cavity

No Drill Dentistry Can Prevent Tooth Decay

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Research published in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology has shown that the need for fillings can be reduced by 30 to 50% through preventative oral care. This means that many previous fillings are not needed when dental decay occurs. As such a preventative approach can be beneficial when compared to current dental practices. Dentistry has been traditionally practiced with the believe that tooth decay rapidly progressed and the best way to manage it was to identify early decay and remove it quickly to prevent the tooth surface form developing cavities. After the decay is removed the tooth is restored with a filling material. Fifty years of research studies have shown that decay is not always progressive and develops more slowly than previously thought. It can take an average of four to eight years for decay to progress from the tooth’s outer layer to the … Read more

Can Graphene Be Used to Treat Gum Disease and Fight Cavities?

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When bacteria invade the mouth dental disease can form. This can lead to tooth decay or gum disease. Traditionally, antibiotics are prescribed to kill the bacteria if it is found. However, antibiotic resistance has been an issue in recent years where the antibiotics no longer work as effectively to kill the bacteria. Thus new methods to eliminate bacteria are need. Scientists have discovered a material called graphene oxide is effective at eliminating this type of bacteria even if it has developed antibiotic resistance.  Previous studies have shown that graphene oxide which are carbon nanosheets studded with oxygen groups, is a promising material in biomedical applications. Graphene oxide can inhibit the growth of some bacterial strains with minimal harm to mammalian cells. Researchers were interested to see if graphene oxide is effective at elminating bacteria responsible for dental disease. They tested … Read more

Nutrition is Important for Oral Health

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The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has published a position paper on oral health and nutrition which looks at the current research literature to support that nutrition is an important component of oral health. The paper promotes the view that dietitian nutritionists should collaborate with oral health care professionals to help in disease prevention. The paper states “Oral health and nutrition have a synergistic multidirectional relationship. Oral infectious diseases, as well as acute, chronic, and terminal systemic diseases with oral manifestations impact functional ability to eat as well as diet and nutrition status. Likewise, nutrition and diet can affect the development and integrity of the oral cavity as well as the progression of oral diseases.” The paper was published in the the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in May 2013, and is available for download at http://www.eatright.org/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?LinkIdentifier=id&ItemID=8426. … Read more

Bacteria and Fungus Can Team Up to Cause Cavities

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An interesting article titled “Symbiotic relationship between Streptococcus mutans and Candida albicans synergizes the virulence of plaque-biofilms in vivo,” appears in the February 2014, edition of Infection and Immunity, written by Megan L. Falsetta and et al. The article describes how although Streptococcus mutans is often cited as the main bacteria in dental caries (cavities), particularly in early-childhood caries (ECCs), it may not act alone and may team up with Candida albicans. The infection with both can double the number of caries and increase their severity as it did for rats in the study. Candida albicans adheres mainly to the cheek and tongue, while Streptococcus mutans sticks to the surfaces of teeth by converting sugars to a sticky glue-like material called extracellular polysaccharide (EPS). The researchers found that the exoenzyme that S. mutans uses to react with sugar to produce EPS also … Read more

Few Children Under 1 See a Dentist

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Unfortunately, new research has shown that few children under the age of 1 are seeing a dentist. This was touched on in an earlier blog post over at http://blog.teethremoval.com/will-health-care-reform-result-in-more-dental-visits/ where it was mentioned that for children between ages 1 and 4 around 60% of them have seen a medical doctor (physician) during the year, but not a dentist. The new research appears in an article titled “Factors Associated With Dental Care Utilization in Early Childhood,” by Denise Darmawikarta and et al. which was published online in Pediatrics in May 2014. The study looked at 2505 children in Toronto, Canada, who were seen for primary health care between September 2011 and January 2013. The study was past of TARGet Kids (The Applied Research Group for Kids), a collaboration between doctors and researchers from St. Michael’s Hospital and the Hospital for Sick Children in … Read more