gweisman
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Thursday, November 19, 2009
Always interested in dentists making an impact outside dentistry, I came upon a new book for the sandwich generation--those taking care of children and parents. After practicing dentistry for 30 years, Dr. Eric Shapira returned to school for master's degrees in clinical gerontology and health administration.
In his new book, A New Wrinkle, Dr. Shapira advises readers on how to examine their own lives and strategically plan to confront any challenge. It's intended as a guide for anyone handling a life-changing transition, facing the aging process or caring for elderly family members.
Additionally, Dr. Dykstra runs Aging Mentor Services that provides counseling, assessment, and a wide range of other services. Find out more link
Just sharing to applaud the accomplishments of a colleague.
gweisman
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Tuesday, November 03, 2009
Although the holiday's passed, thought it was a good time to remind dental health professionals about the Halloween Candy Buy Back initiative. Dr. Chris Kammer (that's his quote above) established the program as it exists today. The deal is local practitioners pay $1 a pound for kids' Halloween candy. The candy is sent overseas to active U.S. military troops. It's really a quadruple win.....the community shows support for the troops, parents get the candy away from their kids, kids learn a valuable lesson about giving, and the practice gets some great PR,
There's a Web site link that explains how to get involved. Maybe it's too late this year, but there's plenty of time to participate in 2010.
gweisman
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Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Just wanted to turn you on to a new blog by Dentalcompare's very own clinical editor, Dr. Jeff Rohde. Jeff is truly passionate about dentistry, a little geeky about science and technology (I'd tell him that to his face), amazingly curious and smart, and doesn't take himself too seriously. That's why I think you'll enjoy his blog posts, which offer Jeff's perspective on everything from new materials to mall whitening. It's a great complement to Dentalcompare....so add it to your favorites--right after Dentalcompare. Check out Teeth, Tech, and Truth by clicking on the little blue "link" at the end of this sentence. link
gweisman
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Friday, September 18, 2009
This story's all over the place. And for good reason. C'mon, who doesn't like a good story involving modified osteo-odonto-keatroprosthesis (MOOKP)??
Surgeons in Miami restored sight to a 60-year-old woman who had been blind for the last nine years. The surgeons removed a tooth, drilled a hole in it, inserted a plastic lens into the hole, and implanted the tooth-lens combination into her eye. The first of its kind operation in the United States (limited availability in Europe and Asia) has restored Sharron "Kay" Thornton's vision to 20/70. She can now recognize faces and read a newspaper with a magnifying glass.
Thornton lost her vision nine years ago to Stevens-Johnson Syndrome. The disease destroys the cells on the surface of the eye which left Thornton's cornea scarred. Thornton wasn't a candidate for a cornea transplant or an artificial lens because the eye was so badly damaged by the reaction. Thornton's doctors at Miami's Bascom Palmer Eye Institute had previously tried a stem cell procedure to fix her vision.
That's when she was referred to Dr. Victor Perez, a cornea specialist at Bascom Palmer and professor of ophthalmology at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine. Perez had trained under a doctor from Rome who developed a modified version of the tooth-lens procedure.
One of Thornton's canine was shaved and sculpted before implanting the tooth and lens into the skin. The tooth and lens are bonded to create one "bio-integrated" prosthetic unit, which was implanted under Thornton's skin.
In the meantime, an opthalmologist prepared the surface of the eye to receive the implanted prosthesis by removing scar tissue in and around the damaged cornea.
About a month later, the surgeons took mucous material from inside Thornton's cheek and used it to cover and rehabilitate the surface of the damaged eye.
Then, about two months after this, the surgeons removee the bio-integrated prosthetic unit (the bonded tooth and lens) from under Thornton's skin and implanted it in the eye, carefully alinging the unit to the centre of the eye. They make a hole in the mucosa for the prosthetic lens, which protrudes from the eye slightly so that light can enter.
MOOKP was first developed in Italy and is used to help patients with end-stage corneal disease or who have suffered damage to the cornea where severe scarring blocks vision and corneal transplants are no longer an option yet inside the eye everything is healthy and working properly, including the optic nerve.
Whoa!
gweisman
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Thursday, July 23, 2009
Here's my teaser for this YouTube video.....
Crazy Russian mysteriously gains access into private sleeping quarters to create innovative dentifrice body art.
Check it out.
link
gweisman
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Monday, June 15, 2009
Per capita, more people visited a dentist in St. Paul, Minn. last year than in any other metropolitan area, according to a recent survey that's part of Men's Health magazine's ongoing MetroGrades series. This survey ranked cities according to various dental criteria.
Here're some of the fascinating findings....
--Madison, Wis. scored two No. 1 rankings: best teeth overall and fewest extraction rates....makes sense for the headquarters of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry.
--Worst teeth (whatever that means) in the U.S? Lubbock, Texas (and it just beat out Philadelphia).
--Two California towns-Fremont and San Jose-ranked first and second as the places where the largest percentage of households said they had used dental floss in the past 6 months. I am assuming they didn't count off-label usage such as cutting soft cheeses.
All the results are published online link, so check 'em out.
gweisman
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Monday, May 18, 2009
Just the messenger here about some Spring entertainment fluff news. There's been some discussion in the dental blogosphere about a new Nick at Nite clay-mated summer series titled "Glenn Martin, DDS--A Family Adventure Gone Dental." Here's the brilliant, compelling premise: A dentist tries to bring his family closer together by travelling around the country in an RV, which happens to be a mobile operatory. From the creative mind of former Disney head Michael Eisner, you can just imagine what zany, wacky fun ensues. Eisner's quote from the preview clip: "An animated television series about a family on the road, presented in a more mature way.....I don't know, it just sounded funny to me."
Well the buzz from the profession is that the dentist is once again portrayed as a pain-inducing and moronic maniac to be feared and ridiculed. The producer, also quoted in the preview trailer, earnestly refers to him as full of "blind optimism" voicing over a scene where Dr. Martin leans too far back in his dental stool, flips over, and upends a tray full of explorers and other ominously sharp instruments that scatter wildly through the air.
Not being a dentist, I am not entitled to be personally outraged about yet another negative depiction of the profession. But judging from the preview clips, commentary, and other ancillary promotion, I am personally outraged that this show is definitely NOT clever, funny, irreverent, smart, educational, satrical, biting, cute, or interesting. Judge for your self.....link...and let us know what you think. My predicition: you'll find it not worth the outrage.
gweisman
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Friday, April 24, 2009
Immediate past president of the American Dental Education Association and the Herman Robert Fox Dean of the NYU College of Dentistry.Charles N. Bertolami, in his recent editorial in the venerable Congressional news vehicle Roll Call," urges President Obama and legislators to "make dental care an integral part of America’s health care system." And Oral Health America immediately issued a call to action, urging dental care providers to contact their elected representatives and make the case, similar to Dr. Bertolami's, about why any comprehensive reform of the U.S. health care system should provide universal coverage of, and access to, high-quality, cost-effective dental services for all Americans.
So here's the Roll Call op-ed piece link and here's an oline resource link to help you find your representatives' contact information.
Do it!
gweisman
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Thursday, April 16, 2009
With the oral health practitioner bill heading for a vote on Minnesota's state senate floor, the debate is ramping up. Just wanted to steer you to a recent pro-legistlation editorial in the Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune. It is one of the more succinct, articulate opinions I've seen. Check out both the original submission and the comments link and please let us know what side you're on. E-mail gweisman@dentalcompare.com with your thoughts--pro and con.
gweisman
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Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Do you see how they roll?
Steely Dan had it all wrong. When money's tight, you actually sell them.
A multi-city jeweler and estate buyer took advantage of a free wire service to spread the word about why trading in gold dental restorations is a great idea since the price of gold spiked in Februrary.
"Selling your gold teeth and crowns is an excellent way to bring in a little extra money for you and your family in these troubled financial times," says Mark Porcello of Porcello Estate Buyers, a 50-year and third generation family jewelry business.
If you have patients who caught the hip-hop tooth bling craze and have now fallen on hard times, send them to link - www.sellyourgoldteeth.com
gweisman
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Wednesday, March 25, 2009
It's kind of like U.S.trade shows....only on steroids. If you've never been to the biennial International Dental Show in Cologne, Germany, you are missing an adventure in sensory overload. Covering several gigantic halls, this trade show is THE place to be for the latest global introductions. Most "booths" offer food and drink, lounge areas to rest your feet, wacky spokesmodels, towering artistic displays, and even fountains. But all this uber-artistry belies the advanced technology being showcased and the serious commerce that takes place here. Dentalcompare's general manager John Schwartz is spending this week on the show floor and filed this lighthearted video link
gweisman
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Friday, March 06, 2009
March 2nd's New York Times carried an article about medical residents in Maine learning basic dentistry skills (for instance, simple extractions and draining abcesses) in an effort to address the state's shortage of dentists--one for every 2,300 people, compared to the national average of one dentist for every 1,600 people.
Maine has historically had trouble attracting dentists to its rural areas, and this program seems to be working. Nearly two-thirds of its residents who trained at the dental clinic now practice there, and many have located in rural areas.
All players-organized dentistry and regulatory agencies-- appear to be taking a rational and pragmatic stance that is focused on meeting the needs of both practitioners and patients, and not on the territorial hysteria that has accompanied other initiatives like expanded functions for auxiliaries.
It's a refreshing spirit of cooperation. And if you want to help, encourage your kids to study hard and go to dental school so we can replace all those boomer dentists who will be retiring in the next few years.
You can read the article here link
gweisman
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Thursday, February 05, 2009
Twice vetoed by George W. Bush, expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) was signed into law on Feb 4, 2009 by President Barack Obama after a bipartisan approval in the House.
Created in 1997, SCHIP is intended for children in families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but too little to afford private health insurance. The bill requires states to cover dental care under the children’s health program, and allows states to provide dental coverage as a supplement to private insurance.
Bravo!
Representative Henry A. Waxman,(D-Calif.) sums up this important action: “While this bill is short of our ultimate goal of health reform, it is a down payment, and is an essential start.”
But the debate continues, as Representative Steve King, (R-Iowa), denounced the bill as “a foundation stone for socialized medicine.”
Where do you stand?
gweisman
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Monday, January 26, 2009
It seems that coffee consumption is associated with a lower risk of oral, pharyngeal, and esophageal cancers, even in the group at high risk of these cancers, according to a study published in a recent issue of American Journal of Epidemiology link.
Data from the Miyagi Cohort Study conducted through Tohoku University School of Medicine in Japan showed that the risk of these cancers was inversely associated with coffee consumption regardless of an individual's other risk factors link smoking and alcohol consumption. While there's a lot more to the story, including theories on anticarcinogenic properties of various coffee components, I for one am going to stop worrying about my morning cup 'a Joe.....one less thing to fret about.
gweisman
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Thursday, January 08, 2009
Normally, I wouldn't be recommending a Web site other than Dentalcompare. But there's a new portal for your patients that you should check out. Launched by the Academy of General Dentistry, KnowYourTeeth.com link is a comprehensive online consumer resource filled with basic and not-so-basic information about dentistry, oral health, home care, and a lot more.It's lively, inviting, interactive, authorative and accurate without being alarmist, and sometimes just fun, like the site's official blogger's political take on Lumineers link. This is a real gem for your patients to help them keep oral health top of mind--and that's a good thing for you and them.
gweisman
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Saturday, January 03, 2009
"Good oral health should be everybody's business" is the core message of the page-one editorial link in the latest issue of the venerable British medical journal The Lancet.
