic region includes the tongue, floor of the mouth, gums, palate, oral mucosa, and other areas in the mouth.