Dentistry News and Research

Latest Dentistry News and Research

Parkinson's patients stomach new drug better than conventional meds

Several studies conducted at Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) in Houston show that a new kind of orally disintegrating tablets provides improved symptom relief for patients with Parkinson's disease.

13 Jun 2006

Microbes could represent the future of medicine

Not all bacteria are bad. In fact, beneficial microbes could represent the future of medicine, with the potential to treat a variety of diseases in humans and animals from diarrhea and eczema to gum disease and autoimmune disorders.

9 Jun 2006

Leading medical ethicist says legalise all euthanasia

A leading medical ethicist in the UK says voluntary and non-voluntary euthanasia should be legalised in Britain.

8 Jun 2006

Health education helps African American smokers quit

The first clinical trial to focus on light smokers shows that African Americans are motivated to quit more by completing health education than by using nicotine gum.

7 Jun 2006

Cysteine containing tablets and chewing gum potential new way to prevent upper digestive tract cancers

Researchers at the University of Helsinki, Finland, suggest that cysteine containing tablets and chewing gum can be a new way for the prevention of upper digestive tract cancers.

23 May 2006

Tension headache may actually be temporomandibular muscle and joint disorder

People whose recurrent headaches have been diagnosed as tension-related actually may be suffering from temporomandibular muscle and joint disorder, or TMJD, a study headed by a researcher from the University at Buffalo's School of Dental Medicine has shown.

23 May 2006

Different methods of cooking vegetables could vary their effects on dental erosion

A research team led by Dr Graham Chadwick in the School of Dentistry have investigated whether the method of cooking a popular vegetarian dish, Ratatouille, would have any impact on the acidity of the food, and therefore the potential for contributing to dental erosion.

3 May 2006

Varenicline could increase number who quit smoking

Smokers who try to quit using existing medications, such as nicotine patches or Zyban, are about twice as likely to succeed as those who don't use medication or are prescribed placebos during clinical trials.

3 May 2006

Minority and multiracial children experience many disparities in medical and oral health status

Minority and multiracial children experience many disparities in medical and oral health status, access to care, and use of services, according to a new national study by researchers at the Center for Advancement of Underserved Children at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.

3 May 2006

Periodontitis and plasma C-reactive protein during pregnancy

Researchers found that pregnant women with periodontitis had 65 percent higher C-reactive protein (CRP) levels compared to periodontally healthy women.

3 May 2006

Oh what a feeling!

Just five months after the pioneering operation Isabelle Dinoire, the world's first partial face transplant says she now has complete feeling in the new tissue on her face.

1 May 2006

Ancient rodent DNA being used to identify the cause of its low genetic diversity

A rare Patagonian rodent known as the colonial tuco-tuco fascinates biologists because it seems to defy all odds. This threatened species has so little genetic diversity that the slightest whiff of climate change or disease should have wiped it off the face of the earth long ago. Yet the hearty gopher-like creature has not only managed to survive for thousands of years in the harsh climate of the Argentine highlands, it has evolved a complex social structure that's unique among the more than 50 closely related tuco-tuco species.

28 Apr 2006

No alarm on fluoride: cancer risk unproven

Suggestions that fluoridated water supplies may be linked to a rare form of bone cancer have not been scientifically established, Victoria's Chief Health Officer Dr Robert Hall said this week.

20 Apr 2006

Amalgam fillings not so risky after all

Although dental amalgam has been used for at least 150 years to fill dental cavities, because it is made up of 50% mercury there have been on-going concerns over the potential side effects to health.

19 Apr 2006

Tongue scraping for treating halitosis

Despite widespread use of mouthwashes, breath mints, sprays, chewing gums and mechanical tongue cleaning, research is inconclusive about which method is most effective at attacking bad breath, investigators conclude in a new review of clinical studies.

18 Apr 2006

Study shows mercury amalgam fillings pose no health concerns for children

There were no statistically significant differences in neuropsychological and neurobehavioral effects among children whose dental caries were treated with mercury amalgam fillings and those treated with a composite dental restorative material

18 Apr 2006

Humans perceive more than they think they do

Faces tell the stories in UC Riverside Professor Larry Rosenblum's ecological listening lab, as volunteer test subjects show that they can "read" unheard speech - not just from lips, but from the simple movements of dots placed on lips, teeth and tongue.

18 Apr 2006

First gene therapy human trial in the United States for a form of muscular dystrophy under way

The clinical trial for Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) tests the safety and effectiveness of a therapy that was developed over two decades by scientists at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill's School of Medicine and the University of Pittsburgh.

16 Apr 2006

Computer program lets people with Trigeminal neuralgia diagnose themselves

Trigeminal neuralgia, or TN, is a disorder affecting the areas of the face where the trigeminal nerve's branches are distributed, including the lips, eyes, nose, scalp, forehead, and upper and lower jaws.

13 Apr 2006

Analysis of different sweeteners and sweet substances

The most important factor in what kind of sweetener people prefer has little to do with how sweet it tastes. Rather, it has more to do with other tastes in the sweetener, such as bitterness or sourness, new research suggests.

13 Apr 2006