Having A Good Chew Could Save £Billions Worldwide

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”
By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield
Having A Good Chew Could Save £Billions Worldwide

Hello again. I hope that you are well. Phew, in the middle of a heat wave as I write this. It’s been that hot that the glue holding my wife’s car registration on had melted and it had dropped down. Thought that there was something wrong with my eyes at first! Glad we have some air-conditioning at work. Missed quite a bit of it though as was in a lecture theatre at a little conference on Digital Dentistry.


Staggering, I Didn’t Know That

Now, according to The World Health Organisation tooth decay and oral diseases rank fourth among the most expensive global health conditions to treat, according to the World Health Organization. While tooth decay is largely preventable, it still affects 60-90% of schoolchildren and nearly all adults globally.

Chewing just one additional piece of sugar-free gum each day could save £3.3 billion worldwide on dental expenditures from treating tooth decay, according to a new study published in the American Journal of Dentistry. WOW!!


Some Fairly Local People Involved As Well


The study, a first of its kind globally, was funded by Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company and independently conducted by the Institute of Empirical Health Economics in Germany (IFEG) with input from an international scientific steering committee comprised of thought-leaders in dental and public health and economics, including Prof Elizabeth Kay of Peninsula Dental School, Plymouth University Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry.

I find this incredible: Researchers modelled a potential decrease in dental care costs from tooth decay for 25 industrialised countries including the UK. The study follows a piece of research in 2016 which revealed that the NHS could save up to £8.2 million per annum if all twelve year olds in the UK were to increase their chewing of sugar-free gum. Conducted by the York Health Economics Consortium and Peninsula Dental School, Plymouth University, with funding from Wrigley, the study was an initial exploration into the potential cost savings that chewing of sugar-free gum could bring.


I’m Salivating Already

I’m only joking. You’ll see how it fits in. When we chew gum it stimulates salivary flow. Saliva is great stuff as it help clear away food debris, neutralise acid and is a source of calcium and phosphate for tooth repair after acid damage. It also is great for dissolving and clearing away sugar from the mouth, which causes decay. So when you look at it on this level you can why it can be really beneficial.


Sugar Free Is Key

Sugar free gum is the key. There’s no point in shoving sugar in to try and stop tooth decay. No, the best one that is even more beneficial than “normal” sugar free gum is one that contains only Xylitol as the sweetener. This stuff is great. In it’s own right and in it’s own special way it can reduce tooth decay. You can buy it for baking etc. A word of warning though, it can be a laxative if you have quite a bit. It’s good in sugar free mints/sweets for people with dry mouths and a high tooth decay rate.

All Change At Hull City

So, a new division, a new manager and at this rate possibly a new team. So sorry to see Harry McGuire go but good look to him, he deserves a good crack at the whip and do well. Hope he makes it all the way to the world cup. The championship is a good league to watch and an exciting one to be in. Here’s to the next step if the journey.

Until next time. Take care and be good.


Chris

Do We Need A Vaccine?

“The Tooth And Nothing But The Tooth”

By Chris “Dr Smile Maker” Branfield

Do We Need A Vaccine?

It’s not been a bad summer.  Getting a bit cold now as I write mind.  We took our caravan to Cornwall.  A bit of an adventure with some of the narrow roads.  Here to tell the tale though, phew.

What Vaccine Am I On About?

When I was at dental school (some 20-odd years ago now) and probably way before that there has been a search for a vaccine to prevent tooth decay.  We know that bacteria are involved and most of the type bacteria that are involved. We know that if you feed them sugar they produce acid that causes tooth decay.  We were taught that once the bacteria got through the enamel outer shell of the tooth they digested the collagen protein of the dentine underneath.

Back In The Big Smoke

Well, I was at a full day symposium at the Queen Elizabeth II conference a few Saturdays ago (what an anorak I am).   The theme of this was minimal interventive dentistry.  It was really good.  The current evidence suggests that the collagen breakdown in the dentine is not by bacteria but by our own enzymes in a reaction to the bacteria.  Almost like an auto-immune disorder.  How things change.

Natural Bacteria

Only 10% of the cells in our body are ours.  The rest are bacteria and we only know 10% of those.  How mad is that.  These bacteria have evolved with us and been with us for millions of years.  They are what we call commensal bacteria.  Now, if we wipe out some bacteria with a vaccine then that upsets the status quo and creates a pace for something else.  Now this something else may be horrible.  It’s a bit like ousting one government for a horrible dictator to take over and make people’s life a misery.

It’s A Lifestyle Thing

Now, modern day living involves a lot of processed high sugar foods.  We know this causes decay.  We also know that an acid environment increases tooth decay.  We know that Xylitol (a natural sugar substitute) prevents decay.  You can get 100% xylitol mints, sweets and gum as well as granules.  Fluoride (in toothpaste and professionally applied) and something called stabilised amorphous calcium phosphate help prevent and even reverse decay.  Even rinsing with bicarbonate of soda can help, believe it or not.

So, these poor bacteria get the blame but it’s our modern day lifestyle and diet that is the problem.  With some lifestyle advice, product advice and professional fluoride application to teeth we can control decay and prevent fillings even if decay has started.  No kidding.  This is exciting stuff and a real paradigms shift away from the just drill and fill dentist thing. I know I’m anorak again.

Out Of The Blue

I was on my hols in the caravan when I got a message that I had been nominated and short-listed for (get this) “Unsung Hero” in the Hull Daily Mail Awards in the Business In The Community section. Mad!!! Anyway, the whole team at Castle Park Dental Care all buzzed up and really proud so we’re all going to the awards. I’m actually in London doing part of a Mastership in Dental Lasers course until that day so will have to get there a bit later. Fingers crossed eh.

I’m listening to Hull City playing Belgium on the radio tonight. Come on Hull Let’s have another good season

Until next time. Take care and be good.

Chris 

Chris Branfield is Principal Dentist at Castle Park Dental Care, Castle Villa, 28 Castle Road, Cottingham, telephone 01482 772550.  He has been in dental practice for 21 years and has a special interest in life changing, pain free dentistry with dental implants, rapid teeth straightening and cosmetic dentistry. And, not only that Chris is founder member and trustee of Dental Mavericks charity- ending the daily dental pain of Moroccan kids. For more patient success stories and Chris’s charity work go here now www.castleparkdental.co.uk