Nothing in the 700-word commentary is particularly revelatory--
"Oral health is a neglected area of global health and has traditionally registered low on the radar of national policy makers."
"Access to oral care is a global problem, particularly in low-to-middle income countries."
"The daily use of fluoride is the most cost-effective, evidence-based approach to reduce dental decay."
"Oral diseases and chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and diabetes share many common risk factors."
"Caries can negatively affect a child's ability to eat, sleep, and do school work."
But these circumstances bear repeating again and again, and what's notable is The Lancet's call-to-action for its far-flung and loyal readership--
"Professionally, health workers, including physicians, nurses, paediatricians, and pharmacists can all deliver prevention messages about the use of fluoride and the risk factors for oral disease."
Right on.
gweisman
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Friday, December 26, 2008
More than two in five (41%) of women in the United States find going to the dentist less excruciating than talking to their spouses about their daily finances. This stunning revelation came out of a survey of American women conducted by State Farm to gauge women's behaviors, opinions, and concerns about managing personal finances.
Other "painful" activities used in the survey as comparative samples to dealing with money issues included "cleaning out my clothes closet" and
"seeking romantic advice."
Did I just wake up in 1960? You just have to read this link.
The 41% of women mentioned above--that's a national average and was less than the 52% who descsribed "talking with a spouse or significant other about daily finances" was less painful. So overall, valued readers, you do lose this cliched unpopularity contest.
A scintillating aside, however.......Women in Detroit jived with this national average--that is, they'd rather talk about finances than go to the dentist, albeit by a small margin. But in Houston and Miami, well, that's a different story, Women in those two urban areas would rather visit the dentist than talk money with their partners ( again, by a small margin, but still.... I wonder why).
And men, how about you?
gweisman
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Monday, December 22, 2008
Remember retailer extraordinaire Sy Syms? He supposedly was the first to utter the famous marketing mantra, "An educated consumer is our best customer."
Well, get ready for some educated patients, at least those who consult Ceatus Media's online Consumer Guide to Dentistry, In the spirit of the end-of-year list-making and prediction frenzy, the site has compiled its top six trends that patients should be on the look for when visiting their dentists in 2009. You can read them here link.
Just trying to offer a head's up so you can be ready when your patien's ask about phased treatment, mini-implants for dentures, CAD/CAM restorations, and even caries risk assessment.
And incidentally, if you are interested in changing your look, losing some weight, or improving your vision, you might want to check out Ceatus' other consumer online guides to plastic surgery, bariatric surgery, and lasik surgery.
gweisman
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Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Bisphenol A, move over. There's a new health hazard du jour. Athletic mouthguards.
According to a promotional press release for a new gadget (just in time for the holidays) called The Disinfector (a small battery-powered case that uses ozone to kill pathogens on oral appliances in 3 minutes), "Often tossed in a bag with germ-laden clothing and equipment, mouth guards are often not cleaned properly, if at all." Eeeeeeeuw!
Anyway, check this out link and you too will understand the evil microorganisms lurking in the porous, sponge-like appliances. Yeah, they look innocent, but.....
The press release does cite legitimate research documenting the clinical history of life-threatening infections/inflammatory diseases that were transmitted by the large number of molds, bacteria and yeasts found living in mouth guards.
So you decide.....do we need The Disinfector from Brain-Pad Inc., a company that also sells pre-formed protective mouthguards and other athletic accessories? Maybe we do.
gweisman
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Monday, December 15, 2008
Pediatricians can and should be involved in the prevention, intervention, and management of dental disease in the youngest patients. This is the gist of a American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement published in the December 2008 issue of Pediatrics.
I am really impressed by the statement's comprehensiveness, You can read it here link.
Not only does it articulate the rationale for the policy.....
"...89% of infants and 1-year-olds had office-based physician visits annually, compared with only 1.5% who had dental visits. Consequently, visits to physicians outnumbered visits to dentists at 250 to 1 for this age group. Because the youngest of the pediatric patient population visit the pediatrician more than the dentist, it is critical that pediatricians be knowledgeable about dental caries, prevention of the disease, and interventions available to the pediatrician and the family."
...but outlines specific, detailed strategies and techniques, including dietary counseling, fluoride, and risk assessment.
Additionally, it discusses the concept of a "dental home"...
"The pediatric community promotes the concept of a medical home to improve families’ care utilization, seeking appropriate and preventive services with optimal compliance to recommendations. The concept of the dental home is based on this model and is intended to improve access to oral care. A dental home is the ongoing relationship between the dentist and the patient, inclusive of all aspects of oral health care delivered in a comprehensive, continuously accessible, coordinated, and family-centered way."
What a lovely picture! And interestingly, the AAP offers instruction on how to actually create it. Check it out link.
gweisman
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Friday, December 12, 2008
Surfing around, I came across this post link dated March 7, 1990. It's an update on the work of two young MIT researchers and their progress in improving dental ceramics specifically for use with CAD/CAM fabrication techniques. The post describes the early CEREC process for making inlays and onlays. Their 1990 mission was to improve materials so that CAD/CAM fabrication techniques could be used to make crowns and bridges, too
Just pointing this out as a bit of history, marvelling at how far the technology has come and how quickly. And incidentally, both researchers are still actively researching at Boston and Harvard Universities. I hope to interview them soon so I can update you on what's in the pipeline in 2009.
gweisman
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Wednesday, December 03, 2008
Just wanted to steer you to some terrific reading authored by a colleague of mine and yours. Dentalcompare's clinical director Dr. Jeff Rohde is a practicing dentist. He was inspired by the campaign "machine" of Barack Obama's team and its single-minded, unwaivering focus that could also turn on a dime.
Regardless of your political leanings or affiliation, you've got to admit the Obama campaign strategy was brilliant. Newsweek columnist Howard Fineman distilled the campaign's philosophical umbrella into seven tenets (move over, Stephen Covey!).
