Writer's Corner | Laurie King, RDH RDHAP MS
Writer's Corner - with Laurie King, RDH RDHAP MS
Laurie King, RDH, RDHAP, BS MS
Ms King is a graduate of the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Dental Medicine’s Dental Hygiene Program. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Health and Human Services from Youngstown State University and a Masters Degree from the University of Phoenix graduating summa cum laude. Having completed over 2,000 hours of continuing education in all areas of dentistry (i.e. practice management, soft-tissue management, TMD diagnosis and treatment, laser certification, non-surgical periodontal treatment, chairside microscopic studies), it was at a course given by Dr. Paul Keyes, that Laurie first developed her interest in and excitement for treating patients non-surgically who had periodontal disease. After several follow-up courses with Dr. Paul Keyes and Dr. Dan Watt, she brought that treatment and microscopy to her practice in Sharon PA.
Believing that laser-assisted therapy is the last link in the equation to reliable non-surgical periodontal treatment and that the CO2 laser is the laser of choice for this procedure, Ms King wants to now offer this treatment regime to those patients looking for an alternative non-invasive therapy. Having used this wave-length in her Indian Wells practice for 5 years and getting documented remarkable results, she is anxious and excited about bringing this technology to her patients which offers them greatly improved results in not only their dental health but overall health as well.
| Writer's Corner Article 111: | TOP |
November, 2011
White Paper – Artificial Joint Replacement in Pts at risk for Periodontal Pathogens (or….everyone)
Recently one of my regular 3month perio maintenance patients announced that she was having both knees replaced….the 2nd one to be one month after the first. So we diligently tried to get her on the schedule to make sure that none of her hygiene appointments were missed or delayed by too much.
We came to find that her orthopedic surgeon told her that she could not have any dental work done one month before her surgery. Where did that come from??? So as you might guess, scheduling was challenging.
This dilemma dredged up my ambivalent feelings about the antibiotic prophylactic coverage protocol for artificial joint replacement patients (of which I am one….my left hip 2006). Are the orthopedic surgeons and dentists (at the behest of the surgeons) prescribing this antibiotic regime for the good of their patients or is it merely an effort to “cover themselves.” Many of these patients are periodontally compromised so what or who is protecting their prostheses when their gums bleed when they brush at home…..or since they are at home, are we all off the hook????
I’m curious because most of these patients (my guess would be 99%+) are never asked by the surgeon to get a periodontal/dental evaluation before surgery…..doesn’t that sound like a great idea??? Maybe getting these surgical patients “cleaned up” before surgery would benefit the outcome.
I have a better idea. I can deliver a patient virtually free from oral pathogens (anerobic troublemakers) up to 14 days before their joint replacement surgery. This “bacteria-free” environment can be achieved by doing either a debridement or a cleaning accompanied by full mouth sulcus sterilization with my CO2 laser…..the wavelength of choice for a high water content tissue.
With a protocol like this, including an evaluation of all teeth to assess their vitality and of the gums to assess them for infection, maybe the results of artificial joints surgeries could be even better. We know our patients will be better…..maybe we could ultimately eliminate the overuse of antibiotics just to COA!