12 Million Kids Have Trouble Getting To the Dentist

While 82% of U.S. children get to the dentist at least once a year, many of the rest face serious financial hurdles, according to a report released Feb. 9 by C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll On Children’s Health. Around one in four parents in the report cited cost as a difficulty in getting dental care for their kids. The report found that 16% of children have no dental insurance coverage at all, and almost half of those kids receive no dental care. Among kids with public dental insurance, many parents reported that they couldn’t find a provider who accepted their plan. Tooth decay left untreated in childhood can lead to lifelong tooth and gum problems, making dental coverage an obvious target for healthcare reform. Learn more … 

Are You Really Allergic to Penicillin?

If you are, you certainly wouldn’t want to be treated with this antibiotic. But a study reported online Feb. 12 in the Annals of Emergency Medicine found that 91% of people who show up in the emergency department saying they’re allergic to penicillin actually test negative for the allergy. And all it takes to find out is a 30-minute skin test. Doctors prefer to treat patients with penicillin because it’s cheap, and because it targets a narrow group of bacteria types. Giving a broader-spectrum antibiotic costs more, and because those drugs target a broader group of bacteria types, they are thought to contribute to antibiotic resistance. Learn more …

Pregnant Moms Should Watch Vitamin E Intake

Too much vitamin E during pregnancy could increase the risk of heart defects in the baby, a study from the February issue of BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology found. In a study of 600 moms, Dutch researchers found that those with the highest vitamin E intake from diet alone were 70% more likely to have a baby with a heart defect. And those who had high dietary vitamin E intake and also used vitamin E supplements increased risk of congenital heart defects in their babies five to nine times. Researchers speculate that too much vitamin E could modify genes involved in heart development, or imbalance the oxidant/antioxidant state of embryonic tissue. Vitamin E is found in several nuts and nut oils, and in spinach, broccoli, mango and kiwi. Learn more about vitamin E …