NEW YORK (Reuters) April 4 – Human papilloma virus (HPV) infection and periodontitis have a synergistic effect in promoting squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, according to study findings presented Friday at the American Association for Dental Research meeting in Dallas. “Our study is the first one to show that chronic periodontitis predicted HPV status in head and neck cancers,” Dr. Mine Tezal told Reuters Health. She speculates that the

NEW YORK (Reuters) April 7 Solobacterium moorei is the organism largely responsible for chronic bad breath, or halitosis, biologists reported Saturday at the annual meeting of the American Association for Dental Research in Dallas. Persistent bad breath, which can be very embarrassing, is often caused by the breakdown of bacteria in the mouth, producing foul-smelling sulfur compounds that reside on the surface of the tongue. “Tongue bacteria produce malodorous compounds

DALLAS – Dry mouth can devastate patients and frustrate dentists. So the report of a promising new treatment excited researchers attending the American Association for Dental Research annual meeting here today. A drug so new it’s still known only by a number — 552 02 — appeared in a phase I clinical trial to moisten the mouths of patients with Sjögren’s syndrome, said Athena Papas, D.M.D., Ph.D., a professor of

Lasers offer many advantages in cavity preparation, but even at recommended settings, they may kill pulp and weaken dentin. So dentists should turn down their lasers and cut more slowly, warned a researcher at the annual American Association for Dental Research meeting held in Dallas this week. “A lot of dentists use high parameters to cut fast,” says Julia Barros, D.D.S., M.S., a clinical assistant professor at the University of