And Dr. Rohde has put his own dental spin on these universal rules and how they apply to the successful dental practice. Click here link and be enlightened.
Thanks, Jeff.
gweisman
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Friday, November 21, 2008
Dental spin? Dental sound bites? You can learn to be a legend in your own town in one easy lesson. Jess Todfeldt, a former Fox News producer, has created a new niche market--dental media training. You can master body language, integrate quick response strategies, defend yourself against those pesky ambush interviews, cultivate an authorative persona, and more. See how you can sign up for Todfeldt's dental media workshop at link.
And please let me know what you think.
gweisman
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Friday, November 14, 2008
At its Annual Session last month in San Antonio, the ADA endorsed a resolution urging the removal of sugary soft drinks from the list of items covered by food stamps. This resolution has no legislative legs. What you can buy with food stamps varies depending on what state you live in.
A Maine pediatric dentist, Jonathan Shenkin (who also happens to be the president-elect of the Maine Dental Assn), is getting some press lately with his campaign to prohibit the use of food stamps to buy soda (even diet) and other sugary drinks.
Seems pretty cut and dry, right? Well, there is some push-back from two fronts--an advocacy group for food stamp recipients (hmmmm) and the Maine Beverage Association (big surprise). Check out this article link outlining the issues.
What do you think?
gweisman
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Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Gentle Dental Care.........Oh, yawn.
Spa Amenities.........Soooo five minutes ago.
High-Tech Treatment.........Yeah, who doesn't?
Well, this practice link gets the creative marketing top prize.
Impression material arts and crafts?
Extreme patient chair thrill rides? (With the rapid return-to-vertical head rush.)
Digital x-rays of your body part of choice?
Please, if you are the dentist who practices at the Dental Fun Zone, contact me at gweisman@dentalcompare.com.
gweisman
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Monday, November 10, 2008
Last Friday, a National Summit on Children's Oral Health convened surprisingly under the radar in Chicago. It was sponsored by the American Academy of Pediatrics....and this is the first time a "medical" organization has sponsored an event on "dental" issues.
The AAP is releasing a major new policy statement in connection with the event, calling for pediatricians to take greater responsibility for educating parents about oral health and for monitoring dental problems in youth.
University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine Professor Dr. Wendy Mouradian, an evangelist and activist in promoting awareness and involvement in joining the medical and dental communities to promote oral health, commented to Chicago Tribune's health and medicine reporter Judith Graham, on progress made since the 2000 Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health, which outlined challenges and proposed solutions for improving Americans' oral health. Here are some of Dr. Mouradian's comments:
The situation
In 2000, one in every four children on Medicaid [poor, low income children] had access to any kind of dental visit in a year. We’re now up to one in three. That’s better, but it’s still less than half of kids.
In the past, we’ve seen decreasing rates of cavities in kids. Currently, we have evidence of a reversal in that, especially in 2- to 5-year-olds.
In the context of the current demographics of the U.S., there is significant reason for concern. Nearly half of children under age 5 are minorities. All together, 40 percent of children are low income. These two factors put children at increased risk of dental disease and lack of access to care.
Why
I think the root causes of what we’re seeing are many. For one thing, children’s diet is a problem: They’re consuming large amounts of refined carbohydrates, which contribute to tooth decay and obesity.
A second problem is a lack of understanding of the importance of oral health. It’s just not on the top of people’s radar screens. And I believe that’s because dentistry and medicine have been separate and there is insufficient appreciation of oral health by people making health policy decisions. We’re very hopeful that will change with the new administration.
Another thing going on is we have an aging and declining dental work force. General dentists aren’t trained to adequately care for young children. And there are a limited number of pediatric dentists – only 4,000 nationwide. And there are 75 million children.
Finally, most dentists don’t like to take Medicaid patients because the reimbursement is poor.
AAP policy
Our new policy being released on Friday recommends that pediatricians and other pediatric providers screen children for oral disease, provide dietary counseling and oral health hygiene counseling, apply fluoride varnish to children at risk of [oral] disease and make referrals to specialists.
In general, doctors are not trained in oral health. But actually we have data that with two hours of training, pediatricians can identify children with cavities 85 to 90 percent [of the time].
Fluoride varnish is very easy to do. Pediatricians already have a lot of knowledge and experience with dietary counseling. And we now know how to identify white spots that are signs of pre-cavities and that, if treated early, can prevent cavities.
Who pays
Now, almost half of states reimburse doctors and medical providers for some or all of these activities through Medicaid. There were only two states that did so in 2000 – Washington and North Carolina.
We have a large grant from the American Dental Association Foundation to train leadership in every state in these techniques. We’ll be training all the state chapters in how to apply these techniques and train their colleagues.
The exams we’re suggesting can be done with a light and a mirror – no special equipment is needed. And it just takes a little extra time to go over proper dental hygiene and do the counseling we’ve recommended.
Noble and important concerns with a couple of potentially controversial assumptions.....What do you think?
gweisman
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Thursday, November 06, 2008
Here are some of the casualties of New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's current efforts to plug the city's almost $4 billion budget gap:
284 education jobs (although word is, none of these directly affect classrooms)
the January 2009 Police Academy class
night shifts at five fire stations
127 child welfare supervisors
a network of 40 dental clinics that provide care for 17,000 underserved kids
You can look at this a few ways. What I see is that Bloomberg really gets it, the whole oral/systemic thing, the caries epidemic among children. The need for access to dental care is right up there with basic education and public safety. Thank you, Mayor, for being an oral health ambassador.
Incidentally, in New York City Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum's official response link to the sweeping, multi-agency budget cuts, the first-mentioned of her many concerns is the elimination of the children's dental programs.
gweisman
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Friday, October 10, 2008
Do you extend credit to your patients? Do you have precautions in place to make sure a patient is not an "identity thief?"Just wanted to steer you to some information about some FTC regulations that may or may not impact your practice. Check out this FTC Business Alert link outlining new requirements for businesses who extend credit.
