Oral Health and Disease: What You Should Know

This book is a guide to oral health and common diseases and is designed to serve as a comprehensive “how to” manual for practitioners and patients. It is divided into 5 parts starting with an introduction to oral health including the history of dentistry, the WHO policy for oral health and an overview of oral anatomy. The second part deals with global trends in oral health discussing the global burden of oral diseases, their risk factors as well as nutrition, sugar consume and fluoridation in dentistry. Common patient-related complaints of oral diseases like dental pain, tooth deformation, gum disease, tongue and lip disorders, jawbone infections, oral ulcers and oral cancer are discussed in the third part. The fourth part on common oral diagnostic methods explains tissue sampling and imaging methods and is followed by the final part on oral hygiene and home oral care recommendations giving advice on tobacco cessation, infection control measures used in dental practice and lifestyleconsiderations for improved oral health. This book is a companion for all dentists, dental hygienists and patients who want to learn about the importance of oral health for general wellbeing.