Critics Say Proposed Wisconsin Bill Would Unnecessarily Hold Up Asbestos Lawsuits

Madison, Wisconsin - Opponents of a proposed Wisconsin bill say that if the legislation passes, lawsuits for asbestos and other injury victims could be drawn out until the victim dies, a situation that angers many in a state where diseases like asbestos-caused mesothelioma are still on the rise. According to an article in the Capital Times of...

Canadians Say British Columbia Often Ignores Asbestos Safety

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada - Proponents of a ban on asbestos, as well as individuals simply concerned about public safety, say that British Columbia’s Work-SafeBC isn’t being tough enough on repeat offenders who are consistently charged with violations of asbestos handling laws. An article in the Vancouver Sun points out that in the...

South Australian Town a Lingering Asbestos Wasteland

Terowie, Australia - A small town in South Australia says they’ve been an asbestos wasteland for long enough and are appealing to the government to remove the debris they say is having a negative effect on the health of everyone who lives there. A story aired by the Australian Broadcast Company outlines the plight of the town of Terowie, where...

U Penn Scientists Say They've Created an "Immunity Passport" for Cancer Treatment

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - This weekend, scientists at the University of Pennsylvania announced that they’ve made what they believe could be a huge breakthrough in cancer treatment and screening with the creation of an “immunity passport” that allows the body to accept foreign objects normally used for imaging or during treatment. According...

Apartment Dwellers Fear Fall-Out from Removal of Asbestos Materials

Yarmouth, Massachusetts - A group of tenants who rent units at an affordable housing complex in Yarmouth, Massachusetts were surprised and upset when they received letters last month stating that the vinyl flooring in their kitchens and bathrooms would be replaced shortly and that they could expect “debris”. That’s because many of the tenants...

World Health Organization Denies Influence of Russian Asbestos Industry

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the research arm of the World Health Organization (WHO), is denying allegations by the Lancet medical journal that they have come under the influence of the Russian asbestos industry. In a February 2 article in the prestigious peer-reviewed journal, the writer questioned whether the IARC...

Tooth Loss Due To Periodontal Disease More Likely In Postmenopausal Women Who Smoked

Postmenopausal women who have smoked are at much higher risk of losing their teeth than women who never smoked, according to a new study published and featured on the cover of the Journal of the American Dental Association by researchers at the University at Buffalo. The study involved 1,106 women who participated in the Buffalo OsteoPerio Study,...

Modern Diet Is Rotting Our Teeth

A study of the evolution of our teeth over the last 7,500 years shows that humans today have less diverse oral bacteria than historic populations, which scientists believe have contributed to chronic oral diseases in post-industrial lifestyles. The researchers, from the University of Adelaide's Australian Centre for Ancient DNA (ACAD), the University...

Implementation Of Fizzy Drinks Tax Is 'Essential', Claims Charity

The British Dental Health Foundation has joined more than 60 organisations backing recommendations for a tax on sugary drinks. The report, compiled by Sustain entitled 'A Children's Future Fund - How food duties could provide the money to protect children's health and the world they grow up in', makes three main recommendations for Budget 2013...

Possible Link Between Obesity And Gum Disease

Impacting approximately one-third of the U.S. population, obesity is a significant health concern for Americans. It's a risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and certain forms of cancer, and now, according to an article published in the January/February 2013 issue of General Dentistry, the peer-reviewed clinical journal of the...

Gum Disease Found To Worsen Infection In Animal Model Of AIDS

Texas Biomed scientists in San Antonio have found that moderate gum disease in an animal model exposed to an AIDS- like virus had more viral variants causing infection and greater inflammation. Both of these features have potential negative implications in long term disease progression, including other kinds of infections, the researchers say in...

Do The Health Benefits Of Berries Make It Past Your Mouth?

Research has suggested that compounds that give colorful fruits their rich hues, especially berries, promote health and might even prevent cancer. But for the first time, scientists have exposed extracts from numerous berries high in those pigments to human saliva to see just what kinds of health-promoting substances are likely to survive and...

What Chimpanzees Can Teach Us About Tooth Development And Weaning

For more than two decades, scientists have relied on studies that linked juvenile primate tooth development with their weaning as a rough proxy for understanding similar developmental landmarks in the evolution of early humans. New research from Harvard, however, is challenging those conclusions by showing that tooth development and weaning aren't...

The Eco-Dentistry Association Will Hold Industry's First Green Dentistry Conference, 3-4 May 2013, Utah

Ground-breaking event will focus on opportunities presented by high-tech, green, wellness based dentistry The Eco-Dentistry Association® announced last week that it will hold the industry's first dental conference devoted exclusively to high-tech, environmentally sound dental practices. The event will take place May 3 and 4, 2013, at the stunning,...

Tooth Root Formation Requires Beta-Catenin Molecule

Today, the International and American Associations for Dental Research (IADR/AADR) published a paper titled "B-catenin is Required in Odontoblasts for Tooth Root Formation." The paper, written by lead authors Tak-Heun Kim and Cheol-Hyeon Bae, Chonbuk National University Korea School of Dentistry, Laboratory for Craniofacial Biology, is published...

