Word: bacterias
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...disease is not something to be ignored. It starts out harmlessly enough, perhaps with just a little blood on the toothbrush. But the bacteria responsible are relentless. If left alone, they eventually produce infected pockets of pus, invade the roots of teeth and put people on the path to being Polident users. As many as 3 of every 4 Americans are somewhere along that path...
...there a way to skip surgery and still avoid dentures? A small group of American researchers thinks so, at least in some cases. They are experimenting with several different techniques designed to control the disease-causing bacteria with drugs instead of knives. Such therapies are already used in some European countries, and advocates question why the Food and Drug Administration has not yet approved the treatments for general...
...strategy involves implanting into the gums antibiotics or other germ killers so that they can attack bacteria in the pockets where they fester. Standard antibiotic pills, which some specialists have relied on, needlessly expose the entire body to a powerful drug and have not always proved effective. Gum disease "behaves like a chronic type of inflammatory disease," explains Kenneth Kornman, a professor of periodontics at the University of Texas in San Antonio. "We have a hard time eliminating those bacteria." For that reason, dental researchers decided to concentrate the antibiotics' killing power by applying medication directly into infected areas...
...year-old Houston resident, was in danger of losing her front teeth when she received Actisite on an experimental basis. Two weeks later, the inflammation had disappeared. Her follow-up treatment included applying the powerful prescription mouthwash Peridex to her dental floss to make sure the bacteria did not reclaim any territory. "It's a major difference in what my gums were like," New says. The deterioration of her jawbone stopped, and her smile was saved. Says she: "It's scary, the thought of losing your front teeth...
Financial considerations aside, there are some real medical issues to resolve. Perhaps the most serious is the concern that widespread use of antibiotics in the mouth could create super-virulent strains of gum-ravaging bacteria that would resist any attempts at treatment. "A lot of the new therapies are just at the tinkering, research stage right now," says Ray Williams, chairman of Harvard University's periodontal department. Until the gum-disease treatments get FDA approval, most people's options will remain the same as always: brush, floss and visit the dentist regularly -- or face the knife...