Biomet 3i, founded as Implant Innovations in May 1987 by an engineer and a periodontist, is celebrating its 25th anniversary in business. The company now boasts 1,000 employees and global headquarters located in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Biomet has made a number of developments over the years, and most recently introduced a bone-bonding NanoTite surface designed to produce a mechanical interlocking of the newly formed cement line matrix of bone
Heavy cellphone use increases the rate of saliva and flow, as well as the volume of parotid glands, according to a study to be published next month in Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology (August 2012, Vol. 114:2, pp. 200-206). Researchers from the department of oral medicine and radiology at Vidya Shikshan Prasarak Mandal’s Dental College and Research Centre in India were interested in looking at how heat
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has posted for public comment its draft research plan on the prevention of dental caries in preschool-aged children (ages 0-5). The draft plan is designed to determine what proportion of preschool-aged children in the U.S. have access to dental care, and what factors are associated with access and/or lack of access. The draft plan is also intended to determine the following: How effective is
Actor and producer Michael Douglas has donated his time to help create a television public service announcement (PSA) on behalf of the Oral Cancer Foundation (OCF). The PSA has now been released and will begin appearing across the U.S., according to the foundation. Douglas first sought medical help in 2010 after experiencing a sore throat that persisted for a protracted period of time. After several doctor visits, he was found
Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have discovered two key regulating genes that govern the cell-fate determination of human bone marrow stem cells (Cell Stem Cell, July 6, 2012, Vol. 11:1, pp. 23-35). The ability to control whether certain stem cells ultimately become bone cells holds promise for regenerative medicine and potential therapies aimed at treating metabolic bone diseases, according to the university. UCLA School of Dentistry
Differences in anatomical, physiological, and hormonal features between men and women may help to explain why women are more sensitive to pain and experience more chronic orofacial pain, according to a clinical review in the Journal of the American Dental Association (July 2012, Vol. 143:7, pp. 764-765). Understanding these differences “should help counteract prejudicial attitudes toward female patients, which can lead to inadequate care,” wrote Thuan Dao, DMD, MSc, PhD,
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released new guidelines on safe clinical practice for health providers and students who are infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV). The report updates the 1991 CDC recommendations on preventing the transmission of blood-borne viruses from infected healthcare providers to patients during exposure-prone invasive procedures, according to a CDC report. For most chronically HBV-infected providers and students who conform to
Whiter Image Dental has launched a teeth-whitening initiative to encourage dental patients to maintain their regularly scheduled visits. The new Smile Maintenance Program coincides with the patient’s prophylaxis appointments, yet provides the added benefit of a teeth-whitening program that results in fewer cancelations or no-shows. If a patient decides the program is a good fit, they are fitted for custom whitening trays after their routine checkup and cleaning. A follow-up
There may be some association between dental x-rays and certain types of cancer, according to a review by the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health (CADTH; Journal of the Canadian Dental Association, 2012; 78:c79). Based on data from eight case-control studies that assessed the association between exposure frequency to dental x-rays and brain tumors (five reports), thyroid cancer (one report), breast cancer (one report), or pediatric cancer of
On July 6, the ABC television program “The View” featured a segment that “grossly misrepresented” the educational requirements and annual salary of dental hygienists, according to the American Dental Hygienists’ Association (ADHA). In the “Where Are The Jobs?” segment, financial expert Regina Lewis outlined what she considers to be a number of “hot” job prospects, including healthcare and retail. Then, in response to this question from co-host Sherri Shepherd —
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded the University at Albany (UAlbany) a five-year, $2.5 million grant to support nanoscale efforts to improve the treatment of xerostomia. The research will be conducted jointly by the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and the department of biological sciences. The research will involve the use of nanofibers to develop bioengineered artificial scaffolds. Those scaffolds would then be deployed to promote the
Removing amalgam fillings from patients with a history of health complaints dramatically reduced the number of complaints, according to a small study in Acta Odontologica Scandinavica (July 2, 2012). “Some patients attribute health complaints to amalgam fillings and report improvement of health after replacement of amalgam fillings,” wrote the study authors, from Uni Research in Norway. “The aim of the present study was to characterize the changes of different health