The link between dental x-rays and brain tumors was studied by collecting and analyzing information from 1,433 patients who were diagnosed with meningioma between the ages of 20 and 79 years. A control group of 1,350 individuals who had similar characteristics but had not been diagnosed with the brain tumor were also studied.

Over a lifetime, patients with the meningioma brain tumor were more than twice as likely to report having ever had a bitewing exam where an x-ray film is held in place between the teeth. Those who had received bitewing x-rays on a yearly or more frequent basis were 1.4 to 1.9 times more likely to develop the brain tumor than controls.

An even greater risk of meningioma brain tumor was linked with panorex exams. Panorex are dental x-rays that are taken from outside the mouth and show all the teeth in one picture. Especially if the panorex dental x-rays were taken at a young age or on a yearly or more frequent basis. Those who had received these dental x-rays when they were younger than 10 years old had a 4.9 times increased risk of developing meningioma. Those who had received them on a yearly or more frequent basis were 2.7 to 3.0 times as likely to develop meningioma as controls depending on their age.

It should be noted that meningioma is not a cancerous tumor and that techniques used for dental x-rays today do not expose patients to as much radiation as before. The study findings suggest though, that dental x-rays do affect the body and that they should only be performed when necessary for diagnostic purposes.

Source: Elizabeth B. Claus MD et al.: “Dental x-rays and risk of meningioma”, Cancer, published online 10 Apr 2012, DOI: 10.1002/cncr.26625

Research conducted at Malmö University’s Dental Faculty has proved that children born before the 33^rd week of pregnancy will grow permanent teeth that are up to 10% smaller in size compared with other children. The research was conducted by orthodontist Liselotte Paulsson-Björnsson, who examined the permanent front teeth and 1^st molars in 80 children aged 8 to 10 years. All children had been born prematurely and their teeth were generally smaller and had larger spaces between them. Although this does not affect the function of the teeth it might cause problems cosmetically, thus creating a greater need for orthodontic treatment in this group of children.

Liselotte Paulsson-Björnsson points out that due to the great progress in the care of prematurely born babies within the last 15 years, the results of her research might not apply to babies born prematurely today. She also needs to examine whether it is only the front teeth and 1^st molars that are affected or whether teeth developed after birth will also be smaller.

Source: www.mah.se/Nyheter/Nyheter-2011/For-tidigt-fodda-barn-far-mindre-tander/

Why does periodontal disease cause premature birth?

Although the connection between periodontal disease and premature birth seems clearly to be existing, researcher are still not certain about the reasons for this connection.

One theory is that periodontal disease triggers increased levels of the biological fluids that induce labor. In other words, the regulators that are supposed to send the message that birth is to begin are produced elsewhere in the body and the message is sent prematurely. Some of these regulators are called prostaglandins, and they can be produced by different diseases, among which is gum disease.

Another theory is that oral bacteria from the mother is transferred directly into the uterus, causing localized inflammation and adverse pregnancy outcome.

Maintain good oral health during pregnancy

Whatever the reason for the connection between gum disease and preterm birth, it is clear that it is crucial for pregnant mothers to maintain good oral hygiene through the whole pregnancy. Discomfort in connection with the pregnancy such as nausea may at times make it difficult to keep up the good oral hygiene habits from before the pregnancy, but with determination and good support from your dental health professional is it not impossible.

One advice that many pregnant mothers have benefitted from is to buy a toothbrush with soft bristles and a small head. If you suffer from nausea, a smaller toothbrush will make it easier to reach the teeth in the back of your mouth without causing too much discomfort. The soft bristles will also be more gentle on your gums, which might be extra sore during your pregnancy.

Some pregnant mothers experience more serious dental health problems during pregnancy, such as bleeding gums, loose teeth and bad breath despite frequent brushing. If you experience such problems, you might benefit from a visit to your dentist or dental hygienist. They can help evaluate the condition of your gums, make you aware of areas that you need to pay more attention to and teach you how to care for your own oral health and thereby the health of your baby.

While doctors are very clear about the symptoms and processes of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, they have long been in the dark as to the “tipping” factors, that is the factors that make the body’s immune system start to attack its own tissues. However, some research points to an oral bacteria as a contributing factor to the development of multiple sclerosis. The oral bacteria in question is called Porphyromas gingivalis and is common in humans. It produces a unique type of lipid, which enhances inflammatory responses.

Researchers at the University of Connecticut Health Center have tried to determine whether these lipids play a role in exacerbating autoimmune disease. Results indicated that phosphorylated DHCs from bacteria commonly found in humans may actually trigger or increase the severity of multiple sclerosis and other autoimmune diseases.

