I remember, many years ago, a friend bringing a vial containing mercury to school. Even as school kids we knew that this was dangerous stuff. At that time thermometers still contained real mercury and we had learned to be very careful if one of those broke. We were fascinated by that little sample of liquid metal in its securely sealed container our buddy had brought, and certainly the weight of it was real interesting. Nobody in his right mind would have gotten the idea though, to put this stuff into his mouth.

By today’s standard the situation in school, those many years ago, was very dangerous, but we just did not know better. Today we do and we would treat such a vial of pure mercury with much more caution than we did as school kids.

With amalgam, 50% of which is this liquid metal, we have to do the same learning. There might have been a time when we were not so knowledgeable about the dangers of amalgam and actually used it in our mouth. But now that we know what damage it can do we should avoid it like the black plague. Especially as we now have materials available that are much better suited for the repair of cavities.

Even historically the opinion about the use of amalgam was not undivided. For example, in 1843, the American Society of Dental Surgeons declared the use of dental amalgam a malpractice and forced its members to abstain from using amalgams.

The following video shows some more recent information about this material that many of us still carry in our bodies…

Click here to view the embedded video.

We are so used to and are not that much in awe, that we, after the first baby teeth fall out, grow another set of teeth. Usually we just accept as a fact that that is the last set of teeth we ever grow. One characteristic of a good scientist is, that he tries to overcome accepted knowledge, and the fact that we grow two set of teeth and no more, is certainly a challenge for a good scientist.

That is particularly challenging as there are observable facts that bodies are able to repair pretty severe damages. Bones grow together, cuts heal and the lizard can even grow back a whole tail.

As the blue-print for the whole body is contained in every single cell of the body, why stop at two sets of teeth?

Great progress has been made in answering this questions and now researchers were successful in using stem cells to grow a replacement tooth for an adult mouse, the first time scientists have developed a fully functioning three-dimensional organ replacement, according to a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The researchers at the Tokyo University of Science created a set of cells that had the genetic instructions to build a tooth re-activated, and then implanted them into the mouse’s empty tooth socket. The tooth grew out of the socket and through the gums, as a natural tooth would. After eleven weeks the engineered tooth had matured. It had a similar shape, hardness and response to pain or stress as a natural tooth, and worked equally well for chewing. The researchers suggested that using similar techniques in humans could restore function to patients with organ failure.

Takashi Tsuji, PhD. Tokyo University of Science A ‘tooth germ’ implanted in a mouse’s jaw grew into a fully functioning tooth with the properties of a natural one.

The known history of dental implants begins more than 1300 years ago with this ancient Mayans artifact.

A 1930s archaeological dig led by Dr. Wilson Popenoe in Honduras turned up the ancient dental inlays. Similar discoveries were made when excavating ancient Egyptian artifacts. It was decades after these archaeological discoveries before the modern world caught up with the Mayans’ dental technology.

It was only in 1907 that a new and accurate method of casting gold inlays was announced by Dr. William H. Taggart. This technique was called the disappearing wax technique. He patented this technique but lost his patents when it was discovered that Dr. Philbrook of Denison, Iowa had written an article concerning gold inlay castings 25 years earlier. A copy of this article was found in the dental library of the University of Iowa.

• A 2007 study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and published by the New England Journal of Medicine concluded that Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) nowadays is strongly associated with oral cancer among people even without traditional risk factors of tobacco and alcohol abuse.

Any dental office with attention to the holistic nature of dental treatment will  now offer an important adjunctive screening test, the Vizilite, to catch oral cancer as early as possible.

An annual ViziLite Plus exam, after a conventional visual examination, represents an integral part of comprehensive oral-cancer screenings. The screenings help dentists detect oral cancer in its early stages, as well as precancerous tissue. Detection promotes early intervention and prolongs life expectancy.

In the past, oral cancer predominately struck men, adults over 40, African Americans, smokers and heavy alcohol drinkers. The new cancer-screening procedure “ViziLite® Plus with TBlue630″ is simple, quick,  non-invasive, pain-free and effective. We found that ‘Humana Dental’ will cover the screening once a year beginning April 1, 2008, and we are sure that other insurance companies will or may have already started to follow.

Enamel has growth rings just like trees. The growth pattern may be interrupted at any phase during the embryonic phase of tooth formation, such as an intense episode of malnutrition, emotional stress or disease, giving rise to changes in these growth rings.

Sometimes these can be so pronounced that we see them as ring-like defects around baby or adult teeth, depending on when the growth retardation occurred in early life. These defects are sometimes called “enamel hypoplasia”, and are more prone to decay.

Depending upon which teeth they are found on and which part of the tooth they are located on, we can extrapolate to the time period, within a few months, in which that interruption happened in pre-partum or post-partum life.

Depending on other accompanying symptoms or irritations, it can be combined, if taken at least half an hour apart, with

• Belladonna (in case of throbbing pain or flushed face),
• Ruta (in case of jaw soreness, sore ligaments or soreteeth due to a heavy bite), and
  
• Pyrogenium (in case of infection, fever, sepsis).

