Soy protein extract inhibits oral cancer growth

Soy protein extract could serve as a chemotherapeutic agent for some oral cancers at lower concentrations that are comparable to those found in certain foods, according to research presented at the recent International Association for Dental Research meeting in Brazil. The study findings may help explain why diets rich in fruits, vegetables, and soy protein are associated with protection against the development and progression of oral cancers, noted the study

MoGo unveils flavored mouthguards for dental offices

MoGo Sport, which last year launched a line of colorful flavored mouthguards for athletes of all ages, has now introduced a line of flavored laminates specifically for dental offices to create custom mouthguards for their patients. MoGo Sport was founded in 2011 by Bruce Angus, a former soccer player who was seeking a solution to a recurring problem: athletes not wanting to wear mouthguards because of the way they taste.

Millennium Dental names new VP

Millennium Dental Technologies has appointed Steve Kokal as vice president of sales and marketing. Prior to joining the company, Kokal was the laser sales manager at Lares Research. He has 16 years of experience in the dental industry, including laser technology, according to Millennium. Millennium manufactures the PerioLase MVP-7 dental laser for use in the company’s LANAP protocol, which replaces scalpel and suture surgery for the treatment of gum disease.

Ask Marty: What do you do when a patient has an implant placed by a dentist you did not refer the patient to?

Q: What do you do when a patient has an implant placed by a dentist you did not refer the patient to, without contact from the surgeon prior to the implant placement, and it is from an implant company that you don’t like to restore? A: That is an excellent question that almost every dentist who restores implants has confronted. This scenario is one of the reasons that I eventually

Texas dental Medicaid scandal far from over

Three executives associated with Texas’ Medicaid dental program have retired or quit in the wake of the state’s ongoing scandal involving fraud and over billing. And the state’s inspector general has sent letters to several dental chains implicated in Medicaid fraud to recover money for questionable treatments, including braces, steel crowns, and composite fillings. Jerry Felkner, DDS, dental director of the Texas Medicaid Healthcare Partnership, which handles Medicaid billing and

ADA launches website for consumers

The ADA has launched a new website, MouthHealthy.org, dedicated to improving the oral health of Americans. The new website features a dental IQ quiz so people can test their own knowledge. The website is filled with prevention, care, and treatment information to help people get and stay “mouth healthy” for life. In a national survey conducted by the ADA in May, survey respondents on average scored a D grade on

OSAP launches dental safety ad campaign

The Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP) has launched a new ad campaign advocating for safe and infection-free delivery of oral healthcare. OSAP guides practitioners in preventing the spread of infection in traditional dental settings and for emerging models of care. The campaign was unveiled at OSAP’s annual symposium, Connecting to Drive Compliance, June 21-23 in Atlanta.

Keystone Dental, Southern Implants merge

Dental implant companies Keystone Dental and Southern Implants have merged. The terms of the deal were not disclosed, and the combined entity will retain the name Keystone Dental. The combination of Keystone’s portfolio of biomaterials and dental implants with Southern’s dental implant systems for both the aesthetic zone and molar regions provides the merged company with a greatly expanded product range, stated Michael Kehoe, the former CEO of Southern Implants

U.S. Senate bill would boost oral health improvement efforts

The U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations has approved a 2013 fiscal year funding bill that includes several oral health provisions authorized by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) more than two years ago. Funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Division of Oral Health would increase by nearly $4 million. This would enable the agency to bolster state-level oral health improvement efforts, according to the Children’s Dental Health Project.

DentalEZ sponsors community service day at ADHA

DentalEZ Group, a supplier of innovative products and services for dental health professionals worldwide, recently sponsored the American Dental Hygienists’ Association’s (ADHA) Community Service Day. The Community Service Day was held June 13 in conjunction with the ADHA’s 89th Annual Session in Phoenix. DentalEZ provided 12 Identafi oral cancer screening devices to ADHA hygienists who volunteered their time during the Community Service Day to perform oral cancer screenings to residents

Periodontitis linked to HPV-positive head/neck cancer

Patients with a history of periodontitis who develop head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are more likely to have human papillomavirus (HPV)-positive tumors, according to researchers from the University of New York at Buffalo. The findings could lead to the prevention and treatment of oral inflammation and also reduce the prevalence of oral HPV infection, according to the study authors (Archives of Otolaryngology — Head & Neck Surgery, June

Surgery reanimates smile in facial paralysis patients

A surgical technique using a muscle flap from the thigh restores facial motion and the ability to smile in patients with facial nerve paralysis resulting from neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), according to a study in Neurosurgery (June 2012, Vol. 70:2 Suppl Operative, pp. 237-243). Kalpesh Vakharia, MD, and colleagues at Harvard Medical School report good results with “smile reanimation” in NF2 patients with facial nerve paralysis. They hope their study