High-Level Evidence to Identify Diseases and Disorders Associated with Periodontal Disease

An interesting article appears in J Can Dent Assoc, 2012, 78:c25, titled ” Separating Fact from Fiction: Use of High-Level Evidence from Research Syntheses to Identify Diseases and Disorders Associated with Periodontal Disease,” by Amir Azarpazhooh and Howard C. Tenenbaum. The article describes how it is known that periodontitis has been correlated with several diseases and attempts to look at the more robust associations. In the risks of keeping wisdom teeth page http://www.teethremoval.com/risks_of_keeping_wisdom_teeth.html this has been mentioned and several studies are cited. This page states “These potential systemic diseases that may be associated with periodontal disease include premature delivery of low-birth weight infants, coronary artery disease, coronary heart disease, renal vascular disease, stroke, diabetes, bacterial pneumonia, chronic obstructive lung disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.” The article discussed above uses meta-analyses and systematic reviews available up to June 2011. This article states “This high-level evidence … Read more

Herbs in Dentistry

In a previous blog post I talked about Using Adaptogens to Help Reduce Stress and discussed 8 different herbs that were reviewed in a 2010 journal article to help reduce stress. The use of herbs is also beneficial for migraine, for example, see this post Daily Preventative Therapies Can Reduce Migraine. Recently I came across the article “Herbs in Dentistry: Evidence-based herbal medicine” appearing in Dental Abstracts, vol. 57, issue 6, pp. 305-307, 2012. The article mentions the use of echinacea mouthwash which when combined with peppermint oil, sage, menthol, and chamomile is effective in gingivitis and periodontal disease. Further, this combination has shown to be effective against colds and flu. The article mentions the possible use of aloe vera  “Aloe vera gel is as effective as prednisolone and indomethacin, without these agents’ long-term toxicity… Uses of aloe vera include … Read more