Dietary Goals of the United States

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I have previously written about  Dr. McDougall through finding his newsletter in a Google Search where he discussed how to protect yourself from abusive doctors. See https://blog.teethremoval.com/how-to-protect-yourself-from-abusive-doctors/. Earlier this year I also discussed in a post some of Dr. McDougalls thought’s on Food, Children, and Diet where he wrote to governor Rick Scott of Florida claiming that various food industries are engaged in child abuse. In his newsletter from October 2012, he discussed former democratic senator George McGovern and his McGovern report from 1977 where guideline for eating were developed, http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2012nl/oct/mcgovern.htm. Dr. McDougall says that the McGovern report says “…there is a great deal of evidence and it continues to accumulate, which strongly implicates and, in some instances, proves that the major causes of death and disability in the United States are related to the diet we eat…What are the … Read more

Dental Malpractice and Inflation Adjusted Updates

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I wanted to alert readers that several pages on this site have been updated lately regarding dental malpractice as it relates to wisdom teeth removal. I updated the inflation adjusted calculations and figures on the dental malpractice page http://www.teethremoval.com/dental_malpractice.html.The calculations using up to the latest CPI-U from September 2013 have been updated. Interestingly I have calculated an annual return of around 4.25% needed to keep up with inflation since 1970. This is higher than any risk-free investment vehicle (bond, CD, savings) currently being offered. In addition, to this page I have added a few comments (reworded) recently provided by Lewis N. Estabrooks who is chairman of the board of OMSNIC. He has recently said the following (OMSNIC. Lewis N. Estabrooks, DMD, MS. Board Message. Monitor, vol. 24, no. 5, October 2013.) “Our statistics show approximately 78% of the claims are … Read more

Now is a Great Time to Sell Your Dental Practice: Four Signs of the Industry Season

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Right now, over the next 12 to 18 months, may be the perfect time to sell your dental practice. Even if you are not in the market to retire, you can sell your practice. Many dentists sell their practices so they no longer have worry about owning a business and providing for several staff and their families. Selling a practice can give dentists an opportunity to work as professors or to simply just practice their crafts. Selling a practice often leaves dentists in a comfortable financial situation. With approaching challenges, like Obama-care, many dentists are selling because recent dental school graduates are able to get good lending rates to buy well-established practices. At one dental society meeting, a speaker informed the crowd on the approaching economics and Obama-care programs.  This speaker explained that veteran dentists will not benefit from the … Read more

Periodontal Disease and Pregnancy Risks

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An often disagreed point in the literature is whether or not periodontal disease is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes such as preterm births and low birth weight. I have discussed this some more on the risks of keeping wisdom teeth page over at http://www.teethremoval.com/risks_of_keeping_wisdom_teeth.html. I discussed how in a meta-analysis of 10 randomized trials in January 2011 found no evidence in favor of periodontal disease being associated with preterm births and low birth weight. The source for this study is Mariana Fampa Fogacci and et al. The Effect of Periodontal Therapy on Preterm Low Birth Weight: A Meta-Analysis. Obstetrics & Gynecology. vol. 117. issue 1. pages 153-165. January 2011. In a letter in J Can Dent Assoc 2012; 78: c120 there is an articled titled “Periodontal Disease and Pregnancy Risks,” which was published on on September 24, 2012 over at http://www.jcda.ca/article/c120 … Read more

Controversy Over Spinal Fusion

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Debate over spinal fusion surgery continues to occur. A recent article tiled “Spinal fusions serve as a case study for debate over when certain surgeries are necessary,” appears in the Washington Post written by Peter Whoriskey and Dan Keating and published on October 27, 2013. (Note I have previously mentioned some of the controversy over spinal fusion in the post Tips to Prevent Medical Errors – AHRQ) The article mentions that spinal fusions being performed in the U.S. has risen over the years and that around half of the surgeries they reviewed don’t meet expert consensus on when the surgery should be performed. This article discusses a surgeon at a Florida hospital who was earning well over a million a year performing spinal fusions on patients. Auditors at the hospital began to wonder if all the cases were necessary and … Read more