Perio Antibodies and Dental Therapist issue

Latest rotary endo technique from USA is now in India, ultimate technique which has overcome all the drawbacks of existing rotary systems. What more it is very easy to learn and use and is very affordable in Indian situation. It is "Smart Endodontics" there is golden opportunity to learn this revolutionary technique. Book your place NOW at Goa or Bangalore.
GOA on 19 May, contact Dr Akhil 98236 96149
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Healthier Teeth And Gums Signalled By Presence Of Certain Antibodies

Antibodies present in people with good oral health could become the first tool for dental professionals to assess a patient's probable response to periodontal disease treatments, say researchers at the University of Michigan.

The antibody is to a protein called HtpG, the bug that makes it is Porphyromonas gingivalis, an important pathogen in periodontal disease. The antibody also has potential as a vaccine candidate, according to Charles Shelburne, assistant research scientist at the U-M School of Dentistry. To read full report CLICK HERE



CAN Dental Therapist provide services in a Dental Clinic ?

The dental clinic in this village on the edge of the Bering Sea looks like any other, with four chairs, a well-scrubbed floor and a waiting area filled with magazines. But to the Alaska Dental Society and the American Dental Association, the clinic is a place where the rules of dentistry are flouted daily.

The dental groups object not because of any evidence that the clinic provides substandard care, but because it is run by Aurora Johnson, who is not a dentist. After two years of training in a program unique to Alaska, Ms. Johnson performs basic dental work like drilling and filling cavities.

This is happening in USA friends, to read more click here
Even New York times found this issue worthy of a debate READ HERE

One year certificate course in Endodontic and Implantology

Certificate courses by IGNOU

We had announced long ago about these certificate courses. Now it is officially out and last date of application is May 10,2008. So if you are interested to apply for these certificate courses in Endodontics or Oral Implantology act now. Prospectus can be downloaded HERE
There will be five contact sessions of 6 days each. Fees is one lakh for endo and 1.30 for Implants. List of clinical centers is not announced and admission will be on the basis of entrance test.

Orthodontic treatment causes Pathologic resorption
Dudic etalJ Clin Periodontol 2008 p 1


Objectives: To assess the relationship between periodontal parameters and cervical
root resorption in orthodontically moved teeth.

Material and Methods: In a standardized experimental tooth movement in 16
periodontally healthy subjects, 29 pre-molars were tipped buccally for 8 weeks.
Eighteen contralateral pre-molars not subjected to orthodontic movement served as
controls. Plaque Index (PI), Gingival Index (GI), probing depth and bleeding on
probing were assessed three times before and six times during the experimental phase.
Teeth were extracted and scanned in a micro-computed tomography scanner. The
presence or absence, and the severity of cervical root resorption were evaluated on the
three-dimensional reconstruction of the scans by two calibrated examiners.

Results: Overall, periodontal parameters were not different between the test and the
control teeth. Clear signs of buccal cervical resorption were detected on 27 of 29
orthodontically moved teeth and on one control tooth. Ten subjects had perfect oral
hygiene and no gingivitis, whereas six subjects showed a moderate level of plaque and
gingivitis (420% occurrences of PI or GI with 40). No relationship could be
demonstrated between resorption and periodontal parameters.

Conclusions: Nearly all orthodontically moved teeth showed signs of cervical
resorption. Periodontal parameters were unrelated to this important side effect of


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Implants in periodontitis patients and Tapered Madness

Implant therapy in aggressive periodontitis patients: A systematic review and clinical implications- Quintessence International Mar 2008 issue

A search was conducted to identify and summarize articles published in English and reported on the survival of implants in aggressive, rapidly progressive, or juvenile periodontitis patients. Our search revealed only 9 articles, 4 of which were case reports. Although available evidence is weak, it suggests good short-term survival of implants placed in periodontally well-maintained aggressive periodontitis patients. Bone loss around implants in aggressive periodontitis patients, however, appears to occur more frequently than it does in chronic periodontitis patients or periodontally healthy individuals. A summary and critical analysis of the aforementioned articles is presented.

Opportunity to work in Oman- Lady dental hygienist and a denitst needed immediately- sponsor ready, email to icdr@hotmail.com NOW

Taper Madness in Rotary Endodontics
Crown down was a good thing with Tapered instruments but things seem to have gone too far. Despite massive science showing that apical cleaning is the most important thing we find dentist happy to prepare the canal with 1-3 tapered instruments. If you want to see how good you are ? prepare an extracted tooth with your technique and after obturation cut the apex 1 mm and examine under high magnification, you may be shocked to see how much debris is left in the apical area with your favorite technique.
Last week at AAE meet in USA Sybron introduced another brand of Tapered instruments -Twisted file, to read articles on this by Dr Rich Mounce HERE
To know how to do a good job of cleaning apical area HERE

Implant Site Development by Orthodontic Extrusion
A Systematic Review in Angle ortho 2008 issue 4
It is a nice way if you want to save money on bone augmentation procedures.
Based on the available literature, orthodontic extrusion of nonrestorable teeth prior to implant placement appears to be a viable alternative to conventional surgical augmentative procedures in implant site development. No direct comparison to any other method was found, and therefore no conclusion could be made about its relative efficacy. Full text here


Bleaching and Bond Strength
Does vital bleaching alter the surface topography of enamel and thus affect the bond strength of adhesives to enamel? Alterations in bond strength might be significant with regard to clinical operative procedures that involve composite resin bonding, such as bonding orthodontic brackets, porcelain veneers, composite veneers, or future composite restorations.
This recent study published in Angle ortho Vol 78 No 4 concludes that use of a carbamide peroxide bleaching agent immediately before bonding significantly reduces the shear bond strength values of self-etching primer systems. But 30 days after bleaching bonding strength becomes OK. Full Article HERE

Friends tell us if there is any topic you would like to see on this page, email to icdr@hotmail.com

Has the War against Cavities been Won?

