Chronic dental care for the elderly

Prevora as a Successful Therapy for Oral Dysbiosis in High-risk, Complex-needs Adults: A Series of Four Patients and a Review of the Literature

Oral dysbiosis is an imbalance of bacteria in the dental plaque whereby pathogenic bacteria dominate the biofilm and, in turn, initiate destruction of the hard and soft tissues in the mouth. Caries and periodontal diseases result from oral dysbiosis. A new treatment option for oral dysbiosis called Prevora (10% chlorhexidine) is now available for high-risk, … Read more

What’s on your teeth, may be in your heart

A new study in the journal Medicine reports that the bacteria initiating dental decay is also found on the heart valves of patients with heart disease. Nothing new here. Other studies have shown that Streptococcus mutans to be the dominant microorganism in diseased arterial plaque. (The picture above has blue chains of bacteria which are … Read more

$45 Per Month

As of 2015, for the first time, Canada has more people over the age of 65 than under 15. The age group that now encompasses the boomer generation – 50 to 69 – makes up 27 per cent of the population, compared with 18 per cent in that age group two decades ago. The number … Read more

“longer life in retirement – but more ill-health”

Such is the future of the British population and that in Canada too. The UK prognosticators now say: Newly retired men in the UK can expect to live more than two years longer than those who finished work a decade earlier. But they also face almost an extra year of ill health. Women currently aged … Read more

New Dental Project Fights Elder Abuse

The primary portal to the body is the mouth.  Quite simply, you can’t have a healthy body without a healthy mouth.  For example, acquired pneumonia is one of the leading causes of death in the elderly and is often a result of poor dental care. As we age, our dental health becomes even more important … Read more

Poor dental health may lead to Alzheimer’s, study suggests

People with poor oral hygiene or gum disease may be at a greater risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, a new study led by The University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) School of Medicine and Dentistry suggests. The research, which has received international collaboration, and led by Professor Stjohn Crean and Dr Sim Singhrao from UCLan, examined … Read more

Shifting gears; the unexpected, the uninvited and the inevitable

I have a birthday looming. When I’m sixty-four isn’t that much farther. Eliot’s suggestion that I grow old, I grow old, I shall wear the cuffs of my trousers rolled is beckoning, and the Simonesque image of sitting on a park bench like bookends is forthcoming. Friends are missing by design and default, family members … Read more

There is a god; we made the New York Times Sunday Review

IT’S become commonplace to criticize the “Occupy” movement for failing to offer an alternative vision. But the thousands of activists in the streets of New York and London aren’t the only ones lacking perspective: economists, to whom we might expect to turn for such vision, have long since given up thinking in terms of economic … Read more

Challenges Facing the American/Canadian Dental System – Are They Solvable?

From Worldental.org – June 1st, 2011 Oral health has long been the subject of debate. Many believe, and studies have proven, that effective oral care is essential to overall general health and well-being. Unfortunately, there are currently millions of Americans who simply do not have access to affordable dental health services. Understanding why these citizens cannot receive … Read more

Oral-systemic health and your dental team

From RDH – by Karen Davis – karen@karendavis.net Front office administrators, dental assistants, dentists, and dental hygienists have one thing in common: Patients will approach any of them to ask about something they just read or heard on TV regarding how the oral cavity impacts the rest of the body. They don’t discriminate. We’re all … Read more

Dirty Mouths Lead to Broken Hearts

From Science Daily – May 5, 2011 Nurses who care for patients with dementia now have a tailored approach to dental hygiene for their charges, thanks to a pilot study by a team of nurses. “Poor oral health can lead to pneumonia and cardiovascular disease as well as periodontal disease,” said Rita A. Jablonski, even … Read more