Survey: Parents know little about pediatric dental care

Many parents are not following recommended guidelines for brushing, flossing, and other habits for optimal pediatric oral health, according to a survey conducted by MetLife. The survey sample consisted of 500 telephone interviews of parents of children ages 5 and younger with dental insurance. According to the survey results, 42% of respondents reported that their child’s teeth are brushed once or fewer times a day, and 45% said their child’s

Individualized oral instructions can improve oral hygiene

Effective oral hygiene can be a major factor in preventing periodontal disease, but patient compliance can be a challenge. Now a new study that compared the effectiveness of written, oral standardized, and oral individualized instructions in reducing gingivitis has found that the most effective of the three techniques was oral individualized instruction (Journal of Periodontology, January 20, 2012). “We decided to conduct this research because there was no research to

CDA pulls plug on Watsonville fluoridation project

Following a 10-year battle that went all the way to the California Supreme Court, a decision was made this week for the city of Watsonville, CA, not to adopt water fluoridation due to the cost of implementing the fluoridation system. Watsonville’s battle over water fluoridation dates back to 2002, when residents voted by a small margin to eliminate the practice. But the city lost a subsequent court battle that went

Oral temp can predict head/neck cancer side effects

Slight temperature increases of a head and neck cancer patient’s oral mucous membranes during early chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatment are a predictor of severe mucositis later in treatment, according to a study presented at the recent Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Cancer Symposium in Phoenix. Mucositis is a common chemoradiotherapy side effect that is painful and can be very severe for head and neck cancer patients. Practitioners have been unable

NADP responds to HHS bulletin on health exchanges

The National Association of Dental Plans (NADP) is asking the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to ensure equitable treatment of Americans with dental policies both inside and outside the health exchanges that will be required starting in 2014 as part of the healthcare reform act. In a statement issued February 2 in response to a December 16 HHS bulletin on essential benefits, the NADP urged HHS to

Shipments of Kerr’s SonicFill tops 1M mark

Kerr Dental has shipped more than 1 million tips for its SonicFill composite system to North American customers since introducing the product five months ago. The SonicFill composite system is designed to enable clinicians to perform posterior restorations with a fast, easy, and reliable bulk fill technology using a sonic-activated handpiece, according to the company.

AAPD goes mobile with pediatric dentistry handbook

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) has released the fourth edition of the Handbook of Pediatric Dentistry. This comprehensive resource for pediatric and general dentists is now available electronically with an enclosed CD-ROM with mobile application login information (compatible with iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch or Android mobile devices), according to the organization. This fourth edition features additional changes to make it more user-friendly and provides readers with additional resources beyond the

Dental Heroes: A conversation with Dr. Grant McGann

In this latest installment of HuangshanDental.com’s Dental Heroes series, we talked with Grant McGann, DDS, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon who has volunteered more than 199 hours performing reconstructive surgeries for patients with facial deformities and other conditions at Fresh Start, a San Diego-based charity. Fresh Start provides medical treatments to low-income, uninsured, and underinsured infants, children, and teens with a physical deformity due to birth defect, disease, accident, or

DentalPlans.com uses Twitter, Facebook to help Operation Smile

Throughout National Children’s Dental Health Month this February, DentalPlans.com will match donations and host a pair of social media fundraising campaigns to raise funds for Operation Smile, a charity that provides free reconstructive surgery for children born with facial deformities. Starting February 1, DentalPlans.com is hosting several Facebook “showdowns” pitting celebrity smiles against one another. Each fan’s vote for their favorite celebrity smile equals a $1 donation to Operation Smile,

Nano researcher gets $212K grant to target dental biofilm

The College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering of the University at Albany will receive more than $5 million in federal funding for nanotechnology-enabled education and research programs that support applications in the clean energy, environmental, nanomedicine, and defense industries. In oral care, Nathaniel Cady, PhD, an assistant professor of nanobioscience, received a $212,000 grant from the National Institutes of Dental and Craniofacial Research to study small molecules that could help

Edentulous woman robs bank for denture money

A toothless woman who robbed a Pennsylvania bank told police she needed the money to buy dentures. Evelyn Marie Fuller, 49, of Carmichaels, a town in the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania, confessed to robbing the First National Bank on January 20, Waynesburg Borough Chief of Police Timothy Hawfield told HuangshanDental.com. The woman, who has mental problems and lives on disability, was partially identified through security photos from the bank that

UCSF researchers call for sugar to be regulated

Sugar should be controlled like alcohol and tobacco to protect public health, according to a team of researchers from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Robert Lustig, MD; Laura Schmidt, PhD, MSW, MPH; and Claire Brindis, DPH; and colleagues at UCSF maintain that sugar is fueling a global obesity pandemic, contributing to 35 million deaths annually worldwide from noncommunicable diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer (Nature, February