Author: savannadental

Tooth sensitivity is a very common problem that causes issues for many people. In an effort to combat this problem, a team of researchers have developed a new dental lozenge, which aims to provide a permanent fix for tooth sensitivity. Their research involves a peptide-based solution, which could have a very positive impact on oral health. This research has the potential to help many people around the world.

If you were to ask a group of people what the most annoying part of eating or drinking is, it is almost certain that at least one person would mention tooth sensitivity.

Tooth sensitivity involves a tooth, or teeth, to become sensitive – typically to cold or hot food or drink. This causes discomfort and is normally a sign of a dental problem.

However, new research has helped to develop a dental lozenge that has the potential to lessen or even eliminate tooth sensitivity [1]. This discovery could transform the approach towards treating tooth sensitivity entirely.

What is tooth sensitivity?

Tooth sensitivity is a common issue that involves a painful sensation when a person drinks or eats something hot or cold. It doesn’t necessarily need to be anything unhealthy – with even a cold glass of water being capable of triggering the pain.

This painful sensation develops overtime, with acids (caused by sugar and bacteria) wearing away at tooth enamel. Therefore, this causes a process of demineralization, which leaves the tooth’s hard exterior defenceless, exposing the roots and nerves.

Research shows that tooth sensitivity affects at least 12% of American adults [2]. The same research found that tooth sensitivity affects those aged 18 to 44 the most [2].

Tooth sensitivity: The problem

Dentist Sami Dogan is a Professor of Restorative Dentistry at the University of Washington and served as one of the authors of the research [3].

When introducing the issue, Dogan has said that in 30 years of practice, problems like cavities and dental implants have become routine. However, the main problem his patients have is teeth sensitivity [3].

Dogan says “we see patients with hypersensitive teeth, but we can’t really help them” [3]. He has pointed out that most existing treatments focus on treating the symptoms, rather than “addressing the root cause” [3]. Therefore, existing treatments do not provide a solution, instead a temporary fix is provided at best.

The Research

Because of this problem, Dogan and a team of researchers sought to find a treatment that could address the root cause of tooth sensitivity. Their findings were published in the ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering Journal [1].

As mentioned above, tooth sensitivity is linked to the process of demineralization. With this in mind, the researchers sought to reverse this loss, with the belief that this could be a permanent fix for this issue. To do this, they designed their solution to be molecularly biomimetic – which made it resemble the molecular process which develops teeth [1].

The protein amelogenin is key in the natural development of human teeth [1]. The researchers used peptide, which is a derivative of emelogenin. Peptide is a short chain of amino acids [1].

The researchers tailored the peptide for it to latch onto calcium and phosphate ions, which are the main components of tooth mineral. Therefore, this combination can help to build new mineral microlayers on teeth.

Then, the researchers found that when new mineral microlayers were applied to the teeth, that this protected the tooth nerves. Therefore, this can result in tooth sensitivity either disappearing entirely or significantly lessening [1].

The research was able to produce a solution that built new mineral microlayers that are capable of penetrating deep into the tooth. Therefore, this helps to create an effective and long-lasting natural protection [1].

While having this solution is excellent, the next question concerns how it could be administered. The researchers suggested that the solution could be integrated into almost any type of product!

For example, this may include a dental lozenge – which would be their preferred approach. For upcoming trials, they aim to use lozenges at first [1].

Furthermore, the researchers also suggested that formulations like toothpaste, mouthwash, dental gels and even tooth whitening products could have the solution integrated within them [1].

What this means

These findings are very positive and exciting, especially given how many people suffer from tooth sensitivity. It is something that can put people off drinking or eating.

The researchers have high hopes for the future. They want to provide easily accessible relief for everyone worldwide that suffers from tooth sensitivity [1].

Lead author Deniz T. Yucesoy commented on the findings. Yucesoy said that the research created technology that “forms the same minerals found in the tooth, including enamel, cementum and dentin alike, which had dissolved previously through demineralization and caused sensitivity” [3].

Explaining how the sensitivity stops, Yucesoy said that “the newly formed mineral microlayers close the communication channels with the tooth nerves”, which means sensitivity “shouldn’t be an issue” due to the technology [3].

This research is certainly very promising and should have a very positive impact on the oral health of patients around the world. Hopefully the solution will fulfil its potential!

Thinking points…

1) As mentioned above, tooth sensitivity very common. Do you have sensitive teeth? If so, don’t suffer in silence, as help is available! Make sure that you mention your tooth sensitivity at your next dental appointment so that your dentist can take a look to see if there is a problem that can be fixed. We recommend booking an appointment as soon as possible!

