ST. PAUL, Minn., (August 19, 2014) – As part of the NASCAR race week at Bristol Motor Speedway, the American Dental Association's (ADA) Give Kids A Smile® program and 3M Racing are coming to Weaver Elementary and Fairmount Elementary, both in Bristol, TN, for two special high-speed oral health education events featuring members of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion race team and the No. 16 3M race car. There will be two sessions for the nearly 800 students to rev up their dental health practices.   

WHO: 3M Racing revs up children’s good dental health with the ADA, ADA Foundation, Henry Schein, Inc., CareCredit, Oral Health America and 3M ESPE Dental.

WHAT: A dental health education event for nearly 800 local elementary school students – all with a high-speed racing theme as part of the upcoming race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The No. 16 3M race car; DeeBo, the 3M Racing Pit Bull mascot; and Fox Sports host Wendy Venturini will all be there to help rev up kids’ good dental health.

WHERE: Thursday, August 21

Location No. 1: 8:15 a.m. to 10 a.m., Weaver Elementary, 3341 Weaver Pike, Bristol, TN 37620

Location No. 2: 1 p.m. to 2 p.m., Fairmount Elementary, 821 Virginia Ave., Bristol, TN 37620

Program Background: 3M ESPE Dental has joined together with the American Dental Association’s Give Kids A Smile program, ADA Foundation, Henry Schein, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSIC), CareCredit℠, Church and Dwight, Oral Health America and NASCAR star Greg Biffle again to put good oral health on the fast track for young fans of NASCAR.  Across the country, Biffle, driver of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series, is helping deliver the message to children about healthy habits like brushing for two minutes twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste, flossing, visiting the dentist regularly and making healthy food choices.

During the 2014 NASCAR season, 3M ESPE Dental is bringing the “Brush with the Biff” program to 11 racetracks, including Daytona (February), Texas (April), Richmond (April), Talladega (May), Kentucky (June), Bristol (August), Chicago (September), Dover (September), Kansas (October), Charlotte (October) and Phoenix (November).  At each race, race fans of all ages visit the 3M display in the midway for fun family activities, education about healthy dental habits, dental care kits that include Church and Dwight SpinBrushes and ToothTune toothbrushes, and a chance to meet Biffle on race day.  In five race markets, the Give Kids A Smile program will race into local schools for fun-filled high-speed oral health education events featuring members of the No. 16 3M Ford Fusion race team and the No. 16 3M race car. 

INTELIHEALTH - Tooth loss is linked with an increased risk of death in middle-aged men, according to a Japanese study.

The study involved 7,779 men. All were between the ages of 40 and 79. None had heart disease at the start of the study.

The men were divided into groups based on the number of natural teeth they had:

• No teeth: 21% of men

• 1 to 9 teeth: 21%

• 10 to 19 teeth: 22%

• 20 or more teeth: 36%

Researchers kept track of the men for about 5½ years. During that time, 455 of the men died. There were 175 deaths from cancer, 98 deaths from heart disease and 130 deaths from other causes.

The researchers found that in men ages 40 to 64, having fewer teeth increased the risk of death from any cause. The risk was highest in the men with no teeth. This group had nearly 3 times the risk of death as the "20 or more teeth" group. The other groups had nearly twice the risk.

Among men 40 to 64, those with fewer teeth also had higher risks of death from heart disease and cancer.

Researchers adjusted their numbers to account for the effects of several other factors that affect the risk of death. These included age, body mass index, blood pressure, cholesterol level, educational level and whether the men had diabetes, were smokers or drank alcohol.

The study appears in the August issue of the journal Community Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology.

Source: InteliHealth News Service

The University of Maryland Schools of Dentistry (UMSOD) and Medicine (UMSOM) have jointly announced that they have received a 5-year $10.7 million grant award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health (Grant #2U19A1084044-06) to study the causes, prevention and treatment of sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs). The grant, which renews a previous $12 million five-year NIAID-funded research program, represents a new direction for the research by studying chlamydial and gonorrheal diseases as the outcome of complex interactions between the host genetics, the urogenital polymicrobial microbiome, and the pathogen's unique genetics. By applying modern "omics" technology, the study aims at identifying novel molecular biomarkers of susceptibility to sexually transmitted infections (STIs), ensuing disease severity, and conversely protection from STIs and STDs. Biomarkers can be measured in the body (or its products) as a means to predict and potentially influence pathways related to disease. They may reveal mechanisms of infection or disease that can be exploited as therapeutic or diagnostic targets.

