Study Pinpoints Target for TMJD

Study Pinpoints Target for TMJD

Written by Dentistry TodayTuesday, 06 August 2013 08:25

People with temporomandibular joint disorder may be in luck.

Researchers located a protein that is essential in TMJD pain. This could lead to treatment for this painful disorder.

This information from the Duke Medicine researchers appears in the August issue of PAIN.

There isn’t much information known about what prompts TMJD. The research team pinpointed TRPV4, which is an ion channel protein that enables calcium to enter cells. Its involvement with inflammation and pain was examined.

The research team looked at normal mice and mice that were genetically engineered without TRPV4. Inflammation and pain was then created in the temporomandibular joints, similar to the way it impacts humans.

The mice without TRPV4 had a lower reduction in bite force, indicating they experienced less pain. When there was an increase in TRPV4, the correlation was a larger reduction in bite force.

The research also provided a compound to the normal mice that blocked TRPV4. The ensuing discovery was that inhibiting TRPV4 produced smaller reductions in bite force. The results were comparable to the results from mice without TRPV4.

One bit of information that surprised researchers was the idea that there was comparable bone erosion and inflammation in the jaw tissue for all mice. The amount of TRPV4 did not impact this. Essentially the damage is the same but the pain level varies.

Based on this study, it’s possible the TRPV4 could be utilized to develop new treatment for TMJ issues.

TMJD is the most common form of oral and facial pain and afflicts more than 10 million Americans. The chronic disorder results in severe pain that stems from chewing or biting down. There are no full-proof treatments.

Good News for Choclate Lovers: Health Benefits

Good News for Choclate Lovers: Health Benefits

Written by Dentistry TodayTuesday, 06 August 2013 13:41

There is good news for chocolate lovers: new research indicates that chocolate could be considered a “superfood,” joining the ranks of blueberries and broccoli. It can even fight tooth decay.

Chocolate is produced from cacao, which contains powerful concentrations of polyphenols, flavonoids, and antibacterial properties.

Researchers stress that these benefits apply only to dark chocolate – not milk chocolate – and the higher the natural concentration of cacao, the better.

Some health benefits of chocolate as a superfood are:

Fight tooth decay
• Because of cacao’s antibacterial properties, dark chocolate may significantly reduce the incidence of plaque, bacteria, and tooth decay.

Better cardiovascular health
• Cacao is rich in polyphenols, a molecule that can significantly improve cardiovascular health by increasing the bioavailability of nitric oxide, which leads to improvements in blood pressure, insulin resistance, and blood lipid levels.

Lower risk of diabetes
• Thanks again topolyphenols, researchers found that individuals who consumed about 40g of dark chocolate daily cut their risk of developing diabetes in half.

Lower body fat percentage
• Antioxidants indark chocolate reduce inflammation and help alleviate the production of thestress hormones that would otherwise cause weight gain.

Improve mental well-being
• Cacao can promote feelings of calm, clarity, and bliss by stimulating the production of phenethylamine while regulating serotonin.

Other benefits include increased mental clarity and improved management of stress.

Nebraska Could Use More Dentists

Nebraska Could Use More Dentists

Written by Dentistry TodayWednesday, 07 August 2013 10:35

If you have a cavity, rural Nebraska isn’t the place to be.

More than half of the 93 counties in Nebraska don’t have enough dentists, according to a report from the Center for Health Policy at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. The report indicates that 20 counties don’t have a single dentist and 31 more counties only have one or two dentists. The future looks even bleaker, with 39 percent of dentists in the state approaching retirement.

To reverse this problem, it’s essential for the state to find ways to create incentives for dentists to open a practice in one of the underserved areas.

The state currently has programs that provide dental students with $20,000 to work in underserved areas but that is well below the going rate for such things.

Kim McFarland, one of the authors of the report, states that only about five or six of the 45 new dentists that enter practice each year start in a rural area. This does not bode well, considering 164 million work hours and 51 million school hours are lost every year, according to the American Dental Association.

In many cases, the nearest dentist may be two hours away. That makes scheduling appointments with preventive care in mind prohibitive.

The University of Nebraska and Creighton University are the only two dental schools in the state. They are operating at capacity now, so this problem likely won’t be going away any time soon.

The only counties in the state that aren’t encountering this problem are those with larger cities or towns.

Experts Say All Types of Dental Care Safe During Pregnancy

Experts Say All Types of Dental Care Safe During Pregnancy

Written by Dentistry TodayThursday, 08 August 2013 07:43

There’s no need for pregnant women to worry about dental treatment or x-rays.

A U.S. obstetrician/gynecologist group stated that these dental procedures are completely safe. The group also recommended ob-gyns to perform dental health tests during a woman’s first prenatal visit. This helps spur patients to routinely visit the dentist during pregnancy.

