Scientists uncover key new molecules that could help to tackle tooth loss and regeneration

Now new research published in the Journal of Dental Research has shed light on the science behind the formation of the periodontal ligament, which helps keep the tooth stable in the jawbone. This improved understanding will also help scientists work towards regenerating the tissues that support teeth.

The study, led by the Universities of Plymouth and Geneva, shows how a signalling pathway called Notch, which is known to be activated in stem cells and cancer, is important for periodontal ligament development.

Abnormal activation or inhibition of certain signalling pathways can lead to cancer and other conditions, including problems with tissue regeneration.

A key finding in the new study, which was conducted in rodent teeth, is that Lamin A, a cell nuclear protein, is a direct target of Notch pathway.

Lamin A is best known for its mutated form progerin, which causes fatal 'early ageing' disease, Progeria syndrome -- but by uncovering its involvement in periodontal ligament formation, scientists have better insight into how molecules function during tissue regeneration, and how the process could be affected during disease.

Corresponding author Dr Bing Hu, Associate Professor of Oral and Dental Health Research in Peninsula Dental School at the University of Plymouth, said: "The periodontal ligament starts to properly hold the tooth in the jawbone when a tooth breaks out and becomes functional.

"Understanding the mechanisms of how periodontal ligaments develop and the molecules that assist the tissue becoming mature is really important for our understanding of tissue regeneration and repair.

"The next steps are for us to see if and how the molecules we have identified in this study can be translated into a human-only model and, in turn, how they are affected in both healthy and diseased conditions."

Dr Hu is also part of the University's Institute of Translational and Stratified Medicine (ITSMed).

This research is a part of the MD-PhD thesis of Dr Balázs Dénes of the University of Geneva, entitled Post-emergent tooth eruption: eruption rate, periodontal ligament maturation and cell signalling, directed by Professor Stavros Kiliaridis.

Dr Dénes said: "We believe that our findings are an important stepping stone to better dental treatments in situations involving the periodontal ligament, such as gum disease (periodontitis), tooth restoration by dental implants or orthodontic tooth movement."

Philadelphia Inquirer: HPV is causing an oral cancer epidemic in men by outwitting natural defenses

Five years ago, when actor Michael Douglas candidly revealed that his throat cancer was linked to having oral sex, two things happened.

He made headlines that mortified his family. And he helped publicize the fact that a pervasive, sexually transmitted virus called HPV was unleashing an epidemic of oral cancer among men.

Compared with women, men are more likely to get infected with HPV — including “high-risk” cancer-causing strains. They also are less able to wipe out infection on their own, and more likely to get reinfected. The reasons are unclear.

Your dentist should play a key role in detecting oral cancer.  Having an thorough oral cancer screening is the first step to catching this dangerous cancer early. 

Did you know that Dr. Henley is the ONLY general dentist in Jacksonville that serves on the Head and Neck Tumor Board at Baptist MD Anderson?  The tumor board is a multi-specialty group that works together using the latest in dentistry and medicine to ensure that cancer patients have the best possible outcomes.

Read The Complete Article at the Philadelphia Inquirer

Red wine compound could help tooth decay and gum disease

Red wine has previously been linked to a range of supposed health benefits, from helping the heart to lowering the risk of diabetes.

Now a new study suggests it contains chemicals that can help in the fight against tooth decay and gum disease. Researchers found compounds from the drink, known as polyphenols, helped fend off harmful bacteria in the mouth. But experts warned that the findings do not offer a "green light" to drink more red wine.

Previous studies have suggested that the health benefits of polyphenols are linked to them being antioxidants that protect the body from harmful free radicals. However, recent studies have indicated that polyphenols might also boost health by working with "good bacteria" in our gut. For this study, in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, scientists looked into whether wine polyphenols might also be good for oral health.

Researchers compared the effects of two polyphenols from red wine against grape seed and red wine extract supplements on bacteria that stick to teeth and gums and cause dental plaque, cavities and gum disease. They found the wine polyphenols and extracts all reduced the bacteria's ability to stick to the cells, but the polyphenols - caffeic and p-coumaric acids - were more effective.

