Category: General Dentistry

Dental treatments like cavity fillings use a range of materials to ensure their effectiveness. However, the results are normally only a temporary fix, rather than a solution for life. Currently, efforts to improve the longevity of dental materials are ongoing, with researchers aiming to create longer-lasting materials. This could help to save money for both consumers and healthcare providers.

One of the major problems in dentistry currently is the fact that when we get treatments like cavities, a root canal treatment, or cosmetic dentistry like veneers, they are only temporary fixes.

While these temporary fixes will often last many years – ideally we would only require treatment once. In fact, the thought of repeated treatment can put some people off attending the dentist.

However, in positive news, research into making longer-lasting dental materials is ongoing [1]. Progress is being made, with the hope that the research will result in longer-lasting results.

The current situation

A large range of materials are needed in dentistry. For example, these materials can be used for cavity fillings, implants, in root canal treatments and veneers.

Common materials used in dental restorations include amalgam, zinc, resin, porcelain, zirconium, and bonding agents. This is by no means an exhaustive list, with a vast range used.

But while these materials do a great job of providing a fix, this is typically only a short-term measure. For example, research shows that cavity fillings last up to around 15 years, depending on the materials involved [2].

Therefore, the current situation does not provide lifetime solutions. This results in high costs for both consumers and healthcare providers. Resultingly, longer-lasting materials would make a huge difference!

Project CUPIID

In an effort to improve the current situation, The Department of Energy has set up an initiative which will provide $33.6million of funding to a team of researchers for “Project Cupiid” [1]. Project Cupiid stands for “Complex, Unique, and Powerful Imaging instrument for Dynamics” [1].

The project is bringing together chemists, physicists, engineers, bioengineers, and material scientists [1]. They hope to develop materials that can withstand the notoriously harsh conditions of the mouth.

There is an awareness among the researchers that this isn’t something that only dental researchers can create. This is why the multi-disciplinary approach is being taken [1].

By having this multi-disciplinary team, the researchers will be able to look at how different materials function within the human body. Combinations of materials will also be examined in an effort to produce the most effective and long-lasting materials.

The potential benefits

Dr. Fernando Esteban Florez of the University of Oklahoma’s College of Dentistry is a key figure in the ongoing research. Florez has said that the total cost saving for longer-lasting restoration materials would be approximately $5billion per year [1].

Cost is definitely the main benefit. Florez has pointed out that “the cost to fabricate these materials, the cost to replace restorations, the amount of time that the patient has to go to the dental office, the impacts in the oral health, those are huge” [1].

This would also mean less oral discomfort. For instance, for someone that has had a root canal treatment, they are likely to be in excruciating pain when the materials eventually fail. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to tell when this will be. Therefore, by having longer-lasting materials, this is less likely to happen.

Florez is reluctant to get too excited, instead saying that currently, “it’s very hard to pinpoint how revolutionary this is” [1]. But the hope is that in the long-term, researchers will look back at this project as a time that dentistry was revolutionized forever!

The researchers aim to produce positive results soon. Florez has said that the team would like to produce new products within the next 2 years [1]. This would surely provide a range of long-term benefits for patients, dental clinics, and dentistry as a whole.

Thinking points…

1) It can be easy to think that if you have had recent treatment, that you don’t need to return to the dentist again for a while. But as this research shows, dental treatments won’t last forever! Therefore, it is important to regularly attend your dentist for a check-up. A check-up will provide a dentist with a chance to take a look at your oral health and ensure everything is looking as it should. Remember not to get complacent – book an appointment now!

2) We mentioned above that it is difficult to know how long your dental treatments will last. However, there are things that you can do to try and boost the longevity of treatments. For example, if you have cavity fillings, eating hard foods, chewing aggressively, or ignoring the filling when brushing your teeth – can all make the life expectancy of the filling worsen. Remember to take good care of your teeth, as this can reduce the likelihood of further treatment being required.

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.

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. To try and prevent problems, it is important to brush your teeth at least twice a day and floss regularly.

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] Breasette, A. (2023). Revolution for dentistry, research for longer lasting dental materials. Available: https://kfor.com/news/local/revolution-for-dentistry-research-for-longer-lasting-dental-materials/. Last accessed: 9th September 2023.

[2] Jokstad, A. (2002). How long do fillings last?. Evidence-Based Dentistry. 3: p96-99. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ebd.6400146.

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.