The DMD Check-Up: Dental Equipment 'Never Clean'

A new study points out the difficulty of truly ridding bacteria from dental equipment. That story tops this week's DMD Check-Up. Also making the news roundup: Why are sharks able to regenerate teeth, and what's the connection between oral health and stroke?

• Dental Equipment Never Clean Study Shows (Youth Health)

According to a report from Water Research, “unless there is a way to ensure water lines at the dentist's office are free from bacteria all the time, they can’t be 100% sure that they are using clean tools to probe their patients' mouths and teeth.”

• Sharks: Taking the Bite Out of Tooth Loss (Phys.org)

British scientists have identified the “network of genes that enables sharks to develop and regenerate their teeth throughout their lifetime.” University of Sheffield researchers hope this “paves the way for the development of therapies to help humans with tooth loss.”

• Good Dentist Just as Important as a Good President (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

A thoughtful offering by a columnist who recently learned that his dentist is retiring after 20 years of devoted service to his oral health. “I consider quite a few of my patients to be friends. This is a family practice, and I have been the dentist to three generations of some families,” explained Dr. Paul Clark of Ohio.

• Buffalo Dentist Mixes Sex & Politics (Buffalo News)

In the “you can’t make this stuff up” department, a Buffalo orthodontist who ran an unsuccessful campaign for a seat on the city council last year has been charged with patronizing a prostitute. Dr. Peter Rouff spent nearly $100,000 to serve a city of nearly 260,000 people and got just 29% of the vote.

• Giving the Kid Some Gum Works! (ScienceDaily)

New British Dental Journal research finds “that chewing sugar-free gum could prevent tooth decay and a plethora of oral health problems—all while reducing the costs of dental treatments for the National Health Service.” Professor calls the results “hugely exciting.”

• Clean Teeth May Reduce Risk of Stroke (HealthAim)

Proper oral care may significantly help reduce the risk of having stroke, a new study in Scientific Reports shows. Researchers found that “oral bacteria are involved in several kinds of stroke, including brain hemorrhages and strokes that lead to dementia.” Dr. Robert Friedland says: “oral health is important for brain health.”

• 10 Qualities of People with High Emotional Intelligence (Inc.)

Dentists know that there are few shortcuts to success—other than hard work. Then again, cultivating some Emotional Intelligence might offer solutions to tricky people-to-people matters. Here are 10 factors for identifying and managing your own emotions and the emotions of others.

• Who Do Dentists Marry? (Bloomberg.com)

“When it comes to falling in love, it’s not just fate that brings people together—sometimes it’s their jobs.” A recent scan of US Census Bureau data finds out how people are pairing up. Statistics show that dentists most often marry managers, school administrators, and nurses.

• Dentists Must Help Reduce ER Visits (ADA.org)

As the nation sees a leap in the “use of emergency departments for dental care—especially by low-income and uninsured adults—the dental profession must better collaborate to help decrease the number of non-traumatic dental visits,” according to the “Best Practice Approaches for State and Community Oral Health Programs” report.

• Looking Into the Mouth of a President? (WJCL)

Calling the incident his “15 minutes of fame” South Carolina dentist Dr. Dan Hughes tells about his recent encounter with 2016 Republican US presidential candidate, Marco Rubio. Even with a cracked tooth, the Florida US senator is running strong in the Palmetto State.