What is the best way to whiten teeth? (video)

In the age of selfies, it seems everyone wants to have a whiter, brighter smile. While one option to achieve this involves a trip to the dentist for a professional whitening, many people have turned to over-the-counter teeth-whitening treatments. How do these work, and are they safe?

Non-inflammatory destructive periodontal disease

Although, bacteria are a critical etiologic factor that are needed to develop periodontal disease, bacteria alone are insuficiente to induce a periodontal disease. A susceptible host is also required, and the host's susceptibility as local and/or general predisposing risk factors, are important determinants of the disease status. An accurate diagnosis is often essential in developing a predictable and suitable treatment plan, which, when executed, gives a guide to the resolution of the periodontal disease's activity. The majority of all forms of periodontal diseases, are considered as microorganism-induced diseases, which promote an inflammatory host defense response against the bacteria and noxious materials from bacterial plaque. 

The inflammatory process inactivates bacteria, but produces the liberation of bacterial and neutrophil derived products such as enzymes, which induce periodontal tissue destruction by lytic activities. Therefore, the characteristics of the most common periodontal disease are: presence of gingival inflammation, ulceration of the junctional epithelium, loss of connective tissue and alveolar bone, causing apical migration of the junctional epithelium and development of periodontal pockets. 

However, not all types of periodontal disease seem to be caused by periodontopathogenic bacteria, and not all are distinguished by an evident inflammatory process, and periodontal tissue destruction associated with periodontal periodontal pocket formation and progressive deepening. Non inflammatory destructive periodontal disease (NIDPD), is a severe destructive periodontal disease, which is characterized by periodontal attachment loss, alveolar bone loss, generalized gingival recession without pathognomonic sign of inflammation, and periodontal pocket development. 

Conventional periodontal therapy and antimicrobial therapy are ineffective, in preventing further progression of the disease. A NIDPD case was studied in order to analyse features of the disease, and discuss the possible etiologic factors as an association of endogenous opportunist bacteria with anatomical aspects, occlusion pattern, emotional stress and mouth breathing condition.

Breakthrough toothpaste ingredient hardens your teeth while you sleep

The new BioMinF toothpaste ingredient, developed by Queen Mary University of London, provides a new tooth repair technology which will bring relief to the millions of adults and children around the world who are prone to tooth decay and sensitivity

QUEEN MARY UNIVERSITY OF LONDON

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A new toothpaste ingredient which puts back the lost minerals from tooth enamel and helps prevent decay and treat sensitivity while you sleep is available online and from specialist dental distributors now. It is expected to be available through high street stores by the end of the year.

The new BioMinF toothpaste ingredient provides a new tooth repair technology which will bring relief to the millions of adults and children around the world who are prone to tooth decay and sensitivity. 

Dental decay is the most prevalent disease worldwide and the majority of adults will also experience tooth sensitivity at some stage during their lives. Decay is the single biggest reason for children being admitted into hospital with between 60-90 percent of school children being affected.

Tooth decay and sensitivity is estimated to affect 13.5million people in the UK alone.

Toothpastes containing BioMInF are able to slowly release calcium, phosphate and fluoride ions over an 8-12 hour timeframe to form fluorapatite mineral to rebuild, strengthen and protect tooth structure. The slow release of fluoride has been identified to be particularly beneficial in prevention of tooth decay. 

"Using remineralising toothpaste makes teeth far more resistant to attack from acidic soft drinks like fruit juices and sodas. It is also much more effective than conventional toothpastes where the active ingredients, such as soluble fluoride, are washed away and become ineffective less than two hours after brushing," said Professor Robert Hill, Chair of Dental Physical Sciences at Queen Mary, University of London, who led the team which developed BioMin and won the 2013 Armourers and Brasiers Venture Prize. 

"This breakthrough innovation could significantly reduce dental decay and also tooth sensitivity problems which are often experienced by people eating or drinking something cold," said Professor Hill. 

"The technology behind BioMin is not however exclusively designed for toothpastes," added Professor Hill. "It can also be incorporated in other professionally applied dental products such as cleaning and polishing pastes, varnishes and remineralising filling materials."

Professor Hill has co-founded, BioMin Technologies, which aims to commercialise the development. The company will be led by chief executive Richard Whatley who has 30 years international management experience within the dental industry working for market leading companies such as Dentsply and KaVo.

"We are very excited by the prospects of developing the patented technology which has been licensed from Queen Mary University of London and Imperial College," said CEO Richard Whatley." We are in the process of establishing licencing agreements with toothpaste and dental materials manufacturers around the world.

"A key element of our business model includes business partners also becoming investor stakeholders in the company thus reducing the need for traditional third party financing from venture capitalists. Our aim is for the BioMin brand to become synonymous for the treatment of tooth sensitivity in the eyes of both the dental profession and the general public."

Dr David Gillam, with expertise in the management of dentine hypersensitivity and a consultant and co-founder of BioMin said," Tooth sensitivity is caused by open tubules in the teeth allowing access to the nerve receptors which may affect the quality of life of individuals particularly when eating and drinking hot and cold food and drink. BioMin containing toothpastes are effective by sealing the tubules with acid resistant fluorapatite which act as a barrier to hot and cold being transmitted inside the tooth."

A fluoride free version of BioMin is also being developed for individuals who do not want or need fluoride toothpaste.

BioMinF is available from dental practices and distributors now or via http://www.biomin.co.uk at £4.99 for 75ml tube.

Is there a link between oral health and the rate of cognitive decline?

Better oral hygiene and regular dental visits may play a role in slowing cognitive decline as people age, although evidence is not definitive enough to suggest that one causes the other. The findings, published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, come from the first systematic review of studies focused on oral health and cognition--two important areas of research as the older adult population continues to grow, with some 36% of people over age 70 already living with cognitive impairments. 

Researchers have questioned whether an association exists between oral health and cognitive status for older adults. "Clinical evidence suggests that the frequency of oral health problems increases significantly in cognitively impaired older people, particularly those with dementia," said Bei Wu, PhD, of Duke University's School of Nursing in Durham, NC. "In addition, many of the factors associated with poor oral health--such as poor nutrition and systemic diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease--are also associated with poor cognitive function."

To look for a link between oral health and cognitive status, Dr. Wu and her colleagues analyzed relevant cross-sectional (data collected at one specific point in time) and longitudinal (data collected over an extended period of time) studies published between 1993 and 2013. 

Some studies found that oral health measures such as the number of teeth, the number of cavities, and the presence of periodontal disease (also known as "gum disease") were associated with an increased risk of cognitive decline or dementia, while others studies were unable to confirm any association. Researchers were also quick to note that findings based on the number of teeth or cavities are conflicting, and limited studies suggest that periodontal conditions such as gingivitis are associated with poorer cognitive status or cognitive decline.

"There is not enough evidence to date to conclude that a causal association exists between cognitive function and oral health," said Dr. Wu. "For future research, we recommend that investigators gather data from larger and more population representative samples, use standard cognitive assessments and oral health measures, and use more sophisticated data analyses."