Arlington Heights, Ill., March 31, 2017 - Recipients of the 2017-2018 Osseointegration Foundation (OF) Research Grants were announced at the Academy of Osseointegration’s (AO) 2017 Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla last week. 

First-place grants of up to $30,000 each will be awarded to research teams in the following categories. These grant recipients will present their results at the 2018 AO Annual Meeting, to be held March 1- 3, 2018 in Los Angeles, Calif.

1st Place Basic Science

Title: A Novel Gene Activated Barrier Membrane that Harnesses the Regenerative Potential of Periosteum

Recipient: Satheesh Elangovan, BDS, DSc, DMSc, University of Iowa

"Our research team at the University of Iowa College of Dentistry is very grateful to the Osseointegration Foundation for this grant support that will allow us to explore the bone regeneration efficacy of a novel bioactive barrier membrane which has immense clinical translational potential," said Dr.  Elangovan.

1st Place Applied Science

Title: Identification of Host Related Risk Factors for Peri-implant Tissue Loss

Recipient: Binnaz Leblebicioglu, DDS, MS, PhD, Ohio State University

“I’m very honored to receive the Applied Science Award,” said Dr. Leblebicioglu. “This grant will allow our team of clinicians and scientists to better understand peri-implant etiopathogenesis specific to dental implants. This knowledge, in turn, will be helpful to develop better preventive tools as well as treatment modalities with more predictable outcomes."

Also at AO’s 2017 Annual Meeting, the 2016-2017 OF Research Grant recipients presented their findings and are expected to submit manuscripts to the International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Implants (JOMI) later this year. They were:

Alireza Moshaverinia, DDS, MS, PhD – UCLA School of Dentistry, recipient of the 2016-2017 Basic Science Grant, presented on the Influence of Mucosa Tissue Thickness on Marginal Bone Loss of Implants with Smooth Collars: A Prospective Controlled Trial.

Hom-Lay Wang, DDS, MSD, PhD – University of Michigan School of Dentistry presented on An Adhesive and Osteoconductive Hydrogel for Bone Tissue Regeneration in Peri-implant Bone Loss. He was the recipient of the 2016-2017 OF Implant Applied Science Research Grant.

DALLAS, March 29, 2017 — Gum disease and tooth loss may be associated with a higher risk of death in postmenopausal women but not increased cardiovascular disease risk, according to new research in Journal of the American Heart Association, the Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

Loss of all natural teeth also was linked with an increased risk of death in postmenopausal women.

Periodontal disease, a chronic inflammatory disease of the gum and connective tissue surrounding the teeth, affects nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults 60 and older. The loss of all one’s teeth, called edentulism, impacts about one-third of U.S. adults 60 and older and often results from periodontal disease.

“Beside their negative impact on oral function and dietary habits, these conditions are also thought to be related to chronic diseases of aging,” said Michael J. LaMonte, Ph.D., M.P.H., study author and research associate professor in epidemiology and environmental health at the University at Buffalo in New York.

Researchers analyzed the health information from the Women’s Health Initiative program — a study of 57,001 women, 55 years and older.

“Previous studies included smaller sample sizes or had limited numbers of cardiovascular disease events for analysis. Ours is among the largest and focuses exclusively on postmenopausal women in whom periodontitis, total tooth loss and cardiovascular disease is high nationally,” LaMonte said.

In 6.7-year follow up of postmenopausal women studied, they found:

     • There were 3,589 cardiovascular disease events and 3,816 deaths.

     • History of periodontal disease was associated with a 12 percent higher risk of death from any cause.

     • Loss of all natural teeth was associated with a 17 percent higher risk of death from any cause. The risk of death associated with periodontal disease was comparable regardless of how often women saw their dentists.

     • Women who had lost their teeth were older, had more CVD risk factors, less education and visited the dentist less frequently compared to women with their teeth.

