Dental Stem Cells Generate New Bone Tissue

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An interesting article presented in Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News discusses dental stem cells and their role of creating new bone tissue in humans. This article is based off of the procedure and results in a recent paper titled “Human Mandible Bone Defect Repair by Grafting of Dental Pulp Stem/Progenitor Cells and Collagen Sponge Biocomplexes” which has been conducted by Gianpoalo Paccio and his partners in Naples, Italy. (Europen Cells and Materials Vol.18, 2009, pages 75-83). Seventeen patients had their wisdom teeth extracted and the dental pulp stem/progenitor cells known as DPCs were eventually used to fill the injury site left by the wisdom teeth that were removed. Three months later, the patients were examined by X-ray. The sites where the wisdom teeth were extracted and filled with the DPCs (along with a collagen sponge scaffold) showed complete regeneration of … Read more

Near Death Wisdom Teeth Removal Experience

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I wanted to alert everyone to a recent article in The Orangeville Banner and The Wellington Advertiser regarding 17 year old female Mercedes Moore and her wisdom teeth removal near death experience. According to the articles, Mercedes had her wisdom teeth removed in February, 2009. She began to feel a purple lump on her left temple along with pain and swelling. She saw the dentist for a follow up and told her he thought nothing was out of the ordinary. Eventually she had to be airlifted to a hospital because she was suffering from septic shock due to an infection that had developed and spread to her main arteries and organs. She had to undergo a surgery on her brain to remove a piece of skull and clean the infection. This surgery lasted 10 hours. Due to the blood clotting … Read more

iHATEheadaches.org – Ira Shapira

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Recently launched is a new website http://www.ihateheadaches.org/. This website is run by Dr. Ira Shapira a dentist in Gurnee, Illinois.  People should take CAUTION when viewing this site. First, the site serves as a promotion tool for Dr. Ira Shapira and other neuromuscular dentists in the U.S. Of course, since Dr. Ira Shapira is located in Illinois his practice is the only one listed when you select you live in IL. Currently the site only has one or two dentists at the most for different states. Some states such as Florida currently have no “doctor’s” listed. Secondly, the site is attempting to aid in the dentists ‘cashing’ in on the headache epidemic. In a press release by Dr. Ira Shapira he addresses a article in Medical Hypothesis (2009) “Migraine, neuropathic pain and nociceptive pain: Towards a unifying concept.“ This article … Read more

Dental Sources of Information

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If you are looking for dental information online there are several great sources of information to read. First, thanks for stopping by here at http://www.teethremoval.com. If you are looking for great information from a dentist online,  I would highly recommend Dr. David Leader. He frequently writes articles (usually at least once a month).  You can view his articles over at http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/1435/dr_david_leader.html. Some of the more recent article titles include “What Causes Cavities,” “Oral Surgery – Before and After,” and “Reasons to Call your Dentist.” Another source of dental information is the ADA (American Dental Association) News Today. They have many updated articles on dentists and various dental programs throughout the country. You can visit ADA News Today at http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/adanews/index.asp. There are many other websites and blogs that provide useful and informative dental information. Many have been covered before on this … Read more

Placebo Pain Control

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New research has come to light to show the “placebo effect” involves evolutionarily old pain control pathways in the human brainstem. Placebo analgesia refers to a person’s relief from pain following being given a chemically inert substance. It is thought to be due to a person’s belief that a potent pain medication was administered. Endogenous opioids are naturally produced by the brain in small amounts and play a key role in the relief of pain and anxiety. Brain imaging studies have shown placebo analgesia stimulates release of endogenous opioids from higher brain regions. “It has been hypothesized that placebo analgesia also recruits the opioidergic descending pain control system, which inhibits pain processing in the spinal cord and, therefore, subsequently reduces pain-related responses in the brain, leading to a decreased pain experience,” says Falk Eippert. Eippert and his colleagues used advanced … Read more