This may help cut early tooth decay in kids

Exclusively breastfeeding an infant for the first six months after birth may be a protective factor against early childhood caries, according to a new study published on February 12 in the Journal of Dentistry. Furthermore, breast milk may prevent caries by changing a child’s oral microbial count and proportion, which may prevent caries, the authors wrote. “Medical workers, including dentists, are responsible for promoting the initiatives on breastfeeding and providing

Gum disease may be linked to abscesses

Acute periapical abscesses (PAs) may occur more often in patients with periodontal disease (PD) than in those without the disease, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association. Certain genders, ages, and race were more affected, the authors wrote. “Under the conditions of our study, it appears that the odds for acute PAs are significantly higher in patients with PD seeking treatment for pain due

Clinical tip: What you need to know about a double-socket membrane graft

In this week’s clinical tip, courtesy of CDOCS, Dr. Farhad Boltchi discusses the use of a double membrane socket graft and how it can be an effective solution for some oral surgery cases. “Now, a lot of times, we have got socket defect anatomies that are very, very challenging. In this case here, we extracted a vertically fractured premolar, and we are left with a defect in the socket that

Gum disease therapy leads to rare condition that affects movement

A woman was diagnosed with crowned dens syndrome, a rare condition that causes severe neck pain that can lead to spinal cord compression, which was triggered by periodontitis treatment. The case report was published on February 2 in Clinical Case Reports. After a month of medication, the woman’s symptoms improved. This case report should make clinicians aware that dental treatment can cause crowned dens syndrome, the authors wrote. “It should

Are you living among those states with the best dental health?

Illinois has a reason to flash those pearly whites. It was named the U.S. state with the best dental health while Arkansas was ranked the worst, according to an analysis recently released from personal finance website WalletHub. WalletHub compared the 50 states and the District of Columbia using 25 key metrics, including the share of adults who visited a dentist in the past year and the number of dentists per

Magnesium may take the ouch out of 3rd-molar surgery

Combining an oral magnesium supplement with nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may significantly reduce pain after third-molar surgery, according to a study recently published in Pain Research and Management. Postoperatively, the oral magnesium supplement outperformed the placebo in controlling resting pain, the authors wrote. “The addition of oral magnesium supplement as an analgesic adjuvant to NSAIDs significantly decreased pain intensity at rest 24 h following mandibular third molar (MTM) surgery,” wrote

Study to explore how violence affects dental care use

Researchers from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio) School of Dentistry have received funding to study how exposure to violence affects dental care use from adolescence to adulthood. It is believed to be the first study to examine how long-term community violence impacts dental care use over a lifetime, according to a press release from the university dated January 29. “By understanding

Clinical tip: Sectioning teeth for oral surgery

This week’s clinical tip courtesy of CDOCS is brought to you by Dr. Darin O’Bryan, who is focused on helping you with your oral surgery techniques. “Instead, what I learned was to actually come from the furcation up. So you start your sectioning down in the furcation and then bring your surgical drill up to the occlusal surface. This allows you to know exactly how far down you have to

The role of fatty acids in periodontitis progression

Consuming certain dietary fatty acids may contribute to the progression and severity of periodontitis, according to a large-scale study recently published in the Journal of the American Dental Association. Furthermore, this may highlight the importance of maintaining a balanced dietary lipid profile for periodontal health, the authors wrote. “The authors provided evidence of significant associations between certain fatty acids and periodontitis and its severity, highlighting their contributory role,” wrote the

A Day in the Life of a Dental Tourist in Bangkok: Combining Oral Health with Cultural Exploration

As a field, dentistry continues to evolve, leading to concepts like dental tourism. Simply put, it’s tourism with dentistry on the side. Nearby countries in Southeast Asia or Australia and New Zealand could go to Bangkok and get work done. Meanwhile, they can also go enjoy the sights and sounds of Bangkok or the rest of Thailand while they’re there, mixing business with pleasure. What’s more, Bangkok adopts every new

‘Anesthetic Intelligence’: Dentistry’s most important ‘AI’?

The most “intelligent” way to boost your practice? Most experts say, “Numb patients in the gentlest way possible, and don’t waste their time (or yours) making them wait.” New local anesthetic drugs that can lower injection pain, reduce waiting time, and increase reliability are in development. Why is this important? In a recent survey, 58% of dental patients said, “The worst part of the dental visit is the injection.” The

Clinical tip: Repositioning a luxated tooth

Ready for another clinical tip that can help your dental practice and patients? Dr. Doug Smail returns with advice that can be a big benefit for younger patients who come into your practice after an accident. Learn more about CDOCS and how it can boost your clinical game. Video transcript “Hi, Dr. Doug Smail from CDOCS, and today’s tip of the day video is on setting the traumatically luxated tooth