The DMD Check-Up: Inside a Shockingly Dirty Dental Clinic

We May Have Found the World’s Worst Dental Practice

This practice might have you reaching for the closest bottle of hand sanitizer.

The Sun, the U.K.-based newspaper, published some shocking images earlier this week out of Moscow. According to the Sun, the photos were snapped by Julia Kalinina at the Russian dental clinic. Surprisingly, Kalinina told the doctors that she would be taking and sharing pictures of the clinic, the Sun reports. The doctors then gave her permission to continue.

“The dentists know I took the images,” the Sun quotes her as saying. “I said I’ll try to publish them and (the) dentists were glad. Authorities don’t pay attention to complaints.”

According to the Sun, there are two types of dental practices in Russia: private and public clinics. Public clinics, such as the one highlighted in the report, treat patients for free and rely on government grants.”

The Sun reports that Kalinina passed on treatment for tooth pain after seeing the clinic’s condition.

How Type 2 Diabetes Affects Oral Health in Children

A new study shows that children with Type 2 diabetes tend to have poorer oral health than children who don’t have the disease.

The study was published at the beginning of March in PLOS ONE and reported on this week by UBNow.

The study also looked at oral health outcomes for children with Type 2 diabetes who are also obese. It included three groups: 19 children at normal weight, 14 obese children, and 16 obese children with Type 2 diabetes. The children ranged in age from 10-19.

Researchers concluded that obese children with Type 2 diabetes tended to have poor oral health.

The Odell Beckham of Dentistry

This catch may not have won an NFL game, but it did win our hearts. A video of a man saving one-year-old’s birthday cake went viral this week. The cake savior is — you guessed it – a dentist.

WZTV, a Nashville-based Fox affiliate, reports that “Uncle” Ryan O’Neil, D.M.D., made the diving catch to save the big day of little Walker.

Aspen Dental Races for Checkered Flag

Aspen Dental, the dental service organization, has been named the “Official Dentist of NASCAR.”

NASCAR announced its partnership with Aspen earlier this week in a news release. Aspen made news earlier this year when it extended its sponsorship with NASCAR star Danica Patrick. Now, Aspen will be the primary sponsor of Patrick’s Number 10 Ford Fusion for an expanded number of races.

Aspen hopes the partnership will, pardon the pun, drive more patients into their practices. The partnership deal was announced to coincide with its “Get Started” campaign, which the company hopes will encourage race fans to take initiative over their oral health.

Patrick has worked with Aspen in the past on a separate initiative that generated more than $7.5 million for veterans’ dental care.

Authorities have charged a New York dentist in a crown-billing scheme.

WKBW, a Buffalo, New York-based ABC affiliate, reports that Michael Oros, D.D.S., has entered a plea of not guilty to grand larceny charges. Prosecutors say that Oros, 57, charged patients about $12,000 for high-end crowns, but gave them lower-quality crowns. Oros, authorities charge, then kept the difference.

WKBW reports that the alleged scam went on for nearly four years. Oros, whose practice is in Avon, New York, will be back in court in May.

Hey, We Watched It, Too

Business Insider made this video explaining what makes chewing on tin foil so unpleasant. Other than the tinny taste, a galvanic shock occurs if you chew on tin foil and have any metal in your mouth, such as metal fillings or braces.

This, however, begs the bigger question of, why are your dental patients chewing on tin foil in the first place?