Matcha green tea has the potential to keep gum disease at bay, a new study finds.

Lab experiments show that matcha can inhibit the growth of Porphyromonas gingivalis, one of the main bacterial culprits behind gum disease.

Among a small group of 45 people with gum disease, those who used matcha mouth...

People with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) face more than triple the odds of bruxism, otherwise known as teeth grinding, a new study finds.

The small study of 76 Brazilian adults (38 diagnosed with PTSD and 38 without the condition) found much higher incidence of daytime teeth grinding.

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Oral health might have an impact on heart health, a new study has found.

Folks treated for an irregular heart rhythm were more likely to keep a healthy heartbeat if they took steps to manage their gum disease, researchers report.

The study involved atria...

A cheap cavity-fighting liquid typically used to treat sensitive teeth appears to work as well as dental sealants in preventing tooth decay, a new study finds.

A single treatment of either silver diamine fluoride (SDF) or a typical dental sealant prevented 80% of cavities for four years among thousands of New York City elementary schoolchildren, researchers report March 4 in the journal <...

Analysis of a "chemical score" from mouth lesion swab samples might allow patients to skip painful biopsies, getting oral cancers promptly diagnosed in a noninvasive way, scientists report.

Right now, dentists and other specialists must send excised tissues from suspicious mouth lesions to labs for standard biopsies, which are costly and invasive.

However, researchers at Case Weste...

New guidelines from the American Dental Association (ADA) are cracking down on the use of opioids for tooth pain.

The guidelines say that non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) taken alone or alongside acetaminophen should be the first-line treatment for managing short-term dental pain in teenagers and adults.

The available medical evidence indicates that those medications c...

The heavy lead apron dentists drape over you during dental X-rays may soon be a thing of the past.

On Thursday, the American Dental Association (ADA) announced that its member dentists can dispense with the aprons, technically called "thyroid collars" because they were used to shield that organ from radiation.

"After reviewing nearly 100 articles, guidance documents and regulations ...

A newly developed "brush biopsy"allows dentists to screen for the most common form of mouth cancer, a new study reports.

Dentists use a small brush to gently collect cells from potentially cancerous lesions inside the mouth, researchers write in the journal Cancer Medicine.

The sample is then analyzed for g...

New research in mice is pointing to a surprising connection: Gum disease could exacerbate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Because gum disease (periodontitis) is a chronic, inflammatory infection, it's long been linked to higher heart disease risks. Now, Chinese researchers believe it could also have ties to the sixth leading cause of death in the United States, COPD.

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A person's toothbrush could be a true lifesaver if they land in a hospital ICU, according to new evidence review.

Regular toothbrushing is associated with lower rates of death in the intensive care unit (ICU), shorter lengths of stay, and shorter times spent on a mechanical ventilator, researchers report in the Dec. 18 issue of the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.

That's bec...

The holidays are all about parties, and parties are all about drinking wine. But if you're a red wine lover, how do you avoid stained teeth?

"When you drink red wine, you're encountering a triple threat to your teeth's whiteness: anthocyanins, which are the pigments in grapes that give red wine its rich color; tannins, which help bind the pigment to your teeth; and the acidity found in wi...

If you're getting a tooth pulled or having another painful dental procedure, you're much less likely to get opioids than you were just a few years ago, new research reveals.

That's good news because opioid abuse is a major issue in the United States and these drugs aren't necessary for most dental procedures.

But there was a bit of bad news in the findings: Efforts to reduce opioid ...

That heavy lead apron you wear at the dentist's office when getting X-rays may no longer be necessary.

While intended to shield patients from radiation exposure anywhere that isn't the jaw, the X-ray equipment used in dental offices today is quite safe compared to those of the past.

The amount of external radiation scatter from modern X-ray technology poses little to no threat to pa...

People want whiter teeth, surveys show, and the American Dental Association (ADA) has some advice on how to accomplish that.

Over time, teeth can become less white due to a number of causes, including food and drink, tobacco use, age, trauma and medications.

According to the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, when people were asked what they most wanted to improve about their s...

Good oral health is one of the keys to healthy aging, but a sobering new study shows that many U.S. nursing home residents have significant dental issues.

Close to two in every 10 residents have missing teeth, about 8% have broken teeth/cavities and another 11% report pain while chewing, researchers found.

"Inadequate oral health has far-reaching consequences that extend beyond the...

Children having short-term dental pain from extractions or toothache should not be prescribed opioids but rather manage those aches with over-the-counter ibuprofen and/or acetaminophen, according to new guidelines.

The guidelines detailing dental pain management strategies for kids was endorsed by the American Dental Association (ADA) after being developed by the ADA Science & Research In...

Damaged teeth could one day be repaired with "living fillings"created from stem cells, a new study reports.

In the lab, researchers induced stem cells to form small, multicellular mini-organs that secrete the proteins that form tooth enamel, according to a report published Aug. 14 in the journal