The Science of Dentistry

In addition to the major salivary glands, and accessory glands situated throughout the oral mucosa, there are other specialized sources of saliva secretion:

Fear of the dentist is one of the greatest phobias that both children and adults struggle with. For such people, it is enough only to imagine the dentist chair and the dentist with the mask on ready to take action and they are scared off for quite a good period of time.

Dental masks are a common sight on Japanese streets, or to be more exact, on Japanese faces. Though Westerners may feel some unease if encountering a mask-wearing person in their home towns, face masks in Japan aren’t harbingers of disease and illness. On the contrary, wearing a face mask is merely common courtesy extended to others who share an oft-crowded social milieu.

Properties of materials chosen for dental restorations include: performance under chewing or biting function, durability, longevity, cost and ease of placement. The utmost considerations include safety and biological compatibility with very low incidence of allergic response. But let’s get right to the point about silver fillings commonly known as dental amalgam. The American Dental Association (ADA) states, “Dental amalgam has been used by dentists for more than a century and is the most thoroughly researched and tested restorative material among all those in use today.”

Leading dental and pharmacy organizations are teaming up to promote oral health and raise public awareness of dry mouth, a side effect commonly caused by taking prescription and over-the-counter medications.

So much more than than a pair of upturned lips, the smile is the most scientifically studied human facial expression.

Before some dental treatments, patients who have certain heart conditions and those with artificial joints take antibiotics. These people may be at risk of developing an infection in the heart or at the site of the artificial joint, respectively. Antibiotics reduce this risk. This is called antibiotic prophylaxis.

I know this sounds weird, but there is a surgical procedure that uses a tooth implanted in the eye to help some types of blindness. It’s called..

Keeping track of disease trends such as influenza outbreaks has the potential to be far quicker and less costly by monitoring a social network program such as Twitter than following the traditional methods of disease surveillance, according to a computer science expert at Southeastern Louisiana University.

This summer season, tens of thousands of people will be enjoying a respite in their backyard or community pools, yet these pools could be putting their dental health at risk for permanent damage to their teeth.

ViSalus Body By Vi™ is an innovative solution to getting into better shape, no matter if you want to slim down, tone up or build muscle. By combining unique and life transforming products along with online and offline support tools, no other program is as comprehensive, or as easy!

Andrew Gold, who’s responsible for the 1970s hit “Lonely Boy” – which was featured in flicks like “Boogie Nights” and “The Waterboy” – died on June 3.

The 59-year-old singer-songwriter also penned “Thank You for Being a Friend,” the song that introduced NBC’s “The Golden Girls” throughout the show’s seven seasons. Not only is “Thank You for Being a Friend” easily recognized as the sitcom’s theme song, it also tends to get stuck in your head – the true test of a genius opening tune.

I never like to admit it, but sometimes measuring with my fingers or arms doesn’t work. Yet I’m so confident I don’t need measuring tape I do it anyway. I should know by now that it’s smart to know before hand if the armoire will definitely fit between the windows, yet I wing it and hold my arms out to “measure.” A half hour later, after I’ve emptied the entire cabinet and dragged it across the room, I found out the hard way that I was off by a few inches. The Smart Finger measuring device would have saved me a lot of work.  The device includes two halves that when separated, measure the distance in between, allowing you to accurately measure small objects between your index finger and thumb, or larger objects between your arms. 

Here is the issue at hand: fluoride’s effectiveness in making tooth surfaces, both enamel and dentin, more resistant to decay is now beyond scientific doubt. The optimal amount of fluoride necessary to make teeth resistant to decay is 0.7-1.20 milligrams per liter mg/L, or ppm (parts per million), while preventing any problematic effects. In recent years, general and pediatric dentists have been noticing an increased prevalence of a condition known as Dental Fluorosis. It manifests as “mottling” of the tooth surface enamel with the appearance of very small white spots to fairly extensive brownish discolorations. While “mottled” enamel is still more resistant to decay, it can be unsightly depending upon the severity and how bothersome it may visually be to the individual.

The tooth-protecting sugar substitute xylitol has been incorporated into gummy bears to produce a sweet snack that may prevent dental problems. Giving children four of the xylitol bears three times a day during school hours results in a decrease in the plaque bacteria that cause tooth decay.

Creative headphones with remote and microphone designed by Antrepo.

The old food pyramid used by the U.S. government to help us decide how to eat healthily is being replaced by a plate. The new design, called MyPlate, was all over the news this week. It is a plate divided into simple categories that give you a clear idea of how much protein, and how many grains, fruits and vegetables you should be eating daily.

Google has started advertising Chrome on TV with a really moving ad. I loved it. Let me know what you think …

Dental Health is an integral aspect of our health, an aspect we tend to not keenly follow. Most of us are guilty of not taking our oral health with seriousness that it demands. This indifferent attitude of the common person is a major cause for dental problems that could have been intercepted at an initial stage. As many people later find out that oral health is cost effective to maintain but costly to ignore. Most of the people thinking brushing twice a day is the ultimate commandment of oral health and do not take any further action or initiative. Talk about dental health and it elicits an image of a mother forcing her kid to brush, to many of us.

From the tiniest veins, arteries and nerves to serial cross-sections of the spinal cord, these incredibly detailed dissections show and label most every part of the human body.  The collection is the product of a 17-year collaboration between David L. Bassett, a School of Medicine alumnus and faculty member known for his elegant dissections and love for the human body, and William Gruber, the photographer who invented the View-Master stereoscopic viewing device.

For the last decade, Smile Train and Operation Smile have been the Hatfields and McCoys of the charity world.  Leaders of the two organizations, which work to repair cleft lips and palates of children in poor countries, have long been estranged. Even though Smile Train’s founders at one time served on the board of Operation Smile, they and its founders, Dr. William P. Magee and his wife, Kathleen S. Magee, ran separate charities with similar goals while remaining divided by their differences year after year.

Cue the music; the gauzy, soft-focus ads; and the focus-grouped fridge magnets:  Coca-Cola turns 125 this week.  Never a slouch in the self-promotion department, high-flying CEO Muhtar Kent had himself serenaded by a red-shirted “Coca-Cola 125th Anniversary Young People’s Chorus” to celebrate.  Photos of the occasion have a vaguely authoritarian hue, as if the world’s biggest sugar water manufacturer subcontracted out its visuals to one of Pyongyang’s finest public relations firms.

Toothpaste: it whitens, brightens, deodorizes, removes stains, and restores and protects enamel. But toothpaste’s cleaning capabilities work wonders on many things besides our teeth. The same ingredients that help polish our pearly whites can also soothe some common ailments, make household items sparkle, and even get rid of stains and pungent smells. Try out these fifteen tricks with a white, non-gel toothpaste (unless otherwise noted), and watch that cavity-fighting, breath-freshening tube of wonder work its magic.

Teeth Chattering

Teeth chattering is just a symptom of shivering. Endotherms (that’s you, me, other mammals, birds, and some insects) produce heat within the body. They use thermoregulation to keep their bodies at a constant temperature. You can thermoregulate physiologically and behaviourally. Shivering is a physiological response to cold, it’s coming from inside. Putting on a jacket because you’re cold is a behavioural response.

Zoo Dentistry

Some patients are afraid to visit the dentist, but when Steven J. Filler, D.D.S., cares for one group of patients, the trepidation tends to be his. That’s understandable, since his patients can include rattlesnakes, hippos, and polar bears.  Filler, who is associate dean of student, alumni, and external affairs at the School of Dentistry at UAB, does see human patients; in fact, his practice is primarily humans. But as the volunteer dentist for the Birmingham Zoo, he has seen his share of unconventional patients, as well.