Water fluoridation linked to lower dental costs

Residents of South Korea living in areas with newer water fluoridation programs had significantly fewer dental visits for caries and lower overall dental care costs than those in areas without water fluoridation, according to a new study. Researchers sought to measure the impact community water fluoridation would have in nonmetropolitan areas of that country. The results were published in BMC Oral Health (November 8, 2016). “In the regions with water

Week in Review: Treating jaw pain; pediatric treatment studies; and new products

Dear DrBicuspid Member, Sometimes when you see patients who cite pain in their jaw, you can treat their pain using your communication skills, training, and clinical expertise. Sometimes, however, as periodontist Dr. Alvin Danenberg notes, you have to consider causes beyond a patient’s mouth. Read his column here. Two studies we reported on this week focus on your pediatric patients. In the first, when you are treating preschool children for early

Study finds 99% of obese kids have inflamed gums

The vast majority of overweight and obese children show signs of gingivitis, according to a study in Diabetes Care. While the study was relatively small, the authors highlight the need for a multidisciplinary approach to care for children with excess body fat. Researchers from Argentina and California wanted to see if excess body fat in children was tied to a number of inflammatory conditions. They hypothesized that overweight and obese

Update: NJ dentist, attorney general agree to hearing

The New Jersey oral surgeon linked to 15 cases of bacterial endocarditis has agreed that his license to practice will continue to be suspended and his case will be heard by administrative law judge, according to the Office of the Attorney General of New Jersey. John Vecchione, DDS, had his license to practice suspended in August 2016. Under the terms of an agreement with New Jersey Attorney General Christopher Porrino,

Pilot program brings teledentistry to SC

A pediatric public health program and dental imaging company are partnering to bring a teledentistry pilot program to schools in Marion County in South Carolina. Through the program, imaging company MouthWatch will provide its intraoral scanners and teledentistry software to ChildSmiles Dental, an organization that provides school-based dental prevention programs. ChildSmiles Dental will then organize for local dentists to remotely screen school kids for oral diseases. MouthWatch will use the

Does sedation help kids’ long-term dental behavior?

When treating preschool children for early childhood caries, is moderate sedation more effective than protective stabilization or general anesthesia in terms of improving the child’s behavior at future dental visits? Researchers from Brazil focused on that question in a new study. Balancing the need for patient safety, treating the immediate clinical issue, and laying the foundation for ongoing positive office visits is a difficult task when treating preschool-aged patients. To

Tooth wear screening tools fall short, new study finds

Which tooth wear evaluation tool works best? None, according to a new study. Researchers found that the four most common systems to categorize erosion all fall short of the requirements needed to be universally used in dental practice and research. A team of international researchers realized that no universally applicable evaluation tool exists. Therefore, they set out to determine whether one of the existing systems could be used universally or

8 possible causes of your patient’s jaw pain

I saw Monique as a patient about a year ago. She entered my office saying, “My jaw pain is killing me.” She had a root canal procedure done on her lower right molar and a crown placed on that tooth about four months before I saw her. At that point, she reported having severe pain in that tooth, her jaw muscles, and her jaw joint. At first, she thought the

Interleukin Genetics increases revenues for Q3

Interleukin Genetics reported a significant increase in revenue for the third quarter of 2016 compared with the same quarter of 2015. For the quarter (end-September 30), the company reported total revenues of $734,000, compared with $296,000 for the fall quarter of 2015. Interleukin attributed the change to contracted research projects. However, the company still reported an overall net loss of $1.99 million, down slightly from $2.03 million in the same

New product: Taub to debut sealant at Greater New York

Taub Products will debut its Kidz Seal-America pit-and-fissure sealant at the upcoming 2016 Greater New York Dental Meeting in New York City. Kidz Seal-America was designed with public health sealant programs, school-based programs, and pediatric dentistry in mind, according to the company. It can be used in both dry and wet fields. The sealant is also tooth-integrating, low-viscosity, and self-adjusting. Each package comes with four 1.2-mL syringes and 20 tips.

Does in-office teeth bleaching produce more inflammation?

If you offer teeth whitening in your practice, you’re probably concerned about both the cosmetic result and keeping your patients’ teeth and gums healthy. Teeth bleaching is a popular method for both in-office and at-home teeth whitening, but researchers from Brazil wanted to know if the chemicals involved would damage the dental pulp of patients. Their study in the Journal of Applied Oral Science investigated using both in-office and at-home

New product: Ultradent launches new impression material

Ultradent Products has launched the new Thermo° Clone vinyl polysiloxane (VPS) impression material. The impression material is engineered to be temperature-sensitive with a long working time and a short setting time, according to the company. The VPS impression material is bubblegum-scented and has a high tear strength. The material comes with the company’s dynamic mixing tip and works with all automatic mixing machines.