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In the Mouth, Smoking Zaps Healthy Bacteria
ScienceDaily (Feb. 15, 2012)— According to a new study, smoking causes the body to turn against its own helpful bacteria, leaving smokers more vulnerable to disease.
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Despite the daily disturbance of brushing and flossing, the mouth of a healthy person contains a stable ecosystem of healthy bacteria. New research shows that the mouth of a smoker is a much more chaotic, diverse ecosystem -- and is much more susceptible to invasion by harmful bacteria.
As a group, smokers suffer from higher rates of oral diseases -- especially gum disease -- than do nonsmokers, which is a challenge for dentists, according to Purnima Kumar, assistant professor of periodontology at Ohio State University. She and her colleagues are involved in a multi-study investigation of the role the body's microbial communities play in preventing oral disease.
"The smoker's mouth kicks out the good bacteria, and the pathogens are called in," said Kumar. "So they're allowed to proliferate much more quickly than they would in a non-smoking environment."
The results suggest that dentists may have to offer more aggressive treatment for smokers and would have good reason to suggest quitting smoking, Kumar said.
"A few hours after you're born, bacteria start forming communities called biofilms in your mouth," said Kumar. "Your body learns to live with them, because for most people, healthy biofilms keep the bad bacteria away."
She likens a healthy biofilm to a lush, green lawn of grass. "When you change the dynamics of what goes into the lawn, like too much water or too little fertilizer," she said, "you get some of the grass dying, and weeds moving in." For smokers, the "weeds" are problem bacteria known to cause disease.
In a new study, Kumar's team looked at how these bacterial ecosystems regrow after being wiped away. For 15 healthy nonsmokers and 15 healthy smokers, the researchers took samples of oral biofilms one, two, four and seven days after professional cleaning.
The researchers were looking for two things when they swabbed subjects' gums. First, they wanted to see which bacteria were present by analyzing DNA signatures found in dental plaque. They also monitored whether the subjects' bodies were treating the bacteria as a threat. If so, the swab would show higher levels of cytokines, compounds the body produces to fight infection.
The results of the study were published in the journal Infection and Immunity.
"When you compare a smoker and nonsmoker, there's a distinct difference," said Kumar. "The first thing you notice is that the basic 'lawn,' which would normally contain thriving populations made of a just few types of helpful bacteria, is absent in smokers."
The team found that for nonsmokers, bacterial communities regain a similar balance of species to the communities that were scraped away during cleaning. Disease-associated bacteria are largely absent, and low levels of cytokines show that the body is not treating the helpful biofilms as a threat.
"By contrast," said Kumar, "smokers start getting colonized by pathogens -- bacteria that we know are harmful -- within 24 hours. It takes longer for smokers to form a stable microbial community, and when they do, it's a pathogen-rich community."
Smokers also have higher levels of cytokines, indicating that the body is mounting defenses against infection. Clinically, this immune response takes the form of red, swollen gums -- called gingivitis -- that can lead to the irreversible bone loss of periodontitis.
In smokers, however, the body is not just trying to fight off harmful bacteria. The types of cytokines in smokers' gum swabs showed the researchers that smokers' bodies were treating even healthy bacteria as threatening.
Although they do not yet understand the mechanisms behind these results, Kumar and her team suspect that smoking is confusing the normal communication that goes on between healthy bacterial communities and their human hosts.
Practically speaking, these findings have clear implications for patient care, according to Kumar.
"It has to drive how we treat the smoking population," she said. "They need a more aggressive form of treatment, because even after a professional cleaning, they're still at a very high risk for getting these pathogens back in their mouths right away.
"Dentists don't often talk to their patients about smoking cessation," she continued. "These results show that dentists should take a really active role in helping patients to get the support they need to quit."
For Kumar, who is a practicing periodontist as well as a teaching professor, doing research has changed how she treats her patients. "I tell them about our studies, about the bacteria and the host response, and I say, 'Hey -- I'm really scared for you.' Patients have been more willing to listen, and two actually quit."
Kumar's collaborators include Chad Matthews and Vinayak Joshi of Ohio State's College of Dentistry as well as Marko de Jager and Marcelo Aspiras of Philips Oral Healthcare. The research was sponsored by a grant from Philips Oral Healthcare.
There is a bit of history buff in all of us and we don't always have to talk about dentistry.
Here are some interesting tidbits that just maybe you didn't know.
In George Washington's days, there were no cameras. One's image was either sculpted or painted. Some paintings of George Washington showed him standing behind a desk with one arm behind his back while others showed both legs and both arms. Prices charged by painters were not based on how many people were to be painted, but by how many limbs were to be painted. Arms and legs are 'limbs,' therefore painting them would cost the buyer more. Hence the expression,
'Okay, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg.' (Artists know hands and arms are more difficult to paint)
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As incredible as it sounds, men and women took baths only twice a year (May and October) Women kept their hair covered, while men shaved their heads (because of lice and bugs) and wore wigs. Wealthy men could afford good wigs made from wool. They couldn't wash the wigs, so to clean them they would carve out a loaf of bread, put the wig in the shell, and bake it for 30 minutes. The heat would make the wig big and fluffy, hence the term 'big wig.' Today we often use the term 'here comes the Big Wig' because someone appears to be or is powerful and wealthy.
