AHA Journals, Author Interviews, Blood Pressure - Hypertension, Dental Research / 24.10.2018

MedicalResearch.com Interview with: "Still from "My Dental Hell(th)"" by littledropofpoison is licensed under CC BY 2.0Rita Del Pinto, MD University of L'Aquila Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, L'Aquila - Italy  MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Response: There is a wealth of literature in support of a role for inflammation behind cardiovascular risk factors and diseases. One relatively poorly explored field is that of oral diseases, namely periodontitis, as a potential source of low-grade, chronic inflammation. Previous studies had described a beneficial effect of periodontal treatment on blood pressure; we extended current knowledge with our findings on over 3600 treated hypertensive adults with and without periodontitis, showing a significant benefit over systolic blood pressure behavior and control in the presence of a good periodontal health.  (more…)
Author Interviews, Dental Research, Primary Care / 01.04.2015

Judith Haber, PhD, APRN, BC, FAAN Associate Dean, Graduate Programs The Ursula Springer Leadership Professor in Nursing New York, NY 10003MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Judith Haber, PhD, APRN, BC, FAAN Associate Dean, Graduate Programs The Ursula Springer Leadership Professor in Nursing New York, NY 10003 Medical Research: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings? Dr. Haber: The background of the project originally aligns with publication of the Surgeon General's Report (2000), challenging health providers to think about the "mouth as a window to the body".  More recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) reports, Advancing Oral Health in America (2011) and Improving Access to Oral Health Care for Vulnerable and Underserved Populations (2011) highlighted the extant problems with oral health access, oral health disparities and outcomes and the potential role of the primary care workforce in addressing this population health issue.  However, there is a dearth of curricular focus on oral health in the curriculum of health professionals.  The IOM challenged the Health Resource and Service Administration (HRSA) to convene an Expert Panel to develop interprofessional oral health core clinical (IPOHCC) competencies; the report, Integrating Oral Health and Primary Care Practice, delineating the IPOHCC competencies, was published in 2014.   Our HRSA funded initiative, Teaching Oral-Systemic Health (TOSH), focuses on building interprofessional oral health workforce capacity with a special focus on the nursing, medical and dental professions.  We have operationalized the IPOHCC competencies by transforming the HEENT component of the health history, physical exam, risk assessment, diagnosis, and management plan, including collaboration and referral, to the HEENOT approach.  When a health professional uses the HEENOT approach, he or she cannot forget about oral health. (more…)
Author Interviews, Dental Research, Diabetes, Diabetes Care / 14.02.2014

ayse_basak_cinarMedicalResearch.com Interview with: Ayse Basak Cinar, Assistant Professor The Department of Odontology The Faculty of Medical and Health Resources 2200 Copenhagen N Denmark MedicalResearch.com:  What are some of the unique or enlightening findings of this study that haven’t been published before? Answer:  To our knowledge, this is the first randomized controlled intervention study comparing the impact of individualized Health Coaching (HC) to formal Health Education (HE); applying HC as a holistic intervention for management of more than one specific type of chronic disease, namely oral health and diabetes management. The present study has two phases [the Turkish Phase, Turkey (2010-2012) and the Danish Phase, Denmark (2012- ...)]. The unique/enlightening figures from the Turkish phase as follows: The HC group compared to the HE group had significantly higher improvement at; HbA1c* (reduction: 0, 8% vs. 0%), and Periodontal Attachment Loss (PAL) (56% vs. 26%), (p≤0.01) Tooth Brushing Self-Efficacy (TBSE) (increase: 61% vs.25%) and stress (reduction: 16% vs. 1%), (p≤0.01). (more…)