New $4.7-Million Study On Early-Stage Oral Cancer

A new study performed by the researchers from UBC's Faculties of Medicine, Science, and Dentistry, is aimed at improving the outcomes for patients undergoing surgery for oral squamous cell cancers.  The study involves universities and hospitals in nine Canadian cities.

The researchers claim that “Findings from the study could revolutionize clinical practice here and around the world.”

According to the Canadian Cancer Society, every year approximately 3,400 Canadians are diagnosed with oral cancer.  In 2010, the estimated number of deaths caused by oral cancer was 1,150; now nearly 30% of the patients who have oral surgery do end up having their cancer recur.

In order to differentiate between healthy tissues from tumours or pre-cancerous cells in the mouth, the study is going to investigate the effectiveness of a fluorescence visualization, or "blue light," under which normal tissue generates a fluorescence, the fluorescence is absent in tumour or pre-cancerous tissue.

NHS New Quarterly Report Shows Amazing Numbers

According to a recent report from National Health Service dental activity, practically one million more people in England have had check-ups in comparison to the same period of time 5 years ago.

During the last 2 years, more than 29.1 million patients were seen and given a dental examination, this number is 967,000 more than the baseline figure in March 2006.

Chief Executive of the BDHF, British Dental Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter said, "The uncertainties surrounding the dental contract over the last decade created an overwhelming shortage of NHS dentists, to the point that there were simply not enough to go around."

Headaches? Visit Your Dentist!

In case you are among the many who suffer from frequent headaches, you know that the first response is often to head to the medicine cabinet for pain relief.  However if this is a chronic problem, it worth visiting your dentist, as the root of your pain may lie inside your mouth.

The cause of your headaches might lie in dental occlusion, which is a "Temporo-Mandibular Joint (TMJ) disorder, a neuromuscular jaw condition caused by an imbalanced bite."

Excessive Bureaucracy Stifling Dental Practice

British Dental Association, Northern Ireland has recently announced that it is calling for "the withdrawal of the legislation which extends the role of the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) to dental practice."

The association is inducing dental professionals to "contact (their) newly-elected Members of the Legislative Assembly requesting (they) petition the Minister and urge him to withdraw the current legislation."

Low Self-Esteem in Children affects Dental Appearance

According to a recent report from hospital-based orthodontic specialists, one in eight teenagers with irregularly shaped teeth have experienced bullying.  The bullying is said to have caused a negative influence on their self-esteem as well as on their quality of oral health.

The study unveils that the children with certain dental features, such as:

• maxillary overcrowding
• a cleft lip, with or without a cleft palate
• an overjet and a deep overbite

A lot of Pregnant Women Skip Dental Check-Ups?

A new study (of 35,267 women in 10 states) claims that some women, specifically black and Hispanic women, do not get dental care during their pregnancies.

Nearly 79% of the women in the study were white, 14% were black/non-Hispanic and 7% were Hispanic.  From more than 35,000 women taking part in the research, only 41% talked with a health care professional about the "need to take good care of their teeth and gums during pregnancy."  This study has shown the importance of oral health to a healthy, full-term pregnancy.

The results of the research are as follows:

"Compared with white women:

Asthma May Put People at a Higher Risk of Tooth Decay

According to a recent Brazilian research study that included 160 children, ages 3 to 15, some children with Asthma may get more cavities.  Half of the children in the study had asthma, consequently the other half did not.

The Brazilian researchers based the risk for tooth decay on the following factors: