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Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Rhuematoid arthritis, heart disease, stroke… all have been linked to the health of your mouth. If the gums are puffy and red from poor brushing or flossing, they will bleed easily during normal home care. The problem is that the bacteria in your mouth then have open access to the rest of your body via your bloodstream. For most people, the immune system can take this onslaught. But, for example, if you have certain predisposed heart conditions, you are more at risk for these bacteria to cause problems. Case Western Reserve University Researchers have now found a link to yet another population prone to having problems related to oral bacteria: Pregnant Mothers. They have in the past shown that oral bacteria can circulate to the uterus, and cause pre-term birth. Now, MSNBC is reporting on a case in which this same bacteria caused a child to be stillborn. In this case, the patient had heavy bleeding from her gums, which can be a classic sign of periodontal disease. Now it is well known that pregnant woman will have an increased amount of inflammation in their gums due to hormone changes. This is different. The idea here is that this particular patient was not in a normal healthy range in terms of her dental care, and the excess amount of bacteria potentially caused the damage. Now I have read all the pregnancy books which explicitly detail everything you should or shouldn’t be doing in pregnancy, from avoiding hot tubs and sushi, to making sure you eat Folic Acid like candy. This is not necessarily one more thing to worry about. Just make sure good brushing and flossing is part of your daily routine. Dentists: you can educate patients on their risk level, and encourage frequent cleanings and good home care. Stay educated on the issues, so that you can be that trusted resource for your patients. I can guarantee, they will be asking about this. Update: Click Here to see a video with Yiping Han, Ph. D. talking about her ongoing research.
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It seems that there has been a lot of technical innovations in biology that promise to propel the dental field further in terms of what can be accomplished for patients. From re-growing teeth, to turning wood into bone, the future looks amazing. To this list of miracles, now add printable human tissue. Bjorn Carey at Live Sciencereported on some scientists at the University of Manchester who have figured out a way to artificially manufacture skin. Here’s how its done: Scientists expect to eventually build commercial skin printers for hospital use. Doctors would take cells from a patient's body, multiply them, and suspend them in a nutrient-rich liquid similar to ink. A technician would enter measurements of a patient's wound into a computer and feed the suspended cells into the printer. The cells would then be seeded on a plastic tissue scaffold, which provides shape and stability to the new piece of skin as it develops. The scaffold would also anchor the perfectly shaped piece of skin over the wound, once applied, keeping the graft in place until it takes hold. The immediate benefit would be burn or accident victims who would have lost the ability to regenerate keratinized tissue. By dropping these printers right into the hospital setting, they would be able to immediately address the patients needs on an emergency basis. Next in line would be procedures less dependant on time. Oral cancer victims would be able to regrow intraoral and extraoral skin rather than having to wear a prosthetic. And with one of the barriers to dental implant treatment being the presence of adequate soft tissue, the surgeon would no longer need to jump into another donor site (i.e. your palate) to harvest the necessary cells. They even think that this printer could eventually replace whole organs by laying down the correct order of cells on a premade scaffold, using up to eight different inks. I’m sure they will follow HP’s example by practically giving away the printer, but charging you an arm and a leg for the ink cartridge (no pun intended).
