Tag: teeth

Categories : Dentistry Environmental EffectsTags :

Study Gives Water Fluoridation a Green Thumbs Up

On By ModernMedia
Teeth and toothbrush
Photo by Diana Polekhina on Unsplash

For the first time, researchers have demonstrated the low environmental footprint of water fluoridation compared to other preventive measures for tooth decay while still retaining effectiveness. The study is published in the British Dental Journal.

Water fluoridation is regarded as one of the most significant public health interventions of the twentieth century. But as the climate crisis worsens, the contribution of healthcare and the prevention of disease to the crisis must be considered.

Influenced by this urgency, Trinity College Dublin researchers collaborating with University College London quantified the environmental impact of water fluoridation for an individual five year-old child over a one-year period and compared this to the traditional use of fluoride varnish and toothbrushing programmes, which take place in selected schools across the UK, and internationally.

Over 35% of the world’s population has access to water fluoridation, with studies showing significant reductions in dental caries. Whilst data on the clinical effectiveness and cost analysis of water fluoridation are available, there has been no data regarding its environmental impact up to now.

To quantify this impact, the research team performed a Life Cycle Assessment by carefully measuring the combined travel, the weight and amounts of all products and the processes involved in all three preventive programmes (toothbrushing, fluoride varnish programmes and water fluoridation). Data was inputted into specialised environmental software and the team used the Ecoinvent database, enabling them to calculate environmental outputs, including the carbon footprint, the amount of water used for each product and the amount of land use.

The results of the study, led by Brett Duane, Associate Professor in Dental Public Health at Trinity College, concluded that water fluoridation had the lowest environmental impact in all categories studied, and had the lowest disability-adjusted life years impact when compared to all other community-level caries prevention programmes. The study also found that water fluoridation gives the greatest return on investment.

Considering the balance between clinical effectiveness, cost effectiveness and environmental sustainability, researchers believe that water fluoridation should be the preventive intervention of choice.

This research strengthens the case internationally for water fluoridation programmes to reduce dental decay, especially in the most vulnerable populations.

Assoc Prof Duane said: “As the climate crisis starts to worsen, we need to find ways of preventing disease to reduce the environmental impact of our health systems. This research clearly demonstrates the low carbon impact of water fluoridation as an effective prevention tool.”

Source: Trinity College Dublin

Categories : AgeingTags :

Tooth Loss may Decrease the Capacity to Perform Everyday Tasks

On By ModernMedia
Photo by Yusuf Belek on Unsplash

Older adults with more natural teeth are better able to perform everyday tasks such as cooking a meal, making a telephone call or going shopping, according to a new study. 

The study, conducted by researchers from UCL and the Tokyo Medical and Dental University, was published in the Journal of American Geriatrics Society, The researchers analysed data from 5631 adults from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) with ages between 50 and 70 years old.

Previous research had established a link between tooth loss and various reductions in capacity, such as cognitive decline. However, such research could not tease out any kind of causal link: did the tooth loss cause the decline, or did the decline result in tooth loss?

In this study the research team wanted to investigate the causal effect of tooth loss on someone’s ability to carry out daily activities. After controlling for factors such as participants’ socioeconomic status and health status, they nevertheless found evidence of an independent link between tooth loss and the ability to carry out everyday tasks.

The participants in the study were asked how many natural teeth they had, with older adults usually having up to 32 natural teeth that are lost over time. Using data gathered in 2014-2015, the researchers measured how tooth loss affected people’s ability to carry out key instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). The activities included preparing a hot meal, shopping for groceries, making telephone calls, taking medications, doing work around the house or garden, or managing money.

Senior author Georgios Tsakos, professor at UCL Institute of Epidemiology and Health, explained: “We know from previous studies that tooth loss is associated with reduced functional capacity, but this study is the first to provide evidence about the causal effect of tooth loss on the instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) among older adults in England. And this effect is considerable.

