NEW YORK (Reuters Health), Oct 23 – Among nursing home residents, having a nursing aide help them maintain good oral hygiene lowers the odds of them dying from pneumonia, a study suggests. Pneumonia is the leading cause of death in elderly nursing home residents, Dr. Carol W. Bassim and colleagues point out in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society. “Several studies have shown that poor oral hygiene or inadequate
Dear DrBicuspid Member, If you were in San Antonio this past week, I hope you had a comfortable pair of walking shoes. I’m sure glad I did! The ADA meeting certainly kept us on our toes for several days. We attended some great CE sessions, talked to a number of enthusiastic vendors, and met many HuangshanDental.com members and fans — old and new. Our membership is about to hit 15,000,
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Healthcare will purchase Biotene, a leading dry mouth treatment, from Laclede for $170 million, the company announced. The transaction is subject to regulatory review by competition authorities in the U.S. and Europe, and is expected to be complete by early 2009. “The acquisition of Biotene extends our portfolio in therapeutic oral healthcare to include a proven treatment for dry mouth,” said John Clarke, president of GSK Consumer
SAN ANTONIO – The three R’s of traditional education — reading, ‘riting, and ‘rithmetic — have taken on new meaning in contemporary endodontics, where they now stand for rotary files, resin, and regeneration. John Olmsted, D.D.S., M.S., a practicing endodontist and part-time faculty member at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, gave a very practical and entertaining overview of current endodontic philosophy during his hands-on training seminar at
Certain flavors of Cadbury’s sugar-free chewing gums — Trident, Dentyne Ice, and Stride — have received the ADA Seal of Acceptance, according to a Cadbury press release. The ADA’s Council on Scientific Affairs’ acceptance of the chewing gums is based on findings that chewing them for 20 minutes after eating stimulates saliva flow, reduces plaque acids, and prevents caries, the company said. “When consumers see the ADA Seal of Acceptance,
BEIJING (Reuters), Oct 20 – Three children have died in eastern China from hand, foot, and mouth disease in the country’s second outbreak of the potent virus this year, state media reported on Monday. Health officials warned that the disease was epidemic in some parts of the coastal Fujian province, with 113 cases reported since the start of October, the official Xinhua news agency said. The three victims were all
SAN ANTONIO – Root canal treatment or dental implant? That is the question. Many factors, from ethical considerations to the patient’s overall health, must be considered in this important decision, according to Charles Goodacre, D.D.S., M.S.D., dean of the School of Dentistry at Loma Linda University. “We have an obligation to provide the longest-lasting, most cost-effective treatment that addresses the chief complaint of the patient,” he told a standing-room-only audience
SAN ANTONIO – One new implant integrates with soft tissue. Another saves a step in creating impressions. A third can change direction as needed during placement. Such are the innovations that implant makers touted on the exhibit floor of the ADA meeting this week. Perhaps the most striking claim came from BioHorizons, which this year launched a series of implants whose collars are designed to integrate with soft tissue. The
SAN ANTONIO – While Americans deem the smile the most important physical attribute, a surprising 37% don’t know that poor oral health has been associated with serious health conditions such as stroke, heart disease, and diabetes, according to a survey released this week by the ADA in collaboration with Crest and Oral-B. The survey of 1,000 Americans ages 18 and older found that while eight out of 10 Americans think
The new Composi-Tight 3D sectional matrix system from Garrison Dental features a separator ring design incorporating soft silicone faces that tightly adapt matrix bands to the teeth. The result is a class II restoration with minimal buccal or lingual flash, greatly reducing finishing time, according to the company. The Soft Face 3D-Ring is contoured in three dimensions with the typical anatomy of premolars and molars. The soft silicone provides the
A study published in the Journal of Periodontology (September 2008, Vol. 79:9, pp. 1,617-1,619) suggests that edentulous adults may be more likely to have chronic kidney disease (CKD) than dentate adults. In the study, conducted at Case Western Reserve University, endentulism was found to be significantly associated with CKD, indicating that oral care may play a role in reducing the prevalence of chronic kidney disease in the U.S. population. The
Beep. Beep! BEEP! If you don’t stop grinding your teeth, GrindAlert will beep louder and louder. Depending on whom you talk to, it’s either an excellent way to cure bruxism or a sure path to insomnia. As we reported in part I of this two-part series, custom-made occlusal splints, the standard of care for bruxism, are sometimes uncomfortable and don’t get at the cause of the problem. So what does?
