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John Flucke, DDS, is in private practice in Lee’s Summit, Mo. He also serves as chief clinical editor and technology editor for 

® and keeps an active blog filled with thoughts and tidbits on the world of technology at blog.denticle.com.

Videos

Riva Cem Automix features SDI’s revolutionary ionglass technology. This unique blend of different sized reactive glass particles harnesses ion-release to cross-link polycarboxylic acid chains. [4 minutes]

Video Test Drive: Riva Cem Automix from SDI

Stan Goff is a Managing Editor with MJH Life Sciences, which includes Dental Products Report, Dental Practice Management, Dental Lab Products, Modern Hygienist, and Dentist's Money Digest. He has covered the dental industry since 1999 and can be reached at sgoff@mjhlifesciences.com.  

Articles

A look at the evolution of minimally invasive dentistry, and the products, technologies, and techniques behind it.

The Modern State of Minimal Dentistry

With 2025 approaching, the cloud-based dental practice management solutions company celebrates significant achievements and key milestones.

Product Innovation, Partnerships, and Increased Revenue Power Planet DDS to a Strong 2024

Josh DeVries is the CEO and co-founder of Intiveo, patient engagement software designed to empower dental practices to enhance patient experiences. He is also the co-host for The Patient Blueprint Experience podcast. For 15 years, he’s worked with healthcare professionals to improve processes and drive efficiency. Through his experience, Josh recognized there were a lot of patient communication services on the market, however none of them focused on healthcare specialists where patient communication is the most critical to their treatment's success.

CEO and co-founder of Intiveo shares his thoughts on what the dental industry can expect in the new year.

5 Trends Your Dental Practice Needs to Know in 2025

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This week's Product Bites podcast features the latest from Dentsply Sirona, Yapi, DEXIS, DentXcel.ai, Tops, Burst Oral Care, and NSK America.

Product Bites — October 13, 2023

Welcome to Product Bites, a weekly podcast from Dental Products Report, providing you with a rundown of recently launched an updated dental technologies, materials, instruments and everything else you might use with patients or while running your practice.

I'm your host for this week, DPR Editorial Director Noah Levine, and on this week's podcast we've got a whole bunch of new product launches coming from Dentsply Sirona, DEXIS, Tops, Yapi, NSK America, DentXcel.ai, and Burst. So let's not waste any time and get right to these new innovative solutions.

Orthodontic practice management software company Tops recently unveiled Tops DPX, a patient engagement platform designed to optimize communication within orthodontic practices. Tops DPX integrates various essential communication services into a unified platform, including HIPAA-compliant 2-way texting, appointment reminders, patient review management, and email templates. This comprehensive approach aims to boost staff efficiency and patient satisfaction.

With a redesigned user interface and user experience. Yapi Leap offers features like universal online dental forms, enhanced 2-way texting, configurable online scheduling, and much more. It's designed to enhance the patient experience and optimize efficiency and revenue for dental practices. This innovative solution is a result of a strategic capital growth investment in collaboration with M33Growth.

Dental equipment manufacturer NSK America recently introduced the Ti-Max Z2 series of air turbine dental handpieces. This series, featuring the powerful Z990L, is designed to set new benchmarks in dental precision and efficiency. It incorporates NSK's proprietary dynamic power system rotor technology, which is designed to ensure seamless and consistent power delivery. Key features include 44 watts of power, an enhanced chuck mechanism, a quick stop function, and a user replaceable turbine.

DentXcel.ai is a comprehensive dental software ecosystem with 26 AI-driven tools tailored for modern dental professionals. It offers diagnostic assistance, treatment planning, and dental equipment management. New users can start with a free membership that allows up to 10 uses. DentXcel.ai can customize AI tools swiftly to meet unique needs and challenges of dental practices. The software is designed to stay ahead of evolving dental technology and to expand clinical capabilities. The company has plans to expand the software to include intraoral image and x-ray interpretation in 2024.

The SureSmile simulator from Dentsply Sirona is a software tool that uses Primescan data to create a custom 3D visualization of a patient's smile after SureSmile clear aligner treatment. It facilitates communication with patients by showing them their potential new smiles before they start treatment. The simulator is designed to support treatment acceptance, educate patients about treatment duration and results, and streamline the SureSmile workflow. It incorporates the benefits of both the DS Core software platform and the Primescan intraoral scanner. This empowers clinicians to identify key focus areas and provides an easy way to share their images with patients.

