Week in Review: Is oil pulling effective? | Sexual harassment | Sugar industry influence

Dear DrBicuspid Member, Oil pulling involves swishing a tablespoon of oil, typically coconut or sesame, around the oral cavity. This motion allegedly “pulls” bad bacteria from the mouth. But does it work? Researchers found that it may be as effective as chlorhexidine in reducing plaque-induced gingivitis, according to a presentation this week at the 2019 International Association for Dental Research (IADR) meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia. More than 20% of

New sedation guidelines call for 2 experts per procedure

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) have updated their sedation guidelines for the first time in three years. The new guidelines call for two trained personnel to be present when providing deep sedation or general anesthesia to children. The updates come after a perceived increase in pediatric deaths and renewed scrutiny from some state legislatures. The goal of the guidelines, which were published

Dental assistant gets prison sentence for selling opioids

A dental assistant from Pennsylvania has received a 19-month federal prison sentence for selling oxycodone tablets, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Nancy Ayres from Upper Chichester pled guilty to distributing oxycodone in February. She obtained and allegedly sold more than 1,000 15- and 20-mg oxycodone tablets between April and June 2018. In addition to the prison term, Ayres was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

Study measures restoratives’ survival rate in frail older adults

Tooth-colored restorations placed in frail older adults who reside in long-term care facilities have a comparable survival rate to those placed in community-dwelling older adults, according to a presentation on June 20 at the 2019 International Association for Dental Research (IADR) meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia. Restoratives can help residents of long-term care facilities maintain their oral and overall health, but only if the restoratives last. Researchers followed almost 850

New products: Roland DGA launches dentures kits

Roland DGA has launched two new DGShape Time Reduction Kits for producing dentures and denture models. The Removable Denture Kit is for producing full and partial dentures using a streamlined digital workflow. The kit includes full-arch silicone molds, fixtures, a carbide tool, fixture tips, silicone plates, and a spatula. The Model Kit is for producing denture models. It includes full-arch silicon molds, quadrant silicone molds, fixtures, a carbide tool, and

Poor oral health linked to increased risk of liver cancer

Poor oral health is associated with an increased risk of the most common form of liver cancer, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed data from nearly 470,000 patients in the U.K. for gastrointestinal cancer risk. They found that more than 4,060 of these patients developed gastrointestinal cancer, with 13% of these cancer patients reporting poor oral health. While they did not find a link between poor oral health and

Anesthesia & Pain Management Insider: New sedation guidelines call for 2 experts per procedure

Dear Anesthesia & Pain Management Insider, The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and American Academy of Pediatrics have updated their sedation guidelines for the first time in three years. The new guidelines call for two personnel with advanced training to be present when providing deep sedation or general anesthesia to children. Read more in our Insider Exclusive. The death of a child following sedation is always a tragedy, and one

Does a CAD/CAM system produce a better restoratives fit?

Marginal fit is critical for a restoration’s success, but which restoration fabrication method produces a more accurate fit? A new study examined two techniques to find out. Researchers compared the marginal discrepancies of monolithic zirconia crowns produced by a dental laboratory using a CAD/CAM process and those produced by a milling process. While both crowns fell into the clinically acceptable range, the CAD/CAM crowns had better absolute marginal discrepancy, they

Glass ceramic outperforms indirect resin in new veneer study

Veneers made with glass ceramic may be more durable than those composed of indirect resin. These findings come from a new study that evaluated the long-term survival rate of restorations placed on maxillary anterior teeth. Laminate veneers are a minimally invasive way to improve a patient’s smile. However, while these restorations are easy to cement and repair, they are also prone to failure. “The ceramic veneers on maxillary anterior teeth

Week in Review: Intraoral scanners rated | Perio link to diabetes | Medical reimbursement

Dear DrBicuspid Member, Welcome to the Saturday edition of our Week in Review e-newsletter. As more of our readers are expanding their practice hours to include weekends, we thought we should do the same. Let us know what you think. When you are using an oral scanner to scan for single crowns and short-span restorations, does it matter which oral scanner you use? In a major new study, researchers compared

Align Technology, Straumann end distribution talks

Medical device company Align Technology and Straumann Group have terminated discussions regarding a possible development and distribution agreement. As a result, Straumann will pay Align Technology $16 million as part of a patent settlement agreement announced in March. The settlement ended the companies’ patent disputes in the U.S., the U.K., and Brazil, including those involving ClearCorrect, a subsidiary of Straumann. As part of the agreement, the two companies had signed a

WVU to study lung disease prevention in dentistry

The West Virginia University (WVU) School of Dentistry has announced it will be conducting a new study on how dental professionals come into contact with vapors, gases, and airborne dusts that may cause lung disease and also ways to prevent it. The aim of the study is to assess how dental professionals come into contact with potentially hazardous particulate matter and how to reduce this exposure. Five WVU teaching clinics