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In this month’s Root of the Problem, Kreena Patel covers external cervical resorption, how to diagnose it and how to treat it.

External cervical resorption is a pathological resorption.

It initiates on the external aspect of the root, immediately below the gingival epithelial attachment. It is therefore most often found in the cervical region.

The literature states that external cervical resorption is relatively uncommon.

However, many endodontists notice it is becoming a more frequent finding.

It is difficult to know if this is due to the disease becoming more prevalent or because of better diagnosis by our dental community.

Resorption initiation

The external surface of the root is surrounded by a protective layer called precementum. Damage to this layer allows resorptive cells (odontoclasts) to penetrate the root.

The portal of entrance into the root can range in size from pinpoint to a much larger defect.

Once the odontoclasts have penetrated … Read the rest

Artificial intelligence systems are able to identify tooth decay more accurately than human dentists, new research suggests.

The study, carried out by Pearl, compares the diagnostic abilities of three human dentists to that of an artificial intelligence (AI) diagnostic system.

It looked at the agreement between the human and AI diagnoses after they analysed more than 8,700 bitewing and periapical radiographs.

Additionally, the research revealed there was a lack of diagnostic agreement among the three human dentists.

Diagnostic discrepancies

They displayed a 79% unanimous agreement when it came to the absence of decay. But this dropped to 4.2% – around 370 X-rays – when it came to presence of decay.

And in nearly one in five instances, when two dentists identified decay in an X-ray, the third did not.

‘Our intention in producing this study was simply to demonstrate the efficacy of computer vision machine learning diagnostics in dental radiology,’ … Read the rest

A dentist is getting ready to take on the English Channel in a bid to raise money for a dental charity.

This month, Jim Lafferty will embark on a 12-hour solo swim from Dover to Calais.

Braving water temperatures of around 18°C, he hopes to raise £5,000 for Dentaid, a charity that works to improve oral health in the UK and overseas.

Although the shortest channel route is 21 miles, drifting currents will force Jim to swim around 25 miles to make it across to France. His solo journey will take place between 9 and 15 September.

Overcome obstacles

Jim will swim alongside a boat called High Hopes containing his support team, who will help him to overcome the risks of exhaustion, hypothermia and strong currents. The team includes a pilot and an observer from the Channel Swimming and Piloting Federation.

‘They will be looking after me by keeping me … Read the rest

Colgate is launching a dedicated resource page devoted to helping patients suffering with dentine hypersensitivity.

Available at colgate.dentistry.co.uk, the interactive resource page provides readers with an overview on dentine hypersensitivity.

With 50% of sensitivity sufferers not reporting their pain, Colgate hopes this new resource page will help dental professionals diagnose and treat dentine hypersensitivity.

‘We wanted to set this microsite up to provide an educational resource around Colgate Sensitive Pro Relief Toothpaste range to help support dental professionals with managing their patients with dentine hypersensitivity,’ a Colgate spokesperson says.

‘We also want this to be easily accessible to dental professionals. So that they can access it in their own time and provide the opportunity to gain patient samples of Colgate Sensitive Pro relief for their practice.

‘We hope dental professionals will gain a true understanding of how Colgate’s portfolio of sensitive toothpaste can help manage this patient group.

‘Dental … Read the rest

A group of dental associations have joined together and called on government action for mixed and private services.

In a new report, key stakeholders assess the financial support measures currently available to practices.

And following the findings, the British Dental Association (BDA) has written to Chancellor Rishi Sunak calling for an ‘urgent response’.

Robust support package

The paper sets out a number of key recommendations, for example:

• The extension of eligibility for financial support and expansion of eligibility to business rate relief. This is to help manage the financial burdens of resuming provision and restoring the sector
• Further support through investment in extended commissioning of NHS dental care to address the backlog of patients.

Additionally, it urges for a ‘robust and timely support package’ for the dental sector, asking the government to consider:

• An extension of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme
• Eligibility for business rate relief
• Eligibility for the Retail,