Drs. Marx et al. of the University of Miami have published a comprehensive paper on `Risk factors, Prediction of Risk using Serum CTX Testing, Prevention and Treatment` of Oral Bisphosphonate-Induced Osteonecrosis in the December 2007 issue of the Journal of Oral Maxillofacial Surgery (pages 2397-2410). It gives specific guidelines to help to assess the risk of BRONJ and a suggested course of treatment should the condition develop in one of your patients.

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E-Mail This     Topic: Research

The Philips `Brilliance` CT scanner was unveiled at the Radiological Society of North America. The new 256-slice CT machine takes large numbers of X-ray pictures, and combines them using computer technology to produce the final detailed images. It also generates images in a fraction of the time of other scanners: a full body scan takes less than a minute. This scanner allows radiologists to produce high quality images and is also designed to reduce patients` exposure to X-rays," Steve Rusckowski, chief executive of Philips Medical Systems, said. "It is so powerful it can capture an image of the entire heart in just two beats." "This is a quantum shift from the first CT scanners as it gives a lot more detail," says Dr Keith Prowse, Chairman of the British Lung Foundation.

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A new study in the October issue of the Journal of Periodontology (JOP) found that an adhesive made from an enzyme found in snake venom was a more effective and beneficial adhesive when used to close surgical incisions than traditional sutures. The study followed 15 patients during the healing process after a gingival (gum) graft. When the adhesive derived from snake venom was used, those patients had faster recovery and better results than those treated with traditional sutures. `This unique type of adhesive may stimulate faster tissue repair. It is a more natural form of adhesive in comparison to traditional sutures used after surgery,` explained study author Monica Barbosa, Phd, Bauru Dental School at the University of Sao Paulo, `More studies are needed to fully evaluate the effectiveness of this alternative.` `This adhesive may be a less infectious alternative to traditional sutures,` said Preston D. Miller, DDS, and AAP president. `This research highlights the array of therapies available for patients; both traditional and natural alternatives. There continues to be a lot of exciting and innovative research in the field of periodontics.`

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A New England Journal of Medicine article found that the number of CT Scans most people are exposed to had risen dramatically in the past 27 years. In 1980, doctors ordered an average of 3 million scans per year in the United States. Now, about 62 million CT Scans are done each year in this country. The rise in CT Scans can be attributed, in part, to an increase in `defensive` medicine. This occurs, for example, when people who are admitted to an emergency room are routinely given a CT Scan even before receiving a diagnosis or being seen by doctor. Controversial uses of CT Scans for whole-body scanning, virtual colonoscopy and lung cancer screening have also made CT Scans more prevalent. The dose of radiation received by patients subject to a CT Scan can be 50 to 100 times larger than that of a traditional x-ray. That is exactly where the problem of CT Scan overuse lies. The type of radiation used in CT Scans, ionizing radiation, has the capacity to damage DNA, causing cells to mutate. This in turn leads to cancer. While the risk of one CT Scan to an individual is small, the study`s authors wrote that they are concerned about the built-up risk of frequent CT Scans over time. In a few decades, as many as 2% of all cancers in the United States might be caused by radiation from CT scans given now.

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BioMeDevice Ltd. today announced that it has received FDA approval to market the new and innovative gumEase Cryo-Anesthetic dental mouthpiece to US dental practitioners and over the counter across the United States. The easy-to-use, disposable device is a breakthrough in pain management. Inserted into the sulci above and below the upper and lower gums, the latex-free device delivers anesthetic pain relief to the maxillofacial nerves, quickly diminishing pain. In patient testing the new gumEase diminished pain by 90% in 3 to 4 minutes for the average participant.The gumEase is a sterile device made of biocompatible ThermoPlastic Elastomer (TPE) containing a saline solution. A `standalone` device, gumEase is not connected or supported by any other means. The device is chilled in a temperature controlled freezer, and as soon as the device is placed in the proper sulci of the mouth, the cooling transfer begins - with a surprisingly powerful effect on patient pain relief. Possible side effects associated with the use of gumEase is the potentiality that the cryotherapy will not have a totally and comprehensive disruption of oral pain.

