Patients With Moderate To Severe Periodontitis Need to Be Evaluated For Cardiovascular Problems

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According to a paper by editors of The American Journal of Cardiology and Journal of Peridontology patients with moderate to severe periodontitis should receive evaluation and possible treatment to reduce their risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease which is the accumulation of lipid products within the arterial vascular wall.. For those not sure, periodontisis is a bacterially-induced, chronic inflammatory disease, that destroys connective tissue and bone that supports the teeth. In the United States it affects 30 to 50% of adults in the more mild and moderate forms and the severe form affects 5 to 15% of all adults in the USA. The explanation for the link between periodontitis and atherosclerotic CVD is not yet clear, but a leading candidate is inflammation caused by the immune system. In recent years the inflammation is now recognized as a significant active participant in … Read more

Wisdom Teeth and Dentist Culture

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I found an interesting article today on how the “Culture of research led to changes in extraction of wisdom teeth.” The article addressed wisdom teeth removal surgery in the United Kingdom (UK) and how this has changed over time. An interesting tidbit is there were 130,000 surgical extraction procedures conducted in England and Wales in 1995.  By 2002, this number had fallen to less than 60,000. The reason was because of research and learning from evidence. There is no benefit to extracting  healthy impacted wisdom teeth since the procedure caries the risk of damage to facial nerves. It is unfortunate that a similar policy has not been implemented in the United States. On a lighter note, another website discusses deranged dentist names. It is not exactly clear were some of the readers are from, however, some of them are amusing. … Read more

Orange Juice Bad For Teeth

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Researchers at the Eastman Institute for Oral Health wanted to see the negative effects on the tooth from using whitening products. Eastman Institute’s YanFang Ren, DDS, PhD, and his researchers looked at the effects of 6 percent hydrogen peroxide which the common ingredient in professional and over-the-counter whitening product. They also looked at acidic fruit juices and found that orange juice markedly decreased hardness and increased roughness of tooth enamel. The researchers found that the acid is so strong that the tooth is literally washed away. The orange juice decreased enamel hardness by 84 percent.” However, no significant change in hardness or surface enamel was found when they looked at teeth whitening products. Weakened and eroded enamel may speed up the wear of the tooth and increases the risk for tooth decay. Like soda and acidic fruit juices orange juice … Read more

Migraine in Midlife Can Cause Increased Lesions Later in Life

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A new study shows that middle-aged women who had migraine headaches with aura had a higher prevalence of brain lesions when older. Recent studies suggest migraine attacks may be associated with brain lesions identified on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), particularly in the cerebellum, according to background information in the article. Ann I. Scher, Ph.D., and colleagues examined the relationship of midlife migraine symptoms and late-life infarct (tissue death)-like lesions evident on MRI. The study included 4,689 men and women in Reykjavik, Iceland who were followed-up since 1967, examined, and interviewed about migraine symptoms in midlife. Between 2002 and 2006, more than 26 years later, brain MRIs were performed. Participants reporting headaches once or more per month were asked about migraine symptoms and were classified as having migraine without aura, migraine with aura, or nonmigraine headache. A comprehensive cardiovascular risk assessment … Read more

Oral Surgeon Sexual Assault Acquittal

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Last month I reported on sexual assault and how it has crept up into some oral surgeons offices during wisdom teeth removal. Well, recently there was another sexual assault case against an oral surgeon in the courts. Dr. Robert J. Boyda was accused of sexual assault by 17 women who testified as such in trial. However, the judge determined that he believed the women “thought” they were sexually assaulted due to the drugs that they were on. One of the drugs was stated to have “sexual hallucinations” in rare cases. The drug in question is propofol. I question whether or not you can really test if a sexual hallucination is a side effect in rare cases. You would certainly need an honest surgeon. This of course raises the issue of whether or not you should have anesthesia when you undergo … Read more