UN Treaty Could Phase Down Amalgam

Written by Dentistry TodayTuesday, 22 January 2013 16:30



Mercury use throughout the world could begin to decrease and eventually be phased out.

The United Nations recently discussed the issue but no date was set to fully phase out dental amalgam.

“This is the beginning of the end of dental amalgam globally,” said Michael T. Bender, director of the Mercury Policy Project, a US-based NGO, who is attending the mercury treaty talks. “We applaud the leadership role the US played in jump-starting support for a phase down in 2011 along with the concrete steps of the Nordic countries, Switzerland and Japan in phasing out amalgam.”

There are numerous ways that countries can phase down amalgam use, according to the treaty. Countries can create a national objective to do so, promote mercury-free dental treatment and discourage insurance policies from covering dental amalgam treatments compared to mercury-free options.

It also would be beneficial if dental schools would train students to utilize mercury-free ways to provide dental care.

Several countries throughout the world have already thought about ways to reduce mercury usage based on how destructive it can be. In 2012, the European Commission recommended that it would be best for mercury to be completely eliminated in five years.

The EC BIOS report stated that mercury-free fillings seem more expensive based on the negative external costs. Amalgam, however, adversely impacts the environment after it eventually releases.







The usage of mercury in tooth fillings represents about 10 percent of global mercury consumption, according to the United Nations Environment Program.

Certain Molecule is Necessary for Tooth Root Formation

Written by Dentistry TodayThursday, 24 January 2013 16:01



The International and American Associations for Dental Research recently made a discovery that could be pivotal for tooth root formation.

The protein called ß-catenin is expressed in odontoblasts and is required for root formation. The Chonbuk National Korea School of Dentistry wrote the research paper and it appeared in the Journal of Dental Research.

The tooth root and the surrounding periodontium maintain the tooth in the jaw. The root develops after the process of morphogenesis. Prior to this study, little was known about the molecular mechanisms that control tooth root formation.

Tissue-specific inactivation of ß-catenin in developing odontoblasts results in molars that lack roots and thin incisors.

Root odontoblast was disrupted in the mutant molars, which preceeded the loss of a subset of Hertwig’s epithelial root sheath. The outer layer of Hertwig’s epithelial root sheath extended without the root, making way for the molars to eventually erupt.

These results show that there is a cell-autonomous requirement for Wnt/ß-catenin, which alerts the dental mesenchyme to start root formation.







Dentist can learn a great deal of information from the tooth phenotypes, how Wnt impacts odontoblasts and the way the root develops.

Dentistry in Australia Headed in Right Direction

Written by Dentistry TodayFriday, 25 January 2013 16:20



The number of Australian dentists is on the rise, according to a recent study.

Dentists in rural areas and females dentists are becoming more prevalent, based on the report by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.

The report indicates that the number of dentists working in areas that would be considered rural has risen 49 percent since 2006. The national average rise has been 22.4 percent during that same time period. In urban areas, dentists have increased by 19 percent and there are now about 64 dentists for every 100,000 patients.

The amount of female dentists in Australia is at an all-time high. At this point, more than one third of dentists are women and that number increased by 7 percent from 2006 to 2011.

Dentists also worked about one hour less per week in 2011 when compared to