Ky. launches Smiling Schools program

Some 25,000 Kentucky children in Appalachia will receive preventive oral health services through a new pilot program announced by Gov. Steve Beshear. The Smiling Schools program is funded through a $1 million grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and $250,000 in state general fund dollars. Beshear currently serves as the 2011 States’ ARC co-chair. During the 2011-2012 school year, protective fluoride varnish treatment and educational materials for healthy dental

Parents can pass dental disease to babies

Most parents don’t know they can pass harmful bacteria from their mouth to their baby’s mouth. In fact, less than a third of American caregivers (32%) realize they can pass dental disease to their baby. That’s one of the key findings from a survey of American children’s oral health, done on behalf of Delta Dental Plans Association in 2011. Interviews were conducted by email with 907 primary caregivers of children

Orthodontists top earners in Kan. wage survey

Orthodontists topped the 2010 wage charts in Kansas, earning an average hourly wage of $117.36 last year, according to a report by the Kansas Department of Labor. Doctors accounted for seven of the remaining nine highest paying occupations, while chief executives and physicists rounded out the top 10, according to the 2011 edition of the Kansas Wage Survey. The 2011 survey, which contains data collected during a three-year period from

DDS Lab unveils mouthguard line

Dental laboratory DDS Lab has launched a new line of mouthguards with six levels of sport-specific protection. Available in more than 27 colors and designs with six levels of sport-specific performance, the Fierce mouthguards are designed to meet the needs of any athlete, from gymnasts to mixed martial arts fighters, according to the company. The mouthguards come in various layers or levels depending upon what sport is being played and

Are endodontists missing out when it comes to dental implants?

The recent HuangshanDental.com article, “Dentists balk at referring implant patients to endodontists,” focused on two studies from the Journal of Endodontics that raise some questions about the role of endodontists in the dental food chain. One reported that 94% of general practitioners surveyed had positive perceptions of endodontists, but only referred 46% of patients who required root canal treatment to endodontists. In the other, a survey sent to 1,500 randomly

Renishaw offers compact milling system

Renishaw is now offering a compact milling system designed to complement its incise dental CAD/CAM system. The new dental milling machine enables single copings or complex bridge frameworks to be manufactured from data obtained directly from the Renishaw dental scanner, according to the company. Renishaw’s dental CAD software analyses this data and automatically determines a best-fit margin line and other parameters. The 3D computer model can then be fine-tuned by

Survey finds hygienists feel unprepared to treat elderly

Many hygienists feel unprepared to treat elderly patients with special needs, according to a study in the International Journal of Dental Hygiene (August 21, 2011). “At the beginning of the 20th century, people 65 and older comprised 4.1% of the population,” wrote the study authors, from Texas Women’s University. “By the year 2030, it is estimated that people 65 and older, the ‘baby boomer’ generation, will comprise more than 20%

More to light curing than meets the eye; best way to teach shade matching?

Dear DrBicuspid Member, Light curing composite resins used to be a straightforward process. But the situation has become more complex over the past two decades; light-emitting diode curing lights have nearly replaced halogen lights, new materials keep coming on the market, and companies are marketing shorter and shorter curing times. While all of these advances are, for the most part, positive, they also make the process more challenging. And manufacturers

NJ Little Leaguer wins antitobacco slogan contest

An 11-year-old New Jersey boy is the most recent winner of the Oral Health America (OHA) National Spit Tobacco Education Program (NSTEP) annual slogan contest. This year’s winner is Louie Lafakis, who plays Little League baseball in Basking Ridge, NJ. His submission, “Make a great play … throw tobacco away,” sends a clear message that tobacco has no place in the ballpark, OHA noted. Lafakis’ slogan is featured on a

U.K. dental charity launches oral cancer awareness month

A U.K. oral health charity has announced the Mouth Cancer Action Month campaign, which will take place throughout November and is dedicated to raising awareness of the disease. The British Dental Health Foundation (BDHF), in association with Denplan, will be calling on dentists, doctors, and pharmacists to educate members of the general public under the tagline “If in doubt, get checked out.” “If the profession can inform and urge patients

Cancer study tests exosome-removal device

Aethlon Medical has entered into an agreement with the Sarcoma Oncology Center in Santa Monica, CA, to study the effectiveness of the Aethlon Hemopurifier in removing immunosuppressive exosomes from the blood of advanced-stage cancer patients, including those with head and neck cancer. Exosomes released by cancer have recently emerged as a novel therapeutic target in cancer care, as they have been implicated in cancer survival, growth, and metastasis, according to

Group learning aids students’ shade-matching ability

Accurate shade matching for dental restorations is crucial to patient satisfaction. A new study in Acta Odontologica Scandinavica (July 27, 2011) has found that a group learning approach in a clinical setting could improve students’ shade-matching abilities. A curriculum of shade matching, developed by Professor Holger Jakstat from the University of Leipzig and Vita Zahnfabrik, is established at some universities in Europe and the U.S., lead author Nicoleta Corcodel, DDS,