KTH Flashback: Yes, Dental Care Can Cost. Avoiding It? Even More So.

Posted on Wednesday, November 6th, 2019

According to a new report from the ADA Health Policy Institute, about 1 in 5 American adults skip needed dental care. Far and away, the main reason they give is cost. They say they just can’t afford it or don’t want to spend the money. But one thing wasn’t exactly clear in the news coverage […]

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What Every Jack o’Lantern Needs Is…a Good Dental Theme?

Posted on Wednesday, October 30th, 2019

About 10 years ago, we found out just how sacred the Halloween candy tradition is to some people when our post on alternative treats drove an extreme amount of new traffic to our blog – and a whole lot of spirited (pardon the pun) comments. Many were supportive, but of course there were others that […]

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Dental Insurance Isn’t Really Insurance

Posted on Wednesday, July 24th, 2019

One of the many problems with the “health care” biz in this country is the simple fact that so many decisions are driven not by patients or doctors but insurance companies. Dental insurance isn’t much better, but for reasons that many well-intentioned folks seem to ignore when they suggest that better access to dental insurance […]

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Oh, the Humanity!

Posted on Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018

Would you like to get your dental care from a robot? If you said “no, thanks,” you’re in a narrow majority. According to a recent survey, 51% said they “were moderately or strongly opposed to robotic dentistry.” Of course, it makes a difference what type of procedure is asked about. While most expressed little opposition […]

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KTH Flashback: A Tale of Two Surveys, or Dentistry’s Role in Healthcare

Posted on Wednesday, March 14th, 2018

Originally posted August 16, 2017; updated Once upon a time – last year, to be exact – a Pew survey suggested that for all the problems with American healthcare these days, people just lurve their physicians. According to the survey, almost 90% of those who saw a doctor in the past year felt their provider […]

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Conventional Dentistry Actually Takes a Step Forward

Posted on Wednesday, October 18th, 2017

Focal infection theory holds that problems in one part of the body can and do affect health throughout the body. And for decades, the dental establishment has pooh-poohed it. Well… Just this past week, BDJ published a summary of a new paper that “revists” the concept of focal infection. Between 1947 and 1989, 82 papers […]

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A Tale of Two Surveys, or Dentistry’s Role in Healthcare

Posted on Wednesday, August 16th, 2017

Once upon a time – earlier this year, to be exact – a Pew survey suggested that for all the problems with American healthcare these days, people just lurve their physicians. According to the survey, almost 90% of those who saw a doctor in the past year felt their provider “really cared about their health […]

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Dental Implants: Hype vs. Reality

Posted on Wednesday, April 5th, 2017

You often hear implant dentists brag about implant success rates as high as 98% – despite the fact that such numbers just don’t jibe with reality. The reality is much more modest (and non-industry funded). And as we noted before, this is partly because implants are often placed into the diseased tissue. After all, tooth […]

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If Ever There Were a Case for Minimally-Invasive Dentistry…

Posted on Wednesday, February 22nd, 2017

A young woman needed a dental exam before starting a new job. She chose a dentist online. She went to her exam. She complained of no dental problems. None of her 32 teeth had ever been restored. Her x-rays showed no signs of decay. The bone supporting her teeth looked healthy. On clinical examination, visual […]

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Defeating the Purpose of a Dental “Bargain”

Posted on Wednesday, September 2nd, 2015

Oh, the news that turns up when you have Google Alerts set up for “root canals”: As if smoking were the worst of it. Broadmeadows Magistrate Court heard Muhammad Velipasaoglu smoked, spoke on the phone, didn’t wear a face mask or gloves and had unwashed hands while performing nine consecutive root canals on a young […]

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