MouthWatch, LLC, an industry leader in teledentistry solutions and digital imaging devices, recognized Dr. Jin Xiao as a telehealth pioneer in dentistry at its fifth annual Teledentistry Innovation Awards ("The Tellies") held November 28, 2022, in New York City.

MouthWatch launched The Tellies in 2018 to help drive visibility for individuals and organizations positively impacting the communities they serve by successfully implementing teledentistry as part of their patient care model.

Dr. Jin Xiao, Associate Professor and perinatal oral health expert at the Eastman Institute for Oral Health at the University of Rochester, accepted the 2022 Tellie in the Dentist and Specialist category both for her extensive teledentistry research and the integration of artificial intelligence into teledentistry software.

"Dr. Xiao has been a pioneer in her consideration and approach to revealing the value of teledentistry and her commitment and innovation continues to shine within the University of Rochester, which is already a pioneering institution," said MouthWatch Founder and CEO, Brant Herman.

Ms. Xiao is among the first to incorporate artificial intelligence into existing teledentistry technologies. This combination has enabled Dr. Xiao to transform the clinical examination process and create new possibilities with existing teledentistry software.

With the help of her team, Dr. Xiao has assisted in developing a prototype of an AI-powered caries detection app named AICaries. The app lets parents take photos of their children's teeth with their smartphone and receive an interactive risk assessment and personalized education on reducing ECC risk. This integration of artificial intelligence has redefined teledentistry's capabilities and makes diagnosing and formulating virtual treatment plans as convenient and accessible as ever for the audiences she serves.

The 2022 Teledentistry Innovation Awards recognized innovators in the following categories:

● Dentists and Specialists

● Dental Hygienists

● Oral Health Programs

● Educational Institutions

● Dental Organizations

Additional 2022 Teledentistry Innovation Award winners included Tiffany Grant, the Fones School of Dental Hygiene, Floss and Gloss, and Apple Tree Dental. To learn more about the 2022 Tellie Award winners, visit the Teledentistry Innovation Awards website. 

Overjet, a leader in dental artificial intelligence solutions for providers and payers, today announced a partnership with DECA Dental Group, one of the nation's premier dental support organizations. The partnership brings Overjet's FDA-cleared dental AI software for decay detection, calculus detection, and bone loss quantification to DECA's coast-to-coast national brand, Ideal Dental.

The partnership builds on both companies' shared commitment to delivering patient-centric clinical care and an outstanding patient experience. By incorporating Overjet's dental AI for X-ray analysis and clinical insights, DECA is taking proactive steps to streamline the diagnostic workflow, create better doctor-patient communication, and improve patient outcomes.

"As a clinician-founded and led organization, growth, learning, and innovation continue to be our primary goals to best support our dentists and team members," said Dr. Shalin Patel, Chief Medical Officer of DECA Dental Group. "Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing healthcare, and we are proud to be at the forefront of adopting the latest in dental technology to help our clinicians accurately diagnose to promote optimal oral health. Overjet will enable us to continue to elevate the standard of care and clinical outcomes for the guests who visit our supported practices nationwide."

DECA Dental Group has integrated multiple technologies to elevate dental care through teamwork and technology. It has been recognized by the industry for its drive to affect meaningful change across its growing network of dental practices. With the goal of improving operational efficiencies and patient outcomes through digital transformation, DECA is the newest dental group to adopt Overjet.

"With this partnership, Overjet and DECA are combining the best of dental AI with one of the fastest-growing dental support organizations in the country to improve oral health," said Wardah Inam, Co-Founder and CEO of Overjet. "DECA has built its strong reputation on delivering a support infrastructure that enables its clinicians to deliver best-in-class patient care. We are proud to partner with DECA to support clinicians with technology to elevate the quality of care to patients."

To learn more about how dental support organizations are using Overjet's dental AI platform to lead the change to clinically precise, efficient & patient-centric dental care, visit overjet.com.