Also from Dentsply Sirona, OSSIX Agile is a pericardium-based membrane offering a strong, easy-to-handle and biocompatible solution for guided bone regeneration and guided tissue regeneration procedures. It delivers a lasting barrier with greater resistance to degradation thanks to GlyMatrix technology. The membrane is designed for easy handling, and can be applied in various dental procedures including alveolar ridge augmentation, alveolar ridge preservation, and sinus elevations.

Dental imaging technology group DEXIS has launched DEXassist, a solution featuring assisted intelligence enabled 2D findings as an addition to the DEXIS 10 Imaging Suite software. This AI-assisted software supports dental practitioners in analyzing and interpreting dental images. DEXassist is designed to identify specific pathologies in 2D intraoral x-rays, enhancing diagnostic accuracy and streamlining the decisionmaking process. It also facilitates communication with patients by presenting AI findings in an easily understandable format.

The Pro Sonic Toothbrush, developed in partnership with BURST's Ambassador Network, offers a high-quality oral care experience. It features an LED screen, smart responsive software, and a 9-month rechargeable battery. The toothbrush provides feedback for proper brushing and includes 5 custom brushing modes. It's hygenist approved bristles are soft and tapered for efficient plaque removal.

Finally, the Curve Sonic Toothbrush, also developed with BURST's Ambassador Network, is designed for optimal oral health on the go. It offers sonic vibrations, whitening and sensitive modes, and a 2-minute timer. The toothbrush has a battery life of up to 75 days and comes with a sanitary travel cap.

That covers all the new innovations we've had on the website this past week. As always, find the latest information on new dental products at dentalproductsreport.com/newdentalproducts. That does it for Product Bites this week. We'll see you next week on Product Bites from Dental Products Report. Thanks for listening.

This week's Product Bites podcast features the latest from Dentsply Sirona, Yapi, DEXIS, DentXcel.ai, Tops, Burst Oral Care, and NSK America. [6 Minutes]


Join the Sanders Sisters and Dr Anna Kay Thompson as they learn about the burning questions the medical community is not asking about oral health. Learn about all of the ways they are celebrating the good work of dental hygienists in their quest for whole-body health.

Dr Anna-Kay Thompson, DPM is a third year surgical resident in Limb Preservation and Reconstructive Surgery of the Boston University Medical Center Foot & Ankle Residency Program in Boston, MA, training under Dr. Sanders. She obtained a Bachelor of Science in Nutrition from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in Amherst, MA and Masters Degree in Interdisciplinary Science from Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in New York, NY followed by her Doctorate in Podiatric Medicine from the Barry University School of Podiatric Medicine in Miami Shores, FL. Her professional interests include lower extremity trauma, reconstructive surgery, Sports medicine, wound care, and limb salvage. She has a passion for Medical mission trips, traveling, photography, and hiking.

Floss and Flip-Flops with the Sanders sisters features hosts dental hygienist and speaker Katrina M. Sanders, RDH, and podiatrist Dr Elizabeth Sanders, DPM. Together, the sisters discuss the oral-systemic link and its impact—from your teeth down to your toes. The podcast is produced monthly by Dental Products Report® and Modern Hygienist®, in partnership with The Sanders sisters.

For additional content for dental professionals visit DPR and MH at dentalproductsreport.com.


Join the Sanders Sisters and Dr Anna Kay Thompson as they learn about the burning questions the medical community is not asking about oral health. Learn about all of the ways they are celebrating the good work of dental hygienists in their quest for whole-body health.

Floss & Flip Flops Episode 22: National Dental Hygiene Month

With a quick look at all of the newest dental product launches, Product Bites makes sure you don't miss the next innovation for your practice.

Product Bites – August 11, 2023

Welcome to Product Bites, a weekly podcast from Dental Products Report, providing you with a rundown of recently launched and updated dental technologies, materials, instruments, and everything else you might use with patients or while running your practice.

I'm your host for this week, DPR editorial director Noah Levine and on this week's podcast we'll be covering RAPID ACCESSGUIDE from SICAT, PracticeTek's new Ora practice management solution, Angel Aligners from AngelAlign Technology, Buzzy from Pain Care Labs CandidPro's new mixed dentition support, and ProBiora Professional Strength in Orange from ProBiora Health. So let's jump right in and talk about these latest industry innovations.

Up first, we've got RAPID ACCESSGUIDE from SICAT. This is a new way to do endodontics with a 3D printed guide to make sure that you're going to follow the correct anatomy and really clean out everything in that canal. The system provides a printable endodontic guide file that's based on an AI completed design that can be ready in 20 minutes or less. This can be produced in-office if you've got a 3D printer, and the treatment planning ahead of that is using SICAT's endo software.

