March 4, 2009

Dental sealants, those plastic materials that are applied directly to the chewing surfaces of back teeth fitting into pits and fissures and designed to prevent tooth decay, have been long associated with children and teen-agers. But according to organizations like the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) and the American Dental Association (ADA), sealants can also be effective deterrents to tooth decay for adults.

March 4, 2009

The National Children’s Oral Health Foundation (NCOHF) celebrated its third anniversary and recognized its many supporters, sponsors and partnerships at a special reception at the Chicago Hyatt Regency held during the recent Chicago Midwinter Meeting. The reception was an opportunity for the group to highlight recent accomplishments and present its new programs and vision for the future.

March 4, 2009

Mark Rutenberg wants you to look for this four-letter word: TEST. Rutenberg is the chairman/CEO of OralCDx, a company that provides the BrushTest, which can determine whether a patient has pre-cancerous or cancerous cells. He says his 'test' is different from others on the market because it’s the only minimally invasive diagnostic procedure that actually tests the tissue.

March 3, 2009

The theme at the 2009 Chicago Midwinter Meeting was The World of Dental Networking, and nowhere did more networking take place than in the event’s massive exhibit hall. “The latest innovations in equipment and materials can be found in one location: The Midwinter Meeting Exhibit Hall,” said David P. Kumamoto, Chicago Dental Society’s 2009 president, in his welcome address.

March 3, 2009

A new study addresses the growing controversy among dental health professionals regarding the best course of treatment when evaluating between a root canal or dental implant procedure. Researchers evaluated the success and failure rates of teeth treated endodontically or extracted and replaced with a dental implant.

March 3, 2009

With its Single Tooth Anesthesia (STA) System, Milestone Scientific is changing the way local anesthesia is being delivered today. Dr Mark Hochman, a periodontist and orthodontist who also teaches at the New York University School of Dental Surgery, shares in the responsibility for inventing much of the technology currently available from Milestone Scientific. As Dr Hochman told Dental Tribune during an interview at the recent Midwinter Meeting in Chicago, the STA System allows a dentist to perform all of the traditional injections that can be performed with a hand-held syringe, but in a superior manner.

March 3, 2009

They are not led by the most well-known speakers on the dental education circuit, but table clinics — those concise, 15- to 20-minute presentations about materials, procedures, and techniques — offer some of the most interesting topics you’ll find anywhere. At the Chicago Dental Society’s 144th Midwinter Meeting, held recently, a number of table clinics were offered. 

March 1, 2009 | Business

LEIPZIG, Germany: The US pharmaceutical company Novalar has launched their latest premier dental product OraVerse at the Chicago Midwinter Meeting held in Chicago in February. The product is the first local anaesthesia reversal agent that accelerates the return to normal sensation and function for patients who wish to avoid the lingering soft tissue anaesthesia following routine dental procedures in which a local anaesthetic containing a vasoconstrictor was used.

February 23, 2009

Dr John S. Findley, president of the American Dental Association (ADA), applauded American legislators for recently introducing a federal bill aimed at understanding and treating ‘meth mouth’—a condition where teeth can become blackened, stained, rotting and crumbling from methamphetamine (meth) use.

February 18, 2009

Uniting on behalf of the endodontic specialty, the Board of Directors of the American Association of Endodontists (AAE) recently joined the American Dental Political Action Committee as members of its Capital Club. The initiative, currently the only one of its kind among dental specialties, demonstrates through monetary contributions the AAE’s conscious commitment to political outreach.

February 9, 2009

The current economic climate has presented challenges for many, yet one company, Milestone Scientific, seems to be bucking the trend. In 2008 most dental equipment manufacturers reported declines in sales ranging from 10 to 30 percent, with some large equipment manufactures reporting even greater losses. It might lead one to wonder why sales of Milestone’s STA System were up over 200 per cent, exceeding all of the company sales forecasts. Dental Tribune recently interviewed Scott Mahnken, Milestone Scientific’s director of marketing, about the company’s success, its innovative product and the various advantages that computer-controlled local anesthesia delivery offer the dentist.

February 6, 2009

The future of implant dentistry is bright. That was the message delivered at the Long Island Dental Implant Symposium, held recently at the Huntington Hilton in Melville, NY, USA. The event featured presentations by three well-known speakers and was sponsored by Astra Tech and Town & Country Dental Studios. More than 50 dentists attended, according to organizers of the event.

February 3, 2009

Dr Assad F. Mora is a native of Syria who came to the United States in the early 1970s to study prosthodontics. Today he maintains a private practice in Santa Barbara, CA, USA, with his wife, Kathy Patmore, an endodontist. As inventor of the MORA Interface and the MoraVision 3D system, Dr Mora pioneered a new era in visualization technology by introducing the use of stereoscopic 3-D video technology for viewing the operating field in real time for performing clinical dental procedure. Dr Mora spent some time with Dental Tribune discussing how he became involved with microscope-enhanced dentistry, the thinking behind MoraVision 3D system, and what he sees for the future of microdentistry.

February 2, 2009

When endodontists go to work, they invariably think about things like access, working length, cyclic fatigue and obturation. But when patients think about a root canal, they are primarily concerned about one thing and one thing alone — pain.

