Oral Health Problems Associated With Diabetes

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It is estimated that 12 to 14 million people, or one-third of the population in the United States, have diabetes, but only one-half of these individuals are diagnosed. Studies have shown that diabetics are more susceptible to the development of oral infections and periodontal disease than those who do not have diabetes. Oral infections tend to be more severe in diabetic patients than non-diabetic patients. And, diabetics who do not have good control over their blood sugar levels tend to have more oral health problems. These infections occur more often after puberty and in aging patients.

The most common oral health problems associated with diabetes are:

• tooth decay
• periodontal (gum) disease
• salivary gland dysfunction
• fungal infections
• lichen planus and lichenoid reactions (inflammatory skin disease)
• infection and delayed healing
• taste impairment

Easy Easter Egg Experiment

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More than likely you'll have plenty of boiled eggs around this Easter. So instead of just coloring them why don't you do something useful with them... like using them to show kids how important it is that they brush their teeth and brush them well.

Thanks to About.com's Tammy Davenport's Dentistry Blog, here is an experiment that is not only fun and educational, but it just might end you or sink-side struggles (i.e. getting little kids to brush their teeth). By performing this experiment, kids can actually see what the effects of brushing off plaque look like. This can be done by one or several children, and it should be supervised by an adult. You will need:

1. Hard boiled eggs (one per child)
2. Cola or dark-colored soda (8 oz per child)
3. Toothbrush (one per child)
4. Toothpaste containing fluoride
   

Before the experiment, boil an egg(s). Place the egg in a glass of soda for a day. The next day, show them how the now-discolored and yellowish stained egg is exactly how teeth look with plaque on them. Then give each child a toothbrush with a little toothpaste on it and let them brush the "plaque" off of the egg.

The first one to clean their egg gets to eat their egg!

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Do We Have A Dental Health Care Crisis

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Millions of American adults are missing out on needed dental care, losing teeth and jeopardizing their health because they have no private insurance and can't afford to pay.

America has enough dentists, but there are a shortage of options for uninsured low-wage workers and poor people with government health coverage.

Without regular checkups, cleanings and other preventive care, patients with painful tooth or gum decay and often severe infections are showing up in increasing numbers at local hospital emergency rooms.

"Many of the patients that arrive at the emergency department aren't dental emergencies, not something that needs to be done today, but they are people with tremendous pain and have called every possible resource, and have nowhere else to go," said Bill Morris, medical director of Harrison's Emergency Department in Kitsap County, Washington, which saw 1,296 dental cases last year.

The local problem reflects a national gap in access to dental care.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for every American without medical insurance, three lack dental insurance. Nearly one-third of all adults have untreated cavities; one out of 20 middle-aged adults is missing all of his or her teeth.

This comes at a time when medical practitioners are becoming more aware of the connections between a healthy mouth and healthy body. Poor oral health — gum disease in particular — is linked to cardiovascular disease and diabetes, among other ills. In Kitsap County Washington, the United Way recently identified access to affordable dental care as the region's No. 1 need.

But solutions are elusive, and there's ample blame to go around.

Society's poorest are covered by government insurance, Medicaid, but reimbursement rates for adult dental care are low — typically less than half the going rate. Most dentists, consequently, don't accept patients on Medicaid. Dentists say that Medicaid patients also tend to miss appointments more often than private-pay patients, putting further strain on dental office budgets.

For their part, dentists as a group tend to focus more on building up their practices than sharing the burden of serving public health.

Like so many of health care's ills, that leaves hospital emergency rooms carrying the load. Yet the ER offers no cure. "Basically, all I can do is prescribe pain medications and antibiotics, if necessary, and try to provide some phone numbers to try to call," Bill Morris said, adding glumly, "The vast majority of the time, the patients already have tried all the same numbers."

Dental

Silent Enamel Eating Syndrome Not So Silent

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Mysterious Dental Condition On Rise In USA

Cavities or not, your teeth could be in more trouble than you know because of a silent and destructive phenomenon called dental erosion, which is the steady loss of the teeth's protective enamel. The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio has found that the incidence of dental erosion is on the rise in the United States.

A study involving 900 middle school students was conducted in 2004 and 2005 at Indiana University, the University of California at San Francisco and the UT Health Science Center San Antonio discovered a 30 percent prevalence rate of dental erosion among 10- to 14-year-olds in the United States.

Dental erosion is caused by acids found in products that are being more widely consumed than ever in the U.S. These include soft drinks, some fruit juices, sports drinks, herbal teas, beer salts, and the Lucas brand of candy imported from Mexico that is especially popular among children in San Antonio and South Texas.

"When consumed in excess, these products can easily strip the enamel from the teeth, leaving the teeth more brittle and sensitive to pain. The acids in these products can be so corrosive that not even cavity-causing bacteria can survive when exposed to them," said Dr. Amaechi, leader of the San Antonio portion of the nation's first population-based, multi center study of dental erosion.

Dr. Amaechi said some medications including aspirin, when taken regularly, have erosive potential. Some underlying medical conditions such as acid reflux disease or disorders associated with chronic vomiting, including bulimia, also can cause dental erosion because of the gastric acids that are regurgitated into the mouth.

"It is important for dental practitioners to identify dental erosion and its causes before it is too late," Dr. Amaechi said. "Because dental erosion creates a smooth and shiny appearance of the enamel and causes no pain or sensitivity in its early stages, most patients are not aware that they are suffering from the condition until the problem becomes severe. Therefore, the responsibility of early detection and treatment falls on the professionals."

Dental Erosion
Dental Health

Every (Bad) Breath You Take

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Test Yourself For Halitosis (IE. Bad Breath)

No one wants to be that person that other people talk about behind their back saying how bad their breath is. Therefore, here are three simple methods to help you test yourself for "stinky breath" / chronic halitosis:

• First take a piece of un-waxed, un-flavored white dental floss and floss between your upper and lower back molars. Examine the floss. Is it red or brown? Wait about 45 seconds and then smell it closely. Does it have a bad odor?
  
  
• The next test is to take a clean washcloth and then pull your tongue forward with one hand grasping the tongue with the washcloth. With the other hand and a clean white washcloth rub or scrape the furthest back portion of your tongue two or three times. Again, wait for about 45 seconds and then smell the portion of the cloth that was rubbed on the tongue. Does it have a bad smell?
  
  
• A third technique is to simply lick your tongue on your own clean wrist. Wait, then smell. This technique does not get back far enough on the tongue to be of best value but can be a quick test in a pinch for time.

Dental