“Our findings suggest that older women may be at higher risk for death because of their periodontal condition and may benefit from more intensive oral screening measures,” LaMonte said. “However, studies of interventions aimed at improving periodontal health are needed to determine whether risk of death is lowered among those receiving the intervention compared to those who do not. Our study was not able to establish a direct cause and effect.”

Co-authors are Robert J. Genco, D.D.S., Ph.D.; Kathleen M. Hovey, M.S.; Robert B. Wallace, M.D., M.Sc.; Jo L. Freudenheim, Ph.D.; Dominique S. Michaud, Sc.D.; Xiaodan Mai, Ph.D.; Lesley F. Tinker, Ph.D.; Christian R. Salazar, Ph.D., M.P.H.; Christopher A. Andrews, Ph.D.; Wenjun Li, Ph.D.; Charles B. Eaton, M.D., M.S.; Lisa W. Martin, M.D.; and Jean Wactawski-Wende, Ph.D. Author disclosures are on the manuscript.

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute supported the study.

Stamford, Conn. – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA) is leveraging its expertise in the consumer and professional healthcare domains to empower dental professionals to improve patients’ lives with the launch of new innovative connected oral health products – Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart toothbrush and Philips Sonicare Breath care system. The new products are debuting today at the 2017 International Dental Show in Cologne, Germany alongside new clinical research and industry partnerships.

New Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart toothbrush and Philips Sonicare Breath care system, all in one unique connected oral care platform

Philips Sonicare reveals a new flagship innovation – DiamondClean Smart – the world’s most intelligent toothbrush that delivers the confidence of complete care in every brushing. With the introduction of the new Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart toothbrush and Philips Sonicare Breath care system with breath analyzer, Philips offers two unique connected technologies to inspire patients to take better care of their oral health, all in one platform. The DiamondClean Smart delivers exceptional oral care results with built-in smart sensor technology in the toothbrush and personalized coaching within the platform to help improve patients’ brushing technique.

The Philips Sonicare Breath care system, featuring our new connected breath analyzer, measures, tracks and helps patients address the impact of oral bacteria on breath quality, helping patients to improve their breath and oral care habits. Both products seamlessly sync with the Philips Sonicare app, giving users data and guidance to empower them to proactively manage and improve their oral health in one platform.

“At Philips our goal is to improve patients’ oral health through meaningful innovations and pioneering oral care solutions,” says Jennifer Lalli, Team Lead OHC Dental Professional, US. “We developed the new Philips Sonicare DiamondClean Smart and Philips Sonicare Breath care system to encourage routines that lead to better overall oral healthcare.”

New publications in a special issue of The Journal of Clinical Dentistry® to support our Philips Sonicare portfolio; AirFloss Ultra study results

Philips Sonicare is committed to partnering with dental professionals to develop new products that are based on clinical evidence of the safety and efficacy of our products. Presented today at IDS will be the results from the Special Issue of The Journal of Clinical Dentistry® (Vol XXVIII, No.1, Spec Iss A), titled Philips Sonicare: An Evidence-based Approach to Daily Plaque Control and Gingival Health. Within five full manuscripts, Philips provides insights into the performance of our products through scientific research and clinical evidence on the effectiveness of plaque removal and gum health. New studies include: insights into Philips Sonicare power toothbrushing versus manual toothbrushing in a meta-analysis of 18 studies, and a head-to-head study comparing the effect of Philips Sonicare’s high-frequency, high-amplitude mechanism of action DiamondClean product to the oscillating-rotating action of Oral-B 7000.[1]

Additional study results presented by Prof. M. Noack, University of Cologne will show a new, follow-up study on Philips Sonicare AirFloss Ultra. This extended study revealed that AirFloss Ultra was as effective as string floss in preventing gingival inflammation.[2]

“We put dental professionals and their patients at the center of what we do,” says Sinead Kwant, SVP, General Manager, Philips Oral Healthcare. “Our new clinical research results and partnerships also demonstrate our commitment to dental professionals and supports the benefits and results our new connected devices can bring; ultimately to achieve better longer-term care for patients, leading to a healthier life.”

