Health

New Approach to help Bones Heal

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An interesting article titled “Expansion of the sagittal suture induces proliferation of skeletal stem cells and sustains endogenous calvarial bone regeneration” written by Zahra A. Aldawood and et. al. appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (vol. 120, no. 16, 2023). The article explores a new method to promote bone regeneration in mice. The researchers discuss how in newborn humans and mice and thse up to arond 2 years of age, calvarial bone defects, on the skullcap, can naturally regenerate. This abiliy to naturally heal damage to the bones that form the top of the skull, is lost in adults. The calvarial sutures are reservoirs of calvarial skeletal stem cells (cSSCs), which are cells responsible for calvarial bone regeneration. The authors believed the regenerative potential of the newborn calvaria is from the presence of a large number of cSSCs … Read more

The life events of people can be told by teeth

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An interesting article titled “Parturitions, menopause and other physiological stressors are recorded in dental cementum microstructure” appears in Scientific Reports written by Paola Cerrito and et al. (vol. 10, pp. 5381, 2020). The article discusess how the life events that people have experienced can be told by their teeth. In the article the researchers conducted a study of cementum microstructure of 47 human teeth, from 15 individuals with a known life history. The teeth were processed at the Hard Tissue Research Unit of the NYU College of Dentistry. The life history events of the patiens like age, illnesses, and relocations were known and had been reported from the patients relatives. The researchers used a series of imaging techniques that illuminated cementum rings, and then linked the rings to different life stages. Doing so allowed them to reveal connections between tooth … Read more

Local Anesthesia Leads to Temporal Muscle Ossification

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An interesting article titled “Traumatic myositis ossificans of the temporalmuscle after dental local anesthesia,” written by S.B. Helland and T.Ø. Pedersen appears in Clinical Case Reports (no. 11, pp. e7410, 2023). The article describes a case of a thirty year old woman who developed ossification of the temporal muscle attachment after local trauma during dental treatment which prevent her from opening her mouth. The thirty year old woman presented four months after having had a root canal treatment of a maxillary premolar tooth when local anesthesia was given near the right temporal muscle attachment. At the time she noted a sharp pain right after the injection was given. He also experienced persistent limited mouth opening after the dental treatment. Computer tomography was taken when the woman presented four months later which showed a bony growth roughly 3cm in length extending … Read more

Invasive dental procedures linked to heart inflammation

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An interesting study titled “Endocarditis, invasive dental procedures, and antibiotic prophylaxis efficacy in US Medicaid patients” appears in Oral Diseases on April 27, 2023, written by Martin Thornhill and et. al. The study investigates the association between invasive dental procedures and endocarditis, which is inflammation of the inside lining of the heart chambers and heart valves. In the study the authors used the MarketScan multi-state Medicaid database to examine 1.68 million Medicaid patients with linked medical, dental, and prescription data and compared it to 7.95 million individuals with employer-provided Commercial/Medicare-Supplemental health coverage with linked dental and prescription benefits. The authors found that the cohort study showed increased endocarditis incidence within 30 days of invasive dental procedures in those at high risk, particularly after extractions or oral surgery. It was also determined that antibiotic prophylaxis significantly reduced endocarditis incidence following invasive … Read more

Mental health conditions linked to higher oral disease risk

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An interesting study was presented at the 52nd Annual Meeting & Exhibition of the American Association for Dental, Oral, and Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) that was in conjunction with the 47th Annual Meeting of the CADR in Portland, Oregon on March 17, 2023. The study was conducted by lead author Alex Kalaigian from the University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry and was part of a talk on “Examining Mental Health and Oral Health: A Nationally Representative Cohort” in a session titled “Psychological Factors for Oral Health.” The study analyzed self-reported data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study.  The self-reported data had a screener that measured mental health symptoms according to three disorder categorizations: internalizing, externalizing, and substance use and evaulated six oral health outcomes: self-rated oral health, bleeding gums, loose teeth, tooth loss, gum disease, … Read more