Agrillo works at the University of Padua in Italy. There, he studies how animals process information. He is finishing up several years of pitting humans against fish in trials. Those trials test their abilities to compare quantities. He can’t, of course, tell his angelfish to choose, say, the larger array of dots. He can’t tell them to do anything. So in recent tests he made his bemused students use trial and error too, just like the fish.
“At the end, they start laughing when they find they are compared with fish,” he says. Yet the fish versus human face-offs are eye-opening comparisons. And they are done as part of his search for the deep evolutionary roots of human mathematics. If fish and people eventually turn out to share some bits of their number sense (like spidey sense, except focused on quantities rather than danger), those elements might turn out to be older than 400 million years. At some point, that long ago, ancestors of angelfish and humans split apart to form different branches of the tree of life. Read Article: https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/animals-can-do-almost-math
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The Food and Drug Administration issued a final rule Dec. 19, banning the use of most powdered medical gloves.
The rule, which goes into effect Jan. 18, applies to patient examination gloves, powdered surgeon's gloves and absorbable powder for lubricating a surgeon's glove. "While use of these gloves is decreasing, they pose an unreasonable and substantial risk of illness or injury to health care providers, patients and other individuals who are exposed to them, which cannot be corrected through new or updated labeling," the agency said in a March news release. In its summary of the rule, the FDA also noted that the ban "does not apply to powder used in the manufacturing process" of nonpowdered gloves, "where that powder is not intended to be part of the final finished glove" and said "finished nonpowdered gloves are expected to include no more than trace amounts of residual powder from these processes, and the agency encourages manufacturers to ensure finished nonpowdered gloves have as little powder as possible." The ADA Science Institute monitors and posts links to alerts and recalls of oral care products. Read Article: http://www.ada.org/en/publications/ada-news/2016-archive/december/fda-bans-most-powdered-gloves Biofilms are a collective of one or more types of microorganisms that can grow on many different surfaces. Microorganisms that form biofilms include bacteria, fungi and protists.
One common example of a biofilm dental plaque, a slimy buildup of bacteria that forms on the surfaces of teeth. Pond scum is another example. Biofilms have been found growing on minerals and metals. They have been found underwater, underground and above the ground. They can grow on plant tissues and animal tissues, and on implanted medical devices such as catheters and pacemakers. Each of these distinct surfaces has a common defining feature: they are wet. These environments are "periodically or continuously suffused with water," according to a 2007 article published in Microbe Magazine. Biofilms thrive upon moist or wet surfaces. Read Article: http://www.livescience.com/57295-biofilms.html Scuba divers may want to stop by their dentist's office before taking their next plunge. A new pilot study found that 41 percent of divers experienced dental symptoms in the water, according to new research from the University at Buffalo.
Due to the constant jaw clenching and fluctuations in the atmospheric pressure underwater, divers may experience symptoms that range from tooth, jaw and gum pain to loosened crowns and broken dental fillings. Recreational divers should consider consulting with their dentist before diving if they recently received dental care, says Vinisha Ranna, BDS, lead author and a student in the UB School of Dental Medicine. "Divers are required to meet a standard of medical fitness before certification, but there are no dental health prerequisites," says Ranna, who is also a certified stress and rescue scuba diver. Read Article: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-12-scuba-diver-dentist.html Watch an interesting tour of a dental office.
"Receding gums are also known as gingival recession. The pink gum tissue normally covers the root of the tooth. This can become exposed when the gum is pushed back or if the tooth is in an abnormal position.
Receding gums are common and often unnoticed at an early stage. There are many risk factors, but age is a main one - 88 percent of people older than 65 have receding gums in at least one tooth. The main concern with receding gums is that when the roots of the teeth become exposed, they are at risk for decay, infection, and loss. Treatment can stop or reverse the process of gum recession if begun at an early stage. If the recession is severe and the patient has symptoms such as tooth sensitivity, pain, or infection, a variety of treatment options are available. These include deep cleaning, medicine to fight infections, and even tissue grafts." Read Entire Article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/312992.php In a study published in the journal Oncotarget, researchers 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. Read Entire Article: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/314190.php?tw Bits of wood recovered from a 1.2-million-year-old tooth found at an excavation site in northern Spain indicate that the ancient relatives of man may have use a kind of toothpick. Toothbrushes were not around yet, if the amount of hardened tartar build-up is anything to go by. An analysis of the tartar has now yielded the oldest known information about what our human ancestors ate and the quality of their diet. According to study leader Karen Hardy of the Catalan Institute for Research and Advanced Studies (ICREA) and the Universtat Autònoma de Barcelona, what they ate was consumed raw, and shows that 1.2 million years ago hominins did not yet know how to use fire to prepare food. The findings are published in Springer's journal The Science of Nature.
