ADA Foundation offers $300K grant to train pediatricians

The American Dental Association Foundation (ADAF) has announced a $300,000 grant — to be issued in annual installments of $100,000 — to fund oral health summits and other educational ventures for pediatricians. At the summits, pediatricians will learn to conduct oral health risk assessments and teach families about oral health and prevention. All 66 chapters of American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) will get the opportunity to send representatives, who will

Furor over no-drill technique

Is placing a crown without preparing the tooth a brilliant innovation or dangerous negligence? Debate on that question is heating up as Scottish researchers spread the news of their no-drill Hall Technique around the globe. The Hall Technique gets its name from Norna Hall, B.D.S., a general dentist in rural Scotland where there are many children with caries and few pediatric dentists available. To avoid the need for both drilling

Study links marijuana smoking to gum disease

WASHINGTON (Reuters) Feb. 5 Smoking marijuana, much like smoking tobacco, may increase a person’s risk for gum disease that can lead to tooth loss, researchers said on Tuesday. A study of 903 New Zealanders found that people who smoked marijuana frequently had triple the risk for severe gum disease and a 60 percent higher risk for a milder form of it compared to people who did not smoke the drug,

Yankee Dental Show Report: Incisive tips on cosmetics

BOSTON – Karen was trying on a bridal gown when disaster struck. With all that loose material flowing to the ground, she tripped and broke off half a maxillary central incisor. By the time she showed up at the Restorative Dental Group of Cambridge, MA, she was desperate. “I want it perfect for the wedding photos.” “No problem,” responded Alan Sulikowski, D.M.D. “I can make it just like it was

Yankee Dental Show Report: Cerec takes on quadrants

BOSTON – In real estate, it’s all about location, location, location. When it comes to crafting CAD/CAM restorations with Cerec, it’s all about planning, planning, planning. That’s especially true if you’re taking your Cerec work to the next level — namely, working with an entire quadrant, not just a single crown or inlay. That’s according to Richard Short, D.M.D. and Lisa Horne, CDA, who gave the equivalent of a two-day

Yankee Dental Show Report: Microscopes Make the Difference

BOSTON – You’re a master of the perfect porcelain veneer, the artful crown, the smooth-as-silk filling. Think again. Look at your work under a microscope and you’ll find holes in your restoration you could drive a truck through. You’ll also see things your naked eye — and even X-rays — will miss, from cracks to fissures to fractures. That’s the word from Roger Lacoste, D.M.D., clinical assistant professor of endodontics

Periodontal disease is associated with chronic kidney disease

NEW YORK (Reuters) Jan. 30 Periodontal disease and edentulism are independently associated with chronic kidney disease (CKD), according to a study in the January issue of the American Journal of Kidney Diseases. “Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a public health problem that is undiagnosed in a significant number of those affected in the United States,” Dr. Monica A. Fisher, of Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, and colleagues write. In

Goodbye, lidocaine!

A local anesthetic is a boon — until your patient no longer needs it. Then it’s a bother, the patient suffering with numb cheeks, lips, and tongue, hours after a procedure is over. But relief may be at hand. San Diego-based Novalar Pharmaceuticals’ NV-101 could be the first local anesthetic reversal agent to hit the market. Under development since 2002, the drug is being reviewed by the FDA and news

ADA sponsors Give Kids A Smile day

Big companies are making big donations to put smiles on little faces for the ADA’s sixth annual Give Kids A Smile day. On February 1 more than 50,000 dental professionals around the country will provide free dental treatment to kids from low income families. “The ADA and dentists across the nation are engaged in creating public awareness of this critical need and trying to extend access to dental care to

Laser protects against caries

Imagine waving a wand and — poof! — your patients’ teeth are protected from caries. It sounds like a page out of Harry Potter, but the fantasy took a step closer to reality this week. In the first-ever experiment using carbon dioxide lasers to pre-treat living teeth, researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) say they achieved an 87 percent reduction in tooth decay. “It looks like an

Healthy mouth for a healthy heart

Here’s an argument that will have your wayward patients back in the chair in a heartbeat. According to an article in the latest Journal of Periodontology, patients with a high level of systemic bacterial exposure — due to periodontal disease — are at a greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease. “Although there have been many studies associating gum disease with heart disease, what we have not known is exactly why

Do bisphosphonates lead to jaw osteonecrosis or not?

Taking bisphosphonates for osteoporosis can be like rain on your wedding day. Although bisphosphonate drugs are great at battling osteoporosis, they can also cause the rare, but serious condition of osteonecrosis, where loss of blood supply to the bone causes it to collapse. Or so claim a spate of studies including a latest one in the Journal of Rheumatology. Bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (BRONJ), for example, is a relatively