Dental News: According to the March issue of DentalFax, primary care physicians who do the residencies in the state of Maine are being trained to perform basic dental procedures due to a shortage of dentists in that state.
Dental Views: Bravo! It's about time a State did something to improve the dental health of its children instead of throwing up its hands and saying "We just don't have enough dentists". I wouldn't be a bit surprised if the ADA doesn't fight this change, though; God forbid dentists should stop being the most probable small business in America.
Dental News: According to Millennium Research Group's US Markets for Dental Implants 2009 report, because of the bad economy, patients are significantly less inclined to get dental implants and instead are opting for less expensive alternatives such as crowns and bridges.
Dental Views: So, what you're saying is that dental providers will continue to make money just not as much in these difficult economic times? I wish I could say the same for my business.
Dental News: A recent Gallup-Healthways poll showed that 34% of Americans did not visit the dentist in the past year due to the economic crisis, a significant increase from 2007.
Dental Views: The bad economy is causing more stress in people, especially those who have lost a job or are close to losing her job. This additional stress has been shown to cause a rise in dental problems such as bruxism (or teeth grinding) which wears down tooth enamel and eventually the layer underneath, ultimately causing the teeth to break. This condition is usually recognized by dentists during routine checkups and is easily treatable. However, if less people are getting checkups -as the above poll shows- this condition will only get worse as will other health problems sometimes initially diagnosed by dentists such as bulemia, diabetes and oral/throat cancer.
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