The U.S. surgeon general put dentistry on notice in 2001 with a critical report that laid bare the dismal state of dental health care for the poor. Now three groups, the American Dental Association (ADA), the American Dental Hygienists Association, and a consortium of Alaskan Natives, have finally taken up the challenge. Each is proposing a new breed of professional that’s less than a dentist, but may be more than
“See you in six months!” That standard farewell, heard every day in most American dental offices, is starting to fade. Swayed by the research, a growing number of dental insurance plans are rejecting the traditional semiannual cleaning. Instead, these plans are pushing dentists to see healthier patients less often and less healthy patients more often. Starting next year, “some members … will be eligible for up to four periodontal maintenance
Wondering how to better serve your younger patients? One step in the right direction is getting hard facts about the overall health of this unique population. “Given the complexity of issues surrounding children’s health, it’s vital that related decisions be based on data that are reliable, current, and local,” said David Alexander, M.D., president and CEO of the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health, in a press release. Dr. Alexander
Americans love gadgets, so it’s no surprise that power toothbrushes are gaining in popularity here. But this year, as the leading manufacturers roll out new models, two questions linger: Is power really better than manual? And do the new power brushes beat the old ones? The answer to the first question, according to some of the world’s leading experts, is (an extremely qualified) yes. “I think the power brushes are
Every time you lose a tooth, your life gets shorter. That’s the conclusion researchers at Göteborg University, in Göteborg, Sweden reached — at least when it comes to people over 70 — when they compared dental records to mortality rates. “The results showed that each remaining tooth at age 70 decreased the mortality risk by 4 percent over 7 years, and 2 percent – 3 percent over 18 years,” wrote
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) dental school faces twin allegations this week: That students cheated on national board exams and that applicants to the university’s orthodontics residencies are being asked for donations in return for admission. The accusations against the orthodontics program stem from an investigation by the Daily Bruin, the UCLA student newspaper. It reported Tuesday that admissions officials were asking applicants for hefty donations, a practice
What do Russell Crowe and Septocaine have in common? They have both won prestigious awards in their fields. (And they both make us numb with delight.) The latter was named the No. 1 product CRA evaluators “can’t live without” in the September issue of the CRA Newsletter. Over 400 CRA dental teams nominated 830 products; the top 11 were featured in the newsletter. Top products included adhesives, optical tools, CAD/CAM
The proportion of American youths who visit the dentist regularly has edged up slightly, according to the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Crunching numbers from a 2004 survey, the agency found that 45 percent of Americans 20 years old or younger visit a dentist at least once a year. Still that was only a tiny increase over 1996, when a similar survey showed 42 percent of youths
Before you can slap on a ceramic veneer, you have to prepare the teeth. You need to remove some material — but not too much. And you need to remove it uniformly. A new ally in this delicate operation could be Komet USA’s Kit 4517, which is designed to give you enhanced control over tooth penetration before applying ceramic veneers. “An important precondition for successful placement is conservative tooth structure
Attention all hygienists with tired aching fingers! Premier Dental Products Company is now offering a choice of three ergonomic handles on their NV1 Anterior Scaler and NV2 Posterior Scaler instruments. The Big Easy Ultralite handle, which is based on advanced polymer technology, is half an inch in diameter and weighs 16 grams. It has medical grade silicone grips which reduce finger fatigue, claims Premier. The Big Easy is a hollow
Slap on some hydrogen peroxide and it’s amazing what disappears from a tooth: bacteria, wine stains, even tetracycline coloring. But dental researchers have long wondered if anything more important disappears as well — such as some of the tooth itself. And in a recent spate of studies, they’ve come up with worrisome answers. Enamel, it seems, can tolerate a pretty harsh splash of bleach. But dentin is another matter, says
You think parallel parking your SUV in a Corolla-sized space is tough? Try putting a dental implant in just the right spot in someone’s mouth. In many cases, you don’t know what you’re facing until you expose the patient’s bone. “There are many unknowns that are hidden until the time of surgery,” said Dr. Joseph Califano, program director of periodontics at the University of Illinois at Chicago, in a press