Ora from PracticeTek is a new practice management solution that's aimed at the DSO market. This solution is said to be built around using the data gathered from running multiple practices to provide actionable insights that the practices can use to improve efficiency in both clinical and business matters. It's a complete practice management solution with everything from scheduling to patient communications, patient charting, and even integrated customized payment plans.

ProBiora Health is adding orange as a new flavor for their professional strength oral probiotics. The new orange flavor is aimed at adult patients, and just like their original flavor for adults, it features 3 strains of naturally occurring oral bacteria that is said to be beneficial to oral health. According to ProBiora, these probiotics are said to help maintain the balance of your oral microbiome.

CandidPro's clear aligner platform now supports mixed dentition cases. This can be especially ideal for young patients who might require combination airway and aligner therapy. The new indications from CandidPro also include upgraded interproximal reduction support, expanding what this clear aligner platform can do and the number of patients that can be treated with CandidPro clear aligners.

AngelAlign Technology is entering the US market with their Angel Aligner brand of clear aligners. This brand has been around the globe after originating in China many years ago. Their clear aligners are designed to be used for a range of malocclusions and complex orthodontic cases. Their treatment planning software incorporates 3D CBCT data as well as intraoral scan data, and the aligners can be designed to feature attachments and buttons to allow for highly customized orthodontic treatments.

Now FDA-approved for use in dental injections, Buzzy from Pain Care Labs is a really cute pain care device that combines with an icepack to help reduce the pain of dental injections as well as other injections. The device is shaped like a bee and the whole system is designed to both reduce pain and help reduce the fear around dental injections which can prevent people from seeking treatment. The device works by using an M-stim technology that provides mechanical stimulation. Combined with the ice pack, it reduces pain and makes the injection process much less uncomfortable for your patients.

That does it for this week's Product Bites. But check back next week for another dose of the latest new product information and you can always keep up with the latest in new products at 

dentalproductsreport.com/newdentalproducts

. Be sure to check it out. And we'll see you on the next Product Bites podcast.

The weekly new products podcast from Dental Products Report is back. With a quick look at all of the newest dental product launches, Product Bites makes sure you don't miss the next innovation for your practice. [4 Min]

Where do dreams come from? Why do some of us snore? Is it healthy to sleep with four dogs in your bed? This month, the Sanders Sisters discuss beauty sleep with Avi Weisfogel of the International Academy of Sleep, why it is so important and ultimately, how to achieve better sleep for better overall wellness.



Avi Weisfogel is the CEO and founder of International Academy of Sleep (IAOS). As a "recovering dentist," Avi’s life and career have been transformed through his journey from general dentistry into the mastery of dental sleep medicine. Through his work in IAOS, Avi and his team help dentists create profitable sleep businesses. From business to clinical to patient communication, IAOS provides the tools and resources needed for a dentist to become the go-to sleep expert in their area.



Get 10% off your tuition to the Dental Hygiene Academy of Sleep, our 12-month dental sleep training program for hygienists. Learn more about the program at 

 – and use promo code FLOSS10 to claim your discount!

Floss and Flip-Flops with the Sanders sisters features hosts dental hygienist and speaker Katrina M. Sanders, RDH, and podiatrist Dr Elizabeth Sanders, DPM. Together, the sisters discuss the oral-systemic link and its impact—from your teeth down to your toes. The podcast is produced monthly by 

®, in partnership with The Sanders sisters.

For additional content for dental professionals visit DPR and MH at 

.

Katrina Sanders, RDH, can be reached at:

Where do dreams come from?  Why do some of us snore?  Is it healthy to sleep with four dogs in your bed?  This month, the Sanders Sisters discuss beauty sleep with Avi Weisfogel of the International Academy of Sleep, why it is so important and ultimately, how to achieve better sleep for better overall wellness.

Floss and Flip Flops Episode 17: Better Sleep Month with Avi Weisfogel

In this episode, the Sanders Sisters deep dive into discussion on deep vein thrombosis (DVT) awareness and discuss etiology and management for bleeding disorders.




DVT is a medical condition that occurs when a blood clot forms in a deep vein. Irregular clotting or lack-of can cause a variety of issues, especially in procedures where soft tissue (such as the gums) come into play.



Check out this resource from Stefanie VanDuine, RDH, BSDH, MSDH on treating patients with bleeding disorders.



