Dental News

Alternative technique for the treatment of oroantral fistula (OAF), using an autologous bone graft integrated by xenologous particulate bone graft
The presence of an OAF was treated using an autologous bone graft integrated by xenologous particulate bone graft. An expanded polytetrafluoroethylene titanium-reinforced membrane (Gore-Tex ®) was used in order to obtain an optimal reconstruction of soft tissues and to assure the preservation of the bone graft from epithelial connection.
Source: International Journal of Medical Sciences

Report on the Findings of the Oral Health Component of the Canadian Health Measures Survey
Over 5,600 individuals were first interviewed in their homes and made a visit to a mobile examination centre. Of these 5,586 were examined by dentists calibrated for this study.
Source: American Public Health Association

Dental surgeon engineers tissue replacement
Earlier this year in a report in The Lancet, Columbia professor Jeremy Mao and his team showed that a joint could be grown with a host’s own stem cells, presenting a potential alternative for the 400,000 people who receive an artificial knee or hip each year. He has also demonstrated that it is possible to regenerate a new tooth from stem cells, which offers hope that one day dentures and implants may become a thing of the past.
Source: Physorg.com

Patient Resources

Periodontitis Associated With Developments Of Type 2 Diabetes And Its Complications - Oral Disease Treatment Can Help Control High Glycemic Levels
"One of the many complications of diabetes is a greater risk for periodontal disease, "said Maria E. Ryan, DDS, PhD, Professor of Oral Biology and Pathology, and Director of Clinical Research, School of Dental Medicine, Stony Brook University, New York, in a recent interview. "If you have this oral infection and inflammation, as with any infection, it's much more difficult to control blood glucose levels." Intensive periodontitis treatment significantly reduces levels of A1C, a measure of glucose control over the prior two to three months.  
Source: Medical News Today

Researchers discover how your wisdom teeth could save your life one day
What’s so wise about wisdom teeth? Even oral surgeons seem to think that these crooked, painful molars are quite worthless, since they remove them from the mouths of 85 percent of Americans to prevent infection and orthodontist bills. But researchers in Japan may have finally found a smart use for these third molars: making stem cells.
Source: ScienceLine

Did You Know?

Timing of Dental Development and Tooth Size are Determined Primarily by Heredity
 
Both the timing of dental development and tooth size are determined primarily by heredity. Individuals differ greatly in the size of the crown (the part of the tooth above the gum line). Except for the earliest stages of prenatal development, and possibly the third permanent molars or wisdom teeth, dental development in girls proceeds ahead of that in boys, often by as much as 6 percent. Girls also have slightly smaller crowns and slightly shorter tooth roots than boys.
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Source: HealthLine

Practice Management Tips

Improve Patient Interaction to Ensure Greater Compliance with Recommendations

Taking the time to provide your patients with information about their health improves interaction and contributes to acceptance of treatments. Nowadays, patients want to understand why recommendations are made and how they fit in with overall well being. Healthcare providers can arm themselves with excerpts from the patient’s personal medical history to ensure that advice is perceived as a requirement rather than a recommendation.

Tracking conditions, lab results, and even notes about concerns the patient reported over a long period of time can be used to reiterate conclusions in an manner that is easily understood. This can often be a persuasive tool. For example, when used to demonstrate a condition is deteriorating, or lingering for an extensive amount of time. A well-documented health record inspires trust and affects credibility. Patients feel that they were being listed to and the physician is providing good value that is relevant to their particular case. This confidence is more likely to lead to greater compliance.

If you are using an EHR application, previously logged medical history and prescriptions are already accessible in a sensible way. You can use timelines and graphs from your EHR as a platform for discussions with your patient about your objectives and recommendations.