J. Peter St. Clair, DMD, PC Blog

Dentistry has nine recognized specialties. They are listed below with a brief description. As you will notice, cosmetic dentistry is not one of them. Every general dentist does “cosmetic” work – unless they are putting silver fillings in front teeth. There are some general dentists who do more “cosmetic” work than others and some who even limit their practices to esthetic cases. However, a dentist cannot officially be designated as a “cosmetic dentist” or “cosmetic specialist.”

The nine recognized specialties in dentistry are:

Public Health Dentistry – this field of dentistry is involved in the assessment of dental health needs and improving the dental health of a specific population of patients.

Endodontics – this dentist,… (Read More)

It is common for a patient to ask what kind of toothpaste they should use. The concept of toothpaste and mouth washes is pretty old – almost as old as the Egyptian toothbrush. In fact, the earliest known toothpaste was created by the Egyptians. It was said to contain rock salt, mint, dried iris flowers and 20 grains of pepper, all crushed and mixed together to form a powder. It wasn’t until the 18th Century that the next recorded version of toothpaste showed up. That recipe was interesting as well.

The 19th Century saw a lot of toothpaste innovations, although many of them would be repulsive compared to what we are used to today. Charcoal,… (Read More)

For decades, the American Heart Association (AHA) recommended that patients with certain heart conditions take antibiotics shortly before dental treatment. For those with these certain heart conditions, this was done with the belief that antibiotics would prevent infective endocarditis (IE), previously referred to as bacterial endocarditis. IE is an infection of the heart’s inner lining or valves, which results when bacteria enter the bloodstream and travel to the heart. Bacteria are normally found in various sites of the body including on the skin and in the mouth.

In 2007, the AHA’s revised guidelines were published in its scientific journal, Circulation, and there was good news: the AHA recommended that most of these patients no longer… (Read More)

It is not uncommon for me to get a strange look when I ask a patient about snoring. After an explanation about some of the reasons I include this on my medical history form, the patient will often say, “Well, I don’t snore but my spouse does. In fact, we sleep in separate bedrooms.”

Asking a patient about snoring is really asking, “Have you been told you snore?” Snoring can be a huge nuisance to the bed partner and is actually very detrimental to both people. For those without a bed partner, snoring can be assessed with apps such as Snore Lab, which measures snoring levels throughout the night.

Snoring is a sign of a… (Read More)

Dentists play a key role in screening patients for many disorders relative to nutrition and in providing appropriate referrals into the health care system. Although the importance of integrating diet and nutrition guidance into dental care has been advocated for decades by educators, it continues to be ignored except by a handful of prevention-oriented practitioners.

Many of the world’s most significant health problems are linked to poor dietary practices, including over-nutrition and under-nutrition. Nutrition plays a fundamental role in health, and dental professionals have the opportunity to be a critical link between discovery and wellness.

There is a great deal of evidence linking oral infections, including periodontal disease, nutrition and immunological response. We have clear… (Read More)

There are five major reasons that people do not get the necessary dental care they need. They are money, time, lack of concern, fear and trust. Let’s take a quick look at each one and see what dentists try to do to overcome these obstacles for patients.

Although you may think that money would be the number one reason people avoid ideal dental treatment, it is not. Even in tougher economic times, money, although a significant barrier for many, is still not the number one issue for most. Yes, dental care in some cases can be a significant investment. With insurance company’s unwillingness to raise the bar, as I have talked about in previous columns,… (Read More)

Last week we discussed the role and effect that diabetes has on oral health. It is not something that should be taken lightly. If you missed this column, please visit www.thetowncommon.com.

After reading last week’s column, it may seem frightening that there is no way out of the partnership of horrors between diabetes and severe gum disease. There are solutions. Just as poor oral health can compound a diabetic’s plight, proper oral health can come to the rescue.
Clinical studies confirm that treatment of gum disease reduces oral inflammation, which removes the factor that triggers the body’s inflammatory response which, in turn, plays a major role in compounding the effects of diabetes.

Dental treatments… (Read More)

With more than 24 million diabetics and 57 million pre-diabetics in the United States, nearly a quarter of the nation’s population has already been affected by this disease. The connections between dental health and diabetes have never been more critical.

As an indication of our general health, the rapidly rising rate of diabetes should be ringing alarm bells everywhere. The litany of health implications from diabetes is a long and grisly list. It is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S. That is probably vastly understated because as many as 65% of deaths from diabetes are attributed to heart attack and stroke. People with diabetes have about twice the overall risk of death… (Read More)

Dental caries (cavities, decay) is still very prevalent in today’s society. There are many factors that contribute to dental decay. In addition, there are some people who are more susceptible to decay than others. In a recent article in the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA), sugar-sweetened beverages, one of the main culprits for dental decay, was discussed.

Dental decay is a multifactorial disease characterized as an infectious process during which carbohydrates are fermented by specific oral bacteria at the tooth surface. This results in acid production and enamel breakdown. It should be noted that the beverages described in this column are not the only things that lead to dental decay. Anything rich in… (Read More)

In a recent study published by the American Dental Association (ADA), visits to the emergency room (ER) for dental related issues have doubled nationwide over the last decade. Last year, over 2.1 million people visited the ER for a dental “emergency”, most of which could have been prevented with regular dental visits.

In another recent collaborative study between the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine and the Rutgers Center for State Health Policy, they confirmed that most of these ER visits were for dental pain and infections that were not related to trauma. This is an increasing burden on the taxpayer and the healthcare system. ER visits can be 10 times more costly than if the… (Read More)