Report highlights Benevis’ milestones in improving dental care access for approximately five million children and the changes in oral healthcare in the U.S. over two decades

Benevis, a leading dental support organization (DSO) for practices focused on dental care and orthodontics, announces the release of the company’s first annual Impact Report. The report provides a 20-year lookback into the state of oral health in the United States, and the dental leader’s history of expanding the reach of care to approximately five million underserved patients in 13 states and the District of Columbia.

Since the release of the first Report on Oral Health in America from the Surgeon General in 2000, there have been many advances. From the adoption of pediatric dental services as an essential health benefit in the 2014 Affordable Care Act to the World Health Organization’s (WHO) 2022 vision of delivering universal oral health coverage for all by 2030, oral health is receiving greater attention in public policy. But still, challenges persist more than two decades later to deliver affordable, equitable, and accessible care. With cost cited as the top reason for not visiting the dentist regardless of income, age, or source of dental benefits, dental care has greater financial barriers than any other healthcare service in the U.S. Despite Medicaid benefits, less than half of all eligible children in the U.S. receive preventive dental services.

Established in 2002, Benevis is committed to breaking down the barriers to oral healthcare by expanding access to affordable, high-quality dental care for children and families in disadvantaged and underserved communities across the country. Benevis supports a network of like-minded, community-focused dentists. Its compassionate team prioritizes local community support and patient education to make a national impact. Over the past 20 years, Benevis has:

● Proudly served more than 600,000 children and adults a year during 1.2 million visits in 120 communities and 13 states and the District of Columbia.

● Cared for approximately five million patients, with 82% currently on Medicaid or CHIP plans. 

● Treated 3.9 million kids, supporting the company’s commitment to raise the standard of children’s oral healthcare through early intervention.

● Established routine dental care, treatment plans, and dental homes for patients during one of 25.5 million visits to Benevis offices.

● Worked with more than10,500 dentists, caregivers, and teammates to help improve the trajectory of dental care in the U.S.

● Treated patients for 1.7 million emergencies, 19 million fillings and sealants, and over 200,000 orthodontics. 

● Donated thousands of hours and treated more than 2,500 children through Sharing Smiles Day, a Benevis initiative launched in 2015 to provide a day of free dental services to kids in the greatest need of care in surrounding communities.

● Partnered with Head Start programs, schools, and Community Health Centers to deliver high-quality dental care to underserved and vulnerable patient populations.

Better access to essential dental healthcare is central to the mission at Benevis. As a longtime advocate for dentists and patients providing care to the underserved, the company has supported policy for reimbursement rate improvements across state Medicaid plans, seeing progress in states it supports, including Virginia, Maryland, Mississippi, and Georgia. “We have spent the last 20 years working to change the state of oral healthcare across the U.S. to better support our dentists, providers, partner organizations, and most importantly our patients, many of which are children,” said Dr. Dale Mayfield, Benevis chief dental officer. “Educating children and their families on the importance of oral health, hygiene and its link to overall health not only sets children up for success to perform their best in school, but it also has a greater impact on the overall wellness of our communities.”

“I’m proud to celebrate our 20th anniversary and the important milestones we’ve achieved in our mission of bringing smiles to kids and families, as highlighted in our first annual Benevis Impact Report. For two decades, we’ve been changemakers in the dental care of millions of underserved patients, with children’s smiles at the heart of our care. We remain dedicated to making a difference in dental care through our expansive reach, ease of access, and compassionate care,” said Bryan Carey, Benevis CEO.

For more on the state of oral health in the U.S. and how Benevis has connected underserved communities to dental care for two decades, read the full Benevis Impact Report. 

Kleer Intelligence™ is a proprietary PMS integration solution for automating, growing, and optimizing dental membership plans.

Kleer, the premier dental membership platform, announces the release of Kleer Intelligence (KI), a robust PMS integration solution that utilizes proprietary algorithms to enable unprecedented membership plan automation, growth, and performance.

