Today's Dental News

KINSHASA, Democratic Republic of the Congo (AFNS)—A medical training exercise gave residents of the Congo, including the US embassy staff and families, an opportunity to receive dental care as part of Medical Flag 2010.

Three Air Force Reserve dentists treated about 35 patients while training in the DRC as part of MEDFLAG 10.

“It’s been about two years that I’ve been trying to get to the dentist,” said Kathryn Anne Crowder, a family member of an embassy worker in Kinshasa. “So this is a much needed visit.”

Read more: Air Force Dentists Bring Relief to the Congo

Dental implants have offered a successful way to restore teeth for more than 20 years. New challenges for improving the process include shortening the time to restore functionality and meeting aesthetic demands. Altering implant surfaces to help promote bone integration is one solution. SLActive, a new chemically-modified surface for titanium, the standard material of which implants are constructed, has shown positive results in this area.

An article in the August issue of the Journal of Oral Implantology reports a 98.2% success rate for SLActive at dental patients’ one-year follow-up. A noninterventional study was conducted to compare these results with previous findings of high survival and success rates among the same type of implants in a controlled clinical trial.

Read more: New Chemical Surface Improves Compatibility Of Implants

Smiles aren’t what they used to be. Instead of the flashing of teeth, the presence of Botox now overpowers the teeth.

Many of these new smiles are created by dentists. But the problems with these smiles and other collagen-injected enhancements stem from a lack of consistent regulations with these procedures.

A Web site has been created by the Independent Healthcare Advisory Services to enable people to find out more before going for a Botox procedure.

But the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons doesn’t think this Web site will serve as a regulatory device, rather it is more of a marketing maneuver.

Read more: Call for Botox, Collagen Clinics to Register Won’t Happen

The first ever mandible (lower jaw) implant surgery through autologous regeneration— carried out by Dr. Shushrut Vaidya, Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon—took place at MGM Hospital in Navi Mumbai, India. This implant was done by reconstruction through regeneration of the patient’s own body tissue with the help of a unique therapy called Ossron. Dr. Vaidya is also one of the key faculty members in the Dept. of Maxillofacial Surgery, MGM Dental College, Navi Mumbai.

Minakshi Kudekar, a Mumbai resident and 39-year-old female patient, was having a defect in her jaw with compromised function and facial deformity. She was diagnosed with Ameloblastic Fibroma. After having consulted Dr. Vaidya, he decided to do Ossron, a two-staged cell (osteoblast) therapy procedure. As the first step, a Biopsy was performed on July 27 at the hospital.

Read more: Biotechnology Firm Performs Autologous Maxillofacial Regeneration