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By James Berry

A special edition of Scientific American magazine focusing on the relationship between oral and systemic health will be unveiled at the ADA annual session in Las Vegas later this month.

Funded by Procter & Gamble, the 50-page special issue, titled "Oral and Whole Body Health, The Science Behind the Hype," features more than a dozen articles and interviews centered on what is known and not known about the oral-systemic connection, all presented by leading researchers and clinicians.

Copies of the special issue will be available at the P&G booth (5109) in the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, where company spokespersons and Scientific American representatives will be on hand to discuss it.

A spokesman for the magazine said about 200,000 copies of the special issue eventually will be distributed through P&G and SA. Distribution will include leaders in medical and dental health care, dental schools and magazine subscribers identified as dentists.

The special issue is also available online by visiting www.dentalcare.com/soap/products/index_promotion_sa.htm .

Dr. Robert J. Genco, editor of the Journal of Periodontology, a publication of the American Academy of Periodontology, headed an advisory board that worked with Scientific American's editors to develop the content.

"They [SA editors] felt this was an area of growing interest among their readership," said Dr. Genco, who announced development of the special issue during a reception at AAP's meeting in September.

Dr. Genco said the special issue, nearly a year in preparation, was written in a way that would appeal to the public, to clinicians and to research scientists alike. "They've done a wonderful job," he said of the SA editors. Dr. Genco also contributed an article to the special issue, exploring the biomedical and dental detective work that has linked obesity, diabetes and periodontal disease.

Dr. Paul Warren, P&G's vice president for Global Professional and Scientific Relations, oversaw the company's involvement in the SA project.

He said he was pleased with the outcome, particularly because it presents "a fair and balanced view" of the oral-systemic connection, detailing "what science we know and what science we don't know yet."

The special issue includes a message from Dr. Kenneth A. Krebs, AAP president, who hails its "in-depth and balanced information on the association between periodontal diseases and general health conditions."

The special issue concludes with a look at "The ADA's Take" on the oral-systemic relationship in a Q&A interview with Dr. Daniel M. Meyer, director of the ADA's Division of Science.

Dr. Meyer sounds a note of caution, urging the public and professionals to "distinguish between sound science and pseudoscience and between causal relationships and casual relationships."

He adds, "We want to make sure that everyone has the best scientific information to make good treatment and clinical care decisions that will improve the quality of life and health for our patients."