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Oral blood samples drawn from deep pockets of periodontal inflammation can be used to measure hemoglobin A1c, an important gauge of a patient’s diabetes status, a nursing-dental research team has found.

Stripping some mouth bacteria of their access key to gangs of other pathogenic oral bacteria could help prevent gum disease and tooth loss. The study suggests that this bacterial access key could be a drug target for people who are at high risk of developing gum disease.

Researchers have identified a genetic variation that raises the risk of developing serious necrotic jaw bone lesions in patients who take bisphosphonates, a common class of osteoclastic inhibitors.

New research, using oral cancer cells in a three-dimensional model of lab-made tissue, demonstrates that previous models used to examine cancer may not be complex enough to accurately mimic the true cancer environment.

Chemists have developed novel glass ceramics for dentistry. The new kind of glass ceramic with a nanocrystalline structure seems to be well suited to be used in dentistry due to its high strength and its optical characteristics.

Scientists are reporting identification of two substances in licorice — used extensively in Chinese traditional medicine — that kill the major bacteria responsible for tooth decay and gum disease, the leading causes of tooth loss in children and adults. In a new study, they say that these substances could have a role in treating and preventing tooth decay and gum disease.

Researchers have uncovered the molecular tricks used by bacteria to fight the effects of fluoride, which is commonly used in toothpaste and mouthwash to combat tooth decay.

A common oral bacteria, Fusobacterium nucleatum, acts like a key to open a door in human blood vessels and leads the way for it and other bacteria like Escherichia coli to invade the body through the blood and make people sick, according to dental researchers.

New research suggests that many of the common orthodontic problems experienced by people in industrialized nations is due to their soft modern diet causing the jaw to grow too short and small relative to the size of their teeth.

The capsule of Porphyromonas gingivalis, the bacterium that causes gum disease, provides stealth, boosting the bacterium’s virulence, according to new study. Call it a sugar coating, if you will, for in fact, the capsule is made from sugar molecules, which do not ordinarily elicit immunity. Thus it hides the bacterium’s proteins within, preventing immune response.