Rebuilding Faces program gets $16.5 million grant

A new initiative at King’s College London focused on helping head and neck cancer patients has been awarded a 10 million pound ($16.5 million) Wellcome Trust/Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council Medical Engineering Centre (MEC) grant, according to the university. The Rebuilding Faces program, led by professor Timothy Watson, director of research and head of the Biomaterials, Biomimetics, and Biophotonics Research Group at the Dental Institute, addresses the fundamental concepts

Dos and don’ts for ramping up hygiene productivity

The hygiene department — an overlooked asset A robust hygiene department drives practice production. Almost every patient comes through the hygiene department before moving on to other treatment. For a practice to reach its profitability potential, a full hygiene schedule is essential. Use these Practice Success Dos & Don’ts to boost the effectiveness of your hygiene department: Schedule the next appointment right away before the patient leaves. One of the

AAPD meeting sets attendance record

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) annual session in Honolulu from May 21-24, 2009, broke the all-time attendance record for the organization’s annual meeting, the academy announced. The session was expected to draw an international attendance of 2,500 participants, but instead recorded final attendance numbers at 4,838. AAPD officials credit the location for the upturn. “This year’s AAPD session is one of our largest ever, most likely a result

Zimmer Dental launches Hex-Lock in U.S.

Zimmer Dental is making its Hex-Lock Short Abutment and Restorative System available to the U.S. market. Created to minimize the challenges faced by clinicians and labs, this all-inclusive system promotes simple, immediate, and convenient posterior restorations, according to the company. The system includes the new titanium Hex-Lock Short Abutment and corresponding short restorative components, designed to address the challenges presented to clinicians and labs during the posterior restoration process, including

Ask Marty: What is the best way to back up my office data?

Q: What is the best way to back up my office data? A: There is no single best way to back up data — you have to have an entire backup strategy. A good backup strategy involves using your local area network, along with portable hard drives or flash drives and the Internet. The use of tape, CDs, or DVDs should be limited. You should back up your practice management

Sour candy not so sweet on teeth

Both original-flavor and sour candies are tough on tooth enamel, but the sour variety has much greater erosive potential, according to a new study in the Journal of the American Dental Association. “To my knowledge, there have not been research investigations that describe the erosion potential of acidic hard candies — sour or otherwise — marketed in the U.S.,” study author Teresa Marshall, Ph.D., an associate professor at the University

Special Olympics teams with kids’ foundation

The Special Olympics and National Children’s Oral Health Foundation (NCOHF): America’s Toothfairy have created a partnership to fight pediatric dental disease and promote overall health and well-being for millions of children with intellectual disabilities through the Special Olympics Special Smiles program, the organizations announced. At their Special Olympics office in Washington, DC, Chairman of the Board Timothy Shriver, Ph.D., and President and Chief Operating Officer Brady Lum met with NCOHF

U.K. dentists attack Ugly Betty’s braces

U.K. dentists are calling the makers of the hit TV show “Ugly Betty” irresponsible because the show’s lead character has worn braces on her teeth for too long, according to a story in the Telegraph. Specialists at the British Orthodontic Society told the newspaper that the U.S. comedy gave a “detrimental” portrayal of wire braces. The series follows the exploits of Betty Suarez as she battles to make a career

Experts offer tips for putting crowns under partials

When a patient needs a new crown under an existing removable partial denture (RPD), the dentist faces a dilemma. Ideally, you would recommend a new partial to go with the crown. But that doesn’t sit well with many patients, especially in today’s economy. If you need an out-of-stock part for your year-old car, the mechanic doesn’t sell you a whole new car. Even borrowing the RPD for a day or

What About False Teeth?

In my office, I regularly field questions about “false teeth” and what to expect with them. Of course most people are referring to complete dentures and partial dentures when asking about “false teeth.” A complete denture is an appliance that replaces either all your upper teeth or all your lower teeth. A partial denture is, as the name implies, replaces a few of the upper or lower teeth, and uses

Lares launches photoacoustic root-canal cleaning method

Lares Research has introduced photon-induced photoacoustic streaming (PIPS), a new method for chemically cleaning and debriding the root canal system using erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:YAG) laser energy at subablative power levels. The patent-pending procedure is being called the first real breakthrough in endodontics in 50 years, according to the company. The PIPS procedure uses the power of an Er:YAG laser to create photoacoustic shock waves within a 15% EDTA

Anesthesia-induced hallucinations key to dentist’s acquittal

A Pennsylvania oral surgeon accused of molesting 17 female patients was acquitted last week in a case that centered on the extreme effects some anesthetics can have on patients. Allegheny County Judge Anthony Mariani, who presided over the nonjury trial, found Robert Boyda Jr., D.D.S., not guilty on all counts. The judge’s verdict was based on the testimony of expert witnesses — board-certified anesthesiologists — who explained that the anesthetics