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Mercury in dental amalgams may pose health risks to children, fetuses and pregnant women, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is warning. The FDA issued a statement, on its website Wednesday, about the potential dangers of dental amalgams. As part of a legal settlement reached Monday, the federal agency has agreed to release a new ruling on the safety of dental amalgams in July 2009, and alert consumers about potential related hazards. Consumer advocacy groups, including Moms Against Mercury, called for a ban on the fillings in the U.S. "Dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects on the...

FORWARD OPERATING BASE DELTA, Iraq, May 5, 2008 – Coalition forces conducted a medical assistance mission in Byda village, near Kut, Iraq, May 2. Capt. (Dr.) Frederico Gomez, a dentist with the Salvadoran Cuscatlan Battalion, extracts a tooth during a medical assistance mission in Byda village near Kut, Iraq, May 2, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Daniel T. West  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The mission is part of an outreach program to provide for outlying villages in Iraq’s Wasit province that have seen little or no coalition presence, said Army Lt. Col. Rob Jones, deputy team...

Fluoride exposure is rising and causing children’s tooth imperfections, ranging from white spots to brownish discolorations and pitting (fluorosis), dentist Elivir Dincer reports in the New York State Dental Journal. (1) “Such changes in the tooth’s appearance can affect the child’s self-esteem which makes early prevention that much more critical,” writes Dincer. Children, aged 2 to 7 years, can swallow about one-quarter milligram of fluoride with every brushing because their swallowing reflexes are not fully developed, reports Dincer. “Children from the age of 6-months to 3-years should not have more than one-quarter milligram of fluoride per day. Brushing the teeth...

Experimental chewy mint beats tooth decay 09th April 2008 A new chewable mint looks set to solve the worldwide problem of tooth decay. BasicMints is an experimental fluoride-free treatment designed to mimic a component in human saliva that neutralises acids in the mouth that can erode tooth enamel. US researchers tested the product on 200 children – aged between 10-and-a-half and 11 – over a year. The results show that children who were administered BasicMints had 62% fewer cavities in their molars when the year was up, compared to children in the placebo group. The research team, from New York's...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan, Jan. 11, 2008 – Afghan national security forces and coalition forces yesterday wrapped up a two-day operation that provided free medical and dental services to villagers in remote sections of the Nahr Surkh district in Afghanistan’s Helmand province. An Afghan woman receives medicine from a coalition medic after a checkup. Afghan and coalition forces offered free medical and dental services to villagers in remote sections of the Nahr Surkh district in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, Jan. 9–10, 2008. U.S. Army photo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The combined medical team treated more than 80 patients...

A recent Wealthy Dentist survey asked dentists who they would like to see win the upcoming US presidential election. Two out of three dentists responding to this survey said they would rather see a Republican in the Oval Office than a Democrat. Among the dentists surveyed, the Republican favorite was Mitt Romney, while Democrats prefer Hillary Clinton. Though this poll only surveyed dentists, the implications reach beyond the profession of dentistry. Dentists see over 30 million Americans each month, allowing them to both hear and influence people's opinions on a wide range of topics. Among the 71% of dentists who...

Falling numbers of state dentists in England has led to some people taking extreme measures, including extracting their own teeth, according to a new study released Monday. Others have used superglue to stick crowns back on, rather than stumping up for private treatment, said the study. One person spoke of carrying out 14 separate extractions on himself with pliers. More typically, a lack of publicly-funded dentists means that growing numbers go private: 78 percent of private patients said they were there because they could not find a National Health Service (NHS) dentist, and only 15 percent because of better treatment....

(snip) This academic year, because of a new state law, Sebastian and all other California children in their first year of school must get a dental checkup by May 31. Children will receive notices from their schools about the new requirement, which took effect Jan. 1. Any checkups in the 12 months before the child enters school also fulfill the requirement. "It's a great idea," said Sebastian's mother, Lourdes Contreras of Santa Clara, who said she, 4-year-old Sebastian and his 12-year-old sister have no health insurance despite her working three jobs. "There are a lot of people who don't take...

New York - May 2007 - Contrary to belief, fluoridation is damaging teeth with little cavity reduction, according to a review of recent studies reported in Clinical Oral Investigations.(1) Fluoride chemicals are added to 2/3 of U.S. water supplies in an attempt to reduce tooth decay and is in virtually 100% of the food supply. Yet, the Centers for Disease Control reports cavities are rising in our most fluoridated generation - toddlers. (1a) Pizzo and colleagues reviewed English-language fluoridation studiespublished from January 2001 to June 2006 and write, "Several epidemiological studies conducted in fluoridated and non-fluoridatedcommunities suggest that [fluoridation] may...

Nine students have been dismissed from the Indiana University School of Dentistry after a faculty council determined they cheated by improperly using passwords to open computer images before an examination. The school also suspended 16 students from the second-year class for periods ranging from three to 24 months because of their involvement and 21 students received letters of reprimand for not reporting the cheating, dental school Dean Lawrence Goldblatt said Monday.

