Lou Gehrig’s disease markers develop in teeth during childhood

Biomarkers of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s disease — begin developing in teeth during childhood, according to a study published on May 21 in the Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology. Evidence from teeth showed that adults who develop the neurodegenerative disease broke down metals differently than people who didn’t develop the disease, and this dysregulation starts during the first 10 years of their

CBCT shows rare case of dislocated implant in ethmoidal sinus

Cone-beam CT (CBCT) helped identify a rare case of a dental implant moving into a man’s right ethmoidal sinus in a recent case report, published online on May 27 in Heliyon. An anatomical variant likely prevented him from showing signs of sinusitis related to the dislocated implant. The variant of a bilateral accessory maxillary ostium may have provided an additional way for mucus to drain in the maxillary sinus, allowing

Podcast: Thoughts on pain control and prescriptions after COVID-19’s rise

COVID-19 has done so much to change our industry, but Tom Viola, RPh, also believes that it has changed how we view pain control. In the podcast below, Viola discusses a recent study on the use of opioids versus acetaminophen. The recent study out of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry dives into pain control in patients who recently had extractions and the subject of pain management. What did

SmileDirectClub joins Ortho@Home program from Anthem Blue Cross

SmileDirectClub has joined Ortho@Home, the new teledentistry orthodontia program from Anthem Blue Cross. Ortho@Home was designed to offer Anthem dental members access to affordable, remote orthodontic care. Through the partnership, SmileDirectClub will offer its clear aligner service to Anthem Dental Prime and Complete network members. During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, remote orthodontic care can help consumers receive orthodontic care while minimizing patient exposure, according to SmileDirectClub CEO David Katzman. “Now

Minimizing aerosols, improving isolation with rubber dam usage as dental practices return to business

As my dental practice in upstate New York waits for the green light to return to a full patient load, I am seeing dentists and dental team members around the country implementing rubber dams more and more in an attempt to minimize aerosols. Rubber dam usage is just part of what the ADA’s recent guidance suggests for all dental practices. I applaud those efforts, and I know that I will

AAID develops return-to-practice guide for dental patients

The American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID) has created a checklist to help all types of dental patients prepare for their next appointment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The resource, “What to Expect: Going to the Dentist After the Stay-at-Home Order is Lifted,” outlines what safety measures and preventive protocols patients can expect when dentist offices reopen. It was created by AAID dentists who own practices and have taken extra protections

New treatment method: Maybe seal a split tooth rather than pull it?

Clinicians preserved a patient’s split tooth using a nonsurgical technique that included widening and sealing the fracture gap with mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and composite, according to a case report published online on May 3 in the Journal of Endodontics. Three years of follow-up showed the successful treatment of the patient’s first maxillary premolar, which had a fracture in the mesiodistal direction, the authors wrote in the case report/clinical technique

Case report: Rare tumor found in man’s hard palate

An uncommon 4 x 2.5-cm tumor was removed from a man’s hard palate, marking only the fourth documented case of an osteolipoma discovered in this area of the mouth, according to the authors of a case report published May 15 in the Cureus Journal of Medical Science. Given the extremely rare occurrence of these tumors, they remain unrecognized by clinicians, creating diagnostic problems. “Osteolipoma should be included as one of

Oral surgeon offers free wisdom teeth removal to offset higher education costs

An oral surgeon in New York is offering one college student free wisdom teeth removal to help offset college expenses and support higher education goals, according to an article on NNY360.com. Under his Wisdom for Wisdom initiative, Logan Curtis, DDS, of Upstate Oral Surgery & Dental Implants will accept applications through June 18 from students who live in or around the Watertown community. Applicants will watch a video about the

Ormco offers free webinar on tooth movement

Ormco will host a free webinar on using archwire to achieve efficient tooth movement. During the webinar, Sonia Palleck, DDS, will review cases and explain how she uses the latest archwire technology in her practice. She will also provide recommendations for archwire selection, sequencing, and elastic protocols. The webinar will take place on May 27 at 4 p.m. PT. Interested participants can sign up on the Ormco website.

Antipain center discovered in mice may lead to new painkillers

Scientists have discovered a small area in the brains of mice that dampens their sense of pain, which could eventually lead to new pain management treatments for humans, according to a study published on May 18 in Nature Neuroscience. The area that turns off pain was found in the central amygdala, and general anesthesia activates a specific subset of inhibitory neurons in this part of the brain. This was a

How Dr. Ryan Molis reopened his practice and kept his Invisalign patients going strong

When I last interviewed Ryan Molis, DDS, we talked at length about his dental practice and booming Invisalign business. Of course, our world has changed a great deal since that late January interview. As a practitioner-adviser to Align Technology’s CEO and leadership, Dr. Molis has established himself as one of the most successful dentists in the world when it comes to Invisalign. With his Illinois practice now back open after shutting