The teeth investigated by Hardy's team come from one of the two oldest hominin remains yet to be found in Europe. The piece of jawbone found in 2007 at the Sima del Elefante excavation site in Spain's Atapeurca Mountains is between 1.1 million and 1.2 million years old. Sima del Elefante is part of several archaeological and palaeontological sites that together represent a history that is between 300,000 years and 1.2 million years old. Dental calculus or tartar, a form of hardened plaque, was found on all but one of the teeth examined. A minute sample of tartar from one of the teeth was removed using an ultrasonic scalar, and then analyzed to recover the microfossils trapped in it. These included several types of fibres, including tiny pieces of non-edible wood, plants and animal tissue. A scale from a butterfly's wing and a fragment of an insect leg was also detected. Read Article: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-12/s-dhc121516.php Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Last week, three EU institutions (the European Parliament, the European Commission and the Council of the European Union) reached a provisional agreement to ban dental amalgam fillings for children under 15 and pregnant and breastfeeding women as of July 1, 2018. These actions in Europe are being supported by the International Academy of Oral Medicine and Toxicology (IAOMT), a non-profit group that encourages worldwide efforts to end dental mercury.
"Mercury is toxic, and its use in all silver-colored dental fillings has been linked to environmental harm, as well as increased risks of Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, infertility, anxiety, depression, fatigue, and many other adverse health conditions. Viable alternatives to these fillings have existed for decades. It's crucial for all of the world to follow Europe's lead and take action to restrict dental mercury, and even more efficiently, to end its use entirely," explained Dr. Tammy DeGregorio, IAOMT President. Dental amalgam mercury is still used on approximately 45% of dental patients worldwide, including in the USA, and hundreds of millions of people have these mercury-containing fillings in their mouths. Many patients are unaware that their silver fillings are made of 50% mercury, and patients are also often shocked to learn that this mercury can harm the environment, as well as potentially create health risks for dental patients and their fetuses and breast-fed children. Read Article: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/international-group-supports-global-efforts-to-end-dental-mercury-usage-300376657.html The best way to avoid athletic dental injuries is to wear a properly fitted mouthguard, according to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA).
“While there are several good commercially available mouthguard products, all of them require self-adjustment by the athlete and certain amount of practice to achieve good fit,” Dr. Trenton E. Gould from The University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg told Reuters Health by email. “Custom fabricated mouthguards, properly fitted by a dentist, can often help optimize fit and comfort, both of which contribute to enhanced compliant usage,” he added. The National Federation of State High School Associations requires mouthguards in only five sports, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association mandates them in only four sports – but oral and dental injuries account for up to 38 percent of all sport-specific injuries, according to NATA. In a new position statement, the organization makes 31 recommendations for preventing and managing sport-related dental and oral injuries. While most of advice applies to athletic trainers and other healthcare professionals, several of the recommendations are relevant for coaches, athletes and parents, too. The most important have to do with the wear and care of mouthguards, which as Gould said should be properly fitted and worn consistently. Athletes should examine their mouthguards daily for fit and for any damage, and the mouthguard should be replaced if it is loose or damaged. Especially for younger athletes, the mouthguard should be routinely inspected for fit and retention to accommodate new teeth and growth. In addition, said Gould, who is one of the authors of the position statement, “Clinicians, athletic trainers, coaches, and parents should have a plan for how to deal with dental trauma.” At minimum, he added, an appropriate oral health care specialist should be identified in advance for emergencies. “Most of the dental injury classifications (including tooth and root fractures) covered in the position statement do not represent a dental emergency,” Gould said. “As such, the athlete can be allowed to return to play immediately as pain permits, often with a mouthguard in place to prevent further injury. No additional time loss is warranted, but the athlete should be referred to a trauma-ready dentist within 24 hours.” In contrast, significant displacement of teeth and tooth loss require immediate removal from participation and referral to a trauma-ready dentist or emergency facility. While the athletic trainer should know how to handle tooth loss, it’s useful for athletes and parents to know what to do with those teeth. Since the single most important factor for optimal healing is putting the tooth back where it came from, this should be the first objective. The tooth might need to be rinsed gently in cold water, milk, or IV salt solution. After it is replanted, the athlete should bite down on a sterile gauze pad to keep the tooth in place until the dentist can take care of it. If the tooth can’t be replanted immediately, it should be submerged in a special salt solution – or, if that’s not available, in cold low-fat milk – for transport. It should not be wrapped in dry gauze or a dry paper towel. Especially for these more serious injuries, it’s up to the dentist to determine when it’s safe for the athlete to return to participation. “It is critical to have the right sports medicine team including athletic trainers in place to address dental injuries should they occur,” Gould said. “Proper prevention and treatment can ensure the right sports safety protocols are in place so that the athlete can return to activity safely and effectively.” The complete set of recommendations and the evidence supporting them appear in the Journal of Athletic Training. Read Article: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-sports-dental-injury-idUSKBN1432RU Black raspberries are rich in fiber, vitamins, and phytochemicals. And in a recent study at Ohio State University, they also inhibited the development of oral cancer in rats. The researchers also identified key cancer-related genes that may explain this effect. The results of the study were among the more than 140 posters presented at the American Institute for Cancer Research Conference earlier this November. The study has not been published yet, nor has it been through peer review.
