Dental care

[Brat]

I was listening to a podcast the other day, I think it was TWIM (This week in Microbiology), where the participants were discussing interesting papers.

One paper found that periodontitis early in life is associated with Alzheimer's. The commentators observed that periodontitis isn't likely the only precipitating factor.

Conclusion... appreciate your dentist's hygienist.

 

[joeea]

Conclusion... appreciate your dentist's hygienist.

Conclusion... don't draw conclusions based on one paper.

 

[COcheesehead]

Causation and correlation. Know the difference and use it wisely my friends.

 

[bobandsherry]

Causation and correlation. Know the difference and use it wisely my friends.

Also coincidence is always a probability.

 

[CaptTom]

Actually, I read that there's more to it than just correlation. There were some theories about how there could be direct causation. I forget the details, but it made an impression on me.

One good thing about retirement, eating more meals at home means better oral hygiene. I used to eat breakfast and lunch at work, and rarely brush after. I floss and brush after almost every meal now. Not only do I have the time, but also the motivation; no more dental insurance.

 

[sengsational]

There are a slew of diseases correlated to an unhealthy mouth. I don't know which way the causation goes, but I'm not taking any chances.


There's actually mouth probiotics now. Of course, probably a waste of money.



uBiome has a mouth thing where you can sequence your mouth microbiome. Again, probably a waste of money, but I have a baseline that was done as a part of a 5 site test.

 

[Brat]

For those interested in the biological sciences: http://www.microbe.tv/twim/twim-195/

Here is the link to the paper discussed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30746447

Title: Porphyromonas gingivalis in Alzheimer's disease brains: Evidence for disease causation and treatment with small-molecule inhibitors.

With regard to an earlier comment, I know well that correlation does not establish causation but causation will exhibit correlation.

 

[braumeister]

Title: Porphyromonas gingivalis in Alzheimer's disease brains: Evidence for disease causation and treatment with small-molecule inhibitors..

By coincidence, my dentist mentioned this a week or so ago while I was in his chair. His comment was that P. gingivalis was present in just about everyone else's brain too.

 

[RAE]

For those interested in the biological sciences: TWiM 195: Gingipain in the Alzheimer brain | This Week in Microbiology

Here is the link to the paper discussed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30746447

Title: Porphyromonas gingivalis in Alzheimer's disease brains: Evidence for disease causation and treatment with small-molecule inhibitors.

With regard to an earlier comment, I know well that correlation does not establish causation but causation will exhibit correlation.

Thanks for the links. I've read plenty of other papers about oral hygiene and chronic disease, so I don't doubt that it could be a factor in Alzheimer's development.

 

[NoMoreJob]

My wife and I were very fortunate end up with an exceptional dentist when we moved to a new city in the early 1990's. I had the beginnings of gum disease and she strongly recommended that we begin using a Sonicare toothbrush. At that time they were not widely available so she sold them at a very reasonable price in her office. Regular use of the Sonicare (which we've continued to this day) plus flossing completely changed the dental road I was traveling. My dental health almost immediately improved after years of decline and that had continued over the years.

I was recently diagnosed with throat cancer. I had trans oral robotic surgery and prior to having follow-up chemo-radiation treatments I was instructed to see my dentist so any problem teeth could be dealt with. It is common for people my age to need extractions or other oral surgery at this point since the radiation makes future major dental work more difficult and less likely to succeed. It turned out that I needed nothing done because my teeth and gums were in excellent condition. What a relief that was! The last thing I needed at that point was to go through major dental work. All of those years of attention to my dental health paid off in a big way and the credit goes to that one dentist years ago who made the effort to help me understand the importance of good dental care and exactly what that meant.

 

[ncbill]

My wife and I were very fortunate end up with an exceptional dentist when we moved to a new city in the early 1990's. I had the beginnings of gum disease and she strongly recommended that we begin using a Sonicare toothbrush. At that time they were not widely available so she sold them at a very reasonable price in her office. Regular use of the Sonicare (which we've continued to this day) plus flossing completely changed the dental road I was traveling. My dental health almost immediately improved after years of decline and that had continued over the years.

I was recently diagnosed with throat cancer. I had trans oral robotic surgery and prior to having follow-up chemo-radiation treatments I was instructed to see my dentist so any problem teeth could be dealt with. It is common for people my age to need extractions or other oral surgery at this point since the radiation makes future major dental work more difficult and less likely to succeed. It turned out that I needed nothing done because my teeth and gums were in excellent condition. What a relief that was! The last thing I needed at that point was to go through major dental work. All of those years of attention to my dental health paid off in a big way and the credit goes to that one dentist years ago who made the effort to help me understand the importance of good dental care and exactly what that meant.

Ditto on the Sonicare....it made a huge difference switching from another brand that was only a spin brush (no sonic)

Both parents had terrible teeth, but they were both heavy smokers.