Today's Dental News

A tooth tattoo may be what dentistry needs to defeat tooth decay.

The tattoo, which was developed at Princeton University and Tufts University, contains a sensor that measures the bacteria levels in the mouth. The sensor is made of gold, graphite and silk.

After completing the bacteria measurement in the mouth, the sensors can determine when a patient is at risk for developing gum disease. The sensors may also have the ability to predict the risk for other diseases, which is a result of studying the data from the saliva. AIDS and stomach ulcers were two of the diseases the sensor was able to determine risk for.

Read more: Tooth Tattoo May Curb Gum Disease

Younger people are developing mouth cancer more than ever before.

An initiative in Scotland has set out to make people under the age of 45 more aware about mouth cancer. These days, young people that do not smoke or drink are being afflicted with cancer more than in the past. Those are two of the biggest risk factors for mouth cancer.

The increase in the amount of oral cancer may be happening for many reasons. Two of the main reasons could be a poor diet or being exposed to the human papilloma virus.

Read more: Mouth Cancer Becoming More Prevalent

Gene therapy may be safely used to study human salivary glands, according to a new study.

Scientists at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, which is part of the National Institute of Health, stated that the phase 1 study of gene therapy in the human salivary gland displayed positive results. The information appeared in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Based on the study, the transferred gene, known as Aquaporin-1 could aid people who survived head and neck cancer who have problems with chronic dry mouth.

Read more: Salivary Gland Gene Therapy Study Yields Positive Results

Green tea may have even more benefits than originally thought.

A new study indicates that green tea may reduce the risk of throat cancer, in addition to colon and stomach cancer, for women. The information comes from a Canadian study in which 69,000 Chinese women were analyzed for a decade.

The study showed that the participants who drank green tea at least three times per week were roughly 14 percent less likely to develop stomach, colon or throat cancer.

The Vanderbilt University School of Medicine study definitively shows the tea consumption dropped the risk of cancer in the digestive system, according to the study's author, Wei Zhing.

Read more: Green Tea May Lower Cancer Risk