CHICAGO, July 1 — Oral Health America (OHA) is pleased to announce the launch of its 14th annual NSTEP® (National Spit Tobacco Project) slogan contest. Teaming up with Little League® Baseball and Softball, the contest calls on players ages 8-14 to create a compelling ten-word phrase describing the dangers of spit tobacco for a chance to win a trip to the Little League Baseball® World Series.

In addition to its long history with baseball, spit tobacco is used more frequently by young people—almost half (46%) of new users start before they reach the age of 18. Spit tobacco is linked to cancer of the mouth, throat, tongue, stomach and esophagus, mouth lesions, receding gums, tooth decay and tooth loss. Through the slogan contest, OHA and Little League reach tens of thousands of young people each year with the message that spit tobacco is dangerous and should be avoided.

“Little League is committed to providing proper health and wellbeing for children throughout the world,” said Stephen D. Keener, President and CEO of Little League Baseball and Softball. “Smokeless tobacco has no place whatsoever in the lives of our youth. We applaud Oral Health America’s effort in keeping children away from smokeless tobacco and starting the conversation with so many parents about the dangers associated with its use. The NSTEP Slogan Contest is a great way to engage children and their families and educate them on the risks associated with smokeless tobacco.”

“Every summer we hear from parents across the country who use the slogan contest as an opportunity to talk to their children about spit tobacco for the first time,” said OHA President and CEO Beth Truett. “All tobacco products are harmful and we look forward to reaching even more young people with this important message.”

For the first time contest participants will be able to submit their slogans online by filling out a simple form. The winner will receive an all-expense paid trip to the Little League Baseball World Series in Williamsport, Pa. and a $500 cash prize. In addition, OHA will make a $500 donation to the player’s Little League organization. For more information about the contest or to submit a slogan, please visit nstep.org/contest.

CHICAGO – In response to new developments and research indicating the effectiveness of 3-D imaging for endodontic diagnosis and treatment, the American Association of Endodontists and the American Academy of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology have issued a revised position statement on the use of cone beam-computed tomography in endodontics. The joint statement is an update to a 2010 position on CBCT use in endodontics.

An AAE-AAOMR committee reviewed the scientific literature from the past five years, and updated the position statement to include specific recommendations for the appropriate use of CBCT. The statement emphasizes that CBCT should not be used routinely for endodontic diagnosis or screening purposes in the absence of clinical signs and symptoms, and provides 11 specific recommendations and supporting evidence for when CBCT should be considered the imaging modality of choice. The statement is consistent with principles of ALARA—keeping patient radiation doses "as low as reasonably achievable," and notes that the patient's history and clinical examination must justify the use of CBCT by demonstrating that the benefits to the patient outweigh the potential risks.

"Endodontists continue to have excellent results with two-dimensional radiography," said AAE President Dr. Terryl A. Propper. "However, limited field of view CBCT does have a place in endodontics when dealing with more complex cases, which are reflected in the position statement. Our goal is to help AAE members and general dentists determine where it fits for them."

"Dental imaging is interlaced with endodontics not only for accurate diagnosis but for periodic evaluation of certain treatment outcomes," said AAOMR President Dr. Christos Angelopoulos. "Complex cases may require the use of advanced imaging modalities such as CBCT for proper diagnoses, although advanced imaging may not be necessary as a routine diagnostic tool. The collaboration of AAOMR and the AAE aims to provide guidance to general dentists and endodontists based on the available evidence. The main goal of the two organizations is simply to guide practitioners toward 'best practice'."

The current position statement was drafted by a special joint committee of leading experts in the area of CBCT in endodontics. Each organization appointed four representatives. Dr. Mohamed I. Fayad of the University of Illinois at Chicago, appointed by the AAE, and Dr. Madhu K. Nair of the University of Florida, appointed by the AAOMR, served as co-chairs of the committee. AAE Members Drs. Craig S. Hirschberg, Martin D. Levin and Richard A. Rubinstein also served on the committee, along with Drs. Sevin Barghan, Erika Benavides and Axel Ruprecht from the AAOMR. The position statement is available at www.aae.org/guidelines.

(Charlotte, NC, July 1, 2015) –America's ToothFairy: National Children’s Oral Health Foundation® announced today the members of its Board of Directors for fiscal year 2016. Under the chairmanship of Henk van Duijnhoven, Senior Vice President at Danaher Corporation and its dental segment, KaVo Kerr Group, the America's ToothFairy Board of Directors is comprised of dedicated leaders of national and international organizations, universities and corporations concerned with improving children’s health and building healthier communities.

Alongside Mr. van Duijnhoven, other Board officers include Vice President James Ingebrand, President and General Manager of 3M ESPE Dental Division, Treasurer Paul A. Guggenheim, President of Patterson Dental Supply, Inc., and Secretary Robert Size, Senior Vice President of DENTSPLY International.

