Good oral hygiene throughout orthodontic treatment is critical to an optimal outcome. While it can be challenging to motivate patients to brush properly, there are some methods I use in my orthodontic practice to increase compliance and encourage better oral hygiene habits in kids and adults. A great motivator, I find, is showing the patient a photo of decalcification due to poor brushing. Nobody wants to end up with decalcification
Mexico has always been an international tourist destination; most people could describe it as a magical place with the warmest and most welcoming type of people, amazing food, and a particular culture. This country is unique and there’s no other place like it. In the past few years, Mexico has become a place of interest to people from all over the world who are looking for affordable, hassle-free, high-quality dental
The American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID) will hold its 2022 Southern District Meeting in New Orleans April 29-30. The meeting — Emerging Trends in Implant Dentistry — will cover such topics as surgical guide executions, reconstruction/salvaging of a failed full arch, guided zygomatic surgery, and milling in-office conversions, according to the AAID. It will be held at the New Orleans Marriott Warehouse Arts District. More information is available on
Oral surgeons from Syria opted to transplant a molar instead of placing an implant in a 24-year-old female with signs of infection. Two years after the procedure, the transplanted molar had vitality and was in good periodontal and functional health, according to a case report published on March 2 in the Annals of Medicine and Surgery. The oral surgery used dental autotransplantation, a surgical procedure that extracts a tooth from
Orthodontic services developer Orthobrain has secured $9 million in a series A funding round. The round was led by CareCapital, with participation from the JumpStart Next II Fund and JobsOhio Growth Capital Fund. Orthobrain said it would use the funds to scale its clinical and education support services, innovate, invest in software and technology, and expand in North America and global markets. Orthobrain has developed what it’s calling an “orthodontic
The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) plans to support a temporomandibular joint (TMJ) research project with Clemson University and the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). NIDCR will fund the effort with a $3.18 million grant, it said. The grant’s principal investigators are Hai Yao, PhD, of Clemson and MUSC and Dr. Janice Lee of the NIDCR. A team of investigators will study how various craniofacial developmental disorders put
An injection of botulinum toxin A (BoNT), a neurotoxin marketed under the brand names Botox, Jeuveau, and Xeomin protein, weakened the myofascial pain of a 39-year-old woman with a nonodontogenic toothache, according to a case report recently published in Clinical Case Reports. BoNT is produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum and temporarily paralyzes muscles. In this case, an injection of BoNT worked to treat a patient’s nonodontogenic toothache pain, although
Tom Viola, RPh, received the HuangshanDental.com Cuspies award for the Most Influential Dental Educator at the 2022 Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting, which was held February 24-26 at the McCormick Place convention center in Chicago. Tom Viola. Tom Viola, RPh, has presented more than 1,000 continuing education seminars and webinars since 2001. He is known for his unparalleled ability to make pharmacology information practical, useful, and entertaining for all members
The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) recently unveiled a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) that will support interventions and programs to prevent, reduce, or manage opioid drug misuse. The FOA will support UG3/UH3 phased, cooperative agreement research applications on these efforts, which also aim to align the opioid prescribing practices of dental professionals with scientific evidence. The FOA will encourage research to develop and test new approaches to
Patients are becoming more aware of the materials they are placing in their bodies and how those materials can affect their overall health. When selecting dental implants, patients want the least invasive materials possible. It is also important to understand the quality, material, and design aspects of the implants. Throughout the years, a trend has emerged toward avoiding the use of metals in the body. Alternatives to the traditional titanium
The first time 11-year-old Levi McAllister had a tooth pulled, he screamed, kicked, and struggled so much that his mom had to hold him down. So, when Levi returned to Charlotte Pediatric Dentistry in January to get two more teeth pulled, dental hygienist Barb Kucera had a surprise for him: a friendly yellow Labrador retriever named Atkins. “Would you like Atkins to lie on your lap?” she asked. Levi nodded,
Dental material manufacturer Ultradent Products unveiled its Gemini Evo diode laser. Featuring 100 watts of peak power, Gemini Evo delivers five times the power of Ultradent’s original Gemini laser, according to the vendor. Other features include a guided touch interface and multiple preset procedures, as well as Wi-Fi connectivity, a mobile app, and a dashboard. The system comes with 3-mm, 7-mm, and 25-mm photobiomodulation adapters and three wavelength modes. It
