Opioid abuse is currently at an epidemic proportion in the US. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the death rate from opioid overdose has more than doubled in the US in the last 15 years. A recent study in the Journal of American...
The American Cancer Society ranks lung cancer as the leading cause of cancer death in men and women. A recent report in the Journal of Periodontology* finds that individuals with periodontal disease may have a 1.24-fold increased risk of developing lung disease. The...
Archaeologists have successfully sequenced DNA from fossilized dental calculus on 700-year-old teeth. Christina Warinner and colleagues describe in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology how they found 25 times more DNA in calculus than ancient teeth or bone,...
Antidepressants are the second most prescribed medication in the U.S. Researchers from the University of Buffalo School of Dental Medicine have shown that antidepressants may have a negative effect on dental implants. Their retrospective study analyzed 74 patients...
A recent NoPlak News newsletter (Jan., 2017) discussed the various etiologies of dentinal hypersensitivity (DH). The hydrodynamic theory is the current accepted mechanism of action for sensitivity. We will discuss the treatment strategies and products for DH in this...
Cementation of dental implant prostheses is a universal practice. Excess cement in the gingival sulcus has been reported to cause peri-implantitis, which could lead to implant failure. One possible way to identify excess cement is with the use of radiographs if the...
For patients who present in the early stages of periodontal disease, nonsurgical periodontal therapy is often the first line of defense against further disease progression. Nonsurgical treatment options, include manual and ultrasonic scaling and root planing (SRP),...
Peri-implantitis is reported to be at a rate of 5-16% of all implants being placed today. This inflammatory and infective process leads to loss of supporting bone loss surrounding a functioning implant. Laser Assisted Peri-Implantitis Procedure (LAPIP)...
The association between periodontal disease and one or more forms of cardiovascular disease have been known since epidemiological studies demonstrated an association between periodontal disease and functional or morphological markers of coronary heart disease. Higher...