Dentists Can Help Fight Against Tick Borne disease

Dentists can help fight against tickborne diseases 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), tickborne illnesses are now on the rise, and mitigation should be on everyone's mind this summer. People will receive greater tick bites and tick - borne illnesses during May through July than during any other period of year in the United States. Annually, more than 30,000 instances of Lyme disease are recorded across the country, but studies estimate that the true number of persons diagnosed with Lyme disease is closer to 300,000.

The tick-borne bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi causes Lyme disease, commonly known as Lyme borreliosis. Lyme disease is a multisystem inflammation illness, and if the initial infection is neglected can lead to neurologic, musculoskeletal, and cardiovascular symptoms. Although the B. burgdorferi bacteria does not produce chemicals or directly cause tissue damage, host response mechanisms induce local inflammation. 

It has been discovered that the specific microbes in root canals and where teeth have been removed feed Lyme and many other chronic illnesses. The bacterium that causes Lyme disease lives in the teeth, not the enamel. The spirochete bacteria prefer to live in the dentin and small tubules that make up the dentin.

Dentists can assist in the detection of potential Lyme disease cases. Nonspecific orofacial discomfort and headaches that resemble temporomandibular joint pain might be presented by dental patients. If a patient has these or similar symptoms but no specific oral health concern, dentists should investigate Lyme disease as a possible cause. These people should be sent to a doctor.

According to 1998 research published by the NCBI by Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, symptoms linked with Lyme disease include headache and face discomfort that often resembles dental pathology and temporomandibular problems. Patients who arrive with a multisystemic, multi treatment history and complain of vague, nonspecific oral, face, or head discomfort should be tested for lyme disease. Dental practitioners must be aware of the systemic consequences of this frequently multiorgan disease. Facial and dental discomfort, facial nerve palsy, headache, temporomandibular joint pain, and masticatory muscle pain are some of the clinical symptoms. The consequences of doing dental treatments on a Lyme disease patient must also be addressed.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has determined that Borrelia burgdorferi causes Lyme disease, which is spread to people through the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. Fever, headaches, tiredness, and erythema migrans, a distinctive skin rash, are all common symptoms. Infections of the joints, heart, and nervous system can occur if not treated. With a few weeks of medicines, most cases of Lyme disease may be effectively cured. Using insect repellent, quickly removing ticks, using insecticides, and decreasing tick habitat are all ways to avoid Lyme disease.

Signs and symptoms

General clinical symptoms includes:

• Early localized: distinctive, bull's eye or target shaped skin lesions that itch, burn, or pain in warm regions of the body (axilla, groin, or belt line). Unless treatment is immediately started, lack of energy, infected persons will suffer from headaches including a stiff neck, fever, muscle and joint pain including swollen lymph nodes.

• Late illness, also known as Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS), infected people will suffer from severe damage to the joints, nerves, and brain.

Lyme disease and oral health 

Dental and facial pain, facial nerve palsy, headache, Discomfort of jaw joint , and chewing muscle pain are some of the clinical symptoms. When performing dental treatments on a person with Lyme disease, it's equally important to consider the potential adverse effects.

Getting the best care possible

Because Lyme bacteria live in the mouth, the disease can produce tooth discomfort that is unrelated to cavities or other dental problems, which could lead your dentist to suspect Lyme disease. However, a dentist's misinterpretation of any of these symptoms might lead to needless treatments such as root canals. Knowing the aforementioned oral symptoms can aid in the early detection of Lyme disease.

Oral problems, fortunately, would go away following a successful therapy. That isn't to say you should relax your vigilance. A tick bite might result in a new case of Lyme disease.