The importance of dental health

Pop quiz:
How important is dental health to your overall health?

Answer:
Very.

The condition of your mouth is vital to your overall health. If we start with the basics, people with "bad" teeth or no teeth at all, can't eat a lot of different foods needed for good nutrition. This leads to health issues and can turn into severe health problems. Beyond the basics, bacteria that is in your mouth could enter your blood stream and cause problems with your heart.

You can have oral cancer (tongue, palate, gum) and not know it until it's too late, while a dentist may be able to detect it in the earliest stages. This can be assessed at your regular checkup.

Pregnant women, in particular, should be careful with their oral health. A recent study found that pregnant women with gum disease were at higher risk of developing high blood pressure and preeclampsia, a condition that can lead to very serious consequences - even death.

So - how important is your dental health?

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Organ transplants - none if you smoke medicinal pot?

There's a news story ab0ut a man who smokes legally-prescribed medicinal marijuana and desperately needs a liver transplant. However, the hospitals involved are refusing to put him on the waiting list because he smokes pot. The fact that it's medicinal pot that he is smoking BECAUSE he needs the transplant is totally being ignored. One institution said that he could be considered if he didn't smoke for 6 months and the other said that he had to go through a 60 day detox program.

Now, there are many who say this particular person is in this situation because of his own doing and the situations that led him to this. Whether this is the case or not, I believe the story goes much deeper. To me, it means that if you or I, who may not have led the type of life as this man, could be denied lifesaving surgery because of "the rules."

If I am smoking medicinal pot because of the pain and discomfort caused by a need for an organ, pain and discomfort that will go away if the transplant is successful, would I be denied because they won't do transplants on someone who smokes pot?

I do understand that there are limited resources. There was a story on the news last night about how improvements in trauma care is actually keeping people alive who might have died a decade ago and become organ donors. In the whole scheme of things, not that many people sign their organ donor cards either, so we're looking at a serious shortage of donors. But is the "no pot" before surgery realistic if it's medicinal pot?

Today at Help My Hurt:

Preemie pain eased with skin contact
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