Gavin Shea, Senior Director of Sales and Marketing for Wells Fargo Practice Finance, was newly elected to the Board and will serve a three-year term.

"We are proud to have assembled such an esteemed group of industry leaders and practitioners to guide the continued growth and development of this organization," said Fern Ingber, America's ToothFairy President and CEO. "Our Board members are enthusiastic supporters and advocates who, despite significant personal and professional obligations, have made a strong commitment to expand the mission of America's ToothFairy to millions more underserved children. We are very grateful for their passion, dedication and support."

BOSTON (June 29, 2015, 4 pm ET) — Consumption of sugary drinks may lead to an estimated 184,000 adult deaths each year worldwide, according to research published today in  the journal Circulation and previously presented as an abstract at the American Heart Association Council on Epidemiology and Prevention in 2013.

“Many countries in the world have a significant number of deaths occurring from a single dietary factor, sugar-sweetened beverages. It should be a global priority to substantially reduce or eliminate sugar-sweetened beverages from the diet,” said Dariush Mozaffarian, M.D., Dr.P.H., senior author of the study and dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy at Tufts University in Boston.

In the first detailed global report on the impact of sugar-sweetened beverages, researchers estimated deaths and disabilities from diabetes, heart disease, and cancers in 2010. In this analysis, sugar sweetened beverages were defined as any sugar-sweetened sodas, fruit drinks, sports/energy drinks, sweetened iced teas, or homemade sugary drinks such as frescas, that contained at least 50 kcal per 8oz serving. 100 percent fruit juice was excluded.

Estimates of consumption were made from 62 dietary surveys including 611,971 individuals conducted between 1980 and 2010 across 51 countries, along with data on national availability of sugar in 187 countries and other information.  This allowed capture of geographical, gender and age variation in consumption levels of sugar-sweetened beverages in different populations.  Based on meta-analyses of other published evidence on health harms of sugar-sweetened beverages, the investigators calculated the direct impact on diabetes and the obesity-related effects on cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer.

In 2010, the researchers estimate that sugar-sweetened beverages consumption may have been responsible for approximately:

133,000 deaths from diabetes

45,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease

6,450 deaths from cancer

“Some population dietary changes, such as increasing fruits and vegetables, can be challenging due to agriculture, costs, storage, and other complexities. This is not complicated. There are no health benefits from sugar-sweetened beverages, and the potential impact of reducing consumption is saving tens of thousands of deaths each year,” Mozaffarian said.

The impact of sugar-sweetened beverages varied greatly between populations. At the extremes, the estimated percentage of deaths was less than 1 percent in Japanese over 65 years old, but 30 percent in Mexican adults younger than 45.

Of the 20 most populous countries, Mexico had the highest death rate attributable to sugar-sweetened beverages with an estimated 405 deaths per million adults (24,000 total deaths) and the U.S. ranked second with an estimated  125  deaths per million adults (25,000 total deaths).

About 76 percent of the estimated sugar-sweetened beverage-related deaths occurred in low- or middle-income countries.

In nations of the Caribbean and Latin America, such as Mexico, homemade sugary drinks (e.g. frescas) are popular and consumed in addition to commercially prepared sugar-sweetened beverages. “Among the 20 countries with the highest estimated sugar-sweetened beverage-related deaths, at least 8 were in Latin America and the Caribbean, reflecting the high intakes in that region of the world,” said Gitanjali Singh, Ph.D., lead author of the study and a research assistant professor at the Friedman School.

Overall, in younger adults, the percent of chronic disease attributed to sugar-sweetened beverages was higher than the percent in older adults.

“The health impact of sugar-sweetened beverage intake on the young is important because younger adults form a large sector of the workforce in many countries, so the economic impact of sugar-sweetened beverage-related deaths and disability in this age group can be significant. It also raises concerns about the future. If these young people continue to consume high levels as they age, the effects of high consumption will be compounded by the effects of aging, leading to even higher death and disability rates from heart disease and diabetes than we are seeing now,” Singh said.

Other co-authors are Renata Micha, Ph.D.; Shahab Khatibzadeh, M.D.; Stephen Lim, Ph.D.; and Majid Ezzati, Ph.D. Author disclosures are on the manuscript.

Singh was supported by a training grant from the  National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (DK007703) and a K00/R00 Pathway to Independence Award from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (1K99HL124321).  Initial data collection for this work was supported by a grant from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to the 2010 Global Burden of Diseases study. 

Singh GM, Micha R, Khatibzadek S, Lim S, Ezzati M, and Mozaffarian, D. “Estimated global, regional, and national disease burdens related to sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in 2010.”  Circulation. Published online ahead of print 06-29-15. DOI:10;1161/CirculationAHA.1140101636