Sponsored by the American Dental Hygienists’ Association and Wrigley’s Orbit Gum, National Dental Hygiene Month begins October 1. This year’s theme, “It’s simple. Healthy habits for a healthy smile,” promises to deliver the most dynamic celebration of dental hygiene yet! Keep an eye on the NDHM website for full information coming in August. So get ready, because this year, it’s all about you!
Congratulations to UTHSC Dental Hygiene Class of 2012
for Submitting the Winning Video in the YouTube Contest
RDH Magazine: “It’s An Emergency!” written by CADHS member, Cindy Kleiman, RDH, BS
Imagine that one day while you were working in the practice, a middle-aged man suddenly collapsed in your operatory. You might think, quick, get the dentist! But then you would realize, the man is the dentist. Would you know what to do?
In her programs on medical emergencies, Cindy Kleiman, RDH, BS, prepares the dental team for just such a scenario. Knowledge is essential when the unexpected occurs. With a team educated in handling emergencies, the dentist will benefit from calm, informed reactions from his or her team, or as in this example, his life may depend on it.
New Evidence from NYU College of Dentistry Supports Link between Gum Inflammation and Alzheimer’s Disease
NYU dental researchers have found the first long-term evidence that periodontal (gum) disease may increase the risk of cognitive dysfunction associated with Alzheimer’s disease in healthy individuals as well as in those who already are cognitively impaired. The NYU study offers fresh evidence that gum inflammation may contribute to brain inflammation, neurodegeneration, and Alzheimer’s disease.
The research team, led by Dr. Angela Kamer, Assistant Professor of Periodontology & Implant Dentistry, examined 20 years of data that support the hypothesis of a possible causal link between periodontal disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
A to Z of alternative workforce models in dentistry
CDHC, DHAT, ADHP ... the list goes on. These and other acronyms are part of a growing list of mid-level provider models in dentistry that are the subject of much debate across the country. At the local, state, and national levels, dentists and component societies, as well as organizations such as the American Dental Association (ADA) and American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA), are tackling the issue of mid-level providers. As legislation related to alternative workforce models in dentistry is introduced across the country, dentists counter by defending the status quo or offering opposing legislation.
Should a dental night guard wearer worry about BPA or other chemicals?
Mouth guards are supplied to your dentist by dental laboratories, which are independent, private businesses. Bennett Napier, co-executive director of the National Association of Dental Laboratories, a trade organization for the industry, says that mouth guards, which are made of acrylic, would not contain BPA. However, products from different manufacturers may contain different materials. The best way to find out exactly what’s in your mouth guard is to have your dentist request the information from the laboratory. Unfortunately, Napier says that only a few states — and none in New England — require that laboratories disclose the contents of their products.
Eight CU dental patients given potentially lethal dosages of drug
University of Colorado dentists unknowingly injected as many as eight patients with a powerful sedative that was five times its usual potency after the drug was mistakenly added to the dental school's stock in 2008 — a mix-up that wasn't discovered for 13 days, a Denver Post investigation found.
After the error came to light, dental-school administrators decided not to notify any of the patients who received the potentially dangerous levels of midazolam, a generic version of the drug Versed that is commonly used with a painkiller to sedate people undergoing everything from colonoscopies to oral surgeries. The drug depresses a patient's central nervous system and is the subject of numerous warnings that it can slow or even halt breathing.
Mobile Dental Unit offers spiritual ‘lifeline’ to Florida’s poor and needy
Coming to a neighborhood near you may be a 40-foot custom-built Blue Bird bus equipped with two dental operatories, a dental x-ray unit and sterilizing equipment.
Each year, the Florida Baptist Mobile Dental Unit moves across the Sunshine State, offering a lifeline to those who are financially incapable of caring for their dental needs. In the past year the big blue bus stopped in 32 Florida neighborhoods to fill cavities, clean teeth, and perform extractions for nearly 2,000 adults and children.
The mobile-dental unit stopped in a Jacksonville neighborhood recently to improve the quality of life for Bu Gay.
The 27-year-old has suffered a life unimaginable to most Florida Baptists. The Karen refugee from Myramar (formerly Burma) had endured years of persecution, before escaping to a Thailand refugee camp. After nine years in that refugee camp, Gay immigrated to Jacksonville three years ago.
The ADA Standards Committee on Dental Products has approved for review and comment Proposed American National Standard/American Dental Association Specification No. 118 for Tooth Bleaching Products.
This specification provides requirements for tooth bleaching products that are either used in offices by dental professionals (in-office tooth bleaching products) and/or at home by individuals (home-use tooth bleaching products).
ADA offers recommendations on global mercury treaty
The Association urged U.S. negotiators on a global mercury treaty to consider the dental health benefits of amalgam.