Dubbed the Red Flag Rules, they mandate that "creditors must develop a written program that identifies and detects the relevant warning signs – or “red flags” – of identity theft...The program must also describe appropriate responses that would prevent and mitigate the crime and detail a plan to update the program...The Red Flags Rules [allow creditors] to design and implement a program that is appropriate to their size and complexity, as well as the nature of their operations."
So how does this affect dentists?The ADA Legal Division is gathering additional information to clarify when dentists are covered by the rules and what dentists must do to comply with them and notes that many dental offices may already have policies and procedures in place to verify and protect the identity and privacy of patients and may have personal experience with an identity theft.
So keep your eyes open for ADA recommendations.The deadline for compliance is just around the corner--Nov. 1, 2008.
gweisman
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Thursday, October 02, 2008
Students at the USC School of Dentistry will be able to open for Cher in Las Vegas if their career plans don't work out. They attend the only dental school in the United States that offers formal training for dental professionals in the use of hypnosis.
"Now as I count from one to 10, I can feel myself sinking more and more deeply into the quiet, relaxed, enjoyable feeling. More relaxed with each count."
Wendy J.N. Lee listens to the words uttered by associate professor Peter Stone, D.D.S., as her body slips into a more comfortable position during a recent visit to the USC School of Dentistry. Lee, a USC cinema graduate student, filmed Stone's hypnosis techniques for Say Aah, a documentary about her fear of dentistry. (Learn more about Lee's documentary by visiting link
Stone teaches "Modern Hypnosis for the 21st Century Dentist."
"The time spent learning hypnosis not only makes a visit to the dentist more pleasant for the patient, but it also enhances a practitioner's productivity, providing a stress-free environment for all," he says.
"In the average patient, we can teach them to relax and control their fears 90 percent of the time. In a small group of patients, hypnosis allows them to control pain, bleeding or salivation during a procedure or speed up recovery time," Stone says.
Stone shares his experience with one patient during oral surgery: "I remember telling my assistant, OIf only John would stop bleeding, I could finish this procedure quicker and remove the root tip causing his pain.' Instantly my patient stopped bleeding."
The technique is also used to control gagging, bruxism (teeth grinding and clenching) or breathing problems. In addition, hypnosis can enhance memory of a pleasant visit to the dentist.
Each year, dentists from across the country and Canada travel to Los Angeles for the two-day hypnosis course taught by Stone at the USC School of Dentistry.
Hala Al-Tarifi, a South Pasadena dentist, shares her experience: "I started implementing hypnosis in my office, and one of my patients slept through a crown prep."
For more information, visit the Southern California Society of Clinical Hypnosis at link
.
gweisman
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Thursday, August 21, 2008
As you read this, some of the greatest minds in implant dentistry are helping raise awareness and educate the profession about their passion....perhaps the most dynamic and fastest growing discipline in dentistry. The 11th Annual Implant Prosthetic Symposium , themed "Innovative and Practical Implant Prosthetics," is convening in Chicago from August 21 through August 24.
Here's the Program Committee's stated goal for this comprehensvie interdisciplinary 4-day session:
Our goal is to highlight the subtle but key communication between all
members of the dental implant team – starting with our patients, and
from there, those who place the implants, those who restore implants,
those who fabricate the prosthesis, the auxiliaries who help maintain
and monitor the prosthesis including all the companies who support
our industry.
And judging from the program, this promises to be an innovative, cutting-edge, team-focused educational experience. Dozens of luminaries, including the near legendary Drs. Carl Misch and Michael Pikos, along with Dentalcompare's own Implant Dentistry Learning Center Editor Teresa Duncan, are participating. Topics ranging from tissue engineering, cone beam imaging, and site preparation techniques to immediate loading considerations, overdenture stabilization, and implant design innovations will be covered in the two tracks: clinical and auxiliary.
Check back soon at our Implant Dentistry Learning Center link for articles, videos, podcasts and more from this amazing session.
gweisman
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Thursday, July 17, 2008
Consider this truth......
The U.S. spends twice as much on health care per capita than most other industrialized nations but ranks lower than those nations on a number of criteria.....I read this this morning in the NY Times Business section.
For the report, Cathy Schoen, senior vice president of the Commonwealth Fund, and colleagues ranked the health care systems of the U.S. and several other industrialized nations based on 37 criteria.
The U.S. health care system received an overall score of 65 out of 100, a decrease of two points from 2006. In addition, the U.S. received a score of 58 out of 100 for access to care, a decrease of nine points from 2006. The U.S. received a score of 53 out of 100 for health care efficiency, in part because of lack of adoption of electronic health records among physicians. According to the report, 28% of U.S. physicians had adopted EHRs in 2006, compared with 98% in the Netherlands and 42% in Germany .
The report also found that, although the rate of preventable deaths among U.S. residents younger than age 75 decreased from 115 per 100,000 in 2001 to 110 deaths in 2006, the U.S. ranked last among all industrialized nations because other nations had larger improvements (New York Times, 7/17). The report cited "wide opportunities to improve care" in the U.S. that could save 100,000 lives and $100 billion.
I urge you to read this link
gweisman
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Friday, June 27, 2008
Is saliva destined for diagnostic greatness? Can sonic hedgehog protein help stimulate dental pulp tissue regeneration? Does dye enhanced fluorescence microscopy detect incipient interproximal caries better than the naked eye or even radiographs? Can low energy laser promote remodeling of alveolar bone and socket preservation? Should you use flowable composites for Class V cavities involving CEJ?
The answers to these and hundreds of other burning questions will be revealed starting next week at the 86th General Session of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR), convening in Toronto July 2-5. Over the years, I have attended three of these amazing sessions, which consist of several long days of non-stop presentations of the latest research.
