dentapress: news of dentistry » JG

Brains may be ‘wired’ for addiction

JG — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:20:01 +0000

Abnormalities in the brain may make some people more likely to become drug addicts, according to scientists at the University of Cambridge. They found the same differences in the brains of addicts and their non-addicted brothers and sisters. The BBC’s Science Editor David Shukman was given access to the research.

Rethink retirement age, say dentists

JG — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:12:50 +0000

The British Dental Association (BDA) is calling for a proposal to extend dentists’ working lives to the age of 68 to be abandoned by government. The proposal is part of a raft of fundamental reforms government wishes to make to the NHS pension scheme. Health trade unions, including the BDA, are consulting members on the acceptability of those proposals, the current iteration of which was arrived at before Christmas 2011 as the best achievable by negotiation. The BDA call follows a survey of more than 4,000 dentists, which found that a significant majority of practitioners (68%) did not think it was safe for practitioners up to the age of 68 to continue treating patients.

7 Tips for the Best Teeth Whitening Experience, Ever

JG — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 13:09:20 +0000

You want a smile that dazzles. That entices. A smile that gleams, that lights up your face and the room. And you can get it. Teeth whitening may be the only thing standing between you and that bright, white smile you desire. Luckily, there are plenty of options available today.

60 Percent Search For Local Businesses Online

JG — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 07:35:49 +0000

When you’re operating a business which is based on a specific locality, you do not necessarily have to dominate the search engines in order for you to reach your target market. This is because although your website tops the organic search results pages, people from China are not interested in availing of your services if your dental practice is based in Detroit, Michigan. This is where the entire concept of local searches came to be. Local searches connect individuals who are looking for goods and services within a certain city or town with service and product providers. According to the latest study by PEW Internet, 60 percent of their 1087 respondents search for information regarding local businesses except bars and restaurants. 47 percent of these respondents say that they depend on the internet to retrieve information; specifically 36 percent make use of search engines, 16 percent on specialty websites and 1 percent on social networking sites.

Pa. man gets 1 to 2 years after son pulled teeth

JG — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:59:11 +0000

An eastern Pennsylvania man has been sentenced to one to two years in prison after his teenage son tried to pull out his own teeth because he hadn’t been taken to a dentist. Northampton County Judge Michael Koury Jr. said Friday that he only wished he could sentence 41-year-old Francisco Torres to more prison time. The judge said “Neglecting one’s child is the ultimate betrayal.” Torres pleaded guilty in October to recklessly endangering another person. He apologized in court. Police say the boy tried to pull out his teeth after complaining of pain for several months but broke two teeth and needed emergency surgery.

Internal bleaching makes us smile!

JG — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:15:41 +0000

This 13 yr old young lady had some trauma to #8 during a softball game. As you can imagine, the discoloration is of significant concern to the patient. At the time of the exam, tooth #8 is non-responsive to thermal testing, normal to probing and mildly percussion sensitive. DX: Necrotic w/ SAP. RCT recommended with internal bleaching for esthetic purposes.

Patients’ perceptions of improvements after bilateral sagittal split osteotomy advancement surgery: 10 to 14 years of follow-up

JG — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 14:31:10 +0000

Most responders reported improvements on the 7 items. The most significant change was reported for chewing. “Very satisfied” with the treatment was reported by 13 responders; 19 of 36 persons were “reasonably satisfied.” Reporting “very satisfied with treatment” was 8 times more likely when peers had noticed a changed in the participant’s appearance after surgery. Sex was significantly associated with quality of life. The most frequently reported reason for treatment was to improve chewing, and the item that showed the most pronounced improvement was also chewing. Most responders were only reasonably satisfied with the treatment. Whether peers noticed a change in appearance after treatment was a significant factor affecting both treatment satisfaction and reporting a good quality of life.

Periodontally Questionable Teeth: Retention vs. Extraction and Implants

JG — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:28:28 +0000

Yes we have leaned too far in that direction and extracted too many periodontally questionable or marginal teeth when we could have maintained them. We now have LANAP that can reverse periodontal disease. Even though it has been in the literature over 14 years and has FDA clearence to reverse the # 1 cause of tooth loss less than 1% of dentists in the USA offer this service. Unfortunately, it is easier and more profitable to screw patients with titanium.

California bill calls for “rigorous study” of expanded dental procedures

JG — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 06:39:25 +0000

Legislation approved by the state senate Jan. 26 would create a dentist-led Statewide Office of Oral Health within the state Department of Public Health charged with addressing the “significant human and financial costs” of unmet dental needs. As amended Jan. 25 and forwarded to the state assembly, SB 694 says the new statewide office “may design and implement a scientifically rigorous study to assess the safety, quality, cost-effectiveness, and patient satisfaction of expanded dental procedures for the purpose of informing future decisions about how to meet the state’s unmet oral health need for the state’s children.

Amalgam ban “not feasible’ in short term

JG — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:43:25 +0000

nternational professors and the chief dental officer have agreed it would not be feasible for the use of dental amalgam to be banned in the short term but phasing down was the right approach. Speaking to a meeting of MPs and senior stakeholders from the industry at the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Dentistry, CDO Barry Cockcroft said there had already been a reduction in the use of amalgam in the past 20 years with a new approach to restorative techniques and changing patterns of disease.