DALLAS, March 29, 2011 – Inflammation, oral disease and systemic disease. The popular press—newspapers, magazines, TV, and the Internet— as well as professional medical and dental publications are tracking the subject and the number of articles is increasing with each passing day. To keep up with the proliferation of research studies and publications, a new website, dentalANTIOXIDANTS.com provides background information and current research.
In response to the heightened interest in the high-potential topic, the American Academy for Oral Systemic Health (AAOSH) was recently organized. Declaring 2011 as “The Year of the Mouth,” the AAOSH writes on its website, “In recent years the studies have been piling up connecting poor oral health to the deadliest of diseases including heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. Oral health problems have also been shown to have close connections to many other serious health concerns like Alzheimer’s, arthritis, pneumonia and pregnancy complications.”
The role of antioxidants
A primary focus of dentalANTIOXIDANTS.com is the role of antioxidants in controlling inflammation and oral disease. The sections within the dentalANTIOXIDANTS.com website include: The Oral/Systemic Link, Oxidative Stress and Oral Health, Free Radicals in the Oral Cavity, and Antioxidants and Oral Health. Specific areas of interest on the site include the relationships between oral and systemic health, between infection and chronic inflammatory disease, and between cardiovascular disease and inflammation, as well as the specific connection between periodontal disease and cardiovascular disease. The site will also feature research in biochemistry regarding the sources and uses of antioxidants, their reactivity with other organic compounds, and their effects on organic systems including oral cells.
Distinguished advisory board
The principal supervisor for the dentalANTIOXIDANTS.com website is Kathy Svoboda, PhD, Regents Professor, Department of Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M Health Science Center, Baylor College of Dentistry. “Our ongoing objective,” says Dr. Svoboda, “is to ensure that we identify and evaluate as much of the emerging research as possible and make it available on this site.” She notes that other scientists and scholars at Baylor College of Dentistry are involved in the massive project of reviewing all the possibly relevant research.
Some of the nation’s most prominent practitioners in dentistry and medicine have agreed to serve on the dentalANTIOXIDANTS.com advisory board. These thought leaders will act as advisors and be involved in writing and in article review. “We are grateful to have such an esteemed group of scientists and practitioners serving on the advisory board,” says Dr. Svoboda. “Their willingness to serve underscores the importance of antioxidant research.”
Presently, the dentalANTIOXIDANTS.com advisory board includes:
Edward Allen, DDS, PhD, Adjunct Professor in the Department of Periodontics at Baylor College of Dentistry and is in full-time private practice in Dallas. Dr. Allen has served as President of the American Academy of Esthetic Dentistry, the American Academy of Restorative Dentistry and the American Academy of Periodontology Foundation.
Bruce Bowers, MD, FACC, an interventional cardiologist. He is Co-Director, Vascular Clinical Research Division and Principal Investigator, Peripheral Vascular Clinical Trials at The Heart Hospital/Baylor Regional Medical Center. In addition, he is a Co-Investigator for the PARTNER trial (Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement) at Medical City Dallas Hospital.
Karen Davis, RDH, BSDH, founder of Cutting Edge Concepts®, an international continuing education company. She has served on numerous advisory boards in the profession and has been recognized as one of the “Leaders in Continuing Education” in Dentistry Today for several years.
Casey Hein, BSDH, MBA, Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Periodontics, and Director of Education of the International Centre for Oral-Systemic Health, in the Faculty of Dentistry; and Assistant Professor in the Office of Continued Professional Development, and Director of Interprofessional Development, in the Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba. In these positions, she is developing the first comprehensive, multi-media curriculum specifically related to oral-systemic relationships for non-dental healthcare providers.
Harald O. Heymann, DDS, MEd, is the past Chairman and Graduate Program Director of the Department of Operative Dentistry and currently is Professor of Operative Dentistry at the University of North Carolina School of Dentistry.
John C. Kois, DMD, MSD, maintains a private practice limited to Prosthodontics in Tacoma and Seattle and is an Affiliate Professor in the Graduate Restorative Program at the University of Washington. He lectures nationally and internationally, is a reviewer for many journals and is the Editor in Chief for The Compendium of Continuing Education in Dentistry.
Samuel B. Low, DDS, MS, MEd, Professor Emeritus, University of Florida, College of Dentistry; and associate faculty member of the Pankey with 30 years of private practice experience in periodontics and implant placement. He is also a Diplomat of the American Board of Periodontology and President of the American Academy of Periodontology. He is a Past President of the Florida Dental Association and presently 17th district ADA Trustee.
Salvador Nares, DDS, PhD, Graduate Program Director of the Department of Periodontology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, School of Dentistry. His research has been supported by NIH, UNC, and the American Academy of Implant Dentistry among others.
Trisha E. O’Hehir, RDH, MS, has more than 30 years experience as a clinical hygienist and educator in private practices in the United States and Zurich, Switzerland, and has held faculty positions at the University of Minnesota, University of Washington, and University of Arizona. She is an international lecturer, , Editorial Director of Hygienetown magazine/online community, editor of Perio Reports Newsletter, co-founder of Perio-Data Company, and former consulting editor for RDH magazine.
Rebecca Wilder, RDH, MS, Professor and Director of Faculty Development at The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry. She also serves as Director of the Master of Science Degree Program in Dental Hygiene Education and she is the Interim Director of the undergraduate dental hygiene programs. She has served as chair of the ADHA Institute for Oral Health Research Grant Review Committee, the ADHA Council on Research and president of the Oral Health Research Group of the International Association of Dental Research.
Dr. Kathy Svoboda has an extensive background in developmental and cell biology, with specific training and expertise in signal transduction. Her own research has focused on an especially promising area of investigation—the formation of free radicals in oral cells and the effectiveness of specific combinations of antioxidants to neutralize the free radicals. As the principal investigator on several previous university and privately funded grants, she designed experiments to determine effective antioxidant combinations that counteract the effects of oral stressors (nicotine, ethanol, H2O2, or dental materials) in a variety of cell based and animal assays. One study was recently published in the Journal of Periodontology titled “Antioxidants counteract nicotine and promote migration via RacGTP in oral fibroblast cells.” Her research has been supported by NIH, NSF, March of Dimes, and the Baylor Oral Health Foundation.
Full biographies of the advisory board members are available on the dentalANTIOXIDANT.com website.
Emerging research on topical antioxidants
Antioxidants are a promising technology for addressing inflammation in the oral tissues, and several research studies are underway. Two scholarly review articles published in 2011, have surveyed the field of research studies regarding antioxidants and oral tissues. Both articles, “Reactive Oxygen Species and Antioxidant Defense Mechanisms in the Oral Cavity: A Literature Review” and “Use of Antioxidants in Oral Healthcare,” can be accessed on the dentalANTIOXIDANTS.com website: www.dentalantioxidants.com/antioxidants-and-oral-health.
Within the body of research on antioxidants, a recent development is topical application of antioxidant compounds. This new technology, which is based on natural compounds, is part of a growing consumer demand for natural products for oral care. It is expected that several new oral care products based on advanced topical antioxidant technology will be brought to market in the coming months.
