PRLog (Press Release) Jan. 3, 2014 - CHICAGO -- Dr. Bill Knight has been named Interim Dean of the University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry effective Dec. 16, 2013, pending formal approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees in January 2014.

He succeeds Dr. Bruce Graham, who has retired as Dean. Dr. Graham will return to the faculty in 2014. Currently, a national search for a new Dean is underway.

“I am very happy that Bill has agreed to serve as Interim Dean,” Dr. Graham said. “He is eminently well-qualified to serve the College in this role by virtue of his extensive experience and broad expertise in dental education. And he is also well known and respected by our faculty, who have worked closely with him for the past 12 years to transform our clinical and classroom curricula in the predoctoral and postgraduate programs.

“As Executive Associate Dean, he had been my closest advisor and confidant so he is fully conversant with all of the ongoing business of the Office of the Dean,” Dr. Graham continued. “The College will not miss a beat thanks to Bill’s immense capabilities.”

“The Assistant and Associate Deans, the Department Heads, our entire faculty, and I will keep the College’s initiatives moving forward,” Dr. Knight said. “This is not the time to rest or be caretakers. It also is important to keep the College of Dentistry in its leadership position as one of the flagship programs of UIC.”

Current College initiatives include continuing rehabbing and construction of College facilities, refining the MS in Oral Science program, and implementing the fourth year of the College’s Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD) curriculum, which succeeds its previous DDS program.

A member of the faculty since 2001, Dr. Knight first served the College as Assistant Dean for Clinical Education. In his most recent role as Executive Associate Dean, he had been the chief academic officer for the College, working closely with the faculty in the DMD and the Advanced Specialty Programs.

Rice University bioengineers have developed a hydrogel scaffold for craniofacial bone tissue regeneration that starts as a liquid, solidifies into a gel in the body, and liquefies again for removal. The material developed in the Rice lab of bioengineer Antonios Mikos is a soluble liquid at room temperature that can be injected to the point of need. At body temperature, the material turns instantly into a gel to help direct the formation of new bone to replace that damaged by injury or disease.

The gel conforms to irregular 3-dimensional spaces and provides a platform for functional and aesthetic tissue regeneration. It is intended as an alternative to prefabricated implantable scaffolds.

The invention is the subject of a new paper that appeared online in the American Chemical Society journal Biomacromolecules. Lead author Tiffany Vo, a fourth-year doctoral graduate student in the Mikos lab, earned a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research for her work on the project.

"This new platform technology leverages injectable, thermally responsive, chemically crosslinkable and bioresorbable hydrogels for regenerative medicine applications," Mikos said. "It enables the formation of scaffolds locally and the delivery of growth factors and stem cells into defects of complex anatomical shapes with minimal surgical intervention."

Thermosensitive technologies are not new to the field of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine, Mikos said. What makes the poly(N-isopropylacrylamide), or PNiPAAm, scaffold promising is that its chemical cross-linking technology allows the researchers to eliminate gel shrinkage without reducing swelling; this improves its stability so that it serves as an effective delivery vehicle for growth factors and stem cell populations.

Once sufficient quality and quantity of bone tissue have regenerated to fill the defected site, the hydrogel scaffold can be transitioned back into a liquid state and released naturally.

As part of the project, the researchers will test the hydrogel’s enhanced seeding capabilities and ability to promote cellular attachment, crosstalk and proliferation toward greater bone formation. The knowledge will improve the understanding of biomaterial-based therapies for minimally invasive tissue regeneration as viable clinical alternatives.

"The results demonstrate the ability to encapsulate stem cell populations with temperature-sensitive gelling scaffolds for injectable cell delivery with enormous implications for the development of novel therapeutics for craniofacial bone regeneration," Mikos said.

Co-authors include Adam Ekenseair, a former postdoctoral fellow in the Mikos Lab and currently an assistant professor of chemical engineering at Northeastern University, and Kurt Kasper, a faculty fellow in bioengineering at Rice. Mikos is Rice’s Louis Calder Professor of Bioengineering and Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering.

The National Institutes of Health, the Baylor College of Medicine Scientific Training Program for Dental Academic Researchers and the Kirschstein fellowship supported the research.

Source: Rice University Department of Bioengineering

The 4th Annual International Congress of Oral Implantologists (ICOI) symposium, held at Columbia University in New York Dec. 13-14, 2013, featured international speakers from Hungary, Italy, Israel, England, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and the United States. About 250 attendees from the US and around the world attended the event, which featured multimedia presentations of the newest implantology and surgical techniques to restore the form and function of the oral cavity with faster, more effective and simplified methods.

