Dr. Bob's Mouthly Report

Robotic Health Care is coming to a Hospital Near You

by Robert Glisci, DDS, PC on 05/15/19

Medical robots are helping doctors and other professionals save time, lower costs and shorten patient recovery times, but patients may not be ready. Our research into human perceptions of automated health care finds that people are wary of getting their health care from an automated system, but that they can adjust to the idea – especially if it saves them money.

Hospitals and medical practices are already using a fair amount of automation. For instance, in one San Francisco hospital and other places, delivery robots – about the size of a mini-fridge – zip through the hallways delivering pills, bringing lunch to patients and ferrying specimens and medical equipment to different labs. Some hospitals are set up for delivery robots to open remote-control doors and even use elevators to get around the building.

Robots can also assist with more complex tasks, like surgery. Their participation can range from simply helping stabilize a surgeon’s tools all the way to autonomously performing the entire procedure. Perhaps the most famous robotic surgery system lets a surgeon operate full-size, ergonomically friendly equipment as a remote control to direct extremely tiny instruments what to do inside a patient’s body, often through extremely small incisions.

Robots are also beginning to serve as caregivers, especially for older people. The world’s population is aging, increasing demand for assistance with daily chores and medical tasks, as well as checking on patients’ well-being and safety. Many of those jobs are tiring, often thankless and relatively low-paying for people, but robots can help with tasks as diverse as cleaning, getting out of bed and other daily needs.

Medical service robots can even provide companionship, to reduce the isolation felt by many older people. In one study, a robotic companion was more successful than a regular plush toy at helping dementia patients communicate with their families.

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The Conversation

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Bioengineers and Designers Bring 3-D-Printed Organs One Step Closer

by Robert Glisci, DDS, PC on 05/15/19

The promise of 3-D-printing functioning organs has always been to relieve the current donor system. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing, there are currently more than 74 thousand people on the waiting list for an organ donation in the U.S., but in the first three months of 2019, only 9,502 transplants were performed. There is a shortage of available donor organs, and 3-D-printing them on demand could be a solution. However, to compete with real human organs, these 3-D-printed organs have to be capable of taking on their intended function. For a relatively simple organ, like the bladder, this isn’t too difficult. But 3-D-printing lungs, for example, is an entirely different story.

Lungs are complex structures, with intricate pathways of air ducts and blood vessels that interact with each other to make a functioning lung. Jordan Miller, a bioengineer at Rice University, recognized that 3-D-printing such a delicate network of intertwining vessels is a work of art, so he enlisted help from artists…

Scientists Hope Microbes Found In Toxic Waste Can Yield Lifesaving Drugs

by Robert Glisci, DDS, PC on 05/15/19

Extreme environments like Superfund sites host microbes that survive their habitats by synthesizing potent compounds. From abandoned copper mines in Montana and Vermont to a coal seam in Kentucky that’s been burning for half a century, natural product chemists have begun to identify potential new pharmaceuticals in the most unlikely of places.

“Extremely hostile environments are an evolutionary playground,” says Tomasz Boruta, a bioprocess engineer at Lodz University of Technology, in Poland. “Organisms need to evolve all sorts of new compounds to adapt to those harsh conditions.”

30 to 40 Million Americans Grind Their Teeth at Night

by Robert Glisci, DDS, PC on 05/08/19

Wearing Mouth Guard, Managing Stress May Help With Bruxism Here's what happens if you grind your teeth too much.

Thirty to 40 million Americans grind their teeth at night. That's roughly 10% of the US population, and chronic teeth grinding can lead to painful issues from tooth fractures to changes in facial appearance. But the worst part is you could be a teeth grinder and not even know it.

Every time a grinder gnashes their back molars together, they exert as much as 200 pounds of pressure per square inch. That's 10 times the force you exert on your teeth when you chew normally. This pressure can crack and fracture teeth and eventually even wear them down to stumps, which can then require root canals, implants, or dentures. But it's not just your teeth that take a beating.

If you suffer from chronic grinding, also called bruxism in the medical community, you could be grinding your teeth for up to 40 minutes for every hour you're asleep. That's enough to cause headaches and a sore jaw in the morning, and if you keep it up night after night, it could permanently damage your jaw. Researchers estimate that 20% of teeth grinders have symptoms of a painful jaw condition called TMD. TMD affects the movement of your temporomandibular joints. These joints connect your jaw to your skull, helping you eat, chew, and talk. But when you grind your teeth incessantly, you can overwork these joints.

One study found that when these muscles work overtime, they become tender and enlarged, making your face look more square and masculine. What's more, the sound of grinding teeth could be enough to damage your hearing. Researchers who examined 400 university students found a strong correlation between grinding and tinnitus. Tinnitus is a hearing condition that causes ringing in your ears and can lead to hearing loss.

But perhaps the scariest part of all of this, unless your roommate or a partner hears you grinding your teeth at night, you might not even realize you're doing it until your dentist notices the damage. And chances are, you've probably done it yourself. An estimated 85 to 90% of the population will grind or clench their teeth to some degree. And while there's no simple cure for bruxism, there's still hope. A mouth guard, for instance, won't stop you from grinding altogether, but it will stop your molars from wearing your teeth down to stumps. And since grinding is often caused by stress and anxiety, some doctors recommend counseling and meditation. So maybe a solution to your teeth-grinding problem is a nice long vacation. Doesn't sound too bad, right?

Study Finds Children Who Drink Diet Sodas Don’t Consume Fewer Calories

by Robert Glisci, DDS, PC on 05/08/19

Diet Sodas May Not Help Kids Cut Calories

Kids who favor diet sodas over sugary ones don't consume fewer calories over the course of a day, a new study finds.

And they average 200 more calories daily than their peers who choose water, according to the results of a survey of over 7,000 U.S. children and teens.

"In some studies in adults, it's been found that artificial sweeteners caused a craving for more sweet foods," Stefanski said. "This isn't an automatic association, but if your taste buds are wired to always expect a sweet sensation, plain water might help to decrease that craving for sweets."

Kids who'd had at least 4 ounces of water, and little to no sugary or artificially sweetened drinks, were considered water consumers.

On average, those kids had the lowest calorie intake for the day, and consumed the least amount of sugar and added sugar. In comparison, their peers who had low-calorie sweet drinks -- at least 4 ounces for the day -- consumed 200 more calories, on average.

That put them on par with kids who'd had sugar-sweetened drinks. (Any beverage dubbed sugar-free, diet, light, low-calorie or no-calorie was categorized as a low-calorie sweetened drink.)

On the other hand, kids who drank diet beverages were doing better in some ways, the study found. They consumed less daily sugar for the day -- including added sugars -- than those who drank sugar-sweetened beverages.