American Dental Association President Dr. Ronald Tankersley testified yesterday before an Institute of Medicine Committee on Oral Health Access to Services, outlining the ADA’s efforts to address ways to improve access for underserved populations. Dr. Tankersley took the IOM to task for its decision to exclude private practice dentists from two panels it is convening at the behest of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to study oral health care delivery and access. Private practice dentists represent nearly 92 percent of all professionally active dentists, Dr…

SensAble Technologies, Inc®, a leading provider of touch-enabled 3D modeling systems, dental CAD/CAM solutions and haptic devices, has announced Release 3 of the SensAble Dental Lab System (SDLS), with significant enhancements to this integrated system for creating dental restorations efficiently and more cost-effectively…

SensAble Technologies, Inc®, a leading provider of 3D touch-enabled modeling systems, dental CAD/CAM solutions and haptic devices, has announced that it will be offering a second, fully integrated scanner option for the SensAble Dental Lab System, as well as SensAble’s new OpenScan™ software interface. The new scanner supports the scanning of both models and impressions, providing a high degree of flexibility for labs and allowing further time-savings…

Millions of people use denture cream (also known as denture adhesive). Some, but not all, denture creams contain zinc. A few recent case reports in the scientific literature indicate a possible association between excessive use of zinc-containing denture creams and neurological and hematological problems. In each situation, the patients had ill-fitting dentures and reported using excessive amounts of denture cream with zinc for years. Several people reported using two or more tubes of denture cream per week for years, when one tube would normally last for 3-10 weeks, when used as directed..

“We welcome the Pew organization to our longstanding fight to improve the lives of American children by helping more of them enjoy the good oral health that too many of them now lack. Pew’s presenting its information in the form of a report card makes it easy for anyone to understand that too many kids in too many states are suffering. And we face huge challenges in changing that. “Even in states to which Pew awarded an A, countless children lack access to dental care and suffer as a consequence. These children are just like your children…

Tooth decay is the single most common chronic childhood disease, according to the U.S. Surgeon General. This February, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) encourages parents and caregivers to “Get it Done in Year One.” Visiting a pediatric dentist by the time the first baby tooth appears enables the child to begin a lifetime of preventive dental care, helping to minimize tooth decay and cavities…

The British Dental Association (BDA) has warned that a great deal of hard work remains to be done to address issues facing NHS dental services in England. The warning comes after statistics published today by the NHS Information Centre showed that the number of people able to access NHS dental care has finally returned to the level it was at before the implementation of the 2006 reforms…

The American Association for Dental Research (AADR) is presenting an honorary membership to Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). Harkin will be recognized at the AADR/Research!America Advocacy Day, March 2, 2010, in Washington, DC. Harkin is being recognized for his commitment to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Institute for Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). He remains one of the Senate’s most staunch champions of biomedical research…

The American Association for Dental Research (AADR) has announced Dolphus Dawson, III, as the 2010 AADR Neal W. Chilton Fellowship in Clinical Research recipient. He will be recognized at the AADR Annual Meeting & Exhibition in Washington, DC, March 3, 2010. Currently, Dawson is the assistant professor of periodontics and associate director of the Delta Dental of Kentucky Clinical Research Center, in the College of Dentistry at the University of Kentucky, Lexington. In addition, he serves on AADR’s Ethics Committee. The Neal W…

The American Dental Association’s Continuing Education Recognition Program (ADA CERP) has approved CIGNA (NYSE:CI) as a recognized provider of continuing dental education courses. The program, which evaluates and recognizes organizations that provide continuing dental education, helps ADA members and the dental community select quality courses that promote continuous improvement. CIGNA offers continuing education courses to network dentists through its secure dental professional website - http://www.cignaforhcp.com…