How to fight the economic downturn, Tooth Lightening v/s Whitening ?

Tooth Lightening better than tooth whitening ?

With the current strong levels of interest by patients in reducing the aging-related yellow shades within their teeth by bleaching, it is surprising that greater attention has not been directed to other means of reducing yellowness. This paper looks at the concept of "tooth lightening" using simple in-office and supporting at-home measures, as opposed to "tooth whitening" using peroxides.


The concept is based on exploiting a number of well-established optical properties of teeth, enamel and water under visible light conditions. These are presented step-wise in Tables 1-3 and the accompanying Figures 1 and 2. The scientific foundations of the tooth lightening concept rest largely on altering the short wavelength (blue) scatter of enamel and reducing its transmission of yellow light, although there are minor accompanying changes such as reduced red absorption which also occur. More here

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Current economic downturn is keeping many patients out of the dental chair

But it's not just a matter of money, a new study suggests; rather, it's fear and stress.

The study, published online last month by Health Services Research (September 12, 2008), found that the correlation between a struggling economy, rising unemployment, and a drop in preventive dental care is not necessarily due to people being out of work or short of cash.

"During stressful periods, those things that don't seem as urgent may be ignored," Quinn said. "This is stress about the economy overall. People are concerned about themselves or their partners losing their jobs, so decisions about going to the dentist go by the wayside."

The psychological effects of the current economic downturn are impacting many U.S. dental practices, Roger Levin, D.D.S., president of Levin Group, a dental practice management company, said in an interview.

"We are definitely seeing a lot of practices slowing down, and we definitely believe this is due more to fear -- economic fears tied to a slowdown in spending -- than reality," Dr. Levin said. In the upcoming Annual Practice Survey that the Levin Group does with Dental Economics each November, "our data shows that practices are very flat compared to a year ago,"

"During stressful periods, the distraction mechanism predicts that the resources needed to cope with life's challenges leave too little time or energy for nonurgent activities," the study authors wrote. "Thus, routine checkups that are received normally would be postponed or foregone altogether during periods of high unemployment. The distraction mechanism can be particularly acute for utilization of preventive care because of its seemingly discretionary nature."

This phenomenon poses a challenge for dentists today, in terms of both patient and practice management.
"Dentistry is so resilient, but this is probably the worst economy we've had in 40 years," Dr. Levin said. "So it is very important for practices today to have the best step-by-step systems in place they've ever had, from case presentation and scheduling to hygiene productivity and patient financing. You don't have to sit around and wait for the economy to improve. The key is to be proactive."

Good Oral Hygiene can reduce Risk of Dying from Pneumonia
Among nursing home residents, having a nursing aide help them maintain good oral hygiene lowers the odds of them dying from pneumonia, a study suggests.

Pneumonia is the leading cause of death in elderly nursing home residents, Dr. Carol W. Bassim and colleagues point out in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. "Several studies have shown that poor oral hygiene or inadequate oral care are also associated with pneumonia," they add.

Bassim, now at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research in Bethesda, Maryland, and her associates studied the impact of enhanced oral hygiene care for residents in two wards at a Florida nursing home compared with residents in two other wards.

Initially, there was no difference in the mortality rate from pneumonia between the two groups. However, patients in the oral care group were older and more disabled than those who did not receive oral care, and once this was taken into account the risk of dying from pneumonia was more than three times higher in patients who did not receive oral care. More HERE

Guard your Kids from Junk Food and Acidic Candies
Junk food makers spend billions advertising unhealthy foods to kids.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, food makers spend some $1.6 billion annually to reach children through the traditional media as well the Internet, in-store advertising, and sweepstakes. An article published in 2006 in the Journal of Public Health Policy puts the number as high as $10 billion annually. Promotions often use cartoon characters or free giveaways to entice kids into the junk food fold.

Junk food makers donate large sums of money to professional nutrition associations.
The American Dietetic Association, for example, accepts money from companies such as Coca-Cola, which get access to decision makers in the food and nutrition marketplace via ADA events and programs, as this release explains. As Nestle notes in her blog and discusses at length in her book Food Politics, the group even distributes nutritional fact sheets that are directly sponsored by specific industry groups. This one, for example, which is sponsored by an industry group that promotes lamb, rather unsurprisingly touts the nutritional benefits of lamb. More HERE

In a recent press release, the California Dental Hygienists’ Association (CDHA), stated that “While this new generation of candy is highly popular, most of it contains acid levels so high that it approaches the ph level of battery acid,” in a statewide warning to parents about the dangers of sour candy. The popular sour candies combine sweet and sour ingredients that together can destroy the enamel on children’s as well as adults’ teeth. More HERE

Eat Slowly this Diwali

People who eat quickly until full are three times more likely to be overweight, a Japanese research indicates. The findings, published in the British Medical Journal, highlight how eating styles, and not just what or how much is eaten, can contribute to an obesity epidemic. For their study, researchers at Osaka University asked more than 3,000 Japanese volunteers aged 30 to 69 about their eating. About half of the men and a little more than half of the women said they ate until full. About 45 per cent of the men and 36 per cent of the women said they ate quickly. Those who said they ate until full and ate quickly were three times more likely to be fat than people in the “not eating until full and not eating quickly” group.