Math Gives Better Attachment For Dental Crowns?

Due to the fact that dental treatment, involving crown replacements runs Swedish people dozens of millions SEK annually, researchers at Chalmers University of Technology are working on the creation of a new method for “determining exactly how to optimally prepare a tooth to place a crown on it.”  They are working to make a new method that is much cheaper and faster; while at the same time improving quality and reliability of the crown replacements.

The researchers at Chalmers, at the initiative of the company Nobel Biocare, are now planning to run clinical tests.

"With current software, you can measure the damaged tooth's dimensions by laser scanning," says Chalmers researcher Evan Shellshear.  "The software then computes the optimal shape of the ground tooth, and the output is a 3-D visualisation of it.  You also get a 3-D animation showing precise suggestions for manoeuvring the cutting tool in order to achieve the final tooth shape safely."

Government Intervention Required On Whitening Products?

In order to resolve concerns about the position trading standards, officers are adopting in relation to the supply of teeth whitening products.  The British Dental Association is seeking an urgent meeting with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS).

Stuart Johnston, Chair of the British Dental Association's Representative Body, said,

"The recently changed approach to the supply of whitening products, and particularly the impact the investigation being undertaken in Essex is having, is a significant concern for patient safety.  This must be addressed as a matter of urgency and the previously adopted low-key approach to supply to dental professionals reinstated.  A significant body of evidence demonstrates the safety of whitening products when used by trained dental professionals.  We urge trading standards officers to adopt a pragmatic approach that recognizes this and puts patient safety first."

Tooth Decay Among Indigenous Children of U.S. and Canada

Not long ago we told you that one of the most common infectious diseases among indigenous children of the United States and Canada is early childhood tooth decay.  The James Irvine's statement claiming that "The influence of early childhood caries on overall childhood health and well being goes well beyond the mouth, and many of our indigenous children have not benefited fully from the many advances to improve oral health in North American children," stresses the need for indigenous children to have access to early oral health care.

"Many physicians continue to view early childhood caries as a dental problem to be treated by dentists," noted Steve Holve, MD, FAAP, another co-author.

New BDA Expert in Dental Surgeries of England

On May 20th, at the 2011 British Dental Conference and Exhibition at Manchester's Central Convention Complex, an innovative service that offers peace of mind in practice management was been officially launched.  British Dental Association Expert is a new practice management solution from the association that is said to auto-inform subscribers of changes to regulations as well as protocols, and other practice requirements.

Peter Ward, Chief Executive of the British Dental Association, said, "BDA Expert is a major step forward for the way that busy dentists keep up to date with the latest requirements, supplying them with the protocols and models they need to comply with changing legislation.  It offers a proactive approach that takes away the anxiety of wondering whether you're up to date with the latest developments, by providing regular updates direct from the BDA's trusted experts.  It will be like having a personal visit from the BDA team every time that regulations and requirements change.

Study Shows: Treating Periodontal Disease Freshens Breath

A recent study claims that treating periodontal disease not only makes you healthier, but also freshens your breath.
The study, performed by Japanese researchers, involved 102 people with periodontal disease.  Everyone involved in the study had bad breath (halitosis.)

"Dentists used a device that measured their levels of three chemicals that commonly cause bad breath.

There are a lot of reasons for halitosis. Including:

Higher Medicaid Payments Makes More Kids' Visits

A new study came to the conclusion that children on Medicaid visit dentists more frequently, if Medicaid pays the dentists more.

The study considered nationwide data for the years of 2000 and 2008, focusing on Medicaid payment levels to dentists.  The researchers also checked whether or not children had visited a dentist in the last 6 months.  "For each $10.00 increase in Medicaid payments, children on Medicaid were about 4% more likely to have a recent dental visit," the study says.

However, it turns out that children on Medicaid are less likely to visit dentist regularly than those with private insurance.  Only about half of children on Medicaid have regular dental visits.  The difference is tangible, specifically in comparison with the 68% of children who have private insurance.

Dentists Can Identify People with Undiagnosed Diabetes

According to a recent study performed by researchers at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine, "dental visits represented a chance to intervene in the diabetes epidemic by identifying individuals with diabetes or pre-diabetes who are unaware of their condition."

From the nearly 600 individuals who were recruited for the study, half of the group was non-Hispanic, white 40-years-old or older; the other half were Hispanic, or non-white, 30-years-old or older.  None of them had been ever told that they have diabetes or pre-diabetes.

Dentists Don't Give Preference to Children on Medicaid

According to recent research performed by Joanna Bisgaier, MSW, from the Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, and her team; dentists avoid giving appointments to children in the combined Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program.

A team of researchers from the Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, aimed to check out the affect of insurance status on dentists' sharpness to allot an appointment for young people.

