Dr. Rick Newhart Updates

ANNOUNCEMENTS

A CPR class will be offered by the Blennerhassett Dental Society. Dentists and staff who are due for CPR certification may reserve a spot at the CPR re-certification course. For details of the course, please call Dr. Phillip Powell (304)-665-7813.

MOM PROJECT UPDATE!!!

THANK YOU to all of the volunteers who helped with the Mission of Mercy Project. The Mission of Mercy was the largest free dental clinic in the Mid-Ohio Valley. With your help, 1303 patients were treated. We extracted a total of 2, 443 teeth, placed 108 appliances, performed 980 fillings and completed 165 cleanings. There are no plans for a Mission of Mercy in our area next year.

CONTINUING EDUCATION!
I was told that our statistician, Clifford, went to California for a MOM Project immediately after our project. We should receive data, continuing education information, certificates and verification of hours worked for dentists and hygienists as soon as they become available from him and the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department.

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!
Mark your calendars for the 2010 Wake Forest , Charles R. Jerge dental seminar at the Kingston Plantation in Myrtle Beach , California . Courses run from 8am-12pm , Monday through Friday and will cover a variety of dental topics. The 2010 course dates are Monday August 2 through  Friday August 6. The 2009 seminar was very informative. Dr. Dan Becker spoke about the “Medically Complex Patient,” on Monday. Dr. Joe Camp gave an endodontic lecture on Tuesday. Dr. Paul Homoly discussed “Making it Easy for Patients,” to Say Yes on Wednesday. Dr. Ed Swift spoke about “Materials for Aesthetic Dentistry,” on Thursday. Dr. Timothy Donley discussed “A Sensible Approach,” to Periodontics on Friday. Next year’s speakers are to be announced

PERIODONTICS RECEIVES TOP BILLING
The cover story for the August 2009 Journal of the American Dental Association features periodontitis as an archetypical biofilm disease.

Periodontal biofilms are resistant to antibiotic attack because the layer structure is thick and complex. The authors suggest that the most effective way to target periodontitis, based on the biofilm structure, is through localized destruction, such as scaling and root planning or localized delivery of antibiotics into the affected areas. Oxygen agents can also disrupt the layered structures of the biofilm. The authors feel that localized antibiotic agents, such as Arestin, are not effective alone as they cannot disrupt or penetrate the biofilm. Dr. Newhart feels that the Nd:YAG Laser with Piezo instrumentation  and the LANAP technique is an excellent way to destroy and remove the biofilm layer.

JADA Vol. 140 August 2009; 978-987.

HOLD THE SUGAR PLEASE!
Santos studied the effectiveness of rapid full mouth scaling and root planing over a two-week period on diabetic patients. This Brazilian study used 18 subjects with diabetes to complete scaling and root planing in one day and 18 diabetic subjects who completed scaling and root planing over a three week period. The baseline HbA1c along with clinical attachment levels were measured post-therapy. Santos found no significant differences between full mouth scaling and root planing and scaling and root planing over a three-week time period in these diabetic patients. They did find that well controlled diabetics had a more favorable response with clinical attachment gain at six months compared to subjects who had an uncontrolled diabetic status. Dr. Newhart feels this shows how significant glycemic control is for the diabetic patient.

JPeriodontology; 2009; 80:1237-1245.

IS BMI RELATED TO GUMS?
Kongstad evaluated the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and periodontal disease in a Copenhagen City Heart Study. This study utilized 878 women and 719 men. This cross-sectional study surprisingly found that patients with a high BMI had a lower attachment loss

compared to patients with lower weight. They also found that this relationship was  relevant to whether the patients were smokers or non-smokers. The author did find a higher rate of bleeding on probing in patients with a higher BMI. This inverse relationship between high BMI and lower levels of attachment loss surprised the investigators. The investigators felt that there were underlying factors, such as oral hygiene, that may influence progression from gingivitis to periodontal disease.

J. Periodontology; 80: 1246-1253