teeth

Chewing Ability Tied to Dementia Risk

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 If you are able to bite into an apple, you are more likely to maintain mental abilities according to new research. Research shows several possible contributors such changes, with several studies demonstrating an association between not having teeth and loss of cognitive function and a higher risk of dementia. A potential reason for this could be that few or no teeth makes chewing difficult, which leads to a reduction in the blood flow to the brain. Even so there have been no direct investigation into the significance of chewing ability in a national representative sample of elderly people. Researchers at the Department of Dental Medicine and the Aging Research Center (ARC) at Karolinska Institutet and from Karlstad University in Sweden have looked at tooth loss, chewing ability and cognitive function in a random nationwide sample of 557 people aged 77 … Read more

ADA hires Fleishman-Hillard as Public Relations Firm

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An article written on February 14, 2013, titled “ADA selects national communications firm“, by Kelly Soderlund discusses how the American Dental Association (ADA) has recently hired Fleishman-Hillard as their public relations (PR) firm. The article states “Fleishman-Hillard will be charged with developing communications strategies and messages; proactively pitching major oral health stories to national media; and creating toolkits and other multimedia materials that dental societies can also use as issues management resources. The goal…is to build and enhance dentists’ reputation and the profession; position the dentist as a fully-trained doctor who leads the dental team; demonstrate dentistry’s leadership in breaking down barriers to oral health for all Americans; and ensure that the media portrays dentistry fairly and accurately.” I am not quite sure what exactly to expect from this PR campaign. The article talks about portraying dentists fairly and accurately and also … Read more

Oral Bacteria That Causes Periodontitis Delievers a One-Two Punch

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Oral health care workers and scientists have know for many years that bacteria cause periodontitis (gum disease); however, they were not sure exactly what bacteria was response. Recently the bacteria that causes periodontitis (gum disease) has been identified by a University of Michigan study. This bacterium is known as NI1060. It was also found that this triggers a normally protetive protein in the oral cavity called Nod1 to trigger bone destroying cells. In normal circumstances Nod1 fights harmful bacterium in the body. Hence, it was that the bacteria that causes gum disease triggers a one-two punch by also causing normally protective proteins to then destroy more bone. In normal cases No1 helps to fight infection by recruiting neutrophils which are blood cells that act as bacterial killers. Nod1 also removes harmful bacteria during infection. When periodontitis (gum disease) occurs NI1060 … Read more

Coconut Oil May Help with Tooth Decay

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Coconut oil may be able to attack the bacteria that causes tooth decay. A team from the Athlone Institute of Technology in Ireland tested the antibacterial action of coconut oil in its natural state and coconut oil that had been treated with enzymes. The oils were tested against strains of Streptococcus bacteria which are common inhabitants of the mouth. They found that enzyme-modified coconut oil strongly inhibited the growth of most strains of Streptococcus bacteria including Streptococcus mutans — an acid-producing bacterium that is know to be a major cause of tooth decay. In the future the researchers plan to examine how coconut oil interacts with Streptococcus bacteria at the molecular level and which other strains of harmful bacteria and yeasts it is active against. The team also showed that the enzyme-modified coconut oil was harmful to the yeast Candida … Read more

Porcelain Laminate Dental Veneers

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Dental veneers are thin, custom-made shells of tooth-colored materials designed to cover the front surface of a tooth to improve the aesthetics of the tooth or protect the tooth from damage to to the surface. Composites and dental porcelain are the two main types of materials that are used to fabricate a dental veneer. A porcelain veener must be fabricated in a dental laboratory whereas a composite does not have to be. Porcelain laminate veneers were first researched in the early 1980s. This research found that porcelain can be etched with hydrofluoric acid and  porcelain veneers can be bonded on the surface of a tooth permanently. Since then advances in ceramic materials, adhesive technology (bonding agents), and clinical techniques have allowed for porcelain laminate veneers to evolve into the treatment of choice for minimally invasive aesthetic dentistry. Various factors affect the … Read more