Periodontal Disease Can Lead to More Risk of Kidney Disease

As previously discussed on this website periodontal disease is something one should be aware of when considering whether or not to have wisdom teeth removed as periodontal disease can develop when wisdom teeth are maintained. This is discussed over at http://www.teethremoval.com/risks_of_keeping_wisdom_teeth.html. Many previous studies have looked at periodontal disease and how having it can lead to increased risk for other diseases. See for example http://blog.teethremoval.com/high-level-evidence-to-identify-diseases-and-disorders-associated-with-periodontal-disease/, http://blog.teethremoval.com/periodontal-disease-and-pregnancy-risks/, and http://blog.teethremoval.com/periodontal-disease-may-associate-with-breast-cancer/. In the first post mentioned above it was said “The diseases for which an association with periodontitis has been reported include cardiovascular disease (CVD), stroke, respiratory disease, rheumatoid arthritis, pancreatic cancer, diabetes mellitus (types 1 and 2), preterm delivery, low-birth-weight delivery, preeclampsia, osteoporosis and osteoarthritis.” A new study  has now associated periodontitis with an increased risk of kidney disease. The article looked at 699 African American adults who underwent complete dental examinations … Read more

Dental Emergency: What You Need to Know to Handle the Situation

It’s interesting how when it comes to an emergency, some people don’t find their oral health as important as the rest of their body. When anything in your mouth becomes broken or damaged, the implications can be quite serious, even if it seems like the situation can be easily managed at home. A tooth that breaks might not even hurt if no nerve endings have been exposed, so it feels like it’s something that can be dealt with at a later stage. But should you wait? Advances in dental technology means that even fairly major issues can be remedied if you act quickly. The simple fact of the matter is that any changes to your teeth, gums, or soft tissue inside your mouth should be examined by a dentist as soon as possible, and it’s not wise to delay. So … Read more

Nutrition is Important for Oral Health

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has published a position paper on oral health and nutrition which looks at the current research literature to support that nutrition is an important component of oral health. The paper promotes the view that dietitian nutritionists should collaborate with oral health care professionals to help in disease prevention. The paper states “Oral health and nutrition have a synergistic multidirectional relationship. Oral infectious diseases, as well as acute, chronic, and terminal systemic diseases with oral manifestations impact functional ability to eat as well as diet and nutrition status. Likewise, nutrition and diet can affect the development and integrity of the oral cavity as well as the progression of oral diseases.” The paper was published in the the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in May 2013, and is available for download at http://www.eatright.org/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=8426. … Read more

Improving Value: Prespectives from Oral Surgeons

An interesting editorial appears in the 2014, issue of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery titled “The Value of Improving Value,” by James Hupp (pp. 843-845, issue 72). In this Dr. Hupp presents a formula for patient value Value = A(Q + PS)/C A = appropriateness, Q = quality, PS = patient satisfaction, and C = costs The author states “First, one can improve outcomes while keeping costs the same. Second, one can decrease costs while keeping outcomes the same. Or third, both outcomes and costs increase, but outcomes per unit of cost improve.” In the article the author discusses how in the past, value in health care was really just about cost cutting. Clinical outcomes were not really taken into account. Now that health care outcomes are being considered, physicians need to find ways to measure value using the … Read more

High Acid Drinks Can Damage Teeth

So I have previously written about how sports and energy drinks can cause permanent tooth damage. See the post http://blog.teethremoval.com/sports-and-energy-drinks-can-cause-permanent-tooth-damage/ where it is mentioned that the high acidity levels in the drinks erode tooth enamel. Similar sentiments are echoed in a more recent article titled “Three-dimensional profilometric assessment of early enamel erosion simulating gastric regurgitation,” appearing in the Journal of Dentistry in 2014 written by Chelsea Mann and et al. The researchers in this more recent article present results to show that lifelong damage is caused by acidity to teeth within the first 30 seconds of an acid attack. The researchers state that dental erosion is often detected clinically after extensive tooth wear has already occurred. Furthermore, the researchers state that drinks high in acidity like sports drinks, soft drinks, and fruit juice when combined with night time tooth grinding can cause … Read more