Periodontal disease and Erectile Dysfunction? Seems crazy, but just maybe connected!

Wow – this one even surprised me!  Check out this summary of a recent study from the Journal of Sexual Medicine:

Erectile dysfunction might be associated with chronic periodontal disease: two ends of the cardiovascular spectrum.

Zadik Y, Bechor R, Galor S, Justo D, Heruti RJ.

Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, Medical Corps, Israel Defense Forces, Zrifin, Israel. yzadik@gmail.com

INTRODUCTION: Both chronic periodontal disease (CPD) and erectile dysfunction (ED) are associated with cardiovascular disease and its risk factors, including smoking and diabetes mellitus. However, the association between ED and CPD has never been studied. AIM: To study the association between ED and CPD. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES. Prevalence of ED, prevalence of CPD, ED severity. METHODS: The study population consisted of 305 men who filled the Sexual Health Inventory for Men (SHIM) questionnaire in order to detect ED and assess its severity, and underwent a pair of standardized posterior dental bitewing radiographs in order to detect CPD. SHIM questionnaire scores 21 or less represented ED. Alveolar bone loss of >or=6 mm represented CPD. RESULTS: The mean age of included men was 39.5 +/- 6.7 years. Overall, 70 (22.9%) men had ED and 13 (4.3%) had CPD. CPD was significantly more prevalent among men with mild ED (P = 0.004) and moderate to severe ED (P = 0.007) in comparison to men without ED. CONCLUSIONS: ED might be associated with CPD. These preliminary findings are consistent with theories that associate these conditions with systemic inflammation, endothelial dysfunction, and atherosclerosis.

Ohhhhh, and I apparently forgot to mention (Oops! 😉 ): if periodontal disease is something you need treated, and you want the absolute best treatment currently available, please request a Consultation/Exam with us by either of the following ways:

Call 704-364-7069,

OR

Request an Appointment Online

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Treating Gum Disease with a Laser – Effective, Comfortable, and No Scalpel or Stitches!

I’ve been really updating my website to reflect the exciting new technologies that we’re implementing here at Smiles by Payet Dentistry in Charlotte, NC, so I wanted to let people know about that here so they can be updated: Laser Treatment for Gum Disease in Charlotte NC.  In addition, now you can visit our website devoted strictly to Periodontal (Gum) Disease Treatment with LANAP.

Laser dentistry in Charlotte

Despite the solid research and years of terrific results that accompany the PerioLase MVP-7 dental laser in treating moderate-to-severe periodontal (gum) disease, it is amazing to me how slowly it is still catching on.  I’m heading to Cerritos, CA on Wed., August 12th to attend the 3 days of Boot Camp, otherwise known as 3 days of a bunch of dentist geeks who really love providing the best care to their patients sitting around and talking laser physics.  🙂  LOL  Yes, I’m one of those dentist nerds – we’ll even be talking about lasers, gum disease, etc. over dinner and drinks, late into the evening.  But still…….once I receive my laser, I will be one of only 4 dentists in Charlotte – one of only 7 dentists in all of western North Carolina – and one of only 19 dentists in ALL of North Carolina to have this remarkable laser.

LANAP – the most effective, most comfortable treatment for periodontal (gum) disease available

The procedure is called LANAP, or “Laser Assisted New Attachment Protocol.”  What it means in practical terms is that, following treatment with the protocol (which is extremely strict, which is why Millenium Dental, the manufacturer, does not even allow a doctor to have the laser until after the initial 3 days of training), your gums will actually REATTACH to your teeth, and oftentimes the bone will actually grow back!  Yes, you read that correctly, this laser and protocol can actually stimulate your body to REGENERATE LOST BONE SUPPORT FOR YOUR TEETH! No other laser has ever been shown to have this capability.

But what else can the PerioLase dental laser do?

Laser Root Canal Treatment: the laser can be used during a root canal procedure to help disinfect the inside of the tooth, which may increase the success rate of the procedure, and minimize post-treatment flare-ups.

Laser Removal of Excess Gum Tissue: Especially during extended orthodontic treatment, it is not uncommon for the gums to overgrow and get big and puffy.  With the application of some Ambesol-like gel to numb up the gums, the PerioLase can easily remove this excess gum tissue with barely any discomfort.

Release a “tongue-tie”: if your tongue is “tied” to the bottom of your mouth too tightly by the connecting tissue, it can make it more difficult to talk.  This tissue can be “trimmed” or released with a laser-incision that then requires no stitches.

There will be other uses, but these will be some of the primary ones.  I’ll let you know more once I get back from the training!

Baby Boomers – get your teeth fixed before you retire when you still have dental insurance and flex plans to help pay

With more and more Baby Boomers approaching or entering retirement, an issue often not considered is their dental health.  I think it is actually an important topic to discuss, even more so in today’s economy.

Many Baby Boomers – my parents included – have put retirement on hold, but it’s still not all that far away, and with retirement usually comes the loss of dental insurance and the loss of medical/dental Flex plans that can help a lot with covering the cost of dental care.  After that, it’s all out-of-pocket.  Ouch!  So we always recommend a thorough re-evaluation of existing dental work for things that may be on the verge of going bad.  Such things could be:

• Old silver fillings with cavities and cracks that could turn into root canals and crowns or extractions

• The teeth around the old silver fillings may have cracks that could lead to broken teeth

• Gum (periodontal) disease

• Ugly old crowns that could be replaced for a nicer smile in the golden years

• Replacing missing teeth with dental bridges or implants so you can eat the foods you want

• Etc etc etc……

This gentleman hadn’t been to the dentist in a number of years but knew that he was approaching retirement, so he wanted to come in, get a cleaning, and find out if he needed to take care of anything while he still had dental insurance.  Turns out that many of his 30+ year old silver fillings were in really bad condition, with pieces chipping off, cavities forming around the edges, teeth cracking, and gum disease to boot.

While the total treatment that he needed involved some gum surgery (not needed for everyone, obviously), the primary issue that we addressed was to clean out the old fillings and cavities, then rebuild the teeth with all-porcelain crowns on several teeth, 1 tooth got a tooth-colored filling, and 1 tooth got a gold 3/4 crown (most of the tooth, but not the whole tooth is covered by the crown).

He can now rest assured that all of the problems with these teeth are fixed, and it’s likely he will not need any of them ever worked on again as long as he takes good care of them.

Broken silver fillings with cavities, fixed with porcelain dental crowns, a gold dental crown