*What is Dental Health Literacy?

*Dental health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate oral health decisions. Health literacy is a shared function of individual patient skills, ability of a provider to communicate effectively and accurately, and the informational demands placed on patients by health care systems. Patients are being asked to take a more active role in health care decisions. To accomplish this, they need adequate health literacy for the situation, and professionals play an integral role in helping patients achieve this.Read more

*From American Dental Association Community Brief Late November 2007, Issue 9 Volume 4

Diabetes, Depression and Periodontal Disease

People with diabetic conditions generally have a demanding life because in addition to doing everything each and everyone of us does, they tend to count carbohydrates, testing their blood sugar levels.  Those people with this condition that are depressed  tend to experience poor concentration and easily lose interest which can cause problem in educating themselves about proper self-help and self-management of their diabetes.  While they may know about how to maintain their health, they tend to lose interest in their health including dental health and be less willingto take the appropriate steps needed to self -help.  Some studies have shown that these people with diabetes and depression are less likely to fill their prescriptions, check their glucose levels maintain periodontal health.  Please check with your dentist regarding your periodontal (gum) health.

For more information on the link between diabetes and depression, check an article written by Dr. Alan Jacobson, chief, psychiatric services at Harvard Medical School at Times vol. 170, No. 20, 2007 http://www.time.com.

Good luck!

Oral Sedation Dentistry

General dentists and many other dentists now offer adult oral sedation to their fearful patients.  This offers many advantages to the fearful patients including getting the much needed dental care without stress and depending on the medication used to achieve sedation, patients often do not even remember.  Patients get more dentistry done in one single visit instead of requiring several returns to the dentist’s office. 

Some of the common medications used by dentists to achieve conscious sedation include valium (diazepam) which was first introduced in 1963, it is a benzodiazepines.  It has a half-life of between 20 and 100 hrs.  The problem is patient may not be able to return to regular routines after 24 hrs. such as driving.  Sonata (zaleplon) is a non-benzodiazepine but acts as if it were.  It has a most rapid onset and a half-life of just one hour so if you are planning to have extensive dental work done at one visit, this may not be for you.  Ativan (lorazepam), it has a half-life of 12-14 hours and it is widely accepted in the dental circle because it is safe and effective as an anxiolytic agent.  Xanax (alprazolam) is a moderate benzodiazepine with two active metabolites that extend the half-life to 11-12 hrs. in adults.  Interestingly, the half-life doubles in obese patients.  Halcion (triazolam), the blue pill is considered by many in the dental community as the “ideal” oral sedative because it has a fast onset, short-acting, anxiolytic, amnesic; half-life of 2-3 hrs., large margin of safety, and reversal agent is readily available.

So the millions of patients avoiding recommended and needed dental treatment due to fear, can now relax and look forward to relaxation dentistry.  With availability of safe and effective oral sedation dentistry protocols, the dental team can help these patients get care they need and deserve.  Dentists often consider patient variability as an important risk factor in deciding which anxiety-free protocol to use.  Indidivudal variables such as weight, anxiety level, age, and underlying disease states are often considered by the treating dentist.