AAO launches $5M ad campaign targeting adults

The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) has launched a multimillion dollar advertising campaign designed to educate the public about orthodontists’ unique qualifications, with particular emphasis on the adult market. The campaign includes TV commercials, magazine ads, and a new consumer website, MyLifeMySmile.org. Created by New York-based marketing communications firm Athorn, Clark & Partners, the “My Life. My Smile. My Orthodontist.” campaign is designed to target the adult market, maintain outreach

NJ Senate mulls water fluoridation proposal

Legislation sponsored by New Jersey Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex) that would require fluoride to be added to public water supplies statewide has been approved by the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee. Introduced January 17, the New Jersey Public Water Supply Fluoridation Act (S-959) would require all community water systems to be fluoridated within a year of the bill’s effective date. It would also require the state commissioner

Crest expands 3D White product line

Crest has expanded its 3D White product line with Crest 3D White Glamorous White Toothpaste and Crest 3D White Intensive Professional Effects Whitestrips. Crest 3D White Glamorous White Toothpaste uses a dual silica system and Crest 3D White’s proprietary radiance technology to brighten teeth after just one brushing, according to the company. It also removes up to 90% of surface stains in five days, Crest claims. Crest 3D White Intensive

Separating oral bacteria could help prevent perio disease

Stripping some oral bacteria of their access to other pathogenic oral bacteria could help prevent periodontal disease and tooth loss, according to a new study in Microbiology (February 1, 2012). The study findings suggest that this bacterial access key could be a drug target for people who are at high risk of developing periodontitis. An oral bacterium called Treponema denticola frequently gangs up in communities with other pathogenic oral bacteria

Feb. CDA journal focuses on sleep medicine

The February issue of the Journal of the California Dental Association focuses on sleep disorders and their oral health connections, the California Dental Association (CDA) announced. The article “Somnology 101: A Primer in Sleep Disorders, Their Impact on Society and a Role for Dentistry” introduces sleep disorders and identifies the dentist as an important part of the process of diagnosis and treatment. “Sleep-disordered breathing is an enormous health problem,” said

New thermoplastic dental material challenges the classics

Cendres+Métaux will debut a new thermoplastic material at the upcoming Lab Management Today (LMT) Lab Day in Chicago that the company says offers processing advantages over other thermoplastics used in dentistry. The new material — PEKK, commercially known as Pekkton — was originally unveiled in early 2011 at the International Dental Show (IDS) in Cologne, Germany, but remained virtually unnoticed in the dental media. But the company garnered more attention

Tom’s of Maine offers $100K to nonprofit clinics

Tom’s of Maine is directing its Dental Health for All program to help families in Alabama, Kentucky, New Mexico, Mississippi, and Washington, DC, and inviting nonprofit clinics serving in these areas to apply for a portion of $100,000 in funding. This year the program plans to award one clinic from each of the four states and Washington, DC, with $20,000 in funding to grow and expand the reach of their

Cigna donates $20K to Give Kids A Smile

The Cigna Foundation is making a $20,000 grant to the ADA Foundation’s Give Kids A Smile Fund to help combat childhood tooth decay. In addition, for each person who commits to good oral health during February on Cigna’s Facebook page, the Cigna Foundation will donate $5 to the ADA Foundation, up to a total of $5,000. Cigna is also providing oral health tips, online tool kits, podcasts, and resources through

U.S. presidential candidate wants toothbrushing law

Vermin Love Supreme, a performance artist and a 2012 democratic U.S. presidential candidate, has a peculiar platform. In addition to promising that all Americans will receive a pony, he has pledged to pass a law requiring toothbrushing to be mandatory. He also carries a large toothbrush and wears a boot on his head while campaigning. The aim of Supreme’s campaign is to mock the political system, he claims.

CDC report: More smokers avoid the dentist

Adult tobacco smokers are four times more likely to develop oral health problems but much less likely than nonsmokers to go to the dentist regularly, according to a report released February 7 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The study, which included more than 16,000 adults between the ages of 18 and 64 who participated in the 2008 National Health Interview Survey, also found that although

Study compares shaping, cleaning ability of NiTi files

The lack of predictable performance by an endodontic file when cleaning a root canal system, particularly in the apical portion, can limit cleaning efficiency. A study comparing the shaping ability of single-file and full-sequence nickel-titanium (NiTi) systems in severely curved root canals found that Reciproc and Mtwo (VDW) yielded superior canal cleanliness over WaveOne and ProTaper by Dentsply (International Endodontic Journal, December 22, 2011). The researchers, from the University of

Low-cost antisnoring device gains FDA clearance

Apnea Sciences has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for a nonsurgical cure for snoring. SnoreRx is a patented device that provides the ease, low cost, and availability of “boil and bite” devices, as well as the adjustability of more expensive dental laboratory devices, according to the company. The secret to its design is its ability to be precisely calibrated in 1-mm increments without the use of any