Periodontal Patient with Poor Diabetic Control Combined with Poor Home Care

Posted on May 17, 2019May 20, 2021 by Carter Lamb RDH

Challenge: A periodontal patient of record is diagnosed with active periodontal disease. Therapy is needed to achieve a healthier oral state; however the patient has uncontrolled diabetes combined with poor home care that may be contributing to the patient’s oral health status. Background: A female patient of record, age 48, presented for periodontal maintenance on 11/19/2018. Upon periodontal assessment, the patient exhibited oral inflammation with bleeding, moderate calculus deposits a...

Periodontal Disease & Pregnancy

Posted on May 10, 2019May 20, 2021 by Carmeliza dela Paz DDS

Challenge: The patient is expressing oral inflammation and is pregnant. The clinical signs of periodontal disease due to pathogenic bacteria look identical to the clinical signs produced by pregnancy hormones. Background: A 21-week pregnant patient, age 34, presented for care. Upon periodontal assessment, there was generalized marginal inflammation with moderate bleeding on probing. The probe depth readings were generalized 3-4mm. The patient’s oral homecare consisted of twice daily brus...

Flower Power: A Less Aggressive Approach

Posted on May 3, 2019May 20, 2021 by Ellie Phillips DDS

When OralDNA® testing indicates worrisome levels of periodontal pathogens, we may want to consider a dentally counter-cultural idea that can help avoid the need for aggressive antibiotics and antiseptics. Most dental professionals believe periodontal disease cannot be cured, yet a more holistic approach has been shown to overcome periodontal pathogens and may offer a way to avoid the continuous cycles of treatment to control re-infection. Our understanding of human bacteria changed as the Human ...

Active Periodontal Disease with Multiple Medical Complications

Posted on March 29, 2019May 20, 2021 by Brie Eickhoff RDH

Challenge: A patient with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and active periodontal disease, most recently was diagnosed with Type II diabetes, will receive periodontal therapy. Currently, proper home care is limited to the physical difficulties of MS. Background: A 58-year-old female presented on 4/17/2018 with a chief complaint of xerostomia and physical difficulties challenging a proper home care regimen. Due to living with MS for several years, the patient has partial left-side paralysis result...

MyPerioProgress® – Curve Up Ahead

Posted on March 15, 2019May 20, 2021 by Kimberly Babauta, RDH, BS, BCPA

When utilizing salivary diagnostic testing, most cases we encounter will “fit the mold”. We will also encounter many unique cases where we must expand our horizons and consider other possibilities for our patients’ responses to treatment. In my career, I have found these types of cases to be the most rewarding. In my recent blog, MyPerioProgress®-Your Road Map, we reviewed a scenario where a patient’s periodontal therapy outcome and the bacterial profiles were not aligned after treatment - ...

30 Years of Periodontal Maintenance with Relapse and Cardiovascular Complications

Posted on February 15, 2019May 20, 2021 by Kendra Linders RDH

Challenge: After decades of periodontal stability, the patient presented with a rapid advancement of pocketing and inflammation over a period of only 9 months. Background: A 60-year-old male maintaining periodontal health for over 30 years started to relapse. Upon periodontal assessment, there were increasing pockets throughout, especially around an implant, of 9mm. The gingiva was generally medium pink with rolled margins and spongy, erythematous papilla with isolated severe inflammatio...

Interview with Chelsea Gonzales, DDS

Posted on February 1, 2019May 20, 2021 by Chelsea Gonzales DDS

Dr. McGlennen: Tell me how you use OralDNA® salivary diagnostics. Dr. Gonzales: We use OralDNA® to create a customized plan for treating our patient’s periodontal disease. We also use it to gauge the success of their periodontal treatment and revised home care regimens. Salivary diagnostics enables us to treat the patient’s whole health by tying their periodontal condition to their medical history and treating the specific bacteria that could be contributing to multiple health conditions. ...

“New Hat” for the RDH— Oral Systemic Health Educator & Certified Lifestyle Coach

Posted on December 14, 2018May 20, 2021 by Rick Hutchins DDS

Why would the Complete Health Registered Dental Hygiene team find themselves in inter-professional collaboration with the Certified Lifestyle Coach? The answer begins with understanding that the war raging inside of us is between chronic inflammation and the body’s own host response. We’re not aware of this war because it doesn’t hurt, and we can’t see its effects since it’s going on at a cellular, even a molecular level. The mouth happens to be a major battleground in this war. Unlike a ...

“Test – and Retest – for Clinical Success”

Posted on November 30, 2018October 27, 2021 by Doug Thompson DDS

Periodontal disease affects over half of the population and expresses itself differently in different people. It is a highly personalized disease. It is initiated by bacteria, yeast, and viruses that live in a layer on the teeth we refer to as biofilm. It is this biofilm that stimulates a unique host response. INDIVIDUAL HOST RESPONSE Each individual’s host response is dictated by combining their genetics with their acquired risk factors. Acquired risk factors are things that they can ...

Periodontal Pathogens & Rheumatoid Arthritis

Posted on November 23, 2018May 20, 2021 by Richard H. Nagelberg, DDS

Trends in Salivary Testing wishes you a Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy this blog re-post from 12/30/2016. In December 2016 researchers from Johns Hopkins University published a study in Science Translational Medicine indicating an identified link between periodontal disease and rheumatoid arthritis (RA). It would perhaps be more accurate to indicate that rather than periodontal disease being the causative agent, the perio pathogen Aggregatibacter Actinomycetemcomitans (A.a.) was found to be in...