The long-term goal of the research is to develop strategies and the means to reduce the incidence of STIs and STDs worldwide - particularly chlamydia (caused by Chlamydia trachomatis) and gonorrhea (caused by Neisseria gonorrhoeae, also known as the gonococcus). Chlamydial genital infections are the most common bacterial infectious disease in America, with 2.8 million cases estimated annually. Gonorrhea is estimated at 820,000 infections in America each year. These infections together cause most of the 750,000 cases of pelvic inflammatory disease seen each year in the United States. Pelvic inflammatory disease, in turn, is a leading cause of female infertility and life-threatening conditions in women such as ectopic pregnancy.

"This grant is particularly significant because it is the first time that a comprehensive systems biology (or 'multi-omics') approach will be utilized to conduct STD research with the ultimate goal of developing knowledge to prognose, diagnose, prevent and treat sexually transmitted infection and disease," said Jacques Ravel, PhD, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and Associate Director for Genomics at the Institute for Genome Sciences (IGS) at the UM SOM, who is the co-principal investigator on the study. "By looking at how human genetics and the microbiome affect and influence infections in humans, we can gain a much better understanding of how to protect against these types of infection, which is critical for improving public health."

"We believe that this project will generate new essential knowledge into the mechanisms of sexually transmitted infection and disease as they occur, both in the human host and within the microbes that cause chlamydia and gonorrhea," says co-principal investigator Patrik Bavoil, PhD, Professor and Chair of the Department of Microbial Pathogenesis at the UM SOD. "We will be identifying human and microbial biomarkers that will tell us who is most susceptible to infection, who is most susceptible to severe disease, even in the absence of symptoms," adds Dr. Bavoil, who is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at the UM SOM. "These biomarkers could also provide us with new targets for new ways to prevent and treat STIs and STDs long before these microbes have a chance to endanger a woman's reproductive health."

The new grant establishes one of five nationwide Cooperative Research Centers on Sexually Transmitted Infection (CRC-STI), which will be jointly led by the UM SOM and UM SOD, to implement three projects:

Project 1 will explore the role of human genetic variance in dictating the outcome of the 'dialogue' between the pathogen, the microbiota and the host in both experimental infections and patient samples. The underlying hypothesis of this project is that host genetics plays an important role in determining susceptibility to STIs and ensuing disease severity. This project will be led by Drs. Raphael Valdivia and Dennis Ko, both at Duke University.

Project 2, which will be co-directed by Drs. Bavoil and Garry Myers, PhD, Associate Professor at the University of Technology in Sydney, Australia, aims to identify antibody and miRNA-based biomarkers of chlamydia infection, chlamydia/gonorrhea co-infection and pelvic inflammatory disease with a specific focus on the translational potential of these biomarkers in clinical and public health.

Project 3, which will be directed by Dr. Ravel, will employ a systems biology approach to identify biomarkers of the vaginal and penile microbiomes, the genetic variation of the host and pathogens that are associated with increased or decreased risks of infection by chlamydia, gonorrhea or both.

These projects will rely on a strong clinical core, which will establish a STI Network Groups (STING), consisting of multiple networks of sexual partners where at least one of the partners is infected with chlamydia or gonorrhea. The clinical core of the center will involve Drs. Katrina Mark, MD, of the UMSOM Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, and Rebecca Brotman, Assistant Professor of UMSOM Department of Epidemiology & Public Health and IGS. Participants in STING will provide clinical specimens, that researchers at the University of Maryland and partner institutions will examine and analyze using cutting-edge genomic, immunologic and genetic techniques, trying to identify novel molecular biomarkers that could help them predict who is at risk for STIs and who is less likely to become infected, based on the subject's own genetics, his/her genital microbiome composition and function, as well as the pathogen's unique genome. The scientists hope to use identified biomarkers to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches for STIs. The projects will be supported by a genomics core led by Dr. Ravel, which will leverage the state-of-the-art capabilities of the Genomics Resource Center and the Informatics Resource Center at the IGS. Additional STI expertise will be provided by biomathematician Dr. David Wilson, of the Kirby Institute, Queensland University of Technology, Sydney, Australia, gonorrhea expert Dr. Alison Criss, University of Virginia, network analysis epidemiologist Dr. David Shoham, Loyola University Chicago and immunologist Dr. Khalil Ghanem, Johns Hopkins University.

The program is based at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, a leading institution in the study of infectious diseases with particular strengths in bacterial pathogenesis, vaccine development, human virology and microbial genomics.

