/oss/taxonomy/term/3500/all en /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-technology/reports-death-dental-cavities-are-greatly-exaggerated <p>If I asked you to name the most common chronic disease in children, what would you say?</p> Fri, 17 May 2024 16:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9949 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/defence-maligned-root-canal <p>Over the course of my thirty-five-plus years of practicing dentistry, I have been asked many questions concerning the safety of various dental agents and materials, most notably silver fillings and fluoride. Undoubtedly, the internet has provided the masses with a plethora of sound information at their fingertips. Conversely, accompanied by its social media counterpart, it has become the primary gateway to the spread of misinformation and conspiracy theories.</p> Fri, 04 Feb 2022 20:48:44 +0000 Mark Grossman BSc, DDS, Contributor 9016 at /oss /oss/article/health-general-science/biting-dental-fillings <p>The common word in French for dental fillings is “plombage”, which may sound a little surprising since it roughly translates to “to fill with lead”. That is because if you had a cavity in France in the 18th century, a dentist would have filled it with that metal. Lead melts easily and the molten lead was poured into the cavity. Hopefully, the dentist had steady hands! Luckily, given that lead is highly toxic, dental fillings today do not contain it.  </p> Fri, 24 Jul 2020 16:00:00 +0000 Caitlin Bard, OSS Intern 8335 at /oss /oss/article/health/dental-amalgam-whats-drill <p>While dental amalgam has been in use for well over a century, some controversy has arisen in recent decades regarding possible toxicity due to its mercury content. The internet is rife with articles claiming that silver fillings are causing a plethora of disease processes. ‘Holistic’ dentists warn about the inherent risk of these restorations, imploring their replacement.</p> Wed, 06 Nov 2019 20:44:50 +0000 Mark Grossman BSc, DDS, Contributor 7982 at /oss /oss/article/health/drill-or-not-drill-question <p>Aaah, those leisurely Saturday mornings. More recently, mine began over coffee while perusing through the latest edition of the OSS weekly digest. Being a dentist, I’m always on the lookout for articles featuring dentistry related topics, and my interest was piqued by a <a href="/oss/article/did-you-know-health/did-you-know-dentists-can-treat-cavities-without-using-drill">recent feature</a> on treating cavities without drilling. This approach comprises a chemomechanical method, whereby cavities are simply dissolved and scooped away.</p> Wed, 01 May 2019 14:40:09 +0000 Mark Grossman BSc, DDS, Contributor 7740 at /oss /oss/article/did-you-know-health/did-you-know-dentists-can-treat-cavities-without-using-drill <p>What if your dentist could apply a gel to your cavities (or dental caries) that would soften necrotic tissue but leave your healthy dentin alone, allowing the affected tooth tissue to simply be scooped out?</p> <p>So-called chemomechanical methods of removing cavities are not new. They were initially marketed in the 1970s, but their original designs had some serious problems. Caridex was one of the first, but it required heat, specialized equipment, large volumes of product (200-500 mL) and tasted bad.</p> Wed, 10 Apr 2019 20:12:49 +0000 Ada McVean B.Sc. 7715 at /oss /oss/article/you-asked/why-do-i-get-jolt-pain-every-time-i-chew-piece-aluminum-foil <p>The common link among those who experience pain is that they have amalgam fillings. These are composed of a mixture of tiny particles of tin, silver and copper alloyed with mercury. Anyone who has such fillings may have learned the hard way that dissimilar metals that come into contact can generate an electric current.  Basically, they have reproduced one of the most famous experiments in history, that of Alessandro Volta’s discovery of the battery.</p> Thu, 08 Nov 2018 19:20:52 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 7439 at /oss