Dentists Find Additional Bacteria Species Involved with Tooth Decay

An interesting article titled “Selenomonas sputigena acts as a pathobiont mediating spatial structure and biofilm virulence in early childhood caries,” written by Hunyong Cho and et. al. appears in Nature Communications (vol. 14, no. 1, 2023). The article seeks to study if other bacteria besides Streptococcus mutans are involved with tooth decay and cavities in children, also known as dental caries. Prior to the study it was believed that S. mutans and other acid-making bacteria are adequately removed by teeth-brushing and oral care, and this creates a protective biofilm, or plaque, on teeth. If the plaque is left in place for too long, bacteria consumes sugars from food and drinks and coverts them to acidsm which erode the enamel of affected teeth, in time creating cavities. The article investigated the role of Selenomonas sputigena (S. sputigena) in early cavities in children. S. … Read more

Periodontal Disease associated with heart attacks

In the past on this site links between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease have been mentioned, see for example the posts Additional link between cardiovascular and periodontal disease and Periodontal Disease and Cardiovascular Risk. Periodontal disease is also known as gum disease. Recently, a study appearing in the Journal of the American Dental Association titled “Association between periodontal care and hospitalization with acute myocardial infarction” written by Romesh P. Nalliah and et. al. (April 19, 2022) has shown that those with periodontal disease are at increased risk of ending up in the hospital due to a heart attack. In the study researchers explored periodontal care and heart attack-related hospitalizations and aftercare by analyzing Iinsurance claims data from MarketScan Research Databases, which includes information from hundreds of millions of patients in the U.S. Patients were included if they had been hospitalized in … Read more

Is Dentistry in an Uphill Battle Against Dr. Google?

During the February 2022 Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting Dr. Gregory Psaltis gave an interesting talk titled “Dealing with Dr. Google.” Dr. Psaltis presented how nowadays patients are turning to internet searches to seek information on scientific topics and in particular their dental treatments. Based on what the patients find online this can cause them and their parents to challenge any recommendations. In the talk Psaltis said how parents of young dental patients these days are arriving at dental practices and don’t agree with the recommendations the dentist suggests. He presented four such scenarios including that parent’s do not want x-rays for their child, that parent’s do not want flouride for their child, that parent’s only want tooth-colored crowns—not silver (stainless steel) for their child, and that parent’s only want only fillings for large lesions and never any crowns for … Read more

Orthodontist Sentenced to Prison for Public Corruption Scheme with Former State Senator

A former Arkansas dentist who served as an orthodontist, who has since resided in Florida, has been sentenced to one year plus one day in prison and a $157,500 fine for Conspiracy to Commit Honest Services Fraud. This was due to the orthodontists involvement in a public corruption scheme that involved a former state senator in the state of Arkansas. The former orthodontist entered into a plea agreement where he plead guility and admitted to hiring the former state senator to influence and request official action to benefit his dental clinics. The orthodontist owned and operated several orthodontic clinics in Arkansas. He found himself in trouble in 2013 when he was accused by state regulators of allowing his dental hygienists to provide services to patients who were not receiving any orthodontic treatment. At the time a state law known as … Read more

What is the norcebo effect and does it matter for dentistry?

An interesting article titled “What is the nocebo effect and does it apply to dentistry? A narrative review” written by T. Watanabe and et al. appears in the Journal of Oral Rehabilitation (2022). The article discusses the concept of a nocebo which is different than a placebo. A nocebo is where negative expectations lead to the effect of either clinical worsening, suboptimal treatment efficacy, or the occurrence of adverse events. A placebo on the other hand is where postive expectations leads to an effect that causes an improvement in symptoms. In the article the authors sought to explore the norcebo effect in dentistry which they say to date has been given very little attention which only a limited number of articles discussing it. The norcebo effect is real and has been demonstrated in numerous experimental and clinical settings, which hows … Read more