Komet introduces glass fiber post

Komet USA has launched a radiopaque root post made completely from glass-fiber-reinforced composite. The DentinPost X, intended to complement the company’s existing line of ER DentinPosts, offers an alternative to titanium head posts for direct plastic reconstruction. “These tooth-colored root posts are primarily made of special unidirectional axial glass fibers, ensuring a higher strength, and their elasticity modulus is similar to that of dentin,” the company said in a press

Low-power lasers reduce pain, promote healing

Lasers are often portrayed as powerful beams of light that can cut — even destroy — missiles, metal, bone, tissue, and, in some sci-fi movies, aliens from outer space. Not all lasers are created equal, however. Most laser devices used in dentistry operate at power levels around 2-20 watts — strong enough to cut and cauterize soft tissue and “drill” hard tissue, yet gentle enough to avoid destroying the tooth,

New palatal injection system eases discomfort

Accupal recently announced that its Accupal Comfortable Palatal Injection System has received FDA clearance and is ready to ship in the U.S. Accupal is a cordless, compact, handheld device that preconditions the oral tissue to receive virtually pain-free palatal or other intraoral dental injections, according to a company press release. The device was invented by Michael Zweifler, D.D.S., president of the company. “I developed Accupal because I was tired of

Study: Cracked-tooth repairs survive 7-year itch

A Dutch researcher is peering into cracks in patients’ teeth to determine just how long repairs to those cracks can last. At the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) annual meeting this month, Niek Opdam, D.D.S., Ph.D., assistant professor in the department of preventive and restorative dentistry at Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre in the Netherlands, presented results showing that his repairs can last at least seven years, if not

Remedent, SensAble partner on lower-cost veneers

As part of a new a multiyear, multimillion dollar OEM agreement with the Belgian company Remedent, SensAble Technologies of Woburn, MA, will provide Remedent with a customized version of its 3D modeling system for use in designing Remedent’s GlamSmile dental veneers. By adding SensAble’s 3D modeling technology, GlamSmile-certified dental labs worldwide will be able to produce veneers in less time and at lower cost, according to a company press release.

Gummy bears battle dental decay

Attention pediatric dentists: Looking for ways to get kids interested in oral health? Just recommend gummy bears! The decay-fighting sugar substitute xylitol has now been incorporated into gummy bear candies. And a new study has found that giving children four of the xylitol bears three times a day during school hours decreases the plaque bacteria that cause tooth decay (BMC Oral Health, July 25, 2008). Xylitol is already a popular

Anesthesia hurts less, lasts longer with liposomes

Enclosing local anesthetics in structures known as liposomes appears to reduce the discomfort of the injection and prolong the duration of the anesthesia. That was the report by a researcher from the Institute of Biology at the State University of Campinas in Brazil at the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) meeting in Toronto this month. A team in the Institute of Biology’s Biomembranes Laboratory has developed 2% and 3%

Bill allows Mass. hygienists to work unsupervised

The Massachusetts Senate unanimously passed legislation that will allow dental hygienists to work without dentist supervision in limited public settings, according to a news story by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. The bill will enable hygienists to work in schools, nursing homes, residences of homebound people, community health centers, and long-term care facilities, according to the report. The bill also allows them to become registered as public health dental hygienists,

Overbleaching becoming an epidemic?

The quest for a perfect smile is leading many people to go overboard when it comes to teeth whitening, according to a recent Los Angeles Daily News story. “Calling it ‘bleachorexia,’ dentists say more and more people are coming in with unrealistic expectations for their teeth, wanting pearly whites that are several shades lighter than what’s natural,” the paper reported. This obsession can lead to aesthetic problems, tooth sensitivity, and

Teeth-whitening kiosks not OK in OK

Several teeth-whitening kiosks in Oklahoma have been voluntarily shut down by their owners, following an investigation by NBC affiliate KJRH-TV in Tulsa. In recent months, five such kiosks have opened in malls in Oklahoma City and Tulsa, according to KJRH-TV. When the station ran a story showing workers from the iSmile and Glamour White companies in white lab coats providing customers with medical release forms and whitening gels with instructions

Gum disease tied to diabetes risk

NEW YORK (Reuters Health), Jul 21 – People with moderate to severe gum disease may have an elevated risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the results of a new study suggest. Researchers found that among nearly 9,300 U.S. adults who were followed for 17 years, those who began the study with gum disease were more likely to develop diabetes later on. Men and women with moderate gum disease had twice

Articaine superior to lidocaine for anesthesia, survey finds

Articaine had more than nine times the anesthetic success than lidocaine for dental anesthesia in a 10-study meta-analysis presented by University of Iowa researchers at the recent International Association for Dental Research (IADR) meeting in Toronto. However, significant differences between the studies cast doubt on the meaning of this result, according to another expert who attended the presentation. Headed by Kellie Paxton, D.M.D., M.S., the research team searched PubMed (using