teeth

Modern Britons Have More Gum Disease than Roman Britons

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A study of skulls at the Natural History Museum by King’s College London has shown that the Roman British population from 200 to 400 AD appears to have had less gum disease than we have today. Gum disease is also known as periodontitis and has been covered before numerous times on this blog. The researchers examined 303 skulls from a Roman-British burial ground in Dorset for evidence of dental disease. Around 5% of the skulls showed signs of moderate to severe gum disease compared to today’s population which shows around 15 to 30% of adults have gum disease. Many of the Roman-British skulls showed signs of infections and abscesses and around half had caries (cavities). In addition the skulls showed extensive tooth wear from a young age likely due to their diet. The researchers say that Roman-British population did not … Read more

The Benefits of CAD/CAM Technology in Dentistry

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This is a sponsored post designed to get you excited about CAD/CAM technology in dentistry. In today’s world, CAD/CAM technology has made it very easy for dental patients. CAD stands for Computer aided designing and CAM stands for computer aided manufacturing. The technology has been implemented recently into dental laboratories and made it smooth and simple for dentists to treat their patients within the shortest period of time. In this way, CAD/CAM Technology has gained a lot of popularity. This technology is utilized the best due to the less amount of time used for the procedures. The prosthesis can be designed and developed on the same day itself. A digital impression is taken by the dentist after correcting the particular teeth. The picture is created in the computer and then accordingly the manufacturing unit receives the information in the form … Read more

Case Reports Serve a Place in Dentistry

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An interesting article titled “CASE REPORTS HAILED” appears in JADA in September 2014, written by Enihomo Obadan, Elsbeth Kalenderian, and Rachel B. Ramoni. The article discusses an article in an earlier 2014 JADA article that featured an interesting case report. The authors state “Almost becoming a lost art in the biomedical literature, case reports still hold tremendous opportunities for learning in dentistry. In addition to the obvious learning potential for the individual dental professional, the entire professional body advances in giant strides when there is cross-organizational learning among dental clinics through information sharing.” The authors then discuss how adverse dental events being reported by dentists would help make dental treatments safer for all. The authors feels this helps promote a culture of safety, as long as there is no fear of retribution when the report occurs by the dentists. The … Read more

Depression Drugs (SSRIs) Linked to Dental Implant Failure

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The Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRI) drugs are known to be the most widely used for depression. In a new study by the International and American Associations for Dental Research it has shown that SSRIs can reduce bone formation and lead to an increased risk of bone fracture. The study looked specifically at osseointegration implants and the risk of failures. The study was conducted on patients with dental implants from January 2007 to January 2013. A total of 916 dental implants in 490 patients were explored with 94 implants on 51 patients using SSRIs. The specific data analysis used generalized estimation equations models and Kaplain-Meier analysis. After 3 to 67 months of follow-up, 38 dental implants failed and 784 were successful in those without SSRIs and 10 dental implants failed an 84 were successful in SSRI users. When compared with … Read more

Natural Tooth Loss Linked to Memory and Walking Speed Declines

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A study appearing in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society looked at the memory and walking speed of older individuals with and without their natural teeth. A total of 3,166 adults age 60 and over from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing were looked at. The results showed that people with none of their own teeth were around 10% worse in both memory and walking speed tests when compared to people who still had some teeth. The results were adjusted for a large amount of potential factors such as existing health problems, physical health, drinking, depression, sociodemographic characteristics, and socioeconomic status. The link between older adults without any of their natural teeth who had worse memory and physical function was more evident in adults aged 60 to 74 years old than those aged 75 and older. The researchers say … Read more