Why toothpaste flavor matters
With more than half of adults indicating flavor as the top factor affecting their choice in toothpaste, clearly flavor does matter—but why? Healthnews takes a dive into the importance of toothpaste flavors as they relate to a patient’s overall home care.
What does the end of the COVID-19 emergency declaration mean for dentists?
Two years ago, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services amended an emergency declaration that authorized additional providers, including dentists and dental students, to vaccinate patients for COVID-19, but that’s soon to change. An upshot of federal COVID-19 emergency declarations May 11 expiration is that many dentists will no longer be able to administer COVID-19 vaccines if the states they are licensed in don’t already authorize them to do so. Learn more from the ADA.
Lack of DPs, access to dental care addressed by US Senate
NPR reports that the shortage of US health-care workers, including dental professionals, that has only worsened since the pandemic is an issue with “room for bipartisan solutions.” In the Senate's top health committee’s first hearing last week, chairman Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., noted among other major concerns with US health-care access that some 70 million Americans lack access to a dentist and that the nation could face a shortage of 100,000 dentists in the coming years.
Link between oral health, Meniere’s disease
A study done in Korea and published recently in the Journal of Personalized Medicine points to a connection between poor oral health and Meniere’s disease, an inner ear disorder that causes episodes of vertigo. The data was collected from analysis and follow-up of some 2.24 million adult patients, with authors stating that "The main findings of the present study were that periodontitis and increased tooth loss were correlated with an increased risk of the occurrence of Meniere's disease.”
FDA files civil penalties against e-cigarette manufacturers
Following its issuing of more than 550 warning letters for manufacturing or distributing new tobacco products without marketing authorization, the FDA has fined four e-cigarette manufacturers for violations. It’s the first time the agency has filed civil money penalty complaints (CMPs) against manufacturers to enforce premarket review requirements for tobacco products, part a “comprehensive approach to actively identify violations and to deter illegal conduct,” says the director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products.
