Today's Dental News

You may want to visit your dentist if you have problems with snoring.

A survey indicates that snoring results in many arguments involving partners. Four out of 10 snorers state that there is an argument in the middle of the night as a result of snoring.

The results may lead to the sleeping partners moving apart, wrestling over sleep positions or moving their partner. The study revealed that 28 percent of people end up sleeping in a different room to get away from the snoring person.

There were 1,134 people snorers that took part in the study, along with their partners.

Read more: Snoring May Lead to More Arguments Between Partners

Staggering amounts of people in Kentucky don’t have dental insurance.

The recent Kentucky Health Issues Poll showed that 51 percent of adults in the state don’t have any type of dental insurance. That comprises roughly 1.7 million people.

As result of this information, 49 percent of these patients have delayed dental treatment because of the costs.

This information comes from the Institute for Policy Research at the University of Cincinnati. The research was conducted from September and October 2012. The information also indicates that 39 percent of Kentucky residents don’t have a dentist and 79 percent haven’t visited the dentist or been to a dental clinic in more than five years.

Read more: Lack of Dental Insurance Causes Problems for Kentucky Residents

It’s never too late to see the orthodontist nowadays.

Patients visiting the orthodontist are becoming increasingly older, based on some studies.

Many of these older patients are seeing the orthodontist to prevent their teeth from shifting. Their teeth are fitted for a retainer, enabling them to maintain their current position. The retainer is worn at night.

The new technology available is also making orthodontic treatment more appealing. Clear braces are appealing to everyone, even people in their 50s and older.

Read more: Orthodontists See Increase in Adult Patients

The worst fears have been realized for some of Dr. W. Scott Harrington’s dental patients.

At least 60 people have tested positive for hepatitis or HIV because of Harrington’s practice of poor sterilization and reusing needles, according to the Tulsa Health Department.

In addition to reusing needles, he also utilized rusty equipment that wasn’t cleaned the correct way.

More than 7,000 patients in his two Oklahoma dental clinics were informed in late March of the risk that may be in for. Of the more than 3,000 patients tested, 57 tested positive for hepatitis C, three for hepatitis B and one for HIV.

Read more: 60 Oklahoma Dental Patients Test Positive for Disease