Dentistry News

January 23, 2025

Top Headlines

Dangerous Bacterial Biofilms Have a Natural Enemy

Jan. 11, 2025 — Scientists have now discovered a chemical that plants produce when they're stressed prevents dangerous biofilm from forming. The breakthrough offers potential advances in healthcare as well as preventing equipment corrosion in industrial ...

Non-Opioid Pain Relievers Beat Opioids After Dental Surgery

Jan. 6, 2025 — Researchers find an over-the-counter combo is more effective for wisdom tooth extraction ...

VR-Haptics-Enhanced Training Holds Potential to Transform Dental Education

Dec. 18, 2024 — A new comprehensive literature review of the benefits and challenges of integrating haptics-enhanced virtual reality training, or VR-haptics for short, in dental education curricula highlights the transformative potential of VR-haptics in dental ...

By Looking at Individual Atoms in Tooth Enamel, Researchers Are Learning What Happens to Our Teeth as We Age

Dec. 19, 2024 — A research team examined the atomic composition of enamel samples from two human ...

Latest Headlines

updated 10:55pm EST

Genes That Determine Tooth Shape Identified

Dec. 12, 2024 — Genetic variants that determine the shape of your teeth -- including a gene inherited from Neanderthals -- have been identified by a team of ...

Immunotherapy for Gum Disease? Study in Mice Shows Promise

Sep. 30, 2024 — Targeting the immune system could prevent or treat periodontal disease (PD), a common but serious disease of the gums, according to new ...

Bacteria Involved in Gum Disease Linked to Increased Risk of Head and Neck Cancer

Sep. 26, 2024 — More than a dozen bacterial species among the hundreds that live in people's mouths have been linked to a collective 50% increased chance of ...

Proteins in Tooth Enamel Offer Window Into Human Wellness

Sep. 19, 2024 — A new way of looking at tooth enamel could give scientists a path to deeper understanding of the health of human populations, from the ancient to the modern. The method examines two immune proteins ...

Getting to the Root of the Problem: Intensive Diabetes Treatment Reduces Gum Disease Inflammation

Sep. 17, 2024 — A recent study reveals that intensive diabetes treatment can improve periodontal disease inflammation. Researchers found that two weeks of intensive ...

Shedding Light on How Oral Bacteria Can Aggravate Rheumatoid Arthritis

Sep. 5, 2024 — Clinical studies have shown that periodontal disease with Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans can exacerbate symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), but the molecular mechanisms behind this remain ...

Altered Blood Markers Detected in Individuals With Periodontitis

Sep. 6, 2024 — Individuals with periodontitis have altered concentrations of various proteins in their blood, according to a new study. These findings pave the way for research into biomarkers for periodontitis and ...

Shedding Light on How Oral Bacteria Can Aggravate Rheumatoid Arthritis

Open Wide: Human Mouth Bacteria Reproduce Through Rare Form of Cell Division

Sep. 2, 2024 — New research has uncovered an extraordinary mechanism of cell division in Corynebacterium matruchotii, one of the most common bacteria living in ...

From Cavities to Sleep Apnea: Dentists Can Assume New Role in Saving Lives

Sep. 3, 2024 — New research reveals how dental check-ups could be the first line of defense against deadly sleep ...

Economic Burden of Tooth Decay Is Highest in Deprived Groups, New Study Reveals

Dec. 26, 2024 — The economic impact of dental caries (tooth decay) is disproportionately higher in the most deprived groups, new research ...

Protect Your Teeth With Fruit: Antimicrobial Effects Found in Biomass Compounds

Aug. 28, 2024 — A research team has verified the antibacterial effect of seven food-derived flavonoids against periodontal pathogenic bacteria. The results showed that though several of the compounds inhibited ...

Scientists Identify Possible New Transmission Factor in Hospital-Acquired Klebsiella Infections

July 22, 2024 — Scientists have identified a critical factor that may contribute to the spread of hospital-acquired infections (HAIs), shedding light on why these infections are so difficult to combat. Their study ...

New Device Inspired by Python Teeth Doubles Strength of Rotator Cuff Repairs

June 28, 2024 — Researchers have developed a python-tooth-inspired device as a supplement to current rotator cuff suture repair, and found that it nearly doubled repair strength. Their biomimetic approach following ...

