When you think of working out, you probably focus on areas like your glutes and biceps—how about your teeth and gums? Believe it or not, exercise does play a role in improving your dental health. A post from March 2016 outlines the benefits:
Positive Impact of Exercise on dental health
Regular Exercise Prevents Gum Disease
A study published in the Journal of Dentistry in 2005 found that regular exercise can help lower the risk of contracting periodontitis, or gum disease. After studying the relationship between gum disease and physical activity, the report concluded that exercising regularly is associated with lower risk of developing gum disease. In fact, the people who regularly worked out and had never smoked were 54% less likely to have periodontitis compared to those who reported no regular physical activity. A National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey also found that even partially active people (exercising 3 times or less per week) were 33% less likely to have periodontitis than those who do not exercise.Correlation between [Lower] BMI and [Good] Oral Health
Maintaining a healthy BMI (body mass index) is actually very beneficial for your oral health. Health issues associated with obesity like hypertension and diabetes are known for contributing to poor oral health. In fact, a study in The Journal of Periodontology from the University of Florida conducted a study to find the affect that weight has on dental health. Researchers looked at BMI, body fat percentage, and oxygen consumption to assess how healthy each participant was. According to the study “Individuals who maintained normal weight, engaged in the recommended level of exercise, and had a high-quality diet were 40% less likely to have periodontitis compared to individuals who maintained none of these health-enhancing behaviors.”
While exercise can reduce patients risk factors for gum disease, an active lifestyle also has effects on dentistry practices. At ASDA blog, one dental student found that he could handle the stresses of the profession better when he exercised–and his physical activity also improved his dexterity in regards to dental instruments:
Outdoor Hobbies Might Just Improve Your Dentistry
For me, backpacking is a great avenue to escape the stresses of dental school. It offers a moment of peace to reflect in nature, which can significantly improve your mental health as well as provide a means for physical exercise. Since nearly everyone can walk, backpacking is an accessible activity for many people. Hiking trails for beginners are as short as one mile and those seeking a challenge can tackle trails as long as 20 miles. No matter the length of the trail, backpackers from all physical fitness levels are welcome to move at their own pace. The best part of backpacking is that it offers so many ways to feel accomplished. For some, enjoying the journey is more satisfying than reaching the destination. However, my favorite aspect is finding hidden gems along the trail, such as a waterfall or a famous bouldering location.
While backpacking hiking trails is my way of relaxing, bouldering is my way to improve strength. Bouldering is a great alternative to those who find going to the gym too repetitive. Plus, building your grip strength through climbing has benefits that can be applied to practicing dentistry. Improving finger strength can help steady your hands for deep cleanings, applying rubber dams, holding a handpiece or even torquing implants. For those who enjoy the social aspect of hobbies, bouldering has a close-knit community that encourages camaraderie and mutual support for other climbers …
Although exercise isn’t the go-to preventative method that comes to mind for most people, it is certainly one that can help patients succeed in their check-ups and help dentists handle heavy workloads. For more information on preventative treatments, take a look at: myimagedental.com/services/preventive-dentistry/
How Can Exercise Benefit Both Dental Patients and Dental Practitioners? is available on: http://www.myimagedental.com
When you think of working out, you probably focus on areas like your glutes and biceps—how about your teeth and gums? Believe it or not, exercise does play a role in improving your dental health. A post from March 2016 outlines the benefits:
Positive Impact of Exercise on dental health
Regular Exercise Prevents Gum Disease
A study published in the Journal of Dentistry in 2005 found that regular exercise can help lower the risk of contracting periodontitis, or gum disease. After studying the relationship between gum disease and physical activity, the report concluded that exercising regularly is associated with lower risk of developing gum disease. In fact, the people who regularly worked out and had never smoked were 54% less likely to have periodontitis compared to those who reported no regular physical activity. A National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey also found that even partially active people (exercising 3 times or less per week) were 33% less likely to have periodontitis than those who do not exercise.Correlation between [Lower] BMI and [Good] Oral Health
Maintaining a healthy BMI (body mass index) is actually very beneficial for your oral health. Health issues associated with obesity like hypertension and diabetes are known for contributing to poor oral health. In fact, a study in The Journal of Periodontology from the University of Florida conducted a study to find the affect that weight has on dental health. Researchers looked at BMI, body fat percentage, and oxygen consumption to assess how healthy each participant was. According to the study “Individuals who maintained normal weight, engaged in the recommended level of exercise, and had a high-quality diet were 40% less likely to have periodontitis compared to individuals who maintained none of these health-enhancing behaviors.”
While exercise can reduce patients risk factors for gum disease, an active lifestyle also has effects on dentistry practices. At ASDA blog, one dental student found that he could handle the stresses of the profession better when he exercised–and his physical activity also improved his dexterity in regards to dental instruments:
Outdoor Hobbies Might Just Improve Your Dentistry
For me, backpacking is a great avenue to escape the stresses of dental school. It offers a moment of peace to reflect in nature, which can significantly improve your mental health as well as provide a means for physical exercise. Since nearly everyone can walk, backpacking is an accessible activity for many people. Hiking trails for beginners are as short as one mile and those seeking a challenge can tackle trails as long as 20 miles. No matter the length of the trail, backpackers from all physical fitness levels are welcome to move at their own pace. The best part of backpacking is that it offers so many ways to feel accomplished. For some, enjoying the journey is more satisfying than reaching the destination. However, my favorite aspect is finding hidden gems along the trail, such as a waterfall or a famous bouldering location.
While backpacking hiking trails is my way of relaxing, bouldering is my way to improve strength. Bouldering is a great alternative to those who find going to the gym too repetitive. Plus, building your grip strength through climbing has benefits that can be applied to practicing dentistry. Improving finger strength can help steady your hands for deep cleanings, applying rubber dams, holding a handpiece or even torquing implants. For those who enjoy the social aspect of hobbies, bouldering has a close-knit community that encourages camaraderie and mutual support for other climbers …
Although exercise isn’t the go-to preventative method that comes to mind for most people, it is certainly one that can help patients succeed in their check-ups and help dentists handle heavy workloads. For more information on preventative treatments, take a look at: myimagedental.com/services/preventive-dentistry/
How Can Exercise Benefit Both Dental Patients and Dental Practitioners? is available on: http://www.myimagedental.com
If you’ve chipped a tooth, you need to get into the dentist right away … right? It actually depends. If you haven’t damaged any nerves and are not in pain, you may be just fine to schedule an appointment further out on your calendar. But again, how do you know what constitutes an immediate intervention and what can wait? According to one dentist, it’s often hard for patients to know the difference:
Deciphering the Meaning of ‘I Chipped a Tooth’
I know this is something you hear all the time: “I chipped a tooth.” This can mean so many things, especially if it is coming from a nondentist …
The question that usually comes up at our office is: How do we schedule patients who call and say, “I chipped a tooth.”
I am a doctor who does not like to schedule a “come in and we will see” visit. I know how difficult it can be for people to take time off of work or get a babysitter just so I can tell them, “Yep, you have a chipped tooth, and we can see you in three weeks to take care of this.”
Sometimes I schedule 50 minutes for a chip on the anterior that you couldn’t see with a microscope, or I might schedule 20 minutes for a “chip” when, actually, a child fell off his bike and “chipped” the heck out of teeth Nos. 8 and 9, to the point where the nerves were hanging out …
Because I refuse to do a “look-and-see” appointment, about a year ago, we bought a smartphone for the office. First, we bought it to be able to send text messages to people to confirm their appointments. We all know that calling someone at home and leaving a message on their voicemail is about as effective as sending a smoke signal (but we tried for 10 years). And nearly everyone has a smartphone these days, and everyone sends text messages (except for Grandma Nel, who we still just call). Now that we have this designated smartphone, we just ask people to send us a photo of the tooth via text message.
Even if your dentist doesn’t have a smartphone routine like the one mentioned in this article, it would greatly benefit both of you to send him or her a picture of your chipped tooth and explain everything that happened to cause it and every symptom–even details that seem unimportant–that you are feeling. According to Dr. Glenn Doyon, chipped teeth fall on a broad scale of mild to severe injury, so giving your dentist as much info as possible is vital for proper scheduling and for fitting you with the proper restoration.
Dr. Doyan also says that chipped or cracked teeth are more common than you think and don’t always occur with extreme trauma. Natural wear that isn’t taken care of could chip enamel enough that a root canal may be required! You can learn more from Dr. Doyon in the following video:
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mpCtEAq0Zg[/embed]
If you still have symptoms of chipped teeth (sensitive enamel, pain, etc.) but your dentist has already repaired any major damages, it may also benefit you to get a second opinion. Drbicuspid.com reported a study that found that radiologist’s imaging equipment may be able to identify cracks that are difficult to spot on a physical dental exam. If you are able to complete these imaging methods, then you can take the results to a dentist for any further restoration. You can read more about the study here:
Which imaging system is better for diagnosing tooth cracks?
When it comes to examining images of a tooth and identifying a crack, should you use periapical radiography or cone-beam CT (CBCT)? Also, who is better trained to identify these cracks on images, an endodontist or a radiologist?
Researchers from China noted that cracks in teeth present practitioners with a challenge in designing a treatment plan. Using both periapical radiography (PR) and CBCT, they investigated the best imaging method to identify these cracks while also comparing the performance of different practitioners (PLOS One, January 4, 2017).
“In clinical practice, it is a huge challenge for endodontists to know the depth of a crack in a cracked tooth,” the authors wrote …Early enamel cracks have no obvious symptoms and may not be visible on examination. Yet they can lead to patients coming to your office because of pulpitis, periapical periodontitis, or even root fracture. As creating an appropriate treatment plan and assessing the long-term prognosis for these teeth can be difficult, there’s a need to understand the best way to diagnose this condition …
“Within the limitations of this study, on an artificial simulation model of cracked teeth for early diagnosis, we recommend that it would be better for a cracked tooth to be diagnosed by a radiologist with CBCT than PR,” the authors concluded.
To learn more about restorative options, like veneers, that can help tooth chips and cracks, take a look at www.myimagedental.com/services/cosmetic-dentistry/veneers/.
Helping Your Dentist Figure Out Where You Fall on the “Chipped Tooth” Scale is republished from: Image Dental Dentistry Blog
If you’ve chipped a tooth, you need to get into the dentist right away … right? It actually depends. If you haven’t damaged any nerves and are not in pain, you may be just fine to schedule an appointment further out on your calendar. But again, how do you know what constitutes an immediate intervention and what can wait? According to one dentist, it’s often hard for patients to know the difference:
Deciphering the Meaning of ‘I Chipped a Tooth’
I know this is something you hear all the time: “I chipped a tooth.” This can mean so many things, especially if it is coming from a nondentist …
The question that usually comes up at our office is: How do we schedule patients who call and say, “I chipped a tooth.”
I am a doctor who does not like to schedule a “come in and we will see” visit. I know how difficult it can be for people to take time off of work or get a babysitter just so I can tell them, “Yep, you have a chipped tooth, and we can see you in three weeks to take care of this.”
Sometimes I schedule 50 minutes for a chip on the anterior that you couldn’t see with a microscope, or I might schedule 20 minutes for a “chip” when, actually, a child fell off his bike and “chipped” the heck out of teeth Nos. 8 and 9, to the point where the nerves were hanging out …
Because I refuse to do a “look-and-see” appointment, about a year ago, we bought a smartphone for the office. First, we bought it to be able to send text messages to people to confirm their appointments. We all know that calling someone at home and leaving a message on their voicemail is about as effective as sending a smoke signal (but we tried for 10 years). And nearly everyone has a smartphone these days, and everyone sends text messages (except for Grandma Nel, who we still just call). Now that we have this designated smartphone, we just ask people to send us a photo of the tooth via text message.
Even if your dentist doesn’t have a smartphone routine like the one mentioned in this article, it would greatly benefit both of you to send him or her a picture of your chipped tooth and explain everything that happened to cause it and every symptom–even details that seem unimportant–that you are feeling. According to Dr. Glenn Doyon, chipped teeth fall on a broad scale of mild to severe injury, so giving your dentist as much info as possible is vital for proper scheduling and for fitting you with the proper restoration.
Dr. Doyan also says that chipped or cracked teeth are more common than you think and don’t always occur with extreme trauma. Natural wear that isn’t taken care of could chip enamel enough that a root canal may be required! You can learn more from Dr. Doyon in the following video:
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mpCtEAq0Zg[/embed]
If you still have symptoms of chipped teeth (sensitive enamel, pain, etc.) but your dentist has already repaired any major damages, it may also benefit you to get a second opinion. Drbicuspid.com reported a study that found that radiologist’s imaging equipment may be able to identify cracks that are difficult to spot on a physical dental exam. If you are able to complete these imaging methods, then you can take the results to a dentist for any further restoration. You can read more about the study here:
Which imaging system is better for diagnosing tooth cracks?
When it comes to examining images of a tooth and identifying a crack, should you use periapical radiography or cone-beam CT (CBCT)? Also, who is better trained to identify these cracks on images, an endodontist or a radiologist?
Researchers from China noted that cracks in teeth present practitioners with a challenge in designing a treatment plan. Using both periapical radiography (PR) and CBCT, they investigated the best imaging method to identify these cracks while also comparing the performance of different practitioners (PLOS One, January 4, 2017).
“In clinical practice, it is a huge challenge for endodontists to know the depth of a crack in a cracked tooth,” the authors wrote …Early enamel cracks have no obvious symptoms and may not be visible on examination. Yet they can lead to patients coming to your office because of pulpitis, periapical periodontitis, or even root fracture. As creating an appropriate treatment plan and assessing the long-term prognosis for these teeth can be difficult, there’s a need to understand the best way to diagnose this condition …
“Within the limitations of this study, on an artificial simulation model of cracked teeth for early diagnosis, we recommend that it would be better for a cracked tooth to be diagnosed by a radiologist with CBCT than PR,” the authors concluded.
To learn more about restorative options, like veneers, that can help tooth chips and cracks, take a look at www.myimagedental.com/services/cosmetic-dentistry/veneers/.
Helping Your Dentist Figure Out Where You Fall on the “Chipped Tooth” Scale is republished from: Image Dental Dentistry Blog
Even though we all know that going to the dentist is beneficial, some of us drag our feet more than others. If you have severe symptoms of anxiety (e.g. crying, trouble sleeping, physically feeling ill before an exam, etc.), it may be wise to at least explore sedation dentistry:
Is Sedation Dentistry Right for you?
With sedation, the dentist administers a drug before or during the dental procedure. Only one type — general anesthesia — renders the patient completely unconscious. The other forms will relax you, but won’t knock you out completely.
The most common types of sedation dentistry include the following:
- Nitrous oxide: A gas that relaxes you during the procedure. It wears off quickly, so your dentist might let you drive yourself home after the appointment.
- Oral sedatives: Oral sedatives, such as diazepam, also help relax patients during dental procedures. You typically take them an hour or so before your appointment. You’re fully awake but less anxious, and you might feel a little sleepy until it wears off.
- Intravenous sedatives: Intravenous, or IV, sedatives can put you in varying stages of consciousness. This is also known as general anesthesia and, as mentioned above, will put you into a deep sleep until it wears off. Other IV drugs, however, can put you into a “twilight sleep.” You’re less aware of your surroundings, you might feel sleepy, and you might not remember much of the procedure once it’s over.
Some patients assume that general anesthesia offers the best solution. However, it also comes with more potential side effects than the other methods, so you might want to consider a lesser form of sedation dentistry. If your dental care provider mentions sleep dentistry, he or she likely means general anesthesia.
You might prefer dental sedation or sleep dentistry, but talk to your dentist about it first. Mention any allergic reactions you’ve experienced in the past, especially to anesthesia, so your dental professional can make safe, educated recommendations.
As you can see the caveat is that, like any other medication, there could be side effects that are unpleasant. So if you are able to try and work through your phobias first before trying sedation, that may be ideal. And as 123dentist.com says, if you’ve had an allergic reactions from past operations, then again, sedation may not be viable unless you take a milder form.
The good news is that you’ve got options. Not only can you choose between the previously mentioned methods (oral drugs, IV, etc.), but you and your doctor can find talk about which anesthetics have generally been preferred by previous patients. A study found at drbicuspid.com goes into this concept a little more:
Which Dental Anesthetic Do Patients Prefer?
Every practitioner has a preference for which anesthetic to use for adult patients with severe dental anxiety. But, of sevoflurane or propofol, which do patients prefer?
“We, therefore, performed a crossover study to determine which was more preferable for ambulatory anesthesia between propofol and sevoflurane based on the comparison of the recovery profile and patient satisfaction after anesthesia,” Keita Ohkushi, DDS, PhD, and co-authors wrote.
Dr. Ohkushi is an assistant professor in the department of dental anesthesiology at the Tokyo Dental College.
Fatigue cited
Every office has adult patients who are severely anxious at the thought of treatment. These patients sometimes need to be anesthetized for treatment to occur. So researchers from Japan wanted to see which anesthetic patients preferred for ambulatory anesthesia: propofol alone or sevoflurane alone. Both are currently used for ambulatory anesthesia, and patients emerge rapidly after discontinuation.