Since oral health problems could lead to heart disease, diabetes or countless other problems, it’s essential for women to see the dentist during pregnancy.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women acknowledged that 35 percent of women say they haven’t seen a dentist in the past year. Also, roughly 40 percent of pregnant women in the United States have cavities or gum disease.

Physical changes from pregnancy may alter the teeth and gums. Dental issues during pregnancy are most prevalent among smokers and women on public assistance.

There are numerous benefits to maintaining good oral health during pregnancy, particularly that it will reduce the possibility of the mother transmitting cavity-causing bacteria to the baby. This will also result in the child being at a lower risk for cavities in the future.

Fruit Drinks Try to Fool Potential Consumers

Fruit Drinks Try to Fool Potential Consumers

Written by Dentistry TodayFriday, 09 August 2013 11:49

Health experts don’t want consumers to fall into the trap.

Companies that make fruit drinks try to vouch for the health qualities of their drinks but, in most cases, there usually aren’t any. The high sugar content in these drinks often leads to tooth decay, diabetes or obesity.

The marketing strategies of many of these manufacturers lead parents to believe that the fruit aspect of the drinks gives the drinks a quality of health. In actuality, these drinks are unhealthy as can be. Some of these drinks have the same amount of sugar, if not more, when compared to soda.

Many previous studies have gone into detail about the possible damaging effects of sugary drinks.

It’s essential for parents to become more knowledgeable about sugary drinks. That way, children won’t be exposed to them in large quantities as they are now. Despite the way sugary drinks are portrayed, water is always a healthier option.

There are various groups in numerous countries leading campaigns to add a tax on soft drinks to generate money to pay for more healthy alternatives.

Improving Pediatric Dental Sedation

Main Category: Dentistry
Also Included In: Pain / Anesthetics;  Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 10 Jul 2013 - 1:00 PDT

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Improving Pediatric Dental Sedation

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Research led by Priyanshi Ritwik, DDS, MS, LSUHSC Associate Professor of Pediatric Dentistry at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, reports important findings about side effects and how long they linger after discharge of common oral drugs used to sedate some children during dental procedures. The results of the study, published in the current issue of Anesthesia Progress, provide pediatric dentists and parents with new information on this previously little-investigated aspect of children's dental health care.

The prospective study, conducted at the LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans School of Dentistry, compared the incidence and duration of side effects of meperidine and hydroxyzine versus midazolam alone at 8 and 24 hours after sedation. The researchers found that while most adverse reactions occurred within eight hours, some continued up to 24 hours. They noted that children sedated with meperidine and hydroxyzine experienced vomiting, but not those sedated with midazolam. Prolonged sleep at home was significantly higher in the children sedated with meperidine and hydroxyzine. Irritability was more common in the midazolam group in the first eight hours, declining thereafter, while the number of irritable children in the meperidine and hydroxyzine group increased in the 8- to 24-hour period. They also report that 50% of the children in both groups slept in the car on the way home. This is a potential risk for airway obstruction because while sleeping in a car seat, the child's head can tilt down to the chest. It has been found that children and infants sleeping in car safety seats have a significantly lower oxygen saturation. The research team recommends that parents bring another adult along to monitor and reposition the child's head if necessary on the drive home.

"It is critical to know the effects of these medications beyond the time spent by the child in the dental office, so that parents can be appropriately cautioned about the expected effects and how to distinguish them from any potential emergencies such as airway obstruction," says Dr. Ritwik.

The team also recommends that parents be educated about which medications can safely be used to manage postoperative pain and fever as well as how to use them correctly. Additionally since some children do not want to eat in the first eight hours after sedation, they advise that parents be informed to anticipate this and encouraged to support their child to take liquids to maintain hydration.

Research Into Special Degradable Particles To Reduce Tooth Decay Wins Venture Prize Award - Could Bring Toothache Relief To Millions

Main Category: Dentistry
Article Date: 12 Jul 2013 - 2:00 PDT

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Research Into Special Degradable Particles To Reduce Tooth Decay Wins Venture Prize Award - Could Bring Toothache Relief To Millions

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Researchers have developed new degradable particles, about the same size as small holes in teeth, which are designed to enter these holes and physically block and repair decayed teeth.

These particles are special glasses and can be incorporated into toothpaste and will dissolve in the mouth releasing calcium and phosphate that form tooth mineral. This reduces tooth pain, cuts back on the incidences of tooth decay and repairs teeth.

This could bring relief to the estimated 20 million adults in UK (40 per cent of the UK adult population) who are prone to tooth sensitivity. Indeed, untreated tooth decay or cavities in permanent teeth is the most common of all 291 major diseases and injuries assessed in the latest Global Burden of Diseases study. It affects 35 per cent of the world's population.

The team behind this development, led by Professor Robert Hill from Queen Mary, University of London have won the £25,000 materials science Venture Prize, awarded by the Worshipful Company of Armourers and Brasiers.

