taking care of your gums can help you save in the long run

for a while you have been reading on my blog or hearing at my office about the strong relationship between gum disease and other health issues such as diabetes, strokes and heart disease. a new study done jointly with aetna insurance company and columbia university college of dental medicine indicates that treatment of gum disease has a positive effect of the cost of medical care reagrding the above mentioned diseases. they also found during this two year study that costs were actually lower if peroidontal therapy (treatment of gum disease) was recieved during the first year of the study.
what does this mean to you. one, it clearly shows that there is a link between gum disease and other health issues. second, if you take care of your gum disease issues you have a better chance for better quality of life as you age. third, if there is a lower cost to your healthcare you save money and in the long runit can help keep medical premiums from going up as much.
who knows, maybe aetna will start paying more for the treament of gum disease, or put it under medical insurance since it is now shown to be cost effective for them. NA, JUST WISHFULL THINKING

Fluoride varnish, a great to prevent cavities in children

fluoride varnishes have been used for years in europe to help prevent cavities in children. now a new study from the university of california at san francisco dental school echos what those europeans have known for a while. fluoride varnishes help prevent early childhood cavities.
children who got the fluoride varnish once a year were 50% less likely to get cavities over kids who did not get the varnish. if the children got the varnish 2 times a year they were 75% less likely to get cavities. dr. jane weintraub, the lead doctor in the study, points out that there are two valuable lessons to learn here. first, fluoride varnishes work, and second, getting your toddlers to the dentist as soon as their teeth erupt is the right way to go.

as a practicing dentist i can tell you that fluoride varnishes are very easy to place and i highly recommend them for children, and any adults who have issues with lots of cavities.