Archive for January, 2010

Stressed? I Bet you’re Grinding…

01/22/2010 , 10:13 AM by Ryan Finnegan, DMD

Note to the Reader: This is the first in our celebrity blogger program on dentistry!

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So I guess I’ll start this blog with something I’m seeing more and more of at the office.  Do you ever wake up with headaches? neck pain? are your teeth sensitive to hot and cold?   You, like many of my patients, may be grinding your teeth.  Typically, when I ask a patient, “Do you grind your teeth?” they either tell me they have no idea whether they do or don’t or immediately say NO for fear I’m going to yell at them.  First things first, your dentist is not going to yell at you for grinding your teeth, but he wants to treat you properly.

So why do we grind our teeth?  STRESS.  It’s the body’s subconscious way of dealing with stress.  Perfect example of what we see: College student who has never had a cavity in their life comes in over christmas break complaining that they have had sensitive teeth a few weeks back.  They’ll report that it was very uncomfortable but has gotten better- can anyone say finals???  As we know stress has been increasing for a lot of us lately, worries about the economy, our job security, our mortgage, etc…  And we have seen many more patients who are clenching their teeth.  How does stress make your teeth hurt?  Basically there are 2 effects of grinding: tooth sensitivity or jaw pain/headaches.  The tooth sensitivity comes from the teeth being ground together, this will cause inflammation of the nerve inside the tooth and the patient will experience sensitivity.  The headaches / jaw pain are result of overuse of the muscles of the face, these muscles are contracted when we are grinding.  I tell people to imagine how their kness and legs would feel if they were jogging for 6 hours…

So what to do?  Diagnosis can be difficult because everyone’s symptoms are different and other factors can present the same way.  So step one is to see your dentist to rule out a tooth infection, cavity or other dental issue.  Treatment usually will consist of a nightguard, an anti-inflammatory [medication], possible a muscle relaxant in severe cases.  Other treatments that have proven effective for long term treatment of stress relief are therapeutic massage, acupuncture, and a few cases may need to be addressed surgically.

About Our Celebrity Blogger. Ryan Finnegan is a partner in a 35-year old private practice in Branford, Connecticut.  Completing his undergraduate work at Fairfield University, Dr. Finnegan attended the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine where he earned his DMD.  The good doctor continued his studies with a dental residency at SUNY Stony Brook. (Little interesting tid-bit: He eats lunch at the same time, in the same place, with the same person, every Sunday. No, it’s not his wife. And yes, more often than not, he orders the same dish!)

There is no “I” in team!

01/20/2010 , 10:24 PM by Kevin Aniskovich

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My old high school basketball coach used to drive home the belief that every player had an important role within the program – regardless of how much they played.  Whether you were a starting point guard or a bench-riding, green shirt-wearing, never-gonna-get-in-a-real-game, practice player, the plan was simple – show up early, know your role and play it to the best of your ability.  Oh, and you shouldn’t make any mental errors either.  ;-)

The idea was, if an individual focused on the role granted to them, the program would be competitive.  As a teenager in a strict program, that philosophy got old, or at least confusing, real fast.  What the teenager can’t see is what we all know today to be true in business, that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”  It’s a very non-egotistical way of viewing your role in the world.

In sports, families, or in an industry as complex as health care, no single individual can provide expertise on every issue.  Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of people out “there” who think they can, but that’s simply an inflated ego at work.  Successful and thoughtful organizations rely on a team of specialists to ensure an accurate knowledge base.  Intelecare is no different.  Relying on a diverse group of individuals to ensure our products and services reflect the needs of the markets we serve – whether they be the patient or a managed care organization – Intelecare values its diversity.  In order to make this blog worth our readers’ time, energy and effort, we are going to let those expert voices be heard!

Beginning this Friday, we will have celebrity bloggers (and yes, I am getting razzed about using this term) contributing on a weekly basis.  Representing dentistry, the law, pharmaceutical marketing, hospitals, employee benefits, mental and substance abuse disorders, nutrition and more!  We are even going to work in discounts and freebies when it makes sense.

From our inception, we’ve listened to the opinions of people to mold our offerings.  Our blog is no different.

Thanks for reading and I look forward to your comments and suggestions as to how we can continue to evolve and make this blog, well, relevant for you.

Let It Begin (Again!)

01/14/2010 , 10:34 AM by Kevin Aniskovich
Intelecare's Alex Sicre

Intelecare's Alex Sicre

When Intelecare decided to enter the social media space with its first blog entry in 2007, I was less than bullish on the idea.  I suppose it was just a fear of the unknown – a suspicion of the efficacy or usefulness of something I just didn’t understand.  But nearly 3 years later, Intelecare boasts a presence on Facebook and Twitter, is a biscuit away from launching various consumer-centric videos and a weekly Podcast (also available on YouTube) and, today, a resuscitated blog in honor of the man who started it all – Alex Sicre.

Alex was a thoughtful, poignant writer.  He loved research and, indeed, spreading the good word about all things he believed in.  His commitment to the idea that educating patients and caregivers through organic, grassroots approaches would result in better, more viable outcomes, was spot-on.  In the time since Alex’s passing in November 2008, he has left us a legacy of kindness and thought-provoking work as we continue the battle to increase medication adherence.

In the past year, Intelecare has broadened its member base and increased its work with managed care organizations, pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies.  Launched a completely overhauled user experience and continued to increase the number of patients using the Intelecare system – all during this volatile economic climate.  In that same time frame we lost touch with that grassroots philosophy that Alex championed to educate a community about the negative effects of non-adherence.  That ends today.

Alex’s work at Intelecare immersed him in the issues of non-compliance, but even he struggled with adherence to his medication regimen.  If medication adherence was difficult for someone like Alex, imagine how trying it can be for patients and caregivers whose busy lives pull them in multiple directions without a direct understanding of the ramifications of non-adherence?  Make no mistake about it, non-adherence is America’s biggest drug problem.

I am reminded of the statistics everyday:

  • 1 out of every 2 people are non-compliant
  • $300 billion in costs to the healthcare system with far reaching health and socio-economic implications
  • $47 billion in hospitalization costs directly attributed to non-adherence

The statistics are daunting, but we can change them.  We can increase adherence and persistency.  At Intelecare, we believe our communications hub permits results based on a preference-based reminder.  Our approach to communications is paradigm-shifting that includes reminders but provides education, rewards and, ultimately, home delivery of medications with a click of a button.

Please join the entire Intelecare family in making this goal of increasing medication adherence a reality today.