War Against Cavities
The study published in the March issue of Journal of Clinical Dentistry was a one-year, double-blind, placebo controlled study that demonstrates that sugarless mints containing the fluoride-free CaviStat® technology were able to inhibit both the onset and progression of cavities in 10 and 11 year-old children in Venezuela. Study participants took four mints daily, two in the morning after brushing their teeth and before eating breakfast and two in the evening after brushing their teeth, before going to bed. There were 200 children enrolled and 195 who finished the one-year study with complete data. Ninety-six children were in the study group and received the BasicMints with CaviStat and 99 children were in the placebo group and received the sugarless mint without CaviStat. The study was funded by Ortek Therapeutics, Inc. To see full news CLICK HERE.

Best resource, one stop to get info on all meetings, seminars, conferences and workshops in dentistry anywhere in the world- visit HERE
Are you good in Endo? Take the challenge and apply for American Endo fellowship FREE

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Attend a fantastic Endo course (lifetime) Certificate from USA, 10-11 May 2008, call 94481 91202

Soft Tissue Lasers in Orthodontics
This interesting article is of great value for a practicing orthodontist. It is published in April 2008 Supplement of AJODO. If you need to get article email to icdr@hotmail.com
Abstract:Soft-tissue lasers have numerous applications in orthodontics, including gingivectomy, frenectomy, operculectomy, papilla flattening, uncovering temporary anchorage devices, ablation of aphthous ulcerations, exposure of impacted teeth, and even tooth whitening. As an adjunctive procedure, laser surgery has helped many orthodontists to enhance the design of a patient's smile and improve treatment efficacy. Before incorporating soft-tissue lasers into clinical practice, the clinician must fully understand the basic science, safety protocol, and risks associated with them. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview regarding safe and proper use of soft-tissue lasers in orthodontics.
Also in Apr AJODO there is an interesting article by Park etal which shows that use of microimplants can have skeletal retraction effect on maxilla, its high time to jump on this new modality, visit HERE

Myth of Instant Orthodontics, Heart and Alcohol

Myth of Instant Orthodontics
With the advent of cosmetic and esthetic dentistry the concept of instant orthodontics gained popularity. Some practitioners got lured by quick buck, or was it. Now there is a paper in JADA 2008 April issue by Jacobson etal.

Background. There is a clinical trend of using porcelain veneer restorations (PVRs) for the correction of malaligned anterior teeth. Use of PVRs for this purpose raises clinical and ethical dilemmas.

Results. The optimal preparation for a successful PVR may have dentin exposed in the body of the preparation. However, most of the preparation must be in enamel, and all the margins must end in enamel. The strength of a dentin bond varies greatly owing to a multistep, technique-sensitive cementation process and is weaker than an enamel bond. It is not possible to correct atypical gingival esthetics (uneven gingival margins, uneven papillae, short papillae and bulbous gingivae) resulting from malaligned teeth through use of PVRs.

Conclusions and Clinical Implications. Aligning a healthy tooth with a PVR is not a conservative procedure and more conservative treatment options (such as orthodontics, bleaching, direct bonding and enamelplasty) should be offered to the patient. In addition, the inability to restoratively improve gingival relationships with PVRs may result in achieving less-than-optimal esthetics. A clinician should present only treatment options that involve predictable, conservative restorations or that preserve healthy tooth structure. Aligning teeth with PVRs may create ethical dilemmas that can be resolved with the help of the American Dental Association Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct.

Alcohol and Dental Health

This interesting paper published in Journal of Clinical periodontology, March 2008 by Leif Jansson. What is the impact of Alcohol consumption on Dental health?

Results: The group of subjects with the highest alcohol consumption (>5 cl pure alcohol per day) had more tooth surfaces with caries, more calculus and more teeth with apical lesions compared with those who reported an alcohol consumption 5 cl of pure alcohol per day. Alcohol consumption was not associated with periodontal disease.

Conclusion: The observations do not support any association between alcohol consumption and periodontal disease. However, individuals with high alcohol consumption had significantly more teeth with decayed surfaces and apical lesions indicating that lifestyle-related factors may influence dental health. more HERE

Bad Teeth Screw up your HEART

This study by leading researchers from Boston Clearly shows that bad teeth will damage your heart. Boston University researchers show conclusively periodontal disease is a risk factor for coronary heart disease in men less than 60 years-old independent of established cardiovascular risk factors in a study released April 1 in Circulation, a publication of the American Heart Association.

Who would be stupid enough, let us all take good care of teeth, it is simplest of the things and see your dentist every 6 months.

The full text of the study, "Age-Dependent Associations Between Chronic Periodontitis/Edentulism and Risk of Coronary Heart Disease," is available online at here.

To read all about mouth body connection click HERE

And friends research is useful but we need to be cautious too, here is a beautiful paper to enlighten you, HERE