Academic Stress May Lead to Bad Teeth

A new study builds, in a sense, on the work of 1996 Ig Nobel economics prize winner Dr. Robert Genco [pictured here] of the University of Buffalo. Dr. Genco was honored then for his discovery that “financial strain is a risk indicator for destructive periodontal disease.” The new study is:

“Academic stress as a risk factor for dental caries,” Cynthia Mejía-Rubalcava, Jorge Alanís-Tavira, Liliana Argueta-Figueroa, Alejandra Legorreta-Reyna, International Dental Journal, vol. 62, no. 3, June 2012, pp. 127-31. The authors, at the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico (UAEMex), Toluca, Mexico, report:

“Conclusions: Moderate to high levels of academic stress, younger age and lower salivary flow rate represent risk factors for the development of dental caries in students.”

(Thanks to investigator Sergio Uribe for bringing this to our attention.)

BONUS: And of course, there’s the possibly unrelated question of sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar

BONUS (unrelated): Headline from Bloomberg News, May 17, 2012: “Dental Abuse Seen Driven By Private Equity Investments“