DR OKEEFE  NEW WEB

 SEDATION

RELAXATION

From mildly relaxed to

"I thought I was asleep"

You can be as relaxed as you wish.

From: Dr. Danny O’Keefe

Your Oral Hygiene Scores at your exam on ________________________:

Bleeding ________ % ________________________________________________

Plaque _________ teeth_______________________________________________

# Periodontal Pockets ________ ________________________________________

Keeping your teeth healthy takes a partnership between you and our practice team. Research continues to show that diseases of the mouth effect far more than just teeth. Periodontal disease strikes over 70% of the adult population. It is the leading cause of tooth loss, but it also plays a role in systemic diseases including heart attacks, strokes, and premature births. Keeping periodontal disease under control is vital to your long-term health.

Your mouth is constantly teeming with bacteria and cells of many forms. When these and normal tissue cells die, they produce chemicals called Volatile Sulfur Compounds, VSC for short, that attack gums allowing oral bacteria to enter the bloodstream. Just as we associate sulfur compounds with the smell of rotten eggs and sewage, VSCs are the major cause of bad breath.

Bad breath not only means your friends and loved ones keep their distance, but also your gums are under attack.

There is no such thing as a little bleeding. Bleeding gums mean two things: 1) bone loss is occurring around your teeth, and 2) bacteria are entering your system through the blood supply increasing the risk of clots that cause heart attacks and strokes.

If our oral examination reveals that you are susceptible to gum disease, irrigation and root cleaning help heal the damage that has been done. But the treatment you receive in our office can't combat the VSCs forming everyday and attacking your gums. The good news is there is a proven method you can use at home to keep yourself well and healthy.

Chlorine Dioxide has proven to be the strongest weapon against periodontal disease. Ten years of studies show Chlorine Dioxide:

1. Neutralizes and eliminates Volatile Sulfur Compounds.

2. Kills the major bacteria that cause gum disease.

3. Actually strengthens gum tissue.

I have prescribed the patented system of toothpaste, oral rinse and oral spray which you should use twice a day as instructed. Please continue to use this for as long as you want your breath to stay fresh and your gums healthy. Unlike other oral products available at the drug store, CloSysII is the only patented formula of stabilized Chlorine Dioxide. Other products only kill germs temporarily and cover up odor with sweeteners. They do not attack the root cause of disease like CloSYSII.

If you have a computer and an email address we will be checking up on your progress regularly and you can tell us how you are doing on your home care program. These surveys will become an important part of your patient record. If your home hygiene program is not working well you may need more frequent office visits.

For more information on your dental care, please visit our website http://www.familydentcare.com. We especially invite you to take our patient satisfaction survey, and visit our Oral Wellness page where you will find more research and information on keeping yourself healthy.

You may also order more CloSysII toothpaste and Rinse directly from the Oral wellness page or at http://www.smilekiss.com . If you do not have a computer you may reorder from 1-800-979-5222. If you would like to save shipping charges, we can set you up with an automatic monthly order.

Our office has become very impressed by some of the research results that we see in the scientific literature, which caused the Surgeon General’s report for May 2000 to state: "The terms oral health and general health should not be interpreted as separate entities. Oral health is integral to general health; this report provides important reminders that oral health means more than healthy teeth and that you cannot be healthy without oral health".

While there are dozens of published articles on the subject, we have summarized some of the more significant ones below. For more complete treatment of the research please visit the Oral Wellness Page on our website.

Periodontal disease and heart disease.

The first National Health and Nutrition Examination survey followed 9760 subjects for 14 years. DeStafano and co-workers found that individuals with periodontitis at baseline had a 25% greater chance of having coronary artery disease. After adjusting for age, gender, race, education, poverty index, marital status, blood pressure, cholesterol, body mass index, physical activity, alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking, men with periodontitis had a 1.72 fold greater chance of cardiovascular disease!

In a presentation at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, University of Michigan dentistry Prof. Walter Loesche suggested several possibilities. Loesche spoke during a symposium titled "The Link Between Systemic Conditions and Diseases and Oral Health."