"These new particles dissolve faster than existing ones and are also softer than tooth enamel," said Professor Hill. "They have a more expanded open structure and this allows water to go into the glass structure faster and the calcium and phosphate ions to come out faster. Also, while existing particles are significantly harder and abrade away the enamel during brushing, our new particles will be softer."

Tooth pain is associated with hot, cold or mechanical stimulation and is caused by fluid flow within small tubes located within the tooth. These tubes can become exposed as a result of the gums receding, hence the expression "long in the tooth" or through the loss of the outer enamel coating as a result of tooth decay, acid erosion or mechanical wear associated with tooth brushing. These new bioactive particles can also re-mineralise the holes via the release of calcium and phosphate ions.

"This is a hugely exciting development which could benefit millions of people not only throughout the UK and Europe but right across the world," said Professor Bill Bonfield, chairman of the Armourers & Brasiers Venture Prize judging panel. "It meets our aim to encourage innovative scientific entrepreneurship in the UK and provide funding, which is often difficult to source, to bring new materials science research like this to market."

In addition to Professor Hill, who is head of dental physical sciences at Barts and the London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary. The team comprises: Dr David Gillam clinical lecturer and dentist, Dr Natalia Karpukhina an expert on bioactive glasses and Dr Pushkar Wadke from Queen Mary Innovations.

"This award will enable us to get our research from the laboratory into a prototype toothpaste, said Professor Hill. "The difficult step is getting money to enable the translation of research in the laboratory into commercial products. This is what the Venture Prize Award will enable us to do."

This development has come at an appropriate time. The latest Global Industry Analysts report outlined that the total world market for toothpaste is forecast to reach US$12.6 billion (£8.1billion) by the year 2015. This increase it outlines will be led by product innovations, rising population levels and greater awareness about oral hygiene.

'Recognition And Response In Child Protection' Course To Be Offered To Specialist Paediatric Dentists, UK

Main Category: Medical Students / Training
Also Included In: Dentistry
Article Date: 15 Jul 2013 - 2:00 PDT

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'Recognition And Response In Child Protection' Course To Be Offered To Specialist Paediatric Dentists, UK

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A child protection course highly regarded by paediatricians and A&E doctors is to be offered to specialist paediatric dentists in order to help them identify children at risk of abuse.

The nationally recognised Safeguarding Children: Recognition and Response in Child Protection (CPRR) course, run jointly by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), Advanced Life Support Group (ALSG), the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry (BSPD) and the NSPCC, will be expanded to include a 'dental stream'.

This stream will build on the knowledge specialist dentists already have in child protection and will further train them to recognise and respond to a range of indicators of possible abuse or neglect by looking at the child's general health as well as the mouth and teeth, so they can be confident both in their own practice and also when called on to advise general dental practitioners.

The course consists of:

• Online pre-course learning which is split into four sections:
  
  • Comprehensive background information
  • DVD with scenarios based on real-life cases, images with commentaries and interviews with professionals
  • A copy of the Child Protection Companion - a resource compiled on behalf of the RCPCH by an expert group
  • Additionally for the dental stream, a copy of Child Protection and the Dental Team - guidance specific for dental professionals
• One day face-to-face course: lectures, workshops and role play with specially developed dental scenarios

The course takes place at centres across the UK with highly experienced local paediatricians, nurses and specialist paediatric dentists facilitating.

Participants are required to pass an assessment to successfully complete the course.

Ben Cole, BSPD President and Consultant in Paediatric Dentistry at Newcastle Dental School and Hospital said:

"We know that dentists are in a good position to recognise signs of child maltreatment but it is not an area that any of us find easy. We welcome this opportunity to better train our future Specialists and Consultants in Paediatric Dentistry, who are often called upon to give advice on child protection to colleagues.

"Protecting children who are at risk of maltreatment requires health professionals to work together. We are hopeful that training together on this course will improve communication between doctors and dentists back in the workplace."

Lucy Williams, a participant in one of the first dental stream courses said:

"The course was invaluable in reinforcing the important role we have as paediatric dentists in protecting children from harm, leading our dental teams and working together with paediatricians and other key professionals."

Neela Shabde of the RCPCH, and the Consultant Paediatrician who chaired the working group for development of the original course in 2006, said: "I am delighted that the BSPD has played a key role in driving safeguarding training for dentists in conjunction with RCPCH, ALSG, and NSPCC.

"I believe this course will strengthen the skills and knowledge of the dental trainees in understanding the challenges and barriers, identifying child abuse and preventing children from suffering further abuse. Most importantly dentists treating children will be able to come forward as advocates in protecting children from abuse and work jointly with other agencies to safeguard children."

The dental stream of the CPRR course is currently only open to Paediatric Dentistry Trainees, either NTN or FTTA or GDC-registered Paediatric Dentistry Specialists.