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American Dental Association Toothflix Demo Series

Posted on 31. Dec, 2011 by wisdom.

Recently the American Dental Association (ADA)  has released a Patient Education DVD series called Toothflix. It contains 23 different video segments which explore different topics designed to educate patients on their oral health and prevention and treatment strategies.

The complete series including all 23 segments currently is available for $699. Each segment is around 3 to 6 minutes long. It is intended to be played on a TV and DVD player in the reception or waiting area of a dental office. It could also be used in actual treatment rooms perhaps to help explain more clearly certain topics to patients. In addition another use would be for when a dentist goes out into the community to give a presentation or some other event.

The ADA has 7 of the segments partially available on their website for demonstration purposes. I reviewed the segment on Preventing Periodontal Disease and felt it was informative. The viewer learns about how periodontal disease is caused by plaque which is caused by not cleaning regularly enough and properly after eating.

The viewer learns about the warning signs of periodontal disease

• Gums that bleed easily are red, swollen, or tender
• Gums pull away from teeth
• Constant bad breath
• Pus between teeth and gums
• Loose or separating teeth
• Change in your bite
• Change in how dentures fit

In addition the factors that increase the risk of periodontal disease are discussed

1. Smoking or chewing tobacco
2. Systemic diseases
3. Medications
4. Hormonal changes
5. Bridges or partial dentures that no longer fit properly

Of course the possibility of inflammation and periodontal disease and it’s role in your overall health is mentioned.

As is commonly recommend, the video informs the viewer to brush at least twice daily and floss once a day. It says how it is possible to have periodontal disease without having any warning signs and symptoms.

In addition it talks about how a dentist will measure the space between your teeth and gum with a periodontal probe and that this probing depth should be 3 mm or less for you to be considered healthy.

As a side note, the risk of Periodontal disease is a commonly cited reason to have wisdom teeth removed in young adults. Therefore I go into many more details about periodontal disease and their relation to wisdom teeth under the risks of keeping your wisdom teeth page.

The ADA tends to stay out of the wisdom teeth debate so this is not even mentioned in the video. However I was impressed by the video and thought it did a great job providing an introduction and knowledge needed by dental patients.

Additional information about the ADA Toothflix series is available on the ADA website at http://www.ada.org/2334.aspx.  There is no segment on wisdom teeth, but other segments include Tooth Extraction, Root Canal, Cracked Tooth, and Early Childhood Caries.

There are other Toothflix options available besides the complete series. I feel owning this DVD series may make a nice addition for dental offices and aid their patients in understanding and knowledge of their oral health.

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Periodontal disease (gum disease) might increase the time it takes to become pregnant

Posted on 01. Oct, 2011 by wisdom.

Research presented at the the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology earlier this year showed that periodontal disease (gum disease) might increase the length of time it takes for a woman to become pregnant. Periodontal disease has been linked to many different types of systemic disease. Periodontal disease can lead to inflammation and bleeding around the gums which can lead to spaces called periodontal pockets.

The research was led by Roger Hart who is a Professor of Reproductive Medicine and is also Medical Director of Fertility Specialists of the University of Western Australia. A total of 3737 pregnant women in the study were followed and outcomes of pregnancy were looked at for 3416 of the 3737 pregnant women. It was found that women who had periodontal disease (gum disease) took around 7 months to become pregnant while those women who did not have periodontal disease took roughly 5 months to become pregnant.

Professor Hart said

“Our data suggest that the presence of periodontal disease is a modifiable risk factor, which can increase a woman’s time to conception, particularly for non-Caucasians. It exerts a negative influence on fertility that is of the same order of magnitude as obesity.”

The reason why non-Caucasians have longer time’s to conception while having periodontal disease may be due to a higher level of inflammatory response.

More information on periodontal disease and how it is a risk of keeping wisdom teeth is found on the risks of keeping wisdom teeth page on this site.  Due to the link of periodontal disease with many different types of systemic disease it has received much attention from researchers lately and is often a reason given for why healthy wisdom teeth should be extracted at a young age.  Even so there is a lot of controversy on whether or not healthy wisdom teeth should be extracted as discussed on the wisdom teeth controversy page of this site.