“Propofol may be more suitable for ambulatory anesthesia for dental treatment.”
— Keita Ohkushi, DDS, PhD, and co-authorsThe study included 20 adult patients with severe dental anxiety who needed at least two dental treatments. All patients received both propofol and sevoflurane in this study, allowing for a direct comparison. No coadministered drugs were used.
Anesthesia was induced with propofol (1% Diprivan injection kit, AstraZeneca) with predicted effect site concentration at 3.5 μg/mL in the patients who received propofol. In the sevoflurane group, anesthesia was induced with 3% sevoflurane (Sevofrane, Abbott Japan) using a face mask with supplemental oxygen at 6 L/min.
The effect site concentration of propofol and inhaled concentration of sevoflurane were adjusted to maintain bispectral index monitoring (BIS) value at 40 to 60 under inhalation of oxygen at 1 L/min and air at 3 L/min. Patient observation was done in the emergence phase, the recovery phase, and 24 hours after discharge.
The authors reported that time to emergence was shorter with sevoflurane anesthesia than with propofol anesthesia, but they found no difference in time to full recovery.
No participants in the propofol group reported nausea or vomiting during the recovery phase, while three of 20 in the sevoflurane group did. The average time to discharge was slightly faster for the propofol group (169 ± 45 minutes compared with 176 ± 48 minutes). The authors also reported no differences between the groups in time to first meal or fluid, on telephone follow-up about 24 hours afterward.
When asked on follow-up about satisfaction and preference, the 16 patients said they would choose propofol, and four said they would choose sevoflurane in the future …
Before you make an appointment with your dentist, call the office first so that you can explain your situation. Dentists are very familiar with people’s fears and can discuss options with you first. You can find out more at myimagedental.com/services/preventive-dentistry/.
The article Dentists Understand Dental Phobias and Have Tools To Help is republished from: http://www.myimagedental.com/
Even though we all know that going to the dentist is beneficial, some of us drag our feet more than others. If you have severe symptoms of anxiety (e.g. crying, trouble sleeping, physically feeling ill before an exam, etc.), it may be wise to at least explore sedation dentistry:
Is Sedation Dentistry Right for you?
With sedation, the dentist administers a drug before or during the dental procedure. Only one type — general anesthesia — renders the patient completely unconscious. The other forms will relax you, but won’t knock you out completely.
The most common types of sedation dentistry include the following:
- Nitrous oxide: A gas that relaxes you during the procedure. It wears off quickly, so your dentist might let you drive yourself home after the appointment.
- Oral sedatives: Oral sedatives, such as diazepam, also help relax patients during dental procedures. You typically take them an hour or so before your appointment. You’re fully awake but less anxious, and you might feel a little sleepy until it wears off.
- Intravenous sedatives: Intravenous, or IV, sedatives can put you in varying stages of consciousness. This is also known as general anesthesia and, as mentioned above, will put you into a deep sleep until it wears off. Other IV drugs, however, can put you into a “twilight sleep.” You’re less aware of your surroundings, you might feel sleepy, and you might not remember much of the procedure once it’s over.
Some patients assume that general anesthesia offers the best solution. However, it also comes with more potential side effects than the other methods, so you might want to consider a lesser form of sedation dentistry. If your dental care provider mentions sleep dentistry, he or she likely means general anesthesia.
You might prefer dental sedation or sleep dentistry, but talk to your dentist about it first. Mention any allergic reactions you’ve experienced in the past, especially to anesthesia, so your dental professional can make safe, educated recommendations.
As you can see the caveat is that, like any other medication, there could be side effects that are unpleasant. So if you are able to try and work through your phobias first before trying sedation, that may be ideal. And as 123dentist.com says, if you’ve had an allergic reactions from past operations, then again, sedation may not be viable unless you take a milder form.
The good news is that you’ve got options. Not only can you choose between the previously mentioned methods (oral drugs, IV, etc.), but you and your doctor can find talk about which anesthetics have generally been preferred by previous patients. A study found at drbicuspid.com goes into this concept a little more:
Which Dental Anesthetic Do Patients Prefer?
Every practitioner has a preference for which anesthetic to use for adult patients with severe dental anxiety. But, of sevoflurane or propofol, which do patients prefer?
“We, therefore, performed a crossover study to determine which was more preferable for ambulatory anesthesia between propofol and sevoflurane based on the comparison of the recovery profile and patient satisfaction after anesthesia,” Keita Ohkushi, DDS, PhD, and co-authors wrote.
Dr. Ohkushi is an assistant professor in the department of dental anesthesiology at the Tokyo Dental College.
Fatigue cited
Every office has adult patients who are severely anxious at the thought of treatment. These patients sometimes need to be anesthetized for treatment to occur. So researchers from Japan wanted to see which anesthetic patients preferred for ambulatory anesthesia: propofol alone or sevoflurane alone. Both are currently used for ambulatory anesthesia, and patients emerge rapidly after discontinuation.
“Propofol may be more suitable for ambulatory anesthesia for dental treatment.”
— Keita Ohkushi, DDS, PhD, and co-authorsThe study included 20 adult patients with severe dental anxiety who needed at least two dental treatments. All patients received both propofol and sevoflurane in this study, allowing for a direct comparison. No coadministered drugs were used.
Anesthesia was induced with propofol (1% Diprivan injection kit, AstraZeneca) with predicted effect site concentration at 3.5 μg/mL in the patients who received propofol. In the sevoflurane group, anesthesia was induced with 3% sevoflurane (Sevofrane, Abbott Japan) using a face mask with supplemental oxygen at 6 L/min.
The effect site concentration of propofol and inhaled concentration of sevoflurane were adjusted to maintain bispectral index monitoring (BIS) value at 40 to 60 under inhalation of oxygen at 1 L/min and air at 3 L/min. Patient observation was done in the emergence phase, the recovery phase, and 24 hours after discharge.
The authors reported that time to emergence was shorter with sevoflurane anesthesia than with propofol anesthesia, but they found no difference in time to full recovery.
No participants in the propofol group reported nausea or vomiting during the recovery phase, while three of 20 in the sevoflurane group did. The average time to discharge was slightly faster for the propofol group (169 ± 45 minutes compared with 176 ± 48 minutes). The authors also reported no differences between the groups in time to first meal or fluid, on telephone follow-up about 24 hours afterward.
When asked on follow-up about satisfaction and preference, the 16 patients said they would choose propofol, and four said they would choose sevoflurane in the future …
Before you make an appointment with your dentist, call the office first so that you can explain your situation. Dentists are very familiar with people’s fears and can discuss options with you first. You can find out more at myimagedental.com/services/preventive-dentistry/.
The article Dentists Understand Dental Phobias and Have Tools To Help is republished from: http://www.myimagedental.com/
Dentists take No. 1 spot in 2017 best jobs list
For the third year in a row, dental professionals topped the U.S. News & World Report’s annual list ranking the best jobs of the year, according to ADA News.
Occupations are ranked based on U.S. News’ calculated overall score, which combines several components into a single weighted average score between zero and 10. These components are: 10-year growth volume; 10-year growth percentage; median salary; job prospects; employment rate; stress level; and work-life balance.Dentists scored an overall score of 8.2; orthodontists, 8.1; and oral and maxillofacial surgeon, 7.7.
“The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts employment growth of 18 percent between 2014 and 2024, with 23,300 new openings,” according to the U.S. News & World Report. “A comfortable salary, low unemployment rate and agreeable work-life balance boost dentist to a top position on our list of best jobs.”
The magazine also reports that orthodontists and oral and maxillofacial surgeons are expected to grow by 18 percent from 2014 to 2024, with about 1,500 new job openings for orthodontists and 1,200 new jobs for oral and maxillofacial surgeons.
But if you don’t want to extend your schooling, could you still get a good job in the dentistry sector. The answer is yes! Although dental therapy is an up-and-coming position that isn’t quite as common in the U.S. as other countries, an article at Dr Bicuspid says that many Americans would be happy to see this midlevel provider:
Survey: 80% of U.S. voters support dental therapists
Americans overwhelmingly support the concept of dental therapists, according to the results of a recent phone survey. Interviewers asked thousands of registered U.S. voters if they would like a new type of midlevel provider similar to a nurse practitioner, and 80% of respondents said yes …
Critics are concerned that dental therapists will not provide the same standard of care as a dentist. They also tend to be skeptical that therapists can increase access to dental care or reduce costs.
Meanwhile, proponents of midlevel providers point to evidence that dental therapists effectively reduce untreated caries, not only in the few U.S. states that have approved their use but also abroad. In addition, support for midlevel providers appears to be gaining momentum.
Dental therapy is a great route because you’d be able to offer your services to those who in the past would have to opt out of dental care. Dental therapists are highly trained to perform preventative dentistry and pediatric dentistry procedures under the guidance of a dentist. You can learn more about these kinds of services at myimagedental.com/services/preventive-dentistry/
The Dentistry Sector Has Some of the Best Job Opportunities is available on: http://www.myimagedental.com
Dentists take No. 1 spot in 2017 best jobs list
For the third year in a row, dental professionals topped the U.S. News & World Report’s annual list ranking the best jobs of the year, according to ADA News.
Occupations are ranked based on U.S. News’ calculated overall score, which combines several components into a single weighted average score between zero and 10. These components are: 10-year growth volume; 10-year growth percentage; median salary; job prospects; employment rate; stress level; and work-life balance.Dentists scored an overall score of 8.2; orthodontists, 8.1; and oral and maxillofacial surgeon, 7.7.
“The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts employment growth of 18 percent between 2014 and 2024, with 23,300 new openings,” according to the U.S. News & World Report. “A comfortable salary, low unemployment rate and agreeable work-life balance boost dentist to a top position on our list of best jobs.”
The magazine also reports that orthodontists and oral and maxillofacial surgeons are expected to grow by 18 percent from 2014 to 2024, with about 1,500 new job openings for orthodontists and 1,200 new jobs for oral and maxillofacial surgeons.
But if you don’t want to extend your schooling, could you still get a good job in the dentistry sector. The answer is yes! Although dental therapy is an up-and-coming position that isn’t quite as common in the U.S. as other countries, an article at Dr Bicuspid says that many Americans would be happy to see this midlevel provider:
Survey: 80% of U.S. voters support dental therapists
Americans overwhelmingly support the concept of dental therapists, according to the results of a recent phone survey. Interviewers asked thousands of registered U.S. voters if they would like a new type of midlevel provider similar to a nurse practitioner, and 80% of respondents said yes …
Critics are concerned that dental therapists will not provide the same standard of care as a dentist. They also tend to be skeptical that therapists can increase access to dental care or reduce costs.
Meanwhile, proponents of midlevel providers point to evidence that dental therapists effectively reduce untreated caries, not only in the few U.S. states that have approved their use but also abroad. In addition, support for midlevel providers appears to be gaining momentum.
Dental therapy is a great route because you’d be able to offer your services to those who in the past would have to opt out of dental care. Dental therapists are highly trained to perform preventative dentistry and pediatric dentistry procedures under the guidance of a dentist. You can learn more about these kinds of services at myimagedental.com/services/preventive-dentistry/
The Dentistry Sector Has Some of the Best Job Opportunities is available on: http://www.myimagedental.com
If many of us are honest, we probably use mouthwash more to stave off bad breath rather than for its cavity-fighting properties! Some people may try to use it as an excuse to shirk flossing (although studies at dentistryiq say that the habit is at least as beneficial as flossing).
But mouthwashes have many more uses than just quick-fixes for bad breath.
There have been many different studies exploring its beneficial properties. For instance, an article by Veronique Greenwood discusses a clinical study where mouthwash had the capability to reduce the Streptococcus mutans (the bacteria that releases acid when you eat sugars) levels. Ideally when streptococcus mutans bacteria decreased, healthy oral bacteria would be able to flourish.
And surprisingly, one study in Melbourne, Australia actually found that mouthwash could potentially help those with STIs:
Can Listerine prevent STIs? Researchers want to find out
Rinsing with the antiseptic mouthwash Listerine for one minute can significantly reduce the prevalence of gonorrhea-causing bacteria, according to a new study. Now, researchers want to know whether Listerine can also help prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
“If Listerine has an inhibitory effect against N. gonorrhoeae in the pharynx, it could be a cheap, easy to use, and potentially effective intervention for gonorrhea prevention and control,” wrote the authors, led by Eric Chow, MPH, PhD. Chow is a senior research fellow at the Melbourne Sexual Health Clinic …
In addition to their clinical trial, the researchers performed an in vitro study in which they tested the effect of Cool Mint Listerine and Total Care Listerine on N. gonorrhoeaecolonies. They also found that both types of Listerine significantly slowed bacterial growth after just one minute.
“The two studies presented here are the first to demonstrate Listerine can inhibit the growth of N. gonorrhoeae in vitro and in a clinical study and raise the potential that it may be useful as a control measure,” Chow and colleagues wrote.
Besides these studies that illustrate how mouthwash has bacteria-fighting properties, there are also products that can be used for cosmetic purposes. For instance, dentistryiq just released a post outlining a new product that not only remineralizes teeth, but that whitens:
Plaque HD Remineralizing Mouth Rinse promotes oral hygiene by strengthening and remineralizing tooth enamel while whitening teeth, preventing new stains, and freshening breath. Formulated without fluoride, alcohol, propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), or artificial sweeteners, Plaque HD Remineralizing Mouth Rinse features the following ingredients:
• Baking soda to neutralize acids and whiten
• Xylitol, a natural sweetener with beneficial minerals, to help restore enamel
• Zinc citrate to freshen breath and help reduce plaque
• Natural mint and tea tree oil for cleansing
• Essential oils and aloe extract to refresh the mouth and reduce bacteria
For more information about good mouthwashes, talk with your dentist. If mouthwashes aren’t a good fit, you can still reap the benefits of preventative dentistry with in-office whitening, fluoride treatments, and cleaning. Check out www.myimagedental.com/services/preventive-dentistry/
The post Mouthwash Has Way More Potential Than Just Being a Product For Bad Breath was first published on: http://www.myimagedental.com/
If many of us are honest, we probably use mouthwash more to stave off bad breath rather than for its cavity-fighting properties! Some people may try to use it as an excuse to shirk flossing (although studies at dentistryiq say that the habit is at least as beneficial as flossing).
But mouthwashes have many more uses than just quick-fixes for bad breath.
There have been many different studies exploring its beneficial properties. For instance, an article by Veronique Greenwood discusses a clinical study where mouthwash had the capability to reduce the Streptococcus mutans (the bacteria that releases acid when you eat sugars) levels. Ideally when streptococcus mutans bacteria decreased, healthy oral bacteria would be able to flourish.
And surprisingly, one study in Melbourne, Australia actually found that mouthwash could potentially help those with STIs:
Can Listerine prevent STIs? Researchers want to find out
Rinsing with the antiseptic mouthwash Listerine for one minute can significantly reduce the prevalence of gonorrhea-causing bacteria, according to a new study. Now, researchers want to know whether Listerine can also help prevent the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
“If Listerine has an inhibitory effect against N. gonorrhoeae in the pharynx, it could be a cheap, easy to use, and potentially effective intervention for gonorrhea prevention and control,” wrote the authors, led by Eric Chow, MPH, PhD. Chow is a senior research fellow at the Melbourne Sexual Health Clinic …
In addition to their clinical trial, the researchers performed an in vitro study in which they tested the effect of Cool Mint Listerine and Total Care Listerine on N. gonorrhoeaecolonies. They also found that both types of Listerine significantly slowed bacterial growth after just one minute.
“The two studies presented here are the first to demonstrate Listerine can inhibit the growth of N. gonorrhoeae in vitro and in a clinical study and raise the potential that it may be useful as a control measure,” Chow and colleagues wrote.
Besides these studies that illustrate how mouthwash has bacteria-fighting properties, there are also products that can be used for cosmetic purposes. For instance, dentistryiq just released a post outlining a new product that not only remineralizes teeth, but that whitens:
Plaque HD Remineralizing Mouth Rinse promotes oral hygiene by strengthening and remineralizing tooth enamel while whitening teeth, preventing new stains, and freshening breath. Formulated without fluoride, alcohol, propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), or artificial sweeteners, Plaque HD Remineralizing Mouth Rinse features the following ingredients:
• Baking soda to neutralize acids and whiten
• Xylitol, a natural sweetener with beneficial minerals, to help restore enamel
• Zinc citrate to freshen breath and help reduce plaque
• Natural mint and tea tree oil for cleansing
• Essential oils and aloe extract to refresh the mouth and reduce bacteria
For more information about good mouthwashes, talk with your dentist. If mouthwashes aren’t a good fit, you can still reap the benefits of preventative dentistry with in-office whitening, fluoride treatments, and cleaning. Check out www.myimagedental.com/services/preventive-dentistry/
The post Mouthwash Has Way More Potential Than Just Being a Product For Bad Breath was first published on: http://www.myimagedental.com/
Getting older is great fun isn’t it? Your risk for many illnesses increases, and your body may not work as well as it used to. For example, those in their mid-sixties are more likely to develop gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), where stomach contents can come back up the esophagus. When stomach acids comes back up, they can decay teeth.
