Dentist Puts Money Where Patients Mouth Is

DENTAL NEWS: Perhaps it's a sign of the economic times, but one California dentist is so concerned over the lack of dental care many senior citizens are receiving that he's putting his money where their mouth is... literally.

Dr. Doug Reams, a dentist in Lucerne, California, is offering a 10-percent senior discount to all seniors in September and October. "We all need to do what we can in today's economic downturn. Lucerne, being a small community, I want to give something back," explained Reams.

Dr. Reams has practiced dentistry in Lucerne for 32 years and recently has become quite concerned over the lack of proper dental care many seniors in his area receiving. "It is sad to see seniors unable to keep up with their dental needs because they live on a fixed income," Reams said. "Proper dental hygiene can aid in the prevention of many medical illnesses, such as Alzheimer's disease, heart problems, joint pain, stroke and a lot more."

Warning: How To Safely Prepare Ground Beef

On the heels of the USDA recall of almost 96000 pounds of beef from Illinois and reproduce or on Friday, it's important to check all hamburger meat before you fire up the grill this Memorial Day weekend. More specifically the US Department of agriculture's Food Inspection and Safety Service is recommending you take the following steps when preparing hamburger meat.

Wash hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before and after handling raw meat and poultry. Wash cutting boards, dishes and utensils with hot soapy water. Immediately clean spills.

Keep raw meat, fish and poultry away from other food that will not be cooked. Use separate cutting boards for raw meat, poultry and egg products and cooked foods.

Smiles Are The 'Most Attractive' Physical Feature

Today is officially Valentine's Day and what do we find most attractive about our sweetheart(s)? Their smile! A national survey conducted for the American Dental Association, Crest(R) and Oral B(R) finds that Americans say that the smile outranks eyes, hair and the body as the most attractive physical feature.

Yet men and women differ when it comes to caring for their smile (i.e. taking care of their teeth and gums). The nationally representative survey of 1,000 Americans ages 18 and older found 86 percent of women brush their teeth twice or more a day, yet only 66 percent of men do so.

Sadly, all Americans need to do a better job of flossing their teeth. Only half of those surveyed (49 percent) say they floss their teeth once a day or more often. And 1 out of 3 people surveyed think a little blood in the sink after brushing their teeth is normal, yet it's not -- it could signal gum disease or another health problem.

Redheads Fear Dentists More Than Most

Reinforcing earlier research that redheads are more resistant to general and local anesthesia and therefore more sensitive to pain, Dr. Daniel Sessler, professor and chair of the Cleveland Clinic's Outcomes Research, and other researchers interviewed 144 people who were natural redheads and brunets about anxiety, fear of dental pain and whether they avoided dental care. The results were that 85 people with the genetic variant associated with red hair reported significantly more dental care-related anxiety and fear of dental pain than the others. Consequently, they were more than twice as likely to avoid dental care, even after researchers controlled for general trait anxiety and gender differences.

Mouthwash Myth

Contrary to common myth, mouthwash does not wash your mouth and certainly does not help create stronger gums like flossing does. Although many, such as Listerine, do help break down plaque, studies have shown that rinsing with plain tap water can be almost as effective.

Even if you and your kids really hate flossing, your best dental plan is to stick with the tried and true brush and floss combination, supplementing it with mouthwash if recommended by your family dentist.

Save Money With Homemade Mouthwash

Having trouble stomaching the cost of mouthwash? No dental insurance policy or discount dental plan out there will cover such routine daily oral hygiene treatments but, with a little ingenuity, you won't have to pad the wallets of Listerine's stock holders either.

Dental Health = Overall Health. One Insurer Gets It.

DENTAL NEWS: Aetna reports that in 2008, nearly 67,000 of its health insurance members who are considered medically at risk sought dental care they would otherwise not have gotten because of Aetna's DMI (Dental Medical IntegrationSM) program. Aetna's DMI program is offered at no additional charge to all Aetna medical plan members who are identified as "at risk" meaning those with diabetes, heart disease and pregnant women who will not see a dentist in a year or more. Introduced in 2006, Aetna's DMI program now standard issue.

DENTAL VIEWS: The optimist in me says that this DMI program is a win-win situation because it improves the health of chronically ill people without increasing the price they pay for health insurance. The cynic in me says Aetna isn't implementing the DMI program because they want to help people, they're doing it so they can save money in the long run by not having to pay out as much money for treatments of their chronically ill members.

Acnexus Reviewed, Honestly!

After my August voting poll Acnexus was the most popular choice for review so I did some research and testing. Other than finding a number of false reviews and fake rankings sites (I think I will have to write an article on this epidemic), the results themselves were interesting.

Firstly, it is a cream treatment that you apply to your skin twice daily the same way you would use a scrub - apply to clean skin, rub for 30 seconds, rinse off, and pat dry. Now in terms of effectiveness, I have to say I was impressed with the feeling it gives the skin after use. Your skin feels fresher and smoother, but not dry at all. Plus the feeling does last longer than other scrubs I have used, and it reduces oiliness for a period of time. It will open your pores like a scrub, and it will moisturize and heal your skin like a natural healing cream, but this will do both simultaneously. So, if you can afford the price of around $20-30 per month, I would recommend this product as a scrub/cream. Personally, though, I will stick to using an over-the-counter scrub and follow it with a natural moisturizer simply because it is 1/3 the price and I like having them separate, but if you like the idea of getting both actions in the same product then Acnexus is a very good option. It will definitely help treat acne, but let me be perfectly clear: it is not a cure! It will simply help, like any other scrub and healing cream would.