Mark Reynolds, DDS, PhD, MA, Professor and recently named Dean of the University of Maryland School of Dentistry remarked "This grant highlights the ever growing, mutually beneficial, cooperative relationship between the UM SOM and the UM SOD on multiple interdisciplinary research fronts." He adds "Our school is committed to the concept of global health, and this project on sexually transmitted infections, which are particularly relevant to oral health, is an important focus of our research activities and an essential component of the education portfolio of the modern oral health practitioner."

"This new NIH NIAID grant is a clear indication of the quality of research and leadership at the UM SOM in studying infectious disease," said E. Albert Reece, MD, PhD, MBA, vice president for medical affairs at the University of Maryland, and John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers distinguished professor and dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "Our application of large-scale genomics and bioinformatics approaches to investigate the prevention and treatment of STIs truly represents the future of biomedical research."

Source: University of Maryland School of Dentistry

(Nanowerk News) Researchers at Karolinska Institutet in Sweden have discovered that stem cells inside the soft tissues of the tooth come from an unexpected source, namely nerves. These findings are now being published in the journal Nature ("Glial origin of mesenchymal stem cells in a tooth model system") and contribute to brand new knowledge of how teeth are formed, how they grow, and how they are able to self-repair.

Our health and quality of life is closely linked to our dental health. With age, our teeth become more susceptible to infection, wear and damage, and it is important for the health services to help people maintain good dental health. It was previously known that the living, soft part of the tooth, or the pulp, in addition to connective tissues, blood vessels and nerves also contains a small reserve of stem cells. These stem cells are capable of repairing the tooth when it has been damaged by assisting the reformation of both hard and soft tooth tissue. Researchers have long been discussing the origin of these stem cells. By studying the teeth of mice, the researchers behind this new study have been able to map the fate of individual cells.

 “We have identified a previously unknown type of stem cells that surprisingly enough belong to the nerves of the tooth; these are nerves that would normally be associated with the tooth's extreme sensitivity to pain,” says Kaj Fried at the Department of Neuroscience, one of the head researchers responsible for the study.

The researchers discovered that young cells, which at first are part of the neural support cells, or the glial cells, leave the nerves at an early stage of the foetal development. The cells change their identity and become both connective tissues in the tooth pulp and odontoblasts, i.e., the cells that produce the hard dentin underneath the enamel. Today we do not have the possibility of growing new teeth in adults, but the discovery of this new type of stem cells is an important step towards the knowledge and technology that is required to make it a future possibility.

 “The fact that stem cells are available inside the nerves is highly significant, and this is in no way unique for the tooth. Our results indicate that peripheral nerves, which are found basically everywhere, may function as important stem cell reserves. From such reserves, multipotent stem cells can depart from the nerves and contribute to the healing and reformation of tissues in different parts of the body,” says Igor Adameyko at the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, who has headed the study along with Kaj Fried.

The study has been financed with grants from bodies such as the Swedish Research Council, Bertil Hållsten's Research Foundation, StratRegen at Karolinska Institutet, the Wallenberg Foundations, the European Research Council (ERC), the Swedish Dental Association (SDA), EMBO and Stockholm County Council.

Source: Karolinska Institutet

CHICAGO (July 30, 2014)— Healthy Smiles, Healthy Children: The Foundation of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD), and its Access to Care Grants program, was recently recognized as one of ASAE’s 2014 Power of A Gold Awardees. The Power of A Awards recognize a select number of organizations annually that distinguish themselves with innovative, effective and broad-reaching programs and activities that positively impact America and the world.

ASAE recognized 23 organizations with a 2014 Power of A Gold Award and another 22 with a Power of A Silver Award this year. The Power of A Awards recognize and celebrate the extraordinary contributions associations make to society by enriching lives, creating a competitive workforce, preparing society for the future, driving innovation and making a better world. ASAE received roughly 100 entries in this year’s awards program.

 “Congratulations to this year’s Power of A Award winners for leveraging their resources and coming up with unique, innovative and inspiring ways to benefit not just their own industry or profession, but society at large,” said Paul Pomerantz, CAE, CEO of the American Society of Anesthesiologists and chair of the Power of A Awards Judging Committee. “This year, our committee had an exceptionally strong group of entries to consider, and it’s heartening to see so many organizations excelling in their work. Associations have great stories to share about their industries and professions, and it’s with great pleasure and pride that we recognize their efforts through the Power of A Awards.”

