New product: Glidewell releases sleep apnea device

Glidewell Dental has released a new mandibular advancement device for patients with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea. The Oasys Hinge Appliance is designed to shift a patient’s lower jaw forward during sleep, which activates the airway muscles and ligaments to prevent the airway from collapsing. The telescope-style hinge can be adjusted chairside or at home, according to Glidewell Dental. Patients with Medicare qualify for reimbursement as the device is

Doctors find dentures in man’s throat 8 days after surgery

Removable dentures got stuck in a 72-year-old man’s throat during surgery to remove a benign lump. Doctors didn’t find the false teeth until eight days later when the patient complained of pain, bleeding, and swallowing difficulties. U.K.-based ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist Dr. Harriet Cunniffe wrote about the experience and key learnings in the journal BMJ Case Reports (August 12, 2019). She cautioned that dentures should be taken out before

Smartphone use puts kids at risk for dental injuries

Increased smartphone use is putting children at higher risk for traumatic dental and facial injuries, such as displaced teeth, according to an article published in Dental Traumatology (August 7, 2019). Younger children who watch videos, play games, or take selfies while lying on their backs or during bedtime are at risk for these injuries. Traumatic dental injuries are considered the fifth most common disease in the world and affect more

Dental pain a top reason Medicaid patients given opioids

Approximately 17% of Medicaid recipients who are prescribed opioids to manage pain receive them for dental reasons, according to a new study. Overall, about half of the Medicaid opioid prescriptions are for either orthopedic or dental-related reasons. Additionally, emergency department healthcare providers are more likely than their colleagues to prescribe opioids, the study authors reported in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine (August 1, 2019). These findings are important because

Week in Review: Unvaccinated patients | Cannabis conversations | Effective social media

Dear DrBicuspid Member, Measles was declared eliminated from the U.S. nearly 20 years ago, but it has made a comeback. How do you respond when you learn that your pediatric patients are not up to date on their vaccinations? Are you ethically bound to treat these patients? Experts from the risk management staff of The Dentists Insurance Company explored the ethical and legal considerations of these questions and offered practical

Study compares imaging modalities for microcrack detection

When trying to locate microcracks on root dentin after root canal prep, is microcomputed tomography (micro-CT) or cone-beam CT (CBCT) a more effective imaging modality? Researchers scanned 30 molars to find out. They wanted to see how the two imaging methods compared in finding microcracks on root dentin, while also evaluating the frequency of dentinal microcracks after root canal preparation using the ProTaper Universal system. Their study was published in

75% of dentists don’t talk about cannabis — here’s why you should

Do you discuss cannabis use with your patients? Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) hope the answer is yes. They outlined the oral health considerations of marijuana and other noncigarette products in a recent study. “Any product that involves breathing in smoke, including cannabis, is likely to exacerbate periodontal disease and impair wound healing,” lead author Benjamin Chaffee, DDS, MPH, PhD, told HuangshanDental.com. “Smoked tobacco and chewing

Carestream partners with implant guide companies

Carestream Dental has announced partnerships with Swissmedia and 360imaging, two companies that create implant surgical guides. Swissmedia is the developer of the Swissmeda Dental Planning System (SDPS), a software system to design implant cases and create customizable guide designs for guided surgery procedures. Through the partnership, users of Carestream’s CS Solutions for Implants software can export data from Carestream’s Prosthetic-Driven Implant Planning module to SDPS. 360imaging creates digital implantology products,

Rural dentists prescribe more opioids

Rural dentists prescribe opioids for pain relief with a significantly greater frequency than nonrural dentists, according to a new study. However, these dentists also prescribe opioid supplies of six to seven days at a lower frequency than other dentists, the researchers found. In addition, rural dentists were more likely to report that opioid abuse/diversion was a problem in their practice, were more likely to have suspected patient misuse or abuse,

Perio treatment mix helps lower glucose levels

Scaling and root planing plus adjuvant treatments effectively lower blood glucose levels in nonsmoking patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic periodontitis, according to a meta-analysis of more than a dozen studies. Researchers from China found that patients with type 2 diabetes and chronic periodontitis had improved glycemic levels when their periodontal disease was treated with scaling and root planing (SRP) plus antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT) and the antibiotic doxycycline,

Dentsply Sirona updates orthodontic software

Dentsply Sirona has released the latest version of its orthodontic treatment software. CEREC Ortho SW 2.0 offers users access to orthodontic functions immediately after a digital impression is taken with the company’s Primescan intraoral scanner. These functions include a comprehensive model analysis and a treatment outcome simulation that can be shared with the patient, according to Dentsply Sirona. The software can also create stereolithography (STL) files for export.

Fluoride may contribute to kidney changes in U.S. kids

Fluoride exposure may contribute to kidney function changes in U.S. children, according to the findings of a study published August 8 in the journal Environment International. The authors cautioned more research is needed to explore a potential link. The dental benefits of fluoride and community water fluoridation are well studied, but less research exists on fluoride’s effects on other bodily systems. The researchers of the new study decided to specifically