Police: Unlicensed Dentist Operated on Immigrants Last Update:5/2/2007 12:24:51 PM Web Editor: Bernie O'Donnell CARROLLTON, Ga. (AP) -- Authorities have arrested an illegal immigrant on charges that he ran an unlicensed dental practice out of his home in Carrollton. Ernesto Estrado is accused of performing procedures on hundreds of illegal immigrants who were too afraid to go to a licensed dentist. Authorities say the man used pliers, box cutters and etching blades he bought at a hardware store to pull teeth, fill cavities and create dentures. Authorities searched his home and found prescription painkillers, hypodermic needles and a ledger that...

In a letter submitted to me by a student requesting more info on the effects of soda on teeth: "To Whom it May Concern: Hello. My name is LN and I am an 8th grade student in NJ. This year for my science project, I am studying how soda affects teeth. For my research, I was hoping that I would be able to ask a dentist some questions about soda and teeth. I was wondering if you could take a few minutes and answer my questions. I would really appreciate it. My questions are: 1. What is your area of...

Our dental system in crisis SARAH HALL 05 December 2006 10:29 NHS dentistry in Norfolk has reached crisis point with dentists leaving the profession because they believe quality care is no longer being delivered to patients. The controversial new dental contract, introduced in April this year, has caused dentists and patients to go private over fears the cost of dental appointments would rise and patients would be seen less often. Figures from the Strategic Health Authority show 27 out of 143 dental contracts offered in the county were rejected - but that number is set to rise in the coming...

Dental Detectives Reveal Diet of Ancient Human Ancestors Sean Markey for National Geographic News November 9, 2006 Paranthropus robustus, a dead-end branch of the early human family tree, has been described as a "chewing machine" that was mostly jaws and not much brains. While the label may still apply, pioneering dental detective work has revealed unexpected news about the species' dietary variety. Using lasers to vaporize tiny particles of tooth enamel, researchers in the United States and Great Britain analyzed the chemical makeup of 1.8-million-year-old fossil teeth from four individuals unearthed in the Swartkrans cave site in South Africa. Different...

ROCHDALE, England, May 2 — "I snapped it out myself," said William Kelly, 43, describing his most recent dental procedure, the autoextraction of one of his upper teeth. Now it is a jagged black stump, and the pain gnawing at Mr. Kelly's mouth has transferred itself to a different tooth, mottled and rickety, on the other side of his mouth. "I'm in the middle of pulling that one out, too," he said. It is easy to be mean about British teeth. Mike Myers's mouth is a joke in itself in the "Austin Powers" movies. In a "Simpsons" episode, dentalphobic children...

In joint Iraqi-U.S. dental assessment and care clinic, medics evaluated and treated patients of all ages. BAGHDAD, May 1, 2006 — A smile can light up one’s face and now, after a joint Iraqi Army and U.S. Army dental clinic, more than 200 Iraqis have a reason to smile. "[We are] concentrating on dental support. It allows us to give something back to the community." U.S. Army Special Forces medic Iraqi Army troops, along with U.S. Special Forces medics, civil affairs and 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division soldiers, recently traveled to a school in Amu Shabi, Iraq, to...

MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (March 30, 2006) -- Many reservists volunteer to join the military knowing that at anytime they can be activated. No matter what, they are trained and ready to join the fight at a moment’s notice. For one dentist with 2nd Dental Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, joining the fight meant giving up his private dental practice, but serving a nation he felt indebted to was more important to him. Lieutenant Cmdr. Chat Pongsugree, born in Bangkok, Thailand, came to America in 1980 in search of a better future. “This country is the greatest country...

I need prayer for my family. My wife needs an emergency root canal. I lost my job last year and work 2 jobs now but have no benefits. We have tremendous faith but we're up against the wall on how to fund this because of the suddeness of the situation. I seem to be in that income area where I make too much for assistance but not enough in real life for contingenies like this. We lost a lot of stuff the past year but are closer than ever as a family. Not a sensational story but I know there...

Dentists Are Fluoride Misinformed New York – February 1 -- Bottled water does NOT contribute to tooth decay despite dentists scientifically unverifiable cautions disseminated through the media. Studies actually show the opposite. America’s children are fluoride-overdosed, it’s ruining their teeth and researchers advise cutting back. The Centers for Disease Control reports from 1/3 to 1/2 of U.S. schoolchildren sport dental fluorosis1 – white-spotted, discolored and/or sometimes pitted teeth, caused by fluoride over-ingestion. The Academy of General Dentistry advises against fluoridated water for infant formula or food preparation because many studies show this ups children’s fluorosis risk.2 The U.S. Surgeon General...

Migrant farm workers flow into Salinas, Calif., during the lettuce-harvesting season, just as once portrayed, long ago, by novelist John Steinbeck. The difference is that now, the workers come to California's Central Valley from central Mexico, not the Oklahoma dust bowl, as in "The Grapes of Wrath." And although they are in the United States illegally, have no money or health insurance and don't speak English, they do have access to consistent medical and dental care, as a result of a new wireless networking initiative, experts tell United Press International's Networking. By Gene Koprowski