 “We deeply appreciate this honor from such an influential organization as ASAE,” stated HSHC President Beverly A. Largent, DMD.  “Healthy Smiles, Healthy Children is committed to supporting community-based initiatives providing Dental Homes to every child in the country currently lacking one, which is the centerpiece of HSHC’s mission.  To date, more than 118,000 children have been helped by HSHC grantees and through multiple affiliations.  HSHC has released more than $1.8 million in grants and commitments through 51 grants to 48 local agencies and dental clinics in 18 states since 2010 (including 2014 commitments).”

To celebrate rapid advancements in digital dentistry and discuss trends in technology affecting the dental industry, 3M Digital Oral Care hosted the 3M Digital Exchangein Minneapolis, Minn. on July 31 and August 1. The highlight of the event was the announcement of the redesigned, next generation 3M™ True Definition Scanner, with revolutionary improvements resulting in the industry’s smallest wand providing fast, easy and comfortable scanning. New 3M™ True Definition Scanner Software 5.0 was also announced, further enhancing the scanning experience for new and existing users.

A continuing education event, the exchange began with a presentation by keynote speaker and Forrester researcher James McQuivey, an expert on the digitization of business, the economy and relationships with customers and colleagues. General practitioners and orthodontists shared digital successes, experienced new technology and built relationships with digital leaders from around the world. The new 3M True Definition Scanner system will be available this fall.

For more information: www.3M.com/NewTrueDef

Atlanta, Georgia – Dental offices all over the globe searching for GROWTH and LEADERSHIP strategies to implement in their offices are invited to register for the first-ever Dental Summit Event, this October 23-25th, 2014, in Atlanta. This once-in-a-lifetime event is specifically for Dentists and their teams to come absorb proven growth strategies and principles, to get inspired and motivated by learning what successful offices are currently doing, and best leadership skills and formulas to implement from the top down.

This three-day, mega-event is filled with celebrity speakers, expert guests, a private concert, and some of the TOP Dentists and Teams to network with and learn from worldwide. More than 4,700 Dentists and Teams are already registered to attend.

Celebrity speakers and expert guests include: Bill Rancic – Celebrity Apprentice Winner and Entrepreneur, Walter Bond – Former NBA Player now known as “Mr. Accountability”, Kerri Strug – Olympian & Speaker, Don Barden – DDS Financial, Lt. Rorke Denver – Navy Seal & Author, Dr. Paddi Lund – Australian Dentist Referral Only Based Practice, Fred Harburg – Consultant.

All those in the dental profession focused on taking their practices, teams, and engagement to the next level are encouraged to be at this event. Spend three days learning content that can immediately be applied to further develop and sharpen Doctors’ leadership skills as well as provide tools to turn practices into THRIVING BUSINESSES that consistently produce results.

The information, tools, triggers, pain points, success stories, engagement methods, secrets and accountability measures that will be shared will help Dentists grow their practices 2 times, 3 times, 4 times and even 5 times larger (hear first-hand from those that have actually already increased their practices five times)! Those in attendance will also learn how to break through common barriers or obstacles that Dentists often face in this particular profession.

Dentists can provide their teams with the ultimate TEAM ENGAGEMENT AND THREE-DAY EXPERIENCE to get them re-energized and re-motivated so they understand their role in helping Doctors execute their practice vision. It is the ONE EVENT to attend this century!

GROWTH happens best when Leaders avail themselves to LEARN and OBTAIN tools, tricks, and formulas that are already proven to work. NOT reinventing the wheel. It is our hope for any Dentist to be a part of this event and this Community of Dental Leaders. The Dental Summit exists to serve in the Leadership journey, serve teams to develop their skills and engagement, and serve Practices to Grow to better serve and LEAD communities.

Attendee Take-Aways:

-       Leadership & accountability tools to take back home

-       Private concert with Trace Adkins

-       1 Ferrari, 1 Mercedes and 1 Jeep will be given away!

