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Mouth & Throat

Throat conditions such as tonsillitis and laryngitis can cause a great deal of discomfort and can lead to more problems if left untreated. Viral or bacterial infections can lead to inflammation and reddening of the throat and mouth. In addition, infections, stress, and overuse can impair the voice and vocal chords, leading to hoarseness or laryngitis. Our team is highly experienced in diagnosing and treating these types of conditions. It is important to seek treatment when you feel pain, scratchiness, or unusual sores in your mouth or throat.

Some Common Conditions:
Description

Hoarseness (also called dysphonia) is an abnormal change in the quality of your voice, making it sound raspy, strained, fatigued. This usually happens when there is a problem in the vocal cords of your voice box (larynx) that produce sound. The most common cause of hoarseness is acute laryngitis. A cold, viral infection in your breathing tract, or voice strain can make your vocal cords swell.

Symptoms
  • Vocal changes lasting more than 3 days
  • Difficult breathing
  • Pain when speaking
Treatments

Appropriate treatment depends on the cause of your hoarseness. For laryngitis, supportive care and voice rest are usually the recommended courses of action. Surgery is needed to diagnose and treat pre-cancerous or cancerous lesions. Sometimes, other cancer treatments are needed, such as radiation therapy or chemotherapy. For non-cancerous lesions and neurological conditions, voice therapies and techniques are options.

Description

Tonsillitis, also described as pharyngitis, refers to inflammation of the pharyngeal tonsils, which are visible lymph glands located in the back of the throat. Tonsillitis is often caused by viral or bacterial infection and is common in children. Antibiotics help treat bacterial tonsillitis, and have significantly reduced complications such as rheumatic fever, a noncontagious acute fever that causes inflammation, especially of the heart, blood vessels, and joints.

Symptoms
  • Fever
  • Sore throat
  • Bad breath
  • Difficult or painful swallowing
  • Dehydration
  • Tender lymphnodes in neck
  • Mouth breathing or snoring
  • White patches on tonsils
Treatments

Viral tonsillitis usually gets better without additional treatment. Hydration and pain control are important, and hospitalization may be required in severe cases. Bacterial tonsillitis is usually treated with antibiotics, which help strep infections, and prevent complications such as rheumatic fever. Common antibiotics used to treat tonsillitis include penicillins, cephalosporins, macrolides, and clindamycin.

Description

Canker sores, also called aphthous ulcersare the most common type of oral ulcer. They are small with a red border and white or yellow center that occur on the tongue, soft palate, or inside the lips and cheeks.
Fever blisters start as fluid-filled sores that most often appear on the outer lip borders, gums, or roof of the mouth. Fever blisters result from reactivation of the herpes simplex virus that otherwise lives dormant in many people. Canker sores and fever blisters usually last 5-10 days.

Symptoms
  • Fluid filled sores
  • Sores inside mouth
  • Redness / itching
Treatments

Fever blisters can be treated with antiviral medication. For canker sores, treatment is directed toward relieving discomfort and guarding against infection. A topical corticosteroid preparation can be helpful.

Description

Dysphagia means that you can’t swallow well. Dysphagia is not a diagnosis; it is the symptom. Many factors may cause dysphagia, and most are temporary and non-life-threatening. In uncommon situations, swallowing difficulties can be related to a tumor or a nerve system disorder. It happens to people of all ages, but more often in the elderly.

Symptoms
  • Drooling
  • Feeling that food is stuck in throat
  • Coughing or choking on food or liquid
  • Sensing of a “lump” in the throat
  • Losing weight
  • Coughing up blood
  • Changing voice
Treatments

Your ENT doctor may insert a small tube called a flexible laryngoscope through your nose to help examine your throat in greater detail. This procedure is called flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES).Your doctor and/or specialist may also order other tests like the barium swallow (or esophagram) and modified barium swallow. In these tests, X-rays record how food and drinks go down, and help your doctor evaluate the entire swallowing process. If necessary, they may do an examination of the esophagus, called trans-nasal esophagoscopy (TNE).

Description

Infections from viruses or bacteria are the main cause of sore throats, but allergies and sinus infections can also contribute. Some sore throats are worse than other and long-lasting sore throats need a doctor's attention.

Symptoms
  • Drooling
  • Severe and prolonged sore throat
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Difficulty opening the mouth
  • Swelling of the face or neck
  • Earache
  • Blood in saliva or phlegm
  • Fever
Treatments

A mild sore throat associated with cold or flu symptoms can be made more comfortable by increasing liquid intake, drinking warm tea with honey, using a personal steamer or place a humidifier, gargling with warm salt water. Over-the-counter pain relievers can also help.
For bacterial infections, antibiotics (such as penicillin or erythromycin), that kill or impair bacteria may be used. Antibiotics do not cure viral infections, but viruses do lower the patient’s resistance to bacterial infections. When a combined infection like this happens, antibiotics may be recommended.