Source: European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. Gum disease can increase the time it takes to become pregnant. July 5, 2011. http://www.eshre.eu/membership/page.aspx/1355

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Vitamin D Can Help Prevent Gum Infections

Posted on 21. Jan, 2011 by wisdom.

A study appearing in the June 2011 issue of Infection and Immunity titled “Vitamin D-Mediated Induction of Innate Immunity in Gingival Epithelial Cells.” written by Laura McMahon and et al. (vol. 79, no. 6, pages 2250-2256), suggests that making sure you have enough Vitamin D can help with the immune defense in the oral cavity.

The authors found that an innate immune regulator TREM-1 can be induced by treating gingival cells with vitamin D.

While still much work needs to be done looking at how exactly vitamin D can fight infections there is potential for targeted therapies in the future.

The authors state

“As vitamin D and calcium defciences can lead to increased inflammation, it is reasonable to hypothesize that there is an association with periodontal disease….vitamin D-mediated gene regulation of the innate immune response may be associated with the initial defense against colonization by periodontal pathogens.”

For now all you can do is make sure you have enough Vitamin D in your diet and consider taking a supplement. Periodontal disease is explained further on the risks of keeping wisdom teeth page. Periodontal disease has been linked to systemic diseases and is often a reason why oral surgeons recommend having wisdom teeth removed at a young age. Of course a lot of controversy exists surrounding removing healthy wisdom teeth as discussed on the wisdom teeth controversy page. Even so if you decide to keep your healthy wisdom teeth taking a Vitamin D supplement may be something to consider to potentially help prevent possible future gum infections.

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Gene Therapy for Gum Disease

Posted on 11. Mar, 2009 by wisdom.

Scientists at the University of Michigan have shown that gene therapy can be used to successfully stop the development of periodontal disease.

The U-M group is the first known to use the gene delivery approach to show potential in treating chronic conditions such as periodontal disease, said William Giannobile, professor at the U-M School of Dentistry.

“Gene therapy has not been used in non-life threatening disease. (Periodontal disease) is more disabling than life threatening,” said Giannobile, who also directs the Michigan Center for Oral Health Research and has an appointment in the U-M College of Engineering. “This is so important because the next wave of improving medical therapeutics goes beyond saving life, and moves forward to improving the quality of life.”

The preclinical study offers was a collaboration with the Seattle-based biotechnology company Targeted Genetics. In July, Targeted Genetics released human trial results that showed the same gene therapy approach used to stop periodontal disease had positive affects in human patients with rheumatoid arthritis, another chronic, non-life threatening, disabling condition. The company tested 127 human subjects and showed a 30 percent improvement in such things such as pain relief and gain of function.

People with rheumatoid arthritis are four times more likely to have periodontitis. Periodontal disease is also linked to systemic conditions such as heart disease, bacterial pneumonia and stroke, likely due to the spread of bacteria coming from the oral cavity that invade other parts of the body.

Using gene therapy, Giannobile’s group found a way to help certain cells using an inactivated virus to produce more of a naturally-produced molecule soluble TNF receptor. This factor is under-produced in patients with periodontitis. The molecule delivered by gene therapy works like a sponge to sop up excessive levels of tumor necrosis factor, a molecule known to worsen inflammatory bone destruction in patients afflicted with rheumatoid arthritis, joint deterioration and periodontitis.

The gene also delivers  genetic bang for the buck. The periodontal tissues were spared from destruction by more than 60-80 percent with the use of gene therapy.

“If you deliver the gene into the target cells once, it keeps producing in the cells for a very long period of time or potentially for the life of the patient; This therapy is basically a single administration, but it could have potentially life-long treatment effects in patients who are at risk for severe disease activity,” says William Giannobile.

Adapted from materials provided by University of Michigan.

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