Heraeus protects consumers from gray-market products

Heraeus Kulzer has entered into an exclusive importation agreement with its parent company, Heraeus Kulzer GmbH, through which it officially and legally acquired the sole rights as the exclusive importer of the Heraeus Kulzer-branded dental products into North America. With this agreement, Heraeus Kulzer is taking steps to protect dentists and patients from expired, spoiled, and counterfeit dental products. The deal will give the company legal backing to prevent unauthorized

Parents charged for neglecting kids’ oral health

A Pennsylvania couple is facing felony child endangerment and reckless endangerment charges after their two young boys were found with several missing and severely decayed teeth and blackened gums, according to a story in Morning Call. John Grobelny, 39, and Donna Grobelny, 44, of Bethlehem, PA, had a preliminary hearing this week and will face trial on the charges in Northampton County Court. The couple’s sons — ages 7 and

New criteria help predict head/neck cancer treatment success

Researchers from the Duke Cancer Institute and the University of Chicago have found a way to identify patients with recurring head and neck cancer who are most likely to benefit from a second round of chemotherapy and radiation, according to new study in the journal Cancer (June 13, 2011). The finding could spare many cancer patients from undergoing an intervention that may add to their suffering, fail to prolong life,

Heraeus offers YouTube channel with how-to videos

Heraeus Kulzer is offering free instructional videos on YouTube, including 30 clips covering a range of topics, such as impression techniques, posterior restorations, and live demonstrations of whitening procedures, as well as Heraeus products, the company announced. Featured presenters include dental industry leaders and educators: Corky Willhite, DDS; Howard Glazer, PhD; Steve Ratcliff, DDS; Cherilyn Sheets, DDS; Fred Margolis, DDS; and Ross Nash, DDS, as well as Shannon Pace-Brinker, CDA.

Univ. of Fla. to study preventive care for tots

The University of Florida (UF) has received a $293,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health to study whether decay prevention programs actually improve dental care in young children enrolled in Medicaid, the school announced. The programs are designed to incorporate caries prevention as part of a child’s regular checkup with a doctor. Researchers from the UF colleges of medicine and dentistry and the Institute of Child Health Policy will

OralDNA Labs names new general manager

OralDNA Labs has appointed Ken Clarke as general manager, the company announced. Clarke will report to Dermot Shorten, vice president, office of the chairman, and will be based in Brentwood, TN. “As one of the founders of OralDNA, Ken has invaluable firsthand marketplace experience,” Shorten said. “He understands the high potential of this business and is focused on its continued growth. He will help us accelerate our momentum.” Prior to

New method could cut healing time for implants

By studying the surface structure of dental implants at the micro level and the nano level, researchers at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden have come up with a method that could shorten the healing time for patients who receive titanium dental implants, the school announced. “Increasing the active surface at nano level and changing the conductivity of the implant allows us to affect the body’s own biomechanics and speed

OHA donates fluoride varnish

Oral Health America (OHA) will donate 5,000 units of fluoride varnish to 20 school-based health centers across the U.S. as part of a partnership with the National Assembly on School-Based Health Care (NASBHC) and Preventech, the organization announced. Recently, the NASBHC was awarded a grant from Kaiser Permanente to fund technical and financial assistance to school-based health centers to incorporate oral health promotion, assessment, and preventative practices within well-child visits.

Activated irrigation outperforms syringe irrigation

While syringe irrigation is the most common technique used for clearing dentin debris during root canals, practitioners may want to consider incorporating an activated irrigation system into their root canal procedures, according to Swiss researchers. Both hydrodynamic and ultrasonic irrigation performed better than syringe irrigation on dentin debris removal in their study, which was published earlier this year (Oral Surgery, Oral Medicine, Oral Pathology, Oral Radiology, and Endodontology, April 2011,

Palifermin decreases severe oral mucositis after radiotherapy

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Palifermin (Kepivance) helps reduce the rate, severity, and duration of severe oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients receiving chemoradiotherapy, two new studies show. “Combined data from both studies consistently indicated that palifermin has activities against radiochemotherapy-induced mucositis,” said Dr. Quynh-Thu Le, who led one of the studies, in email to Reuters Health. “However, the lack of improvement in some of the secondary end

Simple approach helps ID perio disease in pregnant women

Numerous studies have shown that pregnant women are susceptible to periodontal disease. Now new research (Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics, May 3, 2011) finds that dentists can target those at high risk by asking a simple question: Do you have tooth mobility and/or swollen gums? Pregnant and postpartum women are at higher risk of developing periodontal diseases because elevated levels of progesterone and estrogen during pregnancy enhance inflammatory response, altering

Key Group releases dental lab trends report

The Key Group has released its 2011 U. S. Dental Laboratory Market Assessment and Trends report, a dental laboratory overview of material usage and trends, the company announced. Categories include crowns, bridges, digital technologies, dental implants, dentures, and production outsourcing in the U.S. dental market. The report includes data from more than 300 U.S. dental laboratories, and provides quantitative and statistical information with trends reported by end users and contemporary