TeethRemoval.com

Antibodies present in people with good oral health could become the first tool for dental professionals to assess a patient’s probable response to periodontal disease treatments.

The antibody is to a protein called HtpG, the bug that makes it is Porphyromonas gingivalis, an important pathogen in periodontal disease. The antibody also has potential as a vaccine candidate, according to Charles Shelburne, assistant research scientist at the U-M School of Dentistry.

Researchers discovered that the HtpG antibodies were present in much lower amounts in people with periodontal disease, and in much higher concentrations in those with healthier teeth and gums. Typically, antibodies are elevated in people with disease, because they help fight the disease.

“What has been seen in periodontal disease over the last 30-40 years is that patients with periodontal disease have higher levels of antibodies to the bacteria associated with periodontal disease, but what we know is that those antibodies aren’t usually protective,” said Dennis Lopatin, principal investigator and senior associate dean of the School of Dentistry. “It’s like being vaccinated against the wrong strain of the flu. The healthy patient makes high levels of the antibodies but to the right part of the bug.”

Not only were the HtpG antibodies present in higher amounts in people with healthier gums, those patients with the antibodies responded better to periodontal treatment, the researchers say.

“We’re in a position now where we have a potential tool that gives insight as to how the patient will respond to treatment,” Lopatin said. “In the United States we spend $8 billion to $12 billion a year caring for people with serious periodontal disease. From a public health standpoint, it’s very important to identify those people who not only need therapy but will actually respond to a specific type of therapy.”

In the long run, this could lead to early interventional therapy to prevent periodontal disease from advancing, or even starting, he says.

The other part of the question is why people with periodontal disease don’t make a good immune response to HtpG, and this could connect back to current thinking that oral health influences general health.

Adapted from Materials by the University of Michigan.

The end of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics is soon coming to a close. So far the United States and Chinese have both been exceling in the olympics.

It seems as if the United States will most likely win the most medals amongst gold, silver, and bronze for the games. They already have over 100 total medals. The Chinese will most likely win the most medals for gold.

For olympic fans there is some disapointment for the conclusion of the games. The United States men’s volleyball team will compete for Gold on Saturday (8/23/08) at 11:00 P.M. Central Time, 12:00 A.M. (Sunday) Eastern Time, and 9:00 P.M. Pacific Time. This event will be followed by the United States men’s basketball team featuring Kobe and James competing for Gold on Sunday (8/24/08) at 1:30 A.M. Central Time, 2:30 A.M. Eastern Time, and 11:30 P.M. (Saturday) Pacific Time.

I know this is slightly confusing however this is the times I found at NBCOlympics.com when I checked earlier. This means that any olympic fans on the East Coast in the United States will have to stay up really late Saturday night if they want to watch the men’s volleyball and basketball teams compete for gold. If you are on the west coast, you lucked out and won’t have to stay up extremely late to catch the competition.

However, if staying up really late is not your thing, you can always likely watch the events online on Sunday.

So if you have missed out, CrunchGear has been offering prizes for the past 9 days in celebration of their birthday. Today is the last day to win prizes and they have some great offerings.

You can win a Palm Treo Pro, a VC 42-inch LCD TV, and a Lenovo Y510 Ideapad.

In order to do so you have to play a little game and find the code for each prize. Once you find it you email CrunchGear to let them know.

Head over to CrunchGear for a chance at these great prizes.

Consumer empowerment, a growing method of healthcare management for employers and healthcare organizations, involves empowering yourselves by learning how to become wiser healthcare consumers.

The following are 10 ways to achieve healthcare consumer empowerment.

1. Establish a relationship with a primary physician — before you need one. Discuss your health and family with your doctor. If you don’t have a primary physician find one.

2. Ask questions. In fact, I think it is a great idea to bring questions with you on a piece of paper, so you do not forget to ask them.

3. Learn about your illness. Research and ask your physician questions. There is a lot of information available to you.

4. Learn how to practice self-care. In times of emergency or injury remember to follow RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation)

5. Review bills carefully. Sometimes errors do happen, if you can’t look after the bills yourself, ask a family or friend to help you. Check them twice later on to make sure you were billed correctly.

6. Check your Provider Directory. It is important to find out if the doctor you are seeing participates in your health insurance plan.

7. Know your prescriptions. It is important to tell your doctor or nurse all of the prescriptions you are taking so that they can know if something else with interact. If you can’t remember, write it down!

8. Carefully read your Certificate of Coverage and Summary of Covered Benefits. Know and understand your healthcare benefits.

9. Use the emergency department for medical emergencies only.

10. Live a healthy lifestyle. Eat a healthy diet; wear your seat belt; perform monthly breast or testicular self-exams; don’t smoke; get 7 to 8 hours of sleep a night; exercise at least three times a week for 20 minutes; and drink in moderation.

Adapted from Health Resources Publishing

A new report suggests that the National Health Service (NHS) in Britain is having it’s fair share of problems. Dentists are simply removing teeth rather than taking on complicated treatments because they have become uneconomical to provide. The number of tooth extractions has increased.

In the two years following the introduction of a new contract to NHS dentists in April 2006, 900,000 fewer people saw an NHS dentist than in the last two years of the previous system. This could also be an understatement.

Why the sudden decline? It seems as if now dentists in the National Health Service are no longer paid on a per patient basis based on the procedure or treatment done. Instead they receive a fee for the year while agreeing to perform a certain number of services.

To read the entire article go here.