Blogs

High levels of financial stress and poor coping abilities increase twofold the likelihood of developing periodontal (gum) disease, according to a study in the Journal of Periodontology. After accounting for other risk factors – such as age, gender, smoking, poor dental care and diabetes – those who reported high levels of financial strain and poor coping behaviors had higher levels of attachment loss and dental bone loss (signs of periodontal disease) than those with low levels of financial strain.

"Financial strain is a long-term, constant pressure," said Dr. Robert Genco, chair of the Oral Biology Department at The State University of New York at Buffalo, who carried out the studies with the periodontal
research group at Buffalo and behavioral scientist Dr. Lisa Tedesco of
the University of Michigan. "Our studies indicate that this
ever-present stress and a lack of adequate coping skills could lead to
altered habits, such as reduced oral hygiene or teeth grinding, as well as salivary changes and a weakening of the body's ability to fight infection."

However, people who dealt with their financial strain in an active and practical way (problem-focused) rather than with avoidance techniques (emotion-focused) had no more risk of severe periodontal
disease than those without money problems.

The good news is that many of the risk factors for periodontal disease, such as poor oral hygiene and infrequent professional care, can be controlled with minimal personal time and financial resources. Eliminating periodontal disease also eliminates a risk factor for heart disease, respiratory disease, and diabetes complications, it is especially important for people to do what they can to protect their oral health.

Genco and his colleagues are following more than 1,400 people between the ages of 25 and 74 in the ongoing study, which is one of the first to examine the relationship of periodontal disease to stress, distress
and coping in a large population.

Psychological tests were given to identify and weigh the causes of stress (children, spouse, financial strain, single life and work stress) in participants' daily lives and to measure the ability to cope
with stress. To measure financial strain, study participants answered
nine questions, including:

• At the present time, are you able to afford a home that is large enough?
• Do you have difficulty in meeting monthly payments of your family bills?
• How often is it that you don't have enough money to afford the kind of food, clothing, medical care, or leisure activities you and your family need or want?

Further studies are needed to help establish the time course of stress in respect to the onset and progression of periodontal disease and the mechanisms that explain the association. Intervention studies also are needed to determine the extent to which controlling stress
will influence periodontal disease and its treatment.

Chew On This, Six Dental Myths Debunked.mht

This article derived from the latest news in dentistry, is a break from the norm news. It takes a look at certain myths, mainly by the public, pertaining to oral health. For us we may know these facts, but many whom are not in the field who be surprised at these myths de-bunked!

We always need to be aware of oral health, but sugar is not always the culprit itself when it comes to tooth decay. The amount of time is key. We stress this daily with the children in our practice as part of a recall visit reminder. The frequency of sugar in the mouth is crucial. This also points to another of the myths being false, the age of patients. Some associate decay with small children, but as they get into teenage years soft drinks are on the rise in their diet. The frequent "drenching" of the mouth in this sugary, carbohydrate-packed liqid, changes the PH in the mouth. This , of course, leads to the breeding ground of decay. That then leads us into adulthood and coming to the elderly stage of life. This is also a myth.......that the elderly have a lower decay rate. They often times loose perio health which exposes teeth and make sthem susceptible.

These are just a few of the myths that come up. Reminding ourselves, as dental professionals, that people need to know these facts and myths to be better educated throughout life.

I recieve many requsts on billing for Sleep and TMD. The biggest difference is diagnosis, dental providers are not able to diagnosis sleep. Attend my sleep billing programs to understand the process of billing for medical treatment. Our changes in billing will become more medical as we move into the next year so lets begin the process now.

www.links2success.biz has my programs listed. My phone is 914-450-2906

This workshop will provide participants with American Heart Association ACLS® Certification and provide a full day of emergency airway management techniques. Course consists of didactic lectures, intensive imaging, discussion and hands -on workshop with the world's most realistic airway mannequins and patient simulators.

Audience: This course is appropriate for physicians, dentists, nurses and all allied health and dental professionals who are involved in the administration of sedation & analgesia.