Presentations included Restoration of Failing Teeth, Ridge Augmentation, Full Arch Implant Rehabilitation, Esthetic Surgery in the Anterior Zone, Immediate Loading, CAD/CAM and Digital Dentistry, Sinus Augmentation among other artfully presented and scientifically researched studies.

Each presenter had the opportunity to answer questions about his research and techniques from the attendees who asked very detailed questions, and received thoughtful and informative replies in return.

Interest was very high with attendees staying until the last minute in spite of the heavy snowfall which blanketed the upper west side of Manhattan during the Saturday presentations.

The sessions were introduced by Dr. Kenneth W.M. Judy, Co-Chairman of the ICOI, and moderated by Dr. Dennis P. Tarnow, Scientific Chairman ICOI and Professor and Director of Implant Education, College of Dental Medicine, Columbia University.

The ICOI presents the latest in research at twice annual symposia, and publishes one of the worlds most respected peer reviewed journals of Implantology.

Helsinki, Finland, December 23, 2013 – Planmeca, the world’s largest privately owned dental imaging company and equipment manufacturer, announced today that it has made a non-controlling, strategic investment in E4D Technologies, LLC, developer of the E4D CAD/CAM Restorative System.  This strategic investment reinforces Planmeca’s on-going commitment to help dental providers improve patient care by offering a comprehensive portfolio of integrated digital dental solutions for dentists and dental laboratories.

Planmeca will co-develop CAD/CAM products with E4D Technologies and offer these products in North America under the brand names Planmeca PlanScan-E4D Technologies and PlanMill-E4D Technologies.  Henry Schein, Inc. will continue to be the exclusive distributor in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. In addition, Planmeca will expand distribution of the E4D system to more than 120 additional international markets under the Planmeca PlanScan and PlanMill brands. In certain other markets, the E4D brand will remain in use.

“Planmeca’s investment in E4D Technologies offers us an opportunity to grow our company globally,” said Dr. Gary Severance, Chief Marketing Officer for E4D Technologies.“In addition, Planmeca has been a market leader in extra-oral digital imaging for many years, and we look forward to furthering the seamless integration of our CAD/CAM platform with the additional digital solutions offered by Planmeca. Our customers will benefit from the combination of these unique and innovative products and services.”

Under the new agreement, Planmeca joins the partnership of Henry Schein and Ivoclar Vivadent, who have been strategic equity partners in E4D Technologies since 2007, along with certain members of E4D Technologies’ senior management team.  

About Planmeca Oy and Planmeca Group

Planmeca Oy is one of the world's largest dental equipment manufacturers with products distributed in over 120 countries worldwide. Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, the company is a global leader in many fields of dental technology, with a product range covering digital dental units, world-class 2D and 3D imaging devices and comprehensive software solutions. Planmeca is also the largest privately held company in the field of dental equipment, with a strong commitment to pioneering in-house R&D and design. The Planmeca Group’s estimated turnover for 2013 is approximately EUR 760 million with over 2,600 employees worldwide.  More information is available at www.planmeca.com.

About E4D Technologies

Headquartered in Richardson, Texas, E4D Technologies is a high-tech medical device company focused on 3D digitizing applications, successful entrepreneurship, and commercialization of new technologies. The company has taken the dental profession to a higher level of productivity, patient comfort and convenience with its E4D CAD/CAM restorative systems and restorative software solutions for dental offices, laboratories and teaching institutions.  Quality-driven manufacturing teams are primed to meet demand along with best-in-class education and customer support to exceed dental professionals' demands and patients' expectations.  More information is available at www.e4d.com.

MELVILLE, N.Y., Dec. 31, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ: HSIC), the world's largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, animal health and medical practitioners, today announced the completion of a 60% equity investment in BioHorizons, Inc., a U.S.-based manufacturer of advanced dental implant technology and tissue regeneration products sold globally.  This transaction was first announced on November 26, 2013.

Together with the Company's investment in CAMLOG Biotechnologies AG, a leading manufacturer of dental implants in Europe, Henry Schein now has important positions in the U.S. and German implant markets, as well as a growing presence in the rest of the world.  The investment in BioHorizons also strengthens Henry Schein's position and product portfolio in the biologics market, which is a critical adjunct to the implant market.