When combined with the Streptococcus dentisani - believed to be an oral probiotic, which stimulates the growth of good bacteria - the polyphenols were even better at inhibiting the pathogenic bacteria. The findings, they said, could ultimately lead to new dental treatments.

Red wine is rich in polyphenols but they are also found in a range of other drinks and foods.

• Drinks
• Coffee
• Green tea
• Black tea
• Cider
• Orange juice and lemon juice
• Foods
• Blueberries
• Raspberries
• Kiwis
• Black grapes
• Cherries
• Beans

Wine in moderation

The report's authors acknowledge that their study was limited by the fact it was done outside of the human body with cells that simulated gum tissue. And they said further research was needed to determine more about what was causing the bacteria to be inhibited. They said metabolites which form when the digestion of polyphenols begins in the mouth could also be responsible for some of the effects in the study.

The British Dental Association's scientific adviser, Professor Damien Walmsley, said the study was "interesting" but it did not mean people should start drinking more. "In fact, the acidic nature of wine means that consuming a lot of these drinks will damage the enamel of the teeth," he said. "Therefore, until the benefits of this research are shown clinically, it is best to consume wine in moderation and with a meal to minimise the risk of tooth erosion."

Naveed Sattar, professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow, said the research was "interesting" but still "very preliminary". "However, the findings do not support drinking more red wine to stop people getting infections," he said. "There is no good evidence that drinking wine per se is overall good for health - on the contrary, more and more evidence from other sources now suggests the less wine or alcohol one drinks, the lower the risks of range of disease and the lower the mortality risks."

History of Gum Disease Increases Cancer Risk in Older Women

Postmenopausal women who have a history of gum disease also have a higher risk of cancer, according to a new study of more than 65,000 women.

The study, led by researchers at the University at Buffalo, is the first national study of its kind involving U.S. women, and the first to focus specifically on older women. It's also the first study to find an association between periodontal disease and gallbladder cancer risk in women or men. The findings were published today (Aug. 1) in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.

"This study is the first national study focused on women, particularly older women," said Jean Wactawski-Wende, the study's senior author.

"Our study was sufficiently large and detailed enough to examine not just overall risk of cancer among older women with periodontal disease, but also to provide useful information on a number of cancer-specific sites," added Wactawski-Wende, dean of UB's School of Public Health and Health Professions and a professor of epidemiology and environmental health.

Read the full article at Science Daily 

April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month

April is Oral Cancer Awareness Month

Oral Cancer awareness in the American public is low. Approximately 49,750 people in the U.S. will be newly diagnosed with oral cancer this year. Every day 132 new people in the U.S. will be newly diagnosed with an oral cancer, and that one person EVERY HOUR OF THE DAY, 24/7/365 will die from it

While smoking and tobacco use are still major risk factors, the fastest growing segment of oral cancer patients is young, healthy, nonsmoking individuals due to the connection to the HPV virus. We cannot stop this virus from spreading; our only hope to save lives by performing oral cancer screenings on every patient, every time they are in our office.  

As a commitment to our patients and our community Dr. Henley serves as member of the Head and Neck Tumor Board at Baptist MD Anderson.  The tumor board is a multi-specialty group that works together using the latest in dentistry and medicine to ensure that patients have the best possible outcomes.

To learn more about oral cancer see the links below:

https://www.henleyandkelly.com/head-and-neck-cancer/

http://oralcancerfoundation.org

https://www.baptistjax.com/services/baptist-md-anderson-cancer-center/head-and-neck-cancer

E-cigarettes 'just as harmful as tobacco' for oral health

E-cigarettes 'just as harmful as tobacco' for oral health

In an article published by Medical News today discussed that  a recent study found that the chemicals present in electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) vapor were equally as damaging - in some cases, more damaging - to mouth cells as tobacco smoke. Such damage can lead to an array of oral health problems, including gum disease, tooth loss, and mouth cancer.

E-cigarettes are battery-operated devices containing a heating device and a cartridge that holds a liquid solution. The heating device vaporizes the liquid - usually when the user "puffs" on the device - and the resulting vapor is inhaled.