“For example, older adults with 10 natural teeth are 30% more likely to have difficulties with key activities of daily living such as shopping for groceries or working around the house or garden compared to those with 20 natural teeth.

“Even after taking in factors such as participant’s education qualification, self-rated health and their parent’s education level for example, we still found a positive association between the number of natural teeth a person had and their functional ability.”

The researchers had a number of possible explanations for this relationship, noting that having more natural teeth is linked to delaying the onset of disability and death and that tooth loss can also hamper social interactions, which is also linked to poorer quality of life. Tooth loss could be linked to having a poorer diet with less nutrients, they suggested.

However the researchers cautioned that the results should be considered carefully due to the study’s complex design. Further studies are needed to investigate the causal relationship between tooth loss and functional ability.

First author, Dr Yusuke Matsuyama, at Tokyo Medical and Dental University, said: “Preventing tooth loss is important for maintaining functional capacity among older adults in England. Given the high prevalence of tooth loss, this effect is considerable and maintaining good oral health throughout the life course could be one strategy to prevent or delay loss of functional competence.

“The health gain from retaining natural teeth may not be limited to oral health outcomes but have wider relevance for promoting functional capacity and improving overall quality of life.”

Source: University College London

Journal information: Yusuke Matsuyama et al, Causal Effect of Tooth Loss on Functional Capacity in Older Adults in England: A Natural Experiment, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (2021). DOI: 10.1111/jgs.17021

Categories : New Compounds and TreatmentsTags :

Antibodies May Hold The Key to Tooth Regeneration

On By ModernMedia

It may be possible to regenerate missing teeth using monoclonal antibodies, according to a new study by scientists at Kyoto University and the University of Fukui. 

The team reported that an antibody for one gene—uterine sensitisation associated gene-1 or USAG-1—can stimulate tooth growth in mice suffering from tooth agenesis, a congenital condition. The paper was published in Science Advances. Monoclonal antibodies are often used to treat cancers, arthritis, and vaccine development.

Although the normal adult mouth has 32 teeth, about 1% of the population has more or fewer due to congenital conditions; adults with too many teeth are of interest because they could hold genetic clues to tooth regeneration.

Katsu Takahashi, one of the lead authors of the study and a senior lecturer at the Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, said that the fundamental molecules responsible for tooth development have already been identified.

“The morphogenesis of individual teeth depends on the interactions of several molecules including BMP, or bone morphogenetic protein, and Wnt signaling,” said Takahashi.

BMP and Wnt are also involved in the development of organs when humans are mere embryos. This means that drugs directly affecting their activity are usually avoided, as side effects could impact the entire body. The team considered the gene USAG-1, as they guessed that it could be safer to target the factors that antagonise BMP and Wnt specifically in tooth development .

“We knew that suppressing USAG-1 benefits tooth growth. What we did not know was whether it would be enough,” added Takahashi.

The scientists therefore investigated the effects of several monoclonal antibodies for USAG-1. Since USAG-1 interacts with both BMP and Wnt, many of the antibodies resulted in poor birth and survival rates of mice, showing that BMP and Wnt are important for whole body growth. However one antibody managed to disrupt the interaction of USAG-1 with BMP only.

Experimentation showed that BMP signalling is necessary for the number of teeth in mice, and a single administration was enough to generate an entire tooth. The same effects were seen in ferrets.

“Ferrets are diphyodont animals with similar dental patterns to humans. Our next plan is to test the antibodies on other animals such as pigs and dogs,” explains Takahashi.

This is the first study to show the benefits of monoclonal antibodies on tooth regeneration, and offers new alternatives to implants.

“Conventional tissue engineering is not suitable for tooth regeneration. Our study shows that cell-free molecular therapy is effective for a wide range of congenital tooth agenesis,” concluded Manabu Sugai of the University of Fukui, another author of the study.

Source: Medical Xpress

Journal information: A. Murashima-Suginami et al, Anti–USAG-1 therapy for tooth regeneration through enhanced BMP signaling, Science Advances (2021). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.abf1798