RTI Biologics names new execs

RTI Biologics has implemented several organizational and leadership changes as part of a companywide initiative to optimize operations, improve cost effectiveness, and provide superior customer service, the company announced. Effective immediately, the following key changes in RTI’s leadership structure have taken place: Robert Jordheim has joined the company as executive vice president and chief financial officer. Thomas F. Rose, executive vice president, has transitioned from the role of chief financial

Resin infiltration effective in clinical trials

You know how to handle a frank cavity and what to do with a healthy tooth. But what about the many lesions that fall in between? A brace of new studies on resin infiltration suggests it can successfully treat lesions that are too small to restore but too big to ignore. The evidence, including studies to be presented at next month’s International Association for Dental Research (IADR) meeting in Barcelona,

Dental outreach programs begin in Africa, Asia

Work the World Dental Outreach 2010 has launched oral health education and outreach programs in Ghana, India, Nepal, and Tanzania. Through these programs, dental students from all over the world will work with in-country dental hospitals to set up temporary clinics offering screening, treatment, and oral hygiene workshops to resource-poor areas, the organization announced. Run as a nonprofit venture, the clinical student programs run two-week intensive screening sessions, offering free

NY considers warning label for baby bottles, sippy cups

A bill in the New York Legislature would require that baby bottles and sippy cups come with labels warning that overuse can cause caries. The warning would read: Warning: Allowing your child to spend prolonged periods of time drinking liquids, other than water, from this baby bottle or sippy cup (whichever is applicable to the product upon which the label will be placed) may cause early childhood tooth decay. Manufacturers

FTC charges NC dental board with anticompetitive conspiracy

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has initiated an action against the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners alleging that the board is harming competition by blocking nondentists from providing teeth-whitening services in the state. According to the FTC’s complaint, announced June 17, the dental board sent 42 letters instructing teeth-whitening providers that they were practicing dentistry illegally and ordering them to stop. In at least six cases, the

Dental pulp cells show promise for stem cell banking

Defined sets of factors can reprogram human cells to induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. However, many types of human cells are not easily accessible to minimally invasive procedures. In a study published in the International and American Associations for Dental Research’s Journal of Dental Research (JDR, June 17, 2010), researchers from the Gifu University Graduate School of Medicine and Kyoto University evaluated dental pulp cells as an optimal source of

Carbamide peroxide good for more than just whitening

Think carbamide peroxide (CP), and the first image that comes to mind are shiny, white teeth. But a new study has found that, in addition to being an effective bleaching agent, CP can be used to effectively suppress oral bacteria in patients with special care needs (Journal of the American Dental Association, June 2010, Vol. 141:6, pp. 639-646). Special needs patients can pose great challenges for dentists because they are

Pulpdent website now features case studies

The Pulpdent website now includes case studies from Save That Tooth, a book by Pulpdent founder Harold Berk, D.D.S. Dr. Berk practiced dentistry for almost 65 years and taught at the Tufts University School of Dental Medicine from 1946 to 2005, according to the company. Save That Tooth contains his clinical memoirs and chronicles the original research in vital pulp therapy and root canal therapy. Case studies on the site

SensAble partners with DPS

SensAble has named Dental Prosthetic Services (DPS) of Cedar Rapids, IA, as its latest authorized production center (SAPC). SAPCs create fixed and removable dental restorations for their own dentists using the SensAble CAD/CAM system, and are certified to provide design and fabrication services to other dental labs. SAPCs gain marketing exposure from SensAble and help other dental labs who want to outsource aspects of design or production rather than investing

8-year-old’s sedation death spurs dad’s effort to change laws

A Virginia man whose 8-year-old daughter died under conscious sedation during a routine dental procedure is trying to get a law passed that would require all dental offices to have and maintain defibrillators. Raven Blanco died in March 2007 after receiving three drugs by Virginia Beach dentist Michael Hechtkopf, D.D.S. The drugs were used to calm the child while she had her teeth cleaned and calcium deposits removed, according to

Dental floss firm goes solar

Thornton International, a manufacturer of yarn-based interdental cleaning products for people with gum diseases and dental bridges and implants, has completed installation of a solar panel system at its headquarters and production facility in Norwalk, CT. Thornton’s conversion to solar power will enable the company to make its products using as much renewable energy as weather conditions permit, the company said. Thornton paid for the project with a combination of

Take-home strips more effective than in-office whitening?

A take-home whitening strip regimen may be as effective — if not more so — than a professional chairside, light-assisted whitening procedure, according to research to be presented next month at the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) meeting in Barcelona, Spain. The study authors, which included researchers from Procter & Gamble, evaluated the whitening performance of a take-home whitening strip regimen and a light-enhanced, in-office teeth-whitening procedure. They conducted