I keep coming across more and more research on the biologic side of dentistry. Not that Cone Beam CT and CAD/CAM aren't amazing technologies, but we may be on the cusp of some pretty amazing advances, especially in dental bone grafting. I have blogged before about wood, steel foam, and your own bone morphogenic proteins being used to regenerate bone. In many cases, the future of dental implants truly is dependant on this considering that you cannot place a dental implant if there is no bone. Now researchers have found that glass can be used in this area as well. Of course, we have seen glass used before in products like Bio-Gran that use an internal silica gel surrounded by a calcium phosphate shell. Now Dr. Mona Marei, and Dr. Himanshu Jain are leading a multidiscipinary study that uses glass to form more complex shapes, rather than particles that are hard to manipulate. They are trying to find a way to form the material into a tube, a finger, or even a mandible. Check out a link to their research here, and keep an eye out for what I believe to be the next major frontier in dentistry.

A few months ago, we did a video with James Lobsenz from Kerr about their new gingival hemostatic agent Hemostasyl. I have been using Viscostat almost exclusively over the years since it was so easy to use. My only issue with it was that it often needed to be scrubbed, and applied several times. But today I tried out the new product. The case: Tooth #28. Deep distal decay, and a fractured lingual cusp. There had been some tissue overgrowth in the decayed area, and it was already swollen and bleeding. After the prep, there was definitely more bleeding going on. I squirted the bright blue Hemostasyl into the sulcus all the way around the tooth, and waited two minutes. After rinsing, it was easy to visualize the margins and we took a final impression. I like anything that makes it easy to get the job done easily and safely. Check out the video with James below to learn more. (Disclaimer: I received no compensation from Kerr for this blog... other than that sweet free sample.)   http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0">http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash">

Just received an email that I almost deleted, and I'm glad I didn't. It was from Dr. Bill Dorfman, founder of Discus Dental, and Steve Anderson of the Crown Council and Smiles for Life Foundation. Together, they founded the LEAP Foundation (LEAP's an acronym for Leadership, Excellence, and Accelerating Potential). The organization's Web site can do a much better job of explaining what it does than I can, but suffice it to say I think you'll be impressed. Among it's lofty and thoughtful goals for young adults....better grades, confidence building, mastering job interviewing skills, and of course SUCCESS IN LIFE. Briefly, among other offerings, LEAP runs a 5-day motivation and leadership program for young adults that includes the opportunity to connect with high-level professionals in a variety of industries. The email announced a scholarship initiative for qualified candidates who otherwise would not be able to participate. And it's inviting the email recipient (who I am assuming are Discus customers and dentists) to nominate a deserving member of his or her community for the scholarship. Check this out online too.   

Cadent iTero Episode 2: The scan Perhaps one of the easiest things about bringing the iTero into our office was having to explain to patients what this machine does. First, its high tech. Most patients will appreciate that progressive stance on using the latest technology. Second, I haven’t had a single person complain that they really loved using the goop more than simply taking a series of “pictures” of the teeth. I think the hardest thing to learn was how to hold the camera to do the scans in the first place. The camera is a bit heavy the first time you pick it up, but our trainer quickly showed us how to balance it properly. The machine has a preset number of scans that it wants you to take, and prompts you each time in a computer voice. Once you get to know the order, you can move along pretty fast, starting with the arch opposing your crown prep. So all in all, how long did the scans take? For me the first few times I was taking over 3 minutes. Definitely longer than a traditional impression, but not by much depending on the material you would use. So how many scans did it take to top the learning curve? AKA… how many cases should you plan on doing with the trainer before you would feel comfortable to do this all on your own? About 3. It just isn’t that hard. Next Episode: Sending the case to the lab… with no packaging.      

You might want to recommend acupuncture to your dental phobic patients, according to the results of a small study done by--amazingly-- the British Dental Acupuncture Society. Twenty patients, all of whom were extremely anxious about undergoing necessary dental treatment and all of whom had unsuccessfully tried other remedies like  sedatives, biofeedback, and hypnosis, were treated with acupuncture that targeted two specific acupuncture points on the top of the head. All 20 significantly reduced their anxiety and were able to be treated. Authors of the study, published in a recent issue of Acupuncture in Medicine, not surprisingly recommend additional larger studies to confirm the value of acupuncture in these sorts of cases. But, they suggest that acupuncture "may offer a simple and inexpensive method of treatment." You can check out the abstract. Who knew?