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E-Mail This     Topic: Distraction

META Advanced Medical Technology have designed a osteotome based sinus lift system that accomplishes a controlled crestal osteotomy and the lifting of a cortical operculum which adheres to the sinus membrane in a safe manner, without damaging tissue. The SinCrest drills are equipped with depth stops that allow obtaining a guiding hole in the alveolar bone as close as possible to the maxillary sinus membrane. The innovative SinCrest manual osteotome was designed to obtain the controlled fracture of the bone floor through a 0.5 mm step-by-step progress. The probe included in the SinCrest osteotome allows the constant monitoring of the residual resistance of the maxillary sinus and its lifting without leading to the perforation of the sinus membrane. The SinCrest technique may be used in case of a residual bone availability ranging from 5 to 11 mm and in any sufficient anatomic condition to stabilise the osteotome in the implant site.

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Over the course of evolution mussels have developed a special glue that not only works under water, but is also a particularly firm and lasting bonding agent. The strength of the bond is due to a particular protein. Dr. Klaus Rischka, a chemist at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research IFAM in Bremen and his partners at Frankfurt University Hospital, the Center of Biotechnical Engineering BitZ at Darmstadt University of Technology, the State Materials Testing Institute MPA and the implant manufacturer Straumann in Freiburg will initially demonstrate the glue`s suitability on the basis of a dental implant made of titanium. It is current practice to anchor tooth implants in the jaw bone without an adhesive. This often leaves gaps between the gums and the metal, allowing bacteria to enter and cause infections. A glue that firmly connects the gums to the implant would serve as an effective barrier against aggressive germs. Conventional products are not suited to such a purpose, however, as they would sooner or later dissolve in the moist environment inside the mouth. The use of this substance in medical applications requires an additional ingredient: a growth protein, which can likewise be synthetically produced using the classic technique of solid-phase peptide synthesis. Its purpose is to stimulate cell growth so that the body`s own tissue -in this case the gums - bonds as closely as possible with the implant.

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E-Mail This     Topic: Implant Surface

A novel implant based solution for stimulating interdental/interimplant papilla was recently granted a US Patent. The solution involves the placement of a small tack between the implants, which acts as a scaffold for papilla formation.

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Materialise has filed a US lawsuit against Nobel Biocare for patent infringement. Materialise contends that Nobel Biocare’s manufacture of “NobelGuide” drilling template violates a Materialise U.S. patent that was issued in 1998 relating to Materialise’s “SurgiGuide” techniques. The lawsuit in the U.S. is effectively an extension of a similar action in Europe where this past August the District Court of Dusseldorf ordered Nobel Biocare AB and Nobel Biocare Deutschland GmbH to stop offering the NobelGuide drilling templates in Germany, finding that they infringed Materialise’s analogous European Patent. This decision is subject to an appeal of Nobel Biocare pending at the Düsseldorf Court of Appeals. Materialise’s U.S. lawsuit is also a response to a recent Nobel Biocare civil action (also filed in the Central District Court of California) that seeks declaratory judgments that Materialise’s U.S. patent is both not infringed by Nobel Biocare’s products and is invalid. Bart Swaelens, CEO of Materialise Dental, said: "With this lawsuit, we are protecting our technology. Our “SimPlant” software was launched in 1991, and was followed by our “SurgiGuide” drill guides in 1999. The introduction of NobelGuide by Nobel Biocare, on the other hand, did not occur until 2005. "

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The ITI (International Team for Implantology) has released their second hardcover treatment guide. Volume 2 of the ITI Treatment Guide deals with the clinical aspects of various treatment protocols in the anterior and posterior regions for both single- and multi-tooth gaps as well as for free-end situations. Besides an analysis of recent literature on the topic of “Loading protocols in implant dentistry”, volume 2 of the ITI Treatment Guide provides the practitioner with a framework for risk analysis and subsequent implant treatment planning for partially dentate patients. Volume 2 was officially launched at the 2007 EAO Congress in Barcelona.

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E-Mail This     Topic: Education