Young Adults in Finland Encounter Major Dental Problems

Young Adults in Finland Encounter Major Dental Problems

Written by Dentistry Today
Friday, 11 May 2012 15:06

Solid early dental care turns bad quickly in Finland.

In the Helsinki region of Finland, about 40 percent of people ages 18 to 29 have not seen a dentist in the last five years. Low-income people and those with a poor education are least likely to see the dentist.

This is a stark contrast to the way children are brought up in Finland. School-age children generally have excellent dental care because of programs organized by the public school system to provide dental treatment to children. The children receive various aspects of dental treatment early on, including fluoride varnishes.

But the tooth decay comes quickly once the children are no longer in school.

One of the major problems is the accessibility to dental care. There are stretches in which it could take about two years to see a dentist. According to some studies, there are currently about 14,000 people waiting to see the dentist in the Helsinki region alone.

An influx of dentists is probably the only way for Finnish people to receive solid dental care after turning 18.

Researchers Analyze Fish to See Why Humans Can’t Replace Teeth

Researchers Analyze Fish to See Why Humans Can’t Replace Teeth

Written by Dentistry Today
Monday, 14 May 2012 14:41

The pufferfish provides researchers with plenty of information about human teeth.

Research shows that the deadly fish—a fish that hasn’t evolved—undergoes continued tooth replacement after the first generation of teeth. But the ensuing teeth modify and cause the animal to develop a beak that would generally be seen on parrots.

This information backs up the idea that evolution doesn’t make jumps, since its distinctive bite has been altered from a set of genes that have to do with tooth development.

This research can be useful for humans because it can be utilized as an example for a tooth replacement system, according to Dr. Gareth Fraser of the University of Sheffield’s Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, who led the study. The evolutionary process that’s beneficial to research includes the reasons why humans lost the ability to replace teeth and the science behind why these fish replace teeth amd the possible impact on dental therapy.

Pufferfish are bony fish, which is a large group that comprises roughly half of living vertebrates. These animals have a jaw that is like a beak and has created teeth in vertebrates for millions of years.

Much can be learned about genetics by studying these fish, in addition to the information that can be learned about their teeth.