One of the more successful efforts in consumer misinformation campaigns — right up there with “life” insurance — has been “silver filings.” There’s a certain polished sound to the term used for dental amalgam fillings that continue to be used by some dentists to fill cavities. After all, what could be bad about silver? Mostly, the only thing silver about dental amalgam is the color. Approximately half of a dental
The dental care delivery system in the U.S. appears to do better than those of other, similar countries, according to the results of a new study. Researchers reviewed the oral health of thousands of people and found that the U.S. beat out other countries with fee-for-service dental care. Their study included nearly 15,000 people 25 years and older from the U.S., Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. The U.S. came out
An average American spends at least six months of their entire life waiting for a traffic light to go green. A man can also consume a total of six months of his life looking at the mirror. Do you know what else can be done in six months? Straighten your teeth! Most people thought that teeth straightening on average take years to complete, not anymore. The advances in dentistry made
Voting for the 2018 Dental Excellence Awards ends on November 15, 2018. Join hundreds of your colleagues and peers in determining the best new products and services in dentistry. Be sure to cast your vote for the finalists in our 11 categories. Voting ends on November 15, 2018. If you know others who might be interested in voting, let them know voting has begun and that it’s free. Just register
Dear DrBicuspid Member, Millennials aren’t so great at brushing their teeth, even when they’re asked to brush to the best of their ability. That’s the finding of a new study that evaluated the toothbrushing habits of young adults. Read more here. We also reported on a study that examined the relationship between toothbrush wear and plaque scores. Researchers recommended throwing out the practice of equating toothbrush wear with toothbrush age.
Are you a senior citizen who’s worried about your dental health? Then keep on reading. Thanks to the advances in modern dentistry, seniors losing all of their natural teeth have become a thing of the past. Instead, it’s more accurate for typical seniors to have dental implants and whole rows and bridges of false teeth in their mouth, rather than having detachable dentures that must be submerged on a bedside
Are you seeing patients with high blood pressure who also have periodontal disease? A large study of more than 3,000 such patients illustrated the effect oral health can have on hypertension treatment. Patients with high blood pressure taking medication for their condition are more likely to benefit from the therapy if they have good oral health, according to the researchers. Their study was published in the American Heart Association (AHA)
Medical device company Align Technology has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Invisalign treatment with mandibular advancement. The new clear-aligner system simultaneously aligns teeth and repositions the lower jaw. The treatment replicates the action of functional appliances for class II correction through precision wings that hold the mandible in a forward position while simultaneously correcting malocclusion and crowding issues, according to Align Technology.
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can be a risk factor for mortality, but what contributes to this risk for patients who may have this condition? Researchers wanted to see if the length of breathing interruptions was as important as how often they occur. Patients with sleep apnea who have short interruptions in breathing while they sleep are at higher risk for death than those with longer interruptions, they found. Their study
Periodontitis and metabolic syndrome are manifestations of chronic inflammation. Could there be a causal relationship between the chronic inflammation of gum disease and the chronic inflammation of metabolic syndrome? Alvin Danenberg, DDS. The answer lies in the fact that practically all chronic diseases start with inflammation on the cellular level. If chronic inflammation could be brought under control, cells might have the potential to heal. Metabolic syndrome is a cluster
Laser therapy has numerous applications and may improve oral wound healing by encouraging cell regeneration, lessening pain, and modulating the immune system, but its use after tooth extraction remains controversial. Therefore, researchers reviewed the published literature to learn more about the evidence for this treatment. They searched for studies conducted in humans or animals that examined whether laser therapy improved wound healing after tooth extraction. However, they found results that
Scientists may have discovered a link between periodontal disease and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease. A new study found chronic periodontal infection was associated with brain inflammation and neurodegeneration in mice. Keiko Watanabe, DDS, PhD, and colleagues The researchers conducted their study to investigate why the periodontal pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis might be found in the brains of humans and mice with Alzheimer’s disease. They published their findings in PLOS One