The silver lining is that many issues that seniors can face–like GERD–are preventable or manageable if they are proactive. Quitting smoking, wearing looser clothing, avoiding certain foods (e.g. tomato sauce), and staying active are all ways to combat or eliminate your GERD symptoms.
But compared to other health issues, GERD seems like a minor complaint–so what’s the big deal? The problem is that if it isn’t taken care of, it can hasten tooth decay since many seniors are already at risk for that problem due to dietary choices, bruxism, and the like:
Oral issues you need to be aware of as you get older
Wearing down enamel
All the chewing, grinding, and hard impact that your teeth are put through over the years can take a real toll on their health. Not to mention any breakages, chips, or other trauma your teeth may have been exposed to which may result in even worse consequences down the line. Over time your teeth are gradually worn down from continued use or from damage, and this erosion diminishes the hard protective outer layer of teeth – the enamel – which cannot be naturally regained once it’s lost.
To combat enamel loss, be aware of habits that may be speeding up damage done to your teeth and try to stop them as soon as possible. These habits included chewing ice or other hard things like pens and pencils, grinding your teeth, clenching your jaw, and playing high impact sports without an athletic mouthguard. If you are prone to unconscious teeth grinding or clenching, ask your dentist about being fitted for a mouthguard you can wear while sleeping to protect your teeth. Frequent consumption of highly acidic foods such as fruit juices, citrus fruits, coffee, and soft drinks is also a culprit for enamel erosion as the acids eat away at the protective layer. Try to substitute water for acidic beverages and brush your teeth 30 minutes or so after consuming acidic foods to stop the acids from attacking your teeth before they can start. Since the acids weaken enamel, waiting before brushing is important to avoid causing extra harm.
This wear on your enamel not only leads to cavities, but it can lead to expensive restorations to restore cosmetic and functional problems; and, it can lead to an increased risk of more serious ailments like periodontitis. So again, adjusting lifestyle habits can have a great impact not only your GERD symptoms, but on a whole host of oral issues.
But what if a senior is unable to avoid GERD despite changes? Some people may be taking medications, like calcium channel blockers, which can cause GERD as a side effect.
According to John Flucke’s dental blog, salivary stimulants can help seniors who can’t seem to avoid GERD:
Study Shows OraCoat® XyliMelts® Oral Adhering Discs Effectively Treat Acid Reflux
Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), more commonly known as acid reflux, describes a chronic digestive condition in which an accumulation of stomach acid in the esophagus creates symptoms. Acid reflux affects about 30 percent of the population on a weekly basis and is known to contribute to or cause a number of medical and dental problems including heartburn, sore throat, laryngitis, cough, halitosis, and tooth decay. The condition is also associated with sleep disturbance and can have a negative effect on nighttime comfort and overall quality of life.
The study aimed to prove if XyliMelts, recently rated by a Clinicians Report® survey as the most effective remedy for alleviating dry mouth† could produce similar results in treating patients suffering from acid reflux, which is often managed by prescribed and over-the-counter medications that prevent excessive acid production …
XyliMelts are formulated from all-natural ingredients commonly used in foods. As tests prove that salivary stimulants can decrease the perception of nighttime dry mouth, tests also suggest increased saliva can diminish nighttime reflux … Test results displayed that both the disc and gel reduced the taste of reflux, heartburn sensation, morning hoarseness, perceived reflux severity, and the number of antacids taken during the night.
It may seem counter-intuitive to increase saliva, since you may already have excess stomach fluids in your mouth; however, saliva actually protects enamel. Saliva is able to prevent dry mouth (which leads to bacterial formation) and neutralize stomach acids. So salivary stimulants like XyliMelts are certainly worth looking into. If medications like XyliMelts aren’t a good fit, seniors need to talk with their dentist at their next exam for possible solutions. You can learn more at myimagedental.com/services/preventive-dentistry/exams-and-cleaning/
The following article Seniors Are At a Higher Risk for Tooth Decay, But Salivary Stimulants Can Help was first published on: Image Dental Dentistry Blog
Getting older is great fun isn’t it? Your risk for many illnesses increases, and your body may not work as well as it used to. For example, those in their mid-sixties are more likely to develop gastroesophageal reflux (GERD), where stomach contents can come back up the esophagus. When stomach acids comes back up, they can decay teeth.
The silver lining is that many issues that seniors can face–like GERD–are preventable or manageable if they are proactive. Quitting smoking, wearing looser clothing, avoiding certain foods (e.g. tomato sauce), and staying active are all ways to combat or eliminate your GERD symptoms.
But compared to other health issues, GERD seems like a minor complaint–so what’s the big deal? The problem is that if it isn’t taken care of, it can hasten tooth decay since many seniors are already at risk for that problem due to dietary choices, bruxism, and the like:
Oral issues you need to be aware of as you get older
Wearing down enamel
All the chewing, grinding, and hard impact that your teeth are put through over the years can take a real toll on their health. Not to mention any breakages, chips, or other trauma your teeth may have been exposed to which may result in even worse consequences down the line. Over time your teeth are gradually worn down from continued use or from damage, and this erosion diminishes the hard protective outer layer of teeth – the enamel – which cannot be naturally regained once it’s lost.
To combat enamel loss, be aware of habits that may be speeding up damage done to your teeth and try to stop them as soon as possible. These habits included chewing ice or other hard things like pens and pencils, grinding your teeth, clenching your jaw, and playing high impact sports without an athletic mouthguard. If you are prone to unconscious teeth grinding or clenching, ask your dentist about being fitted for a mouthguard you can wear while sleeping to protect your teeth. Frequent consumption of highly acidic foods such as fruit juices, citrus fruits, coffee, and soft drinks is also a culprit for enamel erosion as the acids eat away at the protective layer. Try to substitute water for acidic beverages and brush your teeth 30 minutes or so after consuming acidic foods to stop the acids from attacking your teeth before they can start. Since the acids weaken enamel, waiting before brushing is important to avoid causing extra harm.
This wear on your enamel not only leads to cavities, but it can lead to expensive restorations to restore cosmetic and functional problems; and, it can lead to an increased risk of more serious ailments like periodontitis. So again, adjusting lifestyle habits can have a great impact not only your GERD symptoms, but on a whole host of oral issues.
But what if a senior is unable to avoid GERD despite changes? Some people may be taking medications, like calcium channel blockers, which can cause GERD as a side effect.
According to John Flucke’s dental blog, salivary stimulants can help seniors who can’t seem to avoid GERD:
Study Shows OraCoat® XyliMelts® Oral Adhering Discs Effectively Treat Acid Reflux
Gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), more commonly known as acid reflux, describes a chronic digestive condition in which an accumulation of stomach acid in the esophagus creates symptoms. Acid reflux affects about 30 percent of the population on a weekly basis and is known to contribute to or cause a number of medical and dental problems including heartburn, sore throat, laryngitis, cough, halitosis, and tooth decay. The condition is also associated with sleep disturbance and can have a negative effect on nighttime comfort and overall quality of life.
The study aimed to prove if XyliMelts, recently rated by a Clinicians Report® survey as the most effective remedy for alleviating dry mouth† could produce similar results in treating patients suffering from acid reflux, which is often managed by prescribed and over-the-counter medications that prevent excessive acid production …
XyliMelts are formulated from all-natural ingredients commonly used in foods. As tests prove that salivary stimulants can decrease the perception of nighttime dry mouth, tests also suggest increased saliva can diminish nighttime reflux … Test results displayed that both the disc and gel reduced the taste of reflux, heartburn sensation, morning hoarseness, perceived reflux severity, and the number of antacids taken during the night.
It may seem counter-intuitive to increase saliva, since you may already have excess stomach fluids in your mouth; however, saliva actually protects enamel. Saliva is able to prevent dry mouth (which leads to bacterial formation) and neutralize stomach acids. So salivary stimulants like XyliMelts are certainly worth looking into. If medications like XyliMelts aren’t a good fit, seniors need to talk with their dentist at their next exam for possible solutions. You can learn more at myimagedental.com/services/preventive-dentistry/exams-and-cleaning/
The following article Seniors Are At a Higher Risk for Tooth Decay, But Salivary Stimulants Can Help was first published on: Image Dental Dentistry Blog
When you think of cancer, what type of cancer comes to mind? Most people will probably think of breast cancer–which is the most common type and arguably has the most awareness campaigns (pink ribbon, charitable marathons, etc.). Other common types that may come to mind could be lung or prostate–but what about oral cancer?
According to Delta Dental, oral cancer is actually the 6th most common type out there:
Oral Cancer: What You Need to Know
Oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer, accounting for 30,000 newly diagnosed cases each year – and 8,000 deaths. If not diagnosed and treated in its early stages, oral cancer can spread, leading to chronic pain, loss of function, facial and oral disfigurement and even death.
Who gets oral cancer?
Anyone can get oral cancer. Heavy drinkers and people who smoke or use other tobacco products are at higher risk. Though it is most common in people over age 50, new research indicates that younger people may be developing oral cancers related to human papillomavirus (HPV).
Early detection can save
The good news? The earlier oral cancer is detected and treated, the better the survival rate – which is just one of the many reasons you should visit your dentist regularly. Twice-yearly dental checkups are typically covered with no or a low deductible under most Delta Dental plans.
As part of the exam, your dentist will check for oral cancer indicators, including feeling for lumps or irregular tissue in your mouth, head and neck. A biopsy will be recommended if anything seems concerning or out of the ordinary.
Since early detection can save lives, why is this cancer such a concern? Well first off, even though Delta Dental says it mainly affects those over 50, young adults should still be wary of of its development because of HPV. And along with HPV, young people who get in the habit of excessively smoking and drinking are also at risk.
In fact, since vaping has been on the rise with middle-schoolers and high-schoolers there may be more patients with oral cancer in the near future. Many young people think it’s somehow safer than cigarettes in terms of oral health. While e-cigs don’t have the tobacco, they do have the nicotine–which if you didn’t know, is still absolutely terrible for oral health.
And back to the seniors, even though this group is high-risk, there are so many of them (according to a Health Affairs study) that may not be able to get screened since they lack dental coverage:
Infographic: U.S. Seniors Lack Dental Care
A new study published in the December edition of Health Affairs analyzed access to dental care for Medicare beneficiaries, and the findings don’t look good. Only about 10% of older U.S. adults have dental insurance, and, of those who do, they still pay half of all their dental costs out of pocket.
The researchers looked at Medicare data to see how seniors with different income levels and types of insurance access dental care. They attributed the overall lack of coverage and high percentage of out-of-pocket spending to larger policy trends, including the exclusion of dental care in Medicare and the changing of insurance benefits for retirees.
“Despite the wealth of evidence that oral health is related to physical health, Medicare explicitly excludes dental care from coverage, leaving beneficiaries at risk for tooth decay and periodontal disease and exposed to high out-of-pocket spending,”
“Until dental care is appropriately considered to be part of one’s medical care, and financially covered as such, poor oral health will continue to be the ‘silent epidemic’ that impedes improving the quality of life for older adults.”
Instead of opting out of dental care, every demographic should be more concerned with preventive treatements. You can learn more about preventive treatments, like oral cancer screenings, at myimagedental.com/services/preventive-dentistry/oral-cancer-screening/
The following post Everyone Should Be More Concerned About Oral Cancer was first published to: My Image Dental
When you think of cancer, what type of cancer comes to mind? Most people will probably think of breast cancer–which is the most common type and arguably has the most awareness campaigns (pink ribbon, charitable marathons, etc.). Other common types that may come to mind could be lung or prostate–but what about oral cancer?
According to Delta Dental, oral cancer is actually the 6th most common type out there:
Oral Cancer: What You Need to Know
Oral cancer is the sixth most common cancer, accounting for 30,000 newly diagnosed cases each year – and 8,000 deaths. If not diagnosed and treated in its early stages, oral cancer can spread, leading to chronic pain, loss of function, facial and oral disfigurement and even death.
Who gets oral cancer?
Anyone can get oral cancer. Heavy drinkers and people who smoke or use other tobacco products are at higher risk. Though it is most common in people over age 50, new research indicates that younger people may be developing oral cancers related to human papillomavirus (HPV).
Early detection can save
The good news? The earlier oral cancer is detected and treated, the better the survival rate – which is just one of the many reasons you should visit your dentist regularly. Twice-yearly dental checkups are typically covered with no or a low deductible under most Delta Dental plans.
As part of the exam, your dentist will check for oral cancer indicators, including feeling for lumps or irregular tissue in your mouth, head and neck. A biopsy will be recommended if anything seems concerning or out of the ordinary.
Since early detection can save lives, why is this cancer such a concern? Well first off, even though Delta Dental says it mainly affects those over 50, young adults should still be wary of of its development because of HPV. And along with HPV, young people who get in the habit of excessively smoking and drinking are also at risk.
In fact, since vaping has been on the rise with middle-schoolers and high-schoolers there may be more patients with oral cancer in the near future. Many young people think it’s somehow safer than cigarettes in terms of oral health. While e-cigs don’t have the tobacco, they do have the nicotine–which if you didn’t know, is still absolutely terrible for oral health.
And back to the seniors, even though this group is high-risk, there are so many of them (according to a Health Affairs study) that may not be able to get screened since they lack dental coverage:
Infographic: U.S. Seniors Lack Dental Care
A new study published in the December edition of Health Affairs analyzed access to dental care for Medicare beneficiaries, and the findings don’t look good. Only about 10% of older U.S. adults have dental insurance, and, of those who do, they still pay half of all their dental costs out of pocket.
The researchers looked at Medicare data to see how seniors with different income levels and types of insurance access dental care. They attributed the overall lack of coverage and high percentage of out-of-pocket spending to larger policy trends, including the exclusion of dental care in Medicare and the changing of insurance benefits for retirees.
“Despite the wealth of evidence that oral health is related to physical health, Medicare explicitly excludes dental care from coverage, leaving beneficiaries at risk for tooth decay and periodontal disease and exposed to high out-of-pocket spending,”
“Until dental care is appropriately considered to be part of one’s medical care, and financially covered as such, poor oral health will continue to be the ‘silent epidemic’ that impedes improving the quality of life for older adults.”
Instead of opting out of dental care, every demographic should be more concerned with preventive treatements. You can learn more about preventive treatments, like oral cancer screenings, at myimagedental.com/services/preventive-dentistry/oral-cancer-screening/
The following post Everyone Should Be More Concerned About Oral Cancer was first published to: My Image Dental
Believe it or not, amalgam fillings have been used in the U.S. as far back as the 1800s. However, despite their common, and prolonged use, there have been health concerns and environmental concerns. According to Dr. Johnathan Levine, these amalgam fillings are made up of copper, tin, silver, and unfortunately mercury–which can be toxic to bodily tissues.
And while the mercury in amalgams are generally safe, there is the risk of vapor releasing if a person with these fillings grinds their teeth or drinks soda-pop or does other repetitive activities that wear down the filling. Amalgam is also difficult to dispose of since only trace amounts are allowed in the water supply. The EPA and the ADA have very specific rules regarding disposal, but the problem is they aren’t always enforced in the U.S.
Thankfully, patients aren’t restricted to amalgam nowadays–there’s composite fillings. These kinds of fillings are very safe, and they are actually easier for the dentist to work with and nicer looking than amalgam. This means that not only can you fix cavities with them, but you can use them for any small cosmetic adjustments, like chipped teeth.
However, a study found at drbicuspid.com says that while composites are a great option, they can be somewhat difficult on posterior teeth, since they can be broken down more quickly by excess wear or repeat cavities:
Reasons for Composite Failure Have Changed
Since resin composites were introduced, there has been an ongoing challenge to improve their clinical performance, particularly for use in posterior teeth,“ the authors wrote. "This has seen the introduction of hybrid, packable, nanofilled, low-shrinkage, and bulk-fill composites, but still the clinical effectiveness of posterior composite is questioned by many.”
Dr. Alvanforoush is a doctoral student from the Melbourne Dental School at the University of Melbourne.
Reasons for failure
Direct resin composite restorations are becoming more popular, as patients prefer tooth-colored restorations because they offer a superior aesthetic appearance, and patients want to avoid the placement of new amalgam in their mouths. The study authors noted that substantial advancements and changes in composite materials and adhesive systems have taken place over the last 20 years, but no systemic literature review has assessed the clinical performance of posterior composite restoration …
The authors concluded that comparing the reasons for failure over the last two decades had revealed an important shift as secondary caries, postoperative sensitivity, and wear were reduced as failure factors in contrast with the increased role of tooth fracture, restoration fracture, and endodontic treatment as reasons for failure.
