Dentists Can Identify Those At Risk for Heart Disease
Dentists can play a potentially life-saving role in health care by identifying patients at risk of fatal heart attacks and referring them to physicians for further evaluation, according a new study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association. The study followed 200 patients in private dental practices in Sweden whose dentists used a computerized system, "HeartScore," to calculate the risk of a patient dying from a cardiovascular event within a 10-year period.
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Dangers of Mercury Fillings
A study reported in the American Chemical Society's Journal of Chemical Research in Toxicology reports on a new study on the surface chemistry of silver-colored, mercury-based dental fillings.
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Dental Disease Epidemic in Some U.S. Demographic Groups
Children who are poor, black, Hispanic, disabled, uninsured or HIV-positive are suffering a “silent epidemic” of gum and dental disease, according to dental experts and the U.S. surgeon general.
Data show that, by age 17, over 7 percent of children have had at least one permanent tooth destroyed through decay. A disproportionate number of such children belong to these at-risk demographic groups.
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Expert Commentary: Mark Morris D.M.D. 12/1/2009
Pain and root canals, public embarrassment, the loss of thousands of dollars – these can all result from poor case selection and operator technique with porcelain veneers.
Everyone hears about how movie stars and athletes get great smiles with veneers but there is not much talk about the potential downsides. I’m a dentist. I’ve seen it all. I’m here to give you the inside scoop.
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Saving Badly Diseased Teeth More Trouble Than It's Worth
In recent years, it was common practice for dentists to perform repeat root canals and other procedures in an effort to say teeth compromised by extensive decay, gum disease, and bone loss. Recently, the American Academy of Implant Dentistry has said that this no longer necessary and patients should skip the dental heroics and opt for long lasting dental implants.
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The Hidden Benefits of Dental Implants
At first glance, dental implants may appear to be a primarily cosmetic procedure. After all, many of us value having a youthful smile and a naturally shaped face. However, there are other problems associated with opting not to replace missing teeth - some of which can dramatically affect your quality of life.
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Dental Cleaning May Alleviate Heart Disease Risk
In patients with mild to moderate gum disease, a trip to the dentist for tartar removal and overall cleaning has the benefit of actually reducing inflammation of the endothelium (lining) of the arteries, thus lowering the risk for heart disease, a small recent study showed.
“It involved removal of tartar and cleaning the gums, and that’s it – no surgery and no antibiotics – just your basic dental hygiene,” said senior study author Mario Clerici, a professor at the University of Milan, in Italy. He said the researchers are performing an experiment to confirm their results.
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The Challenges of Children's Sleep Apnea
Children spend almost 40% their childhood asleep. It is an important factor in a child's physical and mental development. Good quality sleep is as important as proper nutrition and exercise for a child's healthy development. But what happens when children can't get sound sleep? Children's Sleep apnea is a serious health condition that can result in devastating health consequences.
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Anesthesia Found to Elevate Alzheimer's Protein
When the brain undergoes slight dips in temperature, such as occur during dental or surgical anesthesia, a protein associated with Alzheimer’s disease builds up faster in brain cells, according to a recent report.
The findings, published in the FASEB Journal (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology), are of particular concern for dentists and surgeons whose patients have Alzheimer’s or who are at higher risk for the disease.
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Neuromuscular Dentistry Can Ease Jaw-Caused "Migraines"
A relatively uncommon form of specialized dentistry can relieve pain that’s so excruciating it gives sufferers incapacitating migraines, makes it impossible for them to touch their own faces, and gives them ringing in their ears, to boot.
Not infrequently, patients who don’t know the cause of their suffering have to go to the emergency room for relief, for their pain doesn’t respond to the powerful migraine medication Imitrex. That’s because their headaches aren’t caused in the manner of true migraines, but come from temporomandibular joint disorder, or jaw misalignment.
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