Description

Adenoiditis is an inflammation of the adenoids caused by infection. Adenoids are masses of lymphatic tissue that help the body fight infection. They are found in the throat just behind the nose. Along with the tonsils, adenoids are the first line of defense against bacteria and viruses. Adenoids store white blood cells and antibodies that help to destroy possible infections threatening your health. If the adenoids become inflamed, they may not perform their function properly.

Symptoms
  • Sounding nasally when speaking
  • Sore or dry throat
  • Difficulty breathing through nose
  • Snoring
  • Runny nose with mucus
Treatments

If a bacteria caused your adenoiditis, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics. The use of antibiotics often proves successful in treating inflamed adenoidal tissue. If a virus caused your adenoiditis, your doctor will put you on a treatment plan that’s specific to the virus.Surgery to remove your adenoids may also be an option. This is called adenoidectomy.

Description

The vocal cords move through the contraction of various muscles controlled by the brain and a specific set of nerves. Vocal cord paralysis and paresis can result from abnormal function of the nerves that control your voice box muscles (laryngeal muscles). There are two nerves that can be involved: The recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN), and the superior laryngeal nerve (SLN). Paralysis and paresis of the vocal cords can be caused by many things such as, injuries, neurological disorders, tumors, viral infections, auto-immune conditions.

Symptoms
  • Voice changes (hoarseness, etc.)
  • Shortness of breath when speaking
  • Swallowing problems
Treatments

Voice therapy can help improve vocal function before having to consider surgery. The decision to have surgery depends on the degree of the symptoms, voice needs, etc. There are two main types of surgical procedures to treat vocal cord paralysis: vocal cord injection (a filling material is injected into the vocal cords), and larangeal framework surgery (an implant is inserted through the neck to help the vocal cords perform better).

Description

Dehydration is a risk factor for certain salivary gland disorders. It’s important to drink lots of liquid every day to promote good saliva production. The major salivary glands include the parotid (on the cheek and under the ear), submandibular (under the jaw), and sublingual (under the tongue) glands. These glands produce saliva, which helps moisten the mouth, initiates food digestion, and helps protect teeth from decay. There are also many tiny, minor salivary glands located along the lips, inside the cheek, mouth, and throat.

Symptoms
  • Blocked saliva flow
  • Difficulty eating
  • Swelling in the glands of cheek / neck
  • Pain in the glands
  • Repeated infections
  • Growths or lumps inside cheek
Treatments

If the disorder relates to salivary gland obstruction and infection, your doctor or ENT specialist may prescribe antibiotics and recommend increasing your fluids.If a mass has developed within the salivary gland, removal of the mass may be recommended. Most masses in the parotid gland area are noncancerous. If the lump in the vicinity of a salivary gland is a lymph node that has become enlarged due to cancer from another site, your ENT specialist will recommend a different treatment plan.

Description

Over 90 percent of laryngeal cancers are a type of cancer called squamous cell carcinoma (SCCA), and over 95 percent of patients with laryngeal SCCA are smokers. Smoking contributes to cancer development by causing mutations or changes in genes, preventing carcinogens from being cleared from the respiratory tract, and decreasing the body’s immune response.The consequences of laryngeal cancer can be devastating with respect to voice, breathing, or swallowing. It is a preventable disease, however, since the primary risk factors for laryngeal cancer are associated with changeable behaviors in lifestyle.

Symptoms
  • Worsening or persistent hoarseness
  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Persistent sore throat
  • Difficulty breathing
  • Pain in the ear
  • Lump in the neck
  • Coughing up blood
Treatments

Laryngeal cancer is a preventable disease in most cases, because the main risk factors are associated with lifestyle behaviors that can be modified or changed. Tobacco in any form should be avoided, and alcohol should be limited. The primary treatment options for laryngeal cancer include surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or a combination of these treatments, the first two being the most commonly recommended treatments.

Description

Acid reflux occurs when acidic stomach contents flow back into the esophagus, the swallowing tube that leads from the back of the throat to the stomach.When acid repeatedly “refluxes” from the stomach into the esophagus alone, it is known as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). However, if the stomach acid travels up the esophagus and spills into the throat or voice box (called the pharynx/larynx), it is known as laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR).

Symptoms
  • Heartburn
  • Belching
  • Regurgitation of stomach contents
  • Excess mucus
  • Bitter taste
  • Burning in throat
  • Feeling of something stuck in throat
  • Hoarseness
  • Difficulty swallowing
  • Choking episodes during sleep
Treatments

Options for treatment include lifestyle and dietary modifications, medications, and rarely surgery. Lifestyle changes may include losing weight, cutting down or stopping smoking tobacco products, limiting alcohol, eating slowly.Medications that can be prescribed include antacids, ulcer medications, proton pump inhibitors, and foam barrier medications.

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