FDA Issues Alert to Prevent Lidocaine 2 Percent Solution to Not be Used for Teething Pain for Children

by

On June 26, 2014, the FDA issued an alert warning health professionals and providers that “…prescription oral viscous lidocaine 2% solution should not be used to treat infants and children with teething pain.” The FDA says that topical pain relievers and other medications that are rubbed on the gums are not useful for infants because they wash out of the mouth within minutes. Furthermore, when too much viscous lidocaine is given to children and is swallowed it can result in brain injury, seizures, heart problems, and even death. The FDA alert is located over at http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm402790.htm. In the background information it states “In 2014, FDA reviewed 22 case reports of serious adverse reactions, including deaths, in infants and young children 5 months to 3.5 years of age who were given oral viscous lidocaine 2 percent solution for the treatment of … Read more

The Image Gently Campaign in Dentistry

by

If you keep abreast at all with radiation exposure from medical imaging, you may have heard of the Image Wisely campaign. The Imagely Wisely Campaign was designed to have people aware of the fact that certain medical imaging tests such as CT exams are sometimes over used and do not have to be used in certain instances. The goal is to reduce radiation exposure to patients while still providing good medical care, see http://www.imagewisely.org/. The Image Gently campaign is designed to provide information to parents and others to help reduce exposure to radiation for children, see http://imagegently.org/, and has been around since 2007. The campaign is supported by the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging, which is a coalition of healthcare organizations dedicated to providing safe and high-quality pediatric imaging. Recently, it has been announced that a new Image Gently campaign in dentistry … Read more

Familarize Yourself with the ADA’s Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct

by

The American Dental Association also know as the ADA, in 2012, update their Principle of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct document. It is available over at http://www.ada.org/~/media/ADA/About%20the%20ADA/Files/code_of_ethics_2012.ashx. As many Americans make trips to the dentist, it is useful to familiarize yourself with the ADA’s document to better determine if your dentist is being ethical and serving your needs well. If you don’t feel this is the case you have options to report your dentist and of course you can find a new dentist. Additional comments on the ethics and professional conduct of the ADA and it’s members is over at http://www.ada.org/en/about-the-ada/principles-of-ethics-code-of-professional-conduct. It states “The dental profession holds a special position of trust within society. As a consequence, society affords the profession certain privileges that are not available to members of the public-at-large. In return, the profession makes a commitment … Read more

Elsevier to Bring New Dental and Oral Surgery Journal Offerings

by

Recently, it has come to my attention that Elsevier will be bringing some new journal offerings to the dental community. The first offering is with the open access Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Cases journal. The website for the journal is over at http://www.oralandmaxillofacialsurgerycases.com/. There is a $500 fee to publish an article in the journal. The site states “Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Cases is a surgical journal dedicated to publishing case reports and case series only which must be original, educational, rare conditions or findings, or clinically interesting to an international audience of surgeons and clinicians. Case series can be prospective or retrospective and examine the outcomes of management or mechanisms in more than one patient. Case reports may include new or modified methodology and treatment, uncommon findings, and mechanisms. All case reports and case series will be peer reviewed for acceptance … Read more

Can Making Less Money Lead to Migraines?

by

A study appearing by researchers in Neurology explores whether migraines limit the educational and career achievements of individuals which can lead to a lower income status. The study also explores whether problems related to low income such as stressful life events and poor access to health care increase the likelihood of developing migraines. The researchers used data from the American Migraine Prevalence and Prevention Study, a US national sample containing responses of 162,705 men and  women aged 12 and older who had some migraine symptoms able to be identified, their age, and household income. The authors defined low income as less than $22,500 per year for the household and high income as $60,000 per year or more. The researchers found the remission rate when migraines stop occurring for a time or for good was the same regardless of income. The researchers … Read more