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THURSDAY, Sept. 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Dentists are drilling down on another worrying trend related to the coronavirus: more cracked teeth. Like sleepless nights and stomach jitters, teeth grinding is a telltale sign of stress. And the habit -- which can damage and break your choppers -- is sending people to dental offices in growing numbers amid the coronavirus pandemic. "I have been seeing a lot of broken teeth lately -- way more than I normally see," said Dr. Todd Bertman, a dentist in New York City. "There is definitely an uptick in cases," agreed Avina Paranjpe, a professor of endodontics at the University of Washington School of Dentistry. How much of an uptick? "Considering the number of cases we have seen at the university and in practice, I would say about a 30% to...

THURSDAY, Sept. 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Children who need to take oral steroids for chronic or life-threatening conditions can experience serious side effects, according to new research. Children with autoimmune disorders such as juvenile arthritis, psoriasis or inflammatory bowel disease are often prescribed a steroid to keep the illness under control. But the odds that a child might develop diabetes was nearly six times higher in children taking steroids than in those who don't. The odds of high blood pressure was 19 times higher in those on steroids, and the likelihood of a blood clot was 16 times higher, the study found. The good news, however, is that these complications are all exceedingly rare. "These complications are serious but rare. They affect a very tiny...

THURSDAY, Sept. 24, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Reacting to an upsurge in abuse of benzodiazepine sedatives such as Valium, Xanax and Ativan, U.S. officials on Wednesday added a "Boxed Warning" to the drugs' labels, cautioning about the danger. Benzodiazepines are tranquilizers commonly prescribed to help ease issues such as anxiety, seizures, insomnia and panic disorders. But "while benzodiazepines are important therapies for many Americans, they are also commonly abused and misused, often together with opioid pain relievers and other medicines, alcohol and illicit drugs," U.S. Food and Drug Agency Commissioner Dr Stephen Hahn said in an agency news release. So he said the FDA is now "taking measures and requiring new labeling information to help health care professionals and patients...

THURSDAY, Sept. 24, 2020 (Healthday News) -- The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told a Senate committee on Wednesday that 90% of Americans are still at risk of contracting the virus. "The preliminary results in the first round [of a very large, ongoing CDC study] show that a majority of our nation, more than 90% of the population, remains susceptible," Dr. Robert Redfield testified. "A majority of Americans are still susceptible to this virus." Redfield added that some states are seeing infection rates of 15% to 20% while others are seeing a less than 1% infection rate, CBS News reported. At the same time, Redfield reiterated that the majority of Americans may not be able to get a coronavirus vaccine until next year this after President Donald Trump...