Dental sealants are a kind of protective coating, which is made up of tinted or transparent plastic. It then painted onto the chewing areas of the back teeth, where the possibility of cavity formation is more in comparison to other regions of the teeth.

The major use of sealants is on children’s teeth in order to prevent cavities at an early age. They are not only effective in function but are affordable and normally covered by dental insurance as preventive treatment. Dental sealants cost much less than the amount spent on having filling due to cavities.

Great news! The amount of funds recovered to Medicare for fraudulent claims that is attributed to cases our California Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) closed in 2013 totals over $7 million. These closed cases range from 2007 to 2012. This success is a direct result of all the efforts and commitment of our dedicated staff and SMP volunteers. A big thank you to all our volunteers and partnering colleagues for  your great service in helping restore integrity to our Medicare program. These numbers are in the 2013 Office of Inspector General (OIG) report.

The national numbers highlighted in the OIG report’s press release are also equally impressive with government teams combined recovering a record $4.3 billion for FY 2013, and $19.2 billion over the past 5 years. This last figure is up from $9.4 billion in the 5 years before that. Since it began in 1997, the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control (HCFAC) Program has returned more than $25.9 billion to the Medicare Trust Funds and treasury.

The report also demonstrates that for every dollar spent on health care-related fraud and abuse investigations in the last 3 years, the government recovered $8.10.  This is the highest 3-year average return on investment in the 17-year history of the HCFAC Program.

These record recoveries demonstrate President Obama’s commitment to making the elimination of fraud, waste and abuse, particularly in health care, a top priority for the administration.  This is the 5th consecutive year that the program has increased recoveries over the past year, rising from $2 billion in FY 2008 to over $4 billion every year since FY 2011.

According to studies done in Britain drinking extremely hot tea every day may increase your chance of getting throat cancer.    Another study done in Iran, which reportedly has the largest number of oesophageal cancer patients, shows the results of research done on a big group of 871 people. It was noticed that around 300 people who drank more than a litre of extremely hot black tea in a day were diagnosed with cancer  The study shown that this group had the habit of drinking hot tea above 65 degrees putting them in the high risk zone compared to the others who preferred warm tea below 65 degrees. It was also noticed that those who drank hotter tea, above 70 degrees, bettered their chances of acquiring throat cancer.

Investigators examined a group of 13,036 adults and found that 20.4 per cent of respondents had been diagnosed with arthritis by a medical professional. Investigators found that 14.5 per cent of all respondents reported having at least one parent whose drug or alcohol use caused problems while were under the age of 18 and still living at home.

With laser teeth whitening treatments you are able to walk out of the dental office with your teeth a lot brighter.   With laser bleaching, a barrier is put around the gums and a strong bleach is put on your teeth.  A laser light is used to activate the bleach to make it work.  A down side of laser teeth whitening treatments can be the cost since laser whitening is the most expensive of the teeth-whitening options available.

Memories are difficult to produce, often fragile, and dependent on any number of factors – including changes to various types of nerves. In the common fruit fly – a scientific doppelganger used to study human memory formation – these changes take place in multiple parts of the insect brain.

TMJ or temporomandibular joint disorders often poorly understood even by many of it sufferers.  However failure to fully understand what TMJ is can also prevent people from receiving proper diagnosis and care.

TMJ, is a disorders that can affect the proper alignment of your jaw. Even though millions of Americans currently suffer from TMJ, it remains a commonly undiagnosed disorder. This is largely due to the fact that the symptoms of TMJ can be similar to other disorders. In some cases, the symptoms of TMJ may seem entirely unrelated to the jaw joint.

There can be several signs of TMJ within the jaw such as clicking noises when you chew, lockjaw, and tenderness around the cheeks and jaw. TMJ may also have symptoms including:   Pressure behind the eyes, Ear ringing or vertigo, Frequent migraine, tension, or sinus headaches, Neck aches and Postural problems. Frequently, TMJ is diagnosed during your biannual cleanings and examinations with your dentist.

A team of researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) has developed the world’s first fluorescent sensor to identify the presence of a drug known as GHB that is commonly used to spike beverages. When the sensor is mixed with a sample of a beverage containing GHB, the mixture changes colour in less than 30 seconds, making detection of the drug fast and easy.

A Cosmetic dentist can use porcelain dental veneers to fix many dental problems.  Porcelain veneers are a durable cosmetic treatment that conceals visible imperfections of your teeth, letting you have a stunning, flawless smile.

Porcelain veneers can improve a wide range of cosmetic dental issues, which includes Chipped, Stained, Misshapen, Worn, Gaps between teeth, Unevenly sized teeth, Uneven tooth length, and Crooked teeth. The only way to know if veneers are right for you is to consult a cosmetic dentist. There are some dental insurance plan that will over benefits for veneers as well as low cost dental discount plans.

Researchers at The Ohio State University have found a way for computers to recognize 21 distinct facial expressions—even expressions for complex or seemingly contradictory emotions such as “happily disgusted” or “sadly angry.”

“We’ve gone beyond facial expressions for simple emotions like ‘happy’ or ‘sad.’ We found a strong consistency in how people move their facial muscles to express 21 categories of emotions,” said Aleix Martinez, a cognitive scientist and associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Ohio State. “That is simply stunning. That tells us that these 21 emotions are expressed in the same way by nearly everyone, at least in our culture.”

When you are facing an emergency dental situation, it is best that you have prompt, effective emergency dental care.  Emergency dental situations can quickly deteriorate and result in additional problems and even hospitalization.  When choosing and emergency dentist you want to make sure they offer 24/7 emergency dental care.  See if the emergency dentist offer CEREC restorations.  If the dentist offers this chair-side option it means he/she is on top of current technology that can make your dental visit more comfortable and effective.  Look at the dentist qualifications It is preferable to find a dentist who has several years of experience helping people in emergency situations.

Claudia Curry, founder and executive director of the Asperger’s Syndrome & Autism Research and Rehabilitation Institute, was diagnosed with high-functioning autism (HFA) – a form of the disorder that incorporates delayed language development at a younger age – when she was 48 years old.

Being diagnosed with the condition at this age may come as a surprise to some. Although autism is a lifelong developmental disorder, it is more widely recognized as a children’s condition.

There is much talk about the “winners and losers” under Obamacare. Many of the losers are obvious – the millions upon millions of Americans suffering from cancelled insurance plans, skyrocketing premiums and out of pocket costs, and those losing access to the doctors, hospitals and medications they know and trust.

According to a Metlife study done over half of parents surveyed, (60%), stated their kids do eat sugary foods at least once a day. Though parents should consider how often their children are eating sugary snacks, and if parents cannot brush their child’s teeth after eating a such a snack, to at least rinse with water.

This is because eating sugary foods can cause damaging acids to form in the mouth, which can affect teeth for at least 20 minutes before they are neutralized. Chewy sweets stick to the surface of the teeth, spending more time in the mouth and potentially causing more damage.