teeth

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

Heart Infections on the Rise in Dental Patients After Antibiotic Reductions

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In March 2008, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence issued guidelines recommending that dentists should no longer give antibiotics before invasive treatments to people who are considered at risk of developing a life threatening heart infection. The life threatening heart infection is known as infective endocarditis and 40% of all cases are caused by bacteria in the mouth. Researchers at the University of Sheffield set out to explore the impact of these guidelines. It was found that an increase in cases of infective endocarditis was observed above what was expected. In March 2013, this increase accounted for an extra 35 cases of infective endocarditis per month. The researchers found that the number of  prescribed antibiotic prophylaxis fell by 89% from 10,900 prescriptions per month, before the 2008 NICE guidelines, to 1,235 a month by March 2008. The researchers … Read more

Dental Emergency: What You Need to Know to Handle the Situation

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It’s interesting how when it comes to an emergency, some people don’t find their oral health as important as the rest of their body. When anything in your mouth becomes broken or damaged, the implications can be quite serious, even if it seems like the situation can be easily managed at home. A tooth that breaks might not even hurt if no nerve endings have been exposed, so it feels like it’s something that can be dealt with at a later stage. But should you wait? Advances in dental technology means that even fairly major issues can be remedied if you act quickly. The simple fact of the matter is that any changes to your teeth, gums, or soft tissue inside your mouth should be examined by a dentist as soon as possible, and it’s not wise to delay. So … Read more

High Acid Drinks Can Damage Teeth

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So I have previously written about how sports and energy drinks can cause permanent tooth damage. See the post https://blog.teethremoval.com/sports-and-energy-drinks-can-cause-permanent-tooth-damage/ where it is mentioned that the high acidity levels in the drinks erode tooth enamel. Similar sentiments are echoed in a more recent article titled “Three-dimensional profilometric assessment of early enamel erosion simulating gastric regurgitation,” appearing in the Journal of Dentistry in 2014 written by Chelsea Mann and et al. The researchers in this more recent article present results to show that lifelong damage is caused by acidity to teeth within the first 30 seconds of an acid attack. The researchers state that dental erosion is often detected clinically after extensive tooth wear has already occurred. Furthermore, the researchers state that drinks high in acidity like sports drinks, soft drinks, and fruit juice when combined with night time tooth grinding can cause … Read more

When Should Children Start Using Fluoride Toothpaste?

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There is some conflicting information about when children should start using fluoride toothpaste. Studies have suggested that young children who consume large amounts of fluoride through fluoridated water, beverages, and toothpaste have an increased chance of developing mild enamel fluorosis see https://blog.teethremoval.com/large-amounts-of-fluoride-consumed-by-young-children-leads-to-fluorosis/. Hence some felt that not using any fluoridated toothpaste when a child was young was the better choice, whereas some felt that that using a small amount of fluoride toothpaste was okay In 2014, the ADA’s Council on Scientific Affairs updated its guidance on the use of fluoride toothpaste for children. The new guidance is that children’s teeth should be brushed with fluoride toothpaste as soon as the first tooth comes in. The idea is to provide children with the full benefit of cavity protection while also minimizing the risk of the development of fluorosis. The ADA’s Council on … Read more