Wisdom Teeth Removal Can Improve Long Term Taste

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Interesting research appears in the article “Positive Long-Term Effects of Third Molar Extraction on Taste Function,” by Dane Kim and Richard L. Doty appears in Chemical Senses, v.ol 46, pp. 1-5, 2021. The article discusses how patients in the study had improved tasting ability decades after having wisdom teeth removed. This is counter to prior studies that have adverse effects on taste after having wisdom teeth extracted which was believed to dissipate over time. In the article the researchers evaluated data from 1,255 patients who had undergone a chemosensory evaluation at the University of Pennslyvania’s Smell and Taste Center over the course of 20 years. From this group of patients, 891 patients had received wisdom teeth (third molar) extractions and 364 had not. All participants were asked to complete a sip-and-spit whole-mouth taste test with five different concentrations of sucrose, … Read more

Listen to Music Before Dental Cleaning to Reduce Anxiety

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An interesting article titled “Effects of Music Listening on Pre-treatment Anxiety and Stress Levels in a Dental Hygiene Recall Population” written by Thoma et al. appears in the International Journal of Behavioral Medicine (vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 498-505). The article discusses how waiting for a medical procedure can provoke anxiety in patients and lead to stress. In the article the authors perform a study to explore if patients waiting for a dental cleaning can have their anxiety reduced by listening to music. The authors were motivated to perform their study because previous studies have shown that listening to music can reduce anxiety and stress. Other studies in hospital patients has also shown that listening to music prior to surgery reduces anxiety and can do so just as effectively if not better than pharmacological options like benzodiazepines. Furthermore, these prior … Read more

Blood tests to detect dental fear

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An interesting article titled “The impact of dental treatment and age on salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase levels of patients with varying degrees of dental anxiety” written by AlMaummar, AlThabit and Pani appears in BMC Oral Health in 2019 (19:211). The article discusses the use of blood tests to attempt to determine which children might be more susceptible to dental fear. Dental fear has been discussed before on this site such as in the post Dental Anxiety and Fear: Impact on Oral Health. The study included 151 children who were treated at the dental clinics of King Abdulaziz Medical City and Riyadh Colleges of Dentistry and Pharmacy in Riyadh. Each of the children had behavior screening done using a Frankl behavior rating scale and a Children’s Fear Survey Schedule children’s subscale to assess dental fear. Based on answers to the behavior … Read more

Prior gum disease increases cancer risk

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Researchers have found that postmenopausal women who had prior gum disease have a higher risk of cancer. The study was conducted by researchers at the University at Buffalo. The study is the first to find an association between periodontal disease and gallbladder cancer risk in women or men. The study also provided useful information on a number of cancer-specific sites. The study included 65,869 postmenopausal women who were part of the Women’s Health Initiative, an ongoing national prospective study designed to investigate factors affecting disease and death risk in older U.S. women. Most women were non-Hispanic and the average age was 68. Participants were asked “has a dentist or dental hygienist ever told you that you had periodontal or gum disease?” Those women who had a history of gum disease had a 14% increased risk of overall cancer. A total of 7,149 … Read more

Toothpaste with Bioactive Glass

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A research group at Queen Mary University of London have developed a very fast dissolving ‘bioactive’ glass that will be put into a toothpaste to repair decayed teeth. This builds upon the researchers prior work with bioactive glass that release fluoride, forming a chemical that mimics tooth and bone mineral. The new toothpaste with bioactive glass developed using chlorine instead of flourine. The chlorine atom and ions are much bigger, which enables them to incorporate much more of it into the glass. The toothpaste is designed for people who don’t want to use a fluoride-containing toothpaste and for areas of the world where the water is naturally fluoridated. This toothpaste is unique because it can put back the mineral lost from your teeth after consumption of an acidic drink, but without the use of fluoride. The researchers feel that everyone can possibly … Read more