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...

Gingival Hyperplasia with bone loss and Anorexia Nervosa

Posted on November 16, 2018May 20, 2021 by Brenda McNevin RDH

Challenge: A 15-year-old patient with multiple years of periodontal concerns being co-managed with a periodontist without resolution. Background: A 15-year-old female has been presenting for care at our practice since age 4. From an early age the patient displayed behavioral concerns and chronic poor home care. The dental history is early eruption of #19, three month recall due to levels of supra and sub gingival calculus, and mild bone loss resulting in a referral to the periodontist ...

Rethinking the Dental Examination

Posted on November 9, 2018May 20, 2021 by Susan Maples DDS

It’s 2018 and I am dumbfounded by the number of adult new patient appointments that begin in the hygiene chair. We all recognize this is an ‘old school’ practice, but maybe we still secretly believe it’s the right thing to do for our patient. Maybe we somehow believe it’s financially beneficial to the practice. Neither of these could be further from the truth. The dental examination of today is all about the patient of today. From a health standpoint, the patient of today is more complica...

When to Administer the Systemic Antibiotic…..

Posted on November 2, 2018May 20, 2021 by Diane Larson RDH, BSDH

The use of systemic antibiotics as an adjunct to periodontal disease have been utilized for decades1. With the emergence of systemic antibiotic stewardship, a responsible approach to administering a systemic antibiotic with periodontal care is warranted. The overall “cocktail” approach-selecting a systemic antibiotic to blanket everything-could be contributing to rise in antibiotic resistance. However, a systematic approach of testing and utilizing an evidence based recommendation helps you ...

Interview with Tonja Willey RDH, MS–Dental Hygiene Instructor

Posted on October 26, 2018May 20, 2021 by Tonja Willey RDH, MS

Dr. McGlennen: Tell me how your students use OralDNA® salivary diagnostics. Tonja Willey RDH, MS: Our students’ select one patient with moderate to severe periodontitis for a special program called Senior Capstone project; Perio Project. The goal of this project is to have the student follow one patient from the New Patient Consultation through all the steps of therapy in hopes of improving health or finding a more stable condition. The program fee ($175) includes several types of tests i...

Type II Diabetic and Periodontal Disease

Posted on October 19, 2018May 20, 2021 by Debbie Bickford RDH

Challenge: A Type II Diabetic patient, who has been a long term client, has uncontrolled periodontal disease and a history of not responding to previous periodontal treatment. Background: This 73 year-old female with Type II Diabetes has been a patient in our periodontal maintenance program for years. She has had several courses of active periodontal therapy never achieving complete periodontal remission. In the past year, our team has been upping our game by studying under Dental Hygien...

Dental Hygiene Excellence: A Personalized Treatment Approach

Posted on October 12, 2018May 20, 2021 by Patti DeMatteis, RDH, AS

Personalized care for dental patients is more important today than ever! Oral inflammation has been established as the driver for many systemic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, stroke, diabetes, and autoimmune diseases. Periodontal disease is one of the most prevalent inflammatory diseases and does not always respond well to “cookie cutter” treatment. We now know, treatment must target the bacteria that cause the patient’s infection, and every patient is different. Dental Hygiene Exc...

OraRisk® Caries: Identifying Bacteria for Risk Assessment

Posted on October 5, 2018May 20, 2021 by Matt Smith MS

Dental caries is defined as the progressive destruction of a tooth and is considered a major health issue in both adolescents and adults, in which reportedly 90% of the population is affected(1). Cavities are formed when acid erodes the hard tissues of the teeth (enamel, dentin and cementum). Acid is produced in the mouth when certain bacteria, such as Streptococcus mutans, ferment sugars into acid. For decades, S. mutans was believed to be the main bacteria involved in caries initiation ...

Interview with Adrian Fitts RDH & Gerald Smith DMD

Posted on September 28, 2018May 20, 2021 by Adrian Fitts RDH, BSDH

Dr. McGlennen: Tell me how you use OralDNA® salivary diagnostics. Adrian Fitts RDH & Dr. Gerald Smith: When we see a patient that isn’t “normal.” Many patients are routine with regard to their oral hygiene/plaque/calculus. The vast majority of patients respond to usual measures, debridement, and diligent oral hygiene. However, some patients don’t fit this. For example, we see a relatively “clean” mouth but we are finding increasing pocketing/bleeding. The OralDNA® tests are perfe...

Implants, Biofilm, & pH!

Posted on September 21, 2018October 27, 2021 by Susan Wingrove RDH, BS

Today, dental professionals need to look at professional maintenance in a whole new light. A paradigm shift in professional maintenance and home-care recommendations for patients with tooth-borne and implant-borne restorations is occurring. I would refer to this as ‘mixed bag’ patients with natural teeth, restorations, and implants. We see these ‘Mixed bag’ patient every day. An additional resource to provide the best maintenance would be The American College of Prosthodontists guidelines fo...