Potential mechanisms between periodontitis and Alzheimer's disease: a scoping review.

Background: Research has suggested 2 potential mechanisms by which the periodontal inflammatory response may communicate to distant organs: 1) direct translocation of periodontal bacteria from the oral cavity to another organ system; and 2) inflammation as a result of metastatic periodontal inflammation. The purpose of this scoping review is to explore these mechanisms as potential mediators between periodontitis and Alzheimer's disease.

Methods: A reiterative literature search of peer-reviewed articles was performed in the PubMed and Scopus databases using keywords or combinations such as Alzheimer's disease AND periodontitis OR periodontal disease AND inflammation.

Assessment of full-time dental hygiene faculty participation in clinical practice.

The purpose of this research project was to determine how many U.S. dental hygiene (DH) programs had full-time (FT) faculty members who provided direct patient care unrelated to the curriculum.