His theory is that bacteria from the mouth -- or products released by these bacteria -- travel through the bloodstream to other parts of the body, where they damage the linings of blood vessels. In his own research, Loesche has found that patients with coronary artery disease have elevated levels of certain periodontal bacteria. These bacteria contain lipopolysaccharides, toxins that can cause illness when released into the body.

People with periodontal disease are more likely to have thickened carotid arteries, which can lead to stroke, according to a study released at the American Academy of Neurology's 51st annual meeting in Toronto.

The people with the most periodontal disease had the most thickening of the arteries. On average, the carotid artery wall was thicker by about one-half millimeter in the group with the most periodontal disease than in the group with the least periodontal disease.

The more of the mouth affected with periodontal disease, the more likely a woman is to deliver a premature baby, according to an ongoing study of more than 2,000 pregnant women. The results point to further evidence that periodontal disease may be a significant risk factor for preterm births. Past studies have shown that women with periodontal disease may be up to seven times more likely to deliver a preterm low birth weight baby.

Research has emerged that suggests that the relationship between periodontal disease and diabetes goes both ways - periodontal disease may make it more difficult for people who have diabetes to control their blood sugar.

Severe periodontal disease can increase blood sugar, contributing to increased periods of time when the body functions with a high blood sugar. This puts diabetics at increased risk for diabetic complications. Thus, diabetics who have periodontal disease should be treated to eliminate the periodontal infection.

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Ability of Oral Health Care Products to Alleviate Oral Malodor, Grootveld et al, LHMC, UK, Journal of Dental Research, IADR Book of Abstracts, 76, 1997.

Oral malodor is attributed to oral microbial putrefaction and generation of volatile sulfur compounds, predominately hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan. Six oral care products were studied in the relative effectiveness of reducing VSC.. Product regression to baseline was in the following order: Listerine Mint, Scope, Oxyfresh, Profresh, and CloSYSII (formerly Retardex). Product number 6 was Breath Assure capsules. This product gave rise to increased VSC at 0.30 and continued to rise for 3 hours.

Management of Periodontitis with Oral Care Products, Chapek et al, Compendium Vol. XV No 6, 740-746, 1994

79 patients in a private practice setting who had previous scaling and root planing were selected for this study. These individuals had 2,085 probe scores measuring >= 4 mm with a mean of 4.6 mm. CloSYSII Oral Rinse and CloSYSII Toothpaste were dispensed at baseline visit. Patients were instructed to use both products twice a day.

At the next dental visit (average 3.4 months), probing scores were recorded on all patients. Probe scores were compared to show the number of scores that were reduced from >= 4 mm to <= 3 mm. The 2,085 probe scores were reduced to 679 or a 67% reduction (p<=0.001).

Conclusion: This study shows the effectiveness of the use of Rowpar's products, CloSYSII Toothpaste (formerly Retardent) and CloSYSII Oral Rinse (formerly Retardex), when used in a twice daily regimen as an effective aid for prevention of periodontitis and the maintenance of recall patients. 1,046 of the original 2,085 pockets were healed to normal probing depths. Only 679 pockets >= 4 mm remained

Reduction of Bleeding on Probing by Oral Care Products, Chapek et al, Compendium, Vol. 16, No. 2, 1995, 188-196

Eleven patients in a private practice setting presented themselves with 239 bleeding sites and probe scores of >= 4mm. At recall visits, no change in treatment was provided other than the addition or discontinuance of CloSYSII Toothpaste and CloSYSII Oral Rinse. Patients were asked to use these products twice daily beginning with the second prophylaxis visit.

Bleeding on probing was scored at baseline and at each of the subsequent visits. At the second visit, CloSYSII Toothpaste and CloSYSII Oral Rinse were dispensed to the patients. After a mean of 6.9 months, the patients returned for a third recall visit. Of the 256 bleeding sites, 72 remained, a reduction of 72% (p<=0.01)