dentist

Does a Parasite in the Mouth Contribute to Periodontitis?

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An interesting article titled “Entamoeba gingivalis Causes Oral Inflammation and Tissue Destruction,” appears in the Journal of Dental Research written by X. Bao and et al. (vol. 99, no. 5, pp. 561–567, 2020). The article seeks to explore the protozoan Entamoeba gingivalis (E. gingivalis) in inflamed periodontal pockets. In the article, the authors sought to validate the frequency of the Entamoeba gingivalis by analyzing the gums of 158 people with periodontitis and healthy controls using polymerase chain reaction and microscopy tests. A total of 107 of the people in the study were healthy controls while 51 had periodontitis. For those healthy control patients, E. gingivalis was detected in oral cavities in 15% of these patients. For those with periodontitis, E. gingivalis was detected in 77% of inflamed periodontal sites and 22% of healthy sites. The authors state “In conjunction with abundant … Read more

Panoramic X-Ray Showing Tooth Inside Chin Lights up Internet

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A man posted an image of a panoramic x-ray of his mouth in the midlyinteresting channel on Reddit and this caused the internet to light up. The Reddit user u/super9mega posted the x-ray with the caption “There’s a tooth in my chin.” Reddit users were quite amazed and the post has racked up over 50,000 upvoes and over 2,000 comments. The user explained that the tooth is not causing him any discomfort and he was not aware that it even was present prior to the x-ray he received by his dentist. It seems the consensus by the man’s dentist and also those commenting is that it would do more harm than good to attempt to remove the tooth. With wisdom teeth it is somewhat common to see completely horizontal wisdom teeth that do not erupt. Embedded teeth like this tooth … Read more

North Carolina Oral Surgeon Loses License Forever After Death of Patient who Received Dental Implants

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An oral surgeon in North Carolina was forced to give up his license in August 2021. The reason was due to an order signed by the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners that was the result of an investigation of a patient the oral surgeon had treated for dental implants who died as a result of the treatment. The patient that died was a 53 year old cardiologist in North Carolina. The oral surgeon had had his license for roughly 20 years when he had to give it up. On July 30, 2020, the oral surgeon administered anesthesia and sedatives to the cardiolgist for dental implant placement. Close to the end of the surgery, the cardiologist’s oxygen saturation and heart rate dropped to life threatening levels. The oral surgeon attempted ventilation, by trying to intubate the patient with an … Read more

NIH awards grant to study responsible antibiotic use

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The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio a four-year, $2.4 million grant to work with the American Dental Association Science & Research Institute (ADASRI) to perform a clinical trial study for the responsible use of antibiotics to treat periodontal disease also known as gum disease. The study will allow for the generatation of real-world data on periodontal disease treatments that are supplemented by antibiotics. The study will be lead by principle investigator Georgios Kotsakis, DDS, MS who is an associate professor of periodontics at the UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry. More than 30 clinicians who belong to the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network (PBRN) will collect data for the study. The trial is expected to start in Spring 2023 and the periodontal patients will be treated and … Read more

Dentists and staff should wear protective eyewear and disinfect between patients

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An interesting article titled “Blood and saliva contamination on protective eyewear during dental treatment,” written by Nora Bergmann and et al. appears in the 2022 edition of Clinical Oral Investigations (Feb. 14, 2022). The article sought to explore the amount of aerosols, blood and saliva splashes on protective eyewear worn during dental treatments. The authors also looked at the effectiveness of disinfection of the eyewear. In the study the authors used forensic techniques to analyze 53 protective eyewear shields worn by dental staff during aerosol-producing dental treatments. The protective eyewear were worn during dental treatments like supragingival cleaning, carious cavity preparation, and subgingival periodontal instrumentation. To detect blood contamination, luminol was applied on the surface of the eyewear shilds. The authors found that a macroscopically detectable amount of contamination was found on 60.4% of the protective eyewear shields that had … Read more