"Bombed-out mouths": Dentists continue seeing patients with rampant dental issues
For many dentists, the post-shutdown trend of patients with an increase in dental issues hasn’t completely let up: they report seeing patients who haven’t been back since the pandemic started. That number is declining, but those patients are often returning in worse shape. “By and large, I’m seeing more cavities than I’ve ever seen in my life. People are coming in with what we call a bombed-out mouth, which is cavities on almost every tooth and more,” said one Michigan dentist.
CDC: 3 million students using tobacco this year
The CDC reports that more than 3 million middle and high school students reporting using tobacco products in 2022. In its weekly Morbidity and Mortality report, the CDC indicates that some 11.3% of surveyed students reported current tobacco use, with e-cigarettes the tobacco product indicated as the most used among high school and middle school students.
ADA supports passage of Lasting Smiles Act
The ADA is urging dentists to contact their senators in support of the Ensuring Lasting Smiles Act (ELSA), which, if enacted, would require all private group and individual health plans to cover medically necessary services resulting from a congenital anomaly or birth defect. The ADA stated that one out of every 33 children in the U.S. is born with a congenital anomaly, according to CDC, including severe oral and facial defects that can interfere with the ability to breathe, speak, and eat normally.
WHO: Half of the world has oral disease
Last week, the WHO announced that nearly half of the world's population, or some 3.5 billion people, suffer from oral disease, the majority of them in low- and middle-income countries.The most common oral diseases are tooth decay, severe gum disease, tooth loss, and oral cancers, with untreated tooth decay affecting nearly 2.5 billion people, it said.
