Many Americans Don't Receive Preventive Dental Care: Survey

WEDNESDAY, Dec. 18, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- Too many Americans lack access to preventive dental care, a new study reports, and large differences exist among racial and ethnic groups.

For the study, researchers analyzed telephone survey data collected from nearly 650,000 middle-aged and older adults between 1999 and 2008. The investigators found that the number who received preventive dental care increased during that time.

However, 23 percent to 43 percent of Americans did not receive preventive dental care in 2008, depending on race or ethnicity. Rates of preventive care were 77 percent for Asian Americans, 76 percent for whites, 62 percent for Hispanics and Native Americans, and 57 percent for blacks, the results showed.

The study was published online Dec. 17 in the journal Frontiers in Public Health.

Factors such as income, education and having health insurance explained the differences in access to preventive dental care among whites and other racial groups except blacks, according to a journal news release.

The lower rate of preventive dental care among blacks may be due to a lack of awareness about dental health and dental care services, and to an inadequate number of culturally competent dental care professionals, suggested Bei Wu, a professor and director for international research at Duke University's School of Nursing, and colleagues.

Many Native Americans who live on reservations don't receive proper dental care, partly because too few dental care professionals choose to work for the Indian Health Services, the researchers pointed out in the news release.

The investigators also found that people with health insurance were 138 percent more likely to receive preventive dental care than those without insurance. Women were one-third more likely to get preventive dental care than men.

Smokers were also less likely to receive preventive dental care, which is of particular concern because tobacco use is a threat to oral health, the researchers noted.

The findings demonstrate the need to develop public dental health programs that target middle-aged and older Americans, improve access to dental care, and create a dental workforce that is culturally competent, the study authors said.

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/news/articles/2013/12/18/many-americans-dont-receive-preventive-dental-care-survey

Coconut Oil Treated With Enzymes May Prevent Tooth Decay

Coconut oil may be the latest craze in the foodiesphere, but it could also function to prevent cavities, a new study suggests.

Researchers from the Athlone Institute of Technology in Ireland found that enzyme-treated coconut oil -- similar to what would happen to coconut oil after it's been digested -- was able to stop the growth of cavity-causing bacteria.

The finding, presented at the Society for General Microbiology's autumn conference, could lead to a new approach to dental care products, study researcher Dr. Damien Brady said in a statement.

"Incorporating enzyme-modified coconut oil into dental hygiene products would be an attractive alternative to chemical additives, particularly as it works at relatively low concentrations," Brady said in the statement. "Also, with increasing antibiotic resistance, it is important that we turn our attention to new ways to combat microbial infection."

The researchers conducted their study on untreated coconut oil and the enzyme-treated coconut oil. They put the oils up against Streptococcus bacteria, including the tooth decay-causing Streptococcus mutans strain, and found that the enzyme-treated oil stopped its growth.

If untreated, tooth decay can lead to tooth loss and infection, according to the Mayo Clinic. It's caused when plaque -- which is formed from bacteria, bits of food, saliva and acid from the bacteria -- breaks down tooth enamel, eating away the tooth layer by layer.

For tips on keeping a happy, healthy smile at every age, check out these tips from our partner Health.com:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/10/coconut-oil-tooth-decay_n_1859366.html?utm_hp_ref=dental-health

6 Ways Oral Hygiene Affects The Rest Of Your Body

Your dentist has been nagging you to brush twice a day and floss daily for as long as you can remember -- and while those habits, along with regular cleanings, are key components to keeping your teeth and gums healthy, it turns out that how well you take care of your mouth could actually affect your entire body.

"Your mouth is the gateway to your body -- and it's not a very pristine gateway," HuffPost blogger Deepak Chopra wrote on the topic last month. "It's filled with bacteria -- in fact, there are more bacteria living in your mouth than there are people on earth."

In the past month alone, two new studies have come out about the surprising effects of poor oral care on the body as a whole. So we rounded up just a handful of the research out there on this mouth-body connection. Here are a few reasons of why brushing up on oral hygiene may help to keep the rest of your body in shape:

Reduced Risk Of Premature Birth

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A new study published in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology found an association between the use of a non-alcohol antimicrobial mouth rinse in pregnant women and a decreased rate of delivering babies prematurely.

Analyzing 226 women with periodontal disease, the researchers found that study participants who rinsed twice-daily with the mouthwash were about three fourths as likely to deliver early, reports Reuters.

While the study didn't look to find the reason for the difference, lead author Marjorie Jeffcoat of the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine told Reuters that one theory is that gum-disease-induced inflammation could trigger early birth. (The publication also points out that the researchers used a Crest mouthwash, with staffing and funding from the brand's parent company, Proctor and Gamble.)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/01/oral-hygiene-health-problems_n_914565.html?utm_hp_ref=dental-health#s319360title=Reduced_Risk_Of

How Porcelain Veneers Can Renew Your Smile

When one thinks of a makeover they don't always include their teeth in the big picture. Consider for a moment how big of a part our teeth play in our self-confidence? Our teeth can affect the way we smile, the way we talk, the way we pose for pictures - so why don't we take care of them first? This article reviews several case studies where people had porcelain veneers and the outcome was major.

Dentistry is one of those professions where many people think the actual "work" done by each dentist is similar. After all, a filling is a filling is a filling, right?

Not so. In reality, just like any other profession, all dental work is not created equal. To give an example, we have seen the bad veneer makeovers glowing in the dark ("chicklet teeth"), and the dental crowns with black lines showing thru the gums.

Besides the dentist's skill, a large part of poor-looking cosmetic dental work is determined by the ceramist that your dentist chooses to work with. Dentists can use a small "boutique" style ceramist that will custom create each tooth like a work of art; or they can opt for a machine-made veneer from a national chain type laboratory that spits them out "quickly and cheaply"... sometimes 90 percent less than the boutique will charge!

I have my own point of view here. Although some of them have been nice, overall, I've never been a fan of the machine made ceramics. So in 2002, along with world-renowned ceramist Yasu Kawabe from Japan, I founded Oral Design Boston, a ceramics laboratory on Newbury Street in Boston, MA. There, I was involved extensively in developing the technical and laboratory portion of high end porcelain veneer fabrication -- from importing rare porcelain vacuumed furnaces from Germany and Hawaii, to testing microscopes and elaborate porcelain combinations. I took this level of involvement because understanding and managing every step on the process is vital to ensure superb porcelain aesthetics when dealing with high-level cosmetic dentistry.

Now, I am not saying that you need to go to a dentist who's gone through the level of involvement that I have with the fabrication of ceramics. My patients like my work and are happy I go to the lengths I do, but thousands of people go a dentist who uses the machine-made route, and they are perfectly happy with the work they receive. And that's fine. It's up to you and what "look" you prefer, and also what you can afford.

Here are a few examples of people who have been helped by porcelain veneers.

Linda presented with multiple cosmetic complaints: severe wear that had shortened her teeth, discoloration and missing molars that showed in her smile. It took a combination of feldspathic porcelain veneers, porcelain to gold crowns and porcelain to gold bridgework to reconstruct Linda's entire mouth.

Howard presented with multiple cosmetic complaints: old mismatched crown work, an uneven gum-line and many dark areas framing his smile. Howard's gum line discrepancy was treated with laser gum surgery. We then used a combination of porcelain to gold crowns and all porcelain crowns to reconstruct Howard's entire mouth.

To read more:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/thomas-p-connelly-dds/porcelain-veneers_b_876605.html