Sheiham & Shabbah on Universal Patterns of Caries
[With all the interest and attention given to childhood caries, let’s not forget that dental caries is not just a childhood disease. It is continuous and ubiquitous in adults, as described in following quotes from their paper. ed.]
“The majority of proximal lesions in permanent teeth progress slowly and often regress, with an average proximal lesion taking at least 3 years to progress through enamel to dentine [Pitts, 1983].”
“The Dunedin study highlighted that there was no apparent drop-off in the rate of increase in percent DMFS with increasing age indicating that most caries occurs after the age of 18 years. So caries susceptibility is not a childhood phenomenon [Broadbent et al., 2008].”
“Recently, Broadbent et al. [2008] challenged 'the commonly held belief that childhood and adolescence are periods of special risk for caries and/or that caries immunity may be acquired during late adolescence or early adulthood’. They found a relatively constant rate of new caries. There was a linear relationship between rate of increase of percent DMFS with no drop-off in the rate of increase with increasing age from the ages of 5 to 32 years.”
Click here for: Sheiham A and Sabbah W. Using Universal Patterns of Caries for Planning and Evaluating Dental Care. Caries Res 2010;44:141–150
Periodontal Treatment and Pregnancy ― A Meta-analysis
Pooled results from the highest-quality RCTs do not support the hypothesis of a reduction of preterm birth and low birth weight in women who are treated for periodontal disease during pregnancy. (J Am Dent Assoc. 2010;141(12):1423-1434.)
Lies, Damned Lies, and Medical Science – Atlantic Monthly Nov. 1, 2010
[According to John Ioannidis, a meta-researcher] “…much of what biomedical researchers conclude in published studies — conclusions that doctors keep in mind when they prescribe antibiotics or blood-pressure medication, or when they advise us to consume more fiber or less meat, or when they recommend surgery for heart disease or back pain — is misleading, exaggerated, and often flat-out wrong….as much as 90 percent of the published medical information that doctors rely on is flawed….
" ‘Randomized controlled trials,’ which compare how one group responds to a treatment against how an identical group fares without the treatment, had long been considered nearly unshakable evidence, but they, too, ended up being wrong some of the time….
“ ‘The studies were biased,’ he says. ‘Sometimes they were overtly biased. Sometimes it was difficult to see the bias, but it was there.’ Researchers headed into their studies wanting certain results — and, lo and behold, they were getting them. We think of the scientific process as being objective, rigorous, and even ruthless in separating out what is true from what we merely wish to be true, but in fact it’s easy to manipulate results, even unintentionally or unconsciously….
“If between a third and a half of the most acclaimed research in medicine was proving untrustworthy, the scope and impact of the problem were undeniable.”
For the complete article, visit The Atlantic website.
Unconscionable Cephalographs
“In the absence of palpable benefit, it is unconscionable that children continue to be exposed to brain radiation and its cytotoxic effect on brain cells by orthodontists who may be more concerned with protecting themselves from negligence lawsuits while performing negligent diagnosis.” Click here for Friedman JW. Orthodontic cephalometric x-rays overdone: a commentary. Dentomaxillofacial Radiology. 2010;39:520.
Kellogg Foundation supports dental therapist program development in five states. Read the News Release.
Mild Fluorosis is not a Disease
Science Daily (Oct 26, 2010) ― Young children who consume substantial amounts of fluoride through infant formula and other beverages mixed with fluoridated water or by swallowing fluoride toothpaste have an increased chance of developing mild enamel fluorosis, according to research published in the October issue of The Journal of the American Dental Association and supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. However, experts say, children can continue using fluoridated water and fluoride toothpaste because fluoride has been proven to prevent tooth decay, and mild fluorosis does not negatively affect dental health or quality of life.
Click here the full release.
Florida Jackpot
Faculty at the University of Florida College of Dentistry received five grants totaling nearly $7 million to improve access to dental care for underserved children and adults from the Health Resources and Services Administration of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Congratulations to Teresa Dolan, DDS, MPH, Dean of the College of Dentistry, Frank Catalanotto, DMD, Professor and Chair of Community Dentistry and Behavioral Sciences, Scott Tomar, DMD, DrPH, Professor of Community Dentistry and Behavioral Sciences, and Micaela Gibbs, DDS, Assistant Professor.
View the report at DrBicuspid.com.
“What is public health?” Fact Sheet
At the request of our Oral Health Section, the APHA fact sheet has now been updated to include dental practitioners under areas of possible public health jobs. The fact sheet may be accessed here.
Lynn Bethel, RDH, MPH
Chair-elect, Action Board
Joint Policy Committee
Oral Health Section