As a periodontist, there are two topics that other clinicians frequently ask me about. The first is the updated Classification of Periodontal and Peri-Implant Diseases and Conditions. The second is my experience of working with salivary diagnostics. Both of these initiatives have become an essential part of my daily practice in periodontics.
I moved to Dubai in 2010 to work as a specialist periodontist at a well-known private clinic. During my time in Dubai, it became increasingly clear that ...
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periodontal disease
Life and Death of a Saliva Test
Sometimes I get so frustrated with the profession of dentistry. Here is my case in point: Five oral originating pathogens have been identified as causative in the development of atherosclerosis by the BaleDoneen™ peer reviewed study published in the British Medical Journal. Wait a minute, so they concluded that these oral bacteria are causative of atherosclerosis? Seriously? Yes!! And in the last one hundred years, atherosclerosis has killed more Americans than any other disease. A...
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A Common-Sense Approach to Diagnosis and Treatment Planning: Weekly Case Reviews with Dr. Lee Sheldon
Most webinars explore new, innovative, fabulous procedures. What about the day-to-day procedures such as the new patient, the periodontal case, or the restorative case? What about the basics?
• How to communicate to the patient?
• How to prioritize to make dentistry within reach of the average person?
• How to gain greater case acceptance?
• How to remove the insurance obstacle?
Dr. Sheldon brings his whole team approach to patient management and communication to his new webinar series....
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A Clinician’s Resistance to Acceptance in One Case
When I opened my practice almost two years ago, I was introduced to OralDNA® Labs’ testing services. I believed the value of laboratory testing would provide a higher quality of care for my patients; however, I was hesitant to incorporate something new into my patient case conversation. My hesitation stemmed from a belief that my patients would think we were adding another “cost” to their treatment plan and that made me uncomfortable. I continued to practice without OralDNA® Labs testing, unti...
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Periodontal Inflammation Primes the Systemic Innate Immune Response
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...
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Case Study: Class II Periodontitis
Background: The patient is a 54-year-old female who presented with the chief complaint “My gums bleed when I brush, there are possible cavities and I don’t like the tooth crowding.” Her last dental visit was about 6 years ago. There is a family history of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke and cancer. The home care consisted of manual tooth brushing 1-2 times per day with occasional antibacterial mouth rinse. During the clinical assessment, it was discovered that several amal...
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A Progressive Oral Wellness Center in Rural America
In our rural practice (McCreight Progressive Dentistry) in Northwest Colorado, we see periodontal disease on average in about one of every two patients, or around 46%. This is representative of the CDC statistic as posted in the May 2015 Journal of Periodontology. Whenever we read these statistics, we are puzzled. In an industrialized nation where home care tools and dental technologies are readily available, how can there be so much disease? Here are some measures (newer technologies) we ha...
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AAP Classifications Simplified: Part 2
Last week, establishing a stage for your patient was highlighted. Click HERE to review. Once you have established the stage of your patient, the grade needs to be determined. The three grades are A, B or C. The grade indicates the speed of progression and the quality of treatment response. In order to establish the grade, there are 3 factors to consider:
Direct evidence – Evidence of bone loss over the past 5 years. (You may not have access to previous records, but this highlights the v...
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AAP Classifications Simplified: Part 1
How the heck are we supposed to implement the new American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) Staging and Grading Periodontitis classifications into practice? This new system seems so complicated, right?? Actually, it can be simplified and once that is done, the new system is extremely valuable! As hygienists, we know that periodontal disease is multifactorial. It is affected by systemic health, habits, occlusion, and more. We know that it is just as much about the host response as it is abo...
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Microbiology 101
MyPerioPath® is a laboratory test widely used by health care professionals to screen for pathogens that cause both periodontal and systemic infections. The rich report provided to clinicians includes an easy to read histogram showing the types and quantities of 11 specific periodontal pathogens detected from a simple saliva sample. Two frequent questions about MyPerioPath®’s histogram will be discussed in this week’s blog. First, what is the full name of each bacteria listed on each repor...
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