“The greater level of fracture may relate to the increase in size of restorations now being placed; however, more detailed data are needed,” they wrote. Read the full article here …
But as you can see, if a patient is exhibiting these issues, he or she should consult with their dentist about how to reduce wear and tear. Prevention is the best tool that patients have at their disposal to save the integrity of their teeth. Despite these hiccups in the study, composite fillings are still excellent materials, and you can learn more about them at: myimagedental.com/services/general-dentistry/fillings/
While some patients may want to replace their amalgam with composite, the downside is that this can weaken the integrity of the tooth even more and possibly release mercury vapor. So it is best to keep any of your amalgam fillings intact if possible and use composite for any new caries that need to be filled.
Will these materials have a place in the future? It’s hard to say, but it looks like that many dentists have already phased out amalgam and strictly use composite. But will composite stay? For now, yes–but drbicuspid released an exciting article that gives patients a glimpse at their future dental care:
Study Offers New Treatment for Larger Caries
January 9, 2017 – Soon you might be treating your patient’s caries with a collagen sponge filled with a drug – first tested to treat Alzheimer’s patients – that stimulates the natural ability of teeth to restore dentine.
A study published January 9 in Scientific Reports by researchers in the U.K. documented a new method of stimulating the renewal of living stem cells in tooth pulp. While still needing human clinical trials, this approach may allow large cavities to be repaired without the use of cement or fillings.
“The simplicity of our approach makes it ideal as a clinical dental product for the natural treatment of large cavities, by providing both pulp protection and restoring dentine,” stated lead study author Paul Sharpe, PhD, in a press release. “In addition, using a drug that has already been tested in clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease provides a real opportunity to get this dental treatment quickly into clinics.”
Sharpe is the head of the craniofacial development and stem cell biology division at the King’s College London Dental Institute …
After removing caries decay, a tooth’s soft inner pulp is exposed, and a natural dentine repair process begins. This process uses a form of stem cells in the patient’s mouth that becomes new cells. These cells release a form of reparative dentine, according to the study authors. Read the full here …
Being able to stimulate new cells in the dental pulp would be amazing! And the study says that if perhaps their research and tests succeed, patients may not even need fillings in the future! However, this kind of information shouldn’t encourage patients to be lax about their oral health. While fillings can certainly help repair functionality, nothing is as good as a natural tooth. And it could be many years before this study’s findings play a role in dental offices across the U.S.
The Evolution of Fillings: What the Future Holds for Cavity Restorations is republished from: www.myimagedental.com
Believe it or not, amalgam fillings have been used in the U.S. as far back as the 1800s. However, despite their common, and prolonged use, there have been health concerns and environmental concerns. According to Dr. Johnathan Levine, these amalgam fillings are made up of copper, tin, silver, and unfortunately mercury–which can be toxic to bodily tissues.
And while the mercury in amalgams are generally safe, there is the risk of vapor releasing if a person with these fillings grinds their teeth or drinks soda-pop or does other repetitive activities that wear down the filling. Amalgam is also difficult to dispose of since only trace amounts are allowed in the water supply. The EPA and the ADA have very specific rules regarding disposal, but the problem is they aren’t always enforced in the U.S.
Thankfully, patients aren’t restricted to amalgam nowadays–there’s composite fillings. These kinds of fillings are very safe, and they are actually easier for the dentist to work with and nicer looking than amalgam. This means that not only can you fix cavities with them, but you can use them for any small cosmetic adjustments, like chipped teeth.
However, a study found at drbicuspid.com says that while composites are a great option, they can be somewhat difficult on posterior teeth, since they can be broken down more quickly by excess wear or repeat cavities:
Reasons for Composite Failure Have Changed
Since resin composites were introduced, there has been an ongoing challenge to improve their clinical performance, particularly for use in posterior teeth,“ the authors wrote. "This has seen the introduction of hybrid, packable, nanofilled, low-shrinkage, and bulk-fill composites, but still the clinical effectiveness of posterior composite is questioned by many.”
Dr. Alvanforoush is a doctoral student from the Melbourne Dental School at the University of Melbourne.
Reasons for failure
Direct resin composite restorations are becoming more popular, as patients prefer tooth-colored restorations because they offer a superior aesthetic appearance, and patients want to avoid the placement of new amalgam in their mouths. The study authors noted that substantial advancements and changes in composite materials and adhesive systems have taken place over the last 20 years, but no systemic literature review has assessed the clinical performance of posterior composite restoration …
The authors concluded that comparing the reasons for failure over the last two decades had revealed an important shift as secondary caries, postoperative sensitivity, and wear were reduced as failure factors in contrast with the increased role of tooth fracture, restoration fracture, and endodontic treatment as reasons for failure.
“The greater level of fracture may relate to the increase in size of restorations now being placed; however, more detailed data are needed,” they wrote. Read the full article here …
But as you can see, if a patient is exhibiting these issues, he or she should consult with their dentist about how to reduce wear and tear. Prevention is the best tool that patients have at their disposal to save the integrity of their teeth. Despite these hiccups in the study, composite fillings are still excellent materials, and you can learn more about them at: myimagedental.com/services/general-dentistry/fillings/
While some patients may want to replace their amalgam with composite, the downside is that this can weaken the integrity of the tooth even more and possibly release mercury vapor. So it is best to keep any of your amalgam fillings intact if possible and use composite for any new caries that need to be filled.
Will these materials have a place in the future? It’s hard to say, but it looks like that many dentists have already phased out amalgam and strictly use composite. But will composite stay? For now, yes–but drbicuspid released an exciting article that gives patients a glimpse at their future dental care:
Study Offers New Treatment for Larger Caries
January 9, 2017 – Soon you might be treating your patient’s caries with a collagen sponge filled with a drug – first tested to treat Alzheimer’s patients – that stimulates the natural ability of teeth to restore dentine.
A study published January 9 in Scientific Reports by researchers in the U.K. documented a new method of stimulating the renewal of living stem cells in tooth pulp. While still needing human clinical trials, this approach may allow large cavities to be repaired without the use of cement or fillings.
“The simplicity of our approach makes it ideal as a clinical dental product for the natural treatment of large cavities, by providing both pulp protection and restoring dentine,” stated lead study author Paul Sharpe, PhD, in a press release. “In addition, using a drug that has already been tested in clinical trials for Alzheimer’s disease provides a real opportunity to get this dental treatment quickly into clinics.”
Sharpe is the head of the craniofacial development and stem cell biology division at the King’s College London Dental Institute …
After removing caries decay, a tooth’s soft inner pulp is exposed, and a natural dentine repair process begins. This process uses a form of stem cells in the patient’s mouth that becomes new cells. These cells release a form of reparative dentine, according to the study authors. Read the full here …
Being able to stimulate new cells in the dental pulp would be amazing! And the study says that if perhaps their research and tests succeed, patients may not even need fillings in the future! However, this kind of information shouldn’t encourage patients to be lax about their oral health. While fillings can certainly help repair functionality, nothing is as good as a natural tooth. And it could be many years before this study’s findings play a role in dental offices across the U.S.
The Evolution of Fillings: What the Future Holds for Cavity Restorations is republished from: www.myimagedental.com
While the term “mouth-breather,” has become a silly derogatory expression, the actual habit is a cause for concern. When a child doesn’t breathe through his or her mouth, then he or she may not be getting as good of oxygen. This poor oxygen intake can lead to sleepiness and issues like TMJ:
8 possible causes of your patient’s jaw pain
As a periodontist, I frequently treat temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain or temporomandibular disorders (TMDs). Many of the causes of this type of jaw pain also can damage the jawbone around the roots of teeth.
In my experience, between 60% and 70% of adults have experienced some symptoms of TMD. Their most frequent complaint is pain either in the jaw joint or the jaw muscles. Patients often experience discomfort when opening their jaw, along with popping and cracking sounds in the jaw joints when opening and closing. Some patients also experience buzzing or ringing sounds in their ears.
TMDs are multifactorial, and their sources may be difficult to identify. I initially focus on the following eight related causes for TMDs:
- Trauma (such as a car accident) involving the jaw joint, which could damage the joint structures
- Clenching and grinding the teeth
- Teeth that have been improperly restored or are out of alignment
- Poor nutrition and unhealthy digestion, which could cause chronic inflammation and affect all joints in the body, such as in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
- Emotional stress, such as illustrated by a study by Lei and colleagues in Cranio (April 28, 2016).
- Lack of sleep
- Excessive estrogen, although studies vary
- Infection in the joint
Many factors affect jaw pain. The more obvious causes should be explored first. If grinding habits or bite problems exist, these must be corrected. Stress reduction, restorative sleep, and good nutrition to provide proper hormone balance must be implemented to reduce TMD symptoms. If symptoms persist, other treatment options should be considered to make the patient comfortable. Read full article here …
Even though this article doesn’t specifically list mouth-breathing as an issue, the following video illustrates how mouth breathing can actually change the structure of your child’s mouth. Mouth breathing not only causes teeth movement, but unnatural jaw movement:
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8Zo1DNa4NQ[/embed]
Further, NBC News invited a Dr. Jefferson on that confirmed all of these issues. He also says that while many people may blame genetics on poor aesthetics, it could actually be something as mouth breathing:
As Dr. Yosh Jefferson, a New Jersey functional orthodontist, explains, “Mouth-breathing also irritates the tonsils and adenoids, so you have a double whammy where the sinuses are congested, which causes further blockage of the upper airway.” Now you really can’t breathe out of that nose. What’s more, when you take in oxygen through your nose, it passes over the mucous membrane and into the sinuses, which produces nitric oxide, which your body needs for all the smooth muscles, like your heart and your blood vessels. So when you’re not breathing through your nose, your blood actually isn’t getting all the oxygen it needs to function properly.
Jefferson believes breathing though the mouth is often an overlooked root cause of many health and behavioral problems, particularly in school-age kids. (“Just think of the child,” he says. “How do you think they’re doing in school? These kids are tired, they’re irritable, they can’t concentrate in school. And a lot of these kids (may be) diagnosed with ADD and hyperactivity.”)
But here’s the absolute weirdest thing that mouth-breathing can cause: It can actually change the shape of kids’ faces, according to a report Jefferson published last year in the journal General Dentistry. “Severe mouth breathers develop what they call long face syndrome – long, narrow faces, very unattractive facial features. Also if their tonsils are swollen, they sometimes position their jaw in weird ways in order to get more oxygen into their bodies. It can happen in adults as well … but it’s more prominent in children,” Jefferson says. “People think they grew to this face because of genetics –- it’s not, it’s because they’re mouth-breathers.” It’s reversible in children if it’s caught early – an orthodontist might use a device to expand the jaw, which will widen the mouth and open the sinuses, helping the child breathe through the nose again. (This can be done in adults, too, but it’s more difficult.)
“It’s best to treat them early,” Jefferson says. “It drives me crazy that there are so many kids who are mouth breathers and no one is doing anything about it.
The good news is that if you correct your child’s mouth breathing while they are still young, their jaws and oral structures have a chance to grow normally. When you go in for a dental exam and cleaning, be sure to ask your dentist about this. If your child has ADD, suffers from fatigue, has a sore neck, or has headaches, then those tell-tale signs should warrant a dentist’s opinion.
The article If Your Child Breathes Through His or Her Mouth, It’s Time for a Dental Visit was originally published to: http://www.myimagedental.com/
While the term “mouth-breather,” has become a silly derogatory expression, the actual habit is a cause for concern. When a child doesn’t breathe through his or her mouth, then he or she may not be getting as good of oxygen. This poor oxygen intake can lead to sleepiness and issues like TMJ:
8 possible causes of your patient’s jaw pain
As a periodontist, I frequently treat temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain or temporomandibular disorders (TMDs). Many of the causes of this type of jaw pain also can damage the jawbone around the roots of teeth.
In my experience, between 60% and 70% of adults have experienced some symptoms of TMD. Their most frequent complaint is pain either in the jaw joint or the jaw muscles. Patients often experience discomfort when opening their jaw, along with popping and cracking sounds in the jaw joints when opening and closing. Some patients also experience buzzing or ringing sounds in their ears.
TMDs are multifactorial, and their sources may be difficult to identify. I initially focus on the following eight related causes for TMDs:
- Trauma (such as a car accident) involving the jaw joint, which could damage the joint structures
- Clenching and grinding the teeth
- Teeth that have been improperly restored or are out of alignment
- Poor nutrition and unhealthy digestion, which could cause chronic inflammation and affect all joints in the body, such as in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
- Emotional stress, such as illustrated by a study by Lei and colleagues in Cranio (April 28, 2016).
- Lack of sleep
- Excessive estrogen, although studies vary
- Infection in the joint
Many factors affect jaw pain. The more obvious causes should be explored first. If grinding habits or bite problems exist, these must be corrected. Stress reduction, restorative sleep, and good nutrition to provide proper hormone balance must be implemented to reduce TMD symptoms. If symptoms persist, other treatment options should be considered to make the patient comfortable. Read full article here …
Even though this article doesn’t specifically list mouth-breathing as an issue, the following video illustrates how mouth breathing can actually change the structure of your child’s mouth. Mouth breathing not only causes teeth movement, but unnatural jaw movement:
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8Zo1DNa4NQ[/embed]
Further, NBC News invited a Dr. Jefferson on that confirmed all of these issues. He also says that while many people may blame genetics on poor aesthetics, it could actually be something as mouth breathing:
As Dr. Yosh Jefferson, a New Jersey functional orthodontist, explains, “Mouth-breathing also irritates the tonsils and adenoids, so you have a double whammy where the sinuses are congested, which causes further blockage of the upper airway.” Now you really can’t breathe out of that nose. What’s more, when you take in oxygen through your nose, it passes over the mucous membrane and into the sinuses, which produces nitric oxide, which your body needs for all the smooth muscles, like your heart and your blood vessels. So when you’re not breathing through your nose, your blood actually isn’t getting all the oxygen it needs to function properly.
Jefferson believes breathing though the mouth is often an overlooked root cause of many health and behavioral problems, particularly in school-age kids. (“Just think of the child,” he says. “How do you think they’re doing in school? These kids are tired, they’re irritable, they can’t concentrate in school. And a lot of these kids (may be) diagnosed with ADD and hyperactivity.”)
But here’s the absolute weirdest thing that mouth-breathing can cause: It can actually change the shape of kids’ faces, according to a report Jefferson published last year in the journal General Dentistry. “Severe mouth breathers develop what they call long face syndrome – long, narrow faces, very unattractive facial features. Also if their tonsils are swollen, they sometimes position their jaw in weird ways in order to get more oxygen into their bodies. It can happen in adults as well … but it’s more prominent in children,” Jefferson says. “People think they grew to this face because of genetics –- it’s not, it’s because they’re mouth-breathers.” It’s reversible in children if it’s caught early – an orthodontist might use a device to expand the jaw, which will widen the mouth and open the sinuses, helping the child breathe through the nose again. (This can be done in adults, too, but it’s more difficult.)
“It’s best to treat them early,” Jefferson says. “It drives me crazy that there are so many kids who are mouth breathers and no one is doing anything about it.
The good news is that if you correct your child’s mouth breathing while they are still young, their jaws and oral structures have a chance to grow normally. When you go in for a dental exam and cleaning, be sure to ask your dentist about this. If your child has ADD, suffers from fatigue, has a sore neck, or has headaches, then those tell-tale signs should warrant a dentist’s opinion.
The article If Your Child Breathes Through His or Her Mouth, It’s Time for a Dental Visit was originally published to: http://www.myimagedental.com/
While many people head to the dentist when they are finally feeling the pain of a once neglected problem, the real focus should be on preventive care.
If possible, prevention should start in early childhood. However, this is not always the case. While healthcare.gov has tried to make affordable health plans, not all of them include dental coverage. So even if there is both a need and a want, socioeconomic factors can certainly play a role in children’s declining oral health.
In fact, a recent article at drbicuspid.com explored why some kids have such poor oral healthcare, and along with the lack of education and/or poor diet, economic factors played a big role:
Utah Kids Score Poorly on Oral Healthcare
We know oral health diseases are largely preventable, yet we are moving in the wrong direction,“ noted Shaheen Hossain, PhD, the primary author of the report, in a statement. "Along with increasing the access to needed services, we still need to educate parents on the importance of oral hygiene, nutritious diets with fewer sugary beverages, and getting routine dental care …
They recommended several strategies to improve the oral health of children in Utah:
- Increasing access to dental insurance and care
- Enhancing the public’s understanding of the importance of oral health and its benefits to overall health and quality of life
- Improving coverage by educating families about Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicaid, and other dental insurance
- Expanding access to community water fluoridation
- Expanding school-based caries prevention activities, such as fluoride varnish and sealant programs in elementary schools
- Providing better incentives and reimbursements to dental practitioners who see low-income people
- Focus on closing the dental care access gap by increasing awareness of existing community resources
Although the study could improve its sample size, it was dismal to find that about 19% of the children were found to have untreated tooth decay. In fact, decay is the most common chronic disease for kids according to the CDC.
But thankfully the Utah study also had some good solutions to reduce this issue–specifically school-based programs for sealants. Yes, it would be ideal for parents to get a dental plan for their family, but paying for monthly premiums is not always plausible for those on a tight budget.
