Quirky Dental News From The Rest Of The Planet
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- Published: Monday, 05 July 2021 07:40
- Written by Chris Tapper
- Hits: 1744
Believe it or not, dentistry isn’t all mundane performance targets and crinkly PPE.
Well it IS all that in the UK at the moment, but in the rest of the world it can be quite fun, quirky, and occasionally, a little sad.
Here’s the latest in an occasional roundup of off-mainstream dental stories from planet Earth.
It’s A Matter Of Taste
An unusual finding by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine has confounded them.
A study has found that the extraction of third molars can not only enhance taste buds, but the effects appear to be felt over a long period of time.
The Philly Voice website reported that the nerve damage that occurs during the removal of third molars may increase taste bud sensitivity at the back of the mouth, therefore resulting in an increase in whole mouth sensitivity.
"This new study shows us that taste function can actually slightly improve between the time patients have surgery and up to 20 years later.”
“It’s a surprising but fascinating finding that deserves further investigation to better understand why it’s enhanced and what it may mean clinically," Dr Richard L. Doty, director of the Smell and Taste Centre at Penn, told Tracey Romero.
“Dr Doty and Dane Kim, a third-year student in Penn’s School of Dental Medicine, analysed data on 1,255 patients who had undergone a chemosensory evaluation at Penn’s Smell and Taste Centre over a 20-year period. Of these patients, 891 had their wisdom teeth pulled.”
Patients were asked to taste five different solutions of sucrose, sodium chloride, citric acid and caffeine, and then indicate which ones tasted sweet, salty, sour or bitter.
Researchers found the extraction group outperformed the control group for each of the four tastes by at least 3-10%.
In all cases, women had more refined palates than the men.
"The study strongly suggests that extraction of the third molar has a positive long-term, albeit subtle, effect on the function of the lingual taste pathways of some people," Kim said.
“Though the reason behind this enhanced taste is not known, the researchers said that nerve damage, which can occur during surgery, could play a role. Damage to the taste buds on the front of the mouth could increase the sensitivity of the taste buds at the rear of the mouth, increasing whole-mouth sensitivity, they explained.”
The study, published in the journal Chemical Senses, can be found here.
Slim Fast…
Meanwhile, a new oral device developed in New Zealand and the UK has received a battering on Twitter.
The DentalSlim Diet Control device uses magnets to stop a person’s jaw from opening wide enough to eat solid food.
Dr Jonathan Bodansky and Dr Richard Hall from Leeds worked with medical professionals from the University of Otago, New Zealand, say they created the device to help fight the global obesity epidemic.
I don’t see what the fuss is about. It’s not the first time medicine used/abused its power to treat/torture those who do not fit the social and cutural norms. How is this one worse than some medical procedures that leaves people with paralysed faces only for the sake of beauty? https://t.co/EdoRWbTlUE
— Vahid Ravaghi (@vravaghi) June 29, 2021
Sky News reported that “The fixture can be fitted by a dentist to the upper and lower back teeth. It then uses magnetic devices with unique locking bolts.”
An article in the British Dental Journal said that the device, prevents users from opening their mouths more more than 2mm.
Seven healthy overweight women from Dunedin in New Zealand used the device for two weeks, during which they were given a “Commercially available liquid diet for two weeks.”
The participants reportedly reached a mean weight loss of 6.36 kilograms - representing approximately 5.1% of their body weight.
Participants reported having trouble pronouncing some words. They also “felt tense and embarrassed ’only occasionally.’” Some discomfort was also reported, but participants said they were “Happy with the outcome and were motivated to lose more weight.”
Sky News quoted Professor Paul Brunton, who said "The main barrier for people for successful weight loss is compliance and this helps them establish new habits, allowing them to comply with a low-calorie diet for a period of time. It really kick-starts the process.”
"It is a non-invasive, reversible, economical and attractive alternative to surgical procedures.”
Twitter criticised the device, with one account saying "A world-first and world-last, I sincerely hope. This is a torture device and you should be embarrassed to be promoting it, let alone to be associated with it."
