The NobleDentist Blog

This is an article by IANS that recently appeared in Health News.

LONDON - Dentists can help identify patients who are likely to die of a heart attack or stroke, says a Swedish study.

The study involved 200 men and women aged over 45 who did not have any known cardiovascular problems.

During a routine visit to their dentists in Bors and Gothenburg in Sweden, they were also checked for known risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

“These risk factors are not normally manifested in the mouth, which is why the dentists went beyond their normal check-up routine,” says Mats Jontell, professor at the Sahlgrenska Academy.

“They also took the patients’ blood pressure (BP) and checked total cholesterol and blood sugar levels,” he adds.

The risk of a fatal cardiovascular disease was calculated using a software known as HeartScore.

The dentists felt that 12 men had a 10 percent risk of developing a fatal cardiovascular disease over the next 10 years and advised them to see their doctors. Six of the 12 were subsequently prescribed medication to lower their BP, according to a Sahlgrenska release.

“Dentists regularly see a very large percentage of the Swedish population, and if there is sufficient interest they could also screen for cardiovascular risk factors which, untreated, could lead to a heart attack or stroke,” says Jontell.

These findings were published in the Journal of the American Dental Association.

This article recently appeared in UQ News – Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

The University of Queensland will soon offer one of the world’s first clinical masters postgraduate programs in implant dentistry – a field that could make conventional dentures a thing of the past.

The new program will be offered at the new $3 million Australian Institute of Dental Education and Research (AIDER), a facility which has been established by the Global Microsurgery Foundation (GMF) – a Swiss philanthropic organisation dedicated to supporting patient-focused scientific projects in the field of microsurgery.

Implant dentistry is a current focus of the Foundation. Dental implants are metallic fixtures placed within the jaw bones which can replace missing roots of teeth and support crowns, bridges and dentures.

The AIDER dental clinic, located on DaVinci Drive near Brisbane Airport is open to the public. It will be a UQ-affiliated teaching clinic providing new clinical training opportunities for undergraduate students, as well as the clinical hands-on training of students in a masters program in implant dentistry.

The AIDER clinic has eight dental surgery suites, a tomography room and two seminar rooms. It was designed specifically with the needs of students and postgraduate trainees in mind.

A major focus of AIDER clinic will be the standardisation of methods of patient treatment and the evaluation of new treatment strategies as well as the prevention and therapy of problems associated with dental implant therapy.

“This clinic is the first private facility to pioneer education in oral implant dentistry and to conduct research to evaluate novel treatment strategies under the supervision of a university,” said Professor Niklaus P. Lang from The University of Hong Kong, who chairs GASID.

“It is the aim of the Global Association for the Standardisation of Implant Dentistry (GASID) Foundation to set up a network of cooperative clinics for education and practical training in OI with leading universities around the world,” he said.

Professor Laurie Walsh, Head of the School of Dentistry at UQ said in Australia dental implants were currently provided by dental specialists or by general practitioners, who had undertaken short to medium length educational modules.

However, the new UQ educational model would offer an opportunity for general practitioners to gain comprehensive experience and hands-on skills not available in any current program.

“Working with the Global Association for the Standardization of Implant Dentistry, an international group of leading academic clinicians and researchers in the field of implant dentistry, we have developed a new approach to teaching implant dentistry at a post-graduate educational level for general practitioners,” Professor Walsh said.

“The program focuses on treatment planning, sequencing of care and studying long term outcomes. In so doing, it may go much further and deeper than ‘weekend’ courses focussed on techniques and single products.”

The program includes learning in pre-determined modules and in a small group environment. On-line modules form the basis of the course and are followed by the two intensive clinical periods which will be conducted at the AIDER clinic.

Undergraduate students from UQ have already begun using the AIDER clinic. The first students in the new postgraduate program will enroll in 2010. They will then articulate into the UQ Master of Clinical Dentistry program.

This is an article by Mark Metherell that was published recently in The Sydney Morning Herald – Australia.

MEDICARE Australia investigators have questioned 50 dentists about suspected rorting of the Medicare dental scheme amid estimates of a blow-out in costs.

The scheme is estimated to generate $1.8 billion in costs over four years – four times the original budget – unless the Rudd Government secures Senate approval for its plan to scrap it.

Medical leaders have told the Herald that some dentists are still advising patients, who are not eligible, to seek doctors’ referrals, which can authorise Medicare coverage of up to $4250 in dental work, including dentures and crowns.

The scheme is meant to be restricted to patients with chronic medical diseases.

A Medicare spokesman said the agency had contacted about 50 dentists this year to inquire into their scheme compliance as part of ‘’a targeted series of audits’‘.

Preliminary findings revealed there had been failures to meet requirements for the production of a treatment plan, that dentists were claiming upfront for future services and that claims were being made for patients who did not meet eligibility requirements.

Audit outcomes had not been finalised, the spokesman said.

The Government has promised to axe Medicare dental and replace it with its Commonwealth dental scheme, which would be aimed at the estimated 650,000 disadvantaged patients in urgent need of dental care.

The Public Health Association of Australia said the numbers of people needing dental care was continuing to rise as a result of the Senate’s refusal to allow the Commonwealth scheme to replace Medicare dental.

The association’s chief executive, Michael Moore, has called for the Government to commit to the staged introduction of the ‘’Denticare’’ plan for universal coverage of dental care.

