January 18, 2021 | Europe | News

PFAFFENHOFEN AN DER ILM, Germany: Healthcare providers worldwide have started administering the long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine. In many countries, dental teams are included in the first group eligible to receive it. Recently, a Bavarian dentist arranged vaccination appointments for his entire practice staff. However, he also threatened negative consequences for anyone who refused to be vaccinated. As no legal basis for such a requirement has yet been established in Germany, the dentist was reported to the authorities.

January 15, 2021 | Asia Pacific | Interviews

Overtreatment, as the word suggests, is excessive or unnecessary care provided to patients for a variety of reasons, such as malpractice, pressure from management or financial gain. In a recent interview, Dental Tribune International had the opportunity to discuss the topic with Dr Alexander C. L. Holden, a specialist in public health dentistry and a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney. Holden co-authored a study that explored overtreatment in Australian private dentistry. He found that some dental professionals are no strangers to commercialism and that the pursuit of profit often prompted them to provide more dental treatments than were necessary.

January 15, 2021 | Americas | Business

IRVINE, Calif., U.S.: The dental laser innovator BIOLASE has announced an agreement with Dental Care Alliance (DCA), one of the largest dental support organizations in the U.S. with more than 330 affiliated practices in 20 states. With this joint effort, they aim to expand laser adoption and hands-on training programs in targeted geographical areas.

January 14, 2021 | Europe | News

LEIPZIG, Germany: New variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that emerged in the UK and South Africa in 2020 show higher transmissibility. And whereas they are thought not to result in more serious disease or increased morbidity, a leading US expert on public health policy has emphasised that the higher rates of infection resulting from the new strains will mean more deaths. Scientists are scrambling to understand the new variants, and they are concerned that the mutations present in the South African strain may pose complications for the efficacy of vaccines and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.

January 13, 2021 | News

LEIPZIG, Germany: After months of hoping and waiting, the news finally broke at the end of 2020 that a number of vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 had been developed and would be rolled out worldwide as soon as possible. However, although every effort is being made to ensure that as many people as possible are vaccinated against the virus, resources are scarce, and various logistical problems are slowing down the process considerably. This also raises the question of priority and who should receive the coveted shot first. This article outlines where the dental profession stands in this scenario.

January 12, 2021 | Americas | News

SACRAMENTO, Calif., U.S.: As a result of the Californian Dental Association’s (CDA) endeavors, dentists have been authorized to administer the COVID-19 vaccine in order to accelerate its dissemination. Dentists will be able to vaccinate people aged 16 and older after completion of a special training course.

January 11, 2021 | Asia Pacific | News

SINGAPORE: With the aim of preventing the spread of SARS-CoV-2, researchers from the National University of Singapore (NUS) have developed a portable tent-like shield for use during dental procedures. Named the Dental Droplet and Aerosol Reducing Tent—the Dental DART—the foldable transparent structure is placed around the patient’s head in order to create a barrier that reduces direct and indirect exposure to viruses such as SARS-CoV-2.

January 8, 2021 | Asia Pacific | News

MELBOURNE, Australia: Owing to potential exposure to COVID-19, the Australian government has introduced tough restrictions on healthcare personnel during the pandemic. This has created a major barrier to accessing dental services, and many Australians have had to postpone their dental appointments indefinitely. In a recent study, researchers from the University of Melbourne explored the issue of the disruption of dental services and investigated how COVID‐19 has had an impact on paediatric dental care in Australia. They believe that the data gained through measuring this impact could help inform future restrictions on dental practice.

January 8, 2021 | Americas | Business

CHARLOTTE, N.C./LOS ANGELES, U.S.: Dentsply Sirona and Byte, a rapidly growing clear aligner company, have announced that Dentsply Sirona has acquired Byte in an all-cash deal for $1.04 billion. Byte holds a leading position in the rapidly growing direct-to-consumer dentist-supervised clear aligner market.

January 7, 2021 | Americas | News

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., U.S.: At the end of December, Sunstar Americas voluntarily recalled one of its mouthwashes. The company is a member of the Sunstar Group, a global company headquartered in Switzerland and a leader in the oral care industry. It gave bacterial contamination as the reason for the withdrawal.

January 7, 2021 | Americas | News

PORTLAND, Ore., U.S.: Research shows that 75% of dental professionals complain of musculoskeletal pain, and now the COVID-19 pandemic is adding to the problem by causing additional stress and physical exertion. Dr. Bethany Valachi, author of Practice Dentistry Pain-Free: Evidence-based Strategies to Prevent Pain and Extend Your Career and clinical instructor of ergonomics at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, will hold a live webinar on Jan. 13 to provide an overview of her five-step system that aims to take the pain out of dental practice.

January 6, 2021 | Americas | News

LEIPZIG, Germany: As a result of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the vast majority of dental practices around the world have been partially or completely shut down at times, and routine dental check-ups have been postponed as a result. Whereas some practices have reopened to offer in-person treatment—albeit with enhanced personal protective equipment measures—others have modified their services to offer teledentistry.

January 5, 2021 | Europe | Advertorial

DARMSTADT, Germany: In December 2020, exocad, an Align Technology company, announced the availability of exoplan 3.0 Galway, the latest version of its implant planning software. The new release supports the planning of edentulous cases, including the design of surgical guides.

January 5, 2021 | Europe | News

LONDON, UK: A new report commissioned by the General Dental Council (GDC) has found that UK dental professionals are pessimistic about being able to meet expected demand for dental treatment in 2021. The majority of respondents to an online survey expected that the pandemic would continue to limit treatment capacities and that drops in income experienced in 2020 would continue throughout the new year.

January 4, 2021 | Americas | News

CHICAGO, U.S.: Hydroxyapatite is an important component of hard tissue. Tooth enamel, for example, has the highest concentration of the mineral. Since dysfunctional hydroxyapatite mineralization may lead to medical problems such as dental caries, understanding the mineralization pathway of hydroxyapatite has been of great interest. Researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago have now reported new findings on the nucleation and growth of hydroxyapatite that they hope will help in developing new medical treatments for healing bone and dental cavities.

January 1, 2021 | Europe | News

LONDON, UK: Dental procedures were flagged early on in the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic as posing a high risk for the spread of the virus. The strict infection control measures in place at dental clinics have helped to prevent the spread of the virus in dental settings; however, researchers from Imperial College London and King’s College London have found that careful selection and operation of dental drills could lower the risk of transmission even further.

December 31, 2020 | Europe | News

LEIPZIG, Germany: A team of World Health Organization (WHO) researchers will head to the Chinese megalopolis of Wuhan in January to further research the origins of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. More than 12 months after it was first reported to WHO, there is still much that we do not know about it. The virus made 2020 the most challenging year on record for dentistry. It brought equal measures of chaos and occupational and financial hardships, but dentists and the associations and companies that serve them responded with solidarity, with determination to serve patients and with resolution to stand up for dental care as an essential service.

December 30, 2020 | Asia Pacific | Business

HONG KONG/HARROGATE, UK: CareCapital, an equity investor focused on the dental and oral care industry, has announced an agreement to acquire global dental implant company Neoss. In conjunction with the transaction, Dr Robert Gottlander has been appointed President and CEO of Neoss.