Dear DrBicuspid Member,
February is Children's Dental Health Month. We kick off our coverage with a look at how difficult it is to have children receive dental screenings before the school year. The District of Columbia and 14 U.S. states have passed laws encouraging this, but these laws struggle to have a measurable impact, according to a report published on January 31.
This may be something that seemed intuitive, but now there is more data to reinforce the point. Community water fluoridation may reduce dental caries disparities due to income levels, according to a new study published in JAMA Pediatrics on January 28. Researchers found low-income children were less likely to experience caries in their primary teeth if they lived in fluoridated counties.
Hygienist Jill Meyer-Lippert notes that patients receiving treatment for cancer face many obstacles, including possible damage to their oral health from the sucrose in the liquid medications they take. She shares some practical advice for helping these patients maintain and improve their oral health.
Finally this week on DrBicuspid.com, you may think that bartering services for dental treatment is in the past, but it's not, according to the risk management staff of The Dentists Insurance Company. In this Second Opinion highlighting legal issues, they point out that while bartering is not new, you still need to protect yourself and your practice.
