Modern Hygienist - October 2008 - (Page 24)

patients | PERIO TRENDS Perio’s path Advances in technology have made treatment and diagnosis about way more than just scaling and root planing. by Renee Knight Heart disease. Stroke. Diabetes. Low birthweight babies. In recent years they’ve all been linked in some way to periodontal disease, changing the way hygienists think about their patients’ mouths. The oral/systemic link first became a hot topic in the late 1990s, and since then hygienists have become more involved in the overall health of their patients. “It’s exciting because now we see hygienists working more with medical professionals. There’s more cross collaboration and cross referrals,” says Kirsten Jarvi, RDH, BS. “The mouth is the gateway to the body, and sometimes we’ll be the first ones to see something is going on and make the appropriate referral.” Hygienists have more ways to find and treat periodontal disease than ever. Risk assessment, customized treatment and localized antibiotics are some of the advancements making it easier to spot and treat perio early. Applying Arestin is typically an easy, painless technique administered during a periodontal treatment. Place a small amount into the pocket, which will dissolve to provide better healing than mechanical treatment alone. This allows many patients to present at their recare appointments with better oral health and potentially avoid more costly, complicated treatment options. Visit myarestin.com. CUSTOMIZED TREATMENT These days, periodontal diagnosis involves much more than the traditional clinical signs you’re trained to spot. The concept of personalized medicine has changed the way hygienists find and treat perio, with companies like OralDNA Labs Inc. (oraldna.com) targeting pathogenic bacteria and genetics susceptibility as two critical components of diagnosis and risk assessment. “Modern oral microbiology has taught us that each biofilm is different,” says Dr. Tom Nabors, OralDNA’s Co-Founder, Chairman and Chief Dental Officer. “And so rather than looking at biofilm as being a constant entity for every patient, we need to understand the biofilm and how it differs in every patient. And we can’t do that visually, and we can’t do that with x-rays.” OralDNA’s tests use DNA-PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) to provide personalized patient information. MyPerioPath defines pathogenic bacteria in quantity and quality, while MyPerioID PST involves susceptibility. DNA-PCR can look at a human cell and determine a person’s genetic susceptibility for hyper response to pathogenic bacteria. But this doesn’t mean you should do away with pocket probing and other traditional pe- The PreViser assessment steps Submit the 28 bits * patient informationof to the PreViser software The * usesprogram then a mathematical formula to determine the disease and risk numbers, eliminating subjectivity In minutes, you’ll * receive a report with the patient’s two scores, which range from 1 to 5 for the risk score and 1 to 100 for the disease score If is in * a the patientstate, diseased the software offers treatment guidelines THE LOCALIZED OPTION LAAs (locally applied antimicrobials) like Arestin (myarestin.com) from OraPharma represent an innovative approach to reducing bacteria. Arestin uses a microsphere technology that slowly releases minocycline —a second derivative tetracycline— in the pocket for up to 21 days. When used as an adjunct to scaling and root planing, LAAs can help reduce pocket depths and bleeding for optimal healing and regeneration, says Ms. Jarvi, Arestin’s Customer Relations Specialist for the Western region. Biofilm is complex, Ms. Jarvi says, and can replicate within days of scaling and root planing. That’s where LAAs come in. 24 modernhygienist.com | October 2008 PHOTO: UPPERCUT IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES http://www.oraldna.com http://www.myarestin.com http://www.myarestin.com http://www.modernhygienist.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Modern Hygienist - October 2008

Modern Hygienist - October 2008 Contents Editor's Letter Letters News Modern Solutions Trends: Homecare Trends: Perio Trends: Ergo Trends: Mid Care After Chemo Professional Rewind Esthetic Expertise: Make or Break Relationship Hands-on Hygiene: Have You Seen the Light? Going the Distance Training for Life Presi-dental Politics Ad Index Moonlighting

Modern Hygienist - October 2008

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