Dear Hygiene Insider,
People with periodontal disease are at increased risk of hospitalization from a heart attack. But those with active periodontal treatment are more likely to adhere to postacute care visits, a measure linked to better outcomes, according to a recent study. Read more in this edition's Insider Exclusive.
Also new in the Hygiene Community, Dr. Alvin Danenberg explores the science behind the popular keto diet and why it can help explain why our primal ancestors had generally healthy mouths -- even though they never brushed their teeth with commercial toothpaste or flossed with string.
That's not the only recent story to detail the link between gut health and gum health. Research in mice has also found that gut bacteria can trigger jaw bone loss related to periodontal disease. The findings challenge the notion that alveolar bone loss in the mouth is solely regulated by oral microbes and open the possibility that interventions for the gut can support oral health.
Are antibiotic-resistant forms of periodontal Porphyromonas gingivalis on the rise? In a presentation last month, one researcher put forth evidence that resistance of subgingival P. gingivalis increased fifteenfold to clindamycin and twenty-eightfold to amoxicillin. The presenter suggested increased exposure to antibiotics is to blame.
Finally, hygienist autonomy may be the key to fewer dental visits at hospitals. States that give dental hygienists more autonomy and expanded scope of practice had fewer preventable nontraumatic dental visits at emergency rooms, a study found.
