If you smoke, you likely know how bad it is for you. You don’t need a dentist to tell you that. But do you know how good quitting smoking can be for your teeth and overall dental health? As dentists, we’ve seen benefits of quitting smoking first hand — years of tooth decay and gum disease slowly but steadily reverse themselves just because a patient gives up the ashtray. It’s
Throat packs may not effectively prevent patients from ingesting blood during oral surgery or improve postprocedure nausea and vomiting, according to results from a randomized controlled trial published on August 6 in the International Journal of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery. The use of oropharyngeal packs does not appear to benefit patients and evidence has indicated they can cause patients harm and contribute to poor outcomes; therefore, clinicians may want to
Biolase has reported revenue growth for its second quarter of the fiscal year (end-June 30, 2021). The company said its net revenue was $9.1 million, a 211% increase over net revenue of $2.9 million in the same period of 2020. Net revenue was 6% higher than prepandemic revenue during the second quarter of 2019. Company leaders credited the growth in part to rising demand for dental lasers as a result of the
Desktop Health announced the launch of a turnkey metal 3D printing program for dentistry along with the launch of chrome cobalt for use in dental applications. The Shop System eliminates labor costs associated with machine programming required for computer numeric controlled (CNC) milling, typically a common manufacturing process for producing metal dental components. The system can print up to 32 partials in less than four hours compared with the nearest
More than 40% of patients with COVID-19 experienced dry mouth, according to a review published in the Journal of Dental Research that looked at the prevalence of oral symptoms associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection. Taste disorders and oral lesions were also common in infected patients. The review was a six-month update to previously published research on the prevalence of oral symptoms in COVID-19 cases. In the analysis of roughly 65,000 patients
A 70-year-old man presented with a failing direct composite on tooth #20 with recurrent caries on the gingival margin. This tooth also presented as a “food trap” issue for the patient. Upon clinical and radiographic examination, it became apparent that the gingival margin was not restored properly on the existing distal-occlusal lingual (DOL), which led largely to the failure of the composite. Disclaimer: Dr. Matthew Burton is the creator of VursaWedge
Philips has launched Philips Zoom, a new at-home whitening product that includes custom-made trays. The system works by dentists taking intraoral scans of patients’ mouths, then sending the scan data to a Philips-affiliated lab. Then, customized whitening trays ship directly to patients’ homes. The tray is handmade with a durable, clear finish, Philips said. The whitening formula includes calcium phosphate, potassium nitrate, and sodium fluoride, which aim to protect enamel,
Management services firm U.S. Oral Surgery Management has partnered with Oral and Facial Surgery Center, which has locations in two Louisiana cities, Opelousas and Lafayette. This is the firm’s second partner in the state. U.S. Oral Surgery Management provides operational, marketing, and administrative services to partners in more than a dozen other states, including California and Arizona.
Are you practicing while under the influence of “fuzzy thinking” — basing dental treatment decisions on opinions rather than facts? Clinicians who do so may be putting patients at risk, according to a perspective published August 8 in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery. Whether it is unintentional or laziness, basing dental treatment decisions on uncorroborated opinions instead of facts can lead to poor clinical judgment, producing unwanted consequences
Phantom bite syndrome — a psychosomatic condition in which patients are preoccupied with dental occlusion — can result in unnecessary dental procedures and even lead to new or worse dental problems. Researchers published details of three women with this syndrome in a recent case report in Frontiers in Psychiatry. The women were strongly convinced that correcting their bite was the only way to resolve their symptoms, including symptoms in other
Several of the top-paying jobs in the U.S. are in the dental field, according to a recent report by Ladders. Out of the 25 jobs listed in the report, four were related to dentistry. The top five highest paying jobs in the U.S. all made an annual salary of $208,000. Ladders gave the No. 1 spot to anesthesiologists, although oral surgeons and orthodontists were ranked No. 2 and No. 4,
A gunman shot three people at a SmileDirectClub facility in Tennessee, according to a CNN report posted by 7 News Miami. The shooter was reportedly an employee of the company. The gunman, 22-year-old Antonio King, walked into the SmileDirectClub manufacturing facility in the Nashville neighborhood of Antioch just before 6 a.m. King shot a manager and two security guards before police arrived and shot and killed him, according to the
