Doctors

U.S. Dental Schools Teaching little on Sleep Disorders

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American adults suffer from sleep disorders and the number is quite large, around 70 million. U.S. dental schools are not teaching their graduating soon to be dentists the importance of screening their patients for sleep disorders. A survey sent out by researchers from the University of California — Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Dentistry,  indicates that dental students spend an average of 2.9 instruction hours during their four years of dental school studying sleep disorders. The main problem is for those 18 million Americans that suffer from Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). It estimated that 80 % to 90 % of patients with OSA are not diagnosed and this can consequently raise the patients risk for many diseases and problems. The researchers feel since dentists see patients on a regular basis, they can notice early warning signs of sleep disorders. This … Read more

Western Dental injuries and pain

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I found some interesting pieces from ABC 7 KGO-TV San Francisco, CA. The articles and videos are about the second largest HMO in the state of California called Western Dental. Numerous people are profiled talking about things such as nerve damage following wisdom teeth removal, people’s healthy teeth being pulled out and being replaced with dentures,  a syringe injecting bleech into a girl’s sinus during a root canal, and putting too much filler into the root of a woman’s teeth during a root canal and causing severe pain. Of course Western Dental defends by not admitting wrongdoing but then lawsuits result and a settlement is reached in some cases. In other cases Western Dental has not paid for subsequent follow up treatment. To see the videos and read more of the articles visit these 2 links. http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/iteam&id=7583317 http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/iteam&id=7585208

Dental Needle Could be Replaced

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I find this study to be quite interesting as I have had anesthesia delivered directly in my nose before in an attempt to prevent my constant 24/7 headache. New evidence has emerged that a common local anesthetic, when administered to the nose as nose drops or a nasal spray, travels through the main nerve in the face and collects in high concentrations in the jaw, teeth, and structures of the mouth. William H. Frey II and colleagues found that drugs administered to the nose travel along nerves and go directly to the brain, although I really don’t think this finding is novel. One of those nerves is the trigeminal nerve, which brings feelings to the face, nose and mouth. Until now scientists never paid much attention to intranasal drugs passing the nerve in the nose and how it might reach … Read more

Metlife Dental and Dentist Cleaning

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So recently I have stated in a previous post on this blog, I have finished up graduate school and now moved to a new area with a new job. My employer offers dental insurance. The dental plan turned out to be Metlife. On their website they allow you to select your type of plan either PPO or HMO (I have PPO) and you also enter in your zip code. Now I found a dentist listed as one of their preferred providers and one of my friends in the area recently went to him so I decided to give it a shot. Unfortunately I didn’t find out the specifics of how much the new dentist would charge for a cleaning and exam which turned out to be $286.00. Metlife sent me a statement in the mail saying they would cover $97 … Read more

Oral Surgeon Arthur Bosanquet Convicted of Sex Claims

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An Austrialian former oral surgeon has been found guilty of sex claims.  News of the oral surgeon and his bizaree medical study to incite patients to masturbate in front of him can be found at http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/news/local/news/general/lying-sex-predator-disgraced-surgeon-guilty-of-indecent-assault/1696567.aspx and http://www.illawarramercury.com.au/news/local/news/general/new-sex-claim-against-wollongong-doctor/1373243.aspx What it boils down to is that Arthur Bosanquet  convinced a teenager and his father  he was conducting a medical trial to measure the blood pressure of men before, during and after masturbation. Essentially he did the same thing twice with two different victims. He went to the victim’s bedrooms and took a blood sample and told them to masterbate. When they had difficulty doing so, he indecently assaulted them. Bosanquet had performed wisdom teeth removal on one of the victims in addition to facial surgery after an assault occured.