-       Secrets to growing their practices 2X, 3X, 4X and even 5X larger

-       New colleagues to network with that will assist their practice growth journey

-       Tools to overcome challenges faced with your team

-       How to keep your team Engaged and Production up on a monthly basis

-       The one strategy guaranteed to help offices finish the year strong

This never-to-be-repeated event is being put on by The Scheduling Institute, Dentaltown’s Townie Choice Award Winner for Best Practice Management & Consultant the last four years in a row. With more than 20+ years of consulting experience and helping offices implement proven growth strategies, the Scheduling Institute has trained thousands of offices worldwide and hosted thousands of events at their University Training Centers (in Atlanta and Phoenix), the two most convenient training facilities in the world. The Scheduling Institute provides proven practice growth solutions for growing every area of a Doctor’s business as well as teaching clients what kind of bigger impact they have the ability to make on others. Based off the growing demand for consulting services that has already grown 10 times, the Scheduling Institute is officially opening registration for the FIRST EVER, NOT TO BE REPEATED DENTAL SUMMIT. This is the first event opened to the entire profession inviting both the Doctor and full team.A portion of all event tuition will go to benefit The Wounded Warriors Project. 

Must register to attend. Visit www.MyDentalSummit.com or call 888-905-7747. 

DAVIE, Florida (Aug. 20, 2014) – Dental Fix RX, a mobile dental equipment repair franchisor, announced it has awarded its 150^th franchise, a Cleveland mobile repair unit, which is one of 11agreements in Ohio alone.

Established in 2009, Dental Fix is currently the only on-site dental equipment repair franchise in North America. Franchisees use leading-edge mobile repair centers – or “rolling repair shops” –to deliver on-site services for dental-practice repair, and new-equipment needs in more than 27 states nationwide and two provinces in Canada. The service centers provide the largest mobile inventory in the industry.

“This milestone franchise – our 150^th – illustrates the breadth of support available to ensure dental practices have a reliable partner to maintain equipment to meet their high standards of care,” said Scott Mortier, vice president of business development for Dental Fix.

The Dental Fix philosophy focuses on customized service that produces high-quality repairs in a short amount of time. Dental practice clients see one technician who is the owner-operator of the Dental Fix mobile service center, which ensures a familiarity with specific equipment at each practice and a context of previous repairs.

“Our entrepreneurial owner-operators dedicate their time and expertise to be the best in the industry,” Mortier said. “This is driving our goal to award 75 new franchises in the next year.”

About Dental Fix RX

Dental Fix RX combines centralized technological and account management services with a unique national network of locally owned and operated industry professionals. Each professional is equipped with “state of the art” mobile service centers. Dental Fix delivers on-site personalized service for dentists’ repair and new equipment needs. For more information, call 800-586-0340 or visit www.dentalfixrx.com.

When it comes to radiation, one size does not fit all. Radiographs should not be ordered routinely, but rather prescribed based upon professional judgment of an individual patient’s needs. This requires taking a history and performing a clinical evaluation before prescribing and taking radiographs.

Once it has been decided that radiographs are indicated based upon an appropriate individualized evaluation, they should be performed optimally, using the fastest available detectors. This may include E and F speed film or digital sensors set to adequately low settings for intraoral radiographs as well as extraoral projections and cone-beam computed tomography. If a radiograph or radiographic volume is needed for diagnostic purposes, it should be exposed to achieve diagnostic quality.

These rules apply to all patients, but it is especially important to minimize unnecessary doses of ionizing radiation in children, because tissue turnover is more rapid in children than adults, making them several times more susceptible to damage from ionizing radiation. Furthermore, children have a greater life expectancy, making the likelihood that changes occurring from radiation doses during their lifetime will be greater than for older individuals. While the risks may be relatively small, in light of these considerations, the FDA has designated X-radiation a known carcinogen. Therefore, dental professionals should strive to minimize that risk by not exposing patients unless it is diagnostically necessary to the point that its benefits outweigh the risks.

To draw attention to the need to “image gently” for children, the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging was initiated by the Society for Pediatric Radiology in 2006. It now has 80 sponsoring organizations worldwide, including 10 from dentistry. Dental member organizations include the American Dental Association, American Dental Education Association, American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, American Academy of Periodontology, American Association of Endodontists, American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons, Canadian Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, and the European Academy of Dentomaxillofacial Radiology. Additional dental organizations are welcome to join the alliance at no cost. Further, individual practitioners are urged to take the pledge to “Image Gently,” which is also the name of a campaign slated for a September rollout.

The “Image Gently” website can be accessed at www.imagegently.org. This site provides resources for professionals and for parents, who can access it to “take the pledge.” It has a section specifically designated to dentistry.

In addition, the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging, along with 10 member dental professional societies, is launching a campaign titled “Image Gently in Dentistry” September 24 to 27, 2014, in conjunction with the Annual Session of the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology, in Orlando, Florida, with Marilyn Goske, MD, as Alliance Chair. More information on that initiative is available at www.aaomr.org.