A check-up of May 2011’s best dental news

Ronnie Wood’s new teeth, Aussie kids’ dental health and why brushing your teeth while driving is a bad idea

Ronnie Wood’s dental secrets revealed

The mystery of why rock star Ronnie Wood’s teeth have remained so pearly white – despite years of him living the high life – has been solved. Speaking to the Guardian, he said: “I had my teeth done a few years ago; they trimmed the actual teeth down a bit and put veneers on top.”

His Hollywood dentists, he claimed, also added a “built-in stain” for added authenticity.

Australian kids’ oral health ‘getting worse’

Over the past few decades, British children have benefited from vastly improved dental care. London dentist Ethicare is one of many practices taking advantage of state-of-the-art technology to improve dental care for young patients.

But good dental health for children varies from country to country; in Australia, dentists down under have a lot to be down-in-the-mouth-about concerning the state of kids’ teeth.

Recent research compiled by Adelaide University revealed that dental restorations and extractions are the most common reason for hospital admissions among children under-14 years of age.

In 2006 alone, almost 27,000 children had to seek hospital treatment for dental work.

Adelaide researcher, Professor John Spencer, told the Herald Sun: “After several decades of improvement, child oral health has worsened and inequalities have widened.”

‘Safe’ to treat pregnant women with gum disease

A new scientific study has concluded that giving treatment to pregnant women with gum disease will not affect the health of their baby.

It is thought that the hormonal changes associated with pregnancy can increase the chances of contracting gum disease – a condition which can cause tooth loss.

Aggressive teeth cleaning is often used to treat gum disease but there were fears that this could get into the mother’s bloodstream and affect the health of the baby.

But Dr. Bryan Michalowicz, who led a research team looking into the issue at the University of Minnesota, said: “Women can be confident that it’s not going to have clinically meaningful effects on their child’s development.”

The team’s studies are published in the journal Paediatrics.

The driver who needs to brush up on road safety

Over in New Zealand, a 65-year-old school teacher found herself in court after crashing her car while brushing her teeth. A police officer told a court in Blenheim that Cherie Margaret Davis set the cruise control of her car to 62mph “got out her toothbrush and started brushing her teeth.”

She later crashed into a root bank by the side of the road.

Putting funny dental places on the map

With National Smile Month about to start on May 15^th, the British Dental Health Foundation is keen to show that dentists have a sense of humour. The organisation is encouraging its members to contribute funny place names with a dental theme to go on its UK Dental Place Map.

So far the map has plotted Tartar Road in the south-east and Tongue on the northern-most tip of Scotland. In between, there are places such as Gumley in the East Midlands and the ominous-sounding Surgery Lane in the north-east.

Smiley Knowes Court in central Scotland sounds a far happier place to visit!