Dental Tribune U.S. Edition

XXXXX Dental Tribune U.S. Edition | March 2012 A3 Publisher & Chairman Torsten Oemus t.oemus@dental-tribune.com Chief OPerating OffiCer Eric Seid e.seid@dental-tribune.com grOuP editOr Robin Goodman r.goodman@dental-tribune.com editOr in Chief dental tribune Dr. David L. Hoexter d.hoexter@dental-tribune.com managing editOr u.s. and Canada editiOns Robert Selleck r.selleck@dental-tribune.com managing editOr Fred Michmershuizen f.michmershuizen@dental-tribune.com managing editOr Sierra Rendon s.rendon@dental-tribune.com managing editOr shOw dailies Kristine Colker k.colker@dental-tribune.com PrOduCt & aCCOunt manager Mark Eisen m.eisen@dental-tribune.com marketing manager Anna Kataoka-Wlodarczyk a.wlodarczyk@dental-tribune.com sales & marketing assistant Lorrie Young l.young@dental-tribune.com C.e. direCtOr Christiane Ferret c.ferret@dtstudyclub.com Dental Tribune America, LLC 116 West 23rd St., Ste. #500 New York, N.Y. 10011 (212) 244-7181 Published by Dental Tribune America © 2012 Dental Tribune America, LLC All rights reserved. Dental Tribune strives to maintain the utmost accu- racy in its news and clinical reports. If you find a fac- tual error or content that requires clarification, please contact Managing Editor Robert Selleck at r.selleck@ dental-tribune.com. Dental Tribune cannot assume responsibility for the validity of product claims or for typographical errors. The publisher also does not assume responsibility for product names or statements made by advertisers. Opinions expressed by authors are their own and may not reflect those of Dental Tribune America. editOrial bOard Dr. Joel Berg Dr. L. Stephen Buchanan Dr. Arnaldo Castellucci Dr. Gorden Christensen Dr. Rella Christensen Dr. William Dickerson Hugh Doherty Dr. James Doundoulakis Dr. David Garber Dr. Fay Goldstep Dr. Howard Glazer Dr. Harold Heymann Dr. Karl Leinfelder Dr. Roger Levin Dr. Carl E. Misch Dr. Dan Nathanson Dr. Chester Redhead Dr. Irwin Smigel Dr. Jon Suzuki Dr. Dennis Tartakow Dr. Dan Ward Tell us what you think! Do you have general comments or criti- cism you would like to share? Is there a particular topic you would like to see articles about in Dental Tribune? Let us know by e-mailing feedback@dental- tribune.com. We look forward to hear- ing from you! If you would like to make any change to your subscription (name, address or to opt out) please send us an e-mail at database@dental-tribune.com and be sure to include which publica- tion you are referring to. Also, please note that subscription changes can take up to six weeks to process. DENTAL TRIBUNE The World’s Dental Newspaper · US Edition Tooth Fairy cuts back The average gift from the Tooth Fairy dropped to $2.10 last year, but she’s still visiting nearly 90 percent of homes in the United States, according to The Origi- nal Tooth Fairy Poll® sponsored by Delta Dental.1 That average gift is down 42 cents from $2.52 in 2010. The 17 percent drop in value is one of the larger declines since Delta Dental began conducting the poll in 1998.InMinnesota, children receive an av- erage of $1.97 per tooth — down 2 percent from last year’s average of $2.01. “Like many Americans, the Tooth Fairy needed to tighten her belt in 2011, but she’s hopeful for a recovery this year,” said Ann Johnson, spokesperson for Delta Dental of Minnesota. “More important, Delta Dental is encouraged that parents are still making visits to the dentist a priority for their children.” In fact, 90 percent of those surveyed say they take their children to the dentist every six months. The Original Tooth Fairy Poll, which surveyed 1,355 parents across the country, yielded these additional findings: • The most common amount left under the pillow by the Tooth Fairy is $1. • Most children find more money under the pillow for their first lost baby tooth. • Thirty-five percent of those surveyed allow their children three to four sugary drinks a day. • Seventy-one percent of those surveyed first take their child to the dentist between 2–3 years of age, rather than the recom- mended age 1 or within six months after the first tooth erupts. Tracking the DJIA The Original Tooth Fairy Poll has gener- ally been a good barometer of the econ- omy’s overall direction. In fact, the trend in average giving has tracked with move- ment of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) in seven of the past 10 years. “Like the Tooth Fairy, we at Delta Den- tal are hopeful for better economic news in 2012,” Johnson said. “In the meantime, we will continue to support programs that provide access to dental care for those who would otherwise not have it.” The Delta Dental System annually donates more than $45 million for community benefit activities. Encouraging Healthy Habits The Original Tooth Fairy Poll reflects an interest by Delta Dental to promote good dental hygiene habits that encour- age healthy mouths and healthy smiles across America. To help with this long- time tradition, you can take the poll at www.theoriginaltoothfairypoll.com. And, you can follow the Tooth Fairy's efforts at