"Popular Infant Juices Contain Too Much Fluoride, Research Shows" DOH! No, it doesn't. That headline appeared above a feed from the popular newswire Medical News Today, which despite its name, is aimed at the general public, not medical professionals. Anyway, the article "covers" research that's going to be presented at the upcoming IADR General Session in March. The paper to be presented is titled Fluoride Levels in Commonly Consumed Infant Juices, based on studies conducted by Loma Linda  research team. And here's their conclusion (emphasis mine): "All infant juice samples were found to contain fluoride with a wide range depending on the manufacturer and the flavor. Fluoride content calculated in all tested samples was below the recommended optimal daily intake. When taking other fluoride sources in consideration, children who consume excessive amounts of juice per day may be ingesting more fluoride than the recommended daily intake." So the juices WERE NOT found to have too much fluoride themselves, as implied in the consumer headline. Just another knee-jerk misinterpretation to capitalize and create fear about a hot-button issue. And don't be surprised if you hear this incomplete version on the 6 o'clock news.

Intending at first just to get my feet wet with digital radiography, I and my staff were glad we dove in after seeing the images and the patient reaction.

It was announced today that OraPharma, Inc. has been acquired by Water Street Healthcare Partners. They are a private equity firm that focuses on health care. OraPharma's flagship product is Arestin, a locally delivered antibiotic used in periodontal therapy. If you haven't tried this for your patients, its time to do your homework. The thing I have always liked about OraPharma is the amount of research they have done to prove up their claims. We have all seen different attempts at delivering antiobiotics to help reduce periodontal pockets, but this one really sticks (no pun intended). It will be interesting to see what direction Water Street Healthcare takes with the strong foundation they already have.

Two single-tooth extraction cases demonstrate the use of Foundation collagen-based bone-augmentation material.

In the past I have written about the dangers of misinterpreting information from research articles or news sources, with even the Discovery Channels’ own author blowing things out of proportion. A recent example is the article a friend of mine forwarded to me this weekend, this time from Dr. Mercola, a physician turned internet health guru. His opening paragraph says this: “A new study in the Journal of the American Dental Association finds once again that, contrary to what most people have been told, fluoride is actually bad for teeth.” Fortunately there is a link to the article listed in PubMed, which says something completely different: “Results suggest that prevalence of mild dental fluorosis could be reduced by avoiding ingestion of large quantities of fluoride from reconstituted powdered concentrate infant formula and fluoridated dentifrice.” What that article is actually saying is that if you are using too much fluoridated water for your infants

A patient presented with old Class II composite restorations on teeth 4 and 5.

Acacia Family Dentistry & Implant Center is one of a small but growing number of general dental practices equipped with its own cone-beam 3-D imaging system.

Dentists are demanding that core materials offer the versatility of post cementation, traditional core rehabilitation, and low shrink dentin replacement.

It has always been a boon to dentists when technology from another field benefits their practice and their patients. The CEREC AC from Sirona is a great example, using a camera to capture a high-resolution surface map of a tooth eliminating the need for traditional impression material. Now advances in space technology has the potential to redefine our ability to diagnose and treat our patients. I first heard of this device from a friend of mine who has more knowledge about aerospace science in his little finger than I have about the entire field of dentistry. The Scint-X scintillator is a device that converts x-rays into visible light. It works in similar way as a film panoramic x-ray: The x-rays strike an intensifying screen, emitting fluorescent light which exposes the film. The idea is to reduce the amount of radiation needed for the given scan, but the resolution is diminished as a result of scatter. The Scint-X works in a similar way, but the difference is that it  uses MEMS technology (micro-electro-mechanical system), similar to that accelerometer in that fancy iPhone you have. In other words, “SUPER TINY”. This scintillator is constructed by Nanospace using the same facility that made an entire satellite propulsion system that was only 55 x 43.5mm in size. By shrinking the scintillator down to such a small size, it dramatically improves the resolution, potentially better than 5 microns. Put that in a Galileos Cone Beam CT, and you might even be able to take your digital impressions with an extraoral scan. (Sirona...give these guys a call...) For a complete summary of the technology, jump over to SpaceDaily for the article.

Life-saving screening can and should be done in the dental practice.