Dentists Fight Review Sites

A new article by the ADA was published a few days ago about dentists fighting online websites where some seek to damage their name. The article can be found at http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/adanews/adanewsarticle.asp?articleid=3529. The article focuses on the review site Yelp and how one doctor found terrible ratings of herself online. The doctor went so far as to have her attorney sue the person who posted the rating on the site for libel. The doctor’s attorney states that “The parameters of the First Amendment weren’t intended to protect defamatory speech. If there were no limits whatsoever, we could charge anyone with anything. We can’t use speech in a way that is intended to hurt someone.” I personally believe that free speech protects our interests in giving our reviews of doctors, dentists, businesses, whatever you name it. I’m sure if we were to … Read more

Wellsphere Health Blogger Scam

Back in September 2008, I received an email which is at the bottom of this post. It was the most convincing email I have ever received that actually was a scam. It wanted me to join Wellsphere and become a blogger using the content I have already published on this blog. As it turned out several months ago, I somehow missed this, anyone who signed up for Wellsphere turned over full rights to their published work. I encourage you to read the following posts for more detailed information. I am really quite upset that an MD would defraud thousands of health bloggers. I never was tricked into signing up with Wellsphere, but I did think about it as the email was very hard to turn down. http://www.getbetterhealth.com/how-the-health-blogosphere-was-scammed/2009.01.28 http://www.chronicbabe.com/articles/797/ ——- Sept 25, 2008 Hi , I was searching online for the … Read more

The American Dental Society

I just wanted to let everyone know about an event that is upcoming.  “The Evidence Based Approach to Anxiety and Pain Control: Why We Do What We Do,” is the theme for this years American Dental Society of Anesthesiology’s annual meeting. It will be happening April 23-25 at the Marriott Hotel in Chicago. The keynote speaker this year is  Dr. Mark Drangsholt who is an epidemiologist and assistant professor of oral medicine at the  University of Washington.His talk will be about Finding, Evaluating and Applying Clinical Information in a Google-Dominated World. To find out more and obtain registration you will want to visit http://www.adsahome.org/annual.html Even so the official website seems to be a bit spare on containing information about the event. Therefore you should visit the ADA over at http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/adanews/adanewsarticle.asp?articleid=3507

Gene Therapy for Gum Disease

Scientists at the University of Michigan have shown that gene therapy can be used to successfully stop the development of periodontal disease. The U-M group is the first known to use the gene delivery approach to show potential in treating chronic conditions such as periodontal disease, said William Giannobile, professor at the U-M School of Dentistry. “Gene therapy has not been used in non-life threatening disease. (Periodontal disease) is more disabling than life threatening,” said Giannobile, who also directs the Michigan Center for Oral Health Research and has an appointment in the U-M College of Engineering. “This is so important because the next wave of improving medical therapeutics goes beyond saving life, and moves forward to improving the quality of life.” The preclinical study offers was a collaboration with the Seattle-based biotechnology company Targeted Genetics. In July, Targeted Genetics released … Read more

Evidence Based Medicine

I found a good website discussing some of the benefits of evidence based medicine. It explains what it is, what a systematic review is, and what this means to you. The information is from The Informed Health Online/Gesundheitsinformation.de Team: IQWiG. My favorite paragraph is talking about what to do when there is no clear answer for your medical treatment. It is important to remember, too, that just because there is no clear answer now, it does not mean that there is nothing a patient can do and that someone should take over for them. If there is no conclusive evidence about a treatment, patients need the best description possible of the potential advantages and disadvantages of the alternatives they face so that they can choose what they want to do. A variety of medical and personal issues can influence this … Read more