Floss and Flip-Flops with the Sanders sisters features hosts dental hygienist and speaker Katrina M. Sanders, RDH, and podiatrist Dr Elizabeth Sanders, DPM. Together, the sisters discuss the oral-systemic link and its impact—from your teeth down to your toes. The podcast is produced monthly by 

In this episode of Floss & Flip Flops, the Sanders Sisters deep dive into discussion on deep vein thrombosis (DVT) awareness and discuss etiology and management for bleeding disorders.

Floss & Flip Flops Episode 15: Bleeding Disorders Awareness Month

https://www.sindecusemuseum.org/dental-hygiene-a-century-of-progress

https://www.mchoralhealth.org/milestones/1913.html

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00220345190010030101?journalCode=jdrb

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1034/j.1600-0757.2000.2230102.x

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0140673602013879

https://jdh.adha.org/content/87/suppl_1/58

The Sanders Sisters jump into 2023 with a discussion of the many conditions that display some of their earliest symptoms in the oral environment, and all the ways this can connect to systemic issues that can become serious health challenges for patients.

Floss and Flip Flops Episode 13: The Focal Point of Infection

®, in partnership with The Sanders sisters.

Katrina Sanders, RDH, can be reached at:

Tattersall, M. C., et. al. (2015). Asthma Predicts Cardiovascular Disease Events: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 35(6), 1520-1525.

Yeh, E. T. H., & Bickford, C. L. (2009). Cardiovascular Complications of Cancer Therapy: Incidence, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Management. J Am Coll Cardiol, 53(24), 2231-2247.

Chaikriangkrai, K., et. a l. (2015). Additive prognostic value of coronary artery calcium score and renal function in patients with acute chest pain without known coronary artery disease: up to 5-year follow-up. Int J Cardiovasc Imaging. 31(8), 1619-1626.

Liu, Y., et. al. (2014). Kidney Stones and Cardiovascular Risk: A Metaanalysis of Cohort Studies. Am J Kidney Dis, 64(3), 402-410.

Uddin, S. M. I., et. al. (2018). Erectile Dysfunction as an Independent Predictor of Future Cardiovascular Events: The Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis. Circulation. doi:10.1161/circulationaha.118.033990

Clarson, L. E., et. al. (2015). Increased risk of vascular disease associated with gout: a retrospective, matched cohort study in the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases, 74(4), 642-647

Beckman, J., Duncan, M., et al. HIV and PAD. March 12, 2018. Circulation; 10.1161.117.032647

van Nimwegen, F. A., et. al. (2015). Cardiovascular disease after Hodgkin lymphoma treatment: 40-year disease risk. JAMA Intern Med. doi: 10.1001/jamainternmed.2015.1180

Rodondi, N., et al. (2010). Subclinical hypothyroidism and the risk of coronary heart disease and mortality. JAMA, 304(12), 1365-1374.

Larsson Susanna, C., et. al. (2019) Thyroid Function and Dysfunction in Relation to 16 Cardiovascular Diseases: A Mendelian Randomization Study. Circulation: Genomic and Precision Medicine, 0(0). doi:10.1161/CIRCGEN.118.002468

Adelborg, K., et. al. (2018). Migraine and risk of cardiovascular diseases: Danish population based matched cohort study. Bmj, 360. doi:10.1136/bmj.k 96

Chapple ILC, Potential mechanisms underpinning the nutritional modulation of periodontal inflammation. J Am Dent Assoc. 2009; 140 (2): 178-184.

Hujoel P. Dietary carbohydrates and dental-systemic diseases. J Dental Res. 2009; 88 (6): 490-502.

Lee M, et al "Current Helicobacter pylori infection is significantly associated with subclinical coronary atherosclerosis in healthy subjects: A cross-sectional study" PloS One 2018; 13(3): e0193646.

Shah NH, LePendu P., Bauer-Mehren A., et al. (June 10, 2015). Proton Pump Inhibitor Usage and the risk of MI in the general population. LLoS ONE 10(6).

Mercado FB, Marshall RI, Bartold PM. Inter-relationships between rheumatoid arthritis and periodontal disease. A Review. 

Join the Sanders Sisters as they welcome the holidays and the last episode of their first season of Floss & FlipFlops! In this episode, the sisters discuss the 12 medical conditions on Santa’s list that can indicate a bigger systemic complication, and how you can integrate your knowledge of these conditions in helping your patients achieve lifelong health!

