The holidays offer dentists another opportunity to warn patients about the consequences of candy and soda overdoses — but exchanging kisses underneath the mistletoe, too? That’s right. It is possible to swap up to 500 different species of germs, including those that cause gum disease, because of this holiday tradition, according to the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD). “With just one kiss, this infection can be passed between couples and
Floss, floss, floss! Dentists and their staff spend a lot of time driving that simple message home to their patients. But what if it’s too simple? What if it’s not doing any good at all? Those are the conclusions reached in a new study. “A routine instruction to use floss is not supported by scientific evidence,” wrote researchers from the Academic Centre for Dentistry Amsterdam in the Netherlands in the
The North Dakota Department of Health, the North Dakota Department of Human Services, and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry are partnering to address childhood tooth decay, the most common chronic disease of childhood, according to a press release. Called the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Head Start Dental Home Initiative, the partnership will work to establish dental homes for children enrolled in Head Start in North Dakota. Brent Holman,
Align Technology today announced that it is terminating a service provider agreement with International Manufacturing Solutions (IMS) in Juarez, Mexico, and will begin independently producing its custom-made clear aligners in April 2009. Align has had its clear aligners manufactured in Juarez since 2000 and has 10 employees that manage and oversee the manufacturing process supported by IMS, according to the company. IMS currently provides nonmanagerial personnel, administrative services, and the
Editor’s note: Helaine Smith’s column, The Mouth Physician, appears regularly on the HuangshanDental.com advice and opinion page, Second Opinion. I have to admit that until I met a pediatric dentist in my master track program for the American Academy of General Dentistry, I was not aware of the new protocols and updates in pediatric dentistry. First and foremost, since 1991 the Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that children have their
The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) School of Dentistry has received the largest grant in its history: $24.4 million, from the National Institutes of Health, to address socioeconomic and cultural disparities in oral health. The seven-year grant, which is funded through the NIH National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, will enable the UCSF center to address disparities in children’s oral health (nicknamed CAN DO) to launch new programs
Ontario, Canada, is expanding its Children in Need of Treatment (CINOT) program to provide urgent and essential dental care free to more children in low-income families, according to a press release. The program currently provides emergency dental care to low-income children from birth to age 13. As of January 1, 2009, the program will be expanded to reach children up to age 18. It will also provide out-of-hospital anesthetic coverage
h3{ color:#FF0000; } .tocItem{ border-bottom: dashed 1px #e0e5e9; padding: 4px; } .tocReturnToTop{ border-top: solid 1px #99a8b7; margin-top: 14px; padding:4px; } To some, endodontics is a fascinating process. Techniques can be debated and argued, with each professional making their own decision on what works best for them and their patients. This issue of THE DENTAL ADVISOR (July-August 2008, Vol. 25:6) discusses new products designed to improve the endodontic experience and present
A third of endodontists finish their residencies without enough training to do endodontic surgery, according to a survey published in the January 2009 Journal of Endodontics (Vol. 35:3, pp. 30-34). The authors, from the U.S. Army Endodontic Residency Program in Fort Bragg, NC, quoted an estimate that surgery is needed in about 9% of periapical pathology. Many endodontists avoid it because of the difficult visibility and risk of doing harm.
For men, especially older men, dieting may help reduce the risk of gum disease more than for women, according to researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and other institutions. Their study appears in the October 15 online issue of Nutrition, and will appear in the January print edition. The study of 81 rhesus monkeys at the National Institutes of Health showed that males fed a diet of 30%
The importance of the oral systemic link got another nod when a recent Columbia University study found that people with periodontal disease are more likely to have increased levels of inflammation, which is also a risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Periodontal disease and CVD are both caused by inflammation, explained John Grbic, D.M.D., M.M.Sc., a professor at the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine and one of the study
The U.S. FDA has approved tapentadol hydrochloride, an immediate-release oral tablet for the relief of moderate to severe acute pain in adults ages 18 years and older, according to an agency press release. Tapentadol is a centrally acting synthetic analgesic that is available in doses of 50 mg, 75 mg, or 100 mg. It is both an opioid and nonopioid, activating the opioid receptors in the brain, spinal cord, and