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Detecting Lou Gehrig’s Disease Markers in Teeth

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An interesting article titled “Early life metal dysregulation in amyotrophic lateralsclerosis” appears in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology written by Claudia Figueroa-Romero and et al. (pp. 872-882, 2020). The article seeks to explore if metal uptake is dysregulated during childhood in people later eventually diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. ALS is a disease that leads to paralysis and early death that is characterized by motor neuron degeneration and this causes the brain to lose its ability to initiate and control muscle movement. The majority of cases of ALS have no known cause but both genetic and environmental factors are suspected. In the article the researchers discuss how they collected permanent teeth from patients who had teeth extracted or who had died and were obtained at autopsy. The data included teeth from … Read more

Using Laser Therapy after Tooth Extraction to Improve Wound Healing

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An interesting article titled “Does laser therapy improve the wound healing process after tooth extraction? A systematic review” written by Lemes et al., was published online on October 15, 2018 in Wound Repair and Regeneration. The authors sought out to review research on using laser therapy after tooth extraction to improve oral wound healing. It is believed that laser therapy could increase the oral wound healing process by stimulating cell regeneration, attenuating pain, and modulating the immune system. The researchers were motivated because using lasers to accelerate wound healing after tooth extraction has remained controversial.  The researchers performed a systematic review to assess the best evidence that could show whether laser therapy was beneficial for wound healing after tooth extraction or if it had no merits. The review was carried out by three researchers who used eight databases including: MedLine (PubMed), The … Read more

Lasers to Detect Tooth Enamel

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A group of researchers in Australia and Taiwan led by Wang, Fleming, and their colleagues showed that they could analyze the health of  extracted human teeth using lasers. This is done by measuring how the surface of a tooth responds to laser-generated ultrasound. This allows them to then valuate the mineral content of tooth enamel. Enamel is the hardest and most mineralized substance of the human body which engulfs teeth in a protective layer. Enamel constantly undergoes a cycle of mineral loss and restoration, in which healthy teeth maintain a high mineral content. If the balance between mineral loss and gain is lost, teeth can develop areas of softened enamel which are precursors to cavities and damaged teeth. This research could lead to the ability to assess oral health and predict emerging dental problems, such as tooth decay and cavities … Read more