Admittedly, most of it is incomprehensible to me as a layperson. But what is truly remarkable is the sheer volume of oral health/dental related research being conducted at any given time around the globe. And there is no way other than actually attending an IADR session to experience the palpable passion, curiosity, and dedication of the involved scientists, educators, students, and clinicians.
Typically, after this annual session, there is a flurry of PR detailing the most compelling findings. Stay tuned to Dentalcompare for updates.
If you're curious, check out this year's presentations at link This is serious stuff and will make you grateful as healthcare providers to be the beneficiaries of this research. Even the sonic hedgehog!
gweisman
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Friday, May 16, 2008
The venerable New York Times gets it. It regularly makes room for articles related to oral health in an attempt to raise public awareness among readers that the mouth is inextricably linked to the rest of the body. So just wanted to say bravo New York Times....keep the information flowing.
Here's the latest article: link
gweisman
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Wednesday, May 14, 2008
If you haven't heard of Ron Pollack or Families USA, I urge you to educate yourself. I won't bore you with my descriptions, because he is so eloquent at articulating the real issues of affordable healthcare, access to services and the like.
The Kaiser Network just today posted a comprehensive interview with Pollack link. Although he doesn't address dental care specifically, many of the concepts he proposes and the truths he exposes apply to any healthcare discipline.
Also check out the Familes USA WEb site link.
Whether Pollack inspires or angers you...or both....he'll definitely engage you. Whatever your stance, the issues are too important to ignore.
Just some food for thought.
gweisman
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Thursday, April 24, 2008
There's been much quietly published for the past five years or so about the value of stem cells harvested from freshly lost/extracted primary teeth. These stem cells are purported to approach the level of versatility of embryonic stem cells without the moral and emotional baggage.
Buy-in exists at all levels. There is both enthusiastic endorsement and skepticism in the literature, so I'll leave it to you to form your own opinion.
There are at least two companies offering harvesting and storage services for taking advantage of primary teeth stem cells. They want to get their message to both dental professionals and parents of young patients, who'll need to be vigilant about monitoring their kids' loose teeth and acting fast when they fall out.
I personally find it fascinating, and with my laymen's knowledge of the amazing potential of stem cell therapy for so many diseases, I hope against hope that this is the real deal. Let's see....what's cooler: a quarter from the tooth fairy or the chance to change and/or save a life?
Check out link
and link Just putting it out there--
gweisman
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Tuesday, April 22, 2008
April 21-27 is Oral, Head& Neck Cancer Awareness Week. No whining, no soapbox oratory, just some sobering statistics:
--Approximately 45,000 Americans will be diagnosed with oral, head and neck cancers this year
--13,000 will die from causes related to this disease
--60% of head and neck cancer patients do not see a doctor or dentist until they are in advanced stages of the disease, where survival rates are low
Now the good news:
--Early identification of oral, head and neck cancers positively impacts overall survival rates and lessens the chance of disfiguring surgeries that impact a patient's quality of life.
--If caught early (screening programs help significantly), the patient's chance of survival increases.
About four years ago, one of my closest friends passed away at the age of 55. His oral cancer (a stage 4 lesion on the tonque) was found by his general dentist, only after dismissal by a physician and repeated pleadings for a biopsy.
Check out what initiatives are going on around the country this week link
The dental profession represents the front line in early detection of oral, head & neck cancers. So keep doing those exams on everyone. Please.
gweisman
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Friday, April 11, 2008
April's National Face Protection Month. In response to the continuing prevalence of preventable orofacial injuries among children, the American Association of Orthodontists conducted a survey of parents and here's some of what they found:
-- 67% of parents surveyed said that their child does not wear a mouth guard. 52% said that it was because their child "doesn’t need that level of protection."
--96% of parents surveyed believed that their child’s coaches' role on the use/promotion of protective sports gear was "important," "very important" or "extremely important," yet parents surveyed reported that 36% of coaches actually recommend the use of mouth guards during competitions while 34% recommend mouth guards during practice.
Yikes!
I know I am preaching to the choir in this forum, but there's a great video on the AAO Web site that you might want to refer recalcitrant parents and kids to......link....and remind them that they can get a mouthguard from a general dentist, too.
gweisman
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Thursday, April 10, 2008
More than thirty studies, presented at last week's annual meeting of the American Association of Dental Research in Dallas, spotlighted that lowly liquid, saliva. The take-away: saliva is THE darling of the diagnostic world....it's accurate, it's convenient, and it's non-invasive. Here's a quick look at three notable abstracts.
Human genome redux
A new concept, Salivaomics Knowledge Base (SKB) is an in silico (i.e., performed on computer or via computer simulation) saliva diagnostic atlas. Central to the database is the recent creation of two diagnostic alphabets in saliva, the proteome and the transcriptome, which are mapped to 23 human chromosomes, totaling1166 distinct proteins and 851 unique mRNA transcripts in saliva. The available information presently includes profiles from healthy males and females, as well as oral cancer patients.
These profiles can be used to determine distinct differences between groups of interest. The short-term goal of the SKB is to share information with scientists globally in an effort to reduce redundancy and enhance the appeal of salivary diagnostics.
Sjogren's marker
Scientists at the University of California-Los Angeles have identified a panel of salivary biomarkers that can distinguish Sjogren's Syndrome (SS) patients from healthy subjects. Using cutting-edge proteomics and genomics technologies, they searched globally for markers in saliva from SS patients and healthy people, and found that saliva, especially whole saliva (that is, the combined saliva in the mouth, vs. saliva from the individual salivary glands), is informative for detecting patients with SS.
Breast cancer detection and treatment
Researchers found that the protein levels in saliva have great potential to assist in the diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care of breast cancer. And general dentists are perfect candidates to assist with this diagnosis samples because they can easily remove saliva samples from a patient’s mouth during routine visits.
