Getting to the Root Cause: OralDNA® Testing and Natural Products that Help

Posted on March 17, 2023March 15, 2023 by Heather Paul CBDH CRDH

As a practicing dental hygienist for over 25 years, I’ve been asked countless times what causes gum disease and what are the best products to use that actually help. This is a fantastic question, and I am so happy that technology has advanced enough to give patients a full understanding of the root cause of periodontal disease. We now know that there are primarily 11 microbes that cause periodontal disease. Knowing which bugs are present allows me to come up with an individualized oral care ...

How Do You Speak Testing? With Kim Ramos RDH & Ali Carr RDH

Posted on March 10, 2023March 8, 2023 by Kim Ramos RDH - Ali Carr RDH

Patient Bio: Your new female 39-year-old patient hasn’t been seen by a dentist since 2020. She was recently diagnosed as pre-diabetic with elevated blood pressure. With her medical doctor’s approval, she is attempting to control or reverse her pre-diabetes and lower her blood pressure with diet and lifestyle changes. Her medical doctor recommended she have a dental exam. She is interested in fixing her crowded maxillary anterior teeth. Here are the findings of the periodontal assessment: ...

Educated in Dental Hygiene, Practicing Dental Medicine

Posted on January 20, 2023January 18, 2023 by Stevey Cline RDH

Think about a smile, what does it mean to you? As a dental professional it likely means more than friendliness and beauty. Does the word medicine come to mind? I have been practicing dental hygiene for five short years and have begun to understand the degree that dental and medical are interchangeable. Dental medicine is a key term used when you understand the interchangeability. I believe in dental medicine. As a clinician, most of us have heard our patients say, “There is just a little ...

immun19™: OralDNA® Lab’s NEW COVID-19 Neutralizing Antibody Test

Posted on August 27, 2021September 7, 2021 by Ronald C. McGlennen, MD

In the ever-changing world of COVID, we know that the more knowledge and up-to-date information we have at our fingertips, the more peace of mind and increased security we have. The past year and a half has been a trying time for everyone. Have you wondered if you are protected against the virus? You got the vaccine, but how effective was it? Will a previous infection mount the correct response when you encounter the virus again? I’m sure many, if not all, of us have had these questions go t...

Interview with Michael Carter MD

Posted on June 25, 2021June 29, 2021 by Michael Carter MD

Dr. McGlennen: Who/what introduced you to OralDNA® Labs’ services? Michael Carter MD: I was introduced to OralDNA® Labs testing during an oral health summit about 3-4 years ago. As I listened to Dr. Bale and Dr. Doneen express how important testing for periodontal pathogens is, I became inspired to learn more about the oral microbiome and the oral connection with systemic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, arthritic conditions, and neurodegenerative processes. Many people think b...

Why Join the American Academy for Oral Systemic Health (AAOSH)?

Posted on May 21, 2021May 19, 2021 by Susan Maples DDS

The length of my dental career has been shadowed by the declining health of our population. With great sadness, I have witnessed my patients arriving with new lists of lifestyle-related diagnoses and an assortment of medications, prescribed as “band-aids” for those ailments. In congruence, the ever-increasing prevalence of oral disease (caries, periodontitis, oropharyngeal cancer, and occlusal disease) has not surprised me. As a dedicated friend to my declining patients, I started looking fo...

Periodontal Inflammation Primes the Systemic Innate Immune Response

Posted on November 20, 2020May 20, 2021 by Ronald C. McGlennen, MD

This week, Dr. Ronald McGlennen - President & Medical Director of OralDNA® Labs provides a review of the recently published article "Periodontal Inflammation Primes the Systemic Innate Immune Response” written by N. Fine, J.W. Chadwick, C. Sun, K.K. Parbhaker, N. Khoury, A. Barbour, M. Golberg, H.C. Tenebaum, and M. Glogauer. This article appears in the Journal of Dental Research, October 2020. The complete article can be accessed here. Enjoy the VLOG and please feel free to share any...

StellaLife®: Technology Advances in Antimicrobial Rinse

Posted on September 18, 2020May 20, 2021 by Liz Lundry RDH

Over my 40 total years as a dental hygienist with 30 years as an educator and consultant, I have seen amazing advances in science and technology. Hand instruments were the only option in my early years as a clinical hygienist. Was there an understanding of the oral-systemic link? Absolutely not. We are so fortunate that science and technology continue to evolve. My career was transformed when I began training with the JP Institute. With an understanding of the host-modulated response and ...

The Necessity of Two Patient Specific Identifiers

Posted on September 11, 2020November 3, 2021 by Access Genetics/OralDNA Clinical Lab Team

All healthcare industries strive for safety and quality control, especially when handling patient information. With the OralDNA® ordering process, some may wonder why it is so important to have two matching patient specific identifiers on the OralDNA® specimen and test requisition. In this week’s blog, we will share with you the importance of patient specific identifiers and how you can accurately identify your patients’ samples. According to the College of American Pathologists (CAP) guidel...

A Higher Standard of Care

Posted on September 4, 2020May 20, 2021 by Stacey Espe RDH

For many years now, research has shown that there is a mouth body connection. In other words, what is happening in the mouth can impact what is happening with the body! In order for someone to have good health, they need to have good oral health. Unfortunately, periodontal disease is silent, as it does not hurt until it is severe. The minimal pain factor as periodontal disease develops may be why 80% of the United States population is suffering from periodontal disease. In the next paragraphs ...