Dentistry News and Research

Latest Dentistry News and Research

New survey shows Americans falling short on sun protection

Over the past year, the number of Americans using sunscreen, a primary protector against skin cancer, has declined. At the same time, more Americans, including children, are being diagnosed with skin cancer than ever before.

6 Jun 2005

International action needed on health in Turkmenistan

Health experts called on the international community to put pressure on the Turkmenistan government to improve health and stop human rights abuses.

3 Jun 2005

Raising awareness of oral health as an essential factor in general health

Despite the fact that oral health is an essential factor in general health and quality of life through an individual's life course, oral health is mostly neglected in integral approaches for the promotion of general health.

3 Jun 2005

Visually screening the mouths of individuals at high-risk of oral cancer could prevent around 37000 worldwide

Visually screening the mouths of individuals at high-risk of oral cancer could prevent around 37,000 worldwide deaths annually from the disease, suggests a study published in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

3 Jun 2005

Aircraft noise could impair the development of reading and memory in children

Exposure to high levels of aircraft noise could impair the development of reading and memory in children, suggests a study published in this week’s issue of The Lancet.

3 Jun 2005

Research findings suggest new treatment strategies for patients with cystic fibrosis

Cells sent to fight infections in the lungs of cystic fibrosis patients actually enhance the development of permanent bacterial infections, according to researchers at National Jewish Medical and Research Center.

3 Jun 2005

Survey finds only 3 percent of prospective dentists plan to work exclusively in NHS

A survey of dental school applicants led by researchers at the University of Dundee has found that only 3% of those intending to enter general dental practice expected to work exclusively within the NHS.

2 Jun 2005

Researcher develops compounds to control bacteria

A method for controlling bacterial activity without antibiotics by interfering with their communication process has been developed by a young Hebrew University of Jerusalem researcher.

2 Jun 2005

Chemicals in food packaging linked to breast cancer

Chemicals found in some food packaging materials have been shown in a new study to affect the development of breast tissue in mice, which suggests, say scientists, that women exposed to such chemicals, which mimic female hormones, may be at increased risk of breast cancer.

30 May 2005

Fewer adults smoke in the U.S. and the number is dropping

Using data from the 2003 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), the study found that approximately 21.6 percent of U.S. adults, over 45 million people, are current smokers.

29 May 2005

Disturbingly high rate of home care patients are being admitted to hospital suffering from pneumonia

A two-year study showed home-care patients suffering from Community-Acquired Pneumonia (CAP is acquired outside of hospitals) account for 25 of every 1,000 people who visited emergency rooms suffering pneumonia.

26 May 2005

Anti-inflammatory protein annexin 1 may protect patients from the detrimental effects of severe inflammatory response syndrome

Severe inflammatory response syndrome, or SIRS, occurs when the body's response to an overwhelming infection becomes uncontrolled. The very immune response meant to clear the pathogen and its toxins actually causes damage to the host's own tissues when it goes into overdrive, releasing too many immune signals.

23 May 2005

Scottish dentists not reassured by dental reforms

Deputy Health Minister Rhona Brankin says that despite rows over reforms of the profession the Scottish Executive will maintain good links with dentists.

23 May 2005

Bacteria in plaque may increase risk for heart attacks

Researchers have found evidence that the amount of bacteria in subgingival plaques, the deep plaques in periodontal pockets and around the teeth, may contribute to an individual's risk of a heart attack, according to two studies appearing the Journal of Periodontology.

20 May 2005

More health benefits from green tea

Green tea appears to protect against cancer by affecting a "promiscuous" protein that pharmaceutical experts are already targeting in an effort to develop a new drug to stop the disease, scientists at the University of Rochester Medical Center have found.

16 May 2005

Tonsil swabbing is terrible - it makes people gag

Mayo Clinic ear, nose and throat surgeons hoped to find a more user-friendly test for strep throat than swabbing the tonsils directly, but instead discovered that the swab has to touch the tonsils to accurately detect the infection.

15 May 2005

Gum disease patients ignore dentist advice

The best efforts of dentists don't always mean people will look after their teeth, British researchers have found.

15 May 2005

Two-sided coating could breathe life into medical implants

By mimicking an adhesive protein secreted by mussels and a polymer that repels cells and proteins, researchers at Northwestern University have designed a versatile new two-sided coating that could breathe life into medical implants.

15 May 2005

Global research network needed if scientists are ever going to understand and prevent cleft palate

Professor Bill Shaw, of The University of Manchester, says the complexity of craniofacial anomalies, like cleft lip and palate, means no one country, let alone institution, has the necessary expertise and resources to find all the answers to these distressing conditions.

From The University of Manchester 11 May 2005

Common antibiotic called minocycline may slow or prevent diabetic retinopathy

The team found that minocycline, often used to treat acne, limits by about 50 percent the retinal damage caused by microglia. Microglia are cells that act as the "cleanup crew" for the Central Nervous System (CNS).

11 May 2005