The release is a broader effort by Kleer to improve patient access to care and increase dental practice performance by enabling dental teams to offer subscription-based membership plans directly to patients and employers.

KI applications were designed based on feedback from thousands of Kleer customers across solo, group, and DSO practices. The applications focus on dental practice priorities including automating membership plan management, increasing patient access to care, and optimizing practice performance. Dental offices can seamlessly integrate with 90% of all practice management software, including Dentrix, Eaglesoft, Opendental, SoftDent, and PracticeWorks.

Kleer Intelligence is backed by a team of experts with years of expertise in machine learning, large scale data infrastructure, accurate algorithms, and high quality, scalable data application developments. In addition, the company's award winning customer success team offers unparalleled support and proactive account monitoring to ensure customers are getting the most out of the Kleer platform and Kleer Intelligence.

“Kleer Intelligence sets a new precedent for membership plan platforms”, said Dave Monahan, CEO of Kleer. “KI automates everything that is difficult about a membership plan, enabling your team to focus on patient care. KI also measures results, so you can optimize the impact your membership plan is having on patient access to care and practice performance. KI is the result of a talented and dedicated team of experts working closely with our customers to create a solution that addresses their most important needs.”

“Our practice started offering Kleer membership plans in 2020 and it has been a huge success", said Donna Lizotte of Tewksbury Dental Associates. "We have been working closely with the great team at Kleer to help roll out their new features which will help automate payments in our practice management system and it has been a huge timesaver. We love working with a company that keeps looking for ways to make things easier for our practice and patients!"

To learn more about Kleer Intelligence visit kleer.com/kleer-intelligence/get-started

Adding to the depth and diversity of its dual-degree programs for DMD students, Penn Dental Medicine announces a new dual-degree with Penn Nursing, enabling interested and qualified students to earn a Master of Science in Nutrition Science (MSNS) along with their DMD. This new offering brings the total number of dual-degree options to nine, including six funded programs and three self-funded.

The MSNS is a unique asynchronous online format consisting of 10 courses and a capstone project. DMD students who pursue the MSNS can get credit for two of their dental school courses toward the 10 required for the program and are eligible to apply to the MSNS in the Spring of their first year.

“I think that this type of training can significantly enhance the dentist’s ability to successfully address oral health issues as nutrition plays a vital role in both systemic and oral health,” says Dr. Uri Hangorsky, Associate Dean for Student Affairs. He notes that due to the intensity of the DMD curriculum, nutrition cannot be taught in great depth as part of students’ dental education.

“The diversity of coursework offered in the MSNS allows students to build a practical evidence-based foundation to promote nutrition-focused public heath as it relates to oral health and disease,” adds Dr. Kathleen Boesze-Battaglia, Assistant Dean for Academic Initiatives, who was instrumental in establishing the dual degree opportunity.

As with all of the dual-degree options, this program affords students able to meet the rigors of both the DMD and dual-degree the opportunity to make the most of their time at Penn and the close association Penn Dental Medicine has with other schools within the University. Each dual-degree program sets its own admission standards and being a DMD student does not constitute automatic acceptance into a dual-degree program. In addition to the new MSNS, the other dual degree opportunities include a Master of Bioethics, Master of Science in Bioengineering, Master in Law, Master of Science in Higher Education, Master of Public Health, Master of Science in Translational Research, Master of Business Administration, and Juris Doctor Degree in Law.  

Women We Admire has named Beth Collington to its "Top 50 Women Leaders of New Jersey for 2022" list. Beth Collington is the Director, Digital Materials and Laboratory Equipment at Zahn Dental, a Division of Henry Schein, and Global Prosthetic Solutions. Henry Schein is a worldwide distributor of medical and dental supplies. Collington is fully immersed in the global dental industry researching new technologies and materials for development, management, and implementation for dental markets. Her core focus is on software, digital materials, CAD/CAM equipment and development of global best practices for strategies to launch, educate and market new products and services. She is currently leading key teams focusing on technical support and education to help customers navigate and support their digital transformations and profitably by incorporating operational cost reductions and value realization.

Collington has 28 years of experience in the dental industry and is a graduate from Temple University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications. She is an avid supporter, volunteer, advisor, and published author and mentor in the dental industry and an active board member of the Foundation for Dental Laboratory Technology. She spends her spare time enjoying horses and activities on her farm in New Jersey.

Click here to read the full article on Women We Admire.

The organization today supports 2,600 dentists in more than 915 offices across 25 states and anticipates high strategic growth in 2023.

Pacific Dental Services® (PDS), one of the nation’s leading dental support organizations, announced today that the company achieved yet another outstanding year in 2022. In addition to expanding market share in several states, implementing clinical innovations that enhance patient care, and increasing efforts to advance medical-dental integration through multiple strategic partnerships and technologies, other notable achievements in the past year served as the foundation to poise the organization for continued growth in 2023.

“As we reflect on the past 12 months and celebrate our achievements, I want to take a moment to extend my heartfelt gratitude to the oral health providers and team members who make Pacific Dental Services the world-class organization that it is,” said PDS Founder and CEO Stephen E. Thorne IV. “Despite the economic turbulence that companies such as ours have faced over the past few years, our innovative and comprehensive efforts in 2022 resulted in a year of extraordinary progress and helped position us incredibly well for continued growth in the years ahead.”

Pacific Dental Services currently supports over 2,600 dentists who provide oral healthcare services at more than 915 practices nationwide. Through the company’s unique Private Practice +® business model, dentists can own their dental practice and focus on clinical excellence while PDS provides world-class business support and operational efficiencies. In addition to gaining access to PDS’ economies of scale and industry-leading technologies, practice owners and their clinical teams can thrive in an environment that helps them elevate their role as a healthcare professional – not only in assisting patients with their dental needs but also improving their overall health.

Highlights from Pacific Dental Services' substantial list of achievements in 2022 include:

Dental-Medical Integration and Partnerships

● Launched a unique joint venture with MemorialCare, a regional healthcare system based in Southern California, to open at least 25 co-located practices over the next five years, with PDS-supported dental offices located inside select MemorialCare Medical Group health centers across California's Orange and Los Angeles counties. Patients' dental and medical health records will be integrated through Epic's EHR system, giving providers insight into patients' overall health.

● Launched an integrated medical-dental practice, Sahara Health Group, in Las Vegas, Nev. The innovative, integrated practice offers patients a holistic strategy to managing their overall health care through a variety of services under one roof.

● Partnered with the American Diabetes Association to launch an awareness campaign to educate people on the link between periodontal disease and diabetes.

● Partnered with Arizona-based accountable care organization Commonwealth Primary Care ACO to provide integrated medical-dental services for in-network patients who have been diagnosed with diabetes or pre-diabetes.

● Launched a pilot program to offer blood sugar (HbA1c) testing in 30 supported practices.

● Sponsored and promoted a clinician education event focused on the connection between oral health and women’s health in partnership with the Colgate Oral Health Network.

● In partnership with the March of Dimes, sponsored and participated in a patient education event that focused on link between oral health and women’s/maternal health.

Company Growth and Milestones

● Welcomed a record number of new hires bringing current totals to over 13,800 team members, including 4,100 clinicians (dentists, dental hygienists, physicians, and nurse practitioners combined).

● Achieved 31 percent growth over the past three years (2020 – 2022).

● Opened its 900th supported practice, Aspen Hill Modern Dentistry in Silver Spring, Md.

● Partnered with its 700th dental practice owner, Stacey Howes, DDS, FAGD, of River Point Dental Group and Orthodontics in Sheridan, Colo.