Partnering with experts in the dental industry

Philips is committed to improving people’s lives through meaningful innovation. Our goal is to improve the lives of 3 billion people a year by 2025.  Working with a global network of trusted partners including scientific experts, research institutes and dental professionals, Philips is committed to raising awareness about oral healthcare. For the second year, Philips has partnered with the FDI World Dental Federation and their 2017 global campaign “Live Mouth Smart,” for World Oral Health Day, to raise awareness of the issues around oral health and the importance of taking care of your mouth, teeth and gums at each stage of your life.

Researchers at Okayama University report in Scientific Reports successful tooth regeneration in a postnatal large-animal model. The approach used involves the autologous transplantation of bioengineered tooth germ into a canine jawbone; the in vivo artificially created tooth has the structure, composition and physiological characteristics of a natural tooth.

Conventional therapies for restoring the loss of a tooth — due to e.g. caries, gum disease or injury — essentially consist of replacing the tooth with artificial material or an osseointegrated dental implant. Whole-organ regeneration technology is a promising alternative approach: a new tooth is grown from bioengineered tooth germ transplanted into the jawbone. Takuo Kuboki from Okayama University and colleagues have now demonstrated successful functional tooth restoration via the regenerative method for a postnatal large-animal model (a beagle dog).

The researchers first tested whether bioengineered tooth germ does indeed lead to the formation of a proper tooth. They dissected embryonic tooth germ cells and tissues of a dog 55 days prior to birth, and then reconstructed bioengineered tooth germ by means of a technique known as the organ germ method. The germs were then transplanted into mice. In many cases — Kuboki and colleagues were able to identify the necessary conditions — the germ resulted in tooth-crown formation, featuring both the hard and soft tissues present in natural teeth, after several weeks.

The scientists then performed autologous transplantation experiments. Rather than relying on a donor, autologous treatments make use of an organism’s own stem cells (undifferentiated cells that can develop into specialized cells), avoiding immunological rejection. Applying this to their canine model, Kuboki and co-workers extracted deciduous teeth from the jawbone of a 30-day old beagle dog. Tooth germ engineered from the dog’s permanent tooth cell and tissue was then transplanted, after two days of cell culture, into the dog’s mandible, resulting in tooth eruption 180 days later.

Micro-CT analysis showed that the developmental process of the bioengineered tooth’s formation was practically identical to that of a natural tooth, and, by means of scanning electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, the bioengineered tooth was found to have the same structure and chemical composition of a natural one. Finally, the researchers demonstrated that the response of the regenerated tooth to a mechanical force was consistent with proper physiological functioning of the periodontal ligament (the tissue that connects the crown to the jawbone).

Regarding the future clinical application of the method to humans, the researchers pointed out that immature wisdom tooth germ would be a possible source of stem-cell germs, as it is available in the human postnatal jawbone. However, this would only pertain to younger people — wisdom teeth mineralize after the age of 7; for elderly patients, other stem-cell sources would need to be identified. In any case, quoting Kuboki and colleagues, “this study highlights the feasibility of fully functional tooth restoration by autologous transplantation of bioengineered tooth germ”.

Background 

Tooth structure and Tooth loss Remedies 

Teeth — playing an essential role in the basic oral functions of mastication, swallowing and pronunciation — comprise hard (such as enamel, dentin and cementum) and soft tissue (such as pulp and periodontal ligaments). As a remedy for tooth loss, fixed dental bridges or removable dentures made from artificial materials have been traditionally used, as well as osseointegrated dental implants: artificial teeth that are directly connected to the jawbone, without intervening soft tissue. Driven by recent advances in biomedical understanding and biotechnological engineering, regenerative technologies for the successful replacement of a lost tooth with uncompromised physiological tooth function — such as the one now reported by Kuboki and colleagues — are intensively researched today.

Donor-organ Versus Autologous Transplantation 

The transplantation experiments carried out by the researchers are of the autologous type: a dog’s own tooth germ stem cells were used to regenerate a missing tooth. An autologous transplantation avoids the potential problem of transplant rejection: when an organism receives a donor organ from another, genetically different organism, the former’s immune system may attempt to destroy the transplant. Another complication can be graft-versus-host disease, caused by immune cells of the donated tissue recognizing the host as foreign and starting to attack host cells. It is therefore expected that future whole-tooth restoration in humans will be done by means of autologous transplantation techniques.

Organ Germ Method 

The approach of Kuboki and co-workers involves the bioengineered organ germ method, studied since about a decade ago. The method aims to regenerate ectodermal organs — organs originating from the so-called ectoderm, the outer embryonic layer — such as teeth, hairs and glands, by replicating the organ’s developmental process starting from bioengineered organ germ. In a natural embryo, organ germ arises from the interaction between epithelium (the tissue at the outer layer of a body's surface) and mesenchyme (tissue sitting below the epithelium). Bioengineered organ germ is created by letting epithelial and mesenchymal tissue or cells interact.

KINGWOOD, Tex., March 10, 2017 – Smile Source announced today that 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, is now an elite vendor for 490 Smile Source franchise locations across the U.S. 

“At Smile Source, we are always seeking new vendor relationships to provide our members the best possible service, support, and savings. It is with this intent that we are pleased to make this announcement,” said Trevor Maurer, CEO and President of Smile Source. “Henry Schein has a long history of excellence in the dental industry. This, combined with their culture of service and breadth of product offering, supports our growing membership nationwide.”

“We are proud to partner with Smile Source as their strategy closely aligns with our mission statement. Henry Schein focuses on practice care so that our customers can focus on patient care,” said Mackenzie Richter, Director of Sales for Henry Schein Dental.  

Maurer also shared, “Establishing a strong vendor relationship with Henry Schein allows us to better serve our membership across the country and open doors to continued growth. We are excited for a strong future with Henry Schein as an elite vendor for Smile Source.”

About Smile Source

Smile Source, LP is the largest franchise dental organization supporting independent dentists in the United States, with more than 490 supported dental offices located in 35 states. Based in Kingwood, Texas, Smile Source offers franchisee dentists and team members unmatched buying power with premier vendors, extensive continuing education and professional development, collaborative practice management, and strategic marketing support. For more information, www.smilesource.com.

About Henry Schein, Inc.

Henry Schein, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSIC) 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 S&P 500® and the NASDAQ 100® indexes, Henry Schein employs nearly 19,000 Team Schein Members and serves more than one million customers.

The company offers a comprehensive selection of products and services, including value-added solutions for operating efficient practices and delivering high-quality care. Henry Schein operates through a centralized and automated distribution network, with a selection of more than 110,000 branded products and Henry Schein private-brand products in stock, as well as more than 150,000 additional products available as special-order items. The company also offers its customers exclusive, innovative technology solutions, including practice management software and e-commerce solutions, as well as a broad range of financial services.

Headquartered in Melville, N.Y., Henry Schein has operations or affiliates in 33 countries. The company's sales reached a record $10.6 billion in 2015, and have grown at a compound annual rate of approximately 15 percent since Henry Schein became a public company in 1995. For more information, visit Henry Schein at www.henryschein.com.

Arlington Heights, Ill., March 27, 2017 – Drs. Joseph P. Fiorellini and Robert C. Vogel, both longtime members of Academy of Osseointegration (AO), were elected to the board of directors during the annual business meeting held as part of its 2017 Annual Meeting in Orlando, Fla.

Dr. Fiorellini is professor of periodontics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine. In 1990, he received his DMD from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine and in 1993, was awarded the DMSc degree in the field of oral biology and a Certificate in Periodontology.

