Today's Dental News

It’s not news that there is a significant link between one’s oral health and overall health. Though studies are ongoing, researchers have known for quite some time that the mouth is connected to the rest of the body.

“Your mouth is the entry point of many bacteria,” said Dr. Steven Grater, Pennsylvania Dental Association (PDA) member and general dentist from Harrisburg. “To keep this bacteria from going into your body, cleaning your mouth (brushing, flossing and rinsing) is necessary.”

PDA strives to educate the public about the role oral health plays in some systemic diseases, such as diabetes and heart disease, and oral health complications during pregnancy. PDA wants you to know what you can do to keep your teeth, gums, and body healthy.

Read more: The Connection Between Oral Health and Systemic Diseases

In a first, an Indian company has partnered with a French institute to set up Stemade Biotech, a bank for dental stem cells, which are easy to acquire and can be used for various therapeutic applications.

“As compared to other sources, window for banking stem cells from the dental pulp is greater, hence providing multiple opportunities to bank,” Dr. Franck Chaubron, CEO, Institute
Clinident Biopharma said. “The novelty of dental stem cells is that they can be easily acquired and banked for future application purposes.

“It is safer, easier, and has more applications. The partnership allows Stemade Biotech to use the innovative technique of collecting the dental pulp, which is live tissue found inside all healthy tooth.”

Chaubron is the innovator and licensor of the patented technology for extraction and cryopreservation of dental stem cells obtained from the pulp of the tooth.

Read more: First Dental Stem Cell Bank Opens in Mumbai

The budget cuts in Kansas are having a major impact on some people.

There are some elderly, disabled, and poor people who will not be able to receive the kind of dental coverage they once received. The House-Senate Oversight Committee had a meeting to discuss the issue.

In January, these budget cuts took effect. The cuts impacted a program that began in 2007. In this program the state funded basic dental services for Kansas residents who were elderly or disabled in any way. The goal of the program was to give these people dental coverage while enabling them to remain living in their homes.

The people who lost the coverage will now be forced to spend money they don’t have or simply skip the dental visits.

Read more: Budget Cuts Force Some Kansas Residents to Lose Dental Benefits

Children in West Virginia don’t receive enough dental care.

A Marshall University program that offers free dental care discovered that 43 percent of children that visited there had some form of dental decay that was untreated. But almost 90 percent of the children had some form of dental insurance.

The West Virginia School Community Partnership and Marshall’s Center for Rural Health offer all the dental care a child should need but West Virginia residents are not taking advantage of it.

Last year, more than 2,300 children should have been treated, thanks to a grant. It didn’t happen.

Read more: West Virginia Children Don’t Receive Proper Dental Care