Mr Moore said the cost of the Medicare dental scheme would, without better management, rise to about $1.8 billion over four years, compared with the $290 million over three years that Labor had budgeted for its Commonwealth scheme.

But the dental scheme is proving popular with the public. Patient numbers have more than doubled in the past 12 months. NSW has accounted for the lion’s share, with more than half of the 316,800 patients since it started in November 2007.

The president of the Australian Medical Association in NSW, Bruce Morton, said the pressure being placed on doctors by patients erroneously seeking a referral for dental work was ‘’quite widespread’‘.

This placed doctors in the difficult position of being view as ‘’a baddie’’ if they did not consent to patient pressure and pointed to the need for patients to see detailed eligibility information.

The president of the Australian Dental Association, Neil Hewson, defended his members, saying many dentists had complained about the number of patients inappropriately referred to them by general practitioners. But he acknowledged there were some ‘’entrepreneurial dentists’’ who were using the Medicare benefits ‘’as a marketing tool’‘.

Dr Hewson had heard anecdotes of one dental clinic working 14 hours a day, seven days a week, providing bulk-billed services.

Professor Hans Zoellner, who chairs the Association for the Promotion of Oral Health and campaigned for the retention of the Medicare dental scheme, said while it might be open to abuse, the scheme had demonstrated the pressing need for such services.

This is an article by Zane Jackson that was recently published in The Queensland Times – Australia.

IPSWICH residents’ teeth are already showing the positive benefits of having fluoride in the drinking water according to local dentists.

With the one year anniversary of the fluoridation just weeks away on December 1, Australian Dental Association Queensland Ipswich president Dr Louise McLoughlin said fluoride had already improved teeth in the region.

“Fluoridated water will strengthen teeth from the day it starts,” Dr McLoughlin said.

“The largest benefit will be for children who have grown up with fluoridated water, but adults also benefit from fluoridated water, even if their teeth have already fully erupted.

“Fluoridated water will begin to work immediately, but it will take a few years for a significant effect to be seen. But fluoridation is not a magic bullet.

“People should still brush and floss their teeth, maintain a healthy diet and see your dentist regularly.”

She said the full benefit of fluoridation would be more apparent when the first group of children in the fluoride generation were examined by the School Dental Service in around five years time.

Local dentist Dr Lesley Maclean said the introduction of fluoride brought Queensland and Ipswich back on track with other states, where some areas have had fluoridated water for up to 40 years.

“When someone comes into the practice with really good teeth, they are nearly always from interstate and have been drinking fluoridated water,” Dr Maclean said.

“As time goes on people here in Ipswich will have healthier teeth, and the introduction of fluoride will be seen as a great idea.”

The Mount Crosby water treatment plant was one of the first in the state to add fluoride to drinking water under a $35 million State Government plan to provide fluoridated water to the majority of Queenslanders by 2012.

However, the government was left red-faced when higher than usual levels of fluoride passed through the North Pine Water Treatment Plant for three hours on the morning of Friday, May 1.

Despite the mishap, Queensland Health’s Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said the introduction of fluoride had been successful.

“This initiative is a vital element in Queensland’s oral health system, alongside oral hygiene and good nutrition. The benefits of fluoride will become evident quickly, and the real winners will be future generations,” Dr Young said.

“Fluoridation will address what has been an epidemic of tooth decay in Queensland, one of the most expensive challenges in our public health system. It will help to shift the focus from cure to prevention.”

Ipswich mother Angela Stevens said she was hopeful her two kids Olivia, 4, and Ben, 3, would benefit from the chemical additive.

“I’m not 100 per cent sure how it works, but if it helps their teeth it’s a good idea,” she said.

This is an article by Michelle Webster that was recently published in The Daily Advertiser – Australia.

YOU won’t hear any bad “tooth hurty” jokes around this building Charles Sturt University’s (CSU) new dentistry and oral health therapy teaching building is a serious facility.

Yesterday The Daily Advertiser was given a sneak peek inside the $19 million building, which will be officially opened at the Wagga campus on December 16 by parliamentary secretary for health Mark Butler.

Head of the School of Dentistry and Health Sciences, Professor Ward Massey said the impressive CSU facility was unlike any other in Australia, providing students with a unique opportunity to become familiar with the latest in dental technology.

With the Wagga campus’s first 20 oral health students already setting up base in the new building, Prof Massey said they would be well on their way to coping with the real thing by early next year.

“The simulation area provides students with the opportunity to practice in a risk-free environment,” he said.

“We’re exposing them to the technology used in practice and they will also graduate having used some of the equipment they will use on a daily basis in the future.

“The simulation area has phantom heads which have plastic teeth with similar consistency to real teeth and you can buy teeth that have simulated tooth decay and other problems.”

Once students have built up their confidence in the simulation room, they can move on to real patients in the 16-chair dental clinic.

While students will reap great benefits from the facility, members of the public will also have an opportunity to check out the school from the dentist’s chair.

Although the Wagga school does not train dentists, residents seeking the services of a dental therapist or dental hygienist will be more than welcome from early next year.

“There will be a fee for the service but it will be competitive, we are also in discussions with NSW Health about possibly seeing healthcare card holders.

“The consultation will be longer than a normal dental clinic visit, all patients will be screened by academic staff and some procedures can be carried out by students or academic staff who will also work from here.”