The winner of this year’s March Madness bracket challenge hosted by Keating Dental Lab has donated his spoils to the nonprofit Dental Lifeline Network. Derek Van Volkom won this year’s Keating bracket challenge, which comes with a grand prize of $3,000. Van Volkom, who works for Lanmark360, an advertising agency in the dental space, donated the entire $3,000 winner’s check to the Dental Lifeline Network. Van Volkom picked the Baylor
Henry Schein Dental said its webinar series on treating patients with disabilities is now available online. The series, which premiered live in February, is designed to equip oral health professionals with education and resources to help them confidently accept and effectively treat patients with disabilities. Titled “Breaking Down Barriers to Care: Treating Patients With Disabilities,” it addresses common disabilities, effective adaptations for treating patients, behavior management techniques, and more, Henry
Biolase and EdgeEndo announced on April 21 at the American Association of Endodontists annual meeting that they will develop a laser-assisted microfluidic irrigation device. EdgePro is intended as a device that can handle substances, such as sodium hypochlorite, ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid, chlorhexidine, or two-in-one or three-in-one irrigation solutions. Biolase expects to submit a premarket notification 510(k) clearance for the device to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in the second quarter
People with orofacial pain experienced higher levels of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published recently in Dental and Medical Problems. Approximately half of those with orofacial pain experienced symptoms that were representative of a severe psychological disorder, while only about one-third of those without pain experienced that level of psychological distress. People with orofacial pain should be targets for intervention, the authors
Glidewell will offer a new 11-course program aimed at helping dentists improve their business management skills and achieve practice growth in implant dentistry. The Glidewell Implant Business Essentials Continuum, which includes numerous topics from financial planning to social media to ethics, will run from October 2021 to January 2022. The company will hold the course at its Irvine, CA, campus. The Implant Business Essentials Continuum will be offered by Glidewell.
Dental material manufacturer Ultradent Products has purchased majority ownership in Mexico-based distributor Vamasa SA de CV. The purchase follows the companies’ strong commercial relationship that has stretched over nearly 30 years. Vamasa’s network of suppliers, dealers, and clinicians as well as its infrastructure will assist Ultradent’s ability to better serve dentists in Latin America.
Parkell has introduced Digitest 3, a pulp vitality tester designed to help dentists identify the cause of a patient’s discomfort in tricky cases. Digitest 3 electrically stimulates the tooth to test for vitality, offering a useful diagnostic tool when percussion, ice, heat, and radiographs don’t provide enough information for dentists to identify the source of the patient’s pain, according to the vendor. The system has a single-button control and can
When it comes to preventing a type of heart infection caused by oral bacteria, good dental health is better than antibiotics, according to a landmark American Heart Association (AHA) statement published on April 15 in the journal Circulation. In the statement, the committee reviewed the evidence around the AHA’s watershed 2007 guidelines that recommended dentists limit antibiotic prophylaxis (AP) to only four types of patients. In its new review, the
Bisco has released FluoroCal, a fluoride and calcium-releasing varnish for the treatment of hypersensitive teeth. Indicated for application to enamel and dentin, FluoroCal provides targeted and sustained release of calcium and fluoride for over 24 hours, according to Bisco. The varnish is applied with a brush and immediately relieves sensitivity by penetrating and sealing dentin tubules, the company said. The 5% sodium fluoride varnish also contains tricalcium phosphate. FluoroCal fluoride
Imaging helped lead to the diagnosis and treatment of a 2-year-old girl who developed the life-threatening condition orbital cellulitis due to a dental abscess. The details were published on April 9 in the Cureus Journal of Medical Science. A dental exam revealed the child had multiple caries, gum swelling, and loose baby teeth, and a contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) scan showed a left periosteal abscess collection extended to her orbit.
The University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine (Penn Dental Medicine) and the university’s School of Engineering and Applied Sciences have launched a new oral health initiative called the Center for Innovation & Precision Dentistry. The center will enable the development of new ways to address unmet oral health needs, particularly in the areas of dental caries, periodontal disease, and head and neck cancer. It will be supported by the
Approximately one-third of caries diagnosed in preschool children using dental x-rays conflicted with assessments using oral exams alone in a new study published on March 31 in BMC Oral Health. Carious lesions were diagnosed inaccurately in about 30% of baby tooth surfaces when dental x-rays were used, suggesting such x-rays may be unnecessary for tooth decay detection in young children. Clinical guidelines related to caries diagnosis may need to be