Amalgam opponents turned out in force September 22 at a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) town hall meeting in South San Francisco, CA. It was the third in a series of such meetings the FDA has held this year to solicit feedback from citizens, entrepreneurs, and health professionals about dental amalgam, medical device regulation, and related topics. The meeting was moderated by Jeffrey Shuren, MD, JD, director of the
The Orabrush tongue cleaner can now be found at 3,500 Walmart stores throughout the U.S. Since its launch in 2009, Orabrush has pursued an aggressive viral marketing campaign. The company currently has nearly 300,000 fans on Facebook, while its YouTube brand channel has more than 38 million views and over 150,000 subscribers. “To my knowledge, there have been few, if any, products to go from no sales, online or offline,
Vident has added bleached shades to its Vita Classical shade guide. Teeth whitening has become a popular way for many patients to improve their smile, but finding just the right shade match can be very difficult, according to Vident. Vita Bleached Shades offer dentists a practical tool to reliably determine and maintain a whitening regimen that achieves an optimal shade match, the company noted. Vita Bleached Shades offer balanced color
Crosstex International has joined the growing consortium supporting dental students through the Next DDS program, developed by the Next Media Group. Crosstex is the first corporate sponsor of the Next DDS’ Infection Control therapeutic category. The Next DDS website provides dental students with 24/7 access to educational resources in support of their ongoing professional training and development. Offered free to dental students, Next DDS provides access to articles, videos, podcasts,
Dental caries among young rural Alaska Native children are up to 4.5 times as severe as children the same age within the general U.S. population, according to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services. The report is based on a 2008 investigation of child dental decay in rural Alaska. According to the report, lack of
In a speech delivered September 19 in New York, Tanzanian President H.E. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete urged the United Nations (U.N.) Summit on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) to address the challenge of oral health as a priority on the agenda. “Oral diseases are often overlooked among NCDs by the international community, and it is a health area that we cannot afford to ignore and that is largely preventable,” the president said. “I
Sealing caries in primary molars using the Hall technique “significantly outperformed” standard restorations in the long term, according to a new study in the Journal of Dental Research (September 15, 2011). The Hall technique is a somewhat controversial method for managing carious primary molars, noted the study authors from the University of Dundee. With the Hall technique, practitioners use glass ionomer cement to bond a metal crown directly onto a
A Massachusetts dentist is being sued by the U.S. Department of Labor for allegedly firing an employee for raising concerns about needlestick hazards and filing a health hazard complaint with the department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). According to the complaint, filed September 14, 2011, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, N. Terry Fayad, DMD, of Beverly, MA, in November 2010 discharged Rhonda Healey, a
Teeth-whitening products containing or releasing more than 0.1% hydrogen peroxide cannot be provided directly to consumers in the U.K., under amended regulations adopted by the European Commission. In addition, whitening products with more than 0.1% but less than 6% hydrogen peroxide will only be available to patients following an examination and a first episode of treatment provided or supervised by a dentist. The British Dental Association (BDA) and its partners
Can a medicinal root that tastes like candy be used to prevent caries and treat drug-resistant thrush? What about helping to treat alveolar bone loss in periodontal disease? Maybe if it’s licorice root. Recent research suggests that licorice extracts and licorice bioactive ingredients such as glycyrrhizin, glabridin, licoricidin, licochalcone A, and licorisoflavan A have potential beneficial effects on common oral diseases, according to a literature review in Oral Diseases (August
Cassidy Medical Supply Company, a distributor of allograft dental bone, is partnering with Provia Laboratories to provide Store-A-Tooth dental stem cell preservation services to oral surgery and general dentistry practices in the Mid-Atlantic region. The two companies announced their partnership this week at the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons annual meeting, September 12-17, in Philadelphia. Store-A-Tooth enables families to collect and save the stem cells in their children’s
Objet has introduced MED610, a 3D printing material that combines biocompatibility with dimensional stability and clear transparency. This makes it useful for poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) simulation and a range of medical and dental applications, such as customized surgical guides, according to the company. In addition, the material’s transparency provides improved visibility of soft tissues during medical and dental procedures. The material is ideal for prolonged skin contact of more than