Bottle removed from boy’s tongue with uncorking method

Clinicians removed a glass bottle stuck to a 7-year-old boy’s tongue by injecting air into it, which was a technique inspired by the doctor’s unconventional method of opening a wine bottle, according to a case report published as a letter in the December issue of the European Journal of Anaesthesiology. Using this unusual technique allowed the doctors to avoid more complex techniques involving general anesthesia and physically cutting the bottle

Neolithic people in Near East made necklaces of human teeth

Human teeth that were worn as pendants were unearthed from the ruins of the 9,000-year-old Turkish city Çatalhöyük. This is the first documented case of human teeth being made into jewelry in the Near East, according to a new study published in the Journal of Archaeological Science. Archeologists discovered three teeth dating back between 6,700 B.C. and 6,300 B.C. in Central Anatolia region of Turkey. Two of the teeth were

Which MRI sequences can best handle metal braces?

What is the best way to overcome artifacts in patients wearing metallic orthodontic devices? The authors of a new study published November 12 in Radiology recommend slight modifications in functional MRI (fMRI) and diffusion-tensor MR imaging (DTI-MRI) sequences to complete the task. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University took a cue from a previous study that used T2-prepared blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI and a diffusion-prepared DTI sequence to work around

Pitt commits to opioid-free pain management

The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) School of Dental Medicine has established opioid-free pain management guidelines for most procedures performed at its clinics. It is the first educational institution in the U.S. to take such action, according to the school. The university’s dental school created pain management guidelines to help clinicians make the best choices for their patients. The school revamped its guidelines because current studies show that nonopioid medications generally

5-year-old falls while brushing, leaving hole in throat

A 5-year-old girl in Utah required emergency surgery after she fell off the bed while doing her evening toothbrushing, causing the brush to puncture her throat. The force of the brush left a 1-inch hole in her throat, according to news reports. The girl, Celeste, underwent surgery in October that lasted more than two hours to close the hole in her throat. Though she is expected to make a full

The important role photography plays in the success of your practice

Is a picture worth a thousand words? Or is it worth far more? I could show you the rest of the series we recently took on this new patient. This single image, however, has so much to say. Have a good look at it. What do you think about the following? The size of the anterior six The contour The angulation The color The opacity Here are a few more

Pa. dental assistant faces drug charge

A dental assistant in Pennsylvania was charged with drug possession after a bag of methamphetamine was found in her pocket during a root canal, according to a November 19 report in the Morning Call. The bag, allegedly belonging to Cindy Lou Kametler, of Whitehall, PA, was allegedly found by a dentist at Upper Bucks Dental Arts in Milford Township on October 23. According to the police, the dentist requested a

Chewing sugar-free gum slows caries progression in kids

Chewing sugar-free gum may help reduce the further development of dental cavities in children, according to a systematic review published November 19 in the Journal of Dental Research Clinical & Translational Research. Using sugar-free gum may be a supplement to preventive oral health routines, since it produced effects in reducing the advancement of dental caries comparable to other interventions, such as supervised toothbrushing programs and oral health education, wrote the

U.K. hospital admits it’s complicit in woman’s death

The hospital in the U.K. that discharged a woman in 2017 who was experiencing complications from dental work and died 12 hours later has apologized to her family and confirmed that the clinician who treated her is no longer treating patients, according to an article by London News Online. In a statement, King’s College Hospital in Camberwell gave its condolences to Magzine Gordon’s family. “An internal investigation was conducted following

Can hypnosis reduce opioid use? Maybe

Can hypnosis and other mind-body therapies reduce the number of opioids needed to treat pain after dental surgery? Maybe, according to the findings of a systematic review recently published in JAMA Internal Medicine. Researchers reviewed 60 clinical studies, some of which included dental patients, to investigate whether hypnosis, meditation, and other mind-body therapies might reduce patients’ pain and opioid use. Although the results aren’t specific to dentistry, they demonstrate that

Misinformation about root canals still lives on social media

A film that revived junk science, claiming root canals cause serious illnesses like cancer, was removed from streaming platforms this past spring after backlash from the dental community, but it continues to live on social media, according to Poynter Institute’s nonprofit project PolitiFact. On November 3, Alexandra Duran posted on Facebook: “Did you know? Dentists are the only physicians that believe you can get away with leaving dead tissue in

Formlabs launches Formlabs Dental, new 3D printer

After making an impact in the dental lab space for a number of years, Formlabs has now launched a new dental business unit, Formlabs Dental. With the creation of the new business unit, Formlabs intends to make a splash in the growing 3D market for dental practices and the opportunities that are to come for the technology in the next decade. Formlabs will work with distributors such as Henry Schein