Falling a victim of infections can cause very serious problems and even life threatening diseases, even if you visit the best dental clinics and dental offices. Earlier this month, an 82-year-old Italian woman caught a severe type of pneumonia known as Legionnaires’ disease, which, according to the investigation of the experts, came from the water in her dentist’s office. The findings about the case were recently published in the Lancet magazine.

It turned out that during the incubation period, the old lady who found herself suffering from this serious form of pneumonia, left her house only twice, to visit her dental specialist. The tests of dental water used in that very office, as well as in other dental offices of major Italian cities have shown that water lines carry a great deal of very dangerous bacteria and infections. It is considered that the most common sources of infections include public eating places and air conditioning systems, the experts call for checking out water line as a possible source of infections and bacteria.

The woman was diagnosed with the disease caused by Legionella pneumophil, the bacterial strain that commonly found in water line and that causes Legionnaires’ disease. However, according to Maria Luisa Ricci of the Italian National Health Service, there is something unclear about this situation. “As far as we are aware, no case of Legionnaires’ disease has been associated with this source of infection,” she said. That is why the American Dental Association (ADA) specialists were involved in this investigation, as well as formulating new strategies and new policies regarding launching new infection control standards.

“Since the ADA convened a special task force in the mid-1990s focusing on infection prevention, there have been a number of recommendations made to treat the water and keep the number of bacteria down,” an Italian expert says. The ADA recommend Italian dentists control chemical content of line water that is used in their dental offices much more closely in order to avoid possible infections and serious diseases. It is also recommended to avoid using bad quality municipal line water and install special water reservoirs filled with filtered water free of harmful elements and bacteria.

Legionella pneumophil is the bacteria that can be found not only in line water, but in other places as well. “Legionella is found in old homes, shower heads and anywhere else there can be stagnant water,” said John Molinari, the ADA’s spokesman on infection control. Fortunately, it is reported that dental specialists in most of the countries do take precautions as to the water they use in their dental offices. However, Italian specialists should pay more attention to the issue, the experts say.

Tags: bacteria, line water

Posted: March 8th, 2012 under Dental Care for Every Day.
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According to the findings of a recent study carried out by a group of experts by the University of Bergen in Norway, there is a strong scientific evidence of the fact that eating disorders like the most common bulimia or anorexia, are closely linked not only to deep emotional and psychological stresses, but also to various dental problems, namely increased tooth sensitivity, chronic tooth aches, severe dental erosion, and many others. As the studies have shown, those people who suffer from the mentioned eating disorders have substantially higher chances to develop dental problems and face the necessity to spend much more money on dental services than those who do not have eating disorders.

It is estimated that up to 1.2. million people in today’s United Kingdom are diagnosed with bulimia, anorexia or other serious eating disorder. In addition, the experts underline that many more modern women and men are not aware about their problems as they do not seek medical help. Vomiting, one of the most common symptoms of eating disorders, is a sign of other numerous health conditions, that is why sometimes it can be not easy to recognize an eating disorder with the proper accuracy.

For the study, two teams of volunteers were formed. The first group included only the individuals who suffer from an eating disorder, and the other control group included the participants free from such a problem. After a series of dental check ups and analysis of health records, the scientists found out that over 36 per cent of the sufferers from eating disorders had serious dental conditions like severe dental erosion. At that, after working with the members of the control group, the experts found out that only 11 per cent of those suffer from dental problems.

Dr Nigel Carter, a specialist of the British Dental Health Foundation and one of the study leaders, commented on the research findings as the following: ‘The high levels of acid in the vomit can cause damage to tooth enamel. Acid attacks of this sort on a frequent basis means the saliva in your mouth won’t have the opportunity to naturally repair the damage done to your teeth by the contact with the acidic vomit, hence the increased severity of dental erosion witnessed in the study.” To prevent the development of dental diseases and dental problems, scientists recommend all people who suffer from eating disorders regular mouth rinsing and visiting their dentists more often.

Tags: dental erosion, dental problems, eating disorders

Posted: February 16th, 2012 under Dental Care for Every Day.
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Such dental care products as mouthwashes are considered very effective for preventing numerous dental health problems and improving our dental health. They work perfectly great for fighting dental bacteria, as well as refreshing our breath. However, some mouthwashes are going to have very strong preventive powers against dental bacteria. Wenyuan Shi, a specialist at of the University of California, claims that he developed exceptionally effective dental mouthwash which can totally kill the most common dental bacteria, Streptococcus mutans. According to the specialist, this mouthwash will become an ultimate solution for tooth decay, cavities and other related dental conditions.

Dr Shi and his research group started their work with attempting to understand the way the dental bacteria acts. It can be found in sticky colonies located on the surface of our teeth, usually in the forms of soft built-ups. The main activities of the dental bacteria include breaking nutrients and the remainings of foods we have in our mouth into various acidic compounds. These acids damage our tooth enamel and cause dental cavities, tooth decay, tooth loss and other related dental problems.

To combat this negative activities of bacteria, a special technology was created and given the name “Specifically-Targeted Antimicrobial Peptides” (STAMPs). It affects dental bacteria which cause acidity and increase the risks of dental cavities, and neutralizes their negative activities. However, in contrast to usual antibiotics, this technology helps not to kill good bacteria, but even assist in boosting their activities directed on protecting against bad bacteria. The scientific work was followed by a series of clinical trials, involving 12 participants. By using the stated technology in the form of mouthwash for four days, they managed to substantially lower the levels of destructive bacteria and acid in the mouth.

It is reported that the specialist has received monetary support and grants from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in order to go on his experiments and prepare his invention for total approval and making it available for the general public. As UCLA press release says, the main work on this invention will be continued in the beginning of the next year. At the same time, dental specialists and experts at the American Dental Association warn all of us that even after this miraculous dental mouthwash is available in our shops and pharmacies, it will still be highly necessary to go on using our toothbrushes and tooth pastes. Brushing will remain important because there are great chances that dental bacteria can resist the newly introduced dental technology.

Tags: dental bacteria, dental health, dental mouthwash

Posted: December 1st, 2011 under Dental Care for Every Day.
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