Dr. Fiorellini has been a member of AO for nearly two decades. He has served on the Predoctoral Education Committee and is Chair of the Academy of Osseointegration/ Academy of Osseointegration Foundation Research Grant Committee. In addition, he serves as an associate editor of the International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Implants (IJOMI).

Dr. Fiorellini has published more than 100 clinical manuscripts, reviews or textbook chapters and received awards related to clinical research, including the Academy of Osseointegration Research Award, the American Academy of Periodontology Young Investigators Award, and the European Association for Osseointegration Research Prize. In addition to AO, Dr. Fiorellini is the vice chair of the American Dental Association Commission on Continuing Education Provider Recognition. Dr. Fiorellini maintains a practice limited to periodontology and implant dentistry.

“I am excited to be a part of the premiere multidisciplinary implant organization. AO’s commitment to clinical and scientific excellence is second to none. I fondly remember all that AO has provided in my career. The opportunities when I was just beginning my career from networking to grant support, to now the pleasure of help young clinicians flourish in the organization and profession,” said Joseph Fiorellini, DMD, DMSc.

A native of Long Island, New York, Dr. Vogel graduated from Columbia University Dental School in 1985 and immediately moved to Florida to begin a general practice residency at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. It was there he decided his practice would focus on implant prosthetic treatment, research, and product evaluation. He opened his private practice in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., working as a team member with several surgical specialists in the community.

An intense interest in implant dentistry has brought him around the world to learn, collaborate, become friends and work with many of the pioneers in the profession. As an AO member early on, he has served on numerous committees, been published in IJOMI and presented at annual meetings. He has furthered his commitment to implant dentistry as an active Fellow of the International Team for Implantology.

“It’s an honor to be part of an organization that has such a significant impact on maintaining the highest level of ethics, science and education in our profession,” said Robert Vogel, DDS.

March 9, 2017, 2017 (Syracuse, NY) – New dentists joining Aspen Dental –branded practices have a chance to turbocharge their careers thanks to the launch of the “Best Grad Gift Ever.”  

Through the program, all graduating dental students who accept a job at an Aspen Dental practice by April 30, 2017 are invited to participate in the first-ever “New Grad Edition” of Aspen Dental’s industry-leading VIBE Sessions, an exclusive professional development event, and will be entered into a sweepstakes for a new 2017 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R. 

“In partnership with Aspen Dental practice owners who serve as mentors to new dentists, we’re committed to making it easier for dentists to achieve their dreams,” said Dr. Arwinder Judge, chief clinical officer at Aspen Dental Management, Inc. “We invest millions of dollars annually to support doctor development and mentorship, and this program is just one more way for us to demonstrate our commitment to supporting dentists at every stage of their career journey.” 

To be eligible, fourth-year dental students or dental residents must accept a job at an Aspen Dental practice by the end of April 2017. All who qualify will be invited to participate in the Aspen Dental VIBE Session: New Grad Edition on September 16-17, 2017 in Chicago, IL, where one lucky winner will be awarded a 2017 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R. 

Over the past three years, the Aspen Dental VIBE Sessions have brought together hundreds of managing clinical directors, associates and dental students, giving them an opportunity to engage with and learn from the best and brightest via professional development, team-building activities and panel discussions with successful, experienced practice owner and partners. The “New Grad Edition” will be geared specifically to new dentists, sharing a roadmap for building a successful, long-term career and providing attendees the opportunity to network with their peers as well as established practice owners.

VIBE Session attendees will also enjoy a unique VIP experience at the Chicagoland Speedway that includes behind-the-scenes access and a chance to get up close and personal with NASCAR Monster Energy Series driver Danica Patrick, who will hand one new Aspen Dental dentist the keys to brand new 2017 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350R.

For more information, visit BestGradGiftEver.com.

*Ford and Ford Mustang are registered trademarks of Ford Motor Company. All rights reserved.