american dental association

Elsevier to Bring New Dental and Oral Surgery Journal Offerings

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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

Is Creative Diagnosis on the Rise in Dentistry?

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A very interesting MyView column by the American Dental Association (ADA) is titled “Creative Diagnosis” by Jeffrey Camm, D.M.D. located over at http://www.ada.org/9151.aspx and published October 21, 2013. In the column the author touches on an issue he faces as a dentist where he has patients who have seen other dentists who were likely unethical in their treatment (and treating when it is not warranted) – a term he calls creative diagnosis. Of course one can ask, what is the motivation for creative diagnosis and one would answer money and staying afloat. Essentially the author describes several cases he has dealt with at his practice: A 16 year old patient who graduates from his pediatric practice and sees a new dentist who then says she has 16 cavities. The patient and her mother of course are upset and he reviews … Read more

The American Dental Association: Is it Patient-Centered, Science-Based and Ethically-driven?

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Some time recently (within the past 6 months) the ADA (American Dental Association) has updated their about me page over at http://www.ada.org/aboutada.aspx. A new video appears and under it the text reads “This American Dental Association video tells our story and highlights how the ADA has always been a patient-centered, science-based and ethically-driven association. It captures the ADA’s spirit and what the ADA strives to be.” Viewing the video the words patient centered, science-based, and ethically-driven are repeated. The video also throws around the terms continuous learning, research and development, patents, and up to date. In one segment a dentist presumably says do no harm, always do good, treat people with fairness and honesty, and respect the doctor patient relationship. Unfortunately I disagree with the ADA’s assertion that they have always been patient-centered, science-based, and ethically-driven. As stated before on … Read more

Dental Amalgam Mercury Poisoning: Why Is It Still an Issue?

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This is a guest post written by Harmon Pearson who is currently pursing a post graduate degree in dental science. He  spends time blogging about his pursuits and writing on dental care. When he is not studying, he enjoys restoring antique pendulum timepieces. How is it that in the 21st century we continue to put a known toxic element—mercury—into our mouths?  The question may seem straightforward, but the answer, curiously, is not.  Mercury remains a primary ingredient in dental amalgam, also known as silver fillings.  Other ingredients include copper, silver, tin, and zinc.  These elements when bound with mercury form what’s typically referred to as a stable compound.  It’s hard and resilient to degradation in the mouth environment making it a seemingly ideal compound for replacing small amounts of decayed or removed tooth material.  Because of this, it’s remained a … Read more

American Dental Association’s New Position on Dental Visits

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A few months ago the ADA (American Dental Association) released a press release regarding the frequency that patients should be seeing a dentist. This is located over at http://ada.org/8700.aspx. I meant to comment on this earlier, but didn’t get a chance. In a previous blog post earlier this year, located over at https://blog.teethremoval.com/looking-at-the-concept-of-prevention-in-dentistry/I mentioned an article by retired dentist Jay W. Friedman, DDS, MPH. I also provide a quote from the article where he says that semiannual cleanings are unnecessary in some patients. In the risks of keeping wisdom teeth page, when updated in 2011, I added a section discussing dental examination intervals. This was because I had reviewed National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (note NICE was renamed in early 2013), policy over at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/215663/dh_126005.pdf which states “The actual interval should be a clinical decision by the dentist … Read more