This
week, we learn about financial pressures in dental offices, discuss what dental
services consumers search for, and discover why endurance training can cause
dental problems. Join the conversation on Twitter using #FridayDentalDL.
1. When financial pressures affect a dentist’s diagnosis: Dental care is shifting from a focus on providing
patients with services to preventing and reducing the occurrence of dental
disease altogether. In an opinion editorial in the Washington Post, one dentist
speaks out about the pressures that can result from finding the balance in
running a practice and providing the appropriate level of care. The editorial
speaks to the concerns within the dental community about the transition from
volume-based care to value-based care. In the medical world, this transition
began long ago and the ACA is only speeding things up. The dental profession is
just beginning this transition. National leaders from dentistry, medicine,
academia, business, government, and philanthropy are working on this issue and
through the National Oral Health Quality Improvement Committee are developing a
road map for the systems that impact oral health. The focus is on improving the
oral health of all using the tools of quality and accountability. Learn more here.
2. Ever wonder what dental services consumers search for?
FAIR Health offers an analysis: FAIR Health, a data
company that serves the healthcare system through data tools and education,
compiled information on what dental services consumers search online for most.
The company’s goal is to help healthcare professionals guide their marketing
and promotion efforts. The report’s findings will help the healthcare industry
understand how patients use the healthcare system and how they spend their
healthcare dollars.
3. Study:
Effect of Endurance Training on Dental Erosions, Caries, and Saliva: Running can be great for the mind and body but a new
study is linking an increase in cavities and tooth decay to runners and
athletes who train for long periods of time, multiple days a week. Spending
that much time and energy requires an increase in carbohydrates and sugary food
intake, both of which lead to decay and weaken our defenses against bad
bacteria in our saliva. Are you an endurance runner? Check your risk for dental
disease here.
It’s true, even celebrities have dental issues. On Wednesday, singer
Michael Bublé cracked his dental crown trying to open a ketchup packet. Luckily,
Bublé’s manager found dentist David Bloom on Google. Bloom squeezed the singer
into his schedule and was rewarded with front row seats to his concert.