salivary testing

Flying Blind: A Wake-Up Call – Part One

Posted on by Michael Goldberg DMD
When I say “Flying Blind” no, I’m not talking about the air-control issues at Newark Airport. I’m talking about how we practice oral health care. Having taught in two universities, I have a pretty good idea of the curriculum dentists and hygienists receive. “Basic Sciences” dominate those early years: microbiology, immunology, physiology, anatomy, and pharmacology. Why? Because understanding the why behind disease matters. So here’s the real question: Why are those sciences all but aba...
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Saving Teeth, Avoiding Implants: Dr. Lee Sheldon’s Strategic Approach to Aggressive Periodontitis

Posted on by Lee Sheldon DMD PA
When a 41-year-old woman came into Dr. Lee Sheldon’s office complaining of loose teeth and pain on both sides of her mouth, many would have jumped straight to extractions and implants. But Dr. Sheldon took a different approach: practical, conservative, and rooted in restoring function—not just filling spaces. “This is not just about saving a tooth,” says Dr. Sheldon. “It’s about reversing the stresses—bacterial, occlusal—and giving her back long-term function without implants.” Upon cl...
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An Imbalanced Oral Microbiome Can Cause Throat Cancer, But You Can Prevent It

Posted on by Cass Nelson-Dooley MS
Every April, there is a campaign to bring awareness to head and neck cancers. What exactly are head and neck cancers? Head and neck cancers affect the mouth, throat, sinuses and nose, salivary glands, or larynx (the voice box). Their hallmark is that they involve squamous cells, which line the mouth, throat, and sinuses—those wet, mucous-rich surfaces. How do head and neck cancers take hold? Cancer cells are damaged cells that can live forever. Cancer requires one or more of these proce...
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Unlock the Power of Saliva: Mastering Salivary Testing Comes to Centennial, CO!

Posted on by Katie Lee DDS
Are you ready to take your dental practice to the next level? If you’ve been looking to incorporate salivary diagnostics into your clinical offerings but don’t know where to start—or how to interpret the results—then this course is for you. Join Dr. Katie Lee at the new Collective Education Society on Friday, July 11, 2025, for Mastering Salivary Testing, an immersive in-person course led by Dr. Emily Stein, Ph.D., co-founder and CEO of Primal Health LLC. Dr. Stein’s expertise in microbio...
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Beyond the Probe: How OralDNA Testing Transformed Our Protocols and Outcomes

Posted on by Jonathan Evans
For decades, we've understood that periodontal disease is bacterial in origin, yet many of our treatment strategies remained nonspecific. We scaled, we cleaned, we hoped for the best. OralDNA® testing changed that for us - it brought specificity, clarity, and purpose to our protocols.  At our practice, every periodontal patient and every medically high-risk patient receives an OralDNA® MyPerioPath as a baseline test. This includes individuals with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or auto...
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​Saliva Microbiome Testing: The Future of Dentistry is Here​

Posted on by Katie Lee DDS
Close your eyes. Imagine a day when patients no longer avoid or complain about coming to your dental office. You no longer have empty appointment slots or patients not showing up for appointments. Instead, patients are seeking out your expertise because perhaps you hold the key to ending their chronic suffering and their ability to achieve optimum health. You don’t have to imagine this day because it has already arrived! The landscape of dental care is undergoing a transformative shift. Dent...
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Beyond Burnout: 5 steps to lead your hygiene team toward higher job satisfaction and retention

Posted on by Jamie Dooley RDH BIS
Every practice has that one person who steps up and helps out (without being asked), enjoys learning, and boosts the morale of the whole team. Chances are it is one of your hygienists. The best RDHs to employ are those who go the extra mile; but if you don’t acknowledge their extra effort, they will move on to a setting that does.  There is a shift happening in dental hygiene, and if we aren’t prepared for it, we are going to fall so far behind that it will be challenging to catch up. As ...
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Protect Patient Health with Salivary Diagnostics

Posted on by Kathryn Gilliam
Persistent oral human papillomavirus (HPV) infections have been linked to an increased risk of oral and oropharyngeal cancer. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection. Over 200 strains of HPV have been identified. The high-risk types, HPV-16 and HPV-18 are associated with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC). The CDC reports that HPV is responsible for approximately 70% of oropharyngeal cancer in the Unit...
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Microbiome Biohacking: Dr. Debbie Ozment Interviews Dr. Ron McGlennen

Posted on by Abby McMillan
Dr. Debbie Ozment has been a private practice dentist since 1985 and has an extensive wealth of knowledge to share. She attended dental school at Oklahoma University College of Dentistry, where she later served as adjunct faculty for seven years. Dr. Ozment also holds a master’s degree in Metabolic and Nutritional Medicine from the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine and is a Diplomat with the American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine. She is a Nationally Board-Certified He...
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How do you speak Dementia/Brain Health and Periodontal Disease with your patients?

Posted on by Steven Ritzi DDS
Dr. McGlennen: Concerning dementia and brain health, recent medical studies point to poor oral health, and high levels of the bacteria in our gums with the increased risk to develop Alzheimer’s and other types of dementia1-3. Specifically, there is now evidence of the oral pathogen, Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), present in brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluid and it may be involved with the production of the abnormal proteins that are characteristic of Alzheimer’s disease4.  Additionally, the d...
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