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Biomedical engineers used advanced cone beam imaging technology take a series of two dimensional x-rays, which enabled them to create a detailed three dimensional picture of the patient’s mouth. Better images allow dentists to increase their understanding of the patient’s mouth and predict the outcome of procedures with improved accuracy.

In eight-and-a-half seconds, a machine can take 435 X-rays of Samantha Kotey’s jaw and teeth, creating full 3-D imaging with more detail and accuracy and less radiation than a traditional dental X-ray. Physicist, Jeff Sitterle, Ph.D., says it’s just one way researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta are changing the science of dentistry.

“We’re focusing on very new technologies and these technologies are actually things that have been utilized in other types of manufacturing and other industries, but they fit very nicely into dentistry,” Dr. Sitterle, chief scientist at the Georgia Tech Research institute, told Ivanhoe.

Using cone beam imaging technology — a type of CT scan — dentists take a two-dimensional X-ray every one degree around the patient’s jaw. As a result, dentists can develop treatment plans and actually predict the outcome of procedures before treatment. “This is one of the most dramatic changes I have seen in dentistry,” Edward Schissel, D.D.S., a dentist at Key Dentistry, P.C. in Marietta, Ga., told Ivanhoe. “Cone beam technology allows us to now see things we could never see before we begin treatment on a patient.”

Beyond diagnosis, researchers are developing ways to use the 3-D imaging for fabrication of bridges and other restorations that used to be made by hand. Even the materials are revolutionary. Researchers have discovered that the same high strength ceramic used for the tiles on the space shuttle can work better than metal in permanent dental crowns.

“Zirconium is used for a lot of things in high temperature, high strength type processes, so including the space shuttle tiles and in other manufacturing in automobiles and various things where you’re looking for lightweight, but very, very high strength.” Dr. Sitterle explains.

From stronger materials to more precise diagnosis and treatment, researchers say patients like Kotey will see the benefits. Right now, 80 percent of the problems associated with crowns and bridges are linked to inaccurate impressions. Researchers say this new technology will go a long way toward improving that and helping those prostheses last longer.

ANATOMY OF A TOOTH: We think of teeth as being the part visible above the gum, but this is only the tip, or crown, of a tooth. There is also a neck that lies at the gum line, and a root, located below the gum. The crown of each tooth has an enamel coating to protect the underlying dentine. Enamel is even harder than bone, thanks to rows of tightly packed calcium and phosphorus crystals. The underlying dentine is slightly softer, and contains tiny tubules that connect with the central nerve of the tooth within the pulp. The pulp forms the central chamber of the tooth, and is made of soft tissue containing blood vessels that carry nutrients to the tooth. It also contains nerves so teeth can sense hot and cold, as well as lymph vessels to carry white blood cells to fight bacteria.

CROWNING ACHIEVEMENT: Dental crowns, also referred to as “dental caps” or “tooth caps,” are dental restorations that cover over and encase the tooth on which they are cemented. Crowns can be made out of porcelain, metal, or a combination of both. A dentist might recommend placing a dental crown to restore a tooth to its original shape; to strengthen a tooth; or to improve the cosmetic appearance of a tooth. The fundamental difference between porcelain veneers and dental crowns is the amount of a tooth’s surface each respective type of dental restoration covers over. Dental crowns typically encase an entire tooth whereas porcelain veneers only cover over the front side of a tooth.

The American Physical Society, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., and the Materials Research Society contributed to the information above.

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Topiramate (Topamax), a drug commonly prescribed to treat seizures and migraine headaches, can increase the propensity of calcium phosphate kidney stones, researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have found.

A study — the largest cross-sectional examination of how the long-term use of topiramate affects kidney-stone formation — appears in the October issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases.

Several case reports have described an association between topiramate and the development of kidney stones, but this complication had not been well recognized and physicians have not informed patients about the risk, the UT Southwestern researchers said. More important, the mechanism of stone formation was largely unknown previously.

“The wide-spread and escalating use of topiramate emphasizes the importance of considering the long-term impact of this drug on kidney-stone formation,” said Dr. Khashayar Sakhaee, senior author of the study and chief of mineral metabolism at UT Southwestern.

More than 29 million Americans suffer from migraines, with women being affected three times more often than men, according to the National Headache Foundation.

“Topiramate is probably one of the most commonly prescribed and most effective neurological medications right now,” said Dr. Dion Graybeal, assistant professor of neurology and an author of the study.

Dr. Graybeal and other researchers at UT Southwestern say the next step is to develop a way to block the development of kidney stones for users.

The study comprised two phases. Thirty-two individuals already being treated with topiramate and 50 normal volunteers were enrolled in a cross-sectional study in which their blood and urine were tested for kidney-stone risk. A short-term study also was conducted in seven individuals to assess stone risk before and three months after taking topiramate.

Researchers found that taking topiramate on a long-term basis, or for about one year, caused systemic metabolic acidosis — a buildup of excessive acid in the blood — as a result of the inability of the kidney to excrete acid. Topiramate use also increased the urine pH and lowered urine citrate, an important inhibitor of kidney-stone formation.

“These changes increase the propensity to form calcium phosphate stones,” Dr. Sakhaee said.

In the short-term study, urinary calcium and oxalate — a chemical compound that binds strongly with calcium and is found in most calcium stones — did not significantly change in people taking topiramate.

Kidney stones are solid deposits that form in the kidneys from substances excreted in the urine. When waste materials in urine do not dissolve completely, microscopic particles begin to form and, over time, grow into kidney stones.

Before this study, the rate of kidney-stone formation with topiramate was reported as 1.5 percent. The low incidence rate may be an underestimation due to the short length of observation and the lack of ongoing kidney-stone surveillance and data collection for this drug, said Dr. Sakhaee, holder of the BeautiControl Cosmetics Inc. Professorship in Mineral Metabolism and Osteoporosis.

“There is a legitimate concern for the occurrence of kidney stones with long-term topiramate treatment,” said Dr. Sakhaee said.

The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health and adapted from UT Southwestern Medical Center.

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Today is Dr. Teeth’s birthday and he is celebrating it in style. He is offering a contest for his readers of his blog over at http://www.dentalblogging.com.

There are 3 rules to enter the contest.

1) Blog about the contest with title as “Dr. Teeth’s Birthday Bash Contest”.

2) Subscribe to the blog with your email.

3) Start commenting on Dental Blogging.

Right now he is offering cash prizes to the top commentators and a lucky random email subscriber. He also plans to add additional sponsored prizes such as domains and webhosting. So stay tuned and head on over to his blog to enter.

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If you live in America you should be concerned about dental fraud.

The only way to solve this is single payer health insurance.

The bottom line: get a second opinion and question everything when seeing the dentist.

The video below goes into more issues on dental fraud and what you should do to protect yourself.

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