The Adolescent TMJ: How Bruxism Leads to Disc Displacement
Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders affect millions worldwide, with disc displacement causing clicking and locking being one of the most common pathologies. While these disorders can affect people of all ages, there's a notable spike in incidence during...
The Lifelong Impact of Childhood Oral Health: A Life Course Perspective
13-Minute Listen February marks National Children's Dental Health Month, prompting us to examine how early dental care shapes not just childhood health, but long-term wellbeing throughout adulthood and into senior years. Taking a "life course health" perspective...
Children’s Dental Health: A Lifelong Commitment to Oral Care
12-Minute Listen “It’s just a baby tooth. It will fall out, and a new one will grow in.” This common sentiment, heard from parents, caregivers, and even teachers, may seem harmless. However, it overlooks a crucial truth: good oral health, like overall health, begins...
Global Public Health Responses to Oral Precancerous Lesions
13-Minute Listen Oral precancerous lesions represent a significant public health challenge worldwide. These conditions, which include leukoplakia, erythroplakia, and oral submucous fibrosis, oral lichen planus among others, serve as potential precursors to oral...
Adopting Innovation Initiatives
8-Minute Listen Expertise can teleport. Metaphorically speaking. Technology is, however, reshaping healthcare and education, enabling expert knowledge and services to reach anyone, anywhere. In today’s rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, synchronous telemedicine,...
The Importance of Global Health and Public Health Initiatives for the Geriatric Population
6-Minute Listen Global health and public health initiatives play a critical role in ensuring the well-being of the geriatric population worldwide. As life expectancy increases, the number of older adults is growing rapidly, presenting unique challenges and...
Leading the Future of Orofacial Pain Through Teaching and Innovation
11-Minute Listen Introduction Orofacial Pain (OFP) is a specialized field within dentistry and medicine that addresses complex chronic pain conditions affecting the head, neck, and face. Despite its importance, the field faces significant challenges due to fragmented...
Why Pursue a Master’s in Geriatric Dentistry? Insights from Dr. Theresa Cleary and Dr. Phil Kroll
9-minute Listen As the population ages, the demand for specialized dental care tailored to the needs of older adults continues to grow. Geriatric dentistry offers an opportunity to make a meaningful impact while advancing your career in education, clinical practice,...
A Broader Perspective on Health: Understanding Social Determinants of Health
8-Minute Listen A look at the history of science over the last century reveals an explosion of progress across numerous fields. In physics, we've explored relativity; in medicine, groundbreaking discoveries have emerged in areas such as DNA, germ theory, imaging, and...
The Relationship Between Smoking and Chronic Low Back Pain
3-Minute Listen Millions of people smoke, and millions of people have chronic low back pain. While we know this, many people need to give more consideration to the two issues being linked together. That is until researchers start to wonder if there is a link between...
Integrating Temporomandibular Disorders into Dental Education
12-Minute Listen Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are a group of conditions that affect the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), masticatory muscles, and surrounding tissues, resulting in pain, limited jaw movement, and joint noises such as clicking or popping. TMDs...
Can Natural Compounds Help with Chronic Pelvic Pain?
5-minute Listen It's estimated that 10-15% of all women of reproductive age and 70% of women with chronic pelvic pain are affected by endometriosis [1]. Often, it takes a while for the diagnosis, which prolongs the amount of time that women spend in pain and...
How Those with Parkinson’s Disease Perceive Pain Experiences
5-Minute Listen According to the National Institutes of Health, Parkinson’s disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder in the country [1]. Chronic pain is something that is common for those who have the condition, which impacts their quality of life....
The Surprising Association Between Smoking and Chronic Pain
3-minute listen Most people, including those who smoke, know that there are some health risks associated with smoking. They are often aware of the increased risks of cancer, heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and some of the other health issues...
Return of Investment in Pursuing Oral Health Education
9-minute listen A traditional return on investment ROI is a calculation of the net returns from an investment divided by the costs [1], and many students and practitioners rely on this calculation when deciding to pursue further education. Ultimately, ROI in (graduate...
Impact of Post Graduate Education in Geriatric Dentistry on Patient Care
15-Minute Listen Introduction Are we as dental professionals prepared and ready to meet the rapidly increasing demand of growing numbers of older adults in the U.S.? [1] These older adults will come into our offices with diverse issues such as...
Why is Phenotyping of TMD-OFP Patients Important?
8-Minute Listen In the field of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and orofacial pain (OFP), we are facing a critical juncture in patient care. Our current diagnostic approach, while useful, may be too broad to capture the nuanced differences between patients...
Navigating Vitamins, Supplements, and Over-The-Counter Medications
14-Minute Listen As we age, our bodies change in ways that can impact our nutritional needs and how we process medications. For older adults, keeping a close eye on vitamins, supplements, and over-the-counter (OTC) medications is crucial for maintaining good...
Can Meditation Help with Chronic Neuropathy?
6-Minute Listen Millions of people in the country suffer from a condition called neuropathy, which is associated with chronic pain, tingling, swelling, numbness, and weakening of the muscles. The condition leaves many people living in pain for years as they search for...
Oral Health Education Impact on Oral Health
8-Minute Listen The promotion of oral health through education or consumer informational nudges [1] has been shown to effectively increase oral health awareness, encourage self-care hygiene techniques, and foster habits that support long-term oral health. Oral health...
The Link Between Sleep Disorders, Depression, and Chronic Low Back Pain
5-Minute Listen Many people suffer from chronic low back pain in the country. There are also many who experience sleep disorders and depression. For millions of people, they experience one or more of them at the same time, leading researchers to wonder what overlap...
Vitamin B12 and Alpha Lipoic Acid for Trigeminal Neuropathy
11-Minute Listen Chronic Trigeminal Neuropathy Chronic trigeminal neuropathy (CTN) involves damage or dysfunction of the trigeminal nerve, which is responsible for transmitting sensory information from the skin and mucosal surfaces of the face to the brain. Depending...
Treatment Options for Chronic Knee Pain
Those who have chronic knee pain know all too much how difficult it can make life. Having chronic knee pain means that someone may have a knee that is in pain, swollen, stiff, red, and warm, and makes noises when being used. The condition can make people unstable and...
Is Acupuncture an Excellent Option to Help with Chronic Neck Pain?
We as a society may crack jokes about certain things being a pain in the neck, but chronic neck pain is no laughing matter for those who have it. The ongoing pain can leave them feeling stiff, with limited range of motion, muscle tightness, headaches, and more. It's...