Gastrointestinal conditions related to tooth wear.

Gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD) is a relatively common condition that occurs in adults and less commonly in children. It develops when the reflux of stomach contents into the oesophagus causes troublesome symptoms and/or complications. Signs and symptoms include heartburn, retrosternal discomfort, epigastric pain and hoarseness, dental erosion, chronic cough, burning mouth syndrome, halitosis and laryngitis. A proportion of patients will, however, have silent reflux. Strongly associated risk factors include family history, age, hiatus hernia, obesity and neurological conditions, such as cerebral palsy. There are different treatment options which may be considered for GORD, consisting of conservative, medical and surgical therapy. Dentists should be aware of the symptoms of GORD and dental signs of intrinsic erosion indicative of possible GORD so that they can question patients about this and, if appropriate, initiate a referral to a general medical practitioner.

Incidence and duration of group B Streptococcus by serotype among male and female college students living in a single dormitory.

Group B Streptococcus causes a variety of morbid and sometimes fatal conditions affecting individuals of all age groups. There are nine known serotypes of this Gram-positive coccus but few estimates of the incidence and duration of its colonization and none by serotype in the literature. In 2001, the authors conducted a prospective cohort study among 257 men and women living in a single dormitory in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The 3-week incidence with any serotype was 11.3% (+/-3.9%) among women and 8.8% (+/-3.0%) among men; 3-week incidence rates were highest for serotype V (4.7% for women and 3.5% for men) and type Ia (2.3% for women and 2.4% for men), with no significant differences by gender. The estimated average duration of any group B Streptococcus colonization was longer for women (13.7 weeks) than men (8.5 weeks); serotype Ia was carried an average of 6.5 weeks longer in women, and serotype III was carried 4.9 weeks longer. Colonization with more than one serotype occurred significantly less than would be expected by chance (p <<< 0.001). Based on the overall incidence, transmission occurred between roommate pairs at the rate expected. Group B Streptococcus colonization is frequent and dynamic, but it is not transmitted by casual contact.