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In the late 1700's, many houses consisted of a large room with only one chair. Commonly, a long wide board folded down from the wall, and was used for dining. The 'head of the household' always sat in the chair while everyone else ate sitting on the floor. Occasionally a guest, who was usually a man, would be invited to sit in this chair during a meal. To sit in the chair meant you were important and in charge. They called the one sitting in the chair the 'chair man.' Today in business, we use the expression or title 'Chairman' or 'Chairman of the Board.'
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Personal hygiene left much room for improvement. As a result, many women and men had developed acne scars by adulthood. The women would spread bee's wax over their facial skin to smooth out their complexions. When they were speaking to each other, if a woman began to stare at another woman's face she was told, 'mind your own bee's wax.' Should the woman smile, the wax would crack, hence the term 'crack a smile'. In addition, when they sat too close to the fire, the wax would melt . . . Therefore, the expression 'losing face.'
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Ladies wore corsets, which would lace up in the front. A proper and dignified woman, as in 'straight laced'. . Wore a tightly tied lace.
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Common entertainment included playing cards. However, there was a tax levied when purchasing playing cards but only applicable to the 'Ace of Spades’ To avoid paying the tax, people would purchase 51 cards instead. Yet, since most games require 52 cards, these people were thought to be stupid or dumb because they weren't 'playing with a full deck.'
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Early politicians required feedback from the public to determine what the people considered important. Since there were no telephones, TV's or radios, the politicians sent their assistants to local taverns, pubs, and bars. They were told to 'go sip some ale' and listen to people's conversations and political concerns. Many assistants were dispatched at different times. 'You go sip here' and 'You go sip there.' The two words 'go sip' were eventually combined when referring to the local opinion and, thus we have the term 'gossip.'
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At local taverns, pubs, and bars, people drank from pint and quart-sized containers. A bar maid's job was to keep an eye on the customers and keep the drinks coming. She had to pay close attention and remember who was drinking in 'pints' and who was drinking in 'quarts,' hence the term 'minding your P's and Q's '
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One more and betting you didn't know this!
In the heyday of sailing ships, all war ships and many freighters carried iron cannons. Those cannons fired round iron cannon balls. It was necessary to keep a good supply near the cannon. However, how to prevent them from rolling about the deck? The best storage method devised was a square-based pyramid with one ball on top, resting on four resting on nine, which rested on sixteen.. Thus, a supply of 30 cannon balls could be stacked in a small area right next to the cannon. There was only one problem...how to prevent the bottom layer from sliding or rolling from under the others. The solution was a metal plate called a 'Monkey' with 16 round indentations.
However, if this plate were made of iron, the iron balls would quickly rust to it. The solution to the rusting problem was to make 'Brass Monkeys.' Few landlubbers realize that brass contracts much more and much faster than
iron when chilled.
Consequently, when the temperature dropped too far, the brass indentations would shrink so much that the iron cannonballs would come right off the monkey.. Thus, it was quite literally, 'Cold enough to freeze the balls off a brass monkey.' (All this time, you thought that was an improper expression, didn't you.)
For those of you reading this on our Facebook or Twitter feed please visit our blog at www.BoulderDentalDesigns.com for the full post .
The Importance of Early Orthodontic Treatment in Your Child
As mothers and fathers you look at your children and see if they are developing normally. Every parent knows that his or her child is special and adorable. There are some characteristics of children that you may think why he/she looks the way they do. Why is their jaw smaller then our neighbor’s children? Why do they walk with their head tilted forward, they snore at night or grind their teeth. This is all part of growth and development of the child and you should discuss this with your dentist or orthodontist to make sure that we are on track. We can catch the children in their growth spurt and correct some deficiencies while they are happening and not when it is too late.
Today’s parents do not accept the answers given by some dentist and orthodontists about “just waiting” when they see that their children have crowded teeth, protruding teeth and spaces between the teeth. Sometimes parents are told that “no treatment is indicated at this time. The malocclusion should be observed and corrected when the child is older and the permanent teeth have erupted.” The trouble with this is that once the permanent teeth have erupted we have missed the window of opportunity to take advantage of the natural growth in an individual. Sometimes when we have missed this window of opportunity we are at a disadvantage to try and straighten the teeth. We may have the room for all the teeth and we may not, we may have to remove teeth at that time or we may have to even do surgery. Malocclusions when left untreated worsen over time and those that are trained in a preventive philosophy see waiting as inappropriate in most cases.
