Dental Experts Advise Smokers to Switch to E-Cigarettes to Prevent Oral Cancer
Dental experts in the Philippines say smoking is the main cause of oral cancer and strongly advise smokers to quit. For those unable or unwilling to quit, they recommend switching to non-combustible alternatives.
"We warn smokers that smoking is a major cause of oral cancer and strongly advise them to quit. For those who cannot or do not wish to quit on their own or do not want to use currently approved methods to quit, we persuade them to switch to non-combustible alternatives," said Fernando Fernandez, Dean of the Philippine Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, during a recent scientific dialogue on reducing tobacco harm held in Taguig City.<\/span><\/div>
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Former President of the Philippine Dental Association, Fernandez stated that encouraging patients to switch to safer alternatives is a better strategy, "than watching smoking patients die from oral cancer." He continued to cite research from Public Health England and the UK Parliament's Science and Technology Committee, which indicated that this "greatly accelerates the opportunity for already declining smoking rates."<\/span><\/div>
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"One of the advocates of Pcoms is to raise awareness among Filipino dentists about oral cancer. Dentists are the first line of defense against oral cancer. Fernandez added: "He or she is almost always the first healthcare professional to notice potential cancerous lesions and other early symptoms of oral cancer in patients," he added, "I urge my fellow Filipino dentists to raise awareness about oral cancer and educate smoking patients on reducing tobacco harm to prevent or lower their risk of oral cancer."<\/span><\/div>
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According to Fernandez's suggestion, a 2017 study examined the oral health of real-world drug users who had just quit smoking, indicating that the transition to safer alternatives significantly improved their oral health.<\/span><\/div>
This clinical observational study was conducted at the periodontal and oral hygiene department of Calabrodental Clinic in Crotone, Italy, and published on NCBI, analyzing the oral health of 110 smokers who had just switched to non-combustible alternatives.<\/span><\/div>
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At the start of the study, 61% of Group 1 and 65% of Group 2 experienced gum bleeding, while upon re-examination at the end of the study, 92% and 98% respectively had no gum bleeding.<\/span><\/div>
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Oral examinations were conducted at the beginning of the study, followed by checks at 60 days and 120 days after the initial examination. Additionally, these new smokers were divided into two categories: those who had smoked for less than 10 years (Group 1) and those who had smoked for more than 10 years (Group 2).<\/span><\/div>
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