The DMD Check-Up: The Smile High Club

John F. Kennedy International Airport is a huge facility with many amenities. But did you know it has its own dental practice? A profile of JFK's airport dentist tops this week’s DMD Check-Up. Also making this week’s news roundup: A look at the role of dentists in preparing athletes for the Olympics.

• NYC Airport Dentist: “An Unusual Drill” (Wall Street Journal)

A delightful profile of Dr. Robert Trager, a dentist with an office at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport for over 30 years. His is arguably the greatest slogan in the history of dental marketing: “Join the Smile High Club.”

• Scientists Identify the Least Healthy Foods at Chain Restaurants (Mental_Floss)

What professional who cares for the insides of a person’s mouth could resist this story? Researchers at the Center for Science in the Public Interest have just released their annual Xtreme Eating List, detailing America’s lousiest meals out. Worst: The Cheesecake Factory’s Fried Chicken & Waffles Benedict.

• Hospital Star Ratings Show That Not All Care is Equal (RealClearHealth)

“It’s not as user-friendly as Consumer Reports, but the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ overall star rating system represents progress in getting data into the hands of health care consumers. And despite some methodological shortcomings, it puts providers on their toes, which is a good thing.”

• Dentist Helps Olympic Team to Focus on Rio (LancasterOnline)

Another good profile of a Pennsylvania dentist and former president of the Academy of Sports Dentistry who helped US Olympic athletes with dental care in preparation for the 2016 Summer Games in Brazil. Helping the US Women’s Field Hockey Team is “a dream come true.”

• Dentist Tells of Shark Attack (The Sun)

Both know a lot about teeth. A Texas dentist on family vacation in the Bahamas is able to tell of a very serious attack by a bull shark—pushed along by some graphic pictures. “All of a sudden what felt like a truck hit me in the face,” said Dr. Steven Cutbirth.

• Heart Disease Risk Higher with Hidden Tooth Infection (MNT)

Researchers from Finland have uncovered a link between dental root tip infection, known as apical periodontitis, and a greater risk for acute coronary syndrome—an umbrella term for conditions that involve blocked blood flow to the coronary arteries.

• “Virtual Dental Homes” Are Proving Safe (Medical Xpress)

A community-based oral health care delivery system can reduce school absenteeism, lessen the need for parents to leave work to care for an ailing child, and help prevent suffering for millions of people who have no access to a dentist, a long-term University of the Pacific study demonstrates.

• How Can Physicians and Dentists Use HST to Work Together? (Sleep Review)

A solid podcast on the role of physicians and dentists on the matter of improving sleep for their patients. The focus here is on the growing number of dentists who are using home sleep testing devices in treating obstructive sleep apnea.