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I am a specialist in internal medicine and have a keen interest in statistics and research methodology.1 My general approach to science has led to publications in many different areas because people came to me when they suspected something fishy in their specialty.1 In 2007, midwife Margrethe Nielsen from the Danish Consumer Council wanted to find out if history was repeating itself. I offered her a PhD student scholarship and we found out that the withdrawal symptoms are very similar for depression drugs and benzodiazepines, but they were described as dependence only for the latter.2 This started my interest in...

Alzheimer’s disease, long seen as a disorder of the aging brain, may actually begin in an unexpected place: the mouth.Researchers reported evidence that a bacterium commonly associated with chronic gum disease could play a direct role in the development of Alzheimer’s. The study, published in Science Advances, details how Porphyromonas gingivalis, the pathogen behind periodontitis, was detected in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. The findings come from an international team of scientists that included Jan Potempa, a microbiologist at the University of Louisville. Potempa said the research offers some of the strongest evidence yet linking gum infection to Alzheimer’s pathology,...

Common within Maya culture was the practice of dental modification, which usually involved filing teeth into distinctive shapes, engraving designs, or drilling holes and embedding stones such as jade or pyrite. Scholars had previously thought that these procedures were only performed on adults, but Phys.org reports that a new study suggests for the first time that some children may have also participated in the ritual. The evidence came from three Maya teeth inlaid with jade stones that are in the collections of Francisco Marroquín University's Popol Vuh Museum. Researchers recently reexamined the teeth -- a maxillary central left incisor, a...

Viking warriors filed deep grooves in their teeth, and they likely had to smile broadly to show them off, according to new finds in four major Viking Age cemeteries in Sweden. Caroline Arcini of Sweden's National Heritage Board analyzed 557 skeletons of men, women and children from between 800 and 1050 A.D. They discovered that 22 of the men bore deep, horizontal grooves across the upper front teeth. "The marks are traces of deliberate dental modifications ... they are so well-made that most likely they were filed by a person of great skill," Arcini wrote in the current issue of...

Ben Salomon was an Army dentist who faced down the largest Banzai charge of the Second World War. It took 58 years for his action to be recognized. Ben Salomon's Medal of Honor | 16:33 The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered 1.56M subscribers | 25,354 views | July 7, 2025

People with missing teeth may be able to grow new ones, say Japanese dentists testing a pioneering drug they hope will offer an alternative to dentures and implants. Unlike reptiles and fish, which usually replace their fangs on a regular basis, it is widely accepted that humans and most other mammals only grow two sets of teeth. But hidden underneath our gums are the dormant buds of a third generation, according to Katsu Takahashi, head of oral surgery at the Medical Research Institute Kitano Hospital in Osaka. His team launched clinical trials at Kyoto University Hospital in October, administering an...

A series of recently published opinions and letters present varying perspectives on the current state of US dental care all emphasize the need for evidence-based practices and changes in economic models. The conversation kicked off when Paulo Nadanovsky, DDS, Ph.D. and colleagues presented "Too Much Dentistry," arguing that dental diseases and procedures are highly prevalent, costly, and often exceed spending on other major health conditions such as diabetes and hypertension. They suggest that dental care in the U.S. is driven more by economic pressures and patient trust than clinical evidence, leading to excessive diagnoses and interventions. Examples offered include the...

A team of pioneering researchers is making remarkable strides toward developing a drug that could trigger the growth of new teeth in humans. A revolutionary milestone in dentistry and genetics has set the stage for transformative medical treatments. The team of pioneering Japanese researchers, led by Katsu Takahashi, is making remarkable strides toward developing a drug that could trigger the growth of new teeth in humans. This groundbreaking discovery has the potential to reshape dental care worldwide, offering new hope to millions dealing with hereditary dental issues. The clinical trial has sparked excitement across the global scientific community, with the...

WASHINGTON (AP) — If you have stained or chipped teeth, you might be considering veneers, customized teeth coverings that can restore a photogenic smile without more extensive dental work. But dentists warn that these pricey cosmetic enhancements are at the center of a worrisome online trend: unlicensed practitioners without proper training or supervision offering low-cost veneers. These self-described “veneer techs” often promote themselves on Instagram and TikTok, promising a full set of veneers for less than half of what dentists typically charge. Some also market their own training courses and certifications for people looking to get into the business. It’s...

