Teeth-grinding, rugby mouthguards and cigarette machines: November’s dental news round-up

Good news for electric toothbrush fans and bad news for English rugby players and Leicester 12-year-olds in this October dental news round-up

Bruxism Awareness week

Are you reading this article in the week 24th to 30th October 2011? If so, did you realise that it is Bruxism Awareness Week and do you know what Bruxism is?

Bruxism is the grinding of teeth – a habit often caused by stress and one which can cause more stress as it often damages teeth. Experts like Putney dentist Ethicare can help repair the cracks in the teeth which are associated with bruxism but to try and stop the habit it is best to investigate mouth-guards, night-guards and even hypnosis.

According to the Bruxism Association, around one in ten people suffer from bruxism. It has been reported that celebrity author Katie Price (formerly known as Jordan) is one of many people who suffer from bruxism. Ms Price was diagnosed after one of her veneers became loose as a result of grinding.

A mouthguard is one way of stopping people from grinding their teeth while they sleep.

Fines a kick in the teeth for England’s rugby stars

Three of England’s underperforming rugby players have reason to look particularly down-in-the-mouth about the country’s quarter-final exit from the World Cup.

While the sport’s lawmakers encourage players to wear mouthguards to protect their teeth from damage during highly-competitive games, the World Cup organisers issued strict rules prohibiting the wearing of ones emblazoned with the manufacturer’s name.

Early in the tournament Manu Tuilagi became the first England player to be fined £4,800 for breaching the rule. Unbelievably, captain Lewis Moody then sported an illegal mouthguard in the next match and Northampton lock Courtney Lawes followed suit in the final game.

New electric toothbrush promises a softer touch

The makers of a new electric toothbrush have promised that their product will produce a “softer yet more effective clean”.
The Hydrosonic toothbrush is made by Curaprox and was launched last Thursday (20th October 2011).

Whereas most toothbrushes have 500-1,600 filaments, the company has developed a manual brush with 5,460 filaments. This became the basis for the new sonic brush.

Curaprox’s international sales director Richard Thomas believes more filaments will lead to a more effective clean. He explained: “The example I use is that if you tipped a pile of sand onto a kitchen floor, it’s more effective to clean it up with a soft head with a lot of bristles than a hard brush; the technology is the same with plaque.”

Leicester 12-year-olds have ‘worst teeth in the UK’

A new NHS report has identified 12-year-old children in Leicester as having the worst rate of tooth decay in England.
Almost half (45 per cent) of the children in the Midlands city – home of Walker’s Crisps – have exhibited signs of tooth decay; a worrying statistic given that the national average is 18 per cent.

Jancy Pope, a specialist paediatric dentist at Leicester’s Westcotes Clinic, believes that “water fluoridation and better education” could improve the oral health of Leicester’s youths.

She told the BBC: “Scotland runs a programme where fluoride is applied to children’s teeth at pre-school, nurseries and schools and the results show significant improvement in oral health.”

Cigarette vending machines outlawed

And finally… you might have noticed that there seem to be a lot less cigarette vending machines around England. In fact there shouldn’t be any around; the sale of tobacco products from vending machines in England was banned from October 1st 2011.

The ban should cut off a major source of tobacco for under-age smokers; the British Dental Health Foundation (BDHF) estimates that 13 per cent of 12-16-year-olds smoke. Smoking is the biggest cause of mouth cancer in the UK.

BDHF chief executive Dr Nigel Carter said: “We hope the ban will make it harder for children to experiment with smoking and also cut off a readily-available supply of cigarettes for nearly 50,000 under-age smokers.”