A major survey of consumer attitudes towards local dentists and dentistry conducted by 1-800-DENTIST®, the nation’s leading free dental referral service, found that the cleanliness of a dental office is one of the key reasons a patient will reappoint with that dentist.

The Los Angeles-based dental referral company conducted its nationwide survey as part of the company’s ongoing commitment to meeting the evolving needs of today’s dental patients, whether it’s braces for adults, emergency dental care or oral hygiene checkups. Among the survey’s most revealing insights was the degree that office cleanliness plays in determining whether a patient will return to a dentist. Nine out of ten of consumers surveyed ranked cleanliness as a key reason why they would come back to the same dentist for a follow-up appointment.

1-800-DENTIST’s survey clearly illustrates the importance of office cleanliness to patients. It is one of the top three reasons patients reappoint with a dentist. The only factors patients rated as higher priorities when deciding whether or not they would go back to a dental office were the quality of the dentist’s work and a clear explanation of the difference between required and optional dental treatments. Interestingly, patients consider a clean office more important than the gentleness of the dentist and wait times for appointments.

“We’re very successful at matching people to dentists because we do our homework on what matters most to patients,” said Fred Joyal, founder of 1-800-DENTIST. “Take office cleanliness for example. Our research shows that patients are significantly happier with dentists whose offices meet the highest standards for cleanliness. So, we naturally focus on ensuring that every dentist we refer lives up to the consumer’s expectations in this key regard.”

“1-800-DENTIST’s understanding of consumer ‘needs’ and ‘wants’ is unique in the dental field,” Joyal continued. “It’s the reason we are unrivaled in our ability to match people to good dentists — ones patients like and trust enough to visit again and again.”

About 1-800-DENTIST

1-800-DENTIST® is the nation’s leading free dental referral service. Since 1986, the Los Angeles-based company has helped over 7 million people find their perfect dentist. Thousands of consumers contact 1-800-DENTIST every day via the company’s 24-hour call center and its website, 1800dentist.com. In addition to helping people find quality dental care in their community, 1-800-DENTIST offers dentists specialized tools to help them manage their practices and communicate better with their patients. For more information, visit 1800dentist.com.

A new supplement to the Health Environments Research & Design (HERD) Journal includes articles that focus on the role of the built environment on preventing healthcare-associated infections (HAIs). Articles in the open-access supplement are based on findings from an AHRQ-funded research project conducted by a multidisciplinary team of clinicians and design experts from RTI International in Research Triangle Park, NC; Emory University and Georgia Tech in Atlanta, and AHRQ.

The articles include a commentary by former AHRQ Director Carolyn M. Clancy, M.D., a literature review, an industry scan that includes feedback from experts in the field, and a conceptual framework that illustrates the links between design elements and HAI prevention.

To read more and for access to the issue, click here.

INTELIHEALTH - Having gum disease during pregnancy may put some women at risk for pre-eclampsia, though researchers are not clear why.

To read more, click here.

(HealthDay News) -- Could a doctor's white coat or necktie help spread germs among patients?

Read more by cliecking here.

If your husband is absent minded, forgets your wedding anniversary or the name of your new neighbor, don't worry. You are not the only one with a forgetful man in the house. Even researchers were surprised by how much men forget.

"It was surprising to see that men forget more than women. This has not been documented before. It was also surprising to see that men are just as forgetful whether they are 30 or 60 years old. The results were unambiguous," says Professor Jostein Holmen, from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) in Trondheim. The results were published in BMC Psychology in late 2013.

What did I do one year ago?

Holmen and his co-workers asked nine questions about how well people think they remember as a part of a large longitudinal population health study conducted in mid-Norway called HUNT3.

HUNT3 is one of the largest health studies ever performed, with answers from over 48,000 people as part of the research material.

The participants were asked how often they had problems remembering things, whether they had problems with remembering names and dates, if they could remember what they did one year ago and if they were able to remember details from conversations. Men reported the most problems for eight out of nine questions.

"We have speculated a lot about why men report more frequent problems with remembering than women do, but have not been able to find an explanation. This is still an unsolved mystery," says Holmen.

Higher education associated with better memory

Women have the same problems with remembering as men do, but to a lesser extent. Names and dates are also hardest to remember for women.

These problems accelerate with age, but to a much lesser extent than the researchers believed before. Women forget just as much whether they are 30 or 50 years old.

