Health

Fluoride in Water Does Not Lower Intelligence

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An interesting article titled “Community Water Fluoridation and Intelligence: Prospective Study in New Zealand,” appears in the 2014 edition of the American Journal of Public Health by Jonathan M. Broadbent and et. al. The researchers set out to explore whether or not having fluoride in water that one drinks when they are young and age effects the developing brain negatively. The researchers followed nearly all aspects of the health and development of around 1,000 people born in Dunedin in southeast New Zealand in 1972-1973, up to age 38. The researchers compared IQs of those who grew up in Dunedin suburbs with and without fluoridated water. Furthermore, if one used fluoride toothpaste and tablets the researchers used this in their analysis. The researchers focused on fluoride expose during the first five years of life as this is a critical period of time … Read more

Periodontal Therapy Impact on General Health

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An interesting article titled “Impact of Periodontal Therapy on General Health,” appears in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (published online June 18, 2014) and written by Marjorie Jeffcoat and et. al. The authors attempt to estimate the effects of periodontal therapy on medical costs and hospitalizations among those with type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, cerebral vascular disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and pregnancy. The goal was to see if periodontal disease therapy might prevent or mitigate some of the adverse effects associated with the 5 studied conditions. The authors found significant reductions in healthcare costs and hospital admissions for pregnant women and patients with type 2 diabetes, coronary artery disease, and cerebral vascular disease. The authors found that the medical costs for pregnant women were 74% lower than for those with untreated periodontal disease. Patients with both type 2 diabetes … Read more

Moving Towards a Clearer Diagnosis of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis

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A group of researchers have recently used functional PET imaging to show that levels of neuroinflammation is higher in patients with myalgic encephalomyelitis also commonly referred to as chronic fatigue syndrome than in healthy patients. Myalgic encephalomyelitis or chronic fatigue syndrome is a debilitating condition which is mostly characterized by chronic and disabling fatigue. Some patients feel that chronic fatigue syndrome trivializes the condition and prefer a name change. In a study in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine researchers found that levels of neuroinflammation markers are elevated in myalgic encephalomyelitis patients when compared to healthy patients. It had been suspected that neuroinflammation is the cause of the condition. In the study the researchers performed PET scans on nine people diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis and ten people who were healthy. The patients were all asked to describe their pain, depression, cognitive impairment, … Read more

Will Health Care Reform Result in More Dental Visits

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An interesting article titled “Health care reform brings new opportunities,” appears in the April 2014 edition of JADA written by Marko Vujicic (vol. 145, no. 4, pp. 381-382). The article discusses how health care reform in the U.S., specifically the Affordable Care Act (ACA) may help bring about new opportunities for dentists. The article opens by discussing how the U.S. spends more money on health care than any other developed country and there is little measurable benefit in terms of health outcomes, patient satisfaction, and access to care. The author discusses how ACA is expected to bring access to dental care to an additional 8.7 million children by 2018. The author discusses how the focus is on implementing new health care delivery models and payment mechanisms that focus on value and not volume of care. The author believes that due to … Read more

The Cost of Health Care in the U.S. compared to Other Countries

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An interesting article titled “How affordable is health care in the United States and other countries,” appears in the May 2014, issue of JADA written by Dr. Marko Vujicic (vol. 145, no. 5, pp. 482-483). The article discusses how the cost of medical and dental care stacks up against 10 other countries. The article opens by addressing how the U.S. spends more on health care than any other country but that the by measures of access, efficiency, and satisfaction of health care the U.S. ranks below lower spending countries. This is believe to be partially due to wasteful spending which the Affordable Care Act may help reduce. The article discusses data from the Commonwealth Fund which presents data for 11 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries showing the percentage of adults who can not obtain medical or dental care due … Read more