The Hard Science of Soft Sciences

Here at Drs. Eric Johnson and Tom Risbrudt's office, we spend a small but significant portion of our time keeping up on the latest in dental research, from the cutting-edge (no pun intended) pharyngeal surgeries out of Switzerland to the UC Berkeley medical students pumping out research papers about the effects of non-fluoride toothpaste. As mentioned last month, one of the things we see more and more is that there really isn't a distinction between oral health and general health. If your mouth is unhealthy, your body will be too, and vice versa.

But there's a kind of problem with biological sciences. They're referred to by some as 'soft' sciences, because there are just so many variables involved with any form of life that two seemingly identically sets of circumstances can come up with radically different results (ask the scientists studying which diets are best for fat loss!) So a single study that says 'oral bacteria are linked to increased pancreatic cancer risk' is interesting, but until four or five other groups have come up with studies saying the same thing, that's all it is -- interesting.

As it happens, however, the link between breast cancer and oral health isn't just a one-off event. It's been shown in several studies from all over the world:

• The Journal of Oral Microbiology
• Medical News Today
• The Journal of Translational Medicine
• Journal Portal of Shahid Beheshti Medical University

So we at Drs. Eric Johnson and Tom Risbrudt's office are very confident that, when we say that we're doing our part to help fight cancer, we mean it. Not only did our team support the Support G. Komen Walk for the Cure, we also participated in the event last month. We know that the work we do right here every day -- keeping people's mouths healthy -- helps reduce their risk of cancer as well.

 That feels pretty darn good.