Week in Review: Life-threatening mouth bleeding | Fluoride makes the grade | More dentists on the horizon

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

A young woman experienced rare, life-threatening episodes of mouth bleeding for weeks following the uncovering of a dental implant. Associate Editor Melissa Busch's article with the must-know details was the top story of the week.

The woman visited an emergency department after experiencing more than 40 bleeding episodes, including three significant events of intraoral bleeding. Embolizing her artery stopped the bleeding, but clinicians continue to monitor her.

Fluoride makes the grade

Primary care physicians should apply fluoride varnish and prescribe fluoride supplements to certain children, according to a new draft recommendation statement released by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).

In the draft recommendation, the USPSTF recommended that clinicians apply fluoride varnish to all children younger than age 5. The task force also advised prescribing oral fluoride supplementation for children whose water supply is deficient in fluoride.

The task force gave both fluoride recommendations a "B" grade, meaning that clinicians should offer or provide the services. However, only 4% of pediatricians report regularly applying fluoride varnish, the USPSTF noted in the draft recommendation.

Prevent medical emergencies

In the past five years, there have been at least 38 reported deaths in dental offices. If you want to avoid being part of that statistic, it may be wise to reschedule patients who do not feel well enough for treatment, according to a session at the recent California Dental Association's CDA Presents conference.

By rescheduling patients and performing medical management, dental teams are also doing risk management, noted presenter Dr. Glenn Maron. She advised the following: "When in doubt, cancel them out."

Gingivitis and depression

European researchers discovered yet another oral-systemic link: Patients with chronic gingivitis had almost double the risk of developing depression as those with healthy gums in a recent study.

The finding held true for both men and women and across almost all age groups. An immunoinflammatory response could be the trigger between gingivitis and depression, the authors noted.

Number of dentists on the rise

Last but not least, the number of dentists per capita in the U.S. is projected to rise by about 10% over the next 20 years, according to a new research brief by the ADA Health Policy Institute.

Although population growth and retirement rates will stay at roughly the same levels as they are now, the number of dental school graduates will increase through 2026, the authors noted. In related news, High Point University in North Carolina announced it will build a new dental school and enroll its first class in the fall of 2023.