Quote:
> any info to know if this is more effective than atridox or periochip? i
> requested info from ora pharma, but haven't received any info yet. also
called
> all the periodontists in my area, and until i called, they weren't familar
> w/arestin. several of them have called me back to say they have the rep
coming
> at the end of the month. however, perhaps someone here already knows
whether
> arestin would be more effective than atridox or periochip. been told it's
> already available in the northeast.
REPLY:
My experience with all of these is that they are mainly adjuncts to
treatment. Alone, each one is very VERY limited, but used in combination
with going to the dentist for people who never go to the dentist, then it
offers some improvement.
I guess that is the value of DTC (direct-to-consumer) advertising. It makes
some people aware of the fact that their teeth might be loosening right
under their noses. So they get over to the dentist pronto ....
Now even the little graphs that they include with the advertising stuff are
misleading. Upon closer inspection of the underlying data, one realizes that
the scale of the graph is drawn to encourage the dentist to make improper
conclusions.
One critic of mine right here told us that the 0.25 millimeter (thickness of
a dime) is a mean (arithmetic average) for improvement. This suggests that
SOME people can benefit greatly. That might be 0.5 mm or perhaps 0.75 mm.
Well, if that were all so, then including a S.D. (standard deviation) would
sure help us to interpret the data. Interestingly, it is absent from the
data.
Basically, home care, going to the dentist, replacing missing teeth,
splinting teeth together, etc., are our best hope so far for keeping
periodontal disease at bay. Perhaps stem cell investigations will provide a
better therapy in the future.
Interestingly, periodontal pockets do not mean that all is lost. Indeed,
some periodontal pockets are physiologic not pathologic. Some teeth that
have bone loss are still as solid as heck! Solid as all-get-out. So go easy
with recommendations that it is "TIME." It is not time, unless there is no
alternative! First, I check for "firmness." This decreases my denture
business quite a bit, but heck, that is dentistry!
Joel M. Eichen, D.D.S.
arestin