pinterest.com/origtoothfairy. Delta Dental of Minnesota’s oral health initiatives are part of its non-profit mis- sion to provide educational information and support community programs that help enhance the oral health of all Min- nesotans. Since 1969, the company has accomplished its mission by providing the best access across the state to oral health care through affordable dental plans. Delta Dental of Minnesota serves 8,000 employer groups with more than 3.8 mil- lionmembersinMinnesotaandacrossthe nation. For more information, visit www. deltadentalmn.org. Delta Dental Plans Association The not-for-profit Delta Dental Plans As- sociation, www.deltadental.com, based in Oak Brook, Ill., is the leading national network of independent dental service corporations. It provides dental benefits programs to more than 56 million Ameri- cans in more than 95,000 employee groups throughout the country. For more oral health news and information, you can subscribetotheblogandfollowonTwitter. ˙ Reference 1 Delta Dental conducted the Original Tooth Fairy Poll among customers across the Unit- ed States. For results based on the total sample of 1,355, the margin of error is +/- 2.66 percentage points at a 95 percent con- fidence level. (Source: Delta Dental) Survey shows one of the biggest declines on record The results of the study were published in the journal Infection and Immunity. She likens a healthy biofilm to a lush, green lawn of grass. “When you change the dynamics of what goes into the lawn, like too much water or too little fertil- izer,” she said, “you get some of the grass dying, and weeds moving in.” For smok- ers, the “weeds” are problem bacteria known to cause disease. In a new study, Kumar’s team looked at how these bacterial ecosystems regrow after being wiped away. For 15 healthy nonsmokers and 15 healthy smokers, the researchers took samples of oral biofilms one, two, four and seven days after pro- fessional cleaning. The researchers were looking for two things when they swabbed subjects’ gums. First, they wanted to see which bacte- ria were present by analyzing DNA signa- tures found in dental plaque. They also monitored whether the subjects’ bodies were treating the bacteria as a threat. If so, the swab would show higher levels of cytokines, compounds the body produc- es to fight infection. “When you compare a smoker and non- smoker, there’s a distinct difference,” said Kumar. “The first thing you notice is that the basic ‘lawn,’ which would normally contain thriving populations made of a just few types of helpful bacte- ria, is absent in smokers.” The team found that for nonsmokers, bacterial communities regain a similar balance of species to the communities that were scraped away during cleaning. Disease-associated bacteria are largely absent, and low levels of cytokines show that the body is not treating the helpful biofilms as a threat. “By contrast,” said Kumar, “smokers start getting colonized by pathogens — bacteria that we know are harm- ful — within 24 hours. It takes longer for smokers to form a stable microbial community, and when they do, it’s a pathogen-rich community.” Smokers also have higher levels of cyto- kines, indicating that the body is mount- ing defenses against infection. Clinically, this immune response takes the form of red, swollen gums — called gingivitis — that can lead to the irreversible bone loss of periodontitis. In smokers, however, the body is not just trying to fight off harmful bacteria. The types of cytokines in smokers’ gum swabs showed the researchers that smok- ers’ bodies were treating even healthy bacteria as threatening. Although they do not yet understand the mechanisms behind these results, Kumar and her team suspect that smok- ing is confusing the normal commu- nication that goes on between healthy bacterial communities and their human hosts. Practically speaking, these findings have clear implications for patient care, according to Kumar. “It has to drive how we treat the smok- ing population,” she said. “They need a more aggressive form of treatment, be- cause even after a professional cleaning, they’re still at a very high risk for getting these pathogens back in their mouths right away. “Dentists don’t often talk to their pa- tients about smoking cessation,” she con- tinued. “These results show that dentists should take a really active role in helping patients to get the support they need to quit.” For Kumar, who is a practicing perio- dontist as well as a teaching professor, doing research has changed how she treats her patients. “I tell them about our studies, about the bacteria and the host response, and I say, ‘Hey — I’m really scared for you.’ Patients have been more willing to listen, and two actually quit.” Kumar’s collaborators include Chad Matthews and Vinayak Joshi of Ohio State’s College of Dentistry as well as Marko de Jager and Marcelo Aspiras of Philips Oral Healthcare. The research was sponsored by a grant from Philips Oral Healthcare. (Source: Ohio State College of Dentistry) Photo/Renáta Křivanová, www.dreamstime.com “ SMOKING, page A2 NEWS