Sedation Death, Choosing Right Composite, House Call, Green tea, Acupuncture, Best Retainer ? Shade Matching.

Woman sues sedation training center over husband's death
A Missouri woman whose husband died in 2007 following conscious sedation for a dental procedure is now suing the company that provided the dentist's sedation training.

Sarah Coleman originally sued the dentist, Guilan Norouzi, D.M.D., alleging that Dr. Norouzi's negligence led to her husband's death. That lawsuit was settled out of court last December for an undisclosed amount.

John Coleman, then 47, went to Dr. Norouzi in March 2007 to have nearly a dozen teeth extracted and replaced with dental implants. Prior to the procedure, he was given 2 mg of Halcion (triazolam). According to legal documents and news reports, he did not respond well to the drug and had to be restrained in order for Dr. Norouzi to complete the dental work.

Following the procedure, he was given a reversal agent, Romazicon (flumazenil), but went into cardiac arrest while still in Dr. Norouzi's office. He was taken to the hospital but was pronounced brain-dead a short while later and died the next day, leaving behind his wife and three young sons.

Best retainer routine, post orthodontic treatment
Now a new study on patient compliance with orthodontic retainers has found that initial wear of vacuum-form retainers (VFRs), followed by a Hawley appliance one to two years into the retention phase, may yield the best results.
The study was presented at the recent American Association for Dental Research (AADR) meeting in Washington, DC, March 3-6.
This is the first study that has quantitatively evaluated retainer compliance at different amounts of time following treatment, study author Michael Pratt, D.M.D., a resident in the orthodontic department at the University of Kentucky College of Dentistry.
The study shows that average patient compliance decreases dramatically the longer a patient is out of treatment, and is abysmal at five years following treatment.

Should Dentist make house call ?

Dentists went to her apartment, evaluated her dental health and took X-rays. They discovered that besides a new tooth, she needed root canals and a crown - "a huge reconstruction of her teeth," Green said.
Because she needed so much work, Bay Area House Call Dentists arranged transportation to its office in San Francisco, where all the work was done in about four hours.  
After a follow-up visit, "she did fine," Green said. "She liked the people. They kept us informed." MORE HERE

Composite in Everyday Practice: How to Choose the Right Material ?
Eur J Esthetic Dent
In daily practice, composites are the materials most commonly used for restorative dentistry. They are used for preventive seals, microinvasive restorations, build-ups and complex direct and indirect restorations in posterior sections.
Indeed, it is in the anterior sections that composites have traditionally been used to the greatest effect, enabling clinicians to carry out complex restorations using direct techniques with notable esthetic and clinical results.

Recent product developments combined with clinical research on stratification make it now possible to utilize new composites that have excellent opalescence and fluorescence characteristics and provide an excellent color range to choose from.1,2
It is however, a common complaint among clinicians that the layering techniques are rather complex and it is difficult to make the right color choice. Paradoxically, they say that the appearance on the market of sophisticated materials, designed to give ever better results in the medium and long term, only makes it more difficult to make the correct decision.
In the present article, the authors will discuss these topics and make suggestions on how to achieve high quality results every day, both from an esthetic and clinical point of view. 23 page full paper available on payment, email to gurudental@yahoo.com

Secrets of Good Shade Matching

Using daylight for shade matching may not always be the best option. Getting a second opinion from a young, female dental assistant may help you achieve a perfectly matched crown. And as for that blue card you use for eye relaxation, it may be time to rethink it.
As we age, our eyes can get old and look at objects with brownish tints, he noted. Most of the retina is composed of rods that see black and white. The eye has much fewer cones that see color, and that is why eyes are more sensitive to black and white. Women have a greater percentage of photoreceptor cells (cones) than men and can see color better. Most dentists are told to keep a blue card in their office so they can look at it and relax their retinas before taking a shade, Dr. Ziemiecki said.Instead of the blue card, he suggested using an 18% photographic gray card or gray construction paper with no color to relax the saturated receptors in the retina.
Also, peripheral information can affect our choice of shade -- even lipstick can change shade perception, Dr. Ziemiecki said. He suggested separating all the teeth by putting borders around them and making the individual teeth stand out more. Isolating the tooth can help achieve a more accurate idea of color for a better shade match, he said.

Acupuncture Calms Highly Anxious Dental Patients
A  visit to the dentist provokes extreme fear and anxiety in an estimated one in 20 people, and can put them off going altogether, a condition termed odontophobia. And up to a third of patients report moderate anxiety at the prospect of dental treatment, studies show.

The authors base their findings on 16 women and four men from eight dental practice lists.
Each of the patients was moderately or extremely anxious about going to the dentist for treatment, as assessed by a validated questionnaire -- the Back Anxiety Inventory (BAI). MORE HERE

Drink Green Tea For Healthy Teeth And Gums
According to a recent study published in the Journal of Periodontology, routine consumption of green tea can help promote superior dental health.

In the study, Japanese researchers analyzed the oral health of 940 men based on three indicators of periodontal disease: clinical attachment loss of gum tissue, periodontal pocket depth and bleeding upon probing of the gum tissue.

The research team found that every cup of green tea consumed was associated with an additional decrease in all three symptoms related to periodontal disease. MORE HERE

Japan develops Robot to train Dental students

A robot which can simulate the reactions of humans was unveiled in Japan this week.
The humanoid – Hanako –was developed to train dental students.
It's the joint creation of Showa University, a research team led by humanoid pioneer, Atsuo Takanishi, a professor at Waseda University, and robot-making company Tmusk.

The robotic dental patient is supposed to be female, can converse with dental professionals, discharges robotic saliva, sneezes and opens and closes her mouth.
Standing 157cm tall, Hanako's body is the work of Tmsuk, while the medical features were developed by the dental faculties of the universities involved in the project.
There are nine joints in her body – in her jaw, tongue and even in her eyelids. MORE HERE
Watch live action in this video