Advanced, Proven Technologies

● The world’s first dental support organization to integrate Epic’s comprehensive health records system into all supported dental practices. The move ushered in a new era of dentist-physician relationships and holds promise for improved oral-systemic health. To date, over 56.8 million patient records have been exchanged between PDS-supported dentists and their medical colleagues, helping to improve patients’ overall health.

● Surpassed three million same-day dental restorations using CEREC® CAD/CAM technology milestone, and produced 406,115 dental restorations (crowns, inlays/onlays, and veneers) in 2022 alone.

● Implemented cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) technology in 196 supported practices. 3D imaging helps patients with improved diagnoses, precise implant placements, and better clinical outcomes. To date, 558 practices – or 61 percent of all practices supported by PDS – now offer CBCT technology.

● Administered over 41,000 salivary diagnostic tests in partnership with OralDNA Labs. These tests can help establish a patient’s predisposition to periodontal disease using a DNA measurement, and also measure the quantities of a patient’s pathogenic bacteria that may put them at risk for advancing periodontal and systemic diseases.

● Launched a partnership with Envista to implement its assisted intelligence technology DTX Studio into all supported practices.

Community Impact and Service

● Participated in a consortium that successfully advocated for the expansion of Medicare to cover certain medically necessary dental procedures.

● Over 75,000 hours of volunteer time provided to local communities and charities by PDS team members in 2022.

● Over $7.6 million of donated dental care provided to underserved patients during Smile Generation Serve Day, an annual day of service for PDS-supported practices.

● Raised and contributed over $821,000 for charity: water, funding clean water sources for an estimated 11,800 people in need.

● Raised over $573,000 for the Pacific Dental Services Foundation to increase access to dental care for patients with special needs and to provide specialized training for clinicians focused on special needs dentistry.

● Sponsored and built 17th playground in partnership with KABOOM!

● Named as an honoree of The Civic 50 Orange County by OneOC and Points of Light, the world’s largest organization dedicated to volunteer service. 2022 marked the fourth year Pacific Dental Services received this recognition for its commitment to serving local communities.

● Recognized by the Orange County Business Journal as one of Orange County’s “2022 Companies That Care.” This is the third consecutive year that Pacific Dental Services has been honored by the Southern California-based publication since the award’s inception in 2020.

Looking Ahead

Looking forward to 2023, PDS continues to identify opportunities for strategic growth, establish partnerships with clinicians who strive to be the provider of choice within the communities they serve, and support efforts to advance medical-dental integration. Thorne added, “It is so exciting to look back at what began in a single dental practice over 28 years ago and compare it to where we are today. I’ve never been more excited about the opportunities that lie ahead for us in the world of oral healthcare.”

For more information about Pacific Dental Services, visit pacificdentalservices.com.  

Spear Education, the leader in dental education, is excited to announce a new workshop that will help doctors advance their skills in using digital dentistry in their practice.

The workshop, Digital Adoption, is a two-day, hands-on workshop designed for clinicians new to digital dentistry and those who have been using it in their practice. The current state of digital dentistry allows us to maintain our old-school principles and take them to a higher level with the partnership of our dental laboratory. From proper intra-oral scanning to digital smile design and 3D printing crowns, this workshop will help dentists master the digital workflow and achieve superior clinical outcomes.

The workshop will be led by Spear’s newest visiting faculty members, Mike Roberts, ceramist, and owner of CMR Dental Lab, and Franklin Shull, DMD, FAGD, AGD Fellow, and Faculty member at Medical College of Georgia School of Dentistry

“Digital technology is here to stay, and it can be used in all facets of treating a patient, anywhere from a single tooth to full mouth restoration,” explained Roberts. “I would tell anyone not currently familiar with digital dentistry that this workshop would expand their learning, take away some of the fears, and debunk many myths about digital dentistry that are out there.”

The 13 CE credit Digital Adoption workshop is offered just three times in 2023, with dates in April, July, and September so that space will fill up quickly. The two-day workshop has no prerequisites and is open to all dentists.