Preclinical and clinical trials in human beings suggest that black raspberries may prevent or slow the development of oral cancers, though there has been little understanding of the molecular basis for their beneficial effects. Previous research also has identified key cancer-related genes in human beings that were switched on and off in response to eating black raspberries. “Our objective in this study was to see whether those same genes were modulated in the rat model so we could determine if we were seeing the same effects,” said Steve Oghumu, PhD, a scientist at Ohio State University and lead author of the study. Christopher Weghorst, PhD, associate dean for research and professor administration at the school, was the principal investigator. The researchers assigned rats with oral cancer to one of 3 dietary groups for 16 weeks: a standard diet, a diet that was 5% freeze-dried black raspberries, or a diet that was 10% black raspberries. A comparison group of rats was cancer-free. At the end of the study period, the researchers analyzed the animals’ tongue and blood for markers associated with inflammation and apoptosis, a type of programmed cell death. Markers of apoptosis showed signs of promoting cancer cell death and markers of inflammation were reduced in the animals that ate the black raspberries, compared to the animals on the standard diet. Also, the tumors in the rats that ate diets that were 5% or 10% black raspberries were reduced by 39% and 29% respectively, compared to the rats on the standard diet. “That was a very surprising result. We didn’t expect the lower concentration to be more effective,” said Oghumu, who also believes that the whole food approach to managing oral cancer is appealing because black raspberries are easily obtained and carry few risks. “This study is important because we confirmed that black raspberries can inhibit carcinogenesis in a rat model, and we have now found a suitable animal model to understand how black raspberries work in inhibiting oral cancer in people,” Oghumu said. Read Article: http://www.dentistrytoday.com/news/industrynews/item/1429-black-raspberries-may-inhibit-oral-cancer TUESDAY, Dec. 6, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Americans are more likely to skip needed dental care because of cost than any other type of health care, researchers report.
Working-age adults are particularly vulnerable, the study found. Some 13 percent reported forgoing dental care because of cost. That's nearly double the proportion of seniors and triple the percentage of children for whom cost poses a barrier to dental care, the study showed. Cost was the main impediment to dental care even for adults with private insurance. "It seems like medical insurance is doing a better job at protecting consumers from financial hardship than dental insurance," said study author Marko Vujicic. Typically, private dental insurance includes annual maximum benefit limits and significant "coinsurance" -- the patient's share of costs on covered services, Vujicic explained. He is chief economist and vice president of the American Dental Association's (ADA) Health Policy Institute in Chicago. "Anything beyond checkups, like getting a cavity filled or a root canal and a crown, you're looking right away at 20 to 50 percent coinsurance," Vujicic said. Typical fees for fillings range from $86 to $606, according to a 2013 ADA Health Policy Institute survey. Root canals go for $511 to $1,274. For a crown, the range is $309 to $1,450. Evelyn Ireland, executive director of the National Association of Dental Plans, agreed with the report that avoiding dental care can affect overall health. Fortunately, the percentage of the population citing cost as a reason for not getting dental services has declined steadily since 2010, Ireland said. And in 2014, it was the lowest since 2003, she added. Colin Bradley is vice president of business development at Winston Benefits Inc., a company that helps employers administer dental benefits. He said employers who offer private dental plans must emphasize the value of those benefits, including preventive services often provided at no out-of-pocket cost. The new study is published in the December issue of the journalHealth Affairs. The issue is devoted to oral health in America. Collectively, one theme emerges: "that the divide between dental care and medical care is vast, has significant consequences for patients, and is entirely of our own making," wrote Alan Weil, the journal's editor-in-chief. Read Article: http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/news/20161206/many-americans-skip-the-dentist-due-to-cost#1 https://www.facebook.com/jared.anderson.dentist1
https://twitter.com/Jared_Anderson9 https://www.linkedin.com/in/jared-anderson-1a3812132 https://jaredandersondentist.wordpress.com/ http://jaredandersondentist.tumblr.com/ http://jaredandersondentist.weebly.com/ http://AboutJaredAndersonDentist.com/ http://JaredAndersonDentist.org/ http://JaredAndersonDentist.com/ http://www.selectcaredental.com/ http://JaredAndersonDentist.net/ http://JaredAndersonDentistInfo.com/ The Link Between Medications and Cavities
