Did anyone read the expanded article in The Courier-Journal this past Thursday?

The article discussed the “face of oral cancer”. It discussed that even young people can get oral cancer and often it is ignored due to their age or health.

A young woman of 23 lost part of her tongue and claimed to have never “heard of oral cancer”! This is a disease on the rise about which everyone should be informed.

The article discussed all the warning signs:

• A sore that doesn’t heal
• A lump in the lips or gums
• A white or red patch in the mouth
• Bleeding, pain, or numbness
• Change in voice
• Trouble chewing or moving your tongue
• Persistent sore throat or feeling of swelling in the throat

Take heed and please see your dentist and don’t be one of the uninformed.

First of all is strength. If you have a tooth that is vertically challenged (short), gold requires much less tooth to be removed than does porcelain. Gold is also much more strong and durable. After all, porcelain is just basically sintered glass particles with some color added.

Second, if you are a bruxer (and we know who you are), gold doesn’t fracture as porcelain often does. Gold also will not wear the opposing tooth down the way porcelain can. Gold does not require the amount of circumferential tooth removal that is required for a porcelain crown. So if your jaw muscles are well developed from genetics, eating, clinching or just talking (ha-ha), consider gold for your molars. They will thank you.

Lastly, if cosmetics are a concern, these teeth are not seen in 95% of people’s smiles. So unless your friends are looking in your mouth with a spelunker’s light, appearance is not a concern.

Dr. Greg Witte