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Health Edco Mouth Models
Say a Lot About Health
Oral health as a part of overall health often doesn’t get the attention it deserves. (It isn’t even covered by regular medical insurance!) And yet oral health (the health of the mouth, teeth, gums, and facial system that allows us to chew, talk, and smile) is directly related to overall health.
For example, periodontal (gum) diseases have been linked to cardiovascular diseases and conditions (including stroke and high blood pressure), dementia, prediabetes, and even certain forms of cancer. Expectant mothers with gum disease are also more likely to have a preterm delivery or a low-birthweight baby. And pain and tooth loss can affect a person’s ability to eat, resulting in unhealthy changes to the diet and additional health problems.
Poor oral health can have socioeconomic consequences, too. People’s oral health can affect how they perceive themselves or how others perceive them, affecting employment opportunities or even the perception of their intelligence level.
Oral health is clearly an integral and important part of general health, but the statistics are sobering. In the United States, more than 40 percent of adults say they have experienced pain in their mouths in the past year. Among children, tooth decay is the most common chronic childhood disease. Worldwide, more than 530 million children experience tooth decay of their primary teeth, potentially setting the stage for a lifetime of oral and other health problems.
Many factors affect oral health, including practicing good oral hygiene, access to regular preventive care, consuming foods and drinks high in added sugars, and the use of tobacco and other drugs.
Here at Health Edco, we have a variety of proprietary health models dedicated not only to help demonstrate the basics of good oral hygiene but also to reveal the dangers to oral health posed by tobacco and other drugs. Read on to discover just a few of these attention-grabbing models in our product sections dedicated to oral health, tobacco, and drugs, and see how these models serve as powerful teaching tools in raising awareness about the importance of oral health.
Smoker’s Foul Mouth™ Display
If your goal is to damage or destroy your oral health as well as your overall health, smoking is a great way to do it. Featuring an unappealing mouth model mounted on a base that looks like the lit end of a smoldering cigarette, our Smoker’s Foul Mouth Display is an ideal way to show the devastating effects cigarette smoking can have on the lips, tongue, teeth, and gums. The lips can be pulled apart gently to show conditions inside the mouth. Two removable tongues depict several oral conditions caused by smoking. An included cigarette model serves as a pointer that instructors can use during demonstrations.
health and dental damage smoking can cause.
The display reveals multiple consequences of smoking for oral health, including:
- Lips—Wrinkling appears around the display’s lips as a result of the premature aging caused by smoking, and the display’s lower lip features a cancerous growth, which can appear as a lesion, lump, or ulcer.
- Tongue A—One of the display’s two removable tongue models depicts hairy tongue, an unsightly condition caused by smoking. With hairy tongue, the bumps on the tongue become enlarged, and the tongue takes on a furry look and may appear in almost any color, such as black, brown, green, or white.
- Tongue B—The second removable tongue depicts leukoplakia and tongue cancer. Leukoplakia can start as a white patch on the tongue or inner cheek and may eventually become cancerous. Tongue cancer can spread to the gums, throat, lower jaw, neck, floor of the mouth, and lymph nodes and potentially be fatal.
- Teeth—The display’s teeth show the stained teeth typical in smokers along with tooth decay and cavities. Smoking also increases plaque buildup, adding to the risk of gum disease and infections.
- Gums—With bleeding and irritated gums, gum recession, and deep pockets between the teeth and gums, the display depicts how smoking can lead to gum disease, a serious bacterial infection and leading cause of tooth loss. The pockets between the teeth and receded gums become filled with bacteria that can destroy tissue and supporting bone, resulting in tooth loss.
Using the Smoker’s Foul Mouth Display with students and patients is a great way to grab attention, help deter smoking before it starts, or encourage smoking cessation to avoid the unattractive, unpleasant, and potentially fatal consequences of smoking.
Mr. Gross Mouth™
One of our most famous educational resources, Mr. Gross Mouth Model didn’t achieve his fame for good looks or stellar oral hygiene. On the contrary, this life-size mouth is known for its disturbingly realistic depiction of the oral health damage wreaked by a smokeless tobacco (also called spit tobacco) habit.
leaves a lasting impression on the dangers of dip and chew.
The model comes mounted on a base that includes a key highlighting each of the nasty consequences of smokeless tobacco depicted in the model:
- Cancer of the palate
- Cancer of the tongue
- Mouth cancer
- Gum inflammation
- Cavities
- Tooth loss
- Cancer of the gums
- Receding gums
An included jar of tobacco can be used to create tobacco juice, enhancing demonstrations by accurately depicting the need to spit with smokeless tobacco. The model also comes in a larger-than-life version, Giant Mr. Gross Mouth™, which is ideal for teaching larger audiences.
Watch this classic Health Edco video of elementary educator Alicia Murphy demonstrating the teachable features of Mr. Gross Mouth:
Meth Mouth: An Inside Look Display
Like tobacco use, using drugs such as methamphetamine (meth), ecstasy, heroin, cocaine, and marijuana can have devastating effects on oral health. All of these drugs can lead to dry mouth, limiting the amount of saliva, which is essential for keeping teeth clean. Stimulant drugs, such as ecstasy, meth, and cocaine, can cause users to grind or clinch their teeth, weakening and breaking them. For some users, marijuana leads to bouts of severe nausea and vomiting, which can cause stomach acid to weaken tooth enamel.
are undeniable with our Meth Mouth: An Inside Look Display.
Our Meth Mouth: An Inside Look Display highlights the oral health horrors associated with meth abuse. The painted, lifelike mouth model with a fleshlike tongue accurately portrays the horrendous dental damage wrought by meth abuse:
- Broken teeth
- Severely decayed teeth
- Missing teeth
- Chipped teeth
- Cavities
- Inflamed gums
- Receding gumline
- Mouth sores on ulcerated tongue
Ideal for drug education or instruction in oral health, the mouth model comes with an informative display background and base that explain how meth destroys oral health and includes an easy-to-understand model key.
Dental Health Model
Health Edco has several great dental health models that are perfect to demonstrate the importance of proper dental hygiene (such as our Clean Mouth/Dirty Mouth Display) or how to brush and take care of the teeth (such as our Mr. Clean Mouth With Giant Toothbrush or Plaque Hunter™ Demonstration Model).
to demonstrate with our Dental Health Model.
Our Dental Health Model is a large model of the lower teeth and jaw that is perfect for demonstrations in proper dental techniques, such as brushing, flossing, and cleaning between braces. It can also be used to demonstrate the application of fluoride varnish. Simulated plaque comes with the model that can be removed during flossing demonstrations. A removable, healthy first molar on the right side of the model can be replaced with the included decayed model with cavities to reveal the damage that can occur when teeth are not properly cleaned.
Watch as Chad Latino, DDS, explains the features of our Dental Health Model:
Discover More Oral Health Education Resources
Good oral hygiene and healthy eating are essential for maintaining oral health and general health throughout the lifespan. That’s why Health Edco provides oral health models that cover everything from baby bottle tooth decay to the oral health damage caused by tobacco and drugs, to the essentials of good oral hygiene. See more great products by visiting our product sections dedicated to oral health, tobacco, and drugs.
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