- Joined
- Jan 3, 2009
- Messages
- 2,605
- Points
- 0
Examine mouth for early signs of AIDS
Revathi Ramanan, TNN, Dec 13, 2010, 04.45am
The age-old custom of the doctor asking you to open your mouth wide for a close look might probably tell more than many modern diagnostic techniques.
The mouth holds early tell-tale signs of diseases like leukemia, HIV-AIDS and viral infections, according to experts gathered in Chennai for the first international conference of the Indian Association of Oral and Maxilofacial Pathologists (IAOMP).
The oral cavity is part of many important processes such as respiration, digestion and speech, and hence it is the first to be affected, doctors say.
"Take the example of HIV-AIDS. Instead of conducting blood tests for everyone in high risk groups, we can do an oral examination. If there is yeast infection in the mouth, the patient should be recommended for a blood test to confirm the presence of the virus," said IAOMP secretary Dr K Ranganathan.
While swelling of gums and prolonged pain may be an indication of leukemia, several sexually transmitted diseases could cause lesions on the tongue.
Oral inspection may not yield conclusive diagnosis of deadly diseases. "The mouth has largely been ignored while doing diagnostic tests for various diseases. Mouth can tell a lot about diseases of several organs," said Dr Carl Allen, professor of oral and maxillofacial pathology at the Ohio State University. "Misdiagnosis of many infectious diseases could be avoided by just examining the oral cavity of the patient.
Early signs of cancer are usually found in the mouth. Early diagnosis can prevent it from spreading. There are times when the patient has an oral condition for a long time but come to an oral pathologist very late by which time the cancer is beyond control," said Dr Allen, adding that oral manifestations precede symptoms in other parts of the body.
The experts felt that most physicians and dentists were not trained to send patients with an oral condition to oral pathologists, resulting in wrong diagnosis. "Most people visit a general physician when they have an oral condition when they should be visiting an oral pathologist. About 99% of patients I get are referred to me by other doctors rather than the patient coming on their own," said Dr Allen.
.
Revathi Ramanan, TNN, Dec 13, 2010, 04.45am
The age-old custom of the doctor asking you to open your mouth wide for a close look might probably tell more than many modern diagnostic techniques.
The mouth holds early tell-tale signs of diseases like leukemia, HIV-AIDS and viral infections, according to experts gathered in Chennai for the first international conference of the Indian Association of Oral and Maxilofacial Pathologists (IAOMP).
The oral cavity is part of many important processes such as respiration, digestion and speech, and hence it is the first to be affected, doctors say.
"Take the example of HIV-AIDS. Instead of conducting blood tests for everyone in high risk groups, we can do an oral examination. If there is yeast infection in the mouth, the patient should be recommended for a blood test to confirm the presence of the virus," said IAOMP secretary Dr K Ranganathan.
While swelling of gums and prolonged pain may be an indication of leukemia, several sexually transmitted diseases could cause lesions on the tongue.
Oral inspection may not yield conclusive diagnosis of deadly diseases. "The mouth has largely been ignored while doing diagnostic tests for various diseases. Mouth can tell a lot about diseases of several organs," said Dr Carl Allen, professor of oral and maxillofacial pathology at the Ohio State University. "Misdiagnosis of many infectious diseases could be avoided by just examining the oral cavity of the patient.
Early signs of cancer are usually found in the mouth. Early diagnosis can prevent it from spreading. There are times when the patient has an oral condition for a long time but come to an oral pathologist very late by which time the cancer is beyond control," said Dr Allen, adding that oral manifestations precede symptoms in other parts of the body.
The experts felt that most physicians and dentists were not trained to send patients with an oral condition to oral pathologists, resulting in wrong diagnosis. "Most people visit a general physician when they have an oral condition when they should be visiting an oral pathologist. About 99% of patients I get are referred to me by other doctors rather than the patient coming on their own," said Dr Allen.
.