On a lighter note, check out link and read freelance writer William I, Lengemann III's ode to spit!
gweisman
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Wednesday, April 09, 2008
I am in lush, green, pine-scented Newberg, Oregon, where last night I attended the grand opening of the new state-of-the-art Education Center on the beautiful sprawling grounds of A-dec, Inc. headquarters. Stay tuned for complete details on the new Center.
But fresh from a 3-hour tour of A-dec's manufacturing facilities and an inspirational opening ceremony and party, I just wanted to share some observations.
By motivation and example, A-dec founders Ken and Joan Austin have established a long-standing corporate culture (I try to avoid that term, but in this case, it is so positively and wonderfully appropriate) that is refreshingly people-focused....from employees and the local community to vendors, business partners, and dentists. Touring the multi-building campus, the sense of loyalty, creativity, attention to detail, collaboration, and--dare I say--pure love of the job was palpable. The front desk receptionist, our "tour guide," the corporate executives, the gentlemen inspecting the powder coating on metal dental chair bases, the woman stapling the upholstery onto the chair back.....they all exuded the same dedication to making the best products possible in the most efficient way possible.
Anyone in the company is encouraged to suggest new processes to save time, improve quality, and reduce stress. All suggestions are considered and tested. And this covers accounting and human resources as well as manufactuing, assembly, and shipping.
The new Education Center is an outgrowth of A-dec's dedication to creating a knowledgable, reponsive sales and service force, another passion of the Austin's.
The solo dental practice and the largest dental school could learn a lot from this business model, built on relationships and positive motivation. Particularly A-dec's humanistic interpretation of Lean practices and Kaizen events. Check out this concept at link
gweisman
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Thursday, April 03, 2008
A confession. I don’t usually do stuff like this (doesn’t everyone say that?!), but I couldn’t resist taking that online test to determine my “real age.” (Check it out…..link …you know you want to).
Anyway, after the depressing news that my “real age” is only about 9 months younger than my actual chronological age, I opted to receive e-mails on tips to get it even lower.
Just a sidebar, this whole concept was the brainchild of Dr. Michael Roizen, who authored the wildy successful Real Age: Are You as Young as You Can Be? in 2001 and several subsequent spin-offs—just a wildly popular.
One of the most familiar “statistics” cited from the original book is:
Flossing your teeth daily can take 6.4 years off your age.
Just to offer some perspective, that’s more than twice the positive effect of wearing a seat belt or sleeping 8 hours a night, and almost triple the additional years of life if you regularly volunteer or attend religious services.
Dr. Roizen is particularly tuned into oral and dental health. My latest Tips of the Week email contained a link to “Yogurt for a beautiful smile.” The gist—yogurt eaters have healthier mouths. It’s all those live cultures and good bacteria. The article also included some other tips for maintaining optimal oral health, such as skipping sodas (even sugar-free), drinking more cranberry juice, and not brushing too aggressively. Check it out at link.
So my point? I’ll be perfectly honest , I have yet to be convinced about probiotics, supplements, and the like--although I do consider my outlook on health pretty holistic. But I am really heartened to know that the “real age” message regularly spotlights oral health as a critical component of overall general health. Most folks won’t be reading the Surgeon General’s report or the latest CDC or NIDCR bulletin on various aspects of the oral-systemic link. But they will be looking for health tips online and watching Oprah and reading the lifestyle section of the Sunday paper. So bravo for Real Age--the books, the Web site, the DVDs--and I hope they keep hammering home the message.
And by the way, I think it was that fact that I drive while talking on my cell phone that completely wiped out any advantage I gained from my steadfast flossing habit. I am working on it.
gweisman
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Friday, March 28, 2008
Thumbs up for localized antimicrobial periodontal therapy—basically, that’s the conclusion of three studies, all published in the Journal of Periodontology. In a nutshell, the results showed that the use of locally delivered minocycline HCl microspheres (OraPharma’s Arestin) in conjunction with scaling and root planing is effective in managing various causes and symptoms of periodontal disease.
Here are excerpted abstracts of the published articles. For full text, go to http://www.joponline.org/loi/jop (you can access the entire Journal archives back to 1999).
August 2007, Vol. 78, No. 8
Minocycline HCl Microspheres Reduce Red-Complex Bacteria in Periodontal Disease Therapy
J. Max Goodson, et.al.
Background: The objective of this trial was to measure the antimicrobial effects of a minocycline HCl microsphere (MM) local drug-delivery system when used as an adjunct to scaling and root planing (SRP). DNA probe analysis for 40 bacteria was used to evaluate the oral bacteria of 127 subjects with moderate to advanced chronic periodontitis.
Methods: Subjects were randomly assigned to either SRP alone (N = 65) or MM + SRP (N = 62). The primary endpoints of this study were changes in numbers and proportions of the red-complex bacteria (RCB) and the sum of Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia (formally T. forsythensis), and Treponema denticola relative to 40 oral bacteria at each test site from baseline to day 30. Numbers of RCB from the five test sites were averaged to provide a value for each subject.
Results: MM + SRP reduced the proportion of RCB by 6.49% and the numbers by 9.4 × 105. The reduction in RCB proportions and numbers by SRP alone (5.03% and 5.1 × 105, respectively) was significantly less. In addition, MM + SRP reduced probing depth by 1.38 mm (compared to 1.01 mm by SRP alone), bleeding on probing was reduced by 25.2% (compared to 13.8% by SRP alone), and a clinical attachment level gain of 1.16 mm (compared to 0.80 mm by SRP alone) was achieved.
Conclusion: These observations support the hypothesis that RCBs are responsible for periodontal disease and that local antimicrobial therapy using MM + SRP effectively reduces numbers of RCBs and their proportions to a greater extent than SRP alone.
August 2002, Vol. 73, No. 8
Effect of Locally Delivered Minocycline Microspheres on Markers of Bone Resorption
R.J. Oringer, et. al.
