Harvard researcher links mouth microorganisms to ancestors’ health

Microbial DNA taken from the teeth of ancient humans reveals details about their health, diet, and evolution, according to an article published on October 27 in Nature. Harvard University researcher Christina Warinner, PhD, and colleagues have studied the microbes in tartar of people living as long ago as the late Upper Paleolithic Period (25,000 to 12,000 years ago). They’ve also examined tartar microbiomes in Neanderthals and primates such as monkeys

Dental Care for Seniors

Advancing age puts many seniors at risk for a number of oral health problems, such as: Darkened teeth. Caused, to some extent, by changes in dentin — the bone-like tissue that underlies the tooth enamel — and by a lifetime of consuming stain-causing foods and beverages. Also caused by thinning of the outer enamel layer that lets the darker yellower dentin show through. A darkened tooth or teeth may be

Why dentists should adopt intraoral scanning, 3D printing

The future of dentistry is digital, and the technology is not limited to computerized patient management and digital x-ray systems. It includes 3D intraoral scanners and 3D printers too. “Digital impressions from 3D intraoral scanners and design files of appliances and prosthetics from dental CAD software is the next step to having a completely digital record and treatment system,” said Sam Wainwright, a dental product manager at Formlabs. Why would

Convergent completes $40M funding round

Convergent Dental recently completed a $40 million series C funding round led by Arboretum Ventures, with participation from existing investors, including Long River Ventures and the Gund Foundation. The company said it plans to launch new products and increase market penetration. Its current products include Solea, an all-tissue laser that enables cavities to be treated without anesthesia and soft-tissue surgeries to be completed with little to no anesthesia, bleeding, or

Dental Dose: Supplements, brought to you by the letter G

Dental Dose is a twice-monthly video series featuring pharmacologist Tom Viola, RPh. In each episode, Viola shares bite-sized pieces of dental pharmacology news, facts, and myths. This week’s episode of Dental Dose is brought to you by the letter G. In the episode, Viola breaks down the alleged benefits and real risks of four popular supplements that begin with G: garlic, ginger, ginseng, and ginkgo biloba. If you listen to

Does digital dentistry scare you? Here’s how to get started

Digital dentistry is transforming dental practice, and there may be good reasons to delve into it if you haven’t already, according to leading digital dentistry experts. “You need to understand what digital dentistry does for you in terms of being able to diagnose better, provide better treatment, and be more efficient in what you do,” said Dr. Marty Jablow, a dentist and chief development officer of Cellerant Consulting Group. “This is

U.S. Oral Surgery Management partners with Va. group

U.S. Oral Surgery Management (USOSM) has established a partnership with Oyster Point Oral & Facial Surgery in Virginia. It is USOSM’s first partnership in the state, it said. USOSM is a specialty management services company that serves oral and maxillofacial surgeons. The company now has partner practices in 17 states. Oyster Point offers a full scope of oral and maxillofacial surgery services, with expertise in dental implant surgery, wisdom tooth

BurtonBands debuts new VursaWedge sizes, design

BurtonBands has released two new sizes of VursaWedge for class II restorations, as well as a new design made for challenging furcation cases. VursaWedge now comes in medium and large sizes, BurtonBands said. The company also introduced Anatomical VursaWedge, which has a unique convex contour to assist with tough furcation cases. VursaWedge has a proprietary split wedge design and helps solve class II restoration inefficiencies, including gingival seal and matrix

Roland DGA debuts AI software for milling machines

Roland DGA’s DGShape Americas has released new artificial intelligence (AI)-powered performance visualization software for current DWX milling machines. DWindeX2 software version 1.1. Image courtesy of Roland DGA and DGShape. The software, DWindeX2, allows monitoring of current DWX series mills, including DWX-42W and DWX-52D, from one location. Previous software versions only allowed single-location monitoring of DWX-52DCi mills. DWindeX2 features an enhanced dashboard that allows users to monitor and collect data on

Sealant keeps kids caries-free longer, saves money

Treating the molars of young children with sealant enables them to stay caries-free longer, while potentially saving the U.S. health system an estimated $149 million per year, according to a study published in the October issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association. Due to the cost savings and caries prevention associated with pit-and-fissure sealant (PFS) treatment, policymakers should consider paying for the treatment in children who are at

Use of povidone-iodine rinse may lead to iodine toxicity

Gargling with povidone-iodine mouthwash, which has been used as a preprocedural rinse to control COVID-19 in dentistry, may result in a high ingestion rate of iodine, according to a study published October 21 in Biological Trace Element Research. Povidone-iodine (PVP-I) mouthwash, which also may be prescribed for minor mouth pain and irritation and to inactivate common respiratory viruses, should be used with caution to prevent iodine toxicity, the authors wrote.

35Newtons unveils FirstPlug for implant-supported restorations

Dental implant technology developer 35Newtons has introduced FirstPlug, a medical-grade system designed to enhance the process of filling access channels in screw-retained restorations. Image courtesy of 35 Newtons. FirstPlug consists of a medical-grade polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) barrier material and an instrument set for packing or filling retention screw channels during restorative procedures, according to the company. 35Newtons said the large-diameter, cylindrically shaped cord seats in the screw channel without rolling or