Just how much do you love the company for which you work? Is it enough to want to fork over hundreds or even thousands of dollars that you could spend to benefit the health of you and your loved ones? Before the hectic holidays engulf us all, your personal finances can benefit if you check….
Continue ReadingDental Care
Voters got their say on major health concerns in 2022 midterms
Voters from coast to coast made decisions last week not just about which candidates to favor but also about an array of health-related concerns from abortion to health insurance expansion to legalized ways to get high. Women’s reproductive rights: a big deal A major motivator in the 2022 midterm elections was the U.S. Supreme Court’s….
Continue ReadingAs virus restrictions ease, MDs and hospitals urge patients to resume care
Doctors, clinics, urgent care facilities, and hospitals are laboring to get out an important message tied to the Covid-19 pandemic: Patients should not delay seeking their needed medical services, especially urgent or emergency treatment, due to fears of getting infected with the novel coronavirus. It made sense to postpone many types of medical services as….
Continue ReadingIt’s clear to see: Cataract surgery can extend and improve women’s lives (and men’s too)
Cataract operations, performed on more than 3 million Americans each year, not only may be the most common surgeries in the nation—they also may be life prolonging, especially for older women. A 20-year study—published in JAMA Ophthalmology— of more than 74,000 women who were 65 and older and who had the all too common clouding….
Continue ReadingDaily flossing may not be all that important to mouth health
It wasn’t the kind of reporting to force a U.S. president to resign. Still, the Associated Press did cause some red faces among dental and diet experts by exposing a lack of research rigor and a bit of publication sleight-of-hand. This all turned on debunking a bit of oral health dogma: Do we really need….
Continue ReadingAre dentists extracting extra revenue with unneeded X-rays?
The cost won’t exactly break the bank. But it might equal what you will pay for the oral health care that prompted the visit. When the dentist starts saying it’s time for partial or “bitewing” X-rays, just say no, a health care economist recommends. Austin Frakt, an expert writing in the paper’s Upshot column, hit a….
Continue ReadingWill Philly’s decision to tax sodas sizzle or fizzle as U.S. health trend?
The City of Brotherly Love has passed a tax demonstrating its affection for new revenues and its dislike for unhealthy, sugary soft drinks: It’s unclear, however, whether other governments will follow Philadelphia in imposing soda taxes and whether these levies achieve their public health goal of discouraging harmful sugar consumption, especially by kids. Big Soda….
Continue ReadingAt least 1,000 patients died in U.S. dental care in last 5 years
Let the patient beware is an adage that may need to be extended to yet another realm of healthcare: dentistry. Kudos to a reporting team in Texas for their recently published investigation, disclosing that dentists all too frequently are involved in procedures in which their patients die and that ineffectual regulators fail to halt dodgy….
Continue ReadingEven an Orthodontist Wouldn’t Apply His Own Braces
Orthodontic work is expensive and often not covered by medical insurance, so it’s understandable that some people might entertain the idea of do-it-yourself braces using tiny rubber bands. Don’t even think about it. A report that recently aired on WTHI TV in Indianapolis featured orthodontists cautioning against such a DIY project in response to videos….
Continue ReadingWhen a Toothache Becomes a Medical Emergency
Although rumblings have begun to include dental care under Medicare coverage, medical plans generally don’t cover your teeth. And for some people who forgo dental care because it’s not subsidized, a routine tooth problem can escalate into a serious medical issue. Christopher Smith was one of those people. His story, as told by USAToday.com, started….
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