Dentists Misleading Patients in United Kingdom

Written by Dentistry TodayWednesday, 30 May 2012 07:31



Nearly 500,000 dental patients in the United Kingdom are given incorrect dental information, according to the Office of Fair Trading.

The wrong information was given to convince dental patients to spend money on unnecessary treatment.

According to the findings of the investigation, more than half of the dentists who were seeking to offer this treatment did not display the charges for the treatment at the reception desk. More than 80 percent of patients were not given a written treatment plan.

Despite the few dentists that tried to take advantage of people, most people in the United Kingdom were content with the service their dentist provided, according to the study.

Roughly £6 billion was spent on dental treatment in the United Kingdom from 2009 through 2010. About 42 percent of that treatment was spent on private treatment.

Lack of Dentists a Problem in Rural Areas of California

Written by Dentistry TodayWednesday, 30 May 2012 15:45



Tooth decay rates in many California areas are rising.

The problem can be traced to one main cause: a lack of dentists.

Many of California’s rural counties don’t have nearly as many dentists and specialists as they need. In fact, there is only one dentist for every 4,500 people in the McKinleyville area of Humbolt County. There’s also only one dentist that will accept Medi-Cal (California’s version of Medicaid) for every 71,000 residents in the county.

According to a 2006 survey, in a four-county span in Northern California, more than a quarter of the people below the poverty level hadn’t visited a dentist in at least five years. Rural counties in Northern California also rank highest in the state for the number of emergency department and urgent care visits for preventable dental conditions.

The problem for dentists is the lower reimbursement rates in places outside of urban areas, which gives them less incentive to open a practice in those areas.

There were some program cuts to Medi-Cal three years ago, which exacerbated the problem. Increasing various telehealth programs could be a boost to dentistry and specialty treatment.

Studies also have indicated that education loan repayment programs are enticing enough to get more students interested in dentistry. Without programs like that, the problem will continue in rural areas of California.

Women’s Hormones May be Related to Gum Disease

Written by Dentistry TodayThursday, 31 May 2012 15:00



Women’s health issues and gum disease are associated, according to a new study.

Charlene Krejci, associate clinical professor at the Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine, concluded the link after a thorough study. The research showed that hormonal changes that happen during puberty, menstruation, pregnancy and menopause enable bacteria to grow in the mouth. The bacteria can then make health issues like bone loss worse than they already are.

The article containing the research (“Women’s Health: Periodontitis and its Relation to Hormonal Changes, Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes and Osteoporosis”) appears in the May issue of Oral Health and Preventive Dentistry.

To compile the research, 61 journal articles and about 100 studies were examined to see what the correlation between female hormones/health issues and gum disease actually was.

The best way to combat this problem is for women to visit the dentist at least once every six months or more frequently in the cases of pregnant women and women that suffer from bone loss. Many pregnant women develop some type of gum problem.

Scaling and planing of the roots of the teeth is now a recommended course of treatment for pregnant women. Severe gum disease that could require surgery does not take place until after the child is born.

Gum disease starts when there’s an influx of bacterial plaque on the teeth and under the gums, and it can result in irritation and inflammation when left untreated.