Dental School Warns Of Potential Zinc Hazards for Patients

In accordance with a report by Amar Patel, DDS, Residents and Colleagues at the University of Maryland Dental School, dentists have to pay more attention to potential hazards of exposing patients to zinc; which actually is a common ingredient of a lot of dental products.

Amar Patel stated that "Of direct concern to dental professionals ... has been the recent discovery of neurological disorders resulting from excessive use of denture adhesives, having highly transmittable zinc contents which can cause copper deficiencies."

Dentists Urge Patients to Quit Smoking

Recent research shows that after some dentists got tobacco cessation training, they were about twice as likely to counsel patients to quit smoking.

The research was performed by the researchers from the New York University College of Dentistry. The study involved six different dental clinics at the college, the first thing the researchers did was to look at nearly 700 patient charts in order to see if dental health professionals were asking patients about tobacco use and offered help in quitting.

BDA Warns that Deferring Dental Treatment Unwise

In accordance with a research made by the British Dental Association (BDA), nowadays English patients are pushed to cancel dental appointments and put off treatments they need because of the concerns about the economic climate. This unfortunate strong influence of these decisions leads to an increased number of patients presenting at surgeries requiring emergency treatment.

A research performed by the British Dental Association found that 59% of asked dentists had seen their patients cancel appointments, at the time when 68% reported that their patients defer treatment. Taking into account this stat, there is no surprise that more than one third of practitioners mentioned that they had seen "an increased demand for emergency treatment during the past year."

Chair of the BDA's Executive Board, Dr Susie Sanderson, stated that:

Dental Anxiety Exaggerates Memories

A recent study shows that people with high dental fear have excessive memories of the pain mixed with fear which they feel during treatment.

The study was made by the researchers at the University of West Virginia. At the oral surgery clinic dentists surveyed 79 people who needed an emergency tooth extraction. Everyone in the study were asked about their fear and pain before, during and 2 weeks after the extraction.

Sealants Protect Teens' Teeth

“Dental sealants are plastic coatings that protect teeth from decay. In children and young adults who live in places with fluoride in the water, almost all tooth decay is found on the chewing surfaces. In non-fluoridated areas, more cavities are found in between the teeth. In Greece, the water is not fluoridated.” Greek research claims that dental sealants reduce the risk of tooth decay in teens.

During the research were involved nearly 2,500 children, considering the fact that approximately half were age 12 and the others were age 15. The main aim of the study was to know whether sealants do help to reduce tooth decay in these age groups as well as due to the results to decide whether Greece should establish a national dental sealant program for youth.

Be Careful with Risk of Excess Zinc Intake

Despite the fact that zinc is considered to be an essential mineral for the human body, you should keep in mind that excess zinc intake may be harmful. 

At present, a new study has asked dentists to pay specific attention to the amount of zinc they consume.

J. A. von Fraunhofer, the co-author of the study stated: "If a patient wears dentures, it is essential that he or she follows the instructions and recommended dosages on the product label," he added that "Many times, patients will overuse the adhesive and, although it happens rarely, they can ingest toxic levels of zinc, with adverse neurologic effects." In order to ensure that a patient is not overusing the adhesive, the optimal use of denture adhesive involves placing a thin film or a series of dots across the denture surface. 

How to Help Your Child Deal with the Dentist

Some times it is very difficult to explain a child the importance of oral hygiene and how significant it is to keep teeth healthy from early age. While we may build good foundations for oral health with our children, it is undeniable that the dentist will play a major role in it, as you have to remember that visiting the dentist twice a year is not that one option children and adults may do without.

If you have worries about taking your child to a dentist, here are some useful tips you might consider, as often people face the problem when their children hear bad stories from friends about dentists, which evidently they do not want to experience themselves.

How to Spot a Fake Dentist

Now-a-days, more and more people become conscious on what they put in their mouths. Taking into account that health concerns are common topics, many people consider taking vitamins in order to maintain their health as well as many take out additional insurance, as they understand how important is to get the best possible service in case they get sick. Considering this fact, it is still quite interesting to mention that only some people pay close attention to their heath care professionals, specifically what is concerning the dental industry. It goes without saying that dentists are not that popular subjects as their practice. 

If you don’t know how to distinguish a fake dentist, here are some tips for you:

Common Causes of Tooth Discoloration

It goes without saying that the teeth are a vital structure in our anatomy so we should keep our teeth healthy and strong. Dental health starts in maintaining the "whiteness" of teeth as tooth enamel is considered to be one of the highly mineralized parts in the human body, which causes the white characteristic of the teeth. Usually the color of enamel of the teeth varies from yellow to white, if there is enough of calcium content teeth have white-colored enamel.

Tooth discoloration can be caused by aging (when one grows older there is a reduction in calcium content), salivary dysfunction, or poor oral hygiene.

If you practice head and neck radiation therapy the exposure to UV rays can cause stains on teeth as well as multiple medications.