2) We’ve spoken above about how there is help available for sensitive teeth. However, we need to remember that the focus should always be on prevention! One of the most effective ways of avoiding sensitive teeth is cleaning your teeth regularly and flossing. Another crucial thing to do is to attend regular dental check-ups, as this provides a dentist with a chance to take a comprehensive look at your oral health and suggest treatments if needed. Remember to book an appointment soon!

What we offer at Savanna Dental

Savanna Dental is a Calgary dental clinic that provide its patients with a wide range of dental treatment options and advice aimed at improving their oral health.

It is crucial to brush your teeth at least twice a day and to floss regularly. Moreover, eating healthily and trying to avoid sugary foods and drink is important.

We advise our patients to attend our Calgary-based dental clinic twice a year for a regular dental check-up. When problems are detected, we have many treatments available. For instance, these include cavity fillings and root canals.

Here at Savanna Dental, we also have some cosmetic treatments available! These include dental implants, tooth whitening and Invisalign™! Many people find that these treatments have a positive impact on their appearance, confidence and self-esteem.

In addition, all of our services at our Calgary dental clinic Savanna Dental are in line with the Alberta Dental Fee Guide.

We would love you to visit our Savanna Dental clinic in Calgary! You can find out more about us by visiting our website https://savannadentalclinic.ca.

References

[1] Yucesoy, D. T., Fong, H., Hamann, J., Hall, E., Dogan, S., & Sarikaya, M. (2023). Biomimetic Dentin Repair: Amelogenin-Derived Peptide Guides Occlusion and Peritubular Mineralization of Human Teeth. ACS Biomaterials: Science & Engineering. 9 (3): p1486-1495. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/acsbiomaterials.2c01039.

[2] Cunha-Cruz, J., Wataha, J. C., Heaton, L. J., Rothen, M., Sobieraj, M., Scott, J., & Berg, J. (2013). The prevalence of dentin hypersensitivity in general dental practices in the northwest United States. The Journal of the American Dental Association. 144 (3): p288-296. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14219%2Fjada.archive.2013.0116.

[3] Woods, A. (2023). Dental lozenge could provide permanent treatment for tooth sensitivity. Available: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2023-07-dental-lozenge-permanent-treatment-tooth.html. Last accessed: 13th July 2023.

The Institute for Research on Public Policy have provided a series of recommendations to the Canadian Federal Government in regards to the National Dental Care Plan. They have some concerns with the current trajectory of the plan and have argued a universal care plan approach would be more beneficial.

The Institute for Research on Public Policy (IRPP) have voiced concerns over the current state of dental care in Canada, which involves reservations about the dental benefit [1].

These concerns have resulted in the IRPP calling for a universal dental care plan for Canadians, among other recommendations [1]. The IRPP have argued that adopting this approach would result in a bigger benefit to the oral health of Canadians.

What is the IRPP?

The IRPP is an organization that aims to combine research and public policy to improve the lives of Canadians [2]. They aim to provide insight and influence debate on some of the policy issues facing Canadians.

Their concerns over the state of dental care in Canada are based on research and insights, and takes into account all Canadians, including those with barriers to dental care.

IRPP’s comments on the dental plan

On their website, the IRPP have produced some findings in regards to their research into the state of dental care in Canada [2]. This research involved taking into account 75 studies, policies, court cases and other material, providing the organization with a wealth of information to draw their findings [1].

The IRPP have referred to Canada as a “laggard” when it comes to providing public funding for dental care [1]. By saying this, they are suggesting Canada is behind the times when it comes to dental care funding.

However, the IRPP have noted that the federal government’s proposed Canadian Dental Care Plan has the potential to change this [1]. Currently, the plan is in its early stages – taking the form of a benefit rather than a full plan.

The federal government pledged a $13billion contribution to implement the dental plan over a five-year period [1]. The plan will help families whose income is below $90,000 per year. Currently, children aged under 12 are benefiting from the plan. However, by 2025, all Canadians will have access to the dental plan [1].

The IRPP also note that the federal government has committed to spending a minimum of $250million over a three year period from 2025 in order to establish the Oral Health Access Fund [1]. Therefore, this will allow the government to invest in programs that would support the oral health of vulnerable populations.

The IRPP’s recommendations

The IRPP have pointed out that this is a “major step forward” in the federal government’s attempts to reform dental care in the country [1]. Therefore, they have acknowledged the existing efforts.

However, the IRPP have argued that there are many problems with the “payer of last resort model” that the government has opted to use [1]. Moreover, they argue that this will result in “inefficiencies” and a lack of “equitable access” to dental care.

The IRPP have suggested that there are alternative ways of achieving the reforms – including methods that don’t alienate certain members of society. Therefore, the IRPP have pointed to four factors that should help guide Canada’s dental care reform [1]:

• Universality

• Fairness

• Accessibility

• Accountability

The IRPP have argued that once these four factors are taken into account, that there are various options to take [1]. The IRPP have pointed out that the government opted to choose a cash payment at first. However, the IRPP have called for a move towards providing universal dental care coverage for essential dental services [1].

