Just Brush Twice A Day

OK this is something we can do and if we didn't have to spit we could do that from the comfort of our couch. We love "couch potato" things that we can do that will make us better. Just before we go to sleep and as soon as we wake up brush our teeth and floss. The brushing we can do but the flossing we sometimes forget. This life saving advice was received from the African American Medical Network (AAMN). The benefits can be seen in less diabetes, cardiovascular and heart diseases deaths. It seems that according to AAMN gum disease leads to bad breath, tooth decay and contributes to the aforementioned medical conditions.

We couldn't find through any research that placed gum disease as a cause for diabetes and or heart disease because of the "disease care" system. Most of the the research we discovered on adults were with individuals currently suffering from the diseases rather than disease free. We did find this from the Journal of Periodontology researchers for one of our favorite organizations the World Health Organization (WHO) found that:

"The available evidence shows that important risk factors for periodontal disease relate to poor oral hygiene, tobacco use, excessive alcohol consumption, stress, and diabetes mellitus. Integrated preventive strategies based on the common risk factors approach are recommended for public health practice." The researchers "(c)onclusions: The vast majority of countries need to establish a surveillance system for measuring progress in the control of periodontal disease and promotion of oral health. WHO has designed approaches for the integration of oral disease prevention within the prevention of non-communicable chronic diseases, and global strategies are currently being implemented in all regions of the world." - (Dec 2005)

Which came first the chicken or the egg? For us the question is do you get diabetes because you have poor dental hygiene or do you have poor dental hygiene as a result of your diabetes?

"Several epidemiological studies have demonstrated an association between periodontal disease and coronary heart disease (CHD). The association could be a result of confounding by mutual risk factors. The present study was undertaken in a Danish population to reveal the significance of common risk factors. Methods: The investigation was conducted as a case-control study comprising 250 individuals: 110 individuals with verified CHD from a Department of Cardiovascular Medicine and 140 control individuals without CHD from the Copenhagen City Heart Study. Information on diabetic status, smoking habits, alcohol consumption, physical activity, school attendance, household income, body weight and height, triglyceride, and serum cholesterol was obtained." - Journal of Periodontology (Sept 2006)

The most recent research we could find from the Journal says that in their conclusions: "This study supports the hypothesis of an association between periodontal disease and GDM." What we couldn't find in the study abstract was that association isn't a conclusion.

"Few studies have specifically examined the relationship between periodontal disease and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The objective of this study was to examine whether maternal periodontal disease is associated with GDM." - (Nov 2009)

The Journal of Periodontology isn't the only source of published dental research we will admit.but it appears to be the best source. What we most like about it was that the science is establishing the facts that are commonly held beliefs. We also look for links to the commonly held beliefs as well. We do like the easy way out of things, brushing twice and flossing often to avoid cardiovascular disease, diabetes and heart disease is easy enough thing to do.

We thought that would be the end of the story until we discovered this bit of dental news "according to a report by the Pew Center on the States. "The Cost of Delay: State Dental Policies Fail One in Five Children," released with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the DentaQuest Foundation, grades each state's policy responses to the urgent challenges in dental health among America’s low-income children. February is National Children’s Dental Health Month."

Pew scored all 50 states and the District of Columbia, using an A-F scale, on whether and how well they are employing eight proven policy solutions to ensure dental health and access to care for children. These policies fall into four categories: cost-effective ways to help prevent problems from occurring in the first place; Medicaid improvements that enable and motivate more dentists to treat disadvantaged children; new workforce models that expand the number of qualified dental providers; and gathering data to gauge progress and improve performance. Only six states merited "A" grades: Connecticut, Iowa, Maryland, New Mexico, Rhode Island and South Carolina. These states met at least six of the eight policy benchmarks and had policies in place that met or exceeded the national performance standards. These high grades do not mean that all people in the state have access to quality dental care services. Severe access problems still exist in states that received "A" grades, but these states have policies in place needed to improve dental care." - Pew Report (Feb 2010)

The our local jurisdictions did not fare as we would suspect only Maryland received an "A." Both North Carolina and Virginia received a "C" grade. While the District of Columbia ranked last with grade of "D."

One of the categories used to determine the grading was the total number of dentist by state. Virginia has more dentist per state (# 11 ranked nationally with 4,395)  than Maryland  (# 13 ranked nationally with    4,169) yet received the lower grading. North Carolina was # 15 ranked nationally with 3,903 but Washington DC "D" grade seems not only appropriate but reasonable with it's # 43 ranking with only 575 dentist. The date of the information is admittedly not as current as the Pew Report which might also might explain the switch with Maryland and Virginia. The state rankings from StateMaster is from 2004. We just thought you'd like to know because we wanted to know if the number of dentist per state would make a significant difference in the gradings.

While the African American Medical Network (AAMN) might no longer be called the African American Medical Network and even exist we're thankful for their information as old as it might have been. Our advice to you - don't let things get out of hand. Check your gums, brush twice a day and floss often. Not that our teeth are any examples of perfect hygiene - they aren't. Pearlie Mae hated to go to the dentists and we're no different. Two brushes and flosses a day keeps the trips to the dentists away! That's something we can get behind.