BDS INSIGHTS

Today the US Patent & Trademark Office published a patent application from Apple that relates to a possible future health related feature regarding the diagnosis and monitoring of bruxism using motion sensors in AirPods. Teeth grinding and jaw clenching (bruxism) are the most common parafunctional behavior manifested during sleep and awakeness. Awake bruxism has been mostly associated with emotions like anxiety, stress, frustration or tension. During sleep it causes sleep disorders and arousals. Individuals are mostly unaware of the occurrent and severity of their bruxing habits. The unawareness results in a myriad of orofacial muscle pain and dental consequences like teeth damage, wear and fractures. Commercial devices in dental practice to monitor and treat bruxism are expensive, inconvenient for frequent daily use. For instance, Polysomnography (PSG) studies that target the monitoring of sleep bruxism, require patients to sleep in a clinical setting overnight. Further, ...

Human fascination with beauty and esthetic trends is continuously evolving; moreover, public awareness and desire to improve facial appearances are at the highest level. This trend of heightened public awareness and expectation is paving a new way of dentistry toward a more comprehensive approach with esthetic principles at its core. The oral health of the patient and his or her dentition are fundamental in dental treatment. However, the final esthetic outcome should be among the first steps in treatment planning. The ideal esthetic approach in dental treatment planning often requires a multidisciplinary approach engaging various dental professionals. This process requires thorough communication among dental practitioners and a basic understanding of what each discipline can provide. FACIAL ANALYSIS Facial evaluation is an integral part of patient examination. It starts with evaluating facial symmetry, as symmetric faces are considered more beautiful than those that are n...

Porcelain veneers had long been considered to be only an esthetic solution. However, their range of indications has been steadily increasing, making ceramic veneers a highly viable alternative to classic, far more invasive forms of restorative treatment. Today, veneers can be used to handle esthetics (discolored teeth, fractured and worn teeth, diastemas, dental defects, etc.) and to restore the biomechanics of the dentition, as well as many other indications. Classifications of Veneer Preparations Referred to as no, minimal, or conventional preparation, veneer classifications—or lack there of—create a large gray zone of misunderstanding and miscommunication with patients and within the dental profession. Left unanswered, questions regarding tooth structure removal, finish lines and margins, and other aspects can cause confusion in practice. Flaws and inaccuracies in previously proposed preparation guidelines make those guidelines irrelevant . To dissolve uncertainty, this v...

I was fit and healthy when I first felt pain in a molar. After numerous dentists and doctors left it untreated, there were knock-on effects throughout my body. Today I am in constant pain and look almost unrecognisable Keren Levy Wed 20 Apr 2022 10.00 BST In 2019 I was fitter than at any other point in my life – and I had a life I loved. It was my third year at the BBC. Every day at New Broadcasting House, I knew that I was seeing world events from a rare vantage point. I loved being surrounded by all the TV monitors and feeling at the centre of things. It had its trials, like any job, but it never stopped feeling like a privilege. Alongside my work, I was an open-water swimmer and had just topped 20 years of swims between islands and across lakes and rivers with an outing in the Galápagos. In the past I’d climbed Kilimanjaro, raced across the Hellespont in Turkey and along the Thames. I swam between the Cyclades in Greece every autumn and loved the Aegean with a passion. I relis...