Here's a pictorial of how we restored a worn amalgam on tooth #14 with IPS Empress Direct restorative from Ivoclar Vivadent.

It has already been shown that drinking soda on a regular basis leads to pancreatic cancer. Now researchers at Princeton University have shown that high fructose corn syrup, one of the main sweeteners is soda, really is as bad as we have thought. It turns out that over the long term, they cause abnormal increases in body fat. The researchers compared it to regular table sugar, and calorie for calorie high fructose corn syrup caused increased weight gain and blood levels of triglycerides.  So put down that soda, and click over to look at how they put their experiment together. It was interesting to note that since high fructose corn syrup was introduced in 1970, only 15% of the US population was considered obese. Today: over one third. Politically charged comment: Let's get our act together with state funding for education so that our schools don't have to rely on Coke machines for cash. Considering how much we are learning about the negative systemic and dental effects of sodas, why allow them at all?

In the last few years we have heard about many new materials that are being considered for bone grafting, from bone morphogenetic protein, to actual wood. Now researchers at North Carolina State University have figured out a way to use aluminum steel foam as a scaffold to build bone. Lighter than aluminum, the idea seems to be that the material doesn't resorb, and other bone grafting materials usually do. The composite foam would remain to help strengthen the surrounding bone to provide better stability for dental implants. Keep your eye on Dentalcompare for the latest in news and new products. Hopefully, these futuristic products will be available soon.

Lucy Hobbs Taylor, the first female dentist in the U.S. (and probably the world) is the focus of today's daily Profile America feature issued by the U.S. Census Bureau (a daily press release aimed at raising awareness about responding to the census, which by the way I sadly filled out in 4 minutes....check a few boxes and that's it....really wanted someone to come to my door with a clipboard so I could relate my life story, but....). Back to Lucy. Here a few fun facts to impress your friends with: Lucy originally applied for admission to the ineptly named Eclectic College of Medicine in Cincinnati. She was rejected because of her gender. They suggested she try dentistry. Lucy became a private pupil and pursued dentistry under the guidance of the dean of the Ohio College of Dental Surgery, later apprenticeing herself to a graduate of the school. After being refused admission to the dental college -- again because of her gender -- she opened her own practice at the age of 28. Receiving credit for her years of professional practice from a small but devoted group of admirers, she earned her degree  in February 1866, at the age of 33.  While practicing in Chicago, she met and married Civil War veteran and railway maintenance worker James M. Taylor in April 1867. HERE'S MY FAVORITE PART: Under Lucy's guidance, James too became a dentist. They moved to Lawrence, Kansas, and practiced together for 40 years. Just an inspiring story for a Thursday. And incidentally, since 1983, the American Association of Women Dentists has recognized outstanding females in the profession by annually bestowing the Lucy Hobbs Taylor Award. The AAWD describes this honor as "the highest and most prestigious award that the AAWD presents to one of its professional members. This award recognizes a woman dentist who has contributed to the advancement, enrichment, and betterment of the role of women in the field of dentistry through her achievements in civic, cultural, humanitarian and academic areas."

Evidence continues to grow supporting the value of salivary diagnosics. Just read about this…..There may soon be a new weapon in the battle against the so-called "worst" cancer - cancer of the pancreas. A multidisciplinary group of UCLA investigators demonstrated the usefulness of salivary diagnostics in the effort to find and fight the disease. Changes in the molecular signatures found in human saliva have been successfully linked to the presence of early-stage pancreatic cancer in a study. Results were published in a recent issue of the journal Gastroenterology (one of my must reads!) and are available online If this news has peaked your interest in the value of saliva, check out OralDNA Labs and their three offerings. They’re especially timely in light of the quest to cut health care costs, detect disease at it earliest stages, keep intervention to a minimum, and accurately assess risk for certain conditions. The company offers three simple-to-administer non-invasive saliva tests:  MyPerioPath (detects bacteria associated with perio disease), MyPerio ID PST (assesses genetic risk for perio disease), and OraRisk HPV (detects oral human papilloma virus and profiles risk for each type). This type of lab testing is the wave of the future for dentistry…..it's here now.