Although results like these are indeed good news for those suffering from multiple sclerosis and those at risk of developing the disease, more research is still needed before the research can be used in therapeutic treatment and prevention of multiple sclerosis. For instance, scientists still need to characterize the effects of the oral bacteria on specific cells of the immune system and to identify how and where these lipids are deposited in the body’s different tissues. In addition to triggering and worsening multiple sclerosis, scientists believe that the oral bacteria may have the potential to serve as new markers of multiple sclerosis disease activity and as targets for therapeutic intervention.

Step 1: Give your gums a rest

When asked whether dentures need to be taken out at night, some dentists will answer: “Do you normally sleep with your shoes on?” The two might not seem related, but actually your feet and your gums have this one thing in common: They need air and rest. The environment created between your gums and your dentures is warm and humid, creating the ideal environment for fungus growth. Exposing the gums to your own saliva, however, will keep them healthy. The first step in proper denture care is therefore to care for yourself by taking the dentures out at night and giving your gums some air. Rinsing and brushing your gums and tongue with a soft-bristled brush after meals, before bedtime and before putting them back on in the morning will also help prevent problems such as bad odor and itching.

Step 2: Brushing your dentures
The dentures themselves need to be brushed and kept clean just like natural teeth. For cleaning your dentures make sure to choose a brush that is soft-bristled enough to avoid scratching the dentures. When brushing, be careful not to drop the dentures on the floor or in the zink, at this might break them. Some choose to brush over a soft surface or over a zink filled with water to avoid breakage if dropped. Your dentures not only need to be cleaned on the outside, but also on the sides facing the gums. Actually, this is the most important part as germs and debris on the inside of dentures might cause fungus infection and other irritation.

Step 3: Soaking your dentures

Most dentists advise patients to soak their dentures in water during the night as this prevents the dentures from drying out or warping. If your dentures are properly brushed and cleaned daily, it should not be necessary to spend money on denture cleaning solutions. If there are stains or calculus on the dentures, you can make your own solution of half-and-half water and vinegar. After soaking dentures in vinegar, remember to brush and rinse them before putting them back in the mouth. The solution in itself will not remove stains and calculus but will soften them, making them easier to remove with a toothbrush. For partial dentures, be aware that some solutions will damage the clasps. To be on the safe side, soak partial dentures for no more than 15 minutes or use only water for soaking.

With these simple steps it should be possible to keep your gums healthy and your dentures clean. If you in spite of good hygiene habits start to experience problems with your gums or dentures, make an appointment to have your dentist take a look at it. The problem will probably be easily solved and you can continue living happily with your dentures!

In the experiment, stem cells were taken from rats’ periodontal fibres and cultivated in an incubator. After a while, they were seeded on extracted rats’ teeth og put back into the jaw of the rats. After a few months the stem cells had formed new periodontal fibres between the tooth and the jaw and the tooth was attached just as firmly as a healthy tooth.

Better than implants?

Researchers are hoping to be able to use this technique to re-implant teeth that have been lost due to trauma, or even to attach tooth replacements directly into the gum. Teeth attached with stem cell fibres in this way will have a big advantage compared with implants that do not have periodontal fibres and have a very bad prognosis as soon as they start to loosen a little.

Do you really want natural looking dentures?

First of all, you need to decide whether you really want natural looking dentures. If you don’t want anyone to notice that you exchanged your natural teeth for dentures, you will need to have your dentures made to look exactly like the original teeth with all their imperfections, such as miscolorations, cracks and visible fillings. Others decide that changing to dentures is their chance to get the teeth they always wanted. Although they might be happy with their perfect, white new teeth, this change will probably not go unnoticed by their friends and relatives. Others might find it unusual too, to see such a young looking set of teeth on a not so young looking person. Still others decide to go with with a set of dentures that is just slightly better looking than the original teeth. They reason that most people are not in the habit of studying other peoples’ teeth so closely that they would notice small changes like that. Which is probably true.

How to get natural looking dentures

If you decide to go for the natural look, make sure that your dentist takes note of exactly how your original teeth look. If many teeth are already missing, bring a photo of yourself where you are smiling and thus showing off your natural teeth. This will also help the dentist see, not only what the dentures are supposed to look like, but also how the impression should be of your whole face when you are finally wearing the dentures. Dentures when worn should not be too tall or protruding, making it difficult to close your lips around them and they should not be so low that they never show when you smile. If you find that you suddenly have wrinkles around your mouth, especially at the corners is a sign that your dentures are too small or too low. If you’ve had dentures for a long time and start to experience these problems it is also a sign that your need to have your dentures refitted or maybe even changed.

