Dental Tribune U.S. Edition

Dental Tribune U.S. Edition | February 2012XX XXXXX Dental Tribune U.S. Edition | November 2013A2 NEWS Publisher & Chairman Torsten Oemus t.oemus@dental-tribune.com President & Chief exeCutive OffiCer Eric Seid e.seid@dental-tribune.com GrOuP editOr Kristine Colker k.colker@dental-tribune.com editOr in Chief dental tribune Dr. David L. Hoexter feedback@dental-tribune.com manaGinG editOr u.s. and Canada editiOns Robert Selleck r.selleck@dental-tribune.com manaGinG editOr Fred Michmershuizen f.michmershuizen@dental-tribune.com manaGinG editOr Sierra Rendon s.rendon@dental-tribune.com PrOduCt/aCCOunt manaGer Jan Agostaro j.agostaro@dental-tribune.com marketinG direCtOr Anna Kataoka-Wlodarczyk a.wlodarczyk@dental-tribune.com eduCatiOn direCtOr Christiane Ferret c.ferret@dtstudyclub.com aCCOuntinG COOrdinatOr Nirmala Singh n.singh@dental-tribune.com Tribune America, LLC 116 West 23rd St., Ste. #500 New York, N.Y. 10011 (212) 244-7181 Published by Tribune America © 2013 Tribune America, LLC All rights reserved. Dental Tribune strives to maintain the utmost accu- racy in its news and clinical reports. If you find a fac- tual error or content that requires clarification, please contact Managing Editor Robert Selleck at r.selleck@ dental-tribune.com. Dental Tribune cannot assume responsibility for the validity of product claims or for typographical errors. The publisher also does not assume responsibility for product names or statements made by advertisers. Opinions expressed by authors are their own and may not reflect those of Tribune America. editOrial bOard Dr. Joel Berg Dr. L. Stephen Buchanan Dr. Arnaldo Castellucci Dr. Gorden Christensen Dr. Rella Christensen Dr. William Dickerson Hugh Doherty Dr. James Doundoulakis Dr. David Garber Dr. Fay Goldstep Dr. Howard Glazer Dr. Harold Heymann Dr. Karl Leinfelder Dr. Roger Levin Dr. Carl E. Misch Dr. Dan Nathanson Dr. Chester Redhead Dr. Irwin Smigel Dr. Jon Suzuki Dr. Dennis Tartakow Dr. Dan Ward Tell us what you think! Do you have general comments or criti- cism you would like to share? Is there a particular topic you would like to see articles about in Dental Tribune? Let us know by sending an email to feedback@ dental-tribune.com. We look forward to hearing from you! If you would like to make any change to your subscription (name, address or to opt out) please send us an email at database@dental-tribune.com and be sure to include which publication you are referring to. Also, please note that subscription changes can take up to six weeks to process. DENTAL TRIBUNE The World’s Dental Newspaper · US Edition I nanadvancetowardsolvinga50-year- old mystery, scientists are reporting new evidence on how the fluoride in drinking water, toothpastes, mouth rinses and other oral-care products pre- vents tooth decay. “Reduced Adhesion of Oral Bacteria on Hydroxyapatite by Fluoride Treatment” appears in the American Chemical Society journalLangmuir.Itcanbeaccessedviathe “publications”linkatwww.acs.org.KarinJa- cobs and colleagues explain that despite a half-century of scientific research, contro- versy still exists over exactly how fluoride compounds reduce the risk of tooth decay. Research established long ago that fluo- ride helps harden the enamel coating that protects teeth from the acid produced by decay-causing bacteria. Recent studies con- firmed that fluoride penetrates and hard- ens a much thinner layer of enamel than previously believed, lending credence to other theories about how fluoride works. This latest report describes new evidence that fluoride also works by reducing the adhesion force of bacteria that stick to the teeth and produce the acid that causes cavities. Researchers tested the adhesion of Streptococcus mutans, Streptococcus oralis and Staphylococcus carnosus on a toothlike surface (smooth, high-density hydroxyap- atitepellets)toenablehigh-precisionanaly- sis techniques. Thefindingsrevealedthatfluoridereduc- es the ability of the decay-causing bacteria to stick. That would indicate that fluoride contributes to making it easier for teeth to be washed of decay-causing bacteria by sa- liva, brushing and other activity. (Sources: American Chemical Society, Langmuir and Science News Daily) Research reveals new clues about the power of fluoride The School of Public Health at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston. Photo/Dwight C. Andrews/The University of Texas Medical School at Houston Office of Communications tion Survey (NHANES) conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics of the Centers for Disease Control and Preven- tion. This survey consisted of a nation- ally representative sample of about 5,000 people recruited each year, located in counties across the United States. The researchers identified 3,439 partici- pants aged 30 to 69 years from NHANES, forwhom data on oral health and the pres- ence or absence of 19 low-risk HPV types and 18 high-risk HPV types in the oral cavity were available. Oral health data in- cluded four measures of oral health: self- rating of overall oral health, presence of gum disease, use of mouthwash to treat dental problems within past seven days of the survey, and number of teeth lost. They examined data on age, gender, marital status, marijuana use, cigarette smoking, and oral sex habits and other factors that can influence HPV infection. The researchers found that being male, smoking cigarettes, using marijuana and having oral sex increased the likelihood of oral HPV infection. They also found that self-rated overall oral health was an independent risk factor for oral HPV in- fection, because this association did not change regardless of whether or not the participants smoked or had multiple oral sex partners. Because HPV needs wounds in the mouth to enter and infect the oral cav- ity, poor oral health, which may include ulcers, mucosal disruption or chronic in- flammation, may create an entry portal for HPV, said Bui. There is, however, cur- rently not enough evidence to support this, and further research is needed to un- derstand this relationship, he said. “Although more research is needed to confirm the causal relationship between oral health and oral HPV infection, people may want to maintain good oral health for a variety of health benefits,” said Bui. “Oral hygiene is fundamental for oral health, so good oral hygiene practices should become a personal habit.” (Source: University of Texas School of Public Health) Poor oral health tied to cancer- causing oral HPV infection Poor oral health, in- cluding gum disease and dental problems, was found to be associated with oral human papillo- mavirus (HPV) infection, which causes about 40 to 80 percent of oropharyn- geal cancers, according to a study published in Can- cer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research. “Poor oral health is a new independent risk fac- tor for oral HPV infection, and, to our knowledge, this is the first study to examine this associa- tion,” said Thanh Cong Bui, DrPH, post- doctoral research fellow in the School of Public Health at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center in Houston. “The good news is, this risk factor is modifiable — by maintaining good oral hygiene and good oral health, one can prevent HPV in- fection and subsequent HPV-related can- cers.” The researchers found that among the study participants, those who reported poor oral health had a 56 percent higher prevalence of oral HPV infection, and those who had gum disease and dental problems had a 51 and 28 percent higher prevalence of oral HPV infection, respec- tively. In addition, the researchers were able to associate oral HPV infections with number of teeth lost. Similar to genital HPV infection, oral HPV infection can be of two kinds: infec- tion with low-risk HPV types that do not cause cancer but can cause a variety of benign tumors or warts in the oral cavity, and infection with high-risk HPV types that can cause oropharyngeal cancers. Bui, Christine Markham, PhD, and col- leagues used data from the 2009–2010 National Health and Nutrition Examina- Thanh Cong Bui, DrPH, postdoctoral research fellow in the University of Texas School of Public Health.