A new study from the UK suggests that doctors’ religious faith strongly influences end of life care, with agnostic and atheist doctors nearly twice as willing to take decisions that speed up end of life for very sick patients compared to their deeply religious peers. Dr Clive Seale, a professor in the Centre for Health Sciences at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Queen Mary University of London, wrote about the findings in a paper published online 23 August in the Journal of Medical Ethics…

Students of the University of Maryland Dental School “represent a link, a conduit, to the future,” due to the school’s leadership in teaching digital dentistry, Gary Hack, DDS, said today in Amsterdam at the annual meeting of the Association of Dental Educators in Europe (ADEE), “Digital Dentistry: A Space Odyssey”. “I believe that the University of Maryland Dental School is one of the most high-tech, digitally advanced dental schools in the world”, said Hack, an associate professor of operative dentistry at the school…

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is extending its national contact centre’s opening hours and publishing new guidance on registration to help support primary dental providers preparing to apply for registration under new legislation. The Newcastle-based centre will now open from 8.30am to 8pm Monday to Thursday, from 8.30am to 5.30pm on Friday and from 8am to 4pm on Saturdays. CQC has also issued new guidance for the providers of primary dental services, which is available on its website or in hard copy from the national contact centre (NCC) on 03000 616161…

New figures published by the NHS Information Centre highlight the increasing expense of providing dental care, the British Dental Association (BDA) has warned. The Information Centre’s report, Dental Earnings and Expenses, England and Wales 2008/09, shows expenses borne by dental practices escalating at a faster rate than incomes were increasing during the period it details. It also highlights an increase in the average self-employed dentist’s taxable income of just £500 during the year…

University of Michigan School of Dentistry has signed an agreement with Interleukin Genetics Inc. to conduct what may be the largest clinical study to date using genetic testing to assess the risk for gum disease. William Giannobile, professor at U-M dentistry and director of the Michigan Center for Oral Health Research at the School of Dentistry, will lead the study for U-M. “It’s an exciting study because it’s a way to use genetic testing to personalize a dental treatment plan and the frequency of dental care visits of patients as it relates to oral care,” said Giannobile…

University of Michigan School of Dentistry has signed an agreement with Interleukin Genetics Inc. to conduct what may be the largest clinical study to date using genetic testing to assess the risk for gum disease. William Giannobile, professor at U-M dentistry and director of the Michigan Center for Oral Health Research at the School of Dentistry, will lead the study for U-M. “It’s an exciting study because it’s a way to use genetic testing to personalize a dental treatment plan and the frequency of dental care visits of patients as it relates to oral care,” said Giannobile…

A new test for oral cancer, which a dentist could perform by simply using a brush to collect cells from a patient’s mouth, is set to be developed by researchers at the University of Sheffield and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The international research team, involving scientists in Sheffield, has been awarded $2 million from the USA’s National Institutes of Health to develop the test, which could provide an accurate diagnosis in less than 20 minutes for lesions where there is a suspicion of oral cancer…

‘Playing’ with a pierced tongue stud could lead to a gap between the front teeth - according to a new study. The Research, which was carried out at the University at Buffalo in New York, suggested that tongue piercings could be a major cause of unnecessary orthodontic issues. The report claimed that those with tongue piercings were likely to push the metal stud up against their teeth and consequently cause gaps and other problems to arise…

Having to deal with a dental emergency is not something people think about. However, being prepared can make the difference between saving or losing a tooth. And in the case of a toothache, if it involves a bacterial infection, it can be a life-threatening situation. Here are a couple of common dental emergency situations and what to do about them. A tooth is knocked out This is a very common sports injury. First, call your emergency dentist if you have one. It is imperative that you get to the dentist in thirty minutes.

Detecting oral cancer in its earliest stages can save the lives of the nearly 40,500 people diagnosed annually. But early detection has been difficult. Case Western Reserve University School of Dental Medicine researchers discovered a biomarker, called human beta defensin-3 (hBD-3), which may serve as an early warning. The defensin is present in all oral cancers and associated with the early stages of oral cancer. “Using the biomarker to detect oral cancer holds potential for saving lives when the cancer is most curable…