They have argued that a national agency – which would be funded by the federal government – should be launched which would provide universal dental coverage [1]. Furthermore, the IRPP have suggested that such a move would be in keeping with Canada’s constitutional division of powers and would be an effective way of broadening access to dental care for all across Canada.

The IRPP have suggested the national agency would be able to collect data to ensure accessibility is being achieved, along with quality of care [1].

What next?

It is clear that oral healthcare in Canada causes substantial debate across the nation. The IRPP have offered their opinions, backed by the large amount of research undertaken.

The federal government continue to work out ways of implementing the dental care plan and will surely note these recommendations when deciding the next stage of the rollout. But we do know that discussion over the dental plan is far from over.

Thinking points…

1) One of the leading causes of a dental plan being needed is that many people find the cost of oral healthcare too high. However, here at our Calgary-based dental clinic [clinic name], our fees are set in line with the Alberta Dental Fee Guide. Therefore, this makes our prices fully transparent, reliable, and competitive. If you wanted to find out more about us, why not visit our website https://savannadentalclinic.ca? We would love to see you at our Calgary dental clinic soon!

2) Whether you have dental coverage or not, remember it is very important to have at least two check-ups per year. Dental check-ups give a dentist a chance to have a thorough look at your oral health. Therefore, they can provide advice, information and treatment options if needed. We strongly recommend that you book your next appointment soon!

What we offer at Savanna Dental

Savanna Dental is a Calgary dental clinic that provide its patients with a wide range of dental treatment options and advice aimed at improving their oral health.

It is crucial to brush your teeth at least twice a day and to floss regularly. Moreover, eating healthily and trying to avoid sugary foods and drink is important.

We advise our patients to attend our Calgary-based dental clinic twice a year for a regular dental check-up. When problems are detected, we have many treatments available. For instance, these include cavity fillings and root canals.

Here at Savanna Dental, we also have some cosmetic treatments available! These include dental implants, tooth whitening and Invisalign™! Many people find that these treatments have a positive impact on their appearance, confidence and self-esteem.

In addition, all of our services at our Calgary dental clinic Savanna Dental are in line with the Alberta Dental Fee Guide.

We would love you to visit our Savanna Dental clinic in Calgary! You can find out more about us by visiting our website https://savannadentalclinic.ca.

References

[1] Flood, C. M., Allin, S., Lazin, S. J., Marchildon, G., Oliver, P., & Quinonez, C. (2023). Toward a Universal Dental Care Plan: Policy Options for Canada. Available: https://irpp.org/research-studies/toward-a-universal-dental-care-plan-policy-options-for-canada/. Last accessed: 30th June 2023.

[2] Institute for Research on Public Policy. (2023). About the IRPP. Available: https://irpp.org/about-the-irpp/. Last accessed: 30th June 2023.

ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence software is slowly becoming a major part of our lives. Therefore, ChatGPT’s impact on various industries is being scrutinized. This includes the field of dentistry. Now, a research team has looked into the impact of ChatGPT on dentistry, finding that there are both positive and negatives to its use in the industry.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is gradually becoming a bigger part of day-to-day life. In fact, more and more industries are starting to leverage AI to achieve faster and more effective processes and results.

The best-known AI model is ChatGPT – which within two months of its launch was being used by over 100million users [1]! Therefore, this made ChatGPT the fastest-growing application in history.

ChatGPT has the potential to help many industries. However, it has been questioned whether or not this extends to dentistry. Now, new research has looked into the impact of ChatGPT on dentistry [2].

What is ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is a chatbot that is owned by OpenAI – who themselves are backed by Microsoft. The chatbot is used around the world. ChatGPT is capable of generating essays, jokes, articles or general knowledge – when prompted. The user will write a prompt into a search box, before the chatbot returns an answer.

The popularity of ChatGPT is staggering. To put it into context, as mentioned, ChatGPT attracted over 100million users within two months – something that took TikTok nine months and Instagram over 2 years to achieve [1].

However, there has been some controversy over ChatGPT. There are concerns over how it could be misused to facilitate misinformation and plagiarism from students in education [1]. These concerns extend to dentistry.

The Research

A team of researchers looked to see how ChatGPT and dentistry combined. Their findings were published in the Cureus Journal of Medical Science [2].

The researchers aimed to see if ChatGPT could be used as “an outstanding instance of large language models in the fields of public dental health schooling, writing for academic use, research in public dental health, and clinical practice in public dental health based on the available data” [2].

