Recently,there has been much concern about the bisphosphonate class of medication for osteoporosis such as Fosamax. These medications have been associated with osteonecrosis (non healing bone) following extractions, dental implants or invasive dental work. Although the risk of this is very low, it would be prudent for anyone going on bisphosponates to have a dental exam before treatment in case dental work needs to be done.
Recently our whole team completed our basic life support recertification. In addition, we received extra real life scenario training using our own AED in our office. This better prepares us for a medical emergency. Hopefully, we will not need to provide this service.
This is a tricky blog for me to write because I vehemently oppose making outlandish, unrealistic and overly optimistic claims. Sometimes the best planned and executed dental care succumbs to the wear and tear environment of the mouth, or uncontrolled dental disease. Any decision to begin complex dental treatment should be well thought out, and performed with the utmost caution. This especially applies to dental implants. However, there is considerable debate regarding the protocol for implant treatment. Forty years ago, it was believed that implants had to be placed in a near sterile environment-in near perfect bone. Also, they believed there could be no force on the implants while healing, or they would not integrate, and that the teeth had to be connected. The problem was that not many patients fit this protocol, in order to satisfy the protocol it took a long time, required removable dentures and was not suitable for single teeth. Eventually, we began to realize that very often implants could be placed at the same time as the tooth extraction- which saves time and preserves bone. Dr. Gradwell of Allentown, who places my implants, was one of the first to embrace that concept years ago. Now it is considered the standard of care in most situations. Later, the idea of no force on a healing implant was challenged. This meant that in many cases temporary teeth could be placed on a newly placed implant. This was huge. In 2000, Dr. Gradwell and I attended immediate load training at Baylor University, in Dallas, Texas. Today, it is our goal to be able to remove teeth, place implants and place teeth the same day. This makes a dramatic difference for people because it requires less time, and eliminates the need for removable dentures or partial dentures. It is incredible how well this works, but it is more incredible how often I have heard from patients that they were told it couldn’t be done and how hopeless they feel. I know you can’t use a single case to represent all cases because individual results do vary based on individual circumstances, but the results in the following case are typical of what we have seen, time and time again, over the last 10 years.
The patient is a 50 year old woman, who presented with 22 remaining hopeless and broken down teeth. She had a history of gum disease, decay and abscesses. The remaining teeth were extracted, and 14 implants were placed. Temporary teeth were fixed to the implants the same day. She strictly followed a soft diet for 4 months after which we x-rayed the implants, and tested them for integration. All 14 implants integrated well. I do not use this case as an example because it is unusual. I use it only because it is the most recent. Implant success rates hover around 90% in the best of circumstances. It is only with respect and humility that I use a case that shows 100% integration. My point, as I said, is not to make overly optimistic claims. It is just to illustrate the change in perspective of what is possible. Those who are most dentally debilitated need to know that it may not need to be that way.
We are proud to announce our 10 year anniversary of our tooth whitening program to help cure childhood cancer. For the last ten years we have been donating our entire fee of $195.00 to the Children’s Cancer Research Fund at the University of Minnesota or in some cases to local families who have been affected by children’s cancer. In that time we have raised over $100,000.00. I want to thank my incredible team for their commitment to this program. In addition, we have had several manufacturers donate whitening kits to make this program possible. Most important, I want to thank Ultradent the maker of Opalescence whitening gel. No other company has even come close to matching their generosity. They have never refused a request for whitening gel and they have always given freely without any strings attached. They are an outstanding company who has no equal in my experience. It is also interesting to note that they have always been committed to the take home whitening process, which is agreed by most to be the best and most cost effective approach to tooth whitening. This is in contrast to companies who have heavily marketed their in office whitening agents, lights and lasers. Most research has shown that the lights and lasers do not improve the whitening result, and after paying for this service many patients follow up with take home whitening anyway. Again, I applaud Ultradent and sincerely thank them for their support.
I have been a dental hygienist for 24 yrs now. When I first started out I really thought that all I had to do was tell people to brush and floss and they would. I was going to make all of my patients healthy. Change the dental world I was!! Wow what a rude awakening I had!!!
I then decided that I needed to educate my patients better. So I would explain that dental plaque (one of the main causes of periodontal (gum) disease) is a soft, sticky layer of bacteria that forms every 24 hrs. on your teeth. If you don’t brush and floss it away it would harden and become calculus (tartar), which then can be only removed by your hygienist. If it is not removed you can lose your teeth. That bacteria in the plaque, which has hardened and turned into tartar is now growing in numbers and these bacterial toxins and the body’s enzymes fighting the infection actually start to break down the bone and connective tissue that hold your teeth in place. REALLY, was my patient’s response. Still I had no luck with getting my patients to floss daily.
As the years have gone by studies are showing that dental plaque can affect the entire body. We know it is linked to;
Heart disease
Respiratory Disease
Preterm, low birth weight babies
Strokes
Osteoporosis
Diabetes
Okay now I have the ammunition I need to get patients to floss. Nope, not so much as one of my good friends says. According to the AAP (American Academy of Periodontology) only about 13.5 % of Americans floss daily. What is a hygienist to do?
The other day a patient and I were talking and she said do you know what? What, I said. She said, “Do you know that Dr Oz says that you should floss everyday, because it can affect your whole body if you don’t? “REALLY”, I said. Turns out all these years all I needed was Dr. Oz. So now I am not going to explain everything anymore. I’m simply going to say, “Did you know that Dr. Oz says you should floss everyday or it could affect your entire body?” Crazy isn’t it?? Dr. Oz where were you 24 yrs. ago? I could have saved myself a lot of headaches.
Amy Linsell, RDH
Request An Appointment