Nowadays, more and more dental specialists around the world are talking about the risks and dangerous effects of using so called “do-it-yourself” teeth whitening systems, or those teeth whitening products which are supposed to be used at home by virtually every customer. It turned out that some products can harm our mouth as they contain dangerous chemicals and toxins. That is why numerous dental care experts advise to purchase only very high quality products for dental whitening from the best and the most reputable distributors of dental care merchandise (see here).

In particular, recently the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission called for total termination of supply of do-it-yourself teeth whitening products with high concentrations of such component as peroxide. Using such products is reported to cause serious damage and injuries to the customers. Sarah Cour, a representative of the Commission, said the following to the local mass media: “The ACCC is concerned that high concentrations of peroxides used in these products has resulted in injuries such as chemical burns to gums and the mouth.” That is why it is suggested to ban all dental whitening products which contain more than 6 % hydrogen peroxide and more than 18% carbamide peroxide, which impose a real danger to our dental health.

In addition to that, home teeth whitening can result in other sorts of traumas and injuries. Those are, for example, extremely increased tooth sensitivity and serious damage of tooth enamel which lead to absolutely terrible consequences including even loss of the tooth. Those are also various blisters or ulcers that can appear on the mouth and throat tissues, unnatural teeth coloration, as well as other common side effects of using certain medications: headaches, fatigue, minor digestive disorders, tissue numbing and tingling, and many more.

In order to avoid suffering from mentioned symptoms and conditions, it is necessary be extremely cautious and possibly even avoid using do-it-yourself teeth whitening. Also, dental specialists require changing the procedures of approving teeth whitening products, including changing the rules for labeling and making the content of peroxide be strictly controlled by authorized organs. The risks and dangers which Australian specialists of the Australian Dental Association are concerned about were heard by European specialists as well, and a special study on risk assessment was carried out. The findings were recently published in one of the journals by the European Union’s Scientific Committee on Consumer Products.

Tags: dental whitening, do-it-yourself teeth whitening, teeth whitening

Posted: December 21st, 2011 under Cosmetic Dentistry.
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Those who suffer from all sorts of spinal chord injury now have got a hope for recovery and gaining more freedom of movement as a new treatment based on the findings of recent studies of dental care specialists is about to emerge. In particular, during a research conducted by a group of experts by Nagoya University in Japan, it was found out that by using certain compounds extracted from dental pulp it can be quite possible to fix injured and broken backs, helping to improve the condition and regain some movements in the legs. The findings were recently reported in the Mirror and other popular mass media.

The experiments with lab rats have shown that certain compounds of dental pulp can not only stop the nerve cells from damage, but even stimulate their regeneration. Moreover, this sort of compounds can stimulate the development of other cells and tissues that play a role in supporting the back and its proper function. It is an absolutely new and revolutionary approach which can open new horizons in modern stem cell medicine, and the scientists have really great hopes about it.

In particular, the authors of the study report underlined the following: ‘We propose that tooth-derived stem cells may be an excellent and practical cellular resource for the treatment of spinal cord injuries.’ According to the Dr Mark Bacon, research director at the charity Spinal Research, possible clinical uses of the findings and the opportunities to develop an effective technology based on the findings will be analyzed very shortly. However, he also talked about possible difficulties and drawbacks of creating an effective treatment using this approach.

In particular, he said that the necessity to transplant the dental pulp compounds into the injured area immediately can cause certain difficulties. ‘This is not possible in patients, particularly if the cells are to be taken post-injury from the patient and purified,’ he said. It will certainly take some time before the technology is created, tested and approved, however, numerous people who suffer from various types of spinal chord injury are looking forward to this innovation and have great hopes for it. It is estimated that every year, about 12 hundred people in the United Kingdom receive serious spinal chord injury, and about 40 thousand Brits are already trying to cope with this serious health condition.

Tags: dental pulp, spinal chord injury

Posted: December 15th, 2011 under Miscellaneous.
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Our habits and our lifestyle have an incredible power to change everything, in a great deal of aspects of our health and even physical shape. It is true: according to the findings of British anthropologists, our habits and even the foods we consume can have direct effects on such factor as our jaw shape. For example, consuming potato and other natural foods rich in starch can lead to shortening of our jawbones, report the scientists of the University of Kent.

In the framework of this interesting study, a group of anthropologists led by Dr Noreen von Cramon-Taubadel, analyzed the specifics of jaw-bones and skull shape of about 300 individuals, who represented 11 totally different cultural lifestyles and traditions developing within the last two thousand years. In particular, some participants were coming from traditionally hunter-gatherer societies, and some were the representatives of natural lifestyles dominated with agriculture and gardening, as well as consuming mainly soft natural foods like fruits and vegetables rather than meat and other hard foods. The main approach used for estimations and analysis was making usual physical measurements.

After analyzing the data, the scientists came to the conclusions that the people who lived in hunter-gather societies had considerably larger and narrower jaw-bones compared to the people who used to consume more fruit and veggies. The analysis was followed by the attempts to correlate the jaw shape differences with other important factors like climate, genetics, geography and others, but no clear connections were established. That is why the experts are sure that it’s our shewing behavior which has the greatest effects on our jaw shape.

Dr Cramon-Taubadel said the following about the work of her study group: “The pattern was consistent, regardless of which part of the world the people came from.” “The results indicate that there is something biomechanical, rather than something genetic, that is altering the way the mandible grows,” she added. It is interesting that the scientists from the study group are sure that the changes and adjustments in our jaw shape are happening not only on an evolutionary level, but also on our individual levels, as we grow up and develop during our life. Everyone who is interested in the issue can read more about the findings of this interesting study in the latest issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Tags: jaw shape, lifestyle

Posted: December 7th, 2011 under Miscellaneous.
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