Life

Social Isolation in Old Ages Leads to Fewer Teeth

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An interesting article titled “Social isolation, loneliness and accelerated tooth loss among Chinese older adults: A longitudinal study.” appears in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology in 2022 written by Xiang Qi, Yaolin Pei, Katherine Wang, Shuyu Han, and Bei Wu. The article sought to explore the effects of social isolation and loneliness for older Chinese adults by looking particularly at the number of teeth remaining and the rate of tooth loss over time. In the article the authors analyzed data from 4,268 adults ages 65 and older fromthree different timepoints of the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (2011-2012, 2014, 2018). The surveys captured measures of social isolation, loneliness, and tooth loss. In these surversy more than a fourth (27.5%) of the study participants were socially isolated and also more than a fourth (26.5%) reported feeling lonely. The authors found that if … Read more

Easing the Burden of Undergraduate Education Costs such as being awarded scholarships like one from Nancy Etz

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For those who are considering additional education beyond undergraduate education, the costs can really start to add up. According, to the article “Considering Students’ Cost of a Dental Education: Return on Investment and Debt to Income Ratio” appearing in the Journal of Dental Education (vol. 81, no. 8, Aug. 2017, eS28-eS32), written by Allan J. Formicola, 28% of students graduating from dental school had debt of between $200,000 and $300,000. Even so, with such staggering amounts of debt for some students, most feel that the economic return of having a dental degree exceeds the costs of paying to acquire. Although at some point in the future this may no longer be the case. For those, who want to attend graduate level education like law, medical, and dental school, after undergraduate education, it makes sense to begin thinking about costs at … Read more

Clever Ways to Pay for College including a Scholarship from Melvin Brewing

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It has been well document that college students today who graduate are facing mounting challenges, see for example the post Medical School Student Costs in the U.S. are Affecting Mental Health. The cost of college is a primary barrier for many in the U.S. According to the article Why Is College in America So Expensive? appearing in The Atlantic (Amanda Ripley, 2018), Americans spend about $30,000 per student a year—nearly twice as much as the average developed country. For many families finding a creative way to pay for college can be the difference between being able to attend full-time. Below describe some of the traditional ways along with more clever ways to help pay for college. 1. Scholarships Traditional routes to pay for college include scholarships. When looking for scholarship opportunities be sure to look far and wide. As many … Read more

Is What We Read Accurate or Sort of Accurate?

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There is an interesting editorial in the July 2012 Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol titled Accuracy, fact checking, and wiki-timelines by Craig S. Miller (vol. 114, no. 1, pp. 1-3). In the article Craig makes a mention of an article in the Wall Street Journal titled If Your Teeth Could Talk . . .. Craig points out numerous details of the article that are inaccurate. He states that the following statement “…American Heart Association, the American Medical Association and the American Orthopedic Association all urge people who have had a full joint replacement to take an antibiotic one hour before any dental visit for the rest of their lives to reduce the risk of post-surgical infections.” is inaccurate on 6 accounts. The American Heart Association, the American Medical Association, and the American Orthopedic Association do not have … Read more

How to Foster Cooperation

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Recently I have came across the book titled Why Society is a Complex Matter by Phillip Ball (Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012). Chapter 8 of the book is titled Love Thy Neighbour: How to Foster Cooperation. Ball states: “Society is a collaborative effort: it works to the extent that we can get along with our neighbours, agree on common goals, and accept shared responsibilities….Yet that seems to conflict with the supposed Darwinian imperative of competition, in which every individual is out for themselves. Long before Darwin’s theory, some philosophers insisted that the only way to avoid the rapacious state of affairs that followed from humankind’s greed and desire for power over others was to impose the restraining authority of the state. Others had more faith in humanity: they felt that God had made people inherently good and rational, and that this … Read more