The study also shows that people who are more highly educated forget less than those with less education. People who suffer from anxiety or depression forget more than other people do. This is true for people of both sexes.

Importance for dementia

Memory problems begin to accelerate overall in the 60-70 year-old group, the researchers found.

Holmen wants to see whether people who self-reported problems with remembering at a younger age are also at a higher risk of developing dementia.

"That was the reason why we included these questions. It is important to emphasize that we still don't know what clinical importance these problems with remembering have. But we might know this in a few years. Problems with remembering at a younger age might not have any importance either. I know this from my own experience, but now I know that I am not alone," Holmen says.

Holmen, by the way, was born in 1947.

A full text of the article can be found at https://www.biomedcentral.com/2050-7283/1/19

A new study shows that exposure to secondhand smoke at home or in the car dramatically increases the odds of children being readmitted to the hospital within a year of being admitted for asthma.

The study, published in the journal Pediatrics, raises the possibility that measurement of tobacco exposure could be used in clinical practice to target smoking cessation efforts and reduce the likelihood of future hospitalizations.

To determine tobacco exposure, the researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and Penn State Milton S. Hershey Children's Hospital measured cotinine in the blood and in saliva of more than 600 children. Cotinine is a substance produced when the body breaks down nicotine and provides a scientific assessment of tobacco exposure.

"The ability to measure serum and salivary cotinine levels presents the possibility of an objective measure that can be obtained when a child is seen in the emergency department or in the hospital and may be used to predict future hospitalizations," says Robert Kahn, MD, MPH, associate director of general and community pediatrics at Cincinnati Children's and senior author of the study.

"Such a measure for exposure to tobacco smoke could be used to target specific interventions at caregivers of those children before discharge from the hospital. Several interventions, including parental counseling and contact with the primary care physician, could be adopted in clinical practice."

The study is part of the Greater Cincinnati Asthma Risks Study, which seeks to understand the causes of hospital readmission, particularly for low income and minority children. The researchers studied children between the ages of 1 and 16 admitted to Cincinnati Children's between August 2010 and October 2011. Serum and salivary cotinine levels were taken during their hospital stay, and their primary caregivers were asked about tobacco exposure. All children were followed for at least 12 months to see if they were readmitted to the hospital.

The researchers found that there was no correlation between caregiver report of tobacco exposure and readmission. But a more scientific analysis of actual secondhand exposure via measurement of cotinine in the blood and saliva demonstrated a readmission risk in children exposed to secondhand smoke more than twice that of children not exposed.

"Of the 619 children in the study, 76 percent were covered by Medicaid," says Judie Howrylak, MD, PhD, a physician at Hershey Children's and lead author of the study. "Certainly there could be a financial incentive for insurance companies to help caregivers quit smoking, rather than pay the downstream costs of a future asthma readmission."

Eating high levels of flavonoids including anthocyanins and other compounds (found in berries, tea, and chocolate) could offer protection from type 2 diabetes, according to research from the University of East Anglia (UEA) and King's College London.

Findings published this week in the Journal of Nutrition reveal that high intakes of these dietary compounds are associated with lower insulin resistance and better blood glucose regulation.

A study of almost 2,000 people also found that these food groups lower inflammation, which, when chronic, is associated with diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

Prof Aedin Cassidy from UEA's Norwich Medical School led the research. She said, "Our research looked at the benefits of eating certain sub-groups of flavanoids. We focused on flavones, which are found in herbs and vegetables such as parsley, thyme, and celery, and anthocyanins, found in berries, red grapes, wine and other red or blue-colored fruits and vegetables.

"This is one of the first large-scale human studies to look at how these powerful bioactive compounds might reduce the risk of diabetes. Laboratory studies have shown these types of foods might modulate blood glucose regulation, affecting the risk of type 2 diabetes. But until now little has been know about how habitual intakes might affect insulin resistance, blood glucose regulation and inflammation in humans."

Researchers studied almost 2,000 healthy women volunteers from TwinsUK who had completed a food questionnaire designed to estimate total dietary flavonoid intake as well as intakes from six flavonoid subclasses. Blood samples were analysed for evidence of both glucose regulation and inflammation. Insulin resistance, a hallmark of type 2 diabetes, was assessed using an equation that considered both fasting insulin and glucose levels.

"We found that those who consumed plenty of anthocyanins and flavones had lower insulin resistance. High insulin resistance is associated with Type 2 diabetes, so what we are seeing is that people who eat foods rich in these two compounds – such as berries, herbs, red grapes, wine – are less likely to develop the disease.

