Health

Rethinking dental insurance

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An interesting article titled “Time to rethink dental “insurance”” written by Marko Vujicic appears in the Nov. 2017 issue of JADA (vol. 147 issue 12, pp. 907–910). The article explorers some issues surrounding the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the U.S. and it’s impact and medical insurance and dental insurance and argues that dental insurance should be combined into dental insurance. It says that the percentage of Americans lacking health insurance coverage has fallen to 9.2%, which is lower than pre-ACA levels. In addition more Americans than before now now have a personal physician, health care costs are growing at much lower rates, and amount out-of-pocket health spending is declining. The article states “Earlier predictions that the ACA would cause dramatic increases in premiums, the elimination of health insurance coverage by employers, and a slowdown in the US economy have not happened. (emphasis … Read more

Fluoride Mouthrinse May reduce Dental Caries in Children and Adolescents

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An interesting article titled “Limited evidence suggests fluoride mouthrinse may reduce dental caries in children and adolescents” appears in the April 2017 issue of JADA written by Linda L. Cheng (issue 7, p263–266). The article explores the following question “In children and adolescents, does fluoride mouthrinse prevent dental caries compared with a placebo or no treatment?” The article discusses how reviewers searched 9 databases with no restriction on language or date of publication up through April 22, 2016. At least 2 reviewers independently selected the studies, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias. Dental caries were defined as clinical and radiographic lesions recorded at the dentin level of diagnosis. A total of  37 trials involving 15,813 children and adolescents, aged 6-14 years, were included in the results. Nearly all of the trials were conducted in schools on the supervised use of fluoride mouthrinse except … Read more

The ethics of a fair and honest treatment plan

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An interesting article titled “The ethics of presenting a fair and honest treatment plan,” is written by Marvin Elwood Rice, appearing in JADA, April 2017, vol. 148, issue 4. The article discusses a dentist who has had numerous occasions in which a relative, past patient, or a new patient has called for a second opinion because of what another dentist has shown them on the oral camera screen. These are patients who take care of their teeth and are familiar with their conditions. In each instance, the patient was in a panic because the dentist enlarged his or her teeth on the overhead screen and pointed to a dark developmental groove or a stained pit and tried to convince the patient that they had a cracked tooth and needed a crown or that the stained areas were active carious lesions and they … Read more

Synthetic Tooth Enamel May lead to Resilent Structures

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Unavoidable vibrations, such as those on airplanes, cause rigid structures to age and crack, but researchers have found that if you design them more like tooth enamel, it could lead to more resilient structures such as flight computers. Most materials that absorb vibration are soft and don’t make good structural components such as beams, chassis or motherboards. Artificial enamel is better than solid commercial and experimental materials that are aimed at the same vibration damping, as it’s lighter, more effective and less expensive. Researchers from the University of Michigan examined many structures in animals that had to withstand shocks and vibrations: bones, shells, carapaces and teeth. These living structures changed from species to species and over the eons. Tooth enamel told a different story. Under an electron microscope, it shared a similar structure whether it came from a Tyrannosaurus, a … Read more

Gum Disease Risk Doubles With Frequent Marijuana Use

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Marijuana has come a long way from being demonized as an illegal drug. Today, medical marijuana use is legal in 29 states and in Washington D.C. And as of November 2016, eight states made recreational marijuana use legal as well. But despite its praises being sung by millions, marijuana remains illegal under federal law. And for all its purported medical benefits, there are still downsides to marijuana use which advocates conveniently fail to mention in most conversations about the drug. One such downside is the one uncovered by a recent Columbia University study that says frequent pot use doubles the risk for periodontitis, an infection that causes serious damage not only to gum tissue but to the bone that supports the teeth as well. Frequent pot users show signs of periodontitis The study, which was published in the Journal of … Read more