What doesn’t work in long-term care

A new article in the Journal of the American Medical Association points to the futility of supervised brushing and flossing to improve the oral health and to lower the incidence of pneumonia among residents in long-term care. In a randomized trial over 2 years, residents with nurse-supervised oral hygiene routines experienced no reduction in pneumonia…

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Healthcare savings via prevention of chronic disease

A new study which examines why American spending on healthcare has shown little growth over the past few years, reports that a key reason is healthier hearts among Seniors.

Between 1999 and 2012, American per capita spending on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases (heart attack, cardiac arrest, stroke, etc.) declined by $827 per person. Spending on a related category called cardiovascular risk factors (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes) also fell $802 per person below the trend line.

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Cognitive Function and Oral Health

The connection between oral health and cognitive function is intriguing, and seemingly is getting clearer. For example, a new prospective Japanese study of seniors living in the community reports that those with fewer teeth, were 3 times more likely to have a decline in cognitive function over 4 years, than those with more teeth. In…

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Improving Diabetes Management by Improving Oral Health

Several intervention studies now show that a dental cleaning below the gum line leads to improved glycemic control (HbA1C) in Type 2 diabetics for up to 6 months. There are about 3 million Type 2 diabetics in Canada and another 5 million who are pre-diabetic. It is an expensive chronic disease largely driven by age…

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