"We also found that those who ate the most anthocyanins were least likely to suffer chronic inflammation – which is associated with many of today's most pressing health concerns including diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

"And those who consumed the most flavone compounds had improved levels of a protein (adiponectin) which helps regulate a number of metabolic processes including glucose levels.

"What we don't yet know is exactly how much of these compounds are necessary to potentially reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes," she added.

Prof Tim Spector, research collaborator and director of the TwinsUK study from King's College London, said: "This is an exciting finding that shows that some components of foods that we consider unhealthy like chocolate or wine may contain some beneficial substances. If we can start to identify and separate these substances we can potentially improve healthy eating. There are many reasons including genetics why people prefer certain foods so we should be cautious until we test them properly in randomised trials and in people developing early diabetes."

A push to create dental therapists is slowing efforts to solve Maine's dental crisis, says a "Maine Voices" op-ed piece in the Jan. 14 Portland Press Herald authored by Dr. Jonathan Shenkin, a pediatric dentist practicing in Augusta and ADA second vice president.

To read the ADA News story, click here.

Crosstex® International, a global leader in infection prevention for the healthcare industry, has received three prestigious 2014 product awards from THE DENTAL ADVISOR, a leading research organization and publication.

2014 Top Mask: Crosstex Secure Fit® Technology Face Masks

2014 Preferred Product: Crosstex Sparkle® Prophy Angle

2014 Top Mask Award: The Top Mask award was awarded to Crosstex for their Secure Fit® Technology face masks, for the second year in a row. Secure Fit Masks were evaluated by 37 consultants and in 1,830 uses received a 96% clinical rating. Secure Fit masks are uniquely designed to create a comfortable, custom fit with a strong protective seal. Secure Fit masks are made in the USA and provide up to 3X’s more protection from exposure to infectious particles and aerosols than standard masks and are available in all three ASTM performance classifications. The increased protection is achieved by incorporating patent-pending malleable aluminum nose and chin pieces that reduce gapping at the sides, top, and bottom of the masks creating a custom fit, for any size or shaped face.

Crosstex manufactures more than 25 models of face masks. They provide the broadest and most in-depth selection of FDA approved masks in the dental industry, all of which are made in the USA. Their face mask offering provides the ultimate in protection for the clinician and their staff. In fact, almost one in every three face masks sold in the US dental market, is manufactured by Crosstex.

2014 Top Gauze Award: Crosstex UltraPure® Non-Woven Sponges wins the Top Gauze award for the second year in a row. These eco-friendly sponges are hypoallergenic, lint-free, non-toxic and unlike typical synthetic non-woven sponges they are biodegradeable. UltraPure Non-Woven Sponges are made from 100% USA-grown cotton, making them softer and more absorbent than synthetics and rayon/cotton blends. No bleach or chlorine is used during the manufacturing process. UltraPure Non-Woven Sponges compliment the broad range of cotton products available from Crosstex.

2014 Preferred Product: The Crosstex Sparkle® Prophy Angle was designated as a 2014 Preferred Product. Hygienists’ feedback played an important role in the design of the Sparkle Prophy Angle. It features a patented second-generation beveled gear design and runs vibration and noise-free. Thus ensuring a smoother running prophy angle that won’t lock up or overheat. The Sparkle Prophy Angle also features a specially designed soft, dark cup that provides greater visibility when on the tooth surface. Its flared design enhances sub-gingival access and reduces splatter, this minimizes the risk of cross-contamination.

These prestigious awards underline the Crosstex commitment towards the development of innovative products that maximize infection protection and enhance the patient experience. Crosstex, with eleven distribution and manufacturing facilities around the globe, services healthcare professionals in over 100 countries and is dedicated to making good on its brand promise – Crosstex Protects.

About Crosstex International, Inc.

A division of Cantel Medical Corp., Crosstex manufactures a wide array of infection prevention and control products for the healthcare industry. Founded in 1953 and headquartered in Hauppauge, New York, Crosstex sells products including face masks, which are 100% manufactured in its FDA-registered New York facility. Sold in more than 100 countries, Crosstex products include sterilization pouches and accessories, patient towels and bibs, surface disinfectants and deodorizers, germicidal wipes, hand sanitizers, gloves, sponges, cotton products, saliva ejectors and evacuator tips.