Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

Published by Dental Tribune UK Ltd © 2011, Dental Tribune UK Ltd. All rights reserved. Dental Tribune UK Ltd makes every effort to report clinical information and manufacturer’s product news accurately, but cannot assume responsibility for the validity of product claims, or for typographical errors. The publishers also do not assume responsibility for product names or claims, or statements made by advertisers. Opinions expressed by authors are their own and may not reflect those of Dental Tribune International. Editor Lisa Townshend Tel: 020 7400 8979 Lisa@dentaltribuneuk.com Advertising Director Joe Aspis Tel: 020 7400 8969 Joe@dentaltribuneuk.com Sales Executive Joe Ackah Tel: 020 7400 8964 Joe.ackah@ dentaltribuneuk.com Editorial Assistant Laura Hatton Laura.hatton@dentaltrib- uneuk.com Tel: 020 7400 8981 Design & Production Ellen Sawle ellen@dentaltribuneuk.com Tel: 020 7400 8921 Dental Tribune UK Ltd 4th Floor, Treasure House, 19–21 Hatton Garden, London, EC1N 8BA D r Dianne Rekow, Senior Vice Provost of Engineer- ing and Technology at New York University (NYU) and Provost of Polytechnic Institute of NYU, has been appointed as the next Dean of the Dental Institute at King’s College London. She will succeed Professor Nairn Wilson, who is due to retire at the end of this year, and will take up the position from 1 Janu- ary 2012. Dr Rekow is president of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) and is an internationally known authority on the performance of new mate- rials and products for use in aes- thetic and restorative dentistry. Dr Rekow’s team has also carried out research into the use of bio- engineered tissue to facilitate the growth of replacement bone in people who have been disfigured by disease. Principal of King’s, Professor Sir Rick Trainor, said: “Dr Rekow is an internationally renowned, highly regarded expert in her field with substantial experience of successful academic leader- ship in dentistry and beyond. I am delighted to welcome her to King’s Dental Institute as it enters the next phase of devel- opment as a world class dental clinical academic centre. “With her unparalleled knowledge and expertise, Dr Re- kow will help drive the Dental Institute forward to realise its full potential across the spec- trum of innovative clinical prac- tice, learning and teaching and ground-breaking oral and dental research. “This year the Dental Institute was ranked in first position in two of the UK’s higher education league tables - The Guardian and The Complete University Guide. I would like to pay tribute to Profes- sor Nairn Wilson’s role in achiev- ing this during his many years of dedicated service to King’s, and under whose leadership and vi- sion the Dental Institute has gone from strength to strength.” Commenting on her appoint- ment, Dr Rekow said: “King’s well-earned outstanding reputa- tion is an incredibly valuable as- set for a new dean, creating an exceptionally strong base from which to mitigate emerging chal- lenges and realise future opportu- nities. I look forward to working with the staff and students in the Dental Institute, the College, the associated Trusts, and the dental profession as the Institute contin- ues its evolution to increasingly greater distinction.” DT King’s College London appoints new dental Dean A recent study by the University of Illinois has confirmed that the bacteria associated with early childhood caries (ECC) has been found in infant saliva. The study, led by re- searcher Kelly Swanson, fo- cused on infantsbefore their first teeth were formed; most studies in this sector focusonchildrenwhoarealready at nursery or primary school. “We now rec- ognise that the “win- dow of i n f e c - tivity,” w h i c h w a s thought to occur between 19 and 33 months of age years ago, really occurs at a much younger age,” Kelly was quot- ed saying. Throughout the study the team were able to characterise communities of bacteria and learned that oral bacterial com- munities in infants were much morediverse than originally ex- pected. Talking on whether these bacterial communities could be ma- nipulated be- f o r e i n - fants got their teeth to help pre- vent disease in the future, Kelly was quoted saying: “The soft tissues in the mouth appear to serve as reservoirs for potential pathogens prior to tooth erup- tion,” Kellywas quoted. “We want to characterise the mi- crobial evolution that occurs in the oral cavity between birth and tooth eruption, as teeth erupt, and as dietary changes occur such as breastfeeding vs. formula feeding, liquid to solid food, and changes in nutrient profile.” In conclu- sion, the re- searchers said that educat- ing parents- to-be on oral hygiene is the most impor- tant strategy for prevention of dental cavi- ties. DT Could future cavities be prevented? U CL Eastman PhD stu- dents Shari Daniels and Fiona Ryan have both been awarded prestigious re- search grants by the European Orthodontic Society (EOS) to aid in their impressive research in the field. Fiona is currently undertak- ing the final year of her PhD and she and her supervisor Pro- fessor Susan Cunningham have been awarded £16,320 to fund a national research project to in- vestigate certain psychological characteristics in the general UK population. In addition to this, Fiona has received a £10,000 research grant from the Royal College of Sur- geons of England for her work on patient involvement in orthognathic treatment. Profes- sors Susan Cunningham and Nigel Hunt supervise her in this endeavour. Shari Daniels, along with supervisors Professor Nigel Hunt and Dr Rishma Shah, has been awarded £20,000 to support her research into the relationship between the muscles of mastication, man- dibular growth and orthodontic therapies. The UCL Eastman Dental Institute would like to congrat- ulate bothShari and Fiona on their outstanding achievement and wish them every success with their research. DT Eastman students gain prominent research grants (From left to right) Fiona Ryan and Shari Daniels A r e c e n t study has s h o w n that sugar-free lollipops containing liq- uorice root extract can sig- nificantly reduce the bac- teria in salvia that causes tooth decay, specifically in pre-school children. For the research, which was published by the European A c a d e m y of Pediatric Den- tistry, 66 pre-school children, aged be- tween 2-5, were given the sugar -free lollipop twice a day for two weeks; levels of the bacte- ria Streptococcus mutans (SM), which is the primary culprit in tooth decay, were recorded at the start, during the study and nine weeks afterwards. The results showed that a twice-daily use of the lolli- pop significantly reduced both number and relative per cent of bacteria SM in high-risk chil- dren, whilst SM numbers were further reduced for 22 days after the last lollipop. The researchers conclud- ed that the lollipops were a simple and effective potential for preventing caries in high-risk children. The investigation was a col- laborative effort of the Greater Lansing Area Head Start Pro- gram, the University of Michi- gan and the University of Cali- fornia - Los Angeles (UCLA) and was funded by the Re- search and Data Institute of the affiliated companies of Delta Dental of Michigan, Ohio, Indi- ana, Tennessee, Kentucky, New Mexico and North Carolina. DT Could lollipops prevent tooth decay? September 5-11, 20112 News United Kingdom Edition Dr Dianne Rekow