MDT releases statement questioning AGD's priorities

The dentists who form Millennium Dental Technologies, Inc. (MDT), and are pioneers of the patented LANAP^™ protocol for the treatment of gum disease and the manufacturer of the PerioLase® MVP-7™ digital dental laser, today released a statement questioning the Academy of General Dentistry's (AGD) priorities. The AGD has given Botox^® seminars center stage at their annual meeting in New Orleans July 8-11, with heavy promotion of the cosmetic procedure workshops in a focused e-mail marketing campaign and headlines in its recent e-newsletter.

“Given that each year more than 100 million Americans go without treatment for periodontal disease—a condition known to be linked to several life-threatening adult diseases and even preterm or stillbirth of newborns—I fail to understand how the AGD can justify its emphasis on Botox®”

Delwin K. McCarthy, DDS , MDT Co-Founder and AGD member comments that, "it is a strange choice of priorities for a dental healthcare organization when 85% of adult Americans suffer from gum disease—a life threatening and always treatable infection increasingly associated with various systemic conditions."

Periodontal disease—also known as gum disease—is a silent, painless, chronic, communicable, bacterial infection that often goes undetected or ignored until there are severe dental consequences such as infections, abscesses and tooth loss. Recently, periodontal disease bacteria has been scientifically confirmed in the death of a stillborn baby. Organized dentistry's failure to confront this death as well as AGD's emphasis on Botox^® is evidence of a disconnect between "need- and want-based" health care treatment emphasis.

"Given that each year more than 100 million Americans go without treatment for periodontal disease—a condition known to be linked to several life-threatening adult diseases and even preterm or stillbirth of newborns—I fail to understand how the AGD can justify its emphasis on Botox^®," states Dr. Robert H. Gregg, DDS, MDT Co-Founder and AGD member.

MDT Vice President and Board Member, Dawn Bloore DDS, also an AGD member, comments: "Dentistry is about treating patients and defeating their diseases, not about superficial cosmetic procedures that have transient sex appeal."

Seeking to bridge the growing divide between gum disease patients and dentists/periodontists, MDT offers the FDA-cleared and patented LANAP^™ protocol—a no cut, no sew, no fear solution to gum disease that utilizes a tiny laser fiber (about the thickness of three human hairs) to clear away infection without cutting the gums. This industry-shaking medical advancement results in scientifically proven regenerative outcomes, offering less post-operative pain and fewer treatments, with faster recovery and lasting results.