Oral Appliance Improves Athletic Performance

Bite Tech® mouthpiece can reduce stress level after exercise

A customized mouthpiece that rests on the lower mandible can decrease levels of serum cortisol after exercise, thus reducing stress levels following strenuous activity and potentially providing a more rapid recovery after intense muscle exertion, according to new research presented at the Experimental Biology 2012 meeting this week in San Diego.

Researchers from the department of health, exercise, and sport science at The Citadel and the department of health and human performance from the College of Charleston studied 13 college-age males.

Study participants wore the custom-made mouthpieces, which allowed the lower jaw to move down and slightly forward when teeth were clenched due to a wedge-shaped design, during one exercise session and did not wear the mouthpiece during the other.

All participants completed two identical exercise trials, separated by seven days. Blood was collected immediately before, during, and immediately after each event and during three subsequent periods during recovery (30, 60 and 120 minutes post-exercise). The samples were analyzed for physiological changes in cortisol.

Researchers found no difference in preexercise cortisol levels between the groups. However, the group that wore the mouthpiece had lower cortisol levels at the midpoint and 30 minutes after exercise. No differences were found immediately after exercise or at the 60- or 120-minute marks.

"The findings are important because decreasing the cortisol response after exercise may lead to a quicker recovery time, which is an important consideration for those who train daily, such as competitive athletes," said study author Wes Dudgeon PhD. "The findings also show the potential to enhance exercise performance without the use of drugs or supplements."

New Whitening Option for Patients With Heavy Stains

At-home bleaching effective on coffee, cigarette stains

May 15, 2012 -- At-home bleaching using 6% hydrogen peroxide is effective in removing stains caused by coffee or cigarette smoke, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Dental Association.

Extrinsic stains have a multifactorial etiology involving chromogens that are derived from dietary sources or pigmented substances that are used habitually in the mouth, noted the study authors, from Pontifical Catholic University of Paraná and Federal University of Paraná in Brazil (JADA, May 2012, Vol. 143:5, pp. e1-e7).

"Coffee, tea, red wine, orange juice, some soft drinks, and food colorants are considered staining agents that lead to extrinsic tooth discoloration when consumed frequently," they wrote.

However, the literature is limited with regard to data pertaining to the best choice and efficacy of stain-removal techniques, they noted.

40 enamel surfaces tested

To evaluate the stain-removal ability of tooth bleaching and simulated tooth brushing, and to determine enamel susceptibility to restaining, the researchers measured the baseline color of 40 bovine labial enamel surfaces by using a portable colorimeter with a 6-mm diameter tip.

The coffee solution was prepared by dissolving six grams of instant coffee powder in 300 milliliters of boiling water. The specimens were then immersed in the solution for 72 hours at 37°C.

The color readings were taken in accordance with the Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage L*a*b* system against a white background. The specimens were then divided in half and stained with coffee and cigarette smoke.

The other 20 specimens were exposed to a smoking machine that contained smoke from five cigarettes that were smoked to a length of 10 mm beyond the tipping paper that covers the filter. The jar was kept saturated for 10 minutes. The researches repeated this cycle three times.

After the staining procedures, the color measurements were taken again and compared to the color of the specimens at baseline. The specimens were then divided into two subgroups and subjected to at-home bleaching (one hour per day for 21 days) or simulated tooth brushing (120 cycles per day for 21 days), followed by another color measurement.

Both staining procedures were then repeated and another color measurement was taken.

Coffee enhances restraining potential

Here are some of the key results:

• The first color measurement showed that cigarette smoke and coffee staining resulted in similar discoloration (p > .05).
• At the second color measurement, tooth brushing resulted in a significant reduction in color change only for specimens stained with cigarette smoke (p < .001), whereas tooth bleaching resulted in significantly reduced values for specimens stained with cigarette smoke or coffee (p < .05).
• Restaining with cigarette smoke did not increase the color change significantly for specimens that underwent bleaching or toothbrushing (p > .05). In contrast, restaining with coffee resulted in significantly more discoloration for both groups of specimens, irrespective of the stain-removal method (p < .05).
• At the last color measurement, the coffee-stained specimens that underwent toothbrushing experienced the highest mean discoloration, with statistically significant differences between these specimens and the specimens that were stained with cigarette smoke (p < .05).

"The study results show that at-home bleaching removed both coffee and cigarette-smoke staining," the authors concluded. "The restaining potential was greater for specimens stained with coffee than for those stained with cigarette smoke, regardless of the removal method used."

A 2008 study (Brazilian Oral Research, Apr-Jun 2008, Vol. 22(2), pp.106-111) that evaluated the effectiveness of whitening dentifrices for the removal of extrinsic tooth stains had more mixed results. Researchers from the department of restorative dentistry at Vale do Paraíba University in Brazil examined the effect of distilled water, Colgate, Crest Extra Whitening, and Rapid White on specimens stained in a solution of black tea. They found that only the whitening dentifrice Rapid White was effective for the removal of extrinsic stains.

Meanwhile, a Procter & Gamble study presented at the 81st general session of the International Association for Dental Research in 2003 found that effective dentifrices remove extrinsic stains only, while effective bleaching technologies remove both extrinsic and intrinsic color sources.

Liquid Candy

Soda pop creates more than just cavities

A commentary from Nutrition Action Healthletter

Soda pop was once an occasional treat for millions of people. I remember drinking Coke on picnics or at Sunday dinners when I was a kid in the 1950s. I pretty much gave up sugary drinks in the 1970s as I learned about the sugar, dyes, and other things they contained. But at the same time, America was gulping them down with ever greater alacrity.

Consumption of regular soda tripled between 1957 and 1998, when the industry produced about 450 12-ounce soda servings for every American. And that doesn't include the gallons of sugar-laden non-carbonated fruit drinks, bottled teas, energy drinks, and sports drinks that we swallow each year. Some people, especially teens, drink a six-pack a day of sugary drinks and get a quarter of their calories from the added sugars.

Vending machines were being installed everywhere. Fast-food restaurants helped make soft drinks the default beverage for new generations of kids. Container sizes ballooned from 6½ ounces to 12 ounces to 20 ounces. Restaurants and convenience stores started offering half-gallon cups and free refills.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (publisher of Nutrition Action) began a serious campaign against soft drinks in 1998 when we published Liquid Candy: How Soft Drinks are Harming Americans' Health.

Cavities resulting from chronic soda pop consumption

Dentists had long argued that soda causes cavities. New research was linking soft drinks to weight gain and obesity—a cause of heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, and cancer. Soft drinks also displace nutrient-rich milk.

Non-diet soda peaked in 1998. Since then, we've cut our consumption every year, so that by 2010 we drank almost 25 percent less than in 1998. Bottled water (much of it marketed by Coke and Pepsi) has taken up the slack.

The battle against sugary beverages is in full swing. Boston and New York City are ridding public office buildings and parks of them. And health departments are creating anti-soda videos (for New York City's, see youtube.com/user/drinkingsugar).

The Food and Drug Administration also needs to act. It should require warning notices on soft drinks, set a Daily Value for "added sugars," and require added sugars (instead of total sugars) on Nutrition Facts labels. And the government should get sugary drinks out of cafeterias and vending machines in office buildings, national parks, and other facilities.

But the single most important thing that federal, state, and local governments could do would be to slap a tax on all sugary drinks. Depending on the rate (some have proposed one cent per ounce or 12 cents per can), a national excise tax would reduce consumption by up to 23 percent, generate $15 billion annually, and help fund programs that promote health.

Now that would be sweet.

Michael F. Jacobson, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Center for Science in the Public Interest