The Burlington Growth Study, Toronto, Canada stated that 75% of children at the age of 12 have some form of malocclusion. Meaning that most of the children in our society have teeth that are out of place in some way. Since most of the growth and development in the face is completed by age 12 we want to correct the discrepancies early through functional-orthopedic appliances first and fixed braces second, which is known as a two phase treatment. We can straighten teeth at any age but we can start as early as 4, but the average age is between 9 and 10.
Phase 1 (Orthopedic phase):
Thumb sucking, digital habits, anterior and lateral tongue thrusts, airway problems including mouth breathing, snoring and jaw joint problems (TMJ) must be corrected early with functional appliances. Skeletal problems such as constricted maxillary and mandibular arches, prognathic (large jaw or pushed forward) or retrognathic (small jaw or pushed back) mandibles are best treated as early as possible with functional appliances in the mixed dentition.
Phase 2 (Orthodontic phase):
Strictly dental problems related to the teeth can be corrected with fixed braces. Crooked teeth, minor crowding and rotated teeth, leveling and aligning of the teeth, settling the occlusion, minor open and closed bite corrections all associated with the permanent dentition.
The benefits of early treatment:
We can correct the majority of malocclusions without extractions of permanent teeth and surgery is not indicated to reposition the jaws, we can influence jaw growth in a positive manor, harmonize the width of the dental arches, improve eruption patterns, lower the risk of trauma to protruded upper incisors, correct harmful oral habits, improve aesthetics and self-esteem, simplify and/or shorten treatment time for later orthodontic correction, reduce the likelihood of impacted permanent teeth, improve speech problems, preserve/gain space for the erupting permanent teeth, improve breathing and airway problems.
The wait and see approach does not even seem like an option when you look at the benefits of starting treatment early. Prevention is the key in most medicines and this is no different. Please talk with your dentist or orthodontist about early correction of dental problems and if you don’t get the answers you are looking for then look for someone that is going to provide you with the solution you seek.
For those of you reading this on our Facebook or Twitter feed please visit our blog at www.BoulderDentalDesigns.com for the full post.
With the race quickly approaching on Oct. 2nd we have settled on a meeting place. We are going to be meeting on the corner of Chopper Circle and 11th. Please look for us in the parking lot with this builing in it. We will be meeting around 7:45 A.M. and the race starts at 8:00 A.M.
For those of you reading this on our Facebook or Twitter feed please visit our blog at www.BoulderDentalDesigns.com for the full post.
Here is some information taken from the American Dental Association website on why dental radiographs are taken.
According to the American Dental Association website:
“Dental X-ray examinations provide valuable information that your dentist could not collect otherwise. With the help of radiographs your dentist can look at what is happening beneath the visible oral tissues. They pose a far smaller risk than many undetected and untreated dental problems.
What are the benefits of a dental radiograph examination?
Many diseases of the teeth and surrounding tissues cannot be seen when your dentist examines your mouth. An X-ray examination may reveal:
Small areas of decay between the teeth or below existing restorations (fillings);
Infections in the bone;
Periodontal (gum) disease;
Abscesses or cysts;
Developmental abnormalities;
Some types of tumors
Finding and treating dental problems at an early stage can save time, money and unnecessary discomfort. It can detect damage to oral structures not visible during a regular exam. If you have a hidden tumor, radiographs may even help save your life.”
We recommend that our patients receive a minimum radiographic evaluation through a series of six films once a year and a full mouth series every five years to evaluate and anticipate the various problems listed above. In reviewing some patient records of this practice, it is typical that the patients were not receiving a thorough radiographic evaluation in which some major problems were left undiscovered until it was beyond the point of repair. We would like to avoid this from happening in your mouth.
We take radiographs from different angles to evaluate different surfaces of the tooth and surrounding tissue. Since a radiograph is a two-dimensional picture of a three-dimensional object, multiple angles are needed to give an accurate diagnosis.
The hygienist may notice significant changing in the level of the bone since the last series of radiographs were completed and evaluate for periodontal disease. These anatomical areas around the teeth need to be monitored for changes and that is only accomplished through radiographic review. We would like to see improvement in the bone level and not destruction and loss of bone height.
We are looking out for the best interest in your long-term health and care when we suggest a radiographic evaluation. We also understand each individuals needs and requirements for their own health objectives are going to be different. Under the Dental Board regulations of the State of Colorado I am required to do a thorough diagnosis on all patients of the practice, which includes radiographic evaluation at the fore mentioned intervals. We are not permitted to treat anyone without upholding these standards.
My goal is to prevent an unnecessary treatment before it poses a serious problem or compromises your health in any way. I appreciate your interest in your oral health and am always happy to educate my patients in any way that I can. Please feel free to contact me with any other questions.
Sincerely,
Dr. John Montoya
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