You may wonder why you’re suddenly getting cavities when you haven’t had them in years. As we get older, we enter a second round of cavity prone years. One common cause of cavities in older adults is dry mouth. Dry mouth is not a normal part of aging. However, it is a side-effect in more than 500 medications, including those for allergies or asthma, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, pain, anxiety or depression, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.This is just one reason why it’s so important to tell your dentist about any medications that you’re taking. Your dentist can make recommendations to help relieve your dry mouth symptoms and prevent cavities. Here are some common recommendations:
Gum DiseaseMany older adults have gum, or periodontal disease, caused by the bacteria in plaque, which irritate the gums, making them swollen, red and more likely to bleed. One reason gum disease is so widespread among adults is that it’s often a painless condition until the advanced stage. If left untreated, gums can begin to pull away from the teeth and form deepened spaces called pockets where food particles and more plaque may collect. Advanced gum disease can eventually destroy the gums, bone and ligaments supporting the teeth leading to tooth loss. The good news is that with regular dental visits gum disease can be treated or prevented entirely. Mouth Cancer According to the American Cancer Society, there are about 35,000 cases of mouth, throat and tongue cancer diagnosed each year. The average age of most people diagnosed with these cancers is 62. During dental visits, your dentist will check for any signs of oral cancer. Regular dental visits are important because in the early stages oral cancer typically does not cause pain and early detection saves lives. Some symptoms you may see include open sores, white or reddish patches, and changes in the lips, tongue and lining of the mouth that lasts for more than two weeks. Paying for Dental Care after Retirement Many retirees don’t realize that Medicare does not cover routine dental care. Begin to plan for your dental expenses in advance of retirement so you don’t have to let your dental health suffer once you’re on a fixed income. Organizations like AARP offer supplemental dental insurance plans for their members. Discount dental plans are another option that typically have a lower monthly fee than traditional dental insurance. You select a dentist within the plan network who has agreed to provide certain services for 10 to 60 percent less than the typical fee. You pay the reduced fee out-of-pocket, and there is no claim paperwork to fill out. You can search for a dental plan at the National Association of Dental Plans website. Many dentists offer no interest or low interest financing plans that may be a better option than paying for your dental work on a household credit card with a higher interest rate. If you have concerns about continuing your dental care due to a limited income, talk to your dentist. He or she may be able to offer solutions. Do I Need to Take an Antibiotic before a Dental Procedure? If you have a heart condition or artificial joint, be sure to tell your dentist. You may think it’s not relevant. After all, what do your heart and joints have to do with your teeth? But, there are conditions with a high risk of infection and an antibiotic is recommended prior to some dental procedures. Dentists follow recommendations that have been developed by the American Heart Association and the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons in cooperation with the American Dental Association. Talk to your dentist about how these recommendations might apply to you. Caregiving for a Disabled or Elderly Loved One You may have a parent, spouse or friend who has difficulty maintaining a healthy mouth on their own. How can you help? Two things are critical:
These steps can prevent many problems, but tasks that once seemed so simple can become very challenging. If your loved one is having difficulty with brushing and flossing, talk to a dentist or hygienist who can provide helpful tips or a different approach. There are dentists who specialize in caring for the elderly and disabled. You can locate a specialist through the Special Care Dentistry Association’s referral directory. For those who wear dentures, pay close attention to their eating habits. If they’re having difficulty eating or are not eating as much as usual, denture problems could be the cause. When you’re caring for someone who is confined to bed, they may have so many health problems that it’s easy to forget about oral health. However, it’s still very important because bacteria from the mouth can be inhaled into the lungs and cause pneumonia. If you are a representative for a nursing home resident who needs dental care and is enrolled in Medicaid, there is a regulation, called an Incurred Medical Expense, that may help pay for medically necessary care as determined by a dentist. The Medicaid caseworker at the nursing facility and the dentist providing care can work together to apply the Incurred Medical Expense to pay for needed dental benefits. Read Article: http://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/adults-over-60/concerns |
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