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I wanted to alert everyone who have have missed it that Jay W. Friedman was the American Journal of Public Health Author of the year. Jay W. Friedman is a retired dentist now living in California. He has his own website http://www.wix.com/simcoe/jay/ and has received a lot of attention here on www.teethremoval.com.

Jay W. Friedman was selected for this honor for his articled titled “The Prophylactic Extraction of Third
Molars: A Public Health Hazard.” which has been reproduced on my website courtesy of Jay W. Friedman and the American Journal of Public Health at http://www.teethremoval.com/the_prophylactic_extraction_of_third_molars.html.

The reasons for the selection of Jay W. Friedman as the AJPH author of the year can be found in an article found on Jay W. Friendman’s personal site. It has also been added at http://www.teethremoval.com/AJPH-2009_Author_of_the_Year-1.pdf in case you have difficulty finding it.

Deborah Holtzman writes regarding AJPH 2009 Author of the Year Jay W. Friedman

Jay Friedman’s article confirmed what [my husband] said he knew all along, i.e., removal of wisdom teeth is often an unnecessary medical procedure. My husband did not actually know this since he had not seen the data, but after we both read the article, we were sufficiently convinced that we did not want our 2 youngest children to have their wisdom teeth removed, despite their dentist’s desire to do just that.

Jay W. Friedman has long been advocating that wisdom teeth removal is

an enormous waste of money, considering the small risk of future pathology; money that could be better spent on real health care needs.

In 2008, with the help of Jay W. Friedman’s article, the American Journal of Public Health has adopted a policy (no. 20085) titled “Opposition to Prophylactic Removal of Third Molars (Wisdom Teeth).” This article has also been reproduced on my website with courtesy of Jay W. Friedman and the American Journal of Public Health at http://www.teethremoval.com/Opposition_to_Prophylactic_Removal_of_Third_Molars_wisdom_teeth.html.

Jay W. Friedman argues in his 2009 AJPH Author of the Year Award acceptance speech

..[M]y paper illustrates that what is usually considered an acceptably small risk of injury to an individual may be a public health hazard when applied to the entire population.

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I found a well written article on wisdom teeth removal.  Rather than rehash what the article says you can take a look for yourself.

http://stanford.wellsphere.com/dental-health-article/do-you-really-need-your-wisdom-teeth-nbsp-removed/833858

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A new study on the surface chemistry of silver-colored, mercury-based dental fillings suggests that the surface forms of mercury may be less toxic than that which was previously thought.

Graham George and his colleagues note that mercury-based fillings (amalgams) have been used by dentists to repair teeth for over 100 years. In recent years, their use has become controversial because of concerns about exposure to potentially toxic mercury. Even so, mercury can potentially exist in several different chemical forms, each with a different toxicity.

Scientists analyzed the surface of freshly prepared metal fillings and compared these with the surface of aged fillings (about 20 years old) from a dental clinic. Fresh fillings contained metallic mercury, which can be toxic. Aged fillings, on the other hand, usually contain a form of mercury, called beta-mercuric sulfide or metacinnabar. This form is unlikely to be toxic to humans.

The scientists found that the surfaces of metal fillings seem to lose up to 95% of their mercury over time. Loss of potentially toxic mercury from amalgam may be due to evaporation, exposure to certain foods, exposure to dental hygiene products, or some other causes.

Even so one should be cautions as exposure to mercury as it changes chemical forms over time is still a concern.

George et al. The Chemical Forms of Mercury in Aged and Fresh Dental Amalgam Surfaces. Chemical Research in Toxicology, 2009; 22 (11): 1761 DOI: 10.1021/tx900309c

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Research suggests that a common oral bacteria may increase autoimmune disease. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease where the immune system attacks the brain and spinal cord. It currently affects nearly around 1 in 700 people in the United States. Patients with MS have a variety of neurological symptoms, including difficulty in moving, difficulty in speech, and muscle weakness.

Porphyromas gingivalis, a common oral bacterium in humans, produces a unique type of lipid, phosphorylated dihydroceramides (DHCs), which enhance inflammatory responses. These lipids are also likely produced by bacteria found in other parts of the body including the gastrointestinal tract.

Researchers led byFrank C. Nichols and Robert B. Clark of the University of Connecticut Health Center administered phosphorylated DHCs in a mouse model of MS to determine if these lipids cause immune-mediated damage in autoimmune disease. The severity of disease was significantly enhanced by the addition of these lipids in a manner that was dependent on activation of the immune system. Thus the data shows  phosphorylated DHCs from bacteria commonly found in humans may trigger and/or increase the severity of autoimmune diseases such as MS.

In addition to the role of these lipids in triggering and worsening MS, the authors believe that phosphorylated DHCs may have the potential to serve both as new markers of MS disease activity and as new targets for therapeutic intervention.

Adapted from materials provided by American Journal of Pathology.

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New research presented at CHEST 2009 found that nearly 1 in 4 patients with obstructive sleep apnea (mostly Caucasian men) suffers from nighttime teeth grinding.

Eight percent of the general US population suffers from bruxism.

“The relationship between obstructive sleep apnea and sleep bruxism is usually related to an arousal response. The ending of an apneic event may be accompanied by a number of mouth phenomena, such as snoring, gasps, mumbles, and teeth grinding,” said Shyam Subramanian, MD, FCCP, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX. “Men typically have more severe sleep apnea, and perhaps may have more arousal responses, which may explain the higher prevalence of teeth grinding in men. Besides, men characteristically tend to report more symptoms of sleep apnea than women, such as snoring, loud grunting, and witnessed apneas.”

Anxiety and caffeine use also help explain the relationship between sleep apnea and teeth grinding.

Through a retrospective chart review, Dr. Subramanian assessed the prevalence of bruxism and gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) in 150 men and women. Each group consisted of 50 Caucasians, 50 African-Americans, and 50 Hispanics. Results showed that 25.6 percent of patients suffered from teeth grinding, while 35 percent of all patients with OSA complained of nocturnal heartburn and GERD symptoms.

The researchers also examined the influence of gender and ethnicity on OSA, GERD, and bruxism. They found that bruxism was higher in men than in women. Caucasians had the highest rate of bruxism compared to other ethnic groups. African-Americans have the highest prevalence of GERD.

Untreated bruxism can lead to excessive tooth wear and decay, periodontal tissue damage, jaw pain, and temporomandibular joint or TMJ pain, headaches, and sleep disturbances for patients and their bed partners.

“Bruxism can be both a daytime syndrome as well as a nighttime syndrome, but it is bruxism during sleep, including short naps, that causes the majority of health issues.”

Adapted from materials provided by American College of Chest Physicians.

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