The DMD Check-Up: 5 Ways to Repay Your Dental School Debt

A list of five tips for dentists to pay off their student loans tops this week’s DMD Check-Up. Also making the list: a newspaper in New Jersey calls for mandatory eye protection during dental procedures, and does good oral health increase the likelihood of a patient having irritable bowel syndrome?

• How to Repay Student Loan Debt If You're a Dentist (Forbes)

Among all professionals, “dental grads face the highest student loan debt, according to the American Dental Education Association, graduating with $241,000 in education debt.” There are a number of things they can do to ease the repayment process. Here are five tips.

• At the Dentist, the Eyes (Need to) Have It (NJ.com)

An editorial from New Jersey about a recent sad dental care case. “After a patient received a Novocain injection at her dentist, the needle was fumbled and dropped into her right eye.” The next morning, it was red and swollen.” She lost the eye. The newspaper is calling for mandatory usage of patient eyewear.

• Poor Oral Health Limits IBD (Healio.com)

Swedish researchers have observed an inverse association between poor oral health and the risk for developing inflammatory bowel disease. How can it be? “Our data on a negative relationship between poor oral health and later IBD supports the ‘hygiene hypothesis,’” they explained. The effects of “excessive oral hygiene”?

• Cavity-Fighting Liquid Lets Kids Avoid Dentists’ Drills (New York Times)

An in-depth report from the paper of record about silver diamine fluoride, or SDF. No more drilling and filling—“now there’s an alternative: an antimicrobial liquid that can be brushed on cavities to stop tooth decay—painlessly.” And “dentists are increasingly using it off-label for those purposes.”

• 6 Things That Will Make Dentistry Less Painful (Washingtonian)

A worthwhile review of the upcoming changes that the nation’s dentists and their patients face in the coming years. A brave new world? Yes—“the same technology that helped humans design car bumpers and airplane wings can retool teeth.”

• Visiting a Dentist in Ireland (Irish Mirror)

According to a report from Ireland, “the average price of a dental consultation varies by as much as €20 (about $22), depending on which county you live in.” County Louth was cheapest; Galway most expensive. The average price of a consultation was €38.50 (about $43).

• British Warn of Tongue Piercings Dangers (Cosmetic Dentistry Guide)

The leading dental charity in the UK, the Oral Health Foundation, is urging public awareness of the dangers of tongue piercings. About the now most common oral piercing, the foundation CEO said it: “increases the risk of dental diseases, as well as carrying a risk of injury to the teeth and gums.”

• ADA President on Opioid Abuse (ADA.org)

Dr. Carol Gomez Summerhays, the leader of the nation’s top dentist group, addresses the growing national crisis brought on my prescription painkiller abuse. Dentists everywhere must to take several specific steps to help prevent opioid pain medications from being inadvertently misused and abused.

• Oral Fixation Means Fewer Allergies (Yahoo!)

“Children who suck their thumbs or bite their nails are less likely than others to have allergies later in life,” according to a new study from New Zealand—more “hygiene hypothesis”? However, researchers were clear that the results do not suggest that kids should take up these habits.