Sunday, April 12, 2009

Flap's Dentistry Blog Links - April 12, 2009


First of all, if you are unfamiliar with Facebook, join up for free at www.facebook.com, if for no other reason than to say you did! Facebook is a social networking website where people across the globe post profiles and connect with other folks. Facebook is a form of “social networking” for individuals and businesses. Do dentists do social networking?

This isn't a topic on the top of every one's blog list but WHY NOT? Cancer is cancer, whether it occurs in the jaw, breast, kidney, or anus. Former "Charlie's Angels" actress Farrah Fawcett, 62, is back in the hospital this week reportedly with metastases from her anal carcinoma, diagnosed in 2006. Last September, P.J. O'Rourke was diagnosed with anal cancer. According to CNN: "The numbers of anal cancer cases are rising, although experts haven't been able to pinpoint why."

Dr. Yvonne Wong hadn't used her practice Web site for a long time. So long, in fact, that she couldn't remember its Internet address. Considering a possible upgrade to her site, she conducted a Google search of her own name to locate it. She couldn't believe what came up when she entered her name. "I regret ever going to her office. Avoid her like a disease." The comments were among those in a single review posted about Dr. Wong at Yelp.com. At that time, it was the only review Dr. Wong found among the bevy of online consumer review sites proliferating on the Internet. The pediatric dentist recognized the poster by location and initials as the father of one of her patients. The review gave Dr. Wong a one-star rating from a possible five. Dr. Wong believes the post inferred misdiagnosis, implied that she had not sought the parents' informed consent on the use of amalgam and that she had administered anesthesia harmful to the patient.

Despite national newspaper stories suggesting there are few NHS dentists available in England* here are in Somerset and we have at least 22 dental practices currently accepting new NHS patients and over 200 dental appointments set aside each week to help anyone in dental pain who cannot find NHS dental treatment. Richard Wood, Dental Services Commissioning Manager with NHS Somerset, says: "Anyone who wants an NHS dentist should be able to get one in Somerset. We invest over £22 million each year in local dental services and this is rising as we work to ensure people living in the furthest parts of the county get easier access to dental care where they live. "We have NHS dentists ready and waiting to treat you, so my advice is look after your teeth and if they are giving your pain or if you are having trouble finding an NHS dentist call the Somerset NHS Dental Helpline today."

DR. MARK STILLMAN, the director of the Center for Headache and Pain at the Cleveland Clinic, has a treatment for people with frequent migraines: he injects Botox around the head and neck. Dr. Andrew Blitzer, the director of the Center for Voice and Swallowing Disorders at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in Manhattan, has an antidote for speech impediments caused by vocal cord problems: he injects Botox into the larynx. Dr. Fredric Brandt, a dermatologist in Manhattan and Coral Gables, Fla., has a novel procedure for oily skin and skin redness.

New research from Japan suggests that periodontal disease could act as a risk factor for reactivating latent HIV-1 in affected individuals.

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