No surprise then to learn that research is about to be launched in Germany into a possible link between gum disease and Alzheimer’s.
One hundred people at the University Hospital Muenster will be tested for bacteria related to periodontal disease, porphyromonas gingivalis, after previous post mortem studies found the bacteria in the brains of those with the disease but not in those without it. Researchers suspect the bacteria may trigger an immune response in the brain leading to inflammation and encouraging Alzheimer’s.
It seems that almost every disease and condition known to man is queuing up for its appointment to be ‘touched’ by the hitherto lightly-regarded gingival affliction and thereby connected to it. Alas poor caries we knew it well.
Shocking saliva
As well as hearing a lot about connections between periodontal and systemic health we are also bombarded with the facts around the health problems of an increasingly ageing society.
Dry mouth is a frequently occurring problem in this group of patients and so recent research could be about to give a helping hand in the form of a jolt of electricity to stimulate the salivary glands. A study published in the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Dentistry details a trial, based on 80 men and women aged between 20 and 50, which showed that 65 people had an increase in their flow of saliva following stimulation.
Although seemingly free of sideeffects one can’t help wondering how many older people would relish regular
electric shocks to help keep their mouths moist. I’ll report back in a few years’ time.
Back to basics
If all this high science proves too much, it is reassuring to know that there are still some basic treatments and common sense remedies to fall back on. Press coverage has been busy reporting a series of cases of DIY dentistry ranging from the fairly unremarkable self-administered temporary filling to a disastrous decoronation of a molar with a pair of motorcycle pliers.
However, if reliving pain during surgery is the requirement we apparently need look no further than our trusty mobile phones. Apparently the simple act of writing a text significantly reduces patients’ discomfort. An experiment carried out by team at LaSalle Hospital in Montreal found that patients who were texting during minor surgery were six times
less likely to need extra pain relief than those not using mobiles. Patients not using mobiles were also almost twice
as likely to receive additional pain relief as those who played Angry Birds. The discoverers of local anaesthetic must
be turning in their graves. Unless, of course, they have mobiles…