https://medicalxpress.com/dentistry-news/ en-us Latest medical news and research in Dentistry A study from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem has identified a significant link between maternal care and lifelong oral health. Led by Prof. Avi-Hai Hovav and the DMD/Ph.D. student Reem Naamneh from the Faculty of Dental Medicine at Hebrew University, the team discovered that maternal antibodies do not just offer a temporary shield for newborns but actually program the offspring's immune system to fight oral diseases well into adult life. The research is published in the journal Nature Communications. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-maternal-antibodies-pregnancy-lifelong-defenses.html Wed, 29 Apr 2026 18:20:08 EDT news696697202 People who experienced early socioeconomic disadvantage (SED) were 12–16% less likely to go for preventive dental visits during both adolescence and adulthood, a new University of Bristol study has found. The findings, published in BMC Oral Health, analyzed data from over 1,600 participants. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-early-disadvantage-linked-dental-adulthood.html Wed, 29 Apr 2026 16:00:13 EDT news696693582 People getting their teeth pulled or drilled by dentists in the United States are still much more likely to get powerful opioid medications than dental patients in other developed countries or even the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, a new study finds. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-dentists-opioids-pain-peer-nations.html Fri, 24 Apr 2026 10:40:04 EDT news696245402 Researchers led by Henry Daniell of the School of Dental Medicine have shown that extracts from bioengineered chewing gum reduce the levels of three microbes known to be associated with head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC), paving the way for more effective and affordable therapies. Their findings are published in Scientific Reports. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-bioengineered-gum-cancer-linked-mouth.html Tue, 21 Apr 2026 08:04:34 EDT news695977339 For millions of Americans living in rural communities, getting specialized dental care can mean driving an hour, or more, just to sit in the dental chair. A patient in rural Wyoming needing a root canal may travel over an hour to see an endodontist. A child in South Dakota who needs specialty pediatric dental care may face an 80-minute drive. For some families, that distance means delayed care. For others, it means no care at all. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-rural-patients-triple-dental-specialists.html Mon, 20 Apr 2026 10:40:04 EDT news695898841 Fluoride is a naturally occurring mineral that has been shown to strengthen teeth and reduce cavities. Many municipalities add fluoride to their drinking water—a process called community water fluoridation—as a public health measure to support dental health. In recent years, however, some have claimed that ingesting fluoride can harm children's IQ. Now researchers at the University of Minnesota have led a team that investigated the connection between fluoride in drinking water and children's IQ to see if these claims had merit. The work is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-fluoride-kids-iq-decades-analysis.html Mon, 13 Apr 2026 17:20:06 EDT news695316481 Children who don't go to the dentist are less likely to participate in school-based cavity prevention programs, according to research published in JAMA Network Open. The paper is titled "School-Based Caries Prevention Programs and Recruitment of High-Risk Pediatric Medicaid Populations." https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-kids-dental-benefit-school.html Thu, 09 Apr 2026 11:00:02 EDT news694880221 Periodontitis is a serious chronic inflammatory form of gum disease that affects millions worldwide. It can lead to tooth loss and the destruction of supporting bone. This disease has also been linked to other health problems, including diabetes, respiratory infections, and heart disease, impacting quality of life and increasing health care costs. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-04-stiff-defense-physical-rigidity-healthy.html Wed, 01 Apr 2026 18:40:01 EDT news694258168 Recently analyzed evidence points to a connection between oral health and kidney health, according to work led by University of Cincinnati College of Medicine researchers. Their article, published in BMC Nephrology, combined evidence from more than 150 previously published papers, including observational studies, meta-analyses and interventional trials, and identified growing evidence of oral-renal interactions. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-link-chronic-kidney-disease-periodontal.html Tue, 31 Mar 2026 16:40:06 EDT news694175297 Researchers at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) have identified a bacterium strongly associated with noma disease, marking a major step toward earlier diagnosis and more effective treatment. In a new study published in PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, a research team from LSTM, working with partners at the University of Liverpool, Médecins Sans Frontières and the Noma Children's Hospital, Sokoto, Nigeria, used metagenomic sequencing and machine learning algorithms to analyze saliva samples from children with acute noma. They uncovered a previously undescribed species of Treponema bacteria, which may be responsible for the disease. https://medicalxpress.com/news/2026-03-discovery-noma-linked-bacteria-path.html Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:20:05 EDT news694093922