Our Blog
The Role of Occlusion in Periodontal Disease
The relationship of occlusal trauma causing the progression of periodontal disease has a controversial history. Initially it was believed that heavy occlusal contacts were responsible for periodontal disease. Another group stated that deeper pockets and bone loss...
Periodontal Disease Linked to 70% Higher Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease
A large longitudinal study has found a strong correlation between periodontal disease and risk of Alzheimer’s Disease. This study compared 9,291 patients with periodontitis and 18, 672 control patients without gum disease over 16 years. The results were published...
Update on Silver Diamine Fluoride
One of our previous blog articles (April, 2016) introduced silver diamine fluoride 38% (Advantage Arrest by Elevate Oral Care) as a product approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2016 as treatment for dentinal hypersensitivity. The FDA has since...
Dentinal Hypersensitivity – Etiology
Dentinal hypersensitivity is one of the most common patient complaints in a dental office. Dentinal hypersensitivity is defined as “short, sharp pain arising from exposed dentin in response to stimuli, which are usually thermal, evaporative, tactile, and osmotic or...
Xerostomia and Caries
Xerostomia or dry mouth is a common side effect of many medications (over the counter, prescription, and dietary supplements) that lowers salivary flow, which affects oral health of patients, particularly increasing caries risk. “Studies show that 20%-30% of the...
Xylitol and Caries
Xylitol is a non-fermentable sugar alcohol used as a sweetener. Unlike other natural or synthetic sweeteners, xylitol is actively beneficial in dentistry by reducing caries and is known to induce remineralization of demineralized enamel. Xylitol is categorized by the...
Non-Opioid Management of Dental Pain
Dental professionals must be keenly aware of the potential hazards when prescribing opioid analgesics for patients and the possible risk of adverse physical effects as well as the potential abuse of these drugs. Evidence from third molar extraction postoperative pain...
Dental Extractions and Opioids
Opioid abuse is currently at an epidemic proportion in the US. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the death rate from opioid overdose has more than doubled in the US in the last 15 years. A recent study in the Journal of American...
Periodontal Disease May Be Linked to Lung Cancer
The American Cancer Society ranks lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer death in men and women. A recent report in the Journal of Periodontology* finds that individuals with periodontal disease may have a 1.24-fold increased risk of developing lung disease. The...
Frequency of Dental Implant Maintenance
At the current time, there is no consensus about the frequency of dental implant maintenance. Two important parameters that will help decide the frequency are: The health of patient’s overall dentition The health of the peri-implant tissue The following guidelines...