"With the completion of this strategic investment in BioHorizons we have advanced our dental specialties markets business strategy and now have a stronger presence in two of the world's largest markets for dental implants," said Stanley M. Bergman, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Henry Schein.  "Implant dentistry is a critical element of the profession's transition to digital dentistry, and customer demand for implants and the associated materials is expected to increase as digital processes are adopted and the patient's dental experience is enhanced."

"On behalf of the shareholders and management of BioHorizons, we are delighted with the closing of the transaction and the partnership with Henry Schein which combines BioHorizons' impressive growth with Henry Schein's global strengths," said Mortimer Berkowitz III, Chairman of BioHorizons and President of HealthpointCapital, LLC.  "We look forward to working with Henry Schein and the BioHorizons team to strengthen our presence in the growing implant dentistry market by continuing to develop differentiated products for our customers."

About BioHorizons
BioHorizons is a leader in advanced dental implant technologies and tissue regeneration products in the dental implant industry. Based in Birmingham, Alabama, the company offers a broad spectrum of products for the replacement of missing teeth including dental implants, restorative and laboratory components, soft and hard tissue biologic products and surgical planning software.

BioHorizons' unique dental implant designs are recognized for intuitive design, excellent primary stability and high-end, aesthetic outcomes through the use of its proprietary Laser-Lok® microchannel surface technology.  With 25 years of research and 30 published studies, Laser-Lok has been shown to uniquely achieve both bone and soft tissue attachment for long-term tissue maintenance. The company has six international subsidiaries and more than 50 distributors around the world.   For more information, visit the BioHorizons Web site www.biohorizons.com.

About HealthpointCapital, LLC. 
HealthpointCapital is a growth buyout private equity firm which is exclusively focused on the musculoskeletal sector.  It was formed in 2002 and has $750 million in assets under management. It became a majority owner of BioHorizons through an acquisition of the Company in 2006. For more information, visit the HealthpointCapital Web site www.healthpointcapital.com

About Henry Schein, Inc.
Henry Schein, Inc. is the world's largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, animal health and medical practitioners.  The Company also serves dental laboratories, government and institutional health care clinics, and other alternate care sites.  A Fortune 500® Company and a member of the NASDAQ 100® Index, Henry Schein employs nearly 16,000 Team Schein Members and serves nearly 800,000 customers.

Dec. 18, 2013 (HealthDay News) -- Too many Americans lack access to preventive dental care, a new study reports, and large differences exist among racial and ethnic groups.

For the study, researchers analyzed telephone survey data collected from nearly 650,000 middle-aged and older adults between 1999 and 2008. The investigators found that the number who received preventive dental care increased during that time.

However, 23% to 43% of Americans did not receive preventive dental care in 2008, depending on race or ethnicity. Rates of preventive care were 77% for Asian Americans, 76% for whites, 62% for Hispanics and Native Americans, and 57% for blacks, the results showed.

The study was published online Dec. 17 in the journal Frontiers in Public Health.

Factors such as income, education and having health insurance explained the differences in access to preventive dental care among whites and other racial groups except blacks, according to a journal news release.

The lower rate of preventive dental care among blacks may be due to a lack of awareness about dental health and dental care services, and to an inadequate number of culturally competent dental care professionals, suggested Bei Wu, a professor and director for international research at Duke University's School of Nursing, and colleagues.

Many Native Americans who live on reservations don't receive proper dental care, partly because too few dental care professionals choose to work for the Indian Health Services, the researchers pointed out in the news release.

The investigators also found that people with health insurance were 138% more likely to receive preventive dental care than those without insurance. Women were one-third more likely to get preventive dental care than men.

Smokers were also less likely to receive preventive dental care, which is of particular concern because tobacco use is a threat to oral health, the researchers noted.

The findings demonstrate the need to develop public dental health programs that target middle-aged and older Americans, improve access to dental care, and create a dental workforce that is culturally competent, the study authors said.

The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about dental health.

Source: Frontiers in Public Health

ANNAPOLIS, MD—January 28, 2014—The Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP) is partnering with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to conduct an online survey of private dental practices from January 28–February 28. The survey was developed to gather information on the use of exposure control plans for reducing the risk of exposure to blood and other potentially infectious materials in private dental practices.

Survey invitees will be selected from a distribution list from AEGIS Communications. AEGIS has teamed with OSAP to help distribute the online survey to private dental practices with a link to the short but important survey.

