Restoratives & Cosmetics Insider: Want to appear more popular? Whiten your teeth

Dear Restoratives & Cosmetics Insider, Whitening patients’ teeth is a simple service that can have a big effect on their lives. Participants in a recent study ranked models with white teeth as more popular, friendly, intelligent, and confident. Models with whiter teeth were also deemed to be younger and better educated by study participants. You can read the full results in this edition’s Insider Exclusive. Given the demand for bright

Queen Victoria made wearing teeth a fashion trend

From mourning her husband’s death to showing off love tokens from his hunting trips, Queen Victoria helped trigger the popularity of jewelry adorned with teeth, according to a news article published on September 10 in the British Dental Journal. Incorporating teeth into jewelry to memorialize someone started in the Middle Ages, but memorial and milestone jewelry really caught on during the 19th century under Queen Victoria’s reign. During the queen’s

Ackuretta, Bego team up on 3D printing

Bego’s 3D printing materials will be integrated into Ackuretta’s 3D printing systems, the companies announced. Bego and Ackuretta are partnering to offer start-to-finish dental workflows. Permanent and temporary restorations out of VarseoSmile Crown plus and VarseoSmile Temp 3D printing materials, as well as other Bego materials such as VarseoWax Model, will be available. Ackuretta and Bego materials are available online or across the globe via selected distributors. VarseoSmile Crown plus

Clinicians in Japan use navigation system for TMJ surgery

Clinicians in Japan successfully performed a temporomandibular joint (TMJ) ankylosis surgery on a pediatric patient using a computer-assisted navigation system, according to details published on September 10 in the Journal of Medical Case Reports. Employing an electromagnetic navigation system to avoid damage to the young patient’s brain, the clinicians made a preauricular incision and then performed an interpositional gap arthroplasty using temporal muscle and fascia as the interpositional graft materials.

How 3D printing can support remote education in dentistry

As the coronavirus pandemic spread across the globe, nearly everything changed — especially education. Teachers from elementary school to higher education had to find new avenues for instruction that kept students engaged and, most importantly, learning critical curriculum. Because hands-on training is crucial for learning and success in many medical fields, schooling from home left much to be desired. 3D printing emerged as a resource for hands-on remote education in

USOSM announces new SC partner

Shared services organization U.S. Oral Surgery Management (USOSM) has partnered with Hilton Head Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery of South Carolina. Under the partnership, USOSM will provide business support, including operational services and other resources, to the oral and maxillofacial surgery office, which has locations in Hilton Head and Bluffton. USOSM has partner practices in 16 states, including Texas, Colorado, and Florida.

Henry Schein restructures medical, dental businesses

Henry Schein has restructured its organization to consolidate the management of its dental and medical distribution businesses. The company is creating the North America Distribution Group, which will be led by CEO Brad Connett, and the International Distribution Group, which will be led by President Andrea Albertini, to manage its dental and medical distribution businesses globally. Also, it will expand the following specialty products and services businesses that participate in

Zimmer Biomet spinoff to be called ZimVie

Zimmer Biomet announced that its spinoff spine and dental businesses will be named ZimVie. In February 2021, Zimmer Biomet said it was forming a new independent, publicly traded company. At the time of the announcement, Zimmer Biomet reported the new company name as NewCo. The transaction is expected to close in mid-2022. Additionally, Richard Heppenstall was named executive vice president and chief financial officer. He is the former chief financial

Roland DGA debuts attachment adapter for abutment kit

Roland DGA’s DGShape Americas has unveiled a new Dental Smart Solutions (DESS) material attachment adapter for its AK-1 abutment kit designed to be used with the DWX-42W wet mill. The new adapter enables milling of DESS premilled titanium blanks with the wet mill, and it complements the existing NT Trading, Medentika, and GeoMedi AK-1 adapters. Also, the new adapter can be used with MillBox software version 2021 and newer, the

Lasers reduce pain after extraction, implant surgeries

Low-level lasers reduced pain following extraction and implant surgeries in a pair of blinded randomized controlled trials published on September 5 in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and the Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology. The split-mouth studies each enrolled about a dozen participants and evaluated the effect of low-intensity laser therapy, also known as photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy, on pain. Patients reported their pain levels using a visual analog

Orthodontist pleads guilty in ex-Ark. lawmaker bribery scheme

A well-known orthodontist pleaded guilty on September 13 in connection with a public corruption scheme involving a former state senator from Arkansas, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas. Dr. Benjamin Burris pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud. The 49-year-old Florida clinician admitted in a plea agreement that he paid bribes to former state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson in exchange

Surgical gloves can be hack for removing stripped dental screws

Surgical gloves may come in handy for more than just infection control. Sterilized gloves can be used to remove damaged dental screws from patients, according to a technical note published online September 11 in the Journal of Stomatology, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. The authors described the placement of a piece of sterilized surgical glove over an angled screwdriver, allowing them to remove a stripped dental screw that was used with