But according to Health Affairs, school programs that placed sealants were actually found to save money for the communities they were enacted in! Besides protecting kids from cavities, sealants are both easy to place and durable according to Delta Dental:
3 Reasons to Consider Sealants for Your Child
Cavities are the most common chronic disease among children and that untreated decay affects 19.5% of 2- to 5-year-olds and 22.9% of 6- to 19-year-olds.
Luckily there are sealants, which can reduce childhood tooth decay by more than 70%. A dental sealant is a thin, plastic coating that prevents food and bacteria from getting stuck in the grooves and pits of molars and premolars.
It’s recommended children get sealants once they get their permanent teeth. Here are 3 reasons why:
1. Extra Protection
Children are just learning about dental hygiene and may not be properly removing food and plaque from every nook and cranny. Sealants will provide extra protection during these cavity-prone years.
2. Easy and Painless
If your child gets nervous at the dentist, rest assured that sealants are a painless and quick procedure. There are no needles and no drills, and the whole process takes 15 minutes on average.
3. Long Lasting
Sealants can last for up to 10 years! Make sure to periodically check in with your dentist to ensure that your child’s sealants are still intact and don’t have any chips or cracks.
So even if a child isn’t able to go to a dentist for pediatric care, a sealant program will at least give him or her a head-start in the right direction!
Dental Sealants Through School Programs Are A Great Idea was originally published on: Image Dental Dentistry Blog
While many people head to the dentist when they are finally feeling the pain of a once neglected problem, the real focus should be on preventive care.
If possible, prevention should start in early childhood. However, this is not always the case. While healthcare.gov has tried to make affordable health plans, not all of them include dental coverage. So even if there is both a need and a want, socioeconomic factors can certainly play a role in children’s declining oral health.
In fact, a recent article at drbicuspid.com explored why some kids have such poor oral healthcare, and along with the lack of education and/or poor diet, economic factors played a big role:
Utah Kids Score Poorly on Oral Healthcare
We know oral health diseases are largely preventable, yet we are moving in the wrong direction,“ noted Shaheen Hossain, PhD, the primary author of the report, in a statement. "Along with increasing the access to needed services, we still need to educate parents on the importance of oral hygiene, nutritious diets with fewer sugary beverages, and getting routine dental care …
They recommended several strategies to improve the oral health of children in Utah:
- Increasing access to dental insurance and care
- Enhancing the public’s understanding of the importance of oral health and its benefits to overall health and quality of life
- Improving coverage by educating families about Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Medicaid, and other dental insurance
- Expanding access to community water fluoridation
- Expanding school-based caries prevention activities, such as fluoride varnish and sealant programs in elementary schools
- Providing better incentives and reimbursements to dental practitioners who see low-income people
- Focus on closing the dental care access gap by increasing awareness of existing community resources
Although the study could improve its sample size, it was dismal to find that about 19% of the children were found to have untreated tooth decay. In fact, decay is the most common chronic disease for kids according to the CDC.
But thankfully the Utah study also had some good solutions to reduce this issue–specifically school-based programs for sealants. Yes, it would be ideal for parents to get a dental plan for their family, but paying for monthly premiums is not always plausible for those on a tight budget.
But according to Health Affairs, school programs that placed sealants were actually found to save money for the communities they were enacted in! Besides protecting kids from cavities, sealants are both easy to place and durable according to Delta Dental:
3 Reasons to Consider Sealants for Your Child
Cavities are the most common chronic disease among children and that untreated decay affects 19.5% of 2- to 5-year-olds and 22.9% of 6- to 19-year-olds.
Luckily there are sealants, which can reduce childhood tooth decay by more than 70%. A dental sealant is a thin, plastic coating that prevents food and bacteria from getting stuck in the grooves and pits of molars and premolars.
It’s recommended children get sealants once they get their permanent teeth. Here are 3 reasons why:
1. Extra Protection
Children are just learning about dental hygiene and may not be properly removing food and plaque from every nook and cranny. Sealants will provide extra protection during these cavity-prone years.
2. Easy and Painless
If your child gets nervous at the dentist, rest assured that sealants are a painless and quick procedure. There are no needles and no drills, and the whole process takes 15 minutes on average.
3. Long Lasting
Sealants can last for up to 10 years! Make sure to periodically check in with your dentist to ensure that your child’s sealants are still intact and don’t have any chips or cracks.
So even if a child isn’t able to go to a dentist for pediatric care, a sealant program will at least give him or her a head-start in the right direction!
Dental Sealants Through School Programs Are A Great Idea was originally published on: Image Dental Dentistry Blog
Over the past few years, there have been all sorts of water safety concerns. The big ones include the lead poisoning in Flint, Michigan and the pipeline protests in Standing Rock. Increased coverage of these issues is good since it can get people involved and interested in their own local government’s choices; but of course, these stories also have the influence to induce panic.
While harmful chemicals in the water should obviously be addressed, many people are surprisingly fighting against fluoride. Dr. Johnny Johnson is encouraging dentists and patients to become educated on how fluoride really affects us:
New Fluoridation Society Provides Help to Fight Myths
Johnny Johnson Jr., DMD, president of the newly formed American Fluoridation Society (AFS) got into the fluoridation fight when local officials in his community of Pinellas County, FL, voted in 2011 to discontinue water fluoridation, citing concern that residents might be ingesting too much fluoride …
“I thought she was kidding, but she was serious,” he recounted. “I explained there’s been no literature that found any connection whatsoever between water fluoridation and cancer, and I sent her information. She was blown away by the research and said she had definitely been misled.”
In another incident, a public health student told him there was “lots of debate about toxins and arsenic in fluoride.” Dr. Johnson replied: “There’s no debate; the science is crystal clear.”
… The main thing that healthcare professionals can do is be aware of what’s going on in their communities regarding water fluoridation, Dr. Johnson advised. Letters to newspapers and noticing what people are saying about the issue are tip-off’s about efforts against community water fluoridation.
Last year, the Surgeon General even expounded on this issue by saying that water fluoridation has been going on for over 70 years now and has greatly helped the decline of dental caries. You can see his remarks in the following video:
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPEu00-gW2I[/embed]
Besides reducing caries, Deborah Foote–the executive director of Oral Health Colorado–says that fluoridation actually has great cost benefits for patients:
Second Opinion: No Debate on Community Water Fluoridation
As the U.S. has been fluoridating water systems for 70 years, we have yet to see any evidence of these claimed ill health effects in communities that fluoridate their water. Hundreds of organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Public Health Association, support community water fluoridation as a proven public health intervention.
Dental disease is the most common childhood disease and is associated with diabetes, adverse pregnancy outcomes, heart disease, and lost school and work hours. Fluoridated water decreases tooth decay by nearly 25% in children and adults, and it saves communities money by reducing costs and lost work hours spent on repairing tooth decay. For most cities, every $1 invested in water fluoridation saves $38 in unnecessary dental treatment costs, according to the CDC.
It is time that this false debate end, and we can put our energies toward solving the real problems facing our communities.
Even though there are hundreds of studies that attest to the benefits of fluoride, there are tons of articles on the opposing ground. The best thing people can do is educate themselves on both sides and discuss their options with their dentists. While fluoridated water has only been shown to sometimes cause fluorosis–a condition that causes spots on the enamel–some naturopathic proponents argue that it can cause serious illnesses. And since other countries in Europe and Asia don’t have fluoridated water, they argue that it is better to be safe than sorry.
However, reputable organizations like the CDC and the ADA all recommend fluoridated water. If you are still on the fence, one way to temporarily resolve the issue is to opt out of fluoridated water but still get fluoride treatments at the dentist’s office. Since fluoride in dental trays is not swallowed, your enamel will still get the benefits while you figure out whether you want to filter your water.
The post Why Would People Be Worried About Fluoride? Debunking the Myths is republished from: http://myimagedental.com
Over the past few years, there have been all sorts of water safety concerns. The big ones include the lead poisoning in Flint, Michigan and the pipeline protests in Standing Rock. Increased coverage of these issues is good since it can get people involved and interested in their own local government’s choices; but of course, these stories also have the influence to induce panic.
While harmful chemicals in the water should obviously be addressed, many people are surprisingly fighting against fluoride. Dr. Johnny Johnson is encouraging dentists and patients to become educated on how fluoride really affects us:
New Fluoridation Society Provides Help to Fight Myths
Johnny Johnson Jr., DMD, president of the newly formed American Fluoridation Society (AFS) got into the fluoridation fight when local officials in his community of Pinellas County, FL, voted in 2011 to discontinue water fluoridation, citing concern that residents might be ingesting too much fluoride …
“I thought she was kidding, but she was serious,” he recounted. “I explained there’s been no literature that found any connection whatsoever between water fluoridation and cancer, and I sent her information. She was blown away by the research and said she had definitely been misled.”
In another incident, a public health student told him there was “lots of debate about toxins and arsenic in fluoride.” Dr. Johnson replied: “There’s no debate; the science is crystal clear.”
… The main thing that healthcare professionals can do is be aware of what’s going on in their communities regarding water fluoridation, Dr. Johnson advised. Letters to newspapers and noticing what people are saying about the issue are tip-off’s about efforts against community water fluoridation.
Last year, the Surgeon General even expounded on this issue by saying that water fluoridation has been going on for over 70 years now and has greatly helped the decline of dental caries. You can see his remarks in the following video:
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPEu00-gW2I[/embed]
Besides reducing caries, Deborah Foote–the executive director of Oral Health Colorado–says that fluoridation actually has great cost benefits for patients:
Second Opinion: No Debate on Community Water Fluoridation
As the U.S. has been fluoridating water systems for 70 years, we have yet to see any evidence of these claimed ill health effects in communities that fluoridate their water. Hundreds of organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Family Physicians, and the American Public Health Association, support community water fluoridation as a proven public health intervention.
Dental disease is the most common childhood disease and is associated with diabetes, adverse pregnancy outcomes, heart disease, and lost school and work hours. Fluoridated water decreases tooth decay by nearly 25% in children and adults, and it saves communities money by reducing costs and lost work hours spent on repairing tooth decay. For most cities, every $1 invested in water fluoridation saves $38 in unnecessary dental treatment costs, according to the CDC.
It is time that this false debate end, and we can put our energies toward solving the real problems facing our communities.
Even though there are hundreds of studies that attest to the benefits of fluoride, there are tons of articles on the opposing ground. The best thing people can do is educate themselves on both sides and discuss their options with their dentists. While fluoridated water has only been shown to sometimes cause fluorosis–a condition that causes spots on the enamel–some naturopathic proponents argue that it can cause serious illnesses. And since other countries in Europe and Asia don’t have fluoridated water, they argue that it is better to be safe than sorry.
However, reputable organizations like the CDC and the ADA all recommend fluoridated water. If you are still on the fence, one way to temporarily resolve the issue is to opt out of fluoridated water but still get fluoride treatments at the dentist’s office. Since fluoride in dental trays is not swallowed, your enamel will still get the benefits while you figure out whether you want to filter your water.
The post Why Would People Be Worried About Fluoride? Debunking the Myths is republished from: http://myimagedental.com
If you have early signs of gum disease, your dentist has probably recommended treatments such as scaling and root planing and/or pocket irrigation. While these types of treatments can certainly mitigate and even eliminate gum problems, you don’t want to leave all of the heavy lifting to your dentist.
For instance, if you have poor oral hygiene habits or are a smoker, these are lifestyle choices you’ll want to consider adjusting. Of course, breaking old bad habits can be difficult–an easier route may be to introducing new and better habits
In fact, you may not even need medication or a treatment to stop slowing down your gum disease if you make small changes. DrBiscupid.com has featured several studies that show that dietary changes can have big impacts:
Can Diet Really Reduce Gum Disease?
… for four weeks, their diet consisted of primal foods endemic to their area in Switzerland about 5,700 years ago. No processed foods were available for them to eat. These participants had to gather and forage for the majority of their food. In addition, these individuals were not able to brush or floss their teeth during the entire four weeks. Signs of gum infection were measured, and cultures of bacteria in their dental plaque were taken before and after the study.
At the end of the four-week study, there was a significant decrease in signs of gum disease even though all 10 participants could not brush or floss their teeth for the duration of the study. Although amounts of dental plaque increased, disease-producing bacteria did not increase in the plaque …
The participants in [another] experimental group had to change their diet. Their new diet consisted of foods low in carbohydrates, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and abundant in vitamins C and D, antioxidants, and fiber. The control group participants did not change their eating habits. As far as oral hygiene was concerned, researchers told all 15 participants not to clean between their teeth with dental floss or interdental brushes. However, they did not have to change the way they brushed their teeth.
The four-week study began after each group had a few weeks to acclimate to these changes. Researchers recorded the signs of gum disease in all participants at the start and end of the study.
At the conclusion of the trial, the researchers found that all disease parameters decreased significantly in the experimental group by about 50% from the starting point. In contrast, all inflammatory markers increased from the starting point in the control group. Read more about the studies here …
It’s pretty astonishing that despite poor (and somewhat gross!) hygiene habits, many participants in these studies were able to see disease parameters decrease due to nutrient-rich diets!
Although people know that “eating healthy foods is good,” we probably underestimate just how much it helps. If you run a quick search on Google about “chronic inflammation,” you’ll find that many serious illnesses–like gum disease–have this side effect. And since these participants are eating anti-inflammatory foods that heal the gut and strengthen the immune system, it seems likely, that inflammation and bacteria would decrease as well.
Besides helping gum disease, why does this diet change matter so much? There have been many studies that have linked diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, etc. with gum disease. In fact, an article was just released this month that talked about how people with arthritis are more likely to have gum disease:
Could a Germ Link Gum Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic form of arthritis linked to an overactive immune system. It can affect a variety of body systems, not just the joints. The disease affects roughly 1.5 million U.S. adults, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For more than a century, scientists have noticed that people with this inflammatory disease are more likely than others to suffer from gum disease, Andrade noted.
Researchers began to suspect a common factor was triggering both diseases.
In recent years, investigators have found signs that rheumatoid arthritis patients with fewer teeth – possibly as a result of gum disease – have more severe cases. Researchers have also reported that people with gum disease are twice as likely to have rheumatoid arthritis, the study authors said.
But the explanation for the connection wasn’t clear.
For the new study, Andrade’s team examined almost 200 samples from the gums of people with rheumatoid arthritis. The researchers looked for evidence of a type of bacteria, called A. actinomycetemcomitans, that’s linked to gum disease.
Signs of infection were detected in almost half of the rheumatoid arthritis patients compared to just 11 percent of another group of people without gum disease or rheumatoid arthritis.
This finding raises the possibility that the germ could cause both gum disease and rheumatoid arthritis, the study authors suggested.
According to Andrade, the bacterium may afflict the gums and then cause swelling in the joints as a kind of side effect.
Researchers have also wondered about the reverse – whether gum disease could be a side effect of rheumatoid arthritis. A study published in Current Oral Health Reports raised the question of whether the gums might be, in effect, another affected “joint.” Read full article here …
If gum disease can be reduced with diet, could the rise of these serious illnesses be reduced as well? Certainly starting with diet changes is the way to go according to Dr. Alvin Danenberg–the author that presented the dietary studies.
He says that he’s been advocating diet changes with his patients for years. There are clearly observable benefits. And while your focus may be your gum health for now, these diet benefits can definitely be huge in improving overall health and preventing secondary illnesses.
The following post Do You Have Gum Disease? How a Diet Overhaul Can Make a Huge Difference was originally seen on: Image Dental
If you have early signs of gum disease, your dentist has probably recommended treatments such as scaling and root planing and/or pocket irrigation. While these types of treatments can certainly mitigate and even eliminate gum problems, you don’t want to leave all of the heavy lifting to your dentist.
For instance, if you have poor oral hygiene habits or are a smoker, these are lifestyle choices you’ll want to consider adjusting. Of course, breaking old bad habits can be difficult–an easier route may be to introducing new and better habits
In fact, you may not even need medication or a treatment to stop slowing down your gum disease if you make small changes. DrBiscupid.com has featured several studies that show that dietary changes can have big impacts:
Can Diet Really Reduce Gum Disease?
… for four weeks, their diet consisted of primal foods endemic to their area in Switzerland about 5,700 years ago. No processed foods were available for them to eat. These participants had to gather and forage for the majority of their food. In addition, these individuals were not able to brush or floss their teeth during the entire four weeks. Signs of gum infection were measured, and cultures of bacteria in their dental plaque were taken before and after the study.
At the end of the four-week study, there was a significant decrease in signs of gum disease even though all 10 participants could not brush or floss their teeth for the duration of the study. Although amounts of dental plaque increased, disease-producing bacteria did not increase in the plaque …
The participants in [another] experimental group had to change their diet. Their new diet consisted of foods low in carbohydrates, rich in omega-3 fatty acids, and abundant in vitamins C and D, antioxidants, and fiber. The control group participants did not change their eating habits. As far as oral hygiene was concerned, researchers told all 15 participants not to clean between their teeth with dental floss or interdental brushes. However, they did not have to change the way they brushed their teeth.