“We encourage the dental practices that receive the email invitation from AEGIS to complete the brief online survey,” said OSAP’s executive director, Therese Long, MBA CAE. “The information is completely anonymous—but the aggregated data will help to identify available exposure control resources and potential barriers so better strategies can be developed to improve the safety of dental healthcare workers.”

Washington, D.C., January 27, 2014 – The American Dental Association (ADA) today published its latest paper on oral health disparities in underserved populations. Prior papers were published as “Breaking Down Barriers.”  The brand has now been changed to comport with the Action for Dental Health campaign.

Action for Dental Health: Bringing Disease Prevention into Communities is the first of two that will address the importance of disease prevention. It focuses on a broad array of programs nationwide targeting tooth decay and gum disease, the two most prevalent dental problems, both of which are almost entirely preventable.

“There will always be some level of disease that has progressed to the point that restorative care is needed,” writes ADA President Charles Norman, D.D.S.,  in the introduction.   “But the occurrence of disease can be reduced dramatically. This paper examines what works and why, what more is needed and the rewards that are possible by stopping disease before it starts.”

The ADA this year launched Action for Dental Health, a major campaign aimed at ending the dental health crisis affecting tens of millions of Americans.  Action for Dental Health comprises multiple initiatives to address the complex barriers that impede millions of Americans from accessing adequate dental care.  These initiatives fall into three distinct areas:

1. Providing care now to people who are suffering. That would include the elderly in nursing homes, children from low-income families, and the uninsured, who are more likely to visit an emergency room for relief from dental pain,

2. Strengthening the public/private dental safety net to dramatically increase its capacity to deliver care.

3. Focus on disease prevention and oral health education through community water fluoridation, the use of Community Dental Health Coordinators, stronger collaboration between dentistry and other health professions, and public health programs in schools and other public and private settings.

“Action for Dental Health now encompasses all existing and new ADA programs and initiatives aimed at improving oral health in underserved individuals and communities,” said Dr. Norman.  “It’s an ambitious campaign with no less a goal than a virtual end to untreated dental disease in America.  And prevention will be the ultimate key to accomplishing that goal.”

ANNAPOLIS, MD—January 24, 2014—Continuing its mission to be the world’s leading advocate for the safe and infection-free delivery of oral healthcare, the Organization for Safety, Asepsis and Prevention (OSAP) welcomes Burkhart Dental Supply, Clorox Professional Products Company and Microcopy as members of its growing list of infection control corporate members.

OSAP’s membership program unites a committed community of clinicians, educators, consultants, associations, policy makers and companies who share the organization’s global vision of safe oral healthcare for people everywhere. The organization’s members, publications and educational programs are all focused on reducing risk and increasing compliance with trusted infection control guidance.

“We are excited to welcome these three leading dental companies to the OSAP community,” said OSAP Executive Director Therese Long, MBA, CAE. “The timing is terrific as OSAP celebrates its 30^th anniversary this year. We look forward to optimizing our partnerships with them in the fight to ensure safe oral healthcare throughout the world.”

For more than 125 years, Burkhart Dental Supply has been providing equipment, repair, supplies, consulting and continuing education services to dentists in the Western United States. Burkhart prides itself on helping dentists achieve personal and professional success. For more information, visit www.burkhartdental.com.

Clorox Professional Products Company is a division of The Clorox Company (NYSE:CLX) and offers many of the industry’s most recognizable brand names for the commercial, cleaning and infection prevention industries. The Clorox Healthcare brand, available to hospitals and healthcare settings, includes bleach, hydrogen peroxide and quaternary product solutions for surface disinfection. Hand care products, designed for the healthcare professional, reinforce the company’s commitment to helping stop the spread of infections. For more information, visit www.cloroxhealthcare.com.

Microcopy President Perry L. Parke is dedicated to leading a company that specializes in developing unique products for the dental industry. Microcopy has been manufacturing quality dental products for more than three decades. The company is a strong advocate for single-patient-use products and boasts the number-one-selling diamond bur in the United States. Microcopy’s other innovative products include carbides engineered for safety, saliva-absorbent pads and nano composite polishers. To learn more, visit www.microcopydental.com.

For more information on OSAP’s membership program, visit www.OSAP.org.

ADA News - Registration is open for an FBI-sponsored National Crime Information Center Dental Coding Workshop in Crystal City, VA, March 29-30.

Read full story here.