Background: Gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) biomarkers associated with bone resorption may be useful to determine periodontal disease status and response to therapy. The pyridinoline cross-linked carboxy-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP), a bone-specific degradation product, and interleukin 1-beta (IL-1), a potent bone-resorptive cytokine, have both been associated with periodontal disease activity. Minocycline is a tetracycline derivative possessing antimicrobial effects on periodontal pathogens and inhibitory properties on matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) associated with tissue destruction. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of periodontal treatment in the form of scaling and root planing (SRP) and locally administered minocycline microspheres on the GCF levels of ICTP and IL-1.
Methods: Forty-eight chronic periodontitis patients were randomly assigned to 2 groups (SRP plus subgingival application of vehicle control [SRP + V], or SRP plus subgingival application of minocycline microspheres [SRP + M]) and monitored at 8 sites per subject at baseline and 1, 3, and 6 months. Four shallow (PD ≤3 mm) and 4 deep (PD ≥5 mm) sites were evaluated for both marker levels and for probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), and bleeding on probing (BOP). Eight periodontally healthy control subjects with no probing depths great than 3 mm and no loss of attachment were also monitored at the same time intervals. GCF levels of ICTP and IL-1 were determined using radioimmunoassay and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay techniques, respectively.
Results: Significant differences (P less than 0.001) in GCF levels of ICTP and IL-1 were found between deep and shallow sites at all time points in both treatment groups. In addition, healthy subjects demonstrated significantly reduced levels of both markers compared to both shallow and deep sites in periodontitis patients (P less than 0.001). Only the SRP + M treated patients exhibited significant reductions (P less than 0.05) in both ICTP and IL-1 levels 1 month after treatment. Furthermore, the SRP + M group demonstrated significantly lower IL-1 levels (P less than 0.02) at 1 month compared to the SRP + V group.
Conclusions: Results of this study indicate that GCF levels of ICTP and IL-1 correlate with clinical measures of periodontal disease and may aid in assessing disease status and response to periodontal therapy. Furthermore, local administration of minocycline microspheres led to a potent short-term reduction in GCF IL-1 levels. Additional studies are needed to address whether repeated administration of scaling and root planing along with minocycline microspheres will achieve long-term reductions in GCF ICTP and IL-1 levels. J Periodontol 2002;73:835-842.
February 2002, Vol. 73, No. 2
Comparison of Conventional Periodontal Maintenance Versus Scaling and Root Planing With Subgingival Minocycline
Trudy A. Meinberg, et. al.
Background: Alternative regimens using subgingival antimicrobials compared to conventional periodontal maintenance (PM) may lead to more efficient protocols. The purpose of this study was to evaluate treatment time and clinical and radiographic outcomes in 2 periodontitis cohorts, one receiving conventional PM and the other receiving scaling and root planing (SRP) and multiple doses of subgingival minocycline.
Methods: Moderate to advanced chronic periodontitis patients were concurrently treated with either: 1) scaling and root planing and 4 subgingival doses of minocycline microspheres in all ≥5 mm pockets over a 6-month period (RP/M; n = 24 patients); or 2) conventional 3-month periodontal maintenance (PM; n = 24 patients). Clinical and radiographic measurements, including probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), and interproximal bone height (BH), were analyzed in 2 premolar/molar interproximal ≥5 mm pockets at baseline and 1 year using paired t tests, analysis of variance, chi-square analysis, and correlation coefficients.
Results: Baseline clinical and radiographic data were similar between RP/M and PM patients. Probing depths showed greater mean improvement in RP/M (0.9 ± 0.1 versus 0.4 ± 0.1 mm, P = 0.02), with 25% of subjects in RP/M gaining ≥2 mm compared to 4.2% in PM (differences were statistically significant). The mean loss in bone height and percent subjects losing bone height were less in RP/M (0.05 ± 0.05 mm; 12.5%) than PM (0.09 ± 0.08 mm; 16.7%), but bone height differences were not statistically significant. A subset of RP/M molar furcation sites responded with similar PD reduction and no BH loss over 1 year. While cross-sectional RP/M data between CAL and BH, or PD and CAL were highly correlated, changes over 1 year were not correlated among any of these parameters.
Conclusions: Scaling and root planing and subgingival minocycline in experimental sites took little time (less than 5 minutes/ appointment), but resulted in more probing depth reduction and less frequent bone height loss than conventional periodontal maintenance. J Periodontol 2002;73:167-172.
November 2001, Vol. 72, No. 11
Treatment of Periodontitis by Local Administration of Minocycline Microspheres: A Controlled Trial
Dr. Ray C. Williams , et. al.
Background: Periodontitis is an inflammatory condition of toothsupporting tissues that is usually treated by mechanical removal of plaque and microorganisms that adhere to teeth. This treatment, known as scaling and root planing, is not optimally effective. Adjunctive therapy with locally delivered antimicrobials has resulted in improved clinical outcomes such as probing depth reduction. This article reports on the efficacy and safety of locally administered microencapsulated minocycline.
Methods: Seven hundred forty-eight (748) patients with moderate to advanced periodontitis were enrolled in a multi-center trial and randomized to 1 of 3 treatment arms: 1) scaling and root planing (SRP) alone; 2) SRP plus vehicle; or 3) SRP plus minocycline microspheres. The primary outcome measure was probing depth reduction at 9 months. Clinical assessments were performed at baseline and 1, 3, 6, and 9 months.
Results: Minocycline microspheres plus scaling and root planing provided substantially more probing depth reduction than either SRP alone or SRP plus vehicle. The difference reached statistical significance after the first month and was maintained throughout the trial. The improved outcome was observed to be independent of patients’ smoking status, age, gender, or baseline disease level. There was no difference in the incidence of adverse effects among treatment groups.
Conclusions: Scaling and root planing plus minocycline microspheres is more effective than scaling and root planing alone in reducing probing depths in periodontitis patients. J Periodontol 2001;72:1535-1544.