Essay Sample on Oral Health: Global Prevalence, Dental Caries, Oral Cancer

Introduction

Oral health symbolizes the overall health and life quality of an individual. “Some of the diseases that are associated with oral health include dental caries, congenital disabilities like the palate, periodontal diseases, Noma, oral cancer, as well as Oro-dental trauma” (Hoerler, Jenkins, & Assad, 2019). The estimated number of people that are affected by teeth infections globally are about 3.6 billion. Dental caries is more prevalent among many individuals. Also, oral cancer is one of the top cancer infections that is affecting people in Asian-Pacific regions.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Similarly, oral diseases are associated with cardiovascular infections, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and diabetes (NCDs). The primary causative agents of oral infections also result in NCDs. They include unhealthy diets and tobacco use. Similarly, women undergo a lot of changes during pregnancy that render them vulnerable to dental infections. Failure to take good care of the teeth may affect the health of the baby. Thus, dental care should be incorporated in the prenatal plan of pregnant women to improve the health outcome of the foetus. This paper seeks to address oral health among pregnant women in Florida.

Overview of the Problem in Florida

Pregnant women are at risk of contracting dental infections resulting from changed eating habits. Some women have more cavity-causing bacteria than others. Thus, if proper oral health practices are not put in place, the bacteria will be transmitted from the mothers' mouth to that of the foetus. Also, babies are likely to develop childhood cavities at a tender age (Horowitz, Child, & Maybury, 2019). In Florida, 1 in every five adult women has unhealed cavities. According to Hoerler et al. (2019), the majority of the women that visit the dentist are mostly expectant. In 2009, pregnant women who visited dentists in Florida were 44.6% while in 2015, the number increased to 46.6%. In essence, expectant mothers have realized the benefits of maintaining good dental well-being. The majority of expectant mothers are affected by gingivitis. The infection is symbolized by reddening and swelling of the gums as a result of hormonal changes. If the infection is left untreated, some of the jawbones are lost, leading to gum infection. Also, the teeth will become loose and must be extracted. Also, periodontitis result in preterm birth if not treated at an early stage. In Florida, the government has established dental cover as part of health insurance. As a result, pregnant mothers have taken the initiative to engage the dentist during the gestation period. The cover has led to the improvement in the overall health outcome of the residence in Florida.

However, there is another group that is mostly affected by dental diseases, impoverished families. Like other states, Florida has a wide population of individuals who cannot access basic commodities such as medication and proper diets. These families cannot afford the dental insurance cover- the infants are mostly affected by dental diseases. In most cases, the infants have weak bones that result in weak teeth due to the poor diet of the mother during the gestation period (Hoerler et al., 2019). Also, there is an increased number of mortality in street families. According to Geevarghese, Baskaradoss, and Sarma, (2017), the infants are born with a weak immune system that result in their deaths. The increased mortality is also associated with the poor oral health of the mothers since they rarely visit the dentist for check-ups. In Florida, dental practices may have improved over the past decade among wealth and average citizens. However, the low-class individuals are still suffering due to low income that cannot sustain their overall upkeep.

Significance of the Problem

Dental healthiness is essential to every individual, even developing infants. Studying oral health among pregnant women in Florida will help to identify areas that the government need to improve the health outcome of the citizens. The information will also help the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to create awareness to the impoverished families on the importance of maintaining dental health and impacts on the unborn infants.

Impact of the Disease

Any infection during pregnancy is a great concern to the mother. Teeth infections is not an exception since it is fatal to the health of the unborn baby. Expectant mothers produce a lot of acids that may result in an increase in bacteria in the mouth. The bacteria enter the bloodstream and mix with the foetus blood leading to premature birth. Similarly, periodontal disease is associated with low birth weight. Periodontal diseases cause 20 in every 80 premature births- the infection is chronic; thus, it should be treated regularly (Horowitz et al., 2019). Appropriate treatment may reduce the rate of premature deaths.

Similarly, bad oral health tends to cause pregnancy tumors. The lumps are noncancerous and form on the puffy gums- some of the lumps may frequently bleed while others do not bleed. The expectant mother should seek help from the dentist after delivering the baby. However, some of the tumors disappear during pregnancy. Also, the increased bacteria in the mouth can lead to loss of teeth due to weak jawbones (Geevarghese et al., 2017). Therefore, dental fitness is essential for both the mother and the unborn infant.

Epidemiological and Demographic Data on Mortality/Morbidity and Risk

Dental carries, as well as periodontitis trigger the atherosclerotic leading to coronary diseases. Poor dental health is connected to the increase in the mortality rate. In essence, the risk factors of dental problems are similar to those of cardiovascular illnesses. Some of the common risk factors include old age, smoking, as well as poor socioeconomic status (Vamos, Walsh, Thompson, Daley, Detman, & DeBate, 2015). In most cases, some individuals tend to suffer from obesity as a result of consumption of unhealthy diets containing a lot of sugars. Similarly, the same sugars will cause dental carries if teeth are not brushed appropriately. Oral diseases may not be the primary lead of mortality, but the infections contribute to the death of individuals. However, different diseases are linked to different dental infections. For instance, one may be affected by chemotherapy of oral cancer, which may result in the death of the individual.

Likewise, comorbidity is common among the elderly population. Oral infection is one of the health issues that affect older adults - the infection may contribute to mortality if the patients suffer from other diseases (Geevarghese et al., 2017). Additionally, ethnic groups, education, health habits, as well as chronic diseases, are some of the confounders connecting dental health to mortality. Some of the ethnic groups occupy regions with very salty water, which affect their teeth. In some regions, the members of the entire community have yellow teeth as a result of consumption of salty water. Thus, the demographic location of individuals contributes to an overall oral health outcome. Also, some of the educated individuals tend to maintain good dental health during gestation, unlike the illiterate (Vamos et al., 2015). Therefore, several factors contribute to the dental well-being outcome of individuals.

Conclusion

Several governmental and non-governmental organizations have contributed a lot in containing dental illnesses. For instance, HP 2020 has been working with various health centers to ensure proper dental equipment are in place. Also, they have been creating awareness about the significance of maintaining good oral health. HP 2020 has also been encouraging expectant mothers to visit the dentist regularly for check-ups to ensure the safety of the foetus (Hunter, 2018). Similarly, the Federal has increased the number of dental facilities in every community to increase access to dental services to the marginalized populations. Central Disease and Control (CDC) unit has also helped in the evaluation and enhancing of the approaches utilized in monitoring oral infections (Hunter, 2018). Several other research institutes have also contributed to curbing dental infections.

References

Geevarghese, A., Baskaradoss, J. K., & Sarma, P. S. (2017). Oral health-related quality of life and periodontal status of pregnant women. Maternal and child health journal, 21(8), 1634-1642.

Hoerler, S. B., Jenkins, S., & Assad, D. (2019). Evaluating Oral Health in Pregnant Women: Knowledge, attitudes and practices of health professionals. American Dental Hygienists' Association, 93(1), 16-22.

Horowitz, A. M., Child, W., & Maybury, C. (2019). Obstetric Providers' Role in Prenatal Oral Health Counseling and Referral. American journal of health behavior, 43(6), 1162-1170.

Hunter, M. (2018). Oral Health 2020: Recommendations to Help Ohio Meet Healthy People 2020 Goals Based on States' Oral Health Plans.

Vamos, C. A., Walsh, M. L., Thompson, E., Daley, E. M., Detman, L., & DeBate, R. (2015). Oral-systemic health during pregnancy: exploring prenatal and oral health providers' information, motivation and behavioral skills. Maternal and child health journal, 19(6), 1263-1275.