Learn more and register today for Spear’s Digital Adoption workshop by visiting speareduction.com/workshops.   

Since its foundation, Ivoclar has become one of the world’s leading companies in the dental industry, consistently bringing customer-focused innovations to the market. The year 2023 marks the dental company’s 100-year anniversary, which will be celebrated under the theme “A Century of Innovation.”

Ivoclar was founded in Zurich, Switzerland, in 1923. The company relocated to the Principality of Liechtenstein in 1933, where it established its present-day head-quarters. Over the years, the former tooth factory evolved into a leading manufac-turer of integrated solutions for high-quality dental applications. The family-owned business advanced to become a global market leader in various product seg-ments, for example, ceramic furnaces (Programat series), by supplying a compre-hensive portfolio of products and systems specially designed for dental practices and laboratories. The introduction of one of the most popular products of Ivoclar’s recent history – the highly esthetic IPS e.max lithium disilicate glass-ceramic – ushered in the “Esthetic Revolution” in 2005. The product went on to become a global market leader in its segment. Ivoclar also made a name for itself in the manufacture of highly esthetic tooth replacements, which was the main business when the company was founded, and therefore links the company’s origins to its 2023 centenary.

100 years of innovation

One hundred years of Ivoclar are associated with numerous world-class innova-tions, which have significantly influenced the dental industry over the years. Ivoclar maintains one of the industry’s largest and most respected research and develop-ment centres. Therefore, it is not surprising that the company has chosen “A Cen-tury of Innovation” as its jubilee theme to highlight its innovative spirit. When asked about Ivoclar’s company philosophy, Diego Gabathuler, CEO of the Ivoclar Group, explains it in the following words: “We build our success on customer-relevant in-novations paired with integrated system solutions, efficient applications, excellent quality and constant reliability as well as trust and respectful cooperation.” Fur-thermore, he adds: “We focus on giving people a healthy and beautiful smile, re-sulting in a better quality of life. For this purpose, we supply our products to around 130 countries. We employ roughly 3500 people worldwide, who continu-ously strive to optimize the company’s offerings of integrated solutions that feature intelligent systems, practice-oriented training and education as well as comprehen-sive after-sales support and customer-centric service.”

In 2021, the Group, which has more than 47 subsidiaries and branch offices throughout the world, including production facilities in Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria, Italy, Sweden, the US and the Philippines, achieved a record increase in turnover of 842 million Swiss francs in all of its markets. An additional growth in turnover has been achieved for the 2022 business year. “The 100th birthday of the Ivoclar Group takes place in dynamic times. Nevertheless, I am certain that the company will continue to be successful in the future”, says Helmut Schuster, Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Ivoclar Group. “Why am I so confident? Because the corporate values of respect, smile, focus, act and grow are deeply rooted with-in the company, and they are upheld by the employees and managers of the company and above all by Christina and Christoph Zeller and the next generation of the entrepreneurial family”.

Highlights of the anniversary year

The dental company maintains long-standing and trusting business partnerships with suppliers, customers and universities throughout the world, who – including the employees of the family-owned business – are all on a mission to “Making People Smile”. In the 2023 jubilee year, they can look forward to a series of spe-cial activities and events, such as trade fairs and further education and training courses as well as the inauguration of the new head office building at the compa-ny headquarters in Liechtenstein, which will also house the visitor and education centre. All these activities and events will highlight a century of innovation.

More information at www.ivoclar.com/100years

Ackuretta, a global manufacturer of high-precision 3D printing solutions for dental professionals, has announced its latest innovation: ALPHA AI, a revolutionary new AI-driven slicing software for dental 3D printing.

ALPHA AI makes it easy for dental professionals to slice their 3D models for printing with precision and speed. It is universally compatible with STL format for other CAM software. Ackuretta offers regular updates and new applications added every three months. ALPHA AI is an invaluable tool for any dental lab or practice that uses 3D printing.