While e-cigarette liquids do not contain tobacco - a highly harmful component of conventional cigarettes - they do contain nicotine and other chemicals, including flavoring agents.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the use of e-cigarettes has increased in recent years, particularly among young people. In 2015, 16 percent of high-school students reported using the devices, compared with just 1.5 percent in 2011.

You can read the whole article here

Pancreatic Cancer Risk Linked to Changes in Mouth Bacteria

Written by Catharine Paddock PhD - Medical News Today

The presence of certain bacteria in the mouth may indicate a raised risk for pancreatic cancer - a disease that often begins with no symptoms and for which there is no routine screening test.
A study led by NYU Langone in New York, NY suggestS certain bacterial changes in the mouth could potentially show us who is most at risk of developing pancreatic cancer.

The researchers suggest the finding may lead to earlier, more precise treatments for pancreatic cancer, a disease with a pitifully low survival rate as it often escapes early diagnosis.

A history of gum disease and poor oral health have been linked to raised risk of pancreatic cancer, and some studies have also suggested certain types of mouth bacteria may also play a role, but this is the first study to directly evaluate such a link, note the authors.

Senior author Dr. Jiyoung Ahn, epidemiologist and associate professor of population health and environmental medicine at NYU School of Medicine, says:

"Our study offers the first direct evidence that specific changes in the microbial mix in the mouth - the oral microbiome - represent a likely risk factor for pancreatic cancer along with older age, male gender, smoking, African-American race, and a family history of the disease."

Estimates suggest over 46,000 Americans were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and nearly 40,000 died of the disease in 2014.

Two mouth bacteria linked to raised risk of pancreatic cancer

For their study, the team compared the mouth bacteria sampled from 361 American men and women before they developed pancreatic cancer with those sampled from 371 similar individuals who did not develop the disease.

The participants were taking part in larger, ongoing studies of cancer risk, where they had been given mouthwash samples when they joined the studies. They were followed for nearly 10 years, during which any cancer diagnoses were noted.

When they analyzed the results, Prof. Ahn and colleagues found that participants whose mouth bacteria contained either of two certain types had a higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer, compared with participants whose oral microbiome showed no evidence of the microorganisms.

Specifically, they found presence of Porphyromonas gingivalis was linked to a 59% overall higher risk of developing pancreatic cancer. Similarly, presence of  Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans was linked to a 50% overall higher risk. Both types of bacteria are known to be associated with gum disease or periodontitis.

The figures did not change when the researchers took out cases where participants were diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in the 2 years following collection of the samples. They did this to reduce the chance that the figures were influenced by "reverse causation," that is, the presence of the cancer preceding the presence of the two bacteria.

In another study published recently, the team shows that smoking is tied to dramatic - but not irreversible - changes in mouth bacteria, both in amounts and mix. However, they note that only further studies can show whether changes to mouth bacteria linked to smoking cause pancreatic cancer or affect the immune system. In the meantime, Prof. Ahn suggests:

"These bacterial changes in the mouth could potentially show us who is most at risk of developing pancreatic cancer."

FDA: No More Antibacterials In Consumer Soaps

In an article published today on NBC News  the FDA has ordered antibacterials from consumer soaps. The Food and Drug Administration says they do little or nothing to make soap work any better and said the industry has failed to prove they're safe.

Companies will have a year to take the ingredients out of the products, the FDA said. They include triclosan and triclocarban. Soap manufacturers will have an extra year to negotiate over other, less commonly used ingredients such as benzalkonium chloride.

Read more at NBC News 

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/fda-orders-antibacterials-removed-consumer-soaps-n642036

Are You a Nighttime Tooth Grinder? Here's How To Tell—And What to Do About It

Teeth grinding is a problem that affects nearly one in ten individuals, yet many of us don’t even realize we’re doing it. And that’s a problem given just how harmful it can be to our health. Here’s how to find out if you grind your teeth when you sleep—and why it’s something you shouldn’t ignore.

Read more at www.io9.com