Objectives: At the conclusion of this program , participants should be able to:

1. Recognize and initiate early management of peri-arrest conditions that may result in cardiac arrest or complicate resuscitation outcome;

2. Manage cardiac or respiratory arrest until return of spontaneous circulation and respiration, termination of resuscitation or transfer of care;

3. Recognize other life threatening clinical situations and provide effective initial care and transfer to reduce disability and death;

4. Describe & demonstrate a variety of techniques for maintaining oxygenation;

5. Recognition and anticipation of difficult airways

Devices: Mask ventilation, LMA and King LT rescue Ventilation, AirTraq Opitical Laryngoscope

Direct Laryngoscopy, Malleable Stylets, and Bougies (tube introducers)

Faculty:American Heart Association® Certified ACLS Instructors & Richard Levitan, MD

About: Dr. Levitan has published approximately 30 peer-reviewed articles on emergency airway management and is the author of 2 textbooks. He serves on the Editorial Board of Annals of Emergency Medicine, and is a reviewer for numerous emergency medicine and anesthesia journals. He has been a design consultant and investigator for many airway device manufacturers. He has given approximately 350 lectures on airway management worldwide, and for almost ten years has run a monthly hands-on cadaver-based airway workshop. He is currently an Associate Professor in Emergency Medicine at Thomas Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia.

Date:October 9 & 10, 2010 8:00 am - 5:00 pm. Breakfast & lunch provided.

Location: Houston Marriott South at Hobby Airport 9100 Gulf Freeway Houston, TX 77017

Fees: $995.00 Physicians & Dentists $ 475.00 Nurses & Auxiliary staff

Seating is limited, pre-registration is required.

Registration can be completed online by clicking here

Or by phone at 888-581-4448 x 2

For more information on this course or other services we offer please visit www.SedationConsulting.com

We are happy to announce our

new course in Orthodontic Mini Implants. As
you know, orthodontic screws are the latest in treatment mechanics.
This method will reduce the strain on anchorage and also provide new
areas form which force can be applied, thus introducing new and
interesting biomechanical possibilities. We are also offering the NeoAnchor Plus,
titanium alloy orthodontic implant kits at attractive discounts for the
participants. NeoAnchor Plus is a South Korean research product and is
available at very economical prices only to the participants of this
course. You can see the details at the site

http://drravikumar.in/miniscrew.html

For more about Orthodontics Courses, Please contact us at

orthocourse@drravikumar.in

A technique pioneered in the Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine Laboratory of Dr. Jeremy Mao, the Edward V. Zegarelli Professor of Dental Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center, can orchestrate stem cells to migrate to a three-dimensional scaffold infused with growth factor, holding the translational potential to yield an anatomically correct tooth in as soon as nine weeks once implanted.

People who have lost some or all of their adult teeth typically look to dentures, or, more recently, dental implants to improve a toothless appearance that can have a host of unsettling psycho-social ramifications. Despite being the preferred treatment for missing teeth nowadays, dental implants can sometimes fail and develop other problems.

An animal-model study has shown that by homing stem cells to a scaffold made of natural materials and integrated in surrounding tissue, there is no need to use harvested stem cell lines, or create an environment outside of the body (e.g., a Petri dish) where the tooth is grown and then implanted once it has matured. The tooth instead can be grown “orthotopically,” or in the socket where the tooth will integrate with surrounding tissue in ways that are impossible with hard metals or other materials.

"These findings represent the first report of regeneration of anatomically shaped tooth-like structures in vivo, and by cell homing without cell delivery,” Dr. Mao and his colleagues say in the paper. "The potency of cell homing is substantiated not only by cell recruitment into scaffold microchannels, but also by the regeneration of periodontal ligaments and newly formed alveolar bone."

The work of Dr. Mao and his laboratory, however, holds manifold promise: a more natural process, faster recovery times and a harnessing of the body’s own potential to re-grow tissue that will not give out and could ultimately last the patient’s lifetime.

“A key consideration in tooth regeneration is finding a cost-effective approach that can translate into therapies for patients who cannot afford or who aren’t good candidates for dental implants,” Dr. Mao says. “Cell-homing-based tooth regeneration may provide a tangible pathway toward clinical translation.”

This study is published in the most recent Journal of Dental Research, the top-rated, peer-reviewed scientific journal dedicated to the dissemination of new knowledge and information on all sciences relevant to dentistry, the oral cavity and associated structures in health and disease.

Comments are appreciated!

Source: Columbia University Medical Center