The 3-D printing revolution gets most of the attention, but 3-D carving has already added a very real bite to modern healthcare. Dentists (and engineers) are leading the way. A considerable number of people are strolling the streets, smiling, chewing the fat, and eating lunch — sporting dental crowns made through a process of 3-D scanning and then 3-D milling. The […]
Tag: Teeth
Grills, ‘Grillz’ and dental hygiene implications
“Some celebrities have been flashing more than clean, white teeth at their fans. Under the spotlight, the glint from their mouths comes from ‘grills’ or ‘grillz,’ decorative covers often made of gold, silver or jewel-encrusted precious metals that snap over one or more of their teeth.“ The quote comes from an article in The Journal […]
A newly patented use for old new teeth
If you’ve ever been at a loss for ideas when it comes to finding a use for a child’s discarded primary teeth – a new US patent (#8661849) provides suggestions (though you might want to check with the inventor as to royalty arrangements for using his invention): “The invention discloses jewelry made of disinfected, pulverized […]
To drink smoothies if you have teeth, or not to…
Does one dare to drink a smoothie, if one has one or more teeth? A recent investigation bears on that question: “The effects of smoothies on enamel erosion: an in situ study,” Hanein Ali, D. Clin. Dent thesis, 2012, University of Leeds. The author reports: “Conclusion: Smoothies are acidic and have high TA levels. Innocent® […]
Headline of the day: Less-controversial urine-derived teeth
Today’s Headline of the Day appears in Medical Daily: Scientists Develop Urine Grown Teeth, Claiming Urine Is Less Controversial Source Of Stem Cells Than Embryos The article goes on to begin to explain: In the quest for regenerative medicine, a Chinese research team has found a novel way of growing human teeth, from stem cells […]
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 […]
Toothaker restores lost teeth
A University of Nebraska Medical Center press release (from 2002) tells the happy news about a dauntingly-named dentist: Randy Toothaker, D.D.S., center, holds an articulator, which allows a restorative dentist to study a patient’s replicated jaw movements in order to accurately design and fabricate a prostheses upon dental implants. In 2011, Dr. Toothaker is still […]
Use Caution When Using Teeth to Castrate Lambs
Lamb castration is not always the idyllic pastime that some people may think it is. The Centers for Disease Control issued the following alert: “Notes from the Field: Campylobacter jejuni Infections Associated with Sheep Castration — Wyoming, 2011“, Clay Van Houten, MS, Karl Musgrave, DVM, Kelly Weidenbach, MPH, Tracy Murphy, MD, Wanda Manley, MS, Wyoming […]
Teeth clenching and mathematics
New research from Japan suggests that there may be no harm in refraining from teeth-clenching whilst performing mathematical tasks. This finding is presented as a result of recent experiments at the Department of Fixed Prosthodontics, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Osaka, Japan. Twenty healthy participants performed four sets of hundred-square calculations as a mental […]
Climate change and castration
Lead Sentence of the Week honors go to Alister Doyle of Reuters, whose news report begins: Indigenous Sami peoples in the Arctic may have found a way to help their reindeer herds cope with climate change: more castration. (Thanks to investigator John Karp for bringing this to our attention.) Further detail appears in a pair […]