Toothpaste "Breakthrough" For Sensitive Teeth?

Dental News

Colgate-Palmolive has introduced a new toothpaste called "Colgate* Sensitive Pro-Relief" which for people who suffer from tooth sensitivity. Colgate* Sensitive Pro-Relief is currently available only in major retailers across Canada.

Colgate-Palmolive claims that the new Colgate* Sensitive Pro-Relief is the first and only toothpaste clinically proven to deliver instant and lasting sensitivity relief. While most of the sensitive toothpastes currently marketed primarily numb sensitivity pain, Colgate* Sensitive Pro-Relief formula effectively plugs the channels that lead to sensitive tooth nerves, thereby blocking the transmission of heat, cold, air and pressure that stimulate pain receptors within teeth.

What Does 'Sugarless' Really Mean?

A survey done in the mid-1990s found that the average American consumes 20 teaspoons of sugar a day - nearly half a cup! You may think you can protect your teeth by eating more "sugarless" foods, but not all "sugarless" foods are really sugarless. Currently, with more awareness about obesity and emphasis on nutrition and fitness, almost 80% of adults consume some "sugarless" products.

Are Sugarless Or Sugar-Free Foods And Beverages Always Safe For Your Teeth?

No, they're not. The label "sugarless" food sometimes means that no sugar was added during processing, but these foods may not be sugar free. They may contain natural sweeteners, such as honey, molasses, evaporated cane sugar, fructose, barley malt or rice syrup. Natural sweeteners have the same number of calories per serving as sugar does, and they all are harmful to the teeth.

Sweden Bans All Mercury Fillings

Sites Environmental Reasons For Eliminating Dental Amalgam Use

The Swedish government said it has decided for environmental reasons to ban use of all mercury fillings in the country effective June 1, 2009. The ban includes dental amalgam. The Swedish government statement says that alternative techniques will have to be used in dental care as well as chemical analysis and the chloralkali industry. The statement from Sweden does not list what those alternatives are.

Such a ban is not necessary in the United States, said the American Dental Association in a statement issued January 16, 2009. The ADA statement notes that U.S. dentists already capture nearly 80 percent of waste amalgam with standard equipment in their practices, and an increasing number of dentists have added the use of amalgam separators, which can increase the capture rate up to 99 percent.

"Hey, That Hurts!"

Every once in awhile I will come across a visitor to my web site who asks me if I can refer a dentist to them who practices something known as Sedation Dentistry, a.k.a., general anesthesia, which basically is sedating the patient without using local anesthesia. Apparently there are some people who are overly sensitive to the least bit of dental pain (poor bastards) and are even known pass out at the site of a dentist's chair.

Types of Sedation Dentistry

Some of the more popular choices in sedation dentistry available are as follows:

Nitrous Oxide Gas - Often referred to as laughing gas, they use nitrous oxide gas in sedation dentistry to make a patient feel extremely relaxed and less tense. The dentist still administers a local anesthetic during sedation dentistry, as nitrous oxide does not stop pain.

Health-care workers to get broader powers

Ontario is about to move ahead with plans to allow pharmacists, nurse practitioners and other health-care professionals to provide some services now performed by doctors, Premier Dalton McGuinty says.

Pharmacists would, for instance, be able to extend prescription refills, one of a series of moves aimed at easing long waits for health care, said McGuinty.

The necessary legislative changes will be made "very soon," he said.

"Our government plans to better utilize your skills and maximize your contributions," McGuinty told the annual general meeting of the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario in Markham. "Families seeking health care will experience the difference."

Refueling Your Engine: Strategies to Reduce Stress and Avoid Burnout

My last post, Running on Empty, described symptoms that, if present, suggest you might be on the road to burnout. If you found yourself identifying with a lot of those symptoms, it's normal to feel upset. When you're used to traveling at Mach 3, pulling back to a comfortable Mach 2 may seem ... well, a little disappointing.

But the important thing to keep in mind is that you are still the same person you were when you entered the race. Your drive, your enthusiasm, your passion, and your energy may have gotten buried under the weight of the stress you've been carrying around, but those qualities and all the other good ones are still inside you. You just need to find ways to reach inside and find the sparks that first ignited your engine so that you can climb back into the driver's seat and reenter the race.

Are You a Sneeze Snob?

You know when you're in a public place--like at Starbucks--and the person in front of you lets out a humongous sneeze ... in your air space: Do you flash her a dirty look and try your hardest not to breathe the air around you for the next few seconds. Or do you just shrug it off?

****

I would like to officially fess up: I am a sneeze snob. A horribly snobby one. Recently, in the fact, while I was at thedentist's office, a woman was sneezing and sniffling and rubbing her nose and eyes--she looked miserable. After the 39th sneeze (or so it seemed) in my general direction, I looked up and gave her the glance (you know, the "don't you be sending any of those germs my way" look). I envisioned that I'd be spending the next week nursing a sore throat and runny nose, and that my babies would get sick too. For a moment, I was very angry at this woman. Very angry.