Hidden Challenges of Tooth Loss and Dentures Revealed in New Study

June 6, 2024 — A new study has revealed the hidden emotional challenges patients go through following tooth loss. Patients highlight feelings of self-consciousness, shame or fear as well as physical sensations such ...

Matcha Mouthwash Inhibits Bacteria That Causes Periodontitis

May 21, 2024 — Matcha, a finely ground green tea powder, may help keep bacteria that causes periodontitis at ...

Clarifying the Cellular Mechanisms Underlying Periodontitis With an Improved Animal Model

May 21, 2024 — Although periodontitis is an extremely prevalent disorder, it is challenging to conduct detailed and comprehensive analyses of its progression at the cellular level. Recently, researchers developed ...

Scientists Extract Genetic Secrets from 4,000-Year-Old Teeth to Illuminate the Impact of Changing Human Diets Over the Centuries

Mar. 27, 2024 — Researchers have recovered remarkably preserved microbiomes from two teeth dating back 4,000 years, found in an Irish limestone cave. Genetic analyses of these microbiomes reveal major changes in the ...

New Method to Test for Oral Cancer

Mar. 4, 2024 — A team of researchers has discovered a noninvasive, low-cost test to detect oral cancer, monitor precancerous lesions and determine when a biopsy is ...

Low-Cost Liquid Tames Tooth Decay

Mar. 4, 2024 — An inexpensive, cavity-fighting liquid called silver diamine fluoride (SDF) works as well as dental sealants to keep tooth decay at bay in a school cavity prevention and treatment program, according ...

When It Comes to Bad Breath, Some Bacterial Interactions Really Stink

Feb. 15, 2024 — Researchers found that the oral bacterium Streptococcus gordonii activates another bacterial species, Fusobacterium nucleatum, to produce large quantities of methyl mercaptan, a compound responsible ...

Gargling Away the 'Bad' Bacteria in Type 2 Diabetes

Feb. 14, 2024 — Researchers have found that gargling with an antiseptic mouthwash can reduce so-called 'bad' bacteria in the mouths of patients with type 2 diabetes. Notably, this reduction in bacteria was ...

Bacteria in the Mouth Linked to Pulmonary Fibrosis Survival

Feb. 7, 2024 — Bacteria in the mouth may play a role in survival from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), finds a new ...

Archaeological Evidence of Seasonal Vitamin D Deficiency Discovered

Jan. 31, 2024 — Rickets ran rife in children following the Industrial Revolution, but new research has found factory work and polluted cities aren't entirely to blame for the period's vitamin D ...

Ancient 'Chewing Gum' Reveals Stone Age Diet

Jan. 18, 2024 — What did people eat on the west coast of Scandinavia 10,000 years ago? A new study of the DNA in a chewing gum shows that deer, trout and hazelnuts were on the diet. It also shows that one of the ...

How Gum Disease Aggravates Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Jan. 14, 2024 — A new study shows how periodontitis, an oral disease, activates immune cells associated with aggravated progression of ...

Toothbrushing Tied to Lower Rates of Pneumonia Among Hospitalized Patients

Dec. 18, 2023 — Researchers have found an inexpensive tool that may help reduce rates of pneumonia for hospitalized patients -- and it comes with bristles on one end. A new study examined whether daily toothbrushing ...

Viking Dentistry Was Surprisingly Advanced

Dec. 14, 2023 — Widespread caries and toothache -- but also some dental work and filing of front teeth. Viking Age teeth from Varnhem bear witness to surprisingly advanced ...

Newly Discovered Autoimmune Disorder Disrupts Tooth Enamel Development

Dec. 13, 2023 — A study may shed light on tooth enamel development disruption by revealing a new children's autoimmune disorder that hinders proper tooth enamel development. The disorder is common in people ...

Scientists Work to Bring Tissue Regeneration to Replace Root Canal Treatment

Dec. 1, 2023 — Scientists are testing a novel technology to treat endodontic diseases more effectively through tissue regeneration instead of root canal therapy. Because the technology promotes formation of ...