teeth

Herbs in Dentistry

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In a previous blog post I talked about Using Adaptogens to Help Reduce Stress and discussed 8 different herbs that were reviewed in a 2010 journal article to help reduce stress. The use of herbs is also beneficial for migraine, for example, see this post Daily Preventative Therapies Can Reduce Migraine. Recently I came across the article “Herbs in Dentistry: Evidence-based herbal medicine” appearing in Dental Abstracts, vol. 57, issue 6, pp. 305-307, 2012. The article mentions the use of echinacea mouthwash which when combined with peppermint oil, sage, menthol, and chamomile is effective in gingivitis and periodontal disease. Further, this combination has shown to be effective against colds and flu. The article mentions the possible use of aloe vera  “Aloe vera gel is as effective as prednisolone and indomethacin, without these agents’ long-term toxicity… Uses of aloe vera include … Read more

The Misbehaving Tooth Fairy

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In the article “The tooth fairy and malpractice” by Sian Ludman, Hamid Daya, Polly S Richards, and Adam Fox, in BMJ Christmas 2012, 345, e3027, a very interesting discussion is made of the tooth fairy. The article states “We are concerned that the actions of the mythical character at the root of this report must be brought to the attention of the medical community, as it seems to represent the first signs of a worrying new trend in malpractice.” The tooth fairy is widely considered to be benevolent but the authors present a disturbing report. A discussion is made of an 8 year old who presented with a foreign body in the left external auditory meatus (which showed up on a CT scan). The image is in the report. The parents of the boy discussed how three years earlier the … Read more

Dental Bibs May Harbor Oral and Skin Bacteria Even After Disinfection

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Researchers at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine and the Forsyth Institute published a study on April 2, 2013, which showed that a significant proportion of dental bib clips harbored bacteria from the patient, dental clinician, and the environment after the clips had undergone standard disinfection procedures. A dental bib clip of course is that metallic chain that wraps around your neck and holds the dental bib that the dentist gives you when you see them. The researchers found that the majority of thousands of bacteria found on bib clips were removed after the standard disinfection procedure. Even so, the researchers found that 40% of the bib clips after disinfection retained one or more aerobic bacteria which is able to grow and live in oxygenated environments. Furthermore, the researchers found that 70% of bib clips tested after disinfection retained one … Read more

Aggressive Dental Marketing Practices

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Several years ago I posted a controversial post titled Dental Practices of some Dentists Websites Online is Questionable. In this post I discussed how I am frustrated by website users who register on forums and post topics and reply to topics with a signature that includes an html link to their (or a client’s) website. I called this a questionable search engine optimization strategy. Unfortunately this tactic continues to rage on and I actively have to fight it off and know that other website owners do so as well. Recently, I have become a bit irrated by a particular website: wisdomteethremoval.com. This website essentially has the same domain name as mine teethremoval.com except it has a wisdom added on to the front. Now clearly I deem this website as in direct competition with my website and attempting to divert attention … Read more

Chewing Ability Tied to Dementia Risk

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 If you are able to bite into an apple, you are more likely to maintain mental abilities according to new research. Research shows several possible contributors such changes, with several studies demonstrating an association between not having teeth and loss of cognitive function and a higher risk of dementia. A potential reason for this could be that few or no teeth makes chewing difficult, which leads to a reduction in the blood flow to the brain. Even so there have been no direct investigation into the significance of chewing ability in a national representative sample of elderly people. Researchers at the Department of Dental Medicine and the Aging Research Center (ARC) at Karolinska Institutet and from Karlstad University in Sweden have looked at tooth loss, chewing ability and cognitive function in a random nationwide sample of 557 people aged 77 … Read more