Everyone Has A Story

Posted on June 29, 2018May 19, 2021 by Kriston Reisnour RDH, BSDH, CCSH, COMS

Every patient that sits in your dental chair has a story. All stories have a beginning, middle, and end, as does life. We have the wonderful opportunity to help our patients be able to live a long and productive one. Jumping to the middle of my story, my mom died at the age of 58 and my dad at age 60, both from end stage vascular diseases. They didn’t get a chance to enjoy their children into their adult years, get time with their grandchildren, or even meet their great grandchildren. I, li...

Establishing New Treatment Objectives for Periodontal Disease

Posted on June 22, 2018May 19, 2021 by John Kempton DDS

The principles of leadership that drive achievement have the practitioner state the objectives prior to initiating an action plan. Success is more certain and predictable, while any short falls become measurable and remedies are tied to the metrics of the initial objectives. The traditional treatment objectives for periodontal therapy have revolved around certain soft and hard tissue architectural end points and bleeding on probing. These standards have been in place for about 100 years a...

Oral HPV Awareness Campaign: Part 2

Posted on June 15, 2018May 19, 2021 by Susan Maples DDS

Currently about 72% of all OPCs (Oropharyngeal Cancers) are the results of an oncogenic HPV infection—and very few of these cancers are found in the front of the mouth. HPV-Oral Pharyngeal Cancer (HPV-OPC) develops at the deep base of the tongue or behind of the curtains of the tonsillar pillars. Sadly, there is no effective screening method for early cancer detection. While we fumble with the words to say and the warnings to issue, we are literally watching the HPV epidemic unfold before...

Oral HPV Awareness Campaign: Part 1

Posted on June 8, 2018May 19, 2021 by Susan Maples DDS

As a Total Health Dental Practice, there was one particular oral disease my team was not comfortable discussing—even though it is deadly and its epidemic has escalated to horrific proportions. You guessed it…HPV-related Oral Pharyngeal Cancer (OPC). Don’t get me wrong; our responsibility to complete our 9-point screen for oral cancer is routinely completed. But we knew the screening exam—was completely ineffective in screening for the risk of HPV-OPC. In brainstorming about our weakness, ...

The Puzzle of Periodontal Disease

Posted on June 1, 2018May 19, 2021 by Diane Larson RDH, BSDH

As children, we are constantly exploring to see how things work. We are given books to explore what others have learned and puzzles help us to see how things fit together. As a dental hygienist, I use the puzzle analogy often when referring to periodontal disease. As oral health care professionals, we are trying to put pieces together to resolve or at minimum reduce the patient’s inflammation. To do so in a timely manner, we need to know as many of the pieces as possible. We all know the fru...

Interview with Dawnie Kildoo, DDS, MAGD

Posted on May 25, 2018May 19, 2021 by Dawnie Kildoo, DDS, MAGC

Dr. McGlennen: Tell me how do you use OralDNA® salivary diagnostics. Dr. Kildoo: We perform a MyPerioPath® on every patient with signs of periodontal disease. It gives us a more accurate diagnosis and helps us understand possible risk factors for other systemic diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, diabetes and strokes. Recently, we have been sending the results to the patient’s physician to help them understand the oral-systemic connection, too. Dr. McGlennen: What has been the physician’s ...

Stop Diagnosing the Pocketbook

Posted on May 18, 2018May 19, 2021 by Richard H. Nagelberg, DDS

Cost is a consideration for all of us, which we take into account when deciding whether or not to purchase a wide variety of goods and services. Our responsibility as clinicians is to make recommendations to help patients achieve the best health possible, without letting our preconceived ideas about the patient’s ability to afford treatment get in the way – what I refer to as diagnosing the pocketbook. One of the things we do not know and cannot predict is how much value the patient puts on ...

An Interview with Kristen King

Posted on May 11, 2018October 12, 2021 by Kristen King BSDH

Dr. McGlennen: Tell me how you use OralDNA® salivary diagnostics. Kristen RDH: We recommend OralDNA® saliva testing on all patients that have bleeding/inflammation regardless of probe depths. We utilize MyPerioPath® for these patients to customize treatment plans and target the cause of the inflammation. We utilize a post MyPerioPath®, called MyPerioProgress®, to measure the effectiveness of the therapy we provided. It is awesome to use an approach where we can have objective measurements t...

Testing and Coding Improving Patient’s Health

Posted on May 4, 2018May 19, 2021 by Patti DiGangi RDH BS

Periodontal disease starts with a biofilm-based infection that creates a wound that in turn, induces the inflammatory cascade responsible for the disease. This wound should be taken seriously! A variety of tests are available to determine risk, genetics, and the specific pathogens involved with periodontal disease. OralDNA® Labs salivary diagnostic testing helps improve oral health outcomes and enables patients to make more informed choices regarding their professional treatment and at-ho...

Where Does the HPV Go?

Posted on April 27, 2018May 19, 2021 by Ronald C. McGlennen, MD

The alarming incidence of oral cancer connected to oral infections caused by the human papillomavirus, HPV, should rightly raise concern. For too long healthcare has overlooked the potential of HPV to cause serious disease in the oral cavity, the pharynx and larynx. Fortunately, early detection is key, and there is now a highly sensitive test that can identify early HPV infections called OraRisk ® HPV. OraRisk ® HPV identifies the HPV infection often before any clinical symptoms can be se...