The four-week study began after each group had a few weeks to acclimate to these changes. Researchers recorded the signs of gum disease in all participants at the start and end of the study.
At the conclusion of the trial, the researchers found that all disease parameters decreased significantly in the experimental group by about 50% from the starting point. In contrast, all inflammatory markers increased from the starting point in the control group. Read more about the studies here …
It’s pretty astonishing that despite poor (and somewhat gross!) hygiene habits, many participants in these studies were able to see disease parameters decrease due to nutrient-rich diets!
Although people know that “eating healthy foods is good,” we probably underestimate just how much it helps. If you run a quick search on Google about “chronic inflammation,” you’ll find that many serious illnesses–like gum disease–have this side effect. And since these participants are eating anti-inflammatory foods that heal the gut and strengthen the immune system, it seems likely, that inflammation and bacteria would decrease as well.
Besides helping gum disease, why does this diet change matter so much? There have been many studies that have linked diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease, etc. with gum disease. In fact, an article was just released this month that talked about how people with arthritis are more likely to have gum disease:
Could a Germ Link Gum Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis?
Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic form of arthritis linked to an overactive immune system. It can affect a variety of body systems, not just the joints. The disease affects roughly 1.5 million U.S. adults, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
For more than a century, scientists have noticed that people with this inflammatory disease are more likely than others to suffer from gum disease, Andrade noted.
Researchers began to suspect a common factor was triggering both diseases.
In recent years, investigators have found signs that rheumatoid arthritis patients with fewer teeth – possibly as a result of gum disease – have more severe cases. Researchers have also reported that people with gum disease are twice as likely to have rheumatoid arthritis, the study authors said.
But the explanation for the connection wasn’t clear.
For the new study, Andrade’s team examined almost 200 samples from the gums of people with rheumatoid arthritis. The researchers looked for evidence of a type of bacteria, called A. actinomycetemcomitans, that’s linked to gum disease.
Signs of infection were detected in almost half of the rheumatoid arthritis patients compared to just 11 percent of another group of people without gum disease or rheumatoid arthritis.
This finding raises the possibility that the germ could cause both gum disease and rheumatoid arthritis, the study authors suggested.
According to Andrade, the bacterium may afflict the gums and then cause swelling in the joints as a kind of side effect.
Researchers have also wondered about the reverse – whether gum disease could be a side effect of rheumatoid arthritis. A study published in Current Oral Health Reports raised the question of whether the gums might be, in effect, another affected “joint.” Read full article here …
If gum disease can be reduced with diet, could the rise of these serious illnesses be reduced as well? Certainly starting with diet changes is the way to go according to Dr. Alvin Danenberg–the author that presented the dietary studies.
He says that he’s been advocating diet changes with his patients for years. There are clearly observable benefits. And while your focus may be your gum health for now, these diet benefits can definitely be huge in improving overall health and preventing secondary illnesses.
The following post Do You Have Gum Disease? How a Diet Overhaul Can Make a Huge Difference was originally seen on: Image Dental
Americans have some of the best dental care in the world, with more and more people able to get orthodontic care and whiter teeth every day. But whiter enamel doesn’t necessarily mean that underlying structures are healthy. More than 90% of American adults have had some form of tooth decay according to a 2011 CDC report.
While decay can be fixed with dental fillings, repetitious decay can wear down the tooth structure enough that extraction is the only option. So the question is, why do so many Americans have decay? One big answer is diet. While there are growing concerns about how our sugar-riddled diets are expanding our waistlines, these foods and beverages also greatly affect our teeth.
A recent post on the ASDA blog says that some cities are trying to fix these health issues with taxes:
Sugar taxes sweep the ballot
How do sugar taxes work?
Sugar taxes raise the price of SSBs. The local government then collects that money to put toward public services, infrastructure improvements and other city costs. A city with a $0.01 sugar tax will see the price of a two-liter bottle of soda increase by about $0.68 and a six-pack of canned soda increase by $0.72. These taxes do not usually apply to milk, 100% juice, baby formula, alcohol or medical beverages.
Do sugar taxes affect health?
A 2016 study published in The BMJ found that following the implementation of a 2014 SSB tax in Mexico, purchases of taxed beverages decreased while purchases of un-taxed beverages increased. A 2016 study published in the Journal of Dental Research also indicated that SSB taxation could reduce caries rates and dental treatment costs. Furthermore, a 2015 study in the Journal of Dental Research notes that while dentistry has focused on increasing oral hygiene and prevention services, recent findings suggest that efforts to decreasing sugar intake to reduce caries should also be increased.
What can dental students do about sugar taxes?
If you live in or attend school in an area with sugar taxes, you can talk to your patients about what they mean. Patients often need help feeling motivated to take action towards improving their oral health and dietary habits. Talking with patients about how they can save money and improve their oral health by drinking tap water instead of soda is a great motivating factor! Informing patients about the true cost of soda may be just the push they need to break their soda-drinking habit.
These are minimal tax increases, but they can add up over time for the sugar-holic. On the bright side, these costs may spur people to finally adjust their habits. On the downside, no one wants to be micromanaged about their lifestyle choices.
While this blog post cites many sources about these taxes working, there are many counter-studies that illustrate the opposite. Dan Mitchell at Fortune says that state-wide soda taxes, like in Ohio, actually didn’t help people with their health issues.
If a soda tax isn’t a good option, the next step may be better nutritional education. For example 123 Dentist had a recent blog post about what kinds of holiday drinks cause decay and tooth discoloration:
7 Yellowing Drinks to Avoid this Holiday Season
Fruit juices
Fruit juices, especially berry or citrus fruit juices, are full acids and sugars. This is a dangerous combination for teeth as the acids break down the outer layer of teeth, exposing the vulnerable dentin, and sugars offer a breeding ground for bacteria which can attack the inner part of the tooth and cause cavities. The yellowing effect can come from both a buildup of bacteria, plaque and tartar and the exposed inner layer of teeth. If you’re looking for hydration, water is the best and healthiest way to quench your thirst.
Carbonated drinks
Any beverage with carbonation is acidic. This is because the bubbles of carbonation are actually carbon dioxide and when you drink it, the gas goes through a chemical reaction in your mouth which turns it into an acid. This acid, again, is very harmful to tooth enamel as it weakens it, makes the tooth more vulnerable, and exposes its yellow inner layers. Pops and carbonated juices with sugar are especially destructive as the sugar promotes the growth of bacteria as well as exposing your teeth to acids. Favour non-carbonated drinks as you enjoy your holiday season and you won’t have to worry about yellowing teeth in the new year.
Obviously people know that soda is “bad,” but do they know why? If they understand that these kinds of sugary drinks expose their enamel to acids, they may be more keen to look for alternatives. Instead of placing soda taxes on people, we need to educate them on healthier alternatives so that the choice is still in their hands.
The blog post Why Do So Many Americans Have Tooth Decay? was first seen on: http://myimagedental.com
Americans have some of the best dental care in the world, with more and more people able to get orthodontic care and whiter teeth every day. But whiter enamel doesn’t necessarily mean that underlying structures are healthy. More than 90% of American adults have had some form of tooth decay according to a 2011 CDC report.
While decay can be fixed with dental fillings, repetitious decay can wear down the tooth structure enough that extraction is the only option. So the question is, why do so many Americans have decay? One big answer is diet. While there are growing concerns about how our sugar-riddled diets are expanding our waistlines, these foods and beverages also greatly affect our teeth.
A recent post on the ASDA blog says that some cities are trying to fix these health issues with taxes:
Sugar taxes sweep the ballot
How do sugar taxes work?
Sugar taxes raise the price of SSBs. The local government then collects that money to put toward public services, infrastructure improvements and other city costs. A city with a $0.01 sugar tax will see the price of a two-liter bottle of soda increase by about $0.68 and a six-pack of canned soda increase by $0.72. These taxes do not usually apply to milk, 100% juice, baby formula, alcohol or medical beverages.
Do sugar taxes affect health?
A 2016 study published in The BMJ found that following the implementation of a 2014 SSB tax in Mexico, purchases of taxed beverages decreased while purchases of un-taxed beverages increased. A 2016 study published in the Journal of Dental Research also indicated that SSB taxation could reduce caries rates and dental treatment costs. Furthermore, a 2015 study in the Journal of Dental Research notes that while dentistry has focused on increasing oral hygiene and prevention services, recent findings suggest that efforts to decreasing sugar intake to reduce caries should also be increased.
What can dental students do about sugar taxes?
If you live in or attend school in an area with sugar taxes, you can talk to your patients about what they mean. Patients often need help feeling motivated to take action towards improving their oral health and dietary habits. Talking with patients about how they can save money and improve their oral health by drinking tap water instead of soda is a great motivating factor! Informing patients about the true cost of soda may be just the push they need to break their soda-drinking habit.
These are minimal tax increases, but they can add up over time for the sugar-holic. On the bright side, these costs may spur people to finally adjust their habits. On the downside, no one wants to be micromanaged about their lifestyle choices.
While this blog post cites many sources about these taxes working, there are many counter-studies that illustrate the opposite. Dan Mitchell at Fortune says that state-wide soda taxes, like in Ohio, actually didn’t help people with their health issues.
If a soda tax isn’t a good option, the next step may be better nutritional education. For example 123 Dentist had a recent blog post about what kinds of holiday drinks cause decay and tooth discoloration:
7 Yellowing Drinks to Avoid this Holiday Season
Fruit juices
Fruit juices, especially berry or citrus fruit juices, are full acids and sugars. This is a dangerous combination for teeth as the acids break down the outer layer of teeth, exposing the vulnerable dentin, and sugars offer a breeding ground for bacteria which can attack the inner part of the tooth and cause cavities. The yellowing effect can come from both a buildup of bacteria, plaque and tartar and the exposed inner layer of teeth. If you’re looking for hydration, water is the best and healthiest way to quench your thirst.
Carbonated drinks
Any beverage with carbonation is acidic. This is because the bubbles of carbonation are actually carbon dioxide and when you drink it, the gas goes through a chemical reaction in your mouth which turns it into an acid. This acid, again, is very harmful to tooth enamel as it weakens it, makes the tooth more vulnerable, and exposes its yellow inner layers. Pops and carbonated juices with sugar are especially destructive as the sugar promotes the growth of bacteria as well as exposing your teeth to acids. Favour non-carbonated drinks as you enjoy your holiday season and you won’t have to worry about yellowing teeth in the new year.
Obviously people know that soda is “bad,” but do they know why? If they understand that these kinds of sugary drinks expose their enamel to acids, they may be more keen to look for alternatives. Instead of placing soda taxes on people, we need to educate them on healthier alternatives so that the choice is still in their hands.
The blog post Why Do So Many Americans Have Tooth Decay? was first seen on: http://myimagedental.com
As the year comes to a close, people are scrambling to get their health plans sorted at the healthcare marketplace–or are they? Last year, a NY Times article said that many people actually opted out of health insurance because the IRS penalties were much more affordable than the insurance plans’ premiums and deductibles.
Even though more people have signed up for health insurance since that article was released, can the same be said for dental care? MedlinePlus has more on the issue:
Many Americans Skip the Dentist Due to Cost
Americans are more likely to skip needed dental care because of cost than any other type of health care, researchers report.
Working-age adults are particularly vulnerable, the study found. Some 13 percent reported forgoing dental care because of cost. That’s nearly double the proportion of seniors and triple the percentage of children for whom cost poses a barrier to dental care, the study showed.
Cost was the main impediment to dental care even for adults with private insurance. “It seems like medical insurance is doing a better job at protecting consumers from financial hardship than dental insurance,” said study author Marko Vujicic. Typically, private dental insurance includes annual maximum benefit limits and significant “coinsurance” – the patient’s share of costs on covered services, Vujicic explained. He is chief economist and vice president of the American Dental Association’s (ADA) Health Policy Institute in Chicago.
… Evelyn Ireland, executive director of the National Association of Dental Plans, agreed with the report that avoiding dental care can affect overall health. Fortunately, the percentage of the population citing cost as a reason for not getting dental services has declined steadily since 2010, Ireland said. And in 2014, it was the lowest since 2003, she added.
Colin Bradley is vice president of business development at Winston Benefits Inc., a company that helps employers administer dental benefits. He said employers who offer private dental plans must emphasize the value of those benefits, including preventive services often provided at no out-of-pocket cost. Read full article here …
Some consumers may think that they can save big now, but missed dental visits can mean even more expenses down the road. A patient who forgoes dental care won’t be able to have preventive dentistry services, such as SRP, fillings, oral cancer screenings, and the like. Some Americans may opt out of dental care because they believe that it doesn’t affect holistic health, but the Medline Plus article says otherwise. Ultimately, if cost is such an issue, then dental insurers need to take a page from medical insurers and protect their consumers with flexible payment plans.
Another good point the Medline Plus article made was about educating patients. The American consumer may be willing to pay a little more for dental care if they really knew how important it was.
One way to reach patients is by providing educational resources for niche groups. For instance, the following video targets pregnant women. Since pregnant women have fluctuating hormones that increase the risk of gum disease, it is vital for this group to consider a dental plan:
[embed]https://youtu.be/Ar41aW9zvd8[/embed]
Another way to bridge the gap between high costs and regular dental visits is with government programs, such as those seen in schools:
Study: School-based sealant programs save money
Programs that provide dental sealant to children at schools are cost-effective and prevent the need for many fillings, according to a new study published in the December issue of Health Affairs.
The results, which were published in Health Affairs, provide useful information for comparing school-based sealant programs with other alternatives. These programs typically provide sealants at little or no cost to children attending schools with a large population of low-income families who do not receive regular dental care.
“Increasing sealant prevalence among low-income children could save society money and decrease toothaches and their sequelae,” the study authors wrote (Health Affairs, December 2016, Vol. 35:12, pp. 2233-2240).
The authors noted that 27% of low-income children in the U.S. have untreated cavities by adolescence. However, sealants are used in only 38% of lower-income children compared with 47% of those from higher-income families. School-based sealant programs have been shown to increase the number of students receiving sealants and prevent cavities.
The Community Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of public health experts, has recommended school-based sealant programs since 2002. Nonetheless, in 2013 only 15 states had such programs in more than half of schools serving low-income populations, defined as those in which most students participated in the free and reduced-cost meal program. Read the full article here …
As you can see, this kind of program and others could greatly reduce issues with medical costs. If low-income children have a good dental foundation when they’re young, then they won’t have to fork over tons of money when they’re older for invasive procedures.
Good dental care doesn’t just mean better health, it means more affordable basic plans where Americans only need to get one or two cleanings a year.
The following blog post Americans Aren’t Getting Health Insurance–What About Dental Coverage? is available on: www.myimagedental.com
As the year comes to a close, people are scrambling to get their health plans sorted at the healthcare marketplace–or are they? Last year, a NY Times article said that many people actually opted out of health insurance because the IRS penalties were much more affordable than the insurance plans’ premiums and deductibles.
Even though more people have signed up for health insurance since that article was released, can the same be said for dental care? MedlinePlus has more on the issue:
Many Americans Skip the Dentist Due to Cost
Americans are more likely to skip needed dental care because of cost than any other type of health care, researchers report.
Working-age adults are particularly vulnerable, the study found. Some 13 percent reported forgoing dental care because of cost. That’s nearly double the proportion of seniors and triple the percentage of children for whom cost poses a barrier to dental care, the study showed.
Cost was the main impediment to dental care even for adults with private insurance. “It seems like medical insurance is doing a better job at protecting consumers from financial hardship than dental insurance,” said study author Marko Vujicic. Typically, private dental insurance includes annual maximum benefit limits and significant “coinsurance” – the patient’s share of costs on covered services, Vujicic explained. He is chief economist and vice president of the American Dental Association’s (ADA) Health Policy Institute in Chicago.
… Evelyn Ireland, executive director of the National Association of Dental Plans, agreed with the report that avoiding dental care can affect overall health. Fortunately, the percentage of the population citing cost as a reason for not getting dental services has declined steadily since 2010, Ireland said. And in 2014, it was the lowest since 2003, she added.
Colin Bradley is vice president of business development at Winston Benefits Inc., a company that helps employers administer dental benefits. He said employers who offer private dental plans must emphasize the value of those benefits, including preventive services often provided at no out-of-pocket cost. Read full article here …
Some consumers may think that they can save big now, but missed dental visits can mean even more expenses down the road. A patient who forgoes dental care won’t be able to have preventive dentistry services, such as SRP, fillings, oral cancer screenings, and the like. Some Americans may opt out of dental care because they believe that it doesn’t affect holistic health, but the Medline Plus article says otherwise. Ultimately, if cost is such an issue, then dental insurers need to take a page from medical insurers and protect their consumers with flexible payment plans.
Another good point the Medline Plus article made was about educating patients. The American consumer may be willing to pay a little more for dental care if they really knew how important it was.
