The statistics from the Oral Cancer Foundation and the American Cancer Society are chilling:

• 49,750: The number of people who will be diagnosed with oral cancer this year in the United States.

• 132: The number of new oral cancer cases diagnosed each day.

• 1: The number of people who die every hour, every day, 365 days a year from oral cancer.

These figures are stark, and they represent lives cut too short or altered dramatically by the devastating impact of oral cancer.

Most cases of oral cancer are found in their late stages, resulting in an extremely high death rate. In fact, more than 40% of those diagnosed with oral cancer die within 5 years, due to late-stage diagnosis. In contrast, early detection (stage I and II) of oral cancer yields survival rates of up to 90%. Early detection is key to stopping the progression of the disease and minimizing the impact on those who are diagnosed.

Low Awareness

In the United States, awareness and education surrounding oral cancer is low. In observance of National Oral Cancer Awareness Month and Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Awareness Week this April, Vigilant Biosciences joined with the Head and Neck Cancer Alliance, the Oral Cancer Foundation, and Support for People with Oral and Head and Neck Cancer to launch a campaign to raise awareness about oral cancer and its risk factors. As part of this campaign, we announced findings from our 2017 Oral Cancer Awareness Survey, which polled more than 500 US adults on knowledge, perceptions, and preferences about oral cancer and oral cancer screening.

– See more via Awareness Is the Key to Fighting Oral Cancer | Dentistry Today

“While tobacco and alcohol consumption remain the chief causes of oral cancer, the number of cases caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV) have been increasing. In fact, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that 4.0% of all adults in the United States age 18 to 69 years have one or more of the 14 high-risk types of HPV known to cause oral cancer.

“This research is fueled by the rising incidence of HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC), soon to be the most common HPV-related cancer in the United States, surpassing cervical cancer,” said Jo-Anne Jones, RDH, an educator and specialist in oral cancer. “We understand that a persistent infection with a high-risk strain is the pathway to oral and oropharyngeal cancer. This data substantiates the fear that HPV-related OPSCC is escalating quickly and reaching epidemic proportions.”

The CDC drew its conclusions from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011-2014, which included oral rinse samples. According to the data, 7.3% of all adults in this age range have one or more of the 37 types of oral HPV, which are sexually transmitted. Most sexually active adults acquire the virus at some point in their lives, and they typically pass it within 2 years without symptoms or complications.”

See more via 4.0% of American Adults Carry High-Risk Oral HPV | Dentistry Today

Watch this short video to learn about whether or not brushing your teeth curbs or stimulates appetite.

via Does Brushing Teeth Curb or Stimulate Appetite? | Dentistry Today

“If I have one serious regret about my age, it is that my permanent teeth developed before New York, my hometown, got fluoridated water. I first lost a permanent molar to decay in my early 20s, and the resulting bridge has had to be replaced several times in subsequent decades, ultimately as a four-part apparatus.

Now that has to go as well. Because I could not floss and clean properly under the bridge and between the supporting crowns, I developed a severe periodontal infection.”

via Dental Implants Are Now the Standard in Tooth Restoration – The New York Times

“President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the dollar was “getting too strong” and would eventually hurt the U.S. economy, even as he said he would like to see interest rates stay low, the Wall Street Journal reported.”

via Trump says dollar ‘getting too strong’ – Wall Street Journal | Reuters

Precious metal mining

“Jaguar Mining Inc. (TSX: JAG) reports first-quarter gold production of 22,291 ounces, up 5% year-on-year. “In particular, strong operating performance at Pilar resulted in an 86% increase in gold production to 8,485 ounces, and a 17% improvement in grade to 3.39 g/t (grams per tonne) compared to Q1 2016,” says Rodney Lamond, president and chief executive officer. “Pilar’s strong performance reflects the advancing of ore development (614 meters) into the high-grade Orebodies BF and BFII.” The Turmalina Gold Mine produced 12,736 ounces of gold, lower than the first quarter of this year and fourth quarter, due to lower throughput and grade, the company says.”

via Jaguar Mining Reports 5% Rise In First-Quarter Output | Kitco News

“The phrase ‘a hard day’s night’ was created accidentally by Ringo Starr, who often combined two phrases to create a new one.  This was his way of saying “I’ve had a tough day.” I am sure many market analysts, myself included, feel exactly that way today.

Over the last 36 hours, a multitude of both financial and military events have exponentially ratcheted up the volatility factor. Last night (8:30 PM EST) the United States launched a defined and proportional air attack on Syria. Approximately 12 hours later (8:30 AM EST) the jobs report came out, with numbers well below analyst expectations. Add to this the American-Chinese summit, which concluded today, and you can see why market participants, investors, and analysts had ‘a tough day.'”

via A Hard Day’s Night for Gold Traders | Kitco News

April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month, and dentistrytoday.com will be celebrating the event with blogs, news stories, and other features all spotlighting the disease. #OralCancerAwareness

April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month, a time when our attention turns to this insidious disease. Oral cancer claims one life every hour, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 12 months a year. In fact, the estimated number of new cancer cases of the oral cavity and pharynx will be close to 50,000 in 2017, claiming approximately 9,700 deaths—now 4 times higher than the incidence rate of cervical cancer and many other cancers that we seem to hear about more often.¹

The fastest growing segment of the oral cancer and oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) population is largely driven by rising rates of a subset of cancers in the tongue, oropharynx, and tonsils associated with the human papillomavirus (HPV) infection. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that HPV infection is so common that almost all sexually active American adults will have an infection at some point in their lifetime.²

Most people will clear the infection and may not even be aware they have been infected. If the individual has a healthy functioning immune system, the virus will be dealt with similarly to the common cold. The transformation from an infection to a malignancy is attributed to a persistent infection with a high-risk strain of HPV. The other historically known etiologic pathway for oral cancer is alcohol and tobacco products.

– See more via Is Your Practice Really Dedicated to the Early Discovery of Oral Cancer? | Dentistry Today

Set of gold bars isolated on white background

“Gold rose more than 1 percent on Friday to hit a 5-month high as investors sought safe-haven assets after the United States launched cruise missiles against a Syrian air base, potentially escalating tensions with Syrian allies Russia and Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump unleashed the military strikes in response to a deadly chemical attack on a rebel-held area, a U.S. official said on Thursday.

Spot gold had risen 1 percent to $1,263.53 per ounce by 0650 GMT. It earlier climbed as much as 1.4 percent to its highest since Nov. 10 at $1,269.28, and was on track for a fourth straight week of gains.

U.S. gold futures also climbed 1 percent to $1,266 an ounce.”

via Gold hits five-month high on safe-haven demand as U.S. strikes Syria | Reuters