To do this, they used 21 past research papers that had been published between March 2018 and March 2023 [2]. These research papers were vetted to ensure they included data on the link between AI and dentistry [2]. Therefore, this would provide the researchers with a strong understanding of the link between these two areas.

The researchers were looking to see if there were consistent patterns across these research papers. These consistencies would help them to draw conclusions on this topic.

Key findings

The researchers reached a conclusion that praised ChatGPT, but also warned of some potential issues. Yet predominantly, the researchers suggested the findings were positive.

The main finding was that while ChatGPT offers many advantages to public health in dentistry, it shouldn’t replace traditional dentistry, nor should it be entirely relied on. This is especially applicable when it comes to decision making.

The researchers were interested to see if ChatGPT could evaluate medical understanding and logic at the level needed to provide understanding to members of the public [2]. Indeed, the researchers found that ChatGPT was able to provide simple explanations, which can benefit the knowledge of patients.

The research also focused on the implications of ChatGPT on academia. For example, the researchers cautioned that students need to be aware that ChatGPT is not entirely accurate and may provide factual errors [2].

The researchers suggested that programme directors at Universities will need to be aware of ChatGPT and how it can assist in the creation of student essays and assignments [1]. Therefore, being extra vigilant towards plagiarism is crucial.

The researchers found that ChatGPT only has limited effectiveness when it comes to providing the creation of academic writing. There were some positives – such as it being a time-effective approach to writing and offering a good structure to arguments [2]. However, they found that ChatGPT offered a lack of citations and real-world examples – two key elements of academia [2].

When creating their own research papers, the researchers did find that ChatGPT was capable of providing benefits like interpreting data quickly, offering cohesive arguments and rephrasing complex scientific data [2]. With this in mind, the researchers did suggest that ChatGPT has the “potential to be revolutionary” in the future [2].

The importance of dentists

The results of the study affirm the importance of visiting a dental clinic and receiving the professional opinion of a dentist. Otherwise, incorrect decisions could be made. Moreover, ChatGPT does not provide the individualized patient care that a dentist can provide.

Many are worried that patients will seek assistance through ChatGPT rather than through the proper channels. But opinions by AI do not constitute professional medical advice.

The researchers have stated that they hope the public continues to attend dental clinics so that they receive the most successful treatment outcomes [1]. AI cannot replace professional decision-making.

So while ChatGPT can be useful in some scenarios, it cannot replace dentists. After all, physical treatments can only be done by dentists, who are professionally trained to carry out procedures. Visiting a dental clinic will continue to be a crucial part of maintaining and strengthening oral health.

Thinking points…

1) As mentioned above, ChatGPT has some positives, but it cannot replace a dentist’s professional judgment. Therefore, remember to attend regular dental appointments, as this provides a dentist with a chance to analyze your oral health and look for any potential problems. This is not something that ChatGPT is capable of doing! We recommend that you book an appointment now!

2) Some people are turning to ChatGPT for queries on basic health problems. While this can definitely be positive, it can sometimes underestimate problems you are facing. For example, if you are having oral health problems like toothache or gum problems, ChatGPT may downplay its potential consequences. Therefore, remember to speak to your dentist regularly, as they will provide accurate information and guidance.

What we offer at Savanna Dental

Savanna Dental is a Calgary dental clinic that provide its patients with a wide range of dental treatment options and advice aimed at improving their oral health.

It is crucial to brush your teeth at least twice a day and to floss regularly. Moreover, eating healthily and trying to avoid sugary foods and drink is important.

We advise our patients to attend our Calgary-based dental clinic twice a year for a regular dental check-up. When problems are detected, we have many treatments available. For instance, these include cavity fillings and root canals.

Here at Savanna Dental, we also have some cosmetic treatments available! These include dental implants, tooth whitening and Invisalign™! Many people find that these treatments have a positive impact on their appearance, confidence and self-esteem.

In addition, all of our services at our Calgary dental clinic Savanna Dental are in line with the Alberta Dental Fee Guide.

We would love you to visit our Savanna Dental clinic in Calgary! You can find out more about us by visiting our website https://savannadentalclinic.ca.

References

[1] Hu, K. (2023). ChatGPT sets record for fastest-growing user base – analyst note. Available: https://www.reuters.com/technology/chatgpt-sets-record-fastest-growing-user-base-analyst-note-2023-02-01/. Last accessed: 16th June 2023.

[2] Tiwari, A., Kumar, A., Jain, S., Dhull, K. S., Sajjanar, A., Puthenkandathil, R., Paiwal, K., & Singh, R. (2023). Implications of ChatGPT in Public Health Dentistry: A Systematic Review. Cureus Journal of Medical Science. 15 (6): e40367. DOI: https://www.doi.org/10.7759/cureus.40367.