Floss & Flip Flops Episode 12: The 12 Medical Conditions of Concern…and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Diabetes is a global disparity and most notably impacts those who are diagnosed as well as those with pre-diabetes or undiagnosed diabetes. Let’s discuss how to become better patient advocates in the screening, management and maintenance of diabetic cases.

Floss & Flip-Flops Episode 11: Diabetes Health Month

Hi, I'm Dr Elizabeth Sanders, a foot and ankle surgeon and assistant professor at Boston University Medical Center.

Hi, I'm Katrina Sanders, a registered dental hygienist, consultant, international speaker, and wine lover.

Katrina & Elizabeth Sanders 0:15
And we're sisters.

I grew up looking up to my big sister Katrina

Katrina Sanders, RDH 0:20
And now I look up to my lady boss physician sister Elizabeth.

Together, we are working to unite the dental and medical communities in unique and exciting ways.

Welcome to Floss and Flip-Flops with the Sanders sisters, our monthly podcast...

where we unpack all things health-related, from your mouth to your toes.


Hello, and welcome back to another episode of Floss and Flip-Flops with your favorite ginger sisters, the amazing Dr Elizabeth Sanders and me Katrina Sanders, your favorite ginger RDH. Hey, Doc, how are you today?


Oh, I'm so good. Um, this is my call week. So I've been you know, it's been kind of crazy, 'cause I'm a black cloud. But I had a full OR day and it's been really good.

Oh, it means that whenever I'm on call, it seems like all the patients in the Boston area just know it and they come in with with what problems.

But that's all right. That's all right. Yeah, living the dream here. Yeah. How about you, how's your day,

I'm so good. I'm good. I'm just you know, here, you know, living the good life and spreading the good word about the world systemic link. So I'm super excited to chat with you today. And so today's podcast episode is really going to focus on cardiovascular disease, the role that we as clinicians have in supporting our patients in the provision of cardiovascular disease, and most specifically, how the medical and dental communities really have an opportunity to partner in their efforts. This, of course, is a cause that is very near and dear to our hearts as your 2 female co-hosts. Because we know that cardiovascular disease is the number 1 killer of women, it oftentimes is a silent killer. And we oftentimes see that the mortality affiliated with cardiovascular disease for a female population is oftentimes because women tend to do a very good job of ignoring some of the important signs or symptoms that they could be having a cardiovascular event. Whereas our male counterparts are far better about complaining if something's not feeling right, and then going and seeing a physician. So if you are a female out there listening, please, you know, take the time to not only think about how this would align with what your patient care modalities are, but also what this will mean for you. You know, there's incredible amounts of data out there that although we as providers know what those risk factors are, it doesn't mean that we're immune to it. So please make sure that you're screening for yourself and taking care of yourself—Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. And, of course, our male listeners out there, we know that there absolutely is a risk for our male population. And we definitely want to make sure that you're all taking care of yourselves as well as being advocates in maintaining, managing, screening for cardiovascular disease. So with that, let's begin. And I want to kind of pose a question to you, Dr Sanders. When we talk about cardiovascular disease. What exactly does cardiovascular disease actually mean?

Yeah, absolutely. So you would think to yourself, cardiovascular disease, you would think, Oh, you know, certainly that's heart disease, you know, but really, it does encompass a large group of diseases that affects the heart, but also the blood vessels throughout your entire body. So we'll kind of go through kind of the basic things that are encompassed through cardiovascular disease. So of course, the most common being an abnormal heart rhythm or any type of arrhythmia, right, so any, any problem with your heart that's going to affect the blood flow throughout your entire body, any sort of heart valvular diseases such as problems with the hearts tightening the heart valve tightening or leaking. That can include narrowing of the blood vessels in your heart or even through to other organs or throughout your entire body. Specifically, you could think of with plaques, for example, or a narrowing of the blood vessels. That can also include heart failure or problems with the heart actual the pumping and the relaxing function of the heart which may lead to a fluid buildup. And that can certainly cause a Deema and swelling throughout the entire body as well as problems with breathing because you'll get fluid in your lungs. And that can lead to a shortness of breath. I can also include aortic disease, such as people with aortic aneurysms, it could include something that you were born with something you got genetically congenital heart disease as well. You also have to think about pericardial disease or the lining of your heart that there is a problem with that. So we like to keep that area so that your heart can actually pump correctly. And that can, there can be a problem with that and cause friction on the heart. And that can be part of it as well. We also think of cerebrovascular disease. So not let's not just think about the heart, let's think about what's going to your brain. So cerebrovascular disease or problems with the blood vessels that actually deliver the blood to your brain. Then we go into the things that I see on a daily basis, especially right now with my in house patients, peripheral arterial disease, or problems with the arteries to your extremities, or even, you know, to your abdominal organs. And that can cause for a lot of different problems including ischemia to your feet, and even to your hands as well. You also sink, I know you can think about your arteries, but also remember your veins. So especially people with varicose veins, hey, I'm one of them, I wear my compression socks every day because I know that I have this problem and I get a great deal of swelling, and I'm on my feet all day. But even so, I'm in if you're not staying hydrated, people are at risk of a deep vein thrombosis or basically a blockage in your veins. But I think I definitely see that on a daily basis. And I'm constantly writing prescriptions for compression socks because of it.

