Reducing Fear in Individuals with Chronic Low Back Pain
According to the National Institutes of Health, around 80 percent of adults experience low back pain at some point. There are many reasons that they can experience the low back pain. Most people only have the low back pain for a short period of time, ranging from days...
Other Conditions Affecting Salivary Glands
Systemic Diseases Many systemic diseases are reported to cause or be associated with salivary gland hypofunction as mentioned in Table 1 [29], [64]. Of these systemic diseases, Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is the most common disease that causes both xerostomia and salivary...
How to Diagnose and Manage Fibromyalgia
How many people have heard this, or a similarly disempowering conclusion from their doctors? “Your pain is all in your head”“I think you’re just depressed”“We’ve done all of the tests, there’s nothing wrong with you” For most people with fibromyalgia (FM), it takes a...
How to Treat Dry Mouth in Older Patients
There are many diseases such as Xerostomia and Salivary Gland Hypofunction, radiation therapy in the head and neck area, and medications that cause dry mouth. In this article, we present several treatment options for older patients experiencing dry mouth. Sections...
New Treatments for Chronic Migraines are on the Horizon
Those who suffer from chronic migraines know all too well how debilitating the condition can be. Migraine headaches leave people in severe pain, often feeling nauseous and vomiting, and experiencing sensitivity to light and sound. It’s a condition that can leave...
Dry Mouth: Medications and their Effect on Saliva
By far, the most common cause of long standing dry mouth particularly in older adults is the use of xerogenic medications [30]. There are now projected to be over a thousand medications associated with subjective and/or objective oral dryness either by interfering...
Diagnosing Xerostomia and Salivary Gland Hypofunction (SGH)
There are numerous questionnaires used to assess dry mouth symptoms, including various quality of life scales and some specific instruments such as the Xerostomia Questionnaire (XQ) [22] and the Xerostomia Inventory (XI) [47], [48]. An extensive discussion of the...
Dental Care for Geriatric Patients: Xerostomia in Elderly Populations
Salivary gland hypofunction in aging Epidemiology Epidemiologic studies have revealed increases in the prevalence and incidence of dry mouth with age [29], [30]; however, in most studies aging per se is not indicated as the cause or a major risk factor for dry mouth....
Geriatric Dentistry: Understanding the Role of Saliva
Saliva, its function and benefits Saliva provides important protection to the teeth and the tissues of the mouth due to its cleansing, lubricating and antimicrobial properties [11], [12]; promotion of remineralization of the teeth; transport of digestive enzymes; and...
Geriatric Dental Care: Older Adults and Oral Conditions
Older adults and oral conditions The proportion of older adult people in developed countries has increased considerably during the last few decades and is expected to increase further in the next years. This is a result of what has been called the “demographic...
Dental Erosion from Abrasion & Abfraction
What is dental abrasion? Unlike dental attrition, abrasion is the loss of tooth structure by mechanical forces from a foreign element. If this force begins at the cementoenamel junction, then the progression of tooth loss can be rapid since enamel is thin in this...
What is dental attrition?
What is dental attrition? The definition of dental attrition is the mechanical wearing of the incisal or occlusal surfaces of teeth as a direct result of functional or parafunctional tooth-to-tooth contact. The process is usually slow and rarely results in pulpal...
What is Tooth Erosion? Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment
What is tooth erosion? Erosion is the wearing away of the tooth surface by an acid, which dissolves the enamel and the dentine. There are a variety of ways that tooth structure is lost. Food-based dental erosion was first described in 1892 among Sicilian lemon...
Obstructive Sleep Apnea Questionnaires for Dentists
When dentists need to test for Obstructive Sleep Apnea or hypersomnolence, sleep-related questionnaires can be of help. The following post explores some of the interview questions clinicians use in their assessment. Best Dental Questionnaires for OSA In addition...
Dental Exam Guide for New Patients with Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Learn how to conduct a comprehensive dental exam of a new patient who might be suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Comprehensive Dental Exam for New OSA Patients Below are the elements of a physical examination that should be conducted when assessing a possible...
5 Steps to Accurately Diagnose Chronic Trigeminal Neuropathy
Accurately diagnose the cause of neuropathic pains occuring in the trigeminal region such as atypical odontalgia, phantom tooth pain, burning mouth syndrome. Chronic Trigeminal Neuropathy Symptoms Pain that is continuous or burning Pain that does not have a clinically...
How to Conduct an Obstructive Sleep Apnea Workup
Learn how to complete a clinical report, standard medical interview, and physical and TMD examination for all new patients requiring a workup for sleep-disordered breathing. Clinical Report of Patient or Bed-Partner Bed partners of patients with obstructive sleep...
Diagnosing Trigeminal Neuralgia: Allodynia Mapping and Testing
Dr. Clark, Director of USC’s Online Master’s Degree in Orofacial Pain and Oral Medicine, teaches dental residents how to map, cold test, and anesthetic test Allodynia Zones to diagnose Chronic Trigeminal Neuralgia. Allodynia Mapping Neuropathic pain almost always...
Imaging Obstructive Sleep Apnea & Sleep Disordered Breathing
Discover how to image the airway obstruction site with patients suffering from Obstructive Sleep Apnea and other Sleep Breathing Disorders with Dr. Glenn Clark of the Orofacial Pain and Oral Medicine program at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC. Can you...
Diagnosing Trigeminal Neuralgia: Conduct Neuropathic Pain Questionnaires
This blog is step 4 of Dr. Glenn Clark’s 5-step process for diagnosing Chronic Trigeminal Neuralgia. Dr. Clark, Director of USC's Online Master’s Degree in Orofacial Pain and Oral Medicine teaches dental residents how to diagnose neuropathic pain from nociceptive. By...
Obstructive Sleep Apnea Snoring vs. Simple Snoring
This article is part 4 of Dr. Glenn Clark’s lecture on Sleep Disordered Breathing for Dental Residents of the Online Master of Science in Orofacial Pain and Oral Medicine program at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC. Can acoustics distinguish Obstructive...
Diagnosing Trigeminal Neuralgia: Rule Out Tooth Fracture
This blog is step number 3 of Dr. Glenn Clark’s 5-step process for diagnosing Chronic Trigeminal Neuralgia. Dr. Clark, Director of the Online Master’s Degree in Orofacial Pain and Oral Medicine at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC, explores how to rule out...
Snoring Disorders For Dentists
This article is part 3 of Dr. Glenn Clark's lecture on Sleep Disordered Breathing for Dental Residents of the Online Master of Science in Orofacial Pain and Oral Medicine program at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC. What is snoring? Primary snoring is...
What is Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA)?
This is part 2 of Dr. Glenn Clark's lecture on Sleep Breathing Disorders for Dental Residents of the online Master of Science in Orofacial Pain and Oral Medicine program at the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC. Although the field of sleep disorders...
