Gentlemen - deal with your gum disease !

Men with erection problems are three times more likely to have inflamed gums according to a new study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

 

Men in their thirties, who had inflamed gums caused by gum disease, were three times more likely to suffer from erection problems.

Turkish researchers compared 80 men aged 30 to 40 with erectile dysfunction with a control group of 82 men without erection problems. This showed that 53% of the men with erectile dysfunction had inflamed gums compared with 23% in the control group. When the results were adjusted for other factors, such as age, body mass index, household income and education level, the men with severe gum disease were over 3 times more likely to suffer from erection problems than men with healthy gums.

Dallas star dies from mouth cancer

Larry Hagman, aka JR Ewing, from the 80s hit soap Dallas, died from cancer of the tongue. Larry was diagnosed with the disease in October 2011.

About 8000 people have been diagnosed with mouth cancer in the UK (this year?) and without early treatment about half can expect to die. Early diagnosis is therefore extremely important, as is reducing your risks by stopping smoking and using alcohol only in moderation.

We take care to routinely screen all our patients, not only for mouth cancer, but any one of a zillion conditions that can manifest in the mouth.

Stem cells from teeth 'banked' for future use

Few people cannot have heard about the potential benefits of stem cell therapy. New advances are being made all the time and an opportunity now exists for dentists to 'bank' stem cells either from yourself, a child or loved one. It seems that a good place to harvest stem cells is from the pulps of teeth: either baby teeth that are about to fall out, from permanent teeth that need to be removed electively for orthodontic reasons, or wisdom teeth. The tooth need to be in good condition otherwise or the stem cells will not be as viable. After processing the cells are stored. What price that tooth if it later proves that the banked stem cells could be used to regrow a defective organ? Currently there are 85 medical conditions for which these stem cells can be used.

European poll sees Brits score highly for dental care

GlaxoSmithKline - the people behing Colgate and Corsodyl- conducted a Europe-wide survey showed that we Brits love our teeth and take good care of them, compared to our European neighbours.

65% of Brits surveyed still had all their own teeth and 75% brushed their teeth twice a day, as recommended. 80% of Italians brushed twice a day, but 27% of the French brush once a day or less - yuck! 

86% of Germans are happy with their smile: that figure is 67% of Brits with the French bottom at 53%

Dentists top polls !

According to a recent poll, dentists offer the best customer service of any profession.

In a survey of 1000 people, 47% rated dentists highly, with waiters next at 30%. Doctors came in with 27%.

According to the report, gym staff are among the worst delivering customer service, and 40% think council staff have a bad attitude. Police, hospital workers post office staff and shop assistants were also rated badly.

MRSA on false teeth?

Scientists (whoever they are) are saying that the MRSA bug causing all sorts of problems in hospitals is usually present on false teeth, making them potentially harmful! Leaving them in water overnight will not get rid of it. There has been research reported in the Journal of the American Dental Association from a team in Brazil that claim microwaving false teeth for 3 minutes gets rid of the problem! Not sure if that might not cause a denture to warp and lose fit. Soaking in 2% chlorhexidine (the same stuff as is in Corsodyl mouthwash) for 10 minutes could also make them safe (but might stain them?). No report on the efficacy of standard cleaners eg Steradent. Think the moral of the story is avoid the need to wear dentures.

Rainforest remedy spells end to dental pain ?

This headline in the dental press makes great claims for a plant the ancient Incas apparently used to ease some tooth pains. Doesnt sound like the be all and end all you might initially think, from that headline, (more journalistic hype?) but it could certainly be a useful product


Full article http://www.dentistry.co.uk/news/4944-Rainforest-remedy-spells-end-to-dental-pain

The Kings Teeth

No not the latest Colin Firth blockbuster, but apparently one of Elvis Presley's teeth is coming up for auction ! He had a crown on a front tooth, which had broken before on a microphone while performing in Las Vegas, so he had a spare one ready, and his dentist on standby to fly out to him while he was on tour, if required. It is the spare crown on a dental plaster model, which is being auctioned by Omega Auctions, Manchester.

Another good reason to look after your teeth and gums

Now it seems there may be a link betwen having gum (periodontal) disease and bowel cancer. A type of bacterium associated with development of gum disease has been isolated from patients with colo-rectal cancer.

http://www.dentistry.co.uk/news/4859--Oral-health-Possible-link-between-gum-disease-and-bowel-cancer