I remember being a kid and seeing my grandmother without her dentures for the first time. It was a harrowing experience. Now my dad has dentures so, genetically speaking, I’m several decades out from needing some myself. However, it’s possible that modern medicine will solve the issue of lost teeth by then, thanks to a new drug that's about to enter human trials. The medicine quite literally regrows teeth and was developed by a team of Japanese researchers, as reported by New Atlas. The research has been led by Katsu Takahashi, head of dentistry and oral surgery at Kitano Hospital....

The world's first human trial of a drug that can regenerate teeth will begin in a few months, less than a year on from news of its success in animals. This paves the way for the medicine to be commercially available as early as 2030. The trial, which will take place at Kyoto University Hospital from September to August 2025, will treat 30 males aged 30-64 who are missing at least one molar. The intravenous treatment will be tested for its efficacy on human dentition, after it successfully grew new teeth in ferret and mouse models with no significant side...

Researchers in Japan are currently working on a medication that would allow people to grow a new set of teeth, with a clinical trial slated for July 2024.

The world's first human trial of a drug that can regenerate teeth will begin in a few months, less than a year on from news of its success in animals. This paves the way for the medicine to be commercially available as early as 2030. The trial, which will take place at Kyoto University Hospital from September to August 2025, will treat 30 males aged 30-64 who are missing at least one molar. The intravenous treatment will be tested for its efficacy on human dentition, after it successfully grew new teeth in ferret and mouse models with no significant side...

In a new analysis of thousands of teeth from ancient skeletons buried at a site near Naples, Italy, archaeologists have discovered that people were using their mouths to help with their work -- occupations that likely involved processing hemp into string and fabric. We all use our teeth as tools -- to open bottles, hold pieces of paper, or even smoke a pipe. When we do this, we open ourselves up to the possibility of cracking our teeth but also create microscopic grooves and injuries to the enamel surface. Since teeth don't remodel like bones do, these tiny insults remain...

Teeth from long-dead people and animals are divulging the history of modern-day pathogens.Ancient DNA extracted from the teeth of humans who lived long ago is yielding new information about pathogens past and present. In one of the latest studies, researchers uncovered and sequenced ancient herpes genomes for the first time, from the teeth of long-dead Europeans. The strain of herpes virus that causes lip sores in people today — called HSV-1 — was once thought to have emerged in Africa more than 50,000 years ago. But the new data, published in Science Advances on 27 July1, indicate that its origin...

A man with a metal detector searching a freshly plowed carrot field in Switzerland found a large ornate jewelry set dating to the Bronze Age — as well as other surprising items including a bear's tooth, a beaver's tooth and a fossilized shark's tooth, local officials said this week. Franz Zahn made the unusual discovery in August while he was "out and about in a freshly harvested carrot field" in Güttingen, about 50 miles northeast of Zurich, officials from Thurgau Canton said in a Monday news release. Zahn initially found a bronze disc, and immediately realized it was an "extraordinary...

Like the teeth themselves, under the right conditions the gunk on your teeth may survive not just thousands but millions of years in the grave. Isn't that good to know.Advanced dental decay and plaque buildup have been detected in Dryopithecus carinthiacus, a primate that lived in Europe 12.5 million years ago, suggesting it doted on high-sugar fruit. Sivapithecus sivalensis, who lived between 9.3 to 8.7 million years ago in Pakistan, was also apparently frugivorous. Analysis of ancient plaque has shed light on the mobility of Neanderthals and other hominins, as implied by dietary changes, and shored up the thesis that...

JENA, GERMANY—Phys.org reports that a study of genetic material recovered from the teeth of people buried in the Hagios Charalambos cave on the Greek island of Crete between about 2290 and 1909 B.C. detected the presence of extinct strains of two pathogens. Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History, the British School at Athens, and Temple University suggest that epidemics brought about by Y. pestis, which causes plague, and S. enterica, which causes typhoid fever, could have contributed to the collapse of Egypt’s Old Kingdom and the Akkadian...

The little-known tree that revolutionised global communicationJuly 27, 2022 | BBC Reel

The discovery by researchers led from the University of Toulouse–Jean Jaurès was made in the 'Grotte Mandrin', 1.5 miles south of Malataverne, in the Rhône Valley.Previously, the oldest proven examples of modern human settlements in Europe were dated back to 45,000–43,000 years ago — 10,000 years earlier.Furthermore, the Mandrin cave also provides the first clear example of a site that was alternately occupied by Neanderthals and modern humans (Homo sapiens).