If you google search the definition of science you'll find something to the likes of this in response,
"sci-ence noun 1. The intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment."
Being science majors ourselves we know experiments don't always go as planned, there's a lot of trial and error in the process of these major scientific breakthroughs. Health sciences are particularly difficult because one person may react to some illness or ailment differently than another person or animal making these studies very difficult at times. What it boils down to is science isn't always 100%, we might be 99.99999999% sure but you can't always say with absolute certainty that something is so (even if you cross your heart and swear to die or stick a needle in your eye).
My article (under the content section as "stroke lay article" titled Gum Disease Linked to Stroke from RedOrbit) was published in 2009 and states that based on a study of over 1,000 men in Boston researchers were confident in stating that they found a link between periodontal disease, which would indicated inflammation, and cerebrovascular disease in men.
Two years later the same website posted this article, Heart Disease, Cancer, Diabetes, Stroke Signs Can be Found in Mouth Says Atlanta Dentist. GREAT! We had this great idea a few years ago, now we've got some people supporting our idea saying that "sore, red or swollen and bleeding gums could be the gum disease periodontitis, which can increase the risk of stroke ". As you may suspect though, this isn't the end to our story.
Just a little over a year later, the same website posted this article No Proof That Gum Disease Causes Heart Disease Or Stroke. You may be asking yourself, "But how is this possible?!? They JUST told me I've got to keep my mouth clean or I might have a stroke?" Well, as I told you before, science isn't always 100% absolutely positively certain about pretty much anything. For all we know in the next year maybe someone will discover that the key to fixing all the cerebrovascular accidents (strokes) in the world really is to just make sure you're flossing twice a day (I'd say the chances of that are PRETTY slim to say the least but you never know). I guess what I'm saying is just make sure you're well informed about all possibilities and scenarios before you start preaching that everyone should carry a bottle of Listerine with them 24/7. Science is an ever changing field with new innovations and ideas every day and that's what makes it so awesome, albeit rather annoying when years of work could be for not but to say that the idea didn't work, we've just got to make sure we're well informed and on top of our research game!
Cassie I was intrigued with the further research you did on the original article! I agree completely that scientific research is a never-ending project because of the very definition of science itself as you mentioned. The 2012 article posted on red orbit, I thought, did a good job in their attempt to clear confusion of the results of earlier studies. Their mentioning of reviewing 500 articles before they confirmed there was no "causative link" made me side with affirmation that there isn't a direct link between gum disease and stroke (thankfully!).
ReplyDeleteI think the safest thing to do when doing research for publishable papers is to stay away from using the words "directly linked" because that basically leaves no room for error. As you mentioned, there is no way to ever be 100% accurate! Thank you for this post though, I found it very interesting!
We're all familiar with the scientific method: observation --> hypothesis --> prediction --> experiment --> conclusion
ReplyDeleteMany of our conclusions remain as hypotheses and theories, where little of our findings become actual scientific 'dogmas' (a theory that is believed to be absolutely true by everyone). Despite all this, someone may pick up a magazine in the waiting area of a dental office, and read this article that just told them they'll have a stroke if they don't keep their dental hygiene in check, and completely believe it. I feel like the general public believes whatever they read. How many of our parents check for sources? I've had my mother come up to me a ton of times with a new "did you know" fact, when most of the time it wasn't right. You're right, science is an ever changing field which is exactly why we have to be aware about following up on new information. There's a difference between being skeptical and being ignorant! It's smart to question new information, rather then whole-heartedly believe it or completely deny it.