Dentists appear to need more endodontic education

Do you know the best practices for managing recurrent endodontic issues? Researchers of a new study found that individual practitioners often changed their minds regarding treatment of specific cases, and they discovered significant differences in decision-making among types of dentists. The researchers sent a survey on treatment decisions for nonhealing periapical lesions to general practitioners, endodontists, and other specialists who had completed the same survey seven years earlier. They found

Study finds increased cancer risk in periodontitis patients

Patients with severe periodontal disease have a 24% greater risk of developing cancer than patients with no or mild periodontal disease, according to a new study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (January 12, 2018). The researchers also reported that patients who were edentulous had a 28% greater risk of developing cancer overall but an 80% greater risk of developing colon cancer. They also found that even patients

New product: Vita launches shade liquids

Vita North America has launched new shade liquids. The Vita Zirconia YZ HT Shade Liquid kit. Image courtesy of Vita North America. The Vita Zirconia YZ HT Shade Liquids are designed for chairside treatment. The product was developed for use with Vita’s Zirconia YZ material but can be used to infiltrate other company’s zirconia products. The product can also be used to custom color zirconia restorations before sintering. The shade

JADA: Capnography beneficial for moderate sedation

Monitoring exhaled carbon dioxide, or capnography, may be able to prevent severe adverse events in moderately sedated patients, according to a new review published in the January issue of the Journal of the American Dental Association. Capnography has long been required for deep but not moderate sedation, according to the review authors. Yet moderately sedated patients can progress to deeper levels of sedation, and monitoring their carbon dioxide levels may

Week in Review: DSO settles with DOJ; plus 9 toothpastes compared and capnography

Dear DrBicuspid Member, The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a $23.9 million settlement on January 10 with dental service organization (DSO) Benevis and its Kool Smiles affiliate after a seven-year False Claims Act investigation. Read more here. Also this week on HuangshanDental.com, do your patients ask which toothpaste is best for them? That’s a difficult question to answer as toothpastes have complex compositions and different levels of effectiveness against erosive

Kolibree debuts new kids’ toothbrush at CES 2018

Kolibree debuted a new smart toothbrush specifically designed for children at this week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2018) in Las Vegas. The Kolibree Magik toothbrush and app. Image courtesy of Kolibree. The Magik toothbrush, a CES 2018 Innovation Award honoree, uses augmented reality to sync the toothbrush with a smartphone app. Through the app, children can be virtually immersed in one of 15 worlds, including pirates and princesses. The toothbrush

Do I need a Visa or Passport to Travel to Mexico?

When planning a trip to a new destination, there are a lot of questions that pop into our minds. For example, how much money do I need? Are there any good hotels in town? And most importantly, do I need a visa to enter the country I’m visiting soon? Don’t worry, when choosing Los Algodones as your dental spot of choice we’d like you to know that we’ve got you

Interrupting a critical cycle to improve gum health

Here is an account that unfolds like the best science fiction tale ever written. It’s the relationship between bacteria and mitochondria and eventually gum disease. This relationship forms a critical cycle. Alvin Danenberg, DDS. As human life evolved from single-celled organisms, each cell in our bodies came to include a self-contained energy-production machine called mitochondria that started out as ancient bacterial organisms. Every cell in our body, with the exception

Periodontal pathogens linked to esophageal cancer risk

A new study adds to existing evidence that maintaining better oral health can reduce the risk of cancer. Researchers identified links between certain periodontal pathogens and the risk of esophageal cancers, findings which could advance strategies for the early detection and prevention of these malignancies. New York University (NYU) researchers analyzed data from two large prospective studies and compared the oral microbiomes of participants who were either cancer-free or who

Benevis, Kool Smiles settle with DOJ for $24M

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a $23.9 million settlement with dental management company Benevis and its Kool Smiles affiliate after a seven-year False Claims Act investigation. The justice department alleged that false claims were submitted to state Medicaid programs for medically unnecessary dental services performed on children insured by Medicaid from 2009 to 2011. The settlement will be divided between the U.S. government and the 17 individual states involved.

Kool Smiles practice faces lawsuit after child deaths

Two children have died after being treated at a Kool Smiles practice in Yuma, AZ, over the past two years. The practice now faces a wrongful death lawsuit concerning the death of a 4-year-old girl, and the death of a 2-year-old boy is being investigated. The girl, Lizeth Lares, developed a fever after visiting the practice for an abscessed tooth in February 2016. She returned to the practice the next

Core-carrier obturation rivals conventional techniques

Core-carrier obturation may be a viable alternative to conventional root canal obturation techniques. A new systematic review found that the core-carrier method had the same success rate as the traditional cold lateral condensation technique. Researchers from China studied the results of more than a dozen clinical trials that evaluated the success rate, postoperative pain, and incidences of overfilling with the core-carrier method. They then compared the core-carrier technique with cold