Fluoride in tea not necessarily beneficial for teeth

BARCELONA, Spain/LEIPZIG, Germany: Britons may need to rethink their national habit of afternoon tea, as new research presented at the IADR meeting in Barcelona in Spain suggests that the world’s most-consumed beverage contains more fluoride than previously thought. According to a study led by Dr Gary Whitford from the Medical College of Georgia, the concentration of fluoride in black tea can be as high as 9 mg/l compared to 1–5 mg/l found in earlier studies. The findings could explain the occurrence of advanced skeletal and dental fluorosis, a health condition that affects the stability of teeth and bones.

Jul 1, 2010 | EUROPE

Scientists link dental X-rays to cancer

LONDON, UK/LEIPZIG, Germany: A joint research team from Kuwait and the UK has reported a link between dental X-rays and increased numbers of thyroid cancer. After factoring X-rays taken of 300 patients in a hospital in Kuwait, they found that men and women who had had up to four dental X-rays were more than twice as likely to have developed the disease than those who had never had any dental X-rays. For those patients who had had between five and nine X-rays, their risk rose more than four-fold.

Jun 17, 2010 | EUROPE

Patient material given online licence

RUGBY, UK: The British Dental Health Foundation, the UK’s leading oral health charity, has made the content from their prestige range of patient information leaflets available online by licence. The series of 52 educational leaflets, which were previously only produced for hard copy, will now be on-hand for people to use online on their websites.

Jun 11, 2010 | EUROPE

Midnight snacks bad for teeth

COPENHAGEN, Denmark/LEIPZIG, Germany: Eating food late at night contributes to tooth loss regardless of the type of food consumed, according to American and Danish researchers. A possible reason for this could be a change in saliva flow, which is important for removing debris in the mouth.

Jun 9, 2010 | EUROPE

Beyond endodontics: Roots Summit 2010

BARCELONA, Spain/LEIPZIG, Germany: What do Barcelona and endodontics have in common? For me, the answer was nothing, until last week’s Roots Summit. From now onwards, I will forever connect Gaudí, Paella and La Sagrada Família with root canals.

Jun 9, 2010 | EUROPE

Brushing teeth twice a day keeps heart disease away

LONDON, UK: In the last twenty years, there has been increased interest in links between heart problems and gum disease. While it has been established that inflammation in the body (including mouth and gums) plays an important role in the build-up of clogged arteries, a new study has now investigated whether the number of times individuals brush their teeth has any bearing on the risk of developing heart disease.

Apr 26, 2010 | EUROPE

Brain unable to localise tooth pain

ERLANGEN/LEIPZIG, Germany: The brain is not able to discriminate between a painful upper tooth and a painful lower tooth, researchers found. The results of a new imaging study, which will be published in the journal Pain, may help devise better treatments for acute tooth pain, such as cavities or infections, and more chronic conditions like phantom pain of a tooth after it has been removed.

Apr 21, 2010 | EUROPE

ITI World Symposium 2010 successfully closed

GENEVA, Switzerland: Last week, the International Team for Implantology (ITI), a leading academic organisation dedicated to the promotion of evidence-based education and research in the field of implant dentistry, welcomed more than 4,000 participants from all over the world to the 2010 edition of its much anticipated ITI World Symposium.

Mar 30, 2010 | EUROPE

Needles relieve dental patients from anxiety

LEIPZIG, Germany: Using acupuncture might help dentists to treat highly anxious patients, new research from Denmark and the UK suggests. In a study, published by the British Medical Journal Group earlier this week, scientists from the Universities of Copenhagen and Sheffield found that targeting two specific acupuncture points on the top of the head decreases the average Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) score in adult patients by more than half.

Mar 30, 2010 | EUROPE

Prozone confirms effectiveness of ozone dental therapy

LEIPZIG, Germany: Clinical tests from the Department of Molecular Biology at the University of Salzburg in Austria have confirmed that dental treatment with Prozone, a next generation ozone generator by Austrian manufacturer W&H, is highly effective against bacteria strains that are responsible for oro-dental infections and the development of dental caries. In the control study conducted in 2009, samples of Streptococcus mutans and Escherichia coli were gassed immediately and after 1.5 hours with ozone for 24 seconds and several times.

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