National Stroke Awareness Month, periodontal news, and immunotherapy

As we enjoy the spring, we are reminded that May is National Stroke Awareness Month. Quick ways to determine if someone is having a stroke include: Asking them to smile. If one side of the smile higher and not straight with the chin, it may signify a problem. Ask them to say the somewhat difficult phrase “It’s A Sunny Day Outside.” If the speech is not slurred, that is a good sign. Lastly, ask them to raise their hands. If one hand is higher, it means something’s wrong. Always call 911 if in doubt.

A new survey asked periodontists, dental hygienists, and general dental practitioners about the discipline of periodontics.(1) The results showed that the most important statement by all cohorts is “Periodontists surgically treat advanced gum and bone infection problems.” “Periodontists are educators promoting health” was viewed as the least important statement by all groups.(1) What do you think? Also in periodontal news, inflammation is the recurring theme. A commentary by Dr. Thomas Van Dyke talks about periodontitis being considered an immuno-inflammatory, host-mediated destruction of bone and connective tissues that support the teeth. Dr. Van Dyke proposes that the challenge of the future is a focus on resolution of inflammation for the treatment of all chronic inflammatory diseases, including periodontitis. The relationship of the biofilm to the host is still important, as inflammation may actually encourage overgrowth of periodontal pathogens in the periodontal pocket.(2) While this may go against what we were taught, developing statistics propose that periodontal pathogens that are generally present in low numbers use inflammation to provide an environment to foster their growth.(2) The suggestion is that the disease-causing biofilm is a result of inflammation. Read the article to see if you agree. Another recently published study concluded that that a routine preprocedural mouthrinse could eliminate the majority of bacterial aerosols generated by the use of an ultrasonic unit, and that 0.2% chlorhexidine gluconate is more effective than herbal mouthwash.(3) The herbal mouthwash used is made from natural herb extracts bibhitaki (Terminalia bellirica), nagavalli (piper betle), and peelu (Salvadora persica) 5 mg; powders peppermint satva (Mentha spp.) and yavani satva (caraway; Trachyspermum ammi), and oils gandhapura taila (wintergreen; Gaultheria fragrantissima) and ela (cardamom; Elettaria cardamomum).(3)

Trachyspermum ammi, commonly known as ajowan or ajwain, bishop's weed, ajowan caraway, carom seeds, or thymol seeds,or vaamu in Telugu or omam tamil is a plant of india, pakistan and the near east whose seeds are used as a spice. Also in the area of immunotherapy, on April 2 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Oralair (Stallergenes, Inc), the first sublingual immunotherapy in the United States to treat multiple grass pollens.(4) Oralair was originally approved in Europe in 2008 and is currently authorized in 31 countries around the world including most European countries, Canada, Australia, and Russia for the treatment of grass pollen allergy.