The above is just a simplified introduction to achieving natural looking dentures. Your dentist will be able to give you much more advice and guidance. Hopefully, at least this article has convinced you that a change to dentures does not need to become the talk of the town. Your dentures can be made to look so natural, that only you and your dentist will ever need to know about it.

Only one proven effect of mouth rinse products

The only ingredient in mouth rinse products that has a scientifically proven effect is fluoride. Fluoride is only effective against cavities in that it helps remineralize teeth. Although the fluoride in mouth rinse products might have a beneficial effect against cavities, it will not remove the plaque itself nor the diseases caused by plaque. Only a toothbrush can remove plaque, and only by regularly removing plaque can gum disease be effectively prevented.

Are mouth rinse products beneficial?

Since gum disease is a medical problem, products claiming to have therapeutic effect must have presented scientific proof supporting this claim. The manufacturers of mouth rinse products have not presented any such proof and are thus not permitted to claim that their products have any such therapeutic effect. False claims as to the effect of mouth rinse products might have a harmful effect on the oral health of buyers, since they put too much trust in the product and pay too little attention to the oral health habits that are actually effective in preventing oral diseases, such as brushing and flossing.

Since the amount of fluoride needed to protect teeth against cavities in most cases is met just by using toothpaste for brushing twice a day, many dental health professionals find mouth rinse products to be an unnecessary supplement to the daily oral health routine.

In the warning letters from the FDA, the three companies were given a deadline of 15 days to take action to correct the matter. Otherwise they would risk prosecution and the removal of their mouth rinse products from the shelves.

The fact of the matter in this case is that nanotechnology is not about to replace dental fillings. The research was about how to regenerate the pulp inside the tooth and not the crown itself. The pulp of the tooth consists of nerves and blood vessels. It is a live tissue in contrast to the tooth enamel which consists of approximately 96% inorganic material. Sometimes the dental pulp becomes infected due to deep cavities or trauma. When the dental pulp becomes infected it will start to die and so far the only treatment of this condition has been to remove the dental pulp and replace it with a soft material called gutta-percha. After such a root canal treatment the tooth will be dead and is now weaker than before. It will often be necessary to protect the now more fragile tooth with a dental crown to prevent it from breaking or cracking.

What the French nanotechnology researchers might have discovered is a way to regenerate the dying pulp so that the tooth won’t have to die. By using a multilayered, nano-sized film — only 1/50,000th the thickness of a human hair containing a substance called alpha melanocyte stimulating hormone, or alpha-MSH the nanotechnology scientists have proved that they can fight inflammation and increase the number of dental pulp fibroblasts. Fibroblasts are the cells inside the dental pulp that regenerate the pulp fibres and are the main type of cell found in dental pulp.

Hopefully this new breakthrough within nanotechonology – which has so far only been tested on laboratory rats – will in time reduce the need for root canal therapy.

There are many reasons why people suffer from dry mouth. Among the most common are:

• Medicine: Many kinds of medicine have dry mouth as a side effect – e.g. diuretics, anti-depressives and muscle relaxants.
• Depression, anxiety and nervousness often result in dry mouth.
• Snoring at night or breathing through your mouth during the day dries out your mouth.
• Ageing: Dry mouth often occurs naturally as you grow older.
• De-hydration: Dry mouth can be a sign that you’re not drinking enough fluid.

Some of the most popular advice for relieving problems caused by dry mouth are:

Oral hygiene:

• Make sure to brush your teeth after each meal in order to protect your teeth from caries.
• Regular check-ups: Visit your dentist or dental hygienist often (e.g. every 3 months) for a check-up.

Stimulating saliva flow:

• Chewing gum: Chewing gum increases your saliva flow. Just make sure the gum is SUGAR FREE. Some kinds of chewing gum even contain fluoride for extra protection.
• Eat fresh pineapple or use a little lemon juice or vinegar on your food.
• Drink fruit juice or water containing fresh lemon juice. When eating or drinking sour foods, make sure to rinse with water afterwards in order to protect your teeth from the acid.

Keep you mouth from drying out:

• Always carry a bottle or a glass of water, so you can rinse your mouth often,
• Drink a thin oatmeal soup.
• Use artificial saliva or OraMoist Dry Mouth Patch.
• Ask at your local farmacy for other remedies against dry mouth.

Avoid:

• Smoking - tobacco dries out the mucous membranes.
• Eating sour foods between meals in order to protect your teeth from the acid.

If you think your medicine might be the cause of your dry mouth, try speaking to your doctor about a possible change in medication. If there is nothing to be done about the causes of your dry mouth, mention the problem to your dentist or dental hygienist. They will be more than happy to give you advice.