Inspiration from a Fellow Dentist
Dentists are persistent, and those who persist succeed. Take, for instance, Capt. Mehmet Danis, the CFB Kingston dentist who recently placed sixth in the 250-km, six-phase race across the Gobi Desert. The man didn’t even have a pair of trail running shoes, but instead wore street tennies.
What Not to Do
In Georgia, Columbia dentist Claudinette Varon-Castro was arrested and charged with five felonies for providing dentistry without a license from her home in Johns Creek. It seems she had the drugs and the training, but not the facility or the license to practice legally. Peter Trager, past president of the Georgia Board of Dentistry, says that “underground dentists” often provide care to illegal immigrants who can’t afford or are scared to go to a licensed dentist. Claudinette was caught in the act when she agreed to provide dental work for $180 or antibiotics for $60, cash.
D is the Key for Moms to Be
University of Manitoba researchers found that vitamin D levels in pregnant women relate directly to the condition of their children’s teeth. Moms-to-be should take their prenatal vitamins and drink plenty of milk, or they may become very close to their pedodontists a few years down the road.
Separators to Reunite Anti-Amalgam and Pro-Amalgam Groups?
This week, lawyers and patients went head on with the dental industry over dental amalgam (with mercury). Patients blame mercury for a slew of health issues, from autism to headaches to splotchy skin to poor memory. By installing separators to keep amalgam waste out of public wastewater, as dentists in nine states must do, the dental industry can appease the masses. Dental amalgam is the primary source of mercury in public wastewater. And since the FDA deemed amalgams unsafe for pregnant women and youngsters, all heck has broken loose in this ongoing battle. Separators will set a dentist back somewhere between one and three grand.
Black Tea for Great Oral Health
Most of the iced tea we drink here in the States is made with black tea, which contains polyphenols, which deter bacterial growth and infection in the mouth – and kick halitosis. Another benefit, the polyphenols reduce a person’s risk for heart attacks and strokes. Black tea also increases good cholesterol, improves blood flow, and neutralizes germs and viruses.