One way to reach patients is by providing educational resources for niche groups. For instance, the following video targets pregnant women. Since pregnant women have fluctuating hormones that increase the risk of gum disease, it is vital for this group to consider a dental plan:
[embed]https://youtu.be/Ar41aW9zvd8[/embed]
Another way to bridge the gap between high costs and regular dental visits is with government programs, such as those seen in schools:
Study: School-based sealant programs save money
Programs that provide dental sealant to children at schools are cost-effective and prevent the need for many fillings, according to a new study published in the December issue of Health Affairs.
The results, which were published in Health Affairs, provide useful information for comparing school-based sealant programs with other alternatives. These programs typically provide sealants at little or no cost to children attending schools with a large population of low-income families who do not receive regular dental care.
“Increasing sealant prevalence among low-income children could save society money and decrease toothaches and their sequelae,” the study authors wrote (Health Affairs, December 2016, Vol. 35:12, pp. 2233-2240).
The authors noted that 27% of low-income children in the U.S. have untreated cavities by adolescence. However, sealants are used in only 38% of lower-income children compared with 47% of those from higher-income families. School-based sealant programs have been shown to increase the number of students receiving sealants and prevent cavities.
The Community Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of public health experts, has recommended school-based sealant programs since 2002. Nonetheless, in 2013 only 15 states had such programs in more than half of schools serving low-income populations, defined as those in which most students participated in the free and reduced-cost meal program. Read the full article here …
As you can see, this kind of program and others could greatly reduce issues with medical costs. If low-income children have a good dental foundation when they’re young, then they won’t have to fork over tons of money when they’re older for invasive procedures.
Good dental care doesn’t just mean better health, it means more affordable basic plans where Americans only need to get one or two cleanings a year.
The following blog post Americans Aren’t Getting Health Insurance–What About Dental Coverage? is available on: www.myimagedental.com
If you’ve been getting headaches and your jaws have been sore, you may want to consider the possibility of bruxism. While some teeth grinders have chipped or loose enamel, for the most part, you may not really notice any great difference in teeth. And unless you sleep with a partner, you may not even realize that you grind your teeth at night!
Some articles, like one recent post at drbicuspid.com, even say that tooth wear can be hard to spot unless dentists use a combination of tools:
Tooth wear screening tools fall short, new study finds
Which tooth wear evaluation tool works best? None, according to a new study. Researchers found that the four most common systems to categorize erosion all fall short of the requirements needed to be universally used in dental practice and research.
A team of international researchers realized that no universally applicable evaluation tool exists. Therefore, they set out to determine whether one of the existing systems could be used universally or if dental researchers need to create a new tool.
“It was this study’s first aim to perform an in-depth analysis of the characteristics of four commonly used tooth wear evaluation systems to determine if … [these systems show] characteristics of a hypothetical, broadly applicable evaluation system,” wrote the study authors, led by Peter Wetselaar, DDS, an assistant professor at the University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (BMC Oral Health, November 3, 2016) …
More people are aging with their natural dentition, and erosion is becoming an increasingly common problem seen in the dental office. However, while there are universal systems to diagnose and monitor caries and periodontal disease, a similar tool does not exist for tooth wear.
At first glance, this study may seem to dismiss current screening methods, but thankfully that’s not the case. Again, the study shows that a combination of tools (e.g. Tooth wear index, Lussi index, etc.) is needed since there is no universal tool that can assess tooth wear.
But even if tooth wear can be difficult to spot, that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything you can do. The focus should be on preventative dentistry methods. For instance, while mouthguards are commonly used for sports, they can also be used for bruxism. If you aren’t seeing the dentist for awhile, you can just purchase a boil-and-bite mouthguard until you can get fitted for a custom one.
[embed]https://youtu.be/24ej2Dc5ILk[/embed]
While mouthguards can pretty much take care of any bruxism, you may want to consider getting tested for sleep apnea, and you’ll want to look at certain risk factors.
For example, one study showed that cigarettes and alcohol could cause night-time bruxism:
Alcohol, cigarettes are risk factors for bruxism
December 14, 2016 – When patients report smoking cigarettes or frequently drinking alcohol, you probably automatically think of their increased risk for caries and periodontal disease. However, you may want to also check for bruxism during your exam.
A new study found those who smoke cigarettes and binge drink have an increased risk for sleep bruxism. The study authors hope dentists will use their findings to screen at-risk patients for the condition, which can lead to tooth wear and fractures, periodontal disease, and headaches.
“Because results of our [systematic review] indicated that there is some available evidence of the possible association between [sleep bruxism] and alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco, dentists should be aware of this possibility during the first dental appointment,” wrote lead study author Eduardo Bertazzo-Silveira, DDS, and colleagues (Journal of the American Dental Association, November 2016, Vol. 147:11, pp. 859-866).
The post If Worn-Down Teeth are Hard to Spot, What Can You Do? is republished from: Image Dental
If you’ve been getting headaches and your jaws have been sore, you may want to consider the possibility of bruxism. While some teeth grinders have chipped or loose enamel, for the most part, you may not really notice any great difference in teeth. And unless you sleep with a partner, you may not even realize that you grind your teeth at night!
Some articles, like one recent post at drbicuspid.com, even say that tooth wear can be hard to spot unless dentists use a combination of tools:
Tooth wear screening tools fall short, new study finds
Which tooth wear evaluation tool works best? None, according to a new study. Researchers found that the four most common systems to categorize erosion all fall short of the requirements needed to be universally used in dental practice and research.
A team of international researchers realized that no universally applicable evaluation tool exists. Therefore, they set out to determine whether one of the existing systems could be used universally or if dental researchers need to create a new tool.
“It was this study’s first aim to perform an in-depth analysis of the characteristics of four commonly used tooth wear evaluation systems to determine if … [these systems show] characteristics of a hypothetical, broadly applicable evaluation system,” wrote the study authors, led by Peter Wetselaar, DDS, an assistant professor at the University of Amsterdam and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (BMC Oral Health, November 3, 2016) …
More people are aging with their natural dentition, and erosion is becoming an increasingly common problem seen in the dental office. However, while there are universal systems to diagnose and monitor caries and periodontal disease, a similar tool does not exist for tooth wear.
At first glance, this study may seem to dismiss current screening methods, but thankfully that’s not the case. Again, the study shows that a combination of tools (e.g. Tooth wear index, Lussi index, etc.) is needed since there is no universal tool that can assess tooth wear.
But even if tooth wear can be difficult to spot, that doesn’t mean there isn’t anything you can do. The focus should be on preventative dentistry methods. For instance, while mouthguards are commonly used for sports, they can also be used for bruxism. If you aren’t seeing the dentist for awhile, you can just purchase a boil-and-bite mouthguard until you can get fitted for a custom one.
[embed]https://youtu.be/24ej2Dc5ILk[/embed]
While mouthguards can pretty much take care of any bruxism, you may want to consider getting tested for sleep apnea, and you’ll want to look at certain risk factors.
For example, one study showed that cigarettes and alcohol could cause night-time bruxism:
Alcohol, cigarettes are risk factors for bruxism
December 14, 2016 – When patients report smoking cigarettes or frequently drinking alcohol, you probably automatically think of their increased risk for caries and periodontal disease. However, you may want to also check for bruxism during your exam.
A new study found those who smoke cigarettes and binge drink have an increased risk for sleep bruxism. The study authors hope dentists will use their findings to screen at-risk patients for the condition, which can lead to tooth wear and fractures, periodontal disease, and headaches.
“Because results of our [systematic review] indicated that there is some available evidence of the possible association between [sleep bruxism] and alcohol, caffeine, and tobacco, dentists should be aware of this possibility during the first dental appointment,” wrote lead study author Eduardo Bertazzo-Silveira, DDS, and colleagues (Journal of the American Dental Association, November 2016, Vol. 147:11, pp. 859-866).
The post If Worn-Down Teeth are Hard to Spot, What Can You Do? is republished from: Image Dental
Dr. Richard Nagelberg–a guest blogger at Dentistry IQ–has posted some posts recently where he gently critiques his fellow peers and their methods of treating periodontal disease. While dentists obviously know the impacts periodontal disease can have on overall health, Dr. Nagelberg brings up some food for thought: do patients really get how serious it is?
Whether dentists or patients are at fault for the development of periodontal disease is beside the point. Dr. Nagelberg encourages everyone to have a less laissez-faire attitude. Patients are often told they need to floss more along with their brushing habits, but instead of taking those warnings to heart, they may only do it the day of their appointment. And if a patient has otherwise healthy teeth, then he or she may not bother to test for bacteria that causes periodontal disease.
However, this bacterial testing is easy and should be implemented so people start to think about periodontal disease at their dentist appointments:
Bacterial ID for prevention of periodontal disease
The hallmark of prevention is to identify risk factors for disease and then to manage those risk factors before the disease, condition, or event occurs. This is why there is so much information available regarding the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Periodontal disease is no exception. Identify the biggest risk factor for periodontal disease—namely, the specific bacteria a patient harbors in his or her mouth—and then manage it with an antimicrobial protocol before periodontal disease rears its ugly head.
Patients who have a strong family history of periodontal disease would be an ideal place to start. Since you can reasonably predict that these individuals have some level of elevated risk for periodontal disease, why not find out which oral bacteria they have? And the same for patients with gingivitis who have not yet progressed to periodontitis. If the test shows very few bacteria at low levels, we can conclude that, at this time, the patient is not at risk for the development of periodontal disease, and vice versa. This just makes sense.
Besides testing for bacteria, patients should be educated on the systemic issues that can be exacerbated by this disease, such as diabetes:
[embed]https://youtu.be/3SwYRfMc53U[/embed]
The Dental Tribune even released a collection of studies that showed how the disease not only causes chronic inflammation, but it can encourage bacteria to get into the bloodstream, thus spurring on cognitive issues:
Alzheimer’s, cognitive decline linked to periodontal disease
Recent studies provide increasing evidence that untreated periodontal inflammation is linked to cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease, and that treating periodontitis may reduce or delay risk of this disease. About one out of every nine Americans have some form of Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Society. It is the worst type of dementia, involving the most cognitive decline and memory loss.
Research has already found Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) in brains of Alzheimer’s patients. P. gingivalis is a bacterium associated with chronic periodontitis. Researchers propose that when these bacteria reach the brain, an immune response is stimulated in the brain to release proteins that kill the bacteria, but also cause broader destruction …
A study by professor Stjohn Crean and Dr. Sim Singhrao at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) School of Medicine and Dentistry in England involved the examination of brain tissue samples of 10 deceased people with Alzheimer’s and 10 people without it.
It was found that bacteria found in chronic periodontal disease were present in the brains of four of the 10 people with Alzheimer’s but in none of the 10 without it. Researchers theorized that chronic periodontal disease bacteria, P. gingivalis, enter the bloodstream and brain, prompting an immune system response, which over time is thought to contribute to cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.
Magazines, the web, TV shows, and every other media outlet is already inundated with warnings and studies about Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and the like. Because the general public is already aware of these serious diseases, why isn’t it more up to date on periodontal disease? Besides being a serious condition by itself, the public should understand how it increases the risk of secondary conditions.
The post Why Don’t We All Take Periodontal Disease a Little More Seriously? appeared first on Image Dental.
Dr. Richard Nagelberg–a guest blogger at Dentistry IQ–has posted some posts recently where he gently critiques his fellow peers and their methods of treating periodontal disease. While dentists obviously know the impacts periodontal disease can have on overall health, Dr. Nagelberg brings up some food for thought: do patients really get how serious it is?
Whether dentists or patients are at fault for the development of periodontal disease is beside the point. Dr. Nagelberg encourages everyone to have a less laissez-faire attitude. Patients are often told they need to floss more along with their brushing habits, but instead of taking those warnings to heart, they may only do it the day of their appointment. And if a patient has otherwise healthy teeth, then he or she may not bother to test for bacteria that causes periodontal disease.
However, this bacterial testing is easy and should be implemented so people start to think about periodontal disease at their dentist appointments:
Bacterial ID for prevention of periodontal disease
The hallmark of prevention is to identify risk factors for disease and then to manage those risk factors before the disease, condition, or event occurs. This is why there is so much information available regarding the risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Periodontal disease is no exception. Identify the biggest risk factor for periodontal disease—namely, the specific bacteria a patient harbors in his or her mouth—and then manage it with an antimicrobial protocol before periodontal disease rears its ugly head.
Patients who have a strong family history of periodontal disease would be an ideal place to start. Since you can reasonably predict that these individuals have some level of elevated risk for periodontal disease, why not find out which oral bacteria they have? And the same for patients with gingivitis who have not yet progressed to periodontitis. If the test shows very few bacteria at low levels, we can conclude that, at this time, the patient is not at risk for the development of periodontal disease, and vice versa. This just makes sense.
Besides testing for bacteria, patients should be educated on the systemic issues that can be exacerbated by this disease, such as diabetes:
[embed]https://youtu.be/3SwYRfMc53U[/embed]
The Dental Tribune even released a collection of studies that showed how the disease not only causes chronic inflammation, but it can encourage bacteria to get into the bloodstream, thus spurring on cognitive issues:
Alzheimer’s, cognitive decline linked to periodontal disease
Recent studies provide increasing evidence that untreated periodontal inflammation is linked to cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease, and that treating periodontitis may reduce or delay risk of this disease. About one out of every nine Americans have some form of Alzheimer’s disease, according to the Alzheimer’s Society. It is the worst type of dementia, involving the most cognitive decline and memory loss.
Research has already found Porphyromonas gingivalis (P. gingivalis) in brains of Alzheimer’s patients. P. gingivalis is a bacterium associated with chronic periodontitis. Researchers propose that when these bacteria reach the brain, an immune response is stimulated in the brain to release proteins that kill the bacteria, but also cause broader destruction …
A study by professor Stjohn Crean and Dr. Sim Singhrao at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) School of Medicine and Dentistry in England involved the examination of brain tissue samples of 10 deceased people with Alzheimer’s and 10 people without it.
It was found that bacteria found in chronic periodontal disease were present in the brains of four of the 10 people with Alzheimer’s but in none of the 10 without it. Researchers theorized that chronic periodontal disease bacteria, P. gingivalis, enter the bloodstream and brain, prompting an immune system response, which over time is thought to contribute to cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.
Magazines, the web, TV shows, and every other media outlet is already inundated with warnings and studies about Alzheimer’s, heart disease, and the like. Because the general public is already aware of these serious diseases, why isn’t it more up to date on periodontal disease? Besides being a serious condition by itself, the public should understand how it increases the risk of secondary conditions.
The post Why Don’t We All Take Periodontal Disease a Little More Seriously? appeared first on Image Dental.
During your previous dental exams and cleaning, you may have seen your dentist for a few minutes. But the main interaction was probably with the hygienist, right? Even though dental hygienists take care of numerous patients each day, this profession can sometimes be overlooked.
In fact, dentistryiq.com had an interesting commentary about this matter:
How to embrace the phrase, ‘Oh, you’re just a hygienist!’
I am certain that every hygienist has heard the phrase, “Oh, you’re just a hygienist.” I recently attended a function, and someone I was introduced to uttered the dreaded phrase. The “just” hit me in the chest as if I was wearing a shirt with a bull’s-eye on it. Everyone around us continued to engage in their conversations, and I noticed I was the only person in the room that actually reacted to the “just.”
Yes, I am just a hygienist:.
- Yes, I just review the patient’s medical history with them verbally because sometimes when patients are nervous they forget to write valuable medical information down on forms.
- Yes, I just talk to my patient for 45 minutes while I am “cleaning teeth” in order to help them feel comfortable and more importantly assess their stress level while gaining insight into their overall health.
- Yes, I just perform oral cancer screenings, periodontal charting, decay assessments, oral hygiene assessments, sealant placements, fluoride treatments, detailed explanations regarding dental treatments, and deal with any other overall health concerns they may have, often referring them back to their physician.
- Yes, I just sterilize the operatory, equipment, and dental instruments according to state regulations to ensure the health and safety of my patients and myself.
- Yes, I just obtained my bachelor’s degree in allied dental health, completed continuing education requirements, maintained my local anesthesia license, maintained my dental hygiene license, maintained my nitrous oxide administration credits, and continue to research dental technology to ensure that my patients are receiving the best dental hygiene care possible.
… I know the varied abilities and diverse opportunities being a hygienist represents. Still, I’ve chosen to fully embrace the phrase, "you’re just a hygienist.” Why? I do so to follow the brilliant and humble example of the Dalai Lama who once said, “I describe myself as a simple Buddhist monk. No more, no less.” My fellow hygienists, I hope you are proud to be just hygienists!
Even though this is just one hygienist’s experience, perhaps there needs to be a greater appreciation all around–and not just from patients, but from peers in the medical community.
But even if the profession is currently undervalued, that doesn’t mean that it will be in the future. Thankfully, the Dental Tribune says that because of their education and skills, hygienists should be allowed to contribute more to the field as oral health care becomes more accessible:
ADHA white paper looks at hygienist’s role in diagnosis
“Through dental hygiene diagnoses, dental hygienists educate patients on behaviors that minimize risks of oral infections, help detect risk factors for infectious diseases and cancers of the head and neck,” said ADHA president Betty Kabel, RDH, BS. “This elevates the role of the dental hygienist within the overall health care system, as we seek to expand the access to oral care. It’s important to utilize the dental hygiene diagnoses regularly and consistently to ensure optimal care for our patients.”