In response to the criticism, the university tweeted: "To clarify, the intention of the device is not intended as a quick or long-term weight-loss tool; rather it is aimed to assist people who need to undergo surgery and who cannot have the surgery until they have lost weight,” Sky News reported.
"After two or three weeks they can have the magnets disengaged and device removed. They could then have a period with a less restricted diet and then go back into treatment. This would allow for a phased approach to weight loss supported by advice from a dietician."
One participant admitted to "cheating" by consuming melted chocolate and fizzy drinks, Sky News reported.
Meanwhile…MAYBE In The Balearic Islands
Social media became involved again in a dentally-related story on the commencement of ITV’s Love Island 2021.
A Twitter nanostorm erupted on the arrival of the reality show, over the anticipated appearance of a dental student on the show.
In May, the Daily Star had teased that a 2nd year dental student had appeared ’confirm’ that he could be headed for the villa in 2021.”
The Daily Star wrote confusingly, that “Ripped dentist and fitness fanatic Zack Chugg” would be “Switching drilling for fillings with looking for love.”
The newspaper had headlined its piece with the slightly inaccurate “Love Island 2021 contestant ’confirmed’ as ripped Leeds dentist and fitness fanatic,” before explaining that the 21 year-old was not actually a qualified dentist, but a student at the Leeds University Dental School.
In May, The Yorkshire Evening Post also wrote “University of Leeds dentist and fitness fanatic set to enter Mallorca villa.”
The Solihull student told the Yorkshire Evening Post that he would be flying to the Spanish island in late June after talks with “ITV executive producers and casting recruitment.”
At the time of writing, the student wasn’t included in the initial batch of contestants appearing in the first episodes of the show.
Zack, who has popular Instagram and TikTok accounts, had earlier released a video that teased a possible appearance on the programme.
@zack.chug 👀#foryou #loveisland #foryoupage #uk #britsmover #loveislanduk #viral #leeds
♬ talking to the moon sickmix - Sickickmusic
But the re-emergence of the Yorkshire Evening Post article on the eve of the launch of the new TV series sparked some heated debate on Twitter, over remarks made by the student.
The was quoted as saying “I’m not planning on being a standard NHS dentist, I want to be one of those dentists who works on famous people or in cosmetics.”
One retired dentist on Twitter took exception to the description of NHS dentists as being ‘standard’ and there followed a barrage of tweets from dental professionals also taking offence at the term. Some thought the term was ‘disparaging,’ while some defended the student’s right to express his desire to work in private practice.
The exchanges resulted in some NHS dental professionals adopting the title ‘StandardNHS’ in their twitter names or profiles.
Interest in Zack has even been expressed in Spain.
EzAnime.net at least described Zack more accurately with “Conoce al estudiante de odontología que se presenta como el último concursante.” (“Meet the dental student running as the latest contestant.”)
And The Sad News…
The New York Post recently led with the headline “Millions mourn beloved TikTok monkey who died after visit to dentist.”
The story, by Ben Cost, revealed that George, a 12 year-old capuchin monkey had died unexpectedly following what was described by the New York Post as “A routine checkup at the dentist.”
Fans were said to be “In shock” after the passing of the “Beloved monkey” who was said to have nearly 18 million TikTok followers.
The New York Post said “The anonymous Texas-based couple who had owned the capuchin monkey for 10 years shared the “devastating news” in a moving TikTok statement,” which had more than 16.3 million views.
@heresyourmonkeycontent We love you, George ❤️
♬ Married Life (From "Up") - Sergy el Som
“George went to the vet for a regular check up on his teeth,” they captioned the heart-rending clip. “During, there were complications with the anesthesia, starting a long fight for his life.”
“Through the fight, George was sent thousands of thoughts and prayers with the hope that he would make it. On June 7th at 4pm Central, Georgie Boy passed away.”
However, they reassured fans — the simian also boasted more than half-a-million followers on Instagram — that “though the fun-loving life of George has left, his spirit of hope and love lives on. We love you, George.”
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