Gingivitis Bacteria Manipulate Your Immune System So They Can Thrive In Your Gums

A new research report published in the Journal of Leukocyte Biology shows how the bacteria known for causing gum disease--Porphyromonas gingivalis--manipulates the body's immune system to disable normal processes that would otherwise destroy it. Specifically, the report shows that this pathogen prompts the production of the anti-inflammatory ...

Quick Detection Of Periodontitis Pathogens

Twelve million Germans suffer from periodontitis, an inflammation that can lead to the loss of teeth if left untreated. A new diagnostic platform enables the pathogens to be detected quickly, enabling dentists to act swiftly to initiate the right treatment. Bleeding gums during tooth brushing or when biting into an apple could be an indication...

Nature-Inspired Advance For Treating Sensitive Teeth

Taking inspiration from Mother Nature, scientists are reporting an advance toward preventing the tooth sensitivity that affects millions of people around the world. Their report on development of the substance, similar to the adhesive that mussels use to attach to rocks and other surfaces in water, appears in the journal ACS Applied Materials...

Evidence Insufficient To Recommend Routine Antibiotics For Joint Replacement Patients Who Undergo Dental Procedures

The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons(AAOS), and the American Dental Association(ADA) found that there is insufficient evidence to recommend the routine use of antibiotics for patients with orthopaedic implants to prevent infections prior to having dental procedures because there is no direct evidence that routine dental procedures cause...

Coffee Drinking May Halve Risk Of Mouth And Throat Cancer

A new study from the US finds people who drink more than 4 cups of caffeinated coffee a day have half the risk of dying from oral/pharyngeal (mouth and throat) cancer as people who drink it either occasionally or not at all. However, the researchers say their findings need to be confirmed by more research, and for now should just be received...

A New Strategy To Prevent Or Halt Periodontal Disease Suggested By Research

Periodontitis, a form of chronic gum disease that affects nearly half of the U.S. adult population, results when the bacterial community in the mouth becomes unbalanced, leading to inflammation and eventually bone loss. In its most severe form, which affects 8.5 percent of U.S. adults, periodontitis can impact systemic health. By blocking a...

Men With Erection Problems Are Three Times More Likely To Have Inflamed Gums

Men in their thirties who had inflamed gums caused by severe periodontal disease were three times more likely to suffer from erection problems, according to a study published in the Journal of Sexual Medicine. Turkish researchers compared 80 men aged 30 to 40 with erectile dysfunction with a control group of 82 men without erection problems. This...

Vitamin D Linked To A 50 Percent Reduction In The Incidence Of Dental Caries

A new review of existing studies points toward a potential role for vitamin D in helping to prevent dental caries, or tooth decay. The review, published in the December issue of Nutrition Reviews, encompassed 24 controlled clinical trials, spanning the 1920s to the 1980s, on approximately 3,000 children in several countries. These trials showed...

Myth That Snuff Users Today Have Fewer Dental Caries

It is a myth that snus (Swedish snuff) users today have fewer dental caries. On the contrary, some types of nicotine-free snus contain both carbohydrates and starch that increase the risk of cavities. Those are the findings of a thesis from Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden. A common notion is that people who use nicotine-containing...

The Roles Parents Play In The Transmission Of Dentist Fear In Their Family

Fear of visiting the dentist is a frequent problem in paediatric dentistry. A new study confirms the emotional transmission of dentist fear among family members and analyses the different roles that mothers and fathers might play. A new study conducted by scientists at the Rey Juan Carlos University of Madrid highlights the important role that...

Obesity, Dental Health And Homeless Children

Obesity and dental cavities increase and become epidemic as children living below the poverty level age, according to nurse researchers from the Case Western Reserve University and the University of Akron. "It's the leading cause of chronic infections in children," said Marguerite DiMarco, associate professor at the Frances Payne Bolton School...

Tumor Growth May Be Slowed Or Halted By Common Food Preservative

Nisin, a common food preservative, may slow or stop squamous cell head and neck cancers, a University of Michigan study found. What makes this particularly good news is that the Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization approved nisin as safe for human consumption decades ago, says Yvonne Kapila, the study's principal investigator...

Half A Billion People Exposed To Direct Carcinogens By Chewing Betel Quid

Chewing betel quid - the fourth most popular psychoactive substance in the world after tobacco, alcohol and caffeine - exposes its 600 million users to substances that act as direct carcinogens in the mouth, scientists are reporting in a new study. It appears in ACS' journal Chemical Research in Toxicology. Mu-Rong Chao and Chiung-Wen Hu explain...

Cancer Survivors With Chronic Dry Mouth Benefit From First Human Gene Therapy Study In Human Salivary Glands

Gene therapy can be performed safely in the human salivary gland, according to scientists at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR), part of the National Institutes of Health. This finding comes from the first-ever safety, or Phase I, clinical study of gene therapy in a human salivary gland. Its results, published...