Dental X-Rays and Risk of Meningioma
It has been reported that people who get regular dental x-rays (radiographs) are more likely to suffer a meningioma which is a common type of benign brain tumour. The study in the journal CANCER: The Journal of the American Cancer Society, which is yet to be published, showed people diagnosed with meningioma who reported having a yearly bitewing exam have a risk of 1.4 to 1.9 times more likely to have developed such tumors. It was also reported that people who reported getting a yearly panoramic exam had a risk of 2.7 to 3 times more likely to develop cancer. A risk factor implies and increased risk of something occuring rather and it does not mean it will occur.
Dental patients today are exposed to lower radiation levels than they were in the past and with the advent of digital radiography, those levels are dramatically decreased - you receive more background radiation by living in the hills!
At Elegant Smiles we routinely take bitewing radiographs every two years and only take other radiographs as necessary. As a general guideline regarding panoramic radiographs, they are taken to assess wisdom teeth or to assess for growths in the jaws or nose that we can't see clinically and taken every 5 years if needed. We are mindful of potential radiation exposures to both our staff and our patients and with this in mind we only use digital radiography, lead aprons with thyroid collars for children and thyroid collars for adults to minimise any radiation exposure. Children have radiographs taken as needed, but general screening films start at the age of 16 years and then are re-taken every two years after that.
10th April 2012
Electric Toothbrush Versus Manual Toothbrush - Which is better?
The Cochrane Collaboration (an independant healthcare research group) recently announced results of a review of electric or power toothbrushes evaluating the impact that different cleaning technolgies have on plaque reduction and gingival (gum) health.
It concluded that in the short term (4-12weeks) power toothbrushes with rotating-oscilliating technolgy reduce plaque and gingivitis more than power toothbrushes that move laterally (from side to side) known as sonic. The study also re-iterated that no other powered design other than the rotating-oscilliating technology is consistenly superior to manual toothbrushes.
Oscilliating-rotating technology, as found in Oral B/Braun toothbrushes, is consistently superior at removing plaque and reducing gum inflammation in the short and overall long term as well.
What kind of toothbrush do you have?
20th March 2012
Colgate launches 'Smile for Change' Campaign
605,700 Australian children are living in jobless families and unable to access the same educational, health or life opportunities that many of us enjoy and often take for granted. Colgate launched the campaign with The Smith Family.
The campaign is a reminder that children's oral health is a major and growing iaaue in Australia, particularly amongst disadvantaged children. Poor oral health may prevent children from smiling which can impact their social interactions and the way they feel about themselves. Studies have shown that smiles are contagious and we can;t hep but mimic a smiles. Infants' smiles communicate joy and inspire positive emotional reponses in adults. In turn, this releases endorphins, which are "feel good" chemicals.
Go to www.facebook.com/colgateaustralia and upload/dontate a smile and Colgate will dontate $1 to The Smith Family to raise money to help disadvantaged children.
20th March 2012
Compulsory Recall of DIY Teeth Whitening Products
The Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, signed a Consumer Protection Notice ordering a company to recall DIY teeth whitening kits to protect consumers from high concentrations of hydrogen peroxide that may cause chemical burns to a user’s mouth and gums.
The products recalled are ‘Bright White Express – Advanced Teeth Whitening Kit’ and ‘Proteethwhitening – Professional Teeth Whitening Pen’, both supplied by Pro Teeth Whitening (Aust) Pty Limited.
“These products contain the bleaching agent hydrogen peroxide in higher concentrations than the recognised safe limits as set out in the Poisons Standard 2011 and are unsafe for DIY teeth whitening,” said Mr Bradbury.
“Following negotiations with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), 22 teeth whitening products with unsafe levels of hydrogen peroxide or Carbamide Peroxide have already been voluntarily recalled by 8 other suppliers since December 2011.
“Consumers are advised to cease using these products immediately and visit the Recalls Australia website www.recalls.gov.au for more information on returning the goods for replacement or refund.”
Pro Teeth Whitening (Aust) Pty Limited has 3 days to comply with the compulsory recall order. Consumers can keep up to date by checking progress on the Recalls Australia website.
“DIY teeth whitening kits have grown in popularity, but kits with high concentrations of Hydrogen Peroxide or Carbamide Peroxide may cause painful injuries to a user’s mouth and gums, including sensitive teeth and chemical burns,” said Mr Bradbury.
“The Australian Dental Association has also reported to the secretary that dentists are seeing an increasing number of patients presenting with mouth injuries attributed to home teeth bleaching. Some cases have also been treated in emergency departments of hospitals.
Poisons Information Centres in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria have received a combined total of at least 58 reports of injuries involving teeth whiteners since 2004.
10th February 2012
Plasma Brush
University of Missouri researchers have developed a "Plasma Brush" that can make composite fillings last longer. In less than 30 seconds, the plasma brush uses chemical reactions to clean and disinfect the cavity for the filling. The "cool flame" of the plasma brush also forms a better bond for the filling by changing the surface of the tooth, allowing for a strong and robust bond with the filling material. Studies indicate that fillings are 60% stronger with the plasma brush which increases the filling lifespan. With composite fillings generally only lasting 5-8 years, and a tooth being only able to support 2-3 fillings over its lifetime, this could be a big benefit to patients and dentists alike!
29th January 2012
Half Of All Six-Year-Olds Have Decay
More than 50 per cent of all six year olds are affected by decay of their baby teeth, according to a report released by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW). The findings are based on the results for 193,457 children aged from 4 to 15 in all states and territories except New South Wales and Victoria. The average six year old child has just over two teeth affected by decay. However, the 10 per cent of children this age with the most extensive history of deciduous tooth decay had about eight deciduous teeth affected. This was almost four times higher than the national average for this age group.
Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory had the lowest levels of decay for baby teeth, while Queensland and the Northern Territory had the highest. Western Australia also had the lowest rate of decay among 12 year olds.
8th December 2011
Its All In The Maths!
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden are developing a new method for determining exactly how to best prepare a tooth to place a crown on it. It is expected to improve the quality and reliability of the crown replacements. Each year, dentists put hundreds of thousands of new dental crowns into the mouths of Swedish patients. They firstly have to grind the teeth to which the crowns are to be attached. This is a procedure that is still much of an art and depends completely on the individual dentist’s skill.
Dentists will soon benefit from a computer program. “With current software, you can measure the damaged tooth’s dimensions by laser scanning,” explains 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.” “If the tooth does not have a good fit with the crown, bacteria can accumulate in the gaps, resulting in caries and loosening of the teeth. A bad fit can also lead to problems with the jaw joint or that the dental crown simply falls off.”
The researchers’ new method should therefore reduce the risk of patients suffering such problems. It would also shorten the time needed for treatment, and save large amounts of money. The Chalmers researchers have also produced 3-D software that dental students can use for learning how to grind teeth. Currently, students have no access to simulation programs with defined objectives. In the new software, the objective is the optimum tooth shape, and those undergoing training will know how close to the objective their effort has come.
10th November 2011
Noticed Your Teeth Becoming More Crowded?
This size of our jaws decreases with age! This is shown in a unique study from the Faculty of Dentistry at Malmö University that followed a cohort of dentists throughout their adult lives. The study started in 1949. Plaster moulds were made of the jaws of dental students, who were then in their twenties. Ten years later the procedure was repeated, and in 1989, forty years after the first moulds, a final round was performed. On that occasion the researchers were in touch with 18 of the original 30 participants.
“We found that over these forty years there was less and less room for teeth in the jaw,” says Lars Bondemark, professor of orthodontics, who analysed the material together with his colleague Maria Nilner, professor of clinical bite physiology at the College of Dentistry, Malmö University. This crowdedness comes from shrinkage of the jaw, primarily the lower jaw, both in length and width. While this is only a matter of a few millimetres, but it is enough to crowd the front teeth.
“We can also eliminate wisdom teeth as the cause, because even people who have no wisdom teeth have crowded front teeth.”
How much the jaw shrinks is individual, but for some patients the changes are sufficiently great for them to perceive that something is happening to their bite. Why the jaws change throughout life is not known, but the magnitude of the change is probably determined by both hereditary and anatomical factors, including what the patient’s bite looks like.
3rd November 2011
A Lollypop A Day Keeps The Dentist Away?
A recent study published by the European Academy of Paediatric Dentistry showed that sugar-free lollipops containing licorice root extract significantly reduced the bacteria that causes tooth decay, specifically in pre-school children at high-risk of tooth decay. The study analyzed 66 preschool students ages two to five. Each student received a lollipop for 10 minutes twice daily for three weeks. Results showed a significant reduction in Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans), the main bacteria responsible for tooth decay, during the three-week period when the lollipops were being used and lasting for an additional 22 days before beginning to rebound.
“The use of the licorice root lollipops is an ideal approach as it will stop the transfer and implantation of the bacteria that cause dental decay from mothers to their infants and toddlers,” said Martin Curzon, editor-in-chief, European Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. “It also has the merit of being a low cost-high impact public dental health measure.”
18th August 2011
Japanese Scientists Grow A Tooth
Japanese scientists recently reported growing an entire tooth from stem cells implanted into the kidney of a mouse. The new tooth was then transplanted successfuly into the jaw of another mouse.
14th July 2011
Choice Teeth Whitening
Choice - The People's Watchdog, has released an article on Teeth Whitening Pros and Cons of DIY kits, kiosk and professional dental whitening services. To read the article click here.
22nd June 2011
Do You Brush Before Bed?
Nearly half of the UK (47%) population have admitted to regularly skipping brushing their teeth at bedtime. Women are most likely to not brush their teeth before bed, with 59% regularly skipping cleaning their teeth, compared to 35% of men. Relatively few people skip brushing their teeth in the morning with only 1 out of every 10 starting the day without brushing.
Other findings from the survey were that 28% admitted to not brushing their teeth for over 24 hours and 15% had not cleaned their teeth for more than 2 days.
Chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter, said: “Anyone who regularly skips brushing their teeth—morning or night-time—is storing up oral health problems for the future such as tooth decay and gum disease—the biggest cause of tooth loss often resulting in the need for bridges, dentures or implants. Gum disease has also been linked to other medical problems such as heart disease, strokes, diabetes and respiratory disease.
“Good oral health cannot be maintained by brushing once a day as each brushing session has a specific purpose. Brushing first thing in the morning coats the tooth’s enamel with fluoride to strengthen and protect the tooth surface against acid attacks throughout the day.
“Brushing last thing at night removes the deposits which have built up from eating and drinking during the day, as well as removing plaque – the cause of gum disease. The last brush of the day also coats the teeth with fluoride, which is not washed away through eating and drinking, and continues to protect the tooth’s surface further during sleep,” advised Dr Carter.
9th June 2011
Wisdom Teeth Stem Cells
For most people, wisdom teeth just cause problems. In a study published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry it was shown that wisdom teeth contain a valuable reservior of nerve tissue that can be used in the creation of stem cells. The nerve cells in the nerve tissue of your wisdom teeth are similar to those found in bone marrow and can be used to generate stem cells. As wisdom teeth are removed commonly, it provides the opportunity to remove them in a sterile setting and be frozen and stored until needed!
11th September 2010