Today's Dental News

Scientists are now looking at one of the unique qualities of alligator teeth: the capability the animals have of regrowing their teeth.

At any time, they can have 80 teeth while producing 50 sets of replacement teeth. In their lifetime, they may go through more than 2,000 teeth. This ability to regrow teeth has given scientists the idea to study the way this process happens to aid people who encounter numerous dental issues.

Most vertebrates can replace teeth repeatedly but humans have only one replacement set. In analyzing the replacement process, the researchers will hope to create a way of regrowing human teeth. Alligators, like many other mammals, have teeth implanted in sockets in the jawbone and secondary plates.

Read more: Alligators May Help Some Human Dental Issues

Dental treatment—or a lack of it—has become a problem for pregnant women.

There are numerous reasons why pregnant women don’t get the dental care they need, including dentists who are hesitant to treat these patients, women who don’t seek oral care during pregnancy or women who think dental treatment will adversely affect the pregnancy. This is a problem because pregnancy itself may lead to dental issues, such as gum disease.

The information appeared in a recent New York Times article.

Read more: Pregnant Women Don’t Get Enough Dental Care

You may want to pay attention to what you eat this summer.

Dental experts want people to be informed that many popular summer foods can be harmful to your teeth. Many people may have some kind of tooth wear and may not even be aware of it, and the problem is exacerbated during the summer months.

In addition to things that most people know are harmful to your teeth (sugary drinks, soda and sweets), pickles may be a problem. Pickles can contain sugar and strong colorants that may alter a tooth’s color.

Read more: Dental Experts Warn People About Summer Eating

Your toothbrush is fine to use after having a sore throat.

There was recent speculation that it may be best to discard one’s toothbrush after having the flu or strep throat. But a study explained at the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting in Washington debunked that belief.

A group of researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston set out to study this issue.

To conduct the study, the research team attempted to grow group A Streptococcus, the bacteria associated with strep throat, on adult toothbrushes that were exposed to the bacteria in a laboratory. The bacteria were present on the toothbrushes for at least two full days.

Read more: Sore Throat Doesn’t Contaminate Toothbrush