In general, the more intense the symptoms, the more frequent the dosage. Increase the potency, however, only as the symptoms become more deep-seated on the psychological or emotional character of the person.

In the past, Early childhood caries was attributed to the fact that babies were sucking on their formula milk bottle in bed and going to sleep with it, thus creating an environment for the decay-causing bacteria to thrive on the pooled and fermenting milk on the surface of their teeth.

This has changed today and there seem to be other aggravating factors. Thorough attention has to be given by parents to keep the teeth clean from the bacteria that cause this condition.

Diet, as well as proper oral hygiene, Xylitol gels, possibly combined with some homeopathic remedies, as well as proactive dentistry can all be used to prevent or slow down this condition.

Facts about Early Childhood Caries:

1. ECC develops as a result of very early colonization of the baby’s mouth with streptococcus mutans bacteria.
2. The bacterial colonies covering the teeth, known as plaque, will process sugars coming into contact with them and produce acid as a by-product, which in turn will cause enamel to become softer and porous. These white chalky lesions will then progress into the more advanced decay seen in rotting teeth, especially in upper incisors of children between the ages of 2 and 4.

Recent research has shown that neither breastfeeding nor its duration are associated with the risk for early childhood caries. On the other hand, increased risk of ECC is often independently observed in associations with  poverty, and maternal prenatal smoking. Furthermore, some ethnic groups were independently associated with severe early childhood caries.

1. the inner pulp,
2. the middle dentin layer. and
3. the outermost enamel cover.

Each of these layers provides it’s own specific properties to the tooth as a whole.

The pulp contains the blood vessels, nerves, and lymph channels. Even though the tooth appears to be hard as a rock, it is still living material. The  pulp layers supplies the tooth with “live” and enables it to respond to injury. Around the pulp is the middle ‘dentin layer’.

The biggest part of the tooth’s mass is dentin. This layer is highly organic and contains a large amount of collagen through which it provides the tooth with flexibility and compliance. In other words, it allows the tooth to be hard and still bend without breaking. This layer of dentin is also directly attached to the nerves. This is the reason that when it becomes exposed we experience tooth sensitivity.

The outermost part of the tooth is the enamel layer. It is the hard shiny coating. Enamel is the hardest substance in the human body. Through it, the tooth gains its strength and rigidity. It also covers the dentin layer to prevent its rapid aging due to the harsh environment in the oral cavity. Without the enamel, the tooth would be floppy and we would not be able to bite firm fruits and vegetables like apples and carrots. The optimal combination of the dentin and enamel layers provides the teeth with the perfect blend of stiffness, strength, and resilience.

The main challenge of a population that is getting older and wants to keep more of its natural teeth are age related changes in tooth structure. Through the natural aging process the original enamel thickness gets smaller over time. A loss of strength, color changes and even cracking are some of the adverse effects caused by these changes. This knowledge, combined with access to high-performance modern dental materials, allows modern dentistry to correct these changes. With the correct treatment it is now ensured that we can keep our teeth strong, attractive and free of sensitivity. These modern treatments, if started early enough are typically very conservative, safe and, best of all, pain-free.

Click here to view the embedded video.

This certainly is an extreme reaction. Most dental patients with amalgam fillings will have no directly observable reactions, but maybe KJ is actually the luckier person.

Due to the strong reaction his well educated mother had to take drastic actions to save her son. Most other amalgam fillings might sit there for years and years and quietly poison the host without being noticed and connected with ailments that appear over the years.

What comes to mind is the anecdote on how to cook a frog – throw him into boiling water, he will immediate jump out and escape. But put him into cold water and slowly heat up the water to boiling, the frog will not notice the danger he is in and will end up on a plate.

Taking this story to heart might make it possible for many to reconsider the danger of the amalgam fillings they still have and that don’t seem to cause any problems. Maybe they did and still do.

These teeth can be bleached from the outside and inside simultaneously.

The filling in the back of the tooth is removed, exposing the hollow pulp chamber, which will contain some old cement or the pink latex-like gutta percha, or the filler that is conventionally used to seal the root canal.

The gums around the teeth have to be isolated in order to prevent contact with the bleaching gel.

This is achieved in this case using a light-hardening gel, Opal-dam from Ultradent®.

A power-bleach is used, which is either chemically-activated immediately prior to use, or light-activated after placement.

The  front and the chamber of the tooth are covered by the gel.

This procedure is repeated every 10 minutes until an acceptable shade is achieved.

The gel is then finally washed off and the isolating barrier is removed.

The hole in the back of the tooth is then bonded with a composite.

Most of the time the whitening will be sufficient to avoid further treatment.

In some cases veneering the teeth would be a nice option but in the majority of cases the color of the bleached tooth will match all the other teeth perfectly to have the patient smile widely without hesitation.