March 2006

Kerala booming with dental tourism
Monday, March 27, 2006 | gp

Tourists are coming to India for expert medical and dental opinion as part of their vacation package. This is mainly because medical costs in Europe and America are considerably higher in the West when compared to that here. In Kerala, dental tourism is taking off well, especially in the tourist season. Apart from the essential dental treatment, the city is poised to welcome a new dimension to dentistry and dental tourism. Radical fashion statements, like placing of a crystal or a gem onto the surface of the tooth to give your smile that extra magic is in. Tooth jewellery or tooth sparklers, as they are called, are in vogue and Kochi is getting its first bite. Vivadent, the pioneers in dental crystals have also come out with their range of crystals, called Skyce, affordable and in alluring hues of white and sapphire. From, Vivadent to Dentsply to3M to Swaroski, prices range from Rs. 300 to Rs. 4,000 and upwards per tooth.

Carbon nanotubes to aid in dental implantology
Monday, March 20, 2006 | gp

Researchers at the University of California, Riverside have published findings that show, for the first time, that bone cells can grow and proliferate on a scaffold of carbon nanotubes.The paper, titled Bone Cell Proliferation on Carbon Nanotubes, appears in the March 8 edition of Nano Letters, a journal of the American Chemical Society.Zanello's paper builds on previous research by Haddon which showed that carbon nanotubes could be chemically compatible with bone cells. Zanello's experiment put Haddon's findings to the test and found that the nanotubes, 100,000 times finer than a human hair, are an excellent scaffold for bone cells to grow on. "In the past scientists have been plagued by toxicity issues when combining carbon nanotubes with living cells," Zanello said. "So we have been looking for the most pure nanotubes we could get to reduce the presence of heavy metals that are frequently introduced in the manufacturing process." Because carbon nanotubes are not biodegradable, they behave like an inert matrix on which cells can proliferate and deposit new living material, which becomes functional, normal bone, according to the paper. They therefore hold promise in the treatment of bone defects in humans associated with the removal of tumors, trauma, and abnormal bone development and in dental implants, Zanello added.