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I love getting emails like this. Dentalcompare, as well as other media outfits in dentistry, received a poorly written but passionate letter about the evils of the dental industry. Specifically, the dentist called out Dentalcompare to be open and honest, and stop pandering to the companies that promote products on our site. Apparently, he feels thatVertise Flow by Kerr and Fusio Liquid Dentin by Pentron are the same products and we are all a bunch of big liars. His unedited email is below: “Dear all, As you surely know Vertise Flow is the same as the Pentron product FusioLiquid Dentin, a self-adhering flowable composite. Since Kerr/Sybron has been taken over Pentron mid 2008, it's just realistic that all new Pentron products will be marketed as Kerr products too, seen the far greater sales power of the Kerr corporation. AND AS YOU ALL KNOW this, why are you not "honnest" with your readers-dentists and say them that both products are the same ?! And by extension, why do you not make a list of ALL private labelled products, coming from one and the same "real" manufacturer ?! Composites, adhesives, composite posts, .... Kindly, [Name not printed] I happen to have followed the development of Vertise Flow, and was able to clarify much of the information with Barbara Young in Media Relations with Kerr. Specifically, Pentron was acquired by Kerr to gain the use and rights of Resilon technology, an endodontic filling material. Pentron developed Fusio completely independently of the Kerr product, and continues to market and sell Fusio as a separate product. While Vertise Flow and Fusio are both basically a blend of bonding agent and composite, there are some clear distinctions in their formulations: Vertise Flow uses OptiBond technology, with GPDM adhesive monomers. Fusio uses 4-MET monomers. This accounts for a difference in how the two products actually bond to dentin. While these differences at first glance may seem trivial, their basic chemistries differ and are important in the way that each of these products interacts with tooth structure, and how each is used clinically. For example, the application techniques of Vertise Flow and Fusio differ, particularly in a liner capacity. Vertise Flow asks the clinician to brush the material onto the cavity floor and all walls, cure, and build the restoration with a traditional composite. On the other hand, Fusio asks the clinician to agitate the material onto the cavity floor, cure, and then proceed to etch and bond on all walls, cure, and build the restoration with a traditional composite. Now, on to Dentalcompare. As clinical editor for this trusted resource for dentists and hygienists, we take great strides to ensure that our content is accurate and unbiased. We do not falsely represent anyone, and have no interest in
Blog
Thursday, January 07, 2010
One of the biggest challenges in replacing missing teeth is that often the residual extraction site loses bone support. Since a dental implant requires a good bone foundation for placement, final treatment is often delayed in favor of bone grafting to augment the jaw in that area. The challenge here then is this: Where does that bone come from? In years past, people have had bone taken from their jaw, chin, hip or even leg bones to place into the defective area. The graft site usually heals great, but the donor site can remain painful for several months. Another source would be cadaver bone, but there still exists some level of paranoia in the population of transmitting a disease or some personality quirk from the donating dead body. You can then see why people are even less excited about using cow bone. Medtronic found a solution to this, utilizing your body’s own cells to re-grow bone in the affected area. They use a recombinant hybrid form of Bone Morphogenetic Protein, or BMP. The BMP tells bone-creating cells to grow in that particular spot. No donor site is needed, but the material is very cost prohibitive. To augment an area of about two teeth costs around $2000… just for the material. A bunch of really smart people at the Institute of Science and Technology for Ceramics have found a way around all of this. Essentially, they take rattan wood and expose it to cycles of heat and pressure. During this time, calcium and phosphate is added to the mix. At this point, the wood is like a bone block, and can be attached in whatever necessary shape to real bone. Under a microscope, the wood looks very similar to real bone. The body’s cells then infiltrate the material and eventually it fuses with the natural bone. They say this is still at least five years away. But if we can eliminate a donor site, and have the price be set at a reasonable level, this could be a glance to the future. Check out the BBC report below:
Featured Article
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
In the midst of all the chaos, tried and true principles still apply: know your business, know your goals, and execute well.
Featured Article
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Novalar is a pharmaceutical company behind a new injectable called phentolamine mesylate, otherwise known as OraVerse™.
Featured Article
This case study shows how a practice dealt with management of gingival hypertrophy
Featured Article
Every month there are new techniques, new ideas, and new products that hit the market. At Dentalcompare, you can always find the most updated information available.
Featured Article
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Utilizing CAD/CAM technology, the machine boasts an amazing ability to accurately produce an esthetic restoration in several minutes.
Featured Article
Rather than being a choice of one specialist or the other, there needs to be complete integration of restorative dentist, endodontist and surgeon to help direct the right path.
Featured Article
Thursday, February 02, 2006
In 2004, the FDA even approved the first AED for use without a prescription. The question is, does your practice need an AED?
Featured Article
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Looking back over the years of dental school, our training seems to lack many of the skills needed to survive in a modern dental practice.
Review
Review of Clearfil SE Protect, an easy to use bonding system that provides almost complete reduction of post-operative sensitivity.
Featured Article
Whenever a patient needs a restorative procedure involving work done with the laboratory, there is always that requisite time with a provisional restoration.