January 10, 2009

LOS ANGELES, CA, USA: The Shapiro Family Charitable Foundation in the US has made a US$1 million pledge to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Dentistry for the establishment of the Dr No-Hee Park Endowed Chair in Dentistry, to honour the School’s dean and foster excellence in research and scholarship in biomedical and dental science. The endowed professorship, which is intended to support the teaching and research activities of a distinguished faculty member at the School of Dentistry, will be held by the chair of the School’s division of Oral Biology and Medicine.

January 1, 2009

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, USA: The University of California’s School of Dentistry in San Francisco has received a multimillion-dollar grant from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), to address disparities in children’s oral health and to launch new programmes in preventing early childhood tooth decay, also called ECC.

December 11, 2008 | Business

REALITY is a US-based consensus report on dental products and techniques that aims to protect patients by informing dentists. In their headquarters in Houston, TX, the company behind it, REALITY Publishing Co., is constantly testing products and techniques using clinically relevant methods under laboratory conditions. An Editorial Team (ET), comprised of leading clinicians from around the world, also uses the products in their clinics and practices. Dental Tribune editor Claudia Salwiczek spoke with Co-Founder Dr Michael Miller about the rating system and what dentists should consider when choosing a product.

December 11, 2008

LEIPZIG, Germany: The US Department of Defense has announced the start of a recruiting campaign aimed at foreigners living in the United States on temporary visas, to fill critical shortages of medical personnel in the military.

November 30, 2008

Tens of thousands of dental professionals gathered in Manhattan the weekend after Thanksgiving for the Greater New York Dental Meeting (GNYDM). It was an opportunity to grow, to explore new products and techniques, and to connect with colleagues. For dentists, practice staff members and exhibitors, the ultimate goal was the same: to improve patient care. There were educational opportunities throughout the meeting — even right on the exhibit hall floor.

November 20, 2008

Pittsburgh, PA, USA: Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed a quick and simple method for detecting mercury in fish and dental samples, two substances at the centre of public concern about mercury contamination.

November 16, 2008

LEIPZIG, Germany: Researchers at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Emory University, USA, have discovered dental pulp stem cells can stimulate growth and generation of several types of neural cells. Findings from this study suggest dental pulp stem cells show promise for use in cell therapy and regenerative medicine, particularly therapies associated with the central nervous system.

November 9, 2008

LEIPZIG, Germany: According to a recent survey, US dentists might be disappointed by the Democratic win in the US elections last month. Two out of three dentists surveyed in a poll by dental practice marketing resource The Wealthy Dentist said that former Republican nominee John McCain would be a better president for dentists. One in six favoured Obama, while the remainder said there would be no difference between the two.

October 14, 2008

Reproduction pressures and rising fertility explain why women suffered a more rapid decline in dental health than did men as humans transitioned from hunter-and-gatherers to farmers and more sedentary pursuits, says a University of Oregon anthropologist. The conclusion follows a comprehensive review of records of the frequencies of dental cavities in both prehistoric and living human populations from research done around the world. A driving factor was dramatic changes in female-specific hormones, reports John R. Lukacs, a professor of anthropology who specializes in dental, skeletal and nutritional issues.

October 3, 2008

LEIPZIG, Germany/WASHINGTON D.C., USA: With the economy in the United States declining, preventive dental care can be one of the first things to go. The correlation between rising unemployment and a drop in preventive dental care, however, is not necessarily due to people being short of cash, according to a new study appearing in the online edition of Health Services Research.

September 14, 2008

LEIPZIG, Germany: With the economy in the United States declining, preventive dental care can be one of the first things to go. The correlation between rising unemployment and a drop in preventive dental care, however, is not necessarily due to people being short of cash, according to a new study appearing in the online edition of Health Services Research.

August 27, 2008

LEIPZIG, Germany: Experts at the 28th Conference of the International Society for Fluoride Research in Toronto, Canada, have raised new concerns about the effects of fluoride on the human body. According to their research, high exposure of fluoride in drinking water and other sources can not only result in neurological changes inside the brain but also have an effect on bone quality or tooth development. New findings from the US even suggested a lack of evidence for caries reduction and highlighted the extensive damage and costs associated with dental fluorosis, a health condition caused by an overdose of fluoride.

July 7, 2008

LEIPZIG, Germany: An estimated 33.2 million people worldwide were living with HIV as of December 2007, according to a UN report released in June. The report, prepared by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, said that the annual rate of new HIV infections appears to have decreased over the last decade.

July 6, 2008 | Business

LEIPZIG, Germany: Apple’s new iPhone 3G has found its way to stores around the globe. An US company has now developed a software that is supposed to help physicians and dentists to view medical images on the device without being tied to an imaging workstation.

June 11, 2008

AUGUSTA, USA/LEIPZIG, Germany: The blue light used by dentists to harden dental fillings could also help to treat cancer, according to new research. A student at the School of Dentistry at the Medical College of Georgia, USA, found the light halted the growth of tumours while doing tests on mice.

May 4, 2008 | Business

LEIPZIG, Germany: Google has launched a new health service in the United States, joining other companies that also offer ways to manage personal medical records online.