U.S. orthodontic spending climbs 70% over 2 decades

In 2016, patients in the U.S. spent about $20 billion on orthodontic treatments, according to a study published on May 17 in BMC Oral Health. This represents approximately 70% growth over spending in 1996 and was also the most spent during the 20-year study period. There were several year-to-year decreases scattered within the years of increased spending, however. The periodic drop in spending suggests that orthodontic care’s dependence on out-of-pocket payments

Week in Review: Life-threatening mouth bleeding | Fluoride makes the grade | More dentists on the horizon

Dear DrBicuspid Member, A young woman experienced rare, life-threatening episodes of mouth bleeding for weeks following the uncovering of a dental implant. Associate Editor Melissa Busch’s article with the must-know details was the top story of the week. The woman visited an emergency department after experiencing more than 40 bleeding episodes, including three significant events of intraoral bleeding. Embolizing her artery stopped the bleeding, but clinicians continue to monitor her.

Behind the billions lost: Dental fraud is rare but costly

In 1993, Dr. David Silber, a dentist now practicing in Plano, TX, was fired from the first dental clinic he worked for. He’d been assigned to a patient another dentist had scheduled for a crown preparation. However, Silber found nothing wrong with the tooth, so he sent the patient home. He was fired later the same day. “Never send a patient away who’s willing to pay the clinic money,” he was

Dental Dose: The risky combination of vaping and cannabis

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. Cannabis on its own can cause oral and overall health problems. But add in an electronic cigarette (e-cigarette) dispenser, and those issues can be compounded, according to Tom Viola in the latest episode of Dental Dose. As mentioned in the pilot episode of Dental

Dental office tip leads to U.S. Capitol riot arrest

A tip from a dental office led to a New York man being arrested and charged on May 17 with multiple offenses in connection with the January 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to documents released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. An employee at an unidentified dental practice contacted the authorities after Daniel Warmus allegedly bragged about storming the Capitol, smoking marijuana inside the

Gingivitis tied to increased risk of future depression

European researchers discovered a link between gingivitis and depression in a study published in the June 2021 edition of the Journal of Psychiatric Research. Patients with chronic gingivitis had almost double the risk of developing depression as those with healthy gums. The authors looked at patients ages 14 years and older who were diagnosed with chronic gingivitis in the U.K. Approximately 16% of people with chronic gingivitis received a depression

Overjet receives FDA clearance for Dental Assist AI

Overjet announced it has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its artificial intelligence (AI) product Dental Assist. The AI software supports dental professionals in measuring mesial and distal bone levels in bitewing and periapical radiographs. It was designed to assist in periodontal disease diagnosis and treatment planning. Overjet was founded three years ago on technology developed by dental researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of

New method uses enzymes to target early childhood caries

Early research findings suggest a new approach may be effective for treating early childhood caries. The approach uses enzymes that target interactions between bacteria and yeast responsible for forming sticky dental plaque. In lab studies, researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine targeted molecular binding sites between bacterial Streptococcus mutans and fungus Candida albicans. Ordinarily, S. mutans and C. albicans form a biofilm that becomes extremely virulent

Yummy! What You Should & Shouldn’t Eat for Healthy Teeth & Gums

As dentists, we’re always stressing about how important it is to brush, floss, and see a dentist regularly. But it’s not just practicing good hygiene and seeing a dentist that make for great dental health. It’s also the food in your fridge, what you put on your plate, and what you drink to wash it all down. You may not realize it, but the food you eat has a huge

USPSTF draft recommendation backs fluoride for kids

Primary care physicians should apply fluoride varnish and prescribe fluoride supplements to certain children, according to a draft recommendation statement released by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) on May 11. In the draft recommendation, the USPSTF concluded with “moderate certainty that there is a moderate net benefit of preventing future dental caries with fluoride varnish application in all children younger than age 5 years.” Similarly, it said with

Dental implant causes life-threatening mouth bleeding for weeks

A young woman experienced rare, life-threatening episodes of mouth bleeding for weeks following the uncovering of a dental implant. Details of the case were published on May 11 in Clinical Implant Dentistry and Related Research. Clinicians managed the patient’s bleeding by embolizing her descending palatine artery, which supplies blood to the hard and soft palate. It is possible that tooth loss changed the morphology of the patient’s blood vessel anatomy.

Biolase hosts pediatric dental laser training in Calif.

Biolase said it teamed up with Healthy Smiles For Kids of Orange County to host a pediatric dental laser training session recently at the Biolase Learning Center in Foothill Ranch, CA. The May 8 session focused on using Waterlase dental lasers in a variety of common dental pediatric procedures. It covered laser safety, laser tissue interactions, restorative dentistry using minimal anesthesia, and pediatric procedures including frenectomies for tongue-tie patients, according