Wyo. dental board opposes teeth whitening in salon

The Wyoming Board of Dental Examiners has filed for an injunction against a tanning salon that offers to whiten customers’ teeth, according to the Star-Tribune. The board claims that staff at the salon, Bronze Bottom Tanning in Casper, are practicing dentistry without licenses because they help customers use whitening products, the newspaper reported. It quoted the owner, Randy Hollis, as disputing the charge because the staff do not diagnose or

Chlorhexidine may prevent erosion

Recent research has found that chlorhexidine can strengthen restoration bonds by protecting them from matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), enzymes that attack collagen in dentin. Now researchers are saying that chlorhexidine and another MMP inhibitor may protect against the acids in soft drinks. In the Journal of Dental Research (May 2010, Vol. 89:5, pp. 468-472), researchers from the University of São Paulo reported treating bovine dentin blocks with gels containing chlorhexidine and

Biodental Remin expands into Indian market

Biodental Remin will work with Group Pharmaceuticals of Bangalore, India, to incorporate its Enamelguard remineralization agent into Group Pharmaceutical’s oral care products. Group Pharmaceuticals intends to use the tasteless, water-soluble Enamelguard in the manufacture and sale of professional dental and consumer-level oral hygiene products for remineralizing teeth, according to Biodental. The company will also help facilitate clinical studies and research. Biodental intends to develop its own line of dental professional

Oolitt launches kids’ tongue cleaner

Oolitt is launching a marketing campaign featuring a cartoon character to promote the use of its new Oolitt-Jr tongue scrapers. The Oolitt-Jr is designed for use by children. In the marketing campaign, Oolie, a computer-animated character, will help explain the use of the scraper to children. Copyright © 2010 HuangshanDental.com

Philips donates $50K in Sonicare products to kids’ clinic

Philips is partnering with the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto to provide its power toothbrushes to patients in the hospital’s dental clinic in an effort to improve oral health among Canadian children. Philips will donate more than $50,000 worth of Sonicare For Kids and Sonicare HealthyWhite power toothbrushes to the SickKids dental clinics. SickKids will then sell these to patients at a discount, with all proceeds going to

Bisphenol A linked to sexual dysfunction

Exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a common ingredient in dental materials, increased the risk of sexual dysfunction in a study published in the Journal of Andrology (May 13, 2010). Researchers from Kaiser Permanente and the Shanghai Institute of Planned Parenthood Research took urine samples from 427 male workers in regions of China with factories that use BPA in making epoxy resins. They then surveyed the men about their sex lives.

Regular teeth brushing linked to healthier hearts

LONDON (Reuters), May 28 – People who don’t brush their teeth twice a day have an increased risk of heart disease, scientists said on Friday, adding scientific weight to 19th century theories about oral health and chronic disease. British researchers studied nearly 12,000 adults in Scotland and found those with poor oral hygiene had a 70% extra risk of heart disease compared with those who brushed twice a day and

Does light activation enhance teeth whitening?

A study to be presented at the upcoming International Association of Dental Research (IADR) meeting in Barcelona, Spain, found that 35% hydrogen peroxide alone is effective in whitening teeth and that light activation does not improve the effect. While the study is small, it raises an important question: Is light activation beneficial? Researchers from the Egas Moniz Institute of Health Sciences in Portugal wanted to evaluate the efficacy and safety

Komet releases larger bur block

Komet USA has introduced a new stainless steel bur block that holds up to 40 rotary instruments during the sterilization process, the company announced. Bur Block 9945 was designed for cleaning, disinfecting, sterilizing, and storing of dental rotary instruments. It has 1 cm of space between each row, allowing individual laser etching, and the new model has a compartment to store used burs. This allows practitioners to keep used burs,

ADA stresses importance of mouthguards

If your patient participates in organized sports or recreational activities, there is always the risk of injury to the mouth, according to the ADA. In a recent National Hockey League (NHL) playoff game, a Chicago Blackhawk player was struck in the mouth by a speeding puck. Although wearing a mouthguard, according to news reports, the player lost seven teeth in the incident, which serves as a reminder that acute dental

ProDrive gets patent for locking drive handpiece

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued patent No. 7,677,890 to ProDrive Systems for its nonround dental bur and locking turbine. When engaged, the patented system prevents rotation of the bur inside the turbine, according to the company. For the last 50 years, dentistry has relied on a round-on-round friction grip drill mechanism for high-speed handpieces, ProDrive noted. “ProDrive’s high-precision, locking turbine and bur design firmly grips the bur

Hu-Friedy gives $25K to orthodontics foundation

Hu-Friedy has donated $25,000 to the American Association of Orthodontists Foundation (AAOF) to support education and research, access to care, and other key concerns of the orthodontic community. “The AAOF is delighted to have Hu-Friedy join our corporate partners and demonstrate its commitment to the orthodontic specialty,” said Steve Hershey, president of the AAOF, in a press release. “This donation is a logical extension of our support of the orthodontic