More dental schools emphasizing caries risk assessment

The risk-based medical model instead of a wholesale surgical approach is steadily percolating into undergraduate dentistry programs across the U.S., according to a recent survey (Journal of Dental Education, January 2011, Vol. 75:1, pp. 62-67). A team from West Virginia University sent questionnaires in the fall of 2009 to all 58 U.S. dental schools. Among the 42 responding schools, 90% reported having a caries risk assessment (CRA) training program for

NC dental board sues Federal Trade Commission

The North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) accusing the FTC of violating the U.S. Constitution in its attempts to keep the board from regulating teeth-whitening services offered by nondentists. The complaint was filed February 1 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina by the Raleigh-based law firm of Allen and Pinnix. “The purpose

Tom’s of Maine contest to honor mobile clinics

Online voting for Tom’s of Maine’s annual Dental Health for All (DHFA) program began February 2 and runs until the end of the month, the company announced. A public vote will decide which five mobile dental clinics, among the 10 listed below, will split $100,000 to help grow and support programs that offer critical, easy-to-access dental care to those in need. The program was created to award dental clinics that

NC dental board sues FTC; some tongue piercings riskier than others

Dear DrBicuspid Member, The North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners is doing something that no other dental board has ever done before: sue the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC). In response to FTC allegations that the board is engaged in an “anticompetitive conspiracy” by trying to block nondentists from offering teeth-whitening services, the board on February 1 filed a lawsuit against the FTC claiming that the agency’s allegations against

Wrigley rolls out global kids’ health initiative

The Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company Foundation has launched a two-year, $3 million school health partnership with Save the Children, aimed at improving the health and nutrition of more than 273,000 school-age children in disadvantaged communities in six countries around the world. The school-based programs will be implemented in China, Kenya, the Philippines, Tajikistan, Vietnam, and Indonesia at a grass-roots level, the company said. The programs will address the needs of

AAPD creates research center

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) has established the Pediatric Oral Health Research and Policy Center, intended to inform and advance research and policy analysis that promotes optimal oral healthcare for children. Through the AAPD, the center will conduct research studies and policy analysis to further the understanding of practices that will improve oral health for all children, according to the organization. Upcoming work will focus on areas such

Metal piercings pose greater risks to oral health

Studies have shown that oral piercings can cause numerous problems in the oral cavity, including chipped, fractured, or cracked teeth and gingival recession. And yet they continue to remain popular with many patients, especially teens. And although dental practitioners would prefer their patients not get any piercings at all, if the patient insists, dentists can tell them to get plastic jewelry instead of metal because it may be less harmful.

GLO Science enters teeth-whitening market

GLO Science introduced its GLO Brilliant personal teeth-whitening device February 1 on the HSN TV shopping channel. Created by Jonathan B. Levine, DMD, an entrepreneur, author, and inventor, GLO Science “redefines the at-home teeth-whitening experience,” the company said in a press release. It features guided light optics (GLO) technology that use heat and light built into a closed system mouthpiece to prevent whitening oxygens from escaping the surface of the

Glidewell now selling BruxZir polishing set

The BruxZir adjustment and polishing set, developed by Michael DiTolla, DDS, director of clinical education at Glidewell Laboratories, in conjunction with Axis Dental, is now available for purchase, Glidewell announced. With the rise in popularity of monolithic zirconia restorations, clinicians will find it necessary to equip their operatories with diamonds and polishers designed especially for the adjustment, polishing, and removal of zirconia crowns and bridges, Glidewell noted. “The indications for

AAOMR joins Image Gently campaign

The American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology (AAOMR) has become the first in organized dentistry to join the Image Gently Pediatric Alliance, the academy announced. The Image Gently campaign was initiated in 2008 by the Society for Pediatric Radiology, the American College of Radiology, the American Society of Radiologic Technologists, and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine as a national initiative to educate providers of pediatric imaging care

Orthodent software puts appliance prescriptions online

Orthodent Laboratory is now offering a Web-based software package that allows orthodontists and dentists to design, submit, and manage all of their patients’ appliance prescriptions online. With the company’s new easyrx software, doctors now have the ability to use a full suite of designing tools to manage and create their appliances online and make their prescriptions paperless, according to the company. The user digitally and graphically designs the retainer, then

MetLife enhances online oral health library for kids

MetLife, a provider of dental plan administration for nearly 20 million people, has added a new, interactive children’s game and other family dental health resources to its free online Oral Health Library. MetLife’s Healthy Mouth Match Up game and other educational materials can be accessed within the Kid’s Dental Health Center in the MetLife Oral Health Library at www.metlife.com/dental. The game and many of the articles are available in both