You know, it's so crazy, like looking at all of these different types of diseases and conditions that you went over. And I know it's obvious, but when you think about cardiovascular disease, I think a lot of people immediately think about the heart muscle. And we forget that a lot of times when we're talking about diseases, a lot of times those diseases will manifest in peripheral arteries. This is where we will see things like you know, the dental professionals out there we will see broken blood vessels on the face, for example, great indicators that there might be some type of a cardiovascular issue underlying or you know, the things that you see in the feet, that it's like, okay, so I'm seeing this in an extremity. This is obviously a concern of something greater. But we understand that the blood vessels, they're really the superhighway, right for being able to transport oxygen, being able to transport our, you know, nutritional components, our inflammatory cytokine. I mean, it is everything. It's a superhighway for everything. So there's a disease process. It's not necessarily just the heart muscle itself. But it looks like it's also in the surrounding vascular system as well, both leaving and returning to the heart, which we can certainly see in other different types of modalities.

That's a good point. It's almost like the heart is like the mothership of everything that we're talking about right now. Yeah. So, Katrina, I loved that you mentioned that this is a topic near and dear to our hearts, because it really, truly is. So a question to you. How common is heart disease? And why do you think it is important that we talk about this?

I think it's important for us to consider this because first of all, cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death, not just across the United States, but around the world. And I've got some interesting data here that I wanted to share. So first of all, about half of all adults in the United States have some form of cardiovascular disease. I'll say that again.

Half of all adults in the United States have some form of cardiovascular disease, one in three women die from complications of cardiovascular disease. And what's more, and I think this is like, just this is incredible statistic data. This actually comes to us from our wonderful friends at the BaleDoneen Method. There was a 2020 update from the American Heart Association that actually looked at not just cardiovascular disease, but cardiovascular events, and most specifically myocardial infarction. Get this, the heart attack has remained the number 1 killer since 1900. Every year, the number 1 killer is heart attack since 1900.

Well, I wasn't a kid and it was just barely a twinkle in anybody's eye in the 1900s, right? But the idea of being this is like frickin Oregon Trail. Old times, right when everybody's like getting cholera and like their oxygen or, you know, dying in the river or whatever, since the 1900s. The number 1 killer has been a heart attack. There's one exception to that—that year was 1918. Well, of course, what happened in 1918?

The Spanish Flu, that's right. That was our very first influence of the H1N1 genome. So yes, in 1918, we did see that there was a pivot in the main cause of death. But I mean, I really aside from 1918, it's incredible to think that people have died from this acute, you know, episode affiliated with a chronic disease. Someone has a cardiovascular event, a heart attack, every 40 seconds, someone dies from a heart attack every minute. So by the end of this episode, we will have probably lost what 30 or 40 people due to, you know, complications of cardiovascular disease.


The average age for heart attacks, quite honestly, for men, it's 65 years of age, which is amazing, because that's retirement age. It's I mean, it's incredible. For women to around 72 years. But really, it's just amazing to see, in 2020, about 650,000 Americans died from cardiovascular disease versus 400,000. Americans dying of COVID-19 in 2020. So just some interesting data there that really just helps to kind of color the picture I would say about the disease process about how, how prevalent it is. And I guess, also the incidence of it. I mean, gosh, we're seeing cardiovascular disease just so deeply widespread. And I think that's why this conversation is just so imperative for us to have.

Absolutely. So Katrina, what are the disease risk factors of cardiovascular disease? Because that data is very startling and very scary. So what are the risk factors that we should be concerned about what we should be looking for?

This month, the Sanders sisters turn their focus to heart health, the role clinicians have in prevention, and how the medical and dental professions can partner in prevention efforts.

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