Hidden tooth infections may predispose people to heart disease

According to a study carried out at the University of Helsinki, an infection of the root tip of a tooth increases the risk of coronary artery disease, even if the infection is symptomless. Hidden dental root tip infections are very common: as many as one in four Finns suffers from at least one. Such infections are usually detected by chance from X-rays.

"Acute coronary syndrome is 2.7 times more common among patients with untreated teeth in need of root canal treatment than among patients without this issue," says researcher John Liljestrand.

The study was carried out at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Diseases of the University of Helsinki, in cooperation with the Heart and Lung Centre at Helsinki University Hospital. Its results were published in the latest issue of the Journal of Dental Research.

Dental root tip infection, or apical periodontitis, is a bodily defence reaction against microbial infection in the dental pulp. Caries is the most common cause of dental root tip infection.

Today, information is increasingly available about the connection between oral infections and many common chronic diseases. For example, periodontitis, an inflammatory disease affecting the tissues that surround the teeth, causes low-grade inflammation and is regarded as an independent risk factor for coronary artery disease and diabetes. Dental root tip infections have been studied relatively little in this context, even though they appear to be connected with low-grade inflammation as well.

The study consisted of 508 Finnish patients with a mean age of 62 years who were experiencing heart symptoms at the time of the study. Their coronary arteries were examined by means of angiography, and 36 per cent of them were found to be suffering from stable coronary artery disease, 33 per cent were undergoing acute coronary syndrome, and 31 did not suffer from coronary artery disease to a significant degree. Their teeth were examined using panoramic tomography of the teeth and jaws, and as many as 58 per cent were found to be suffering from one or more inflammatory lesions.

The researchers also discovered that dental root tip infections were connected with a high level of serum antibodies related to common bacteria causing such infections. This shows that oral infections affect other parts of the body as well. The statistical analyses took account of age, gender, smoking, type 2 diabetes, body mass index, periodontitis and the number of teeth as confounding factors.

Cardiovascular diseases cause more than 30 per cent of deaths globally. They can be prevented by a healthy diet, weight control, exercise and not smoking. With regard to the health of the heart, measures should be taken to prevent or treat oral infections, as they are very common and often asymptomatic. Root canal treatment of an infected tooth may reduce the risk of heart disease, but more research is needed.

Link between periodontal and cerebrovascular diseases

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A new study has revealed a relationship between chronic periodontitis and lacunar infarct, two common diseases in the elderly. Chronic periodontitis is an inflammatory disease of the gums, whereas lacunar infarct is a type of cerebral small vessel disease that can lead to a stroke.

Additional research is needed to understand this link. It is hypothesized that periodontitis leads to systemic inflammation and, as a result, the health of the blood vessels could be affected. On the other hand, chronic periodontitis and lacunar infarct may share common vascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol.

"We observed that people diagnosed with periodontal disease had about a 4-fold increased risk of developing lacunar stroke compared with those without periodontitis. If further prospective cohort studies confirm our findings, interventional studies should be performed to assess the potential benefit of periodontal therapy in patients with lacunar stroke and periodontitis," said Dr. Yago Leira, lead author of the European Journal of Neurology study. "Periodontal treatment may also decrease systemic inflammation and, therefore, it may reduce the risk of developing lacunar infarct."

Exposure to chemicals in plastic and fungicides may irreversibly weaken children’s teeth

Chemicals commonly found in plastics and fungicides may be weakening children's teeth by disrupting hormones that stimulate the growth of dental enamel, according to a new study presented today at the European Congress of Endocrinology.

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that interfere with mammalian hormones. Bisphenol A (BPA) is one of the most prevalent, found in every-day items including refillable drink bottles and food storage containers. Vinclozolin is another endocrine disruptor that was commonly used as a fungicide in vineyards, golf courses and orchards.

Molar incisor hypermineralisation (MIH) is a pathology affecting up to 18% of children aged 6-9, in which the permanent first molars and incisors teeth that erupt have sensitive spots that become painful and are prone to cavities. These spots are found on dental enamel, the tough outer covering of teeth that protects it from physical and chemical damage. Unlike bone, enamel does not regrow and so any damage is irreversible. Previous rat studies have shown that MIH may result from exposure to BPA after finding similar damage to the enamel of rats that received a daily dose of BPA equivalent to normal human BPA exposure, though the exact mechanism of action remains unclear.

In this study, researchers from the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) gave rats daily doses of BPA alone or in combination with vinclozolin, equivalent to an average dose a human would experience daily, from birth till they were thirty days old. They then collected cells from the rats' teeth surface and found that BPA and vinclozolin changed the expression of two genes controlling the mineralisation of tooth enamel.

In part two of their experiment, the team cultured and studied rat ameloblast cells, which deposit enamel during the development of teeth. They found that the presence of sex hormones like oestrogen and testosterone boosted the expression of genes making tooth enamel, especially male sex hormones. As BPA and vinclozolin are known to block the effect of male sex hormones, the findings reveal a potential mechanism by which endocrine disruptors are weakening teeth.

"Tooth enamel starts at the third trimester of pregnancy and ends at the age of 5, so minimising exposure to endocrine disruptors at this stage in life as a precautionary measure would be one way of reducing the risk of enamel weakening," said Dr Katia Jedeon, lead author of the study.

Pot-Smokers Harm Gums; Other Physical Effects Slight

Long-term study finds no differences in metabolism, lung function, inflammation

A long-term study of nearly 1,000 New Zealanders from birth to age 38 has found that people who smoked marijuana for up to 20 years have more gum disease, but otherwise do not show worse physical health than non-smokers.

The international research team assessed a dozen measures of physical health, including lung function, systemic inflammation and several measures of metabolic syndrome, including waist circumference, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, blood pressure, glucose control and body mass index.
Tobacco users in the study, which appears online the week of June 1 in JAMA Psychiatry, were found to have gum disease as well as reduced lung function, systemic inflammation and indicators of poorer metabolic health.

“We can see the physical health effects of tobacco smoking in this study, but we don’t see similar effects for cannabis smoking,” said Madeline Meier, an assistant professor of psychology at Arizona State University who conducted the study with colleagues at Duke University, King’s College in the UK and the University of Otago in New Zealand.

While study participants who had used marijuana to some degree over the last 20 years showed an increase in periodontal disease from age 26 to 38, they did not differ from non-users on any of the other physical health measures. To measure cannabis use, they asked study subjects to self-report their use at ages 18, 21, 26, 32 and 38.

The study’s statistical analysis found that the decline in periodontal health in pot smokers was not explained by tobacco smoking, alcohol abuse or less tooth brushing and flossing. The lack of physical health problems among cannabis users also was not attributable to their having had better health to begin with or to living healthier lifestyles.

“We don’t want people to think, ‘Hey, marijuana can’t hurt me,’ because other studies on this same sample of New Zealanders have shown that marijuana use is associated with increased risk of psychotic illness, IQ decline and downward socioeconomic mobility,” Meier said.

“What we’re seeing is that cannabis may be harmful in some respects, but possibly not in every way,” said study co-author Avshalom Caspi, the Edward M. Arnett Professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke. “We need to recognize that heavy recreational cannabis use does have some adverse consequences, but overall damage to physical health is not apparent in this study.”

“Physicians should certainly explain to their patients that long-term marijuana use can put them at risk for losing some teeth,” said Terrie Moffitt, the Nannerl O. Keohane University Professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke and co-director of the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study, from which these data were gathered.

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.