While dental hygienists’ rigorous education prepares them to provide preventive and therapeutic oral health services, the profession’s scope of practice varies from state to state. ADHA emphasizes that it is important for dental hygienists to fully utilize their education to provide oral health care services that fall within their scope …
As you can see, while being undervalued professional is certainly a concern, perhaps the issue here is deeper. If each state has different practicing standards and needs, maybe hygienists themselves may be hesitant to establish a foothold on their role. In fact, one New York hygienist talks about this struggle that hygienists may undervalue themselves since they are often concerned with being “gatekeepers” or “people-pleasers” between patients and dentists. But this hygienists encourages her fellow hygienists to speak up about diagnosis issues–especially since they have the license to do so.
Again, even though a hygienist’s role may be undervalued and uncertain now, it does look like the profession will continue to expand its scope. One study even showed that healthcare for patients improved when hygienists were allowed to expand their roles:
Can expanding hygienists’ practice improve adult care?
Does expanding a hygienist’s scope of practice translate to improved oral healthcare at the state level? Researchers from New York believe it does, according to the results of a survey published this month in Health Affairs.
With the debates about dental therapists and dental telemedicine ongoing, researchers from the University at Albany in New York updated a previous study to investigate if hygienists with an expanded practice options could reduce the oral disease burden.“Scope of practice for dental hygienists … had a positive and significant association with having no teeth removed because of decay or disease,” wrote lead study author Margaret Langelier and colleagues (Health Affairs, December 2016, Vol. 35:12, pp. 2207-2215).
You can read more about the changing roles of hygienists at the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) website. The association is concerned with this profession’s value, since “confusion still exists on how to implement it into daily practice.”
As the focus of public health oral healthcare has shifted from treatment to prevention, reaching underserved populations has received increased attention. Fifteen years ago, study authors created a new index to quantify hygienists’ scope of practice. With the current study, they wanted to see if any change in index scores also correlated with an expansion of hygienists’ scope of practice.
In 2001, the authors created the Dental Hygiene Professional Practice Index (DHPPI), which is comprised of four categories:
- Regulation
- Supervision by practice setting
- Tasks permitted under varying levels of supervision
- Reimbursement
The authors also compiled state-by-state scores and found that states that had new or expanded dental hygiene practice models had higher scores in general than states that have not enacted an expanded practice model.
Even though hygienists have been undervalued, it’s certainly reassuring to see recent studies back up their claims. Their roles should be expanded and duties should be standardized so the ADHA doesn’t have to report continued discrepancies.
The post The Future for Dental Hygienists: Expanding The Profession’s Scope appeared first on Image Dental.
]]>During your previous dental exams and cleaning, you may have seen your dentist for a few minutes. But the main interaction was probably with the hygienist, right? Even though dental hygienists take care of numerous patients each day, this profession can sometimes be overlooked.
In fact, dentistryiq.com had an interesting commentary about this matter:
How to embrace the phrase, ‘Oh, you’re just a hygienist!’
I am certain that every hygienist has heard the phrase, “Oh, you’re just a hygienist.” I recently attended a function, and someone I was introduced to uttered the dreaded phrase. The “just” hit me in the chest as if I was wearing a shirt with a bull’s-eye on it. Everyone around us continued to engage in their conversations, and I noticed I was the only person in the room that actually reacted to the “just.”
Yes, I am just a hygienist:.
- Yes, I just review the patient’s medical history with them verbally because sometimes when patients are nervous they forget to write valuable medical information down on forms.
- Yes, I just talk to my patient for 45 minutes while I am “cleaning teeth” in order to help them feel comfortable and more importantly assess their stress level while gaining insight into their overall health.
- Yes, I just perform oral cancer screenings, periodontal charting, decay assessments, oral hygiene assessments, sealant placements, fluoride treatments, detailed explanations regarding dental treatments, and deal with any other overall health concerns they may have, often referring them back to their physician.
- Yes, I just sterilize the operatory, equipment, and dental instruments according to state regulations to ensure the health and safety of my patients and myself.
- Yes, I just obtained my bachelor’s degree in allied dental health, completed continuing education requirements, maintained my local anesthesia license, maintained my dental hygiene license, maintained my nitrous oxide administration credits, and continue to research dental technology to ensure that my patients are receiving the best dental hygiene care possible.
… I know the varied abilities and diverse opportunities being a hygienist represents. Still, I’ve chosen to fully embrace the phrase, "you’re just a hygienist.” Why? I do so to follow the brilliant and humble example of the Dalai Lama who once said, “I describe myself as a simple Buddhist monk. No more, no less.” My fellow hygienists, I hope you are proud to be just hygienists!
Even though this is just one hygienist’s experience, perhaps there needs to be a greater appreciation all around–and not just from patients, but from peers in the medical community.
But even if the profession is currently undervalued, that doesn’t mean that it will be in the future. Thankfully, the Dental Tribune says that because of their education and skills, hygienists should be allowed to contribute more to the field as oral health care becomes more accessible:
ADHA white paper looks at hygienist’s role in diagnosis
“Through dental hygiene diagnoses, dental hygienists educate patients on behaviors that minimize risks of oral infections, help detect risk factors for infectious diseases and cancers of the head and neck,” said ADHA president Betty Kabel, RDH, BS. “This elevates the role of the dental hygienist within the overall health care system, as we seek to expand the access to oral care. It’s important to utilize the dental hygiene diagnoses regularly and consistently to ensure optimal care for our patients.”
While dental hygienists’ rigorous education prepares them to provide preventive and therapeutic oral health services, the profession’s scope of practice varies from state to state. ADHA emphasizes that it is important for dental hygienists to fully utilize their education to provide oral health care services that fall within their scope …
As you can see, while being undervalued professional is certainly a concern, perhaps the issue here is deeper. If each state has different practicing standards and needs, maybe hygienists themselves may be hesitant to establish a foothold on their role. In fact, one New York hygienist talks about this struggle that hygienists may undervalue themselves since they are often concerned with being “gatekeepers” or “people-pleasers” between patients and dentists. But this hygienists encourages her fellow hygienists to speak up about diagnosis issues–especially since they have the license to do so.
Again, even though a hygienist’s role may be undervalued and uncertain now, it does look like the profession will continue to expand its scope. One study even showed that healthcare for patients improved when hygienists were allowed to expand their roles:
Can expanding hygienists’ practice improve adult care?
Does expanding a hygienist’s scope of practice translate to improved oral healthcare at the state level? Researchers from New York believe it does, according to the results of a survey published this month in Health Affairs.
With the debates about dental therapists and dental telemedicine ongoing, researchers from the University at Albany in New York updated a previous study to investigate if hygienists with an expanded practice options could reduce the oral disease burden.“Scope of practice for dental hygienists … had a positive and significant association with having no teeth removed because of decay or disease,” wrote lead study author Margaret Langelier and colleagues (Health Affairs, December 2016, Vol. 35:12, pp. 2207-2215).
You can read more about the changing roles of hygienists at the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA) website. The association is concerned with this profession’s value, since “confusion still exists on how to implement it into daily practice.”
As the focus of public health oral healthcare has shifted from treatment to prevention, reaching underserved populations has received increased attention. Fifteen years ago, study authors created a new index to quantify hygienists’ scope of practice. With the current study, they wanted to see if any change in index scores also correlated with an expansion of hygienists’ scope of practice.
In 2001, the authors created the Dental Hygiene Professional Practice Index (DHPPI), which is comprised of four categories:
- Regulation
- Supervision by practice setting
- Tasks permitted under varying levels of supervision
- Reimbursement
The authors also compiled state-by-state scores and found that states that had new or expanded dental hygiene practice models had higher scores in general than states that have not enacted an expanded practice model.
Even though hygienists have been undervalued, it’s certainly reassuring to see recent studies back up their claims. Their roles should be expanded and duties should be standardized so the ADHA doesn’t have to report continued discrepancies.
The post The Future for Dental Hygienists: Expanding The Profession’s Scope appeared first on Image Dental.
]]>Teeth whitening is one of the most popular cosmetic dentistry procedures out there. And honestly, it’s not much of a surprise. You can improve your appearance in one visit instead of going under the knife for drastic changes.
In fact, there have even been studies conducted, like those at P&G, which show that this procedure can improve your confidence, love life, and work life.
In short, it seems that teeth whitening has some fantastic benefits. Of course we have to be realistic: like every procedure, there are some possible side effects. The purported side effects are pretty minimal–such as sensitive teeth and gums–but a recent article begs to differ:
Does In-Office Bleaching Produce More Inflammation?
Researchers from Brazil wanted to know if the chemicals involved would damage the dental pulp of patients. Their study in the Journal of Applied Oral Science investigated using both in-office and at-home bleaching processes.
“Tooth bleaching is a technique of choice to obtain a harmonious smile, but bleaching agents may damage the dental pulp,” the authors wrote (J Appl Oral Sci, September-October 2016, Vol. 24:5, pp. 509-517).
Teeth bleaching is generally considered a conservative and effective technique, but the pulp’s inflammatory response should be better understood before a bleaching technique is used clinically, the researchers noted. They measured inflammatory events and cells involved in the human pulp response to at-home and in-office bleaching.
The researchers found that in-office bleaching with 38% hydrogen peroxide had “more intense inflammation, higher macrophages migration, and greater pulp damage” than the carbamide peroxide group. They noted, however, that these techniques did not induce migration of mast cells and actually increased the number of blood vessels.
While this study may be discouraging to those looking into whitening, there are some silver linings. After all, the study said that while hydrogen peroxide systems may cause inflammation and pulp damage, carbamide peroxide didn’t have this issue as much.
Furthermore, if a patient is worried about the bleaching concentration–which can have a 30% to 40% concentration of hydrogen peroxide–they should just ask their dentist for a ready-to-go option. These take-home trays are great because they are stronger than store-bought systems, but the concentration of hydrogen peroxide is much less (around 5% to 15%).
Patients also need to understand that the concentration is not the only deciding factor of side effects. The length of application is important too. If you do decide to use a take-home tray, you can’t keep the whitening gel on or it will cause sensitivity and dehydrate the enamel.
The following video points out that you only need a small drop of gel for at-home trays to be effective:
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_ZWr4w7pCk[/embed]
So if there are ways to mitigate the previous study’s issues, what’s the problem? Prevention.com may have the answer. While whitening is generally very safe, some people go overboard. People may weigh the pros too heavily and be disenchanted when they don’t get the shade the want, so they ignore the recommended dosage:
Are You Obsessed with Whiter Teeth?
Unfortunately, many people don’t stop when they should. “Ten years ago, people weren’t even aware of bleaching,” says Irwin Smigel, DDS, president of the American Society for Dental Aesthetics. “Now every dentist I know has had to cut off at least one patient because of overbleaching. People come in with great, great pain, and I can see immediately from the color of their teeth and the irritation along the gums that they’ve been bleaching and bleaching.”
The urge to keep whitening may spring from the fact that teeth stubbornly refuse to maintain their same sparkling brightness for long. “Once you stop with the bleach, it regresses—your teeth start returning to their original color,” says Smigel. “Very few people are happy with the color once it starts regressing, so they’ll do teeth whitening again and again.” Dental laboratories are working to keep pace by creating new caps, fillings, and crowns in ever-brighter shades.
For some individuals, the pursuit of blindingly white teeth can become a true obsession. “There’s anorexia nervosa among certain people who desperately want to be thin, and there’s also a similar syndrome for people whose teeth are never white enough,” says John W. Siegal, DDS, a New York City dentist. This can go so far as to be classified as a form of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)—a distorted view of one’s features that becomes so consuming that it interrupts daily functioning and requires psychiatric treatment—says Katharine A. Phillips, MD, a professor of psychiatry at Brown Medical School.
If you have a realistic expectation of how many shades your teeth can change, you’ll most likely be fine. Dentists can tailor each solution so you’re less prone to side effects. And keep in mind that how white teeth stay will depend on eating habits and lifestyle choices, like smoking.
For example, if you drink a lot of tea, the whitening may fade in as little as one month. But some people may only need touch-ups here and there and could have white teeth for a year or more! The main point is that people shouldn’t overbleach and risk pulp damage. If they are unhappy with their color, they may want to not only talk with the dentist but consider their habits.
The post Yes, Teeth Whitening is Safe: Weighing the Pros and Cons appeared first on Image Dental.
]]>Teeth whitening is one of the most popular cosmetic dentistry procedures out there. And honestly, it’s not much of a surprise. You can improve your appearance in one visit instead of going under the knife for drastic changes.
In fact, there have even been studies conducted, like those at P&G, which show that this procedure can improve your confidence, love life, and work life.
In short, it seems that teeth whitening has some fantastic benefits. Of course we have to be realistic: like every procedure, there are some possible side effects. The purported side effects are pretty minimal–such as sensitive teeth and gums–but a recent article begs to differ:
Does In-Office Bleaching Produce More Inflammation?
Researchers from Brazil wanted to know if the chemicals involved would damage the dental pulp of patients. Their study in the Journal of Applied Oral Science investigated using both in-office and at-home bleaching processes.
“Tooth bleaching is a technique of choice to obtain a harmonious smile, but bleaching agents may damage the dental pulp,” the authors wrote (J Appl Oral Sci, September-October 2016, Vol. 24:5, pp. 509-517).
Teeth bleaching is generally considered a conservative and effective technique, but the pulp’s inflammatory response should be better understood before a bleaching technique is used clinically, the researchers noted. They measured inflammatory events and cells involved in the human pulp response to at-home and in-office bleaching.
The researchers found that in-office bleaching with 38% hydrogen peroxide had “more intense inflammation, higher macrophages migration, and greater pulp damage” than the carbamide peroxide group. They noted, however, that these techniques did not induce migration of mast cells and actually increased the number of blood vessels.
While this study may be discouraging to those looking into whitening, there are some silver linings. After all, the study said that while hydrogen peroxide systems may cause inflammation and pulp damage, carbamide peroxide didn’t have this issue as much.
Furthermore, if a patient is worried about the bleaching concentration–which can have a 30% to 40% concentration of hydrogen peroxide–they should just ask their dentist for a ready-to-go option. These take-home trays are great because they are stronger than store-bought systems, but the concentration of hydrogen peroxide is much less (around 5% to 15%).
Patients also need to understand that the concentration is not the only deciding factor of side effects. The length of application is important too. If you do decide to use a take-home tray, you can’t keep the whitening gel on or it will cause sensitivity and dehydrate the enamel.
The following video points out that you only need a small drop of gel for at-home trays to be effective:
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_ZWr4w7pCk[/embed]
So if there are ways to mitigate the previous study’s issues, what’s the problem? Prevention.com may have the answer. While whitening is generally very safe, some people go overboard. People may weigh the pros too heavily and be disenchanted when they don’t get the shade the want, so they ignore the recommended dosage:
Are You Obsessed with Whiter Teeth?
Unfortunately, many people don’t stop when they should. “Ten years ago, people weren’t even aware of bleaching,” says Irwin Smigel, DDS, president of the American Society for Dental Aesthetics. “Now every dentist I know has had to cut off at least one patient because of overbleaching. People come in with great, great pain, and I can see immediately from the color of their teeth and the irritation along the gums that they’ve been bleaching and bleaching.”
The urge to keep whitening may spring from the fact that teeth stubbornly refuse to maintain their same sparkling brightness for long. “Once you stop with the bleach, it regresses—your teeth start returning to their original color,” says Smigel. “Very few people are happy with the color once it starts regressing, so they’ll do teeth whitening again and again.” Dental laboratories are working to keep pace by creating new caps, fillings, and crowns in ever-brighter shades.
For some individuals, the pursuit of blindingly white teeth can become a true obsession. “There’s anorexia nervosa among certain people who desperately want to be thin, and there’s also a similar syndrome for people whose teeth are never white enough,” says John W. Siegal, DDS, a New York City dentist. This can go so far as to be classified as a form of body dysmorphic disorder (BDD)—a distorted view of one’s features that becomes so consuming that it interrupts daily functioning and requires psychiatric treatment—says Katharine A. Phillips, MD, a professor of psychiatry at Brown Medical School.
If you have a realistic expectation of how many shades your teeth can change, you’ll most likely be fine. Dentists can tailor each solution so you’re less prone to side effects. And keep in mind that how white teeth stay will depend on eating habits and lifestyle choices, like smoking.
For example, if you drink a lot of tea, the whitening may fade in as little as one month. But some people may only need touch-ups here and there and could have white teeth for a year or more! The main point is that people shouldn’t overbleach and risk pulp damage. If they are unhappy with their color, they may want to not only talk with the dentist but consider their habits.
The post Yes, Teeth Whitening is Safe: Weighing the Pros and Cons appeared first on Image Dental.
]]>