The Dental Alternative

The Dental Alternative, Issue 3

August 01, 2005

Welcome to The Dental Alternative.

As promised in the last issue, we have a big announcement in this issue, but first, our article this month :

Good or bad dental health may be decided before you are born!

Check out this article that shows that your dental health may be much like DNA, which is pre-determined and can not be changed! If you have been wondering why you have such bad dental health, when all of your family has great teeth, this may be the reason why. Read on…

USC Dental Researchers Develop First Test For Predicting Cavities In Children.

A simple saliva test can predict for the first time whether children will get cavities, how many cavities they will get and even which teeth are most vulnerable, University of Southern California researchers say. Developed by a USC School of Dentistry team led by professor Paul Denny, the test quantifies the genetic component of tooth decay (caries). Dentists have long known that even in areas with fluoridation and good oral hygiene education, some people just have bad teeth. The USC test spots the risk early, when something can be done about it. "When we apply this to young children, it allows us to predict what might be their future caries history - the number of cavities that they'll get by, say, their late twenties or early thirties," Denny said.

The Caries Assessment and Risk Evaluation (CARE) test measures the relative proportions in saliva of different types of sugar chains, known as oligosaccharides. The same sugar chains are present on tooth surfaces.
The effect of sugar chains on the tooth's ability to resist disease is analogous to the effect of "good" and "bad" cholesterol on blood vessels. "Good" sugar chains tend to repel the bacteria that cause cavities, while "bad" sugar chains allow the bacteria to bond to a tooth and start the decay process.

Unlike cholesterol, humans' sugar chain makeup is 100 percent genetically determined and cannot be changed. The USC researchers found that the sugar chain makeup in saliva can predict a child's future cavity history to plus or minus one cavity with greater than 98 percent confidence. Children at the far ends of the spectrum - those with exceptionally weak or strong oral hygiene and nutritional habits - may develop more or fewer cavities than the test predicts. Bad habits may cause tooth decay, but researchers caution against extreme measures: completely eliminating sugar has not been shown to prevent cavities, and over-brushing can cause enamel erosion.

The USC test suggests that genes play a greater role in tooth decay now than at any time in the past. Gross malnutrition and negligent oral hygiene are rare in developed societies: That leaves a child's genes as the prime determinant of his or her dental future. A different version of the test identifies the particular teeth at risk, Denny said. And the test's specificity may reduce the cost and increase the effectiveness of prevention.

"It's possible that in the future - even though a kid might be at very high risk for getting a large number of caries - with the proper preventive dental care he [or she] can arrive at adulthood without any," Denny said. A further version of the test can identify children with active tooth decay. This test has important public health implications in areas where families cannot afford routine dental exams. "This is going to help people who are not dental professionals," said Mahvash Navazesh, associate professor in the USC School of Dentistry and CO-inventor of the CARE test with USC research scientist Patricia Denny. School nurses could administer the test, Navazesh said, though she stressed any test would not be a substitute for proper dental care.

"This is not a test to diagnose caries. This is a test that can be used to evaluate susceptibility and risk," she said. "If we can identify those people that are at risk and put in place preventive measures, it is going to prevent them from suffering."
The physical and financial burden of caries increases with age, researchers said. The cost of dental care can be prohibitive and is not covered by Medicare. Fillings deteriorate and need to be replaced with larger fillings, often leading to root canals, crowns and even tooth loss. That is why stopping the formation of cavities is so important, Denny said. "It's the initial cavity or caries that we're worried about," he said. "If we can prevent that, then we prevent this whole lifelong process from occurring."

The research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, part of the National Institutes of Health.

For more information on this subject use this link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/ 2005/02/050223151148.htm
Published in the http://www.dentaljobs.net newsletter. Now for our big announcement.

Obesity control is now available from Mexican Dental Vacation.

We are pleased to announce that Mexican Dental Vacation now offers weight loss surgery in the form of the Lap Band. We have screened a great English speaking surgeon, who is very experienced in the Lap Band surgery. This surgery involves placing the lap band laproscopically, which is a non-invasive surgery, and this restricts your calorie intake. Follow these links for more information.
http://www.thelapband.com/FlashHome.cfm?pagename=mm2
http://www.lapbandhelp.net/Default.htm

How good is this surgeon? He has been doing lap band surgeries for 8 years in France, BEFORE they were approved in the United States! He has much more experience, and has been following this specialty much longer than the average lap band surgeon in the U.S. or Canada. You will be in great hands. We have had a few candidates who have come here for the surgery, and are VERY pleased with the results. The first lady that did the procedure lost 18 pounds in 2 weeks, and is losing more pounds every week. She was very comfortable the entire time.

She checked out the prices for this surgery in Oregon, and got prices of $38,000 and up. She came here, and got it done for $9950 US, including a suite for the entire 2-week stay and recovery room. Here is how the procedure went, form start to finish.

Day 1 Arrive in Mazatlan. Picked up from the airport, and checked into the suite.
Day 2 8am, blood work and consultation. Schedule for surgery in the afternoon.
Days 2 - 5 stay in the recovery room.
Days 5-13. stay in the beachfront suite.
Day 14. 8am final check-up, and driven to the airport in time for the flight home.

Please be advised that the lap band needs to be adjusted periodically, and you need to find a surgeon close to where you live, to adjust it for you. You can also come back periodically to Mazatlan for these adjustments. You will be given a full surgery report from our surgeon, and this is all of the information your local surgeon to do the adjustment. She is so pleased with the procedure, that she will be coming back to do the plastic surgery for removal of excess skin, which will cost her $8450 US, much less than her surgeon in Oregon quoted her. These are great savings for these procedures, and they are done quickly, and you are recovering under observation. The doctor is never more than a phone call away. She was even taken out to dinner by the surgeon and his wife, who is also a doctor. They are a great team, form start to finish.

Please don’t hesitate to call us if you are interested in this procedure, and we will schedule you in very quickly. We have chosen to announce this in our newsletter first, so that our subscribers will be the first to know about it. We will be adding this information to our site next week. Obesity is a big problem in the US and Canada, and if you were ever considering this, now is the time. This surgery is even available for children over 15 years of age, if the case is severe. The candidates are considered on a case by case basis, and although not everyone qualifies, with a surgeon this experienced, there is a great chance that you will be a candidate for this procedure.

Any inquiries can be done by telephone, at 1-780-701-2507 or by email at nkonev@yahoo.com. We look forward to being of assistance to you or your loved ones. Don’t forget to visit our website at http://www.mexicandentalvacation.com

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