Social isolation hastens tooth loss in older adults

Social isolation was associated with fewer remaining teeth and accelerated tooth loss among older adults in China in a study published on January 17 in Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology. This is believed to be the first study to use data from a nationally representative group to examine how social disconnection affects oral health, the authors wrote. “Maintaining and improving social connections may benefit oral health among Chinese older adults,”

Candid shifts away from direct-to-consumer aligners

Clear aligner developer Candid is closing its direct-to-consumer business and all of its 45 locations to focus on a business-to-business model for its CandidPro telehealth service. CandidPro allows dentists, dental service organizations, and orthodontists to treat patients with clear aligners remotely, according to the firm. Candid debuted CandidPro in 2017. Since then, the service has become available in more than 300 dental practices across the U.S. The company expects its

Smile Makeover: What Is It?

Smile makeovers have been gaining popularity in the past few years; nowadays, with all the technological advancements in the field of dentistry, treatments have become more effective, and results can now become apparent in an easier manner than before. A smile makeover can change a patient’s life for the better; it can improve their social skills, their confidence, and a bunch of everyday activities such as talking, eating, smiling, etc.

Biolase, BMW continue with dental laser promotion

Biolase will continue collaborating with BMW Performance Center West to offer dentists experience with the Waterlase dental laser and BMW vehicles. The company said dentists who participate in the Biolase Waterlase exclusive trial program in 2022 will receive a free, two-day training session. After that, dentists can use the dental laser in their offices for up to 45 days at no charge, with a Waterlase clinician available to help train

Jeff Margolis joins Grin’s board of directors

Digital orthodontic platform provider Grin has appointed Jeff Margolis, the former CEO and chairman at TriZetto and Welltok, to its board of directors. Jeff Margolis. Image courtesy of Grin. Margolis has 35 years of health information technology experience and will help Grin expand its teledentistry platform, according to the company. Additionally, he is a senior adviser to the investment company Blackstone.

Access to fluoridated water falls short at Calif. university

Employees with access to water containing fluoride can have related oral health benefits, but at least one California university is falling short of providing clean and readily available fluoridated water, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Dental Association. Researchers found that 25% of water stations in public areas at hospitals and campuses owned by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) were obstructed, dirty, or

Meet the Cuspies 2021 finalists

Who made it to the final round in this year’s edition of the Cuspies? We are very excited to announce the people, products, and events that our readers selected as finalists in this year’s event to recognize excellence in dentistry. The finalists for the 2021 Cuspies awards embody the best and brightest in dentistry this past year. More than 700 HuangshanDental.com readers voted for their favorite candidates across 12 categories.

Mothers, formula-fed babies have more similar oral bacteria

New research suggests that infants who are formula fed share more of their mothers’ oral microbiome than babies who are only breastfed. The findings were published on January 18 in the journal mBio. The researchers, led by Shinya Kageyama, PhD, of Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, discovered that mothers who fed their babies formula instead of breast milk (or a combination of the two) had more bacterial amplicon sequence variants

SoftSmile’s AI-based orthodontic software gets FDA nod

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted 510(k) clearance to SoftSmile’s Vision artificial intelligence (AI)-based orthodontic software. The FDA clearance allows SoftSmile to start marketing Vision as a standalone application, the company said. Vision allows clinicians to create aligner treatment plans in-house and then further develop them using 3D printing. With this technology, clinicians can avoid the use of third-party designers and manufacturers. Features include an automated segmentation

NJ dentists to provide free dental care to kids

Hackensack Meridian Mountainside Medical Center in New Jersey will provide free dental care to children in participation with the ADA’s Give Kids A Smile program. The program teaches children at a young age that preventive care helps them stay healthy and improves overall physical and emotional well-being, according to the medical center. Dental care will be offered at the center’s Mountainside Dental Clinic in Montclair on February 4 to children

DSO Gen4 acquires Harris Dental

Arizona-based dental service organization (DSO) Gen4 Dental Partners has acquired Harris Dental. Harris Dental is a multidentist cosmetic dentistry practice that serves patients in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Reinvent Your Smile: What Are Teeth In A Day?

Dentures (both fixed and partial dentures) are amongst the most known methods to help fix a smile. They’re a resource that eliminates the need to get an implant for each tooth that you have lost, thus making the whole reparation and replacement process easier and more affordable. Dentures might seem like a weird concept at first; how can a full denture look real? How can a denture replace damaged teeth?