"No decision regarding the use of dental amalgam should ignore the health benefits to patients from the availability and use of dental amalgam," the Association said in an Aug. 11, 2010, letter to the U.S. Department of State. "Dental amalgam remains a very important treatment option for repairing teeth damaged by dental caries (the infectious disease that causes cavities) because it is easy to use, cost effective, safe based on decades of use and research, and reliable."
Results of the ADA Quarterly Survey of Economic Confidence for the second quarter of 2010 were recently released, showing a significant downturn in the indicators measured. But according to an executive summary provided with the survey, the findings may be because dentists are frustrated that the economy is not improving as fast as they would like it to.
"Simultaneously, a sense of impatience and frustration with the pace of economic recovery may be taking hold of the public and resulting in a new round of decisions to delay dental visits. This might be what is being seen in the second quarter 2010 survey results," the summary stated. "The combination of both factors could have resulted in a sharp reversal from the past three quarters as [dentists'] feelings of relief over not seeing conditions worsen are replaced by frustration with the pace of improvement."
The Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasure Enterprise Review:
Transforming the Enterprise to Meet Long Range National Needs
Emerging infectious diseases, pandemics, and bioterrorism carry the potential for catastrophic impact, and the U.S. government has faced chronic challenges in producing medical countermeasures against such threats, as exemplified during the recent 2009-H1N1 pandemic. The President called out the renewed need for a national capability to respond to these threats in the State of the Union, and the Secretary of HHS stepped forward to address this need. The vision to combat such threats is simple: our nation must have the nimble, flexible capability to produce medical countermeasures rapidly in the face of any attack or threat, whether known or unknown, novel or reemerging, natural or intentional.
Novel Cause for Genetic Tooth Decay [a novel peptide in impaired dentin mineralization in rickets]
Rickets, the softening of bones in children, is often caused by vitamin D deficiency due to severe malnutrition. Rickets is one of the most frequent childhood diseases in developing countries and is associated with severe bone deformities, including dental ailments due to impaired dentin mineralization.
Some cases of rickets, such as familial hypophosphatemic rickets, have a genetic basis. These cases are often caused by a mutation in the protein PHEX. Boukpessi et al hypothesized that PHEX impairment resulted in the release of a peptide, ASARM, which is known to inhibit dentin mineralization.
Gene May Hold Key to Reducing Spread of Oral Cancers
Oral cancer is an under-treated and poorly understood disease, says Xiaofeng "Charles" Zhou, assistant professor in the UIC Center for Molecular Biology of Oral Diseases and lead researcher of the study.
More than 90 percent of oral cancers are squamous cell carcinomas that normally start on the gums, floor of the mouth, or tongue. About 30,000 Americans are affected each year, Zhou said.
While new cancers of all types have risen 8 percent in the last five years, oral cancer increased 21 percent, according to the American Cancer Society. Tongue squamous cell carcinoma, one of the most frequent oral cancers, rose more than 37 percent in this period. And although overall cancer deaths decreased during this period, those due to oral cancer increased by 4 percent -- and those due to tongue squamous cell carcinoma by 10 percent.
'Negative' studies could help avoid ineffective, costly treatments [Washington Post]
Negative studies -- the ones that fail to find that one therapy is superior to another -- usually do not elicit much excitement. Scientific studies with breakthrough results establishing the effectiveness of something new tend to get all the attention, while those that fail to find the hoped-for results are often ignored.
But with high costs and patient overtreatment looming large in the health-care debate, negative studies may be getting a closer look.
Quitting Smoking May Minimize Harmful Bacteria and Replenish Healthy Bacteria.
It is well established that oral bacteria play an important role in the origin of chronic gum disease and that smoking tobacco contributes to a pathogen rich environment. Although prior studies indicate that quitting smoking can alter the oral microbial community, it is unknown if pathogenic colonization can actually be reversed.
In order to determine the effect of quitting smoking on select oral bacteria researchers launched a long-term study, at the beginning of which, plaque samples were collected from 22 initial smokers. Twelve months following nonsurgical periodontal therapy and counseling samples were again taken from all 22 participants, however, 11 were quitters and 11 still smoked. Results showed decreased levels in various bacterial pathogens as well as an increase in health-associated species in those patients who no longer smoked.
The study made at Malmö University examined the dental health of more than 900 five-year olds in central Skåne through records from child health and public dental clinics.
One reason cited by the researchers as to why underweight children are at a high risk for tooth decay can be due to parental concerns about their child's weight development. As a consequence, they allow their children to eat what they want at irregular hours, resulting in the diet that contains more sugar.
Previous studies have shown that overweight children have an increased risk of tooth decay, but in the current study, the scientists did not see the link.
