ADA hires Fleishman-Hillard as Public Relations Firm

An article written on February 14, 2013, titled “ADA selects national communications firm“, by Kelly Soderlund discusses how the American Dental Association (ADA) has recently hired Fleishman-Hillard as their public relations (PR) firm. The article states “Fleishman-Hillard will be charged with developing communications strategies and messages; proactively pitching major oral health stories to national media; and creating toolkits and other multimedia materials that dental societies can also use as issues management resources. The goal…is to build and enhance dentists’ reputation and the profession; position the dentist as a fully-trained doctor who leads the dental team; demonstrate dentistry’s leadership in breaking down barriers to oral health for all Americans; and ensure that the media portrays dentistry fairly and accurately.” I am not quite sure what exactly to expect from this PR campaign. The article talks about portraying dentists fairly and accurately and also … Read more

Sports and Energy Drinks Can Cause Permanent Tooth Damage

I have previously written about how sports and energy drinks can cause tooth erosion see http://blog.teethremoval.com/energy-drinks-cause-tooth-erosion/. Studies have shown that 30% to 50% of U.S. teens are consuming energy drinks, and up to 62% are consuming at least one sports drink per day. A study published in the May/June 2012 issue of General Dentistry, the journal of the Academy of General Dentistry, found that an alarming increase in the consumption of sports and energy drinks, especially among adolescents, is causing irreversible damage to teeth — specifically, the high acidity levels in the drinks erode tooth enamel, the glossy outer layer of the tooth. Poonam Jain, BDS, MS, MPH, lead author of the study says “Young adults consume these drinks assuming that they will improve their sports performance and energy levels and that they are ‘better’ for them than soda. Most … Read more

Oral Bacteria That Causes Periodontitis Delievers a One-Two Punch

Oral health care workers and scientists have know for many years that bacteria cause periodontitis (gum disease); however, they were not sure exactly what bacteria was response. Recently the bacteria that causes periodontitis (gum disease) has been identified by a University of Michigan study. This bacterium is known as NI1060. It was also found that this triggers a normally protetive protein in the oral cavity called Nod1 to trigger bone destroying cells. In normal circumstances Nod1 fights harmful bacterium in the body. Hence, it was that the bacteria that causes gum disease triggers a one-two punch by also causing normally protective proteins to then destroy more bone. In normal cases No1 helps to fight infection by recruiting neutrophils which are blood cells that act as bacterial killers. Nod1 also removes harmful bacteria during infection. When periodontitis (gum disease) occurs NI1060 … Read more

Some New Wisdom Teeth and Dental Information Websites

Recently I have come across a few new websites in the dental space and wisdom teeth space on the internet. Update as of June 2019 both of these websites are dead and no longer exist. 1) One of these websites is http://www.teethcenter.com. This site says  “TeethCenter is an organization committed to providing consumers and dentists with an online resource for dental related and news and information. There are many “health” sites on the web, but, not a prominent site dedicated to dental news and information.” The website looks quite nice but it’s articles in terms of quality are the typical. For example, on the page “Should I Have my Wisdom Teeth Pulled,” discussion is made of some reasons for and against wisdom teeth removal but not statistics/data to help aid the reader is presented.  I have provided a lot of … Read more

Wisdom Teeth Removal can Lead to Permanent Numbness and More

A recent story in the Grimbsy Telegraph titled “£15,000 payout after dental op leaves Grimsby woman with permanent numbness,” describes how a 39 year old woman who had 2 wisdom teeth extracted was left with nerves in her lower jaw severed. The article was written on October, 6, 2012 and is located at http://www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/15-000-payout-dental-op-leaves-Grimsby-woman/story-17045539-detail/story.html. The woman says her lip turns completely blue in the cold and, at times, she bites her lip without realising until it starts to bleed. She also says “I can be having a drink or eating food and without realising I am dribbling…It is embarrassing when my children have to tell me to wipe my chin as I have food on it, or they tell me to speak properly because my speech is affected.” The woman was awarded £15,000 in an out of court settlement which is … Read more