A recent case study found that enlarged gums in children might be an indicator of leukemia (AML).
Sometimes for a dental professional, it can be tough to correctly diagnose an individual based upon what is taking place in their mouth alone. For this reason, dental professionals would be wise to think about more than just the patient’s mouth when diagnosing an issue. Dentists are well-advised to look into the medical background of their patient and the patient’s family when figuring out what may be the issue.
Regarding Leukemia
Leukemia is a type of cancer which affects blood cells and impacts an individual’s body’s ability to fight infections. Leukemia forces the blood-forming tissues of the body to produce irregular white blood cells which do not behave correctly and less of the kinds of blood cells which are used to allow blood to clot or to transport oxygen. This disease can lead to death because of infection or bleeding.
When covering this topic, Dentistry Today mentioned that dentists are typically the ones who begin the diagnosis of 33% of individuals with myelomonocytic leukemia as well as 25% of those with myelogenous leukemia.
Leukemia and your child’s gums
Often the initial signs of leukemia include gingivitis, swelling or bleeding gums The gum tissue can actually swell to the extent where the gums to conceal the teeth in extreme occurrences. Other things to be aware of include feeling weak and inexplicable weight loss.
Is there a way to treat leukemia?
Along with bone marrow transplants and blood transfusions, the most viable course of action for treating leukemia is chemotherapy. Those treatments have been shown to help with the gum problem also.
Here are tips for caring for your mouth for those with leukemia on Everyday Health.
Having swollen gums does not necessarily indicate your child has leukemia, it is important to be mindful of the possibility when looking for causal reasons. Enlarged gum tissue might additionally be the result of possibilities such as puberty-based gingivitis, menstruation cycle-associated gingivitis, Crohn’s disease, lymphoma, ascorbic acid deficiency, neurofibromatosis, and more.
Give your physician or Milford Dental Excellence a call if you have a child who might have large gums so a correct medical evaluation and diagnosis can be carried out.
