To the new classes of dental professional cropping up around the U.S., add one more: California’s registered dental assistants in extended function 2 (RDA-EF2), who may have the widest scope of duties of any dental assistants in the country. Starting January 1, the new category of assistants can place all types of restorations — direct and indirect, alloy and composite — and even endodontic points. In short, they can do
OraMetrix, a developer of technology designed to improve the experience of wearing orthodontic braces, has raised $8.1 million in equity funding, according to a story in the Dallas Business Journal. Founded in 1998, OraMetrix has raised around $128 million, including the latest round of funding, the Journal reported. The company’s SureSmile system features a scanner that creates a 3D image of the mouth and that software calculates the most direct
A research team at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) has developed a new mouthwash formulation that may provide long-term protection against tooth decay. The team, led by Dong Wang, Ph.D., associate professor of pharmaceutical science in the UNMC College of Pharmacy, has developed a novel drug delivery system to carry antimicrobial agents directly to teeth. The formulation is designed to bind to the tooth surface and gradually release
The Supreme Court of Canada has unanimously rejected a legal appeal from a mother who claims that she and her children were harmed by mercury-based amalgam fillings according to news reports. Zsuzsanna Holland represented herself during a lengthy battle through British Columbia’s lower courts, arguing unsuccessfully that 17 mercury-based fillings poisoned her and her children after she had dental work in 1982. She had hoped the Supreme Court would hear
Dr. Fresh, a California company known for its FireFly toothbrushes, is challenging kids to come up with the ultimate kid-friendly toothbrush — one that is not only easy but fun to use. The company is sponsoring its fourth annual toothbrush design contest — “Be a Dental Inventor” — to celebrate National Children’s Dental Health Month (February 2010). The contest is open to second through fifth graders across the U.S. Kids
It’s 4 p.m. on a Friday and Mr. Smith has just stormed in demanding another “adjustment” of his eight-year-old dentures. You’ve repeatedly recommended new, implant-retained overdentures, but he says he can’t afford them. What’s a doctor to do? The question of whether to reline, rebase, or remake an uncomfortable denture often presents a challenge because there are no standard guidelines. But through consultation with some of the leading experts, we’ve
The Lutheran Family Health Centers (LFHC) has received a $200,000 grant from the New York State Health Foundation to assist in the federally qualified health center (FQHC) offset acquisition and start-up costs it will incur when it takes over 15 school-based dental clinics, according to a news article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. New York City has announced that it will soon eliminate its Oral Health Program in public schools
Biolase Technology has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market its Waterlase MD laser system for removal of subgingival calculi to prevent and treat periodontitis. The Waterlase MD’s patented Er:YSGG laser energy gently removes unwanted calculus deposits while preserving healthy tooth structure, according to Biolase. This offers long-term benefits for sufferers of periodontal disease because it controls inflammation and the disease without removing the
The Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) recently unveiled a new Ronald McDonald Care Mobile in Northwest Arkansas that it claims will be the area’s first mobile dental clinic. The 40-ft-long mobile clinic will travel to 19 elementary schools in Benton and Washington counties that have the highest number of students receiving free and reduced lunches. Parents of students in these schools will receive information with further details about how their
The first clinical study to use autologous dental pulp stem cells to reconstruct mandible bone in humans is being hailed as “ground-breaking” by pioneers in the field. Publishing in the November European Cells and Materials Journal, researchers from the 2nd University of Naples demonstrated that combining dental pulp stem cells with a collagen sponge scaffold “can completely restore human mandible bone defects,” indicating that these cells could be used for
Bottled water already receives much flak because of its contributions to global environmental waste issues. Now a new study finds it may also be contributing to poor oral heath in some children. Drinking bottled water was an important modifiable risk factor for early childhood caries (ECC) among immigrant, low-income communities, according to preliminary findings from a new University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) study presented at the American Public Health
The current issue of Academic Pediatrics, devoted entirely to children’s oral health, offers a ”midterm examination” of how far the U.S. has come since the 2000 Surgeon General’s report in meeting Healthy People 2010 oral health objectives and other key recommendations (Academic Pediatrics, Nov/Dec 2009, Vol. 9:6). Bringing together 19 contributions from experts in dentistry, medicine, nursing, and public policy, Academic Pediatrics guest editors Wendy E. Mouradian and Rebecca L.
