Archive for January, 2007
January 9, 2007 at 9:54 am by Ian Kerr
Filed under Dental Research Update
Having lived in the Caribbean for several years I got very used to having all my drinks served ice cold. When I returned to the UK it was (and still is) a constant grumble that you can’t get a cold drink in a pub and that no one ever puts enough ice in my glass. Now at last I have the research to back up my complaint.
Research into the mechanisms of taste and smell has shown that there is a specific pathway from taste buds (known romantically as Trpm-5- channel) that is highly sensitive to temperature, 100 times more so at 37C than at 15C. This explains why bitter drinks, gin and tonic for example, taste better with ice, the bitterness being suppressed by the lower temperature.
Interestingly an extra sensitivity to bitter taste (associated with a higher number of fungiform papillae found on the tip and side of the tongue) is present in about 25% of the population and is due to genetic variations. This helps explain how wine tasters can waffle on about flavours that the rest of us can’t detect and also gives an excuse to children who complain about eating their “greens” as they tend to have a much-heightened response to bitter tastes.
The response to this research is now clear
1) Just put more ice in my glass to shut me up at a party
2) Ignore wine tasters, they are genetic freaks
3) Serve children their “greens” ice cold to reduce the bitter taste.
January 8, 2007 at 11:14 pm by Ian Kerr
Filed under Dental Research Update
If you ask most people what causes tooth decay, they will tell you “eating to many sweets” is to blame. In simple terms they are, of course, quite correct. If you walk around with a bag of sweets in your pocket, snacking all day long on them, you wouldn’t be too surprised if you ended up with a few cavities. But the problem is, whilst some children may do this, almost no adults do, yet I spend most of my working day treating adults with tooth decay. So where does their decay come from?
The answer to this question lies in the way sugar is contained with in food and how the body breaks it down in the mouth. Almost all foods contain sugar in either simple or complex form and, if it can be fermented, the bacteria in our mouths will make acid from it. All of the basic sugars - glucose, fructose and sucrose, and most of the complex starches can do this. It is the acid that is produced in this way that causes our tooth decay.
When I chat to my patients about their decay they will often say to me “but I don’t have any sugar”. Clearly this is not the case, as almost everything they eat will contain sugar. What I try to look at with this patients is the number of times a day that they eat or drink sugar containing substances, and what mix of sticky foods and complex carbohydrates they are consuming. Ideally I try to encourage my patients to keep below 6 intakes per day, of all food and drinks, to reduce the number of times that acid is hitting their teeth. We also look to avoid sticky foods in between meals (biscuits, crisps etc.) and replace these with less sticky, lower risk foods such as fresh fruit.
This advice is in keeping with the latest research, particularly that done by Prof. David Beighton at the KCL Dental Institute, London and Peter Lingstrom, associate Professor at Gotenberg University.
January 8, 2007 at 10:46 pm by Ian Kerr
Filed under General
December was a very busy month for StoneRock, hence a very poor effort with the blog for which I apologise. The hard work has paid off, however, and I am delighted to say that we have a new dentist joining us, from Monday April 2nd. Russell Blanchard is joining us from Chain House, in Tenterden and is bringing with him his great expertise in cosmetic dentistry. Russell has built up a very loyal following in his eight years at Chain House, where he devoted most of his time to pursuing his interest in cosmetic care and has developed a strong reputation for providing high quality aesthetic work.
When I opened StoneRock in May 2005 I wanted to provide the highest quality care available in dentistry today and I believe strongly that with Russell joining the team we are continuing with that aim.
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