Dos and don’ts for hygiene success: It all starts in the hygiene department

Dental hygiene is a key driver of practice production. Many practices overlook the value of the hygiene department. Remember, the hygiene appointment is often the gateway to other types of treatment. A full hygiene schedule drives practice production. Keep active patients active. Levin Group finds that practices usually present with fewer than 90% of active patients scheduled and often less than 70%. Obviously, if patients aren’t scheduled, you can’t provide

AAPD foundation awards 5 access-to-care grants

Healthy Smiles, Healthy Children (HSHC), the foundation of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), has awarded five new grants to organizations that provide oral healthcare to underserved children and children with limited access to care. The foundation announced the grant awardees, each receiving up to $20,000, today during the AAPD annual meeting in New York City. This year’s recipients are listed below: Columbia University College of Dental Medicine’s (CDM)

Calif. dentists create 3D adventure film for kids

A group of pediatric and orthodontic specialists from San Diego have teamed up to produce a 3D action film, “The Super Dentists — Strike Back.” Orthodontist Kami Hoss, DDS, said the group decided to make another film after seeing how much children and their parents enjoyed the first kid adventure movie they produced in 2004. In the new movie, the evil villain Cavitar and his sidekick Molar capture dentists all

U.S. jury finds Novartis not liable for jaw disease

NEW YORK (Reuters) – A U.S. federal jury found that a bone drug made by Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp was not to blame for the severe jaw deterioration developed by a Rhode Island man who died of cancer in 2005. Karleen Hogan, the widow of Timothy Hogan, claimed in a lawsuit filed in 2006 that Novartis had failed to properly warn her husband about the severe adverse effects caused by Zometa

Opal Orthodontics launches brackets, curing light

Opal Orthodontics introduced two new products, Avex CX ceramic brackets and the Valo Ortho curing light, at the recent American Association of Orthodontists annual meeting in Chicago. The Avex CX ceramic twin bracket is the newest addition to the Avex Suite, a system of interchangeable metal and ceramic brackets. All components — including MX stainless steel brackets, BX buccal tubes, and CXi and CX ceramic brackets — have identical in/out

New Ultradent website provides information on BPA

Ultradent Products has launched a website with information about bisphenol A (BPA) and its use in dental sealants. The website will include frequently asked questions about BPA and will feature podcasts, a children’s development corner, and information specific to Ultradent’s BPA-free dental sealant UltraSeal XT plus, which has been on the market since 1998. “Ultradent never has and never will use bisphenol A in any of our resin products, including

Henry Schein debuts syringe tips, nanohybrid composite

Henry Schein has introduced a new product line of Sure Tip disposable air/water syringe tips and its Natural Elegance flowable nanohybrid. Sure Tip disposable air/water syringe tips are designed to fit most metal tips without the use of a conversion kit. The tips provide a secure, locking fit and are available in two models. Sure Tip Colors have a four-air chamber design that provides an air/water spray that prevents cross-contamination,

Bayer launches new aspirin for faster pain relief

Bayer HealthCare has introduced Bayer Advanced aspirin, which can relieve pain twice as fast as previous Bayer aspirin tablets, according to the company. Two dental pain efficacy studies were conducted to evaluate Bayer Advanced 325-mg and 500-mg aspirin tablets; both demonstrated faster onset of pain relief compared with the previous Bayer aspirin tablet, the company said. Bayer Advanced aspirin was tested in multiple sites on dental patients who had just

Study aims to improve oral cancer surgery outcomes

The Terry Fox Research Institute (TFRI) in Vancouver has launched a $4.7 million Pan-Canadian clinical trial aimed at improving outcomes for patients undergoing surgery for oral squamous cell cancers — the Canadian Optically Guided Approach for Oral Lesions Surgical (COOLS) trial. Currently, about 30% of patients who receive oral surgery have their cancer recur, but this trial will test a new approach that the researchers hope will change this percentage. Using

Friends of Hu-Friedy reaches 20K members

Hu-Friedy’s popular online dental hygiene community, Friends of Hu-Friedy (www.friendsofhu-friedy.com), has added its 20,000th member, the company announced. Launched in August of 2007, Friends of Hu-Friedy links dental hygienists via an online portal. It provides an interactive experience for the dental hygiene community with opportunities to share stories, experience products, gain continuing education credits, and obtain insights into delivering optimal patient care. Cathy Elliot, RDH, a practicing clinician for 40

Herbs: The new antibiotics?

Indian wild plants may play a role in fighting bacterial and fungal infections in the mouths of oral cancer patients, according to new research (Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials, May 20, 2011). Investigators from India tested extracts from several plants used in traditional or folk medicine against microbials found in oral cancer patients’ mouths. Of the 40 patients studied, 35 had compromised immune systems with severely reduced neutrophil counts.

Leaders in Dentistry: A conversation with Dr. Louis Malcmacher

HuangshanDental.com is pleased to present the next installment of Leaders in Dentistry, a series of interviews with researchers, practitioners, and opinion leaders who are influencing the practice of dentistry. We talked with Louis Malcmacher, DDS, a practicing general dentist, lecturer, author, evaluator emeritus for Clinicians Report, and current president of the American Academy of Facial Esthetics. Dr. Malcmacher, who teaches courses on how to inject Botox, believes that dentists are