In the News...
Kuraray America, Inc, held its first Dental Adhesive meeting on April 5 in New York. Distinguished guests included two university researchers from Japan and four opinion leaders from the United States. Many clinically relevant adhesive issues were discussed, including self-etching bonding for enamel. For more information and the proceedings of the meeting, visit www.kuraraydental.com, or call 800-879-1676.
In this month’s letter, Dr. Rick Valachovic, the executive director of the American Dental Education Association, describes the dental research community’s response to funding made available through the federal stimulus package:
“When Opportunity Knocks, An Energized Dental Research Community Answers”
If there was ever any doubt that research was alive and well on the campuses of North American dental schools, it most definitely was put to rest this past spring by the outpouring of applications for research grants to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR). The specific number of applications is not yet available, but NIDCR’s parent agency, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), also reports a bumper crop of applications in response to the announcement of new funding for research through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). According to the Chronicle of Higher Education, NIH expects to review 115,000 grant applications in 2009, a dramatic increase over the 77,000 applications reviewed last year.
Researchers at the University of Florida College of Dentistry (UFCD), which currently ranks fourth among all dental schools in the United States in NIH/NIDCR funding for research, contributed their share of applications to the large tally. In April, when the first ARRA-related application deadline loomed, the university’s Office of Research took in 42 proposals—the same number it received in January through March combined.
“Our faculty was energized by this opportunity,” says UFCD Dean Dr. Terri Dolan of the period following the announcement that ARRA had allocated an additional $102 million in funding for NIDCR. “You could feel it in the air, the enthusiasm and excitement.”
The ARRA funding, which will be distributed over two fiscal years, represents a 25% increase over NIDCR’s FY 2009 appropriation of $403 million. That’s great news, because every year proposals deemed meritorious do not receive grants because of insufficient funds.
“Consistent with the intent of the ARRA stimulus, we plan to reach applications that are scientifically meritorious but that were previously beyond our pay line,” says Dr. Isabel Garcia, Deputy Director of NIDCR. In 2008, 19.8% of research project applications reviewed by NIDCR in 2008 received awards.
To read the full report, visit the “In the News” section of Inside Dentistry’s Web site: www.insidedentistry.net.
Precision Ceramics is now a CERTIFIED ADVANCED Captek Lab accredited through UCLA’s School of Dentistry. The Precision Ceramics team is now uniquely equipped to maximize the benefits of Captek.
Precision Ceramics offers Captek Bridge & Implant, which uses a breakthrough in nanotechnology to increase the density and strength of Captek’s original material by 33%.
This new formula provides lifelike esthetics while giving more bridgework options due to its dense and strong understructure. Precision Ceramics, a DAMAS-certified lab, offers complete Captek restorations to dentists and Captek copings and substructures to laboratory clients.
For more information, call 800-223-6322 or visit www.pcdl-usa.com.
The IAOM invites you to attend their 38th annual convention, to be held October 16-18, 2009, at the Doubletree Hotel Downtown in San Diego, CA. Speakers include: Brian Palmer, DDS; Robert Mason, DMD; and Chele Marmet, BS, MA. Plus, there will be international speakers, research, and networking in the field of orofacial myology and tongue thrust therapy. Do you want to know more about orofacial myofunctional therapy and how it can help your family or complement your practice? Are you looking for educational material in orofacial myofunctional therapy? Then make plans to attend this informative convention.
For more information, call 503-280-0614, visit www.iaom.org, or e-mail iaomec@msn.com.
Instituto Eduardo Anitua: BTI® New Postgraduate and Training Center
The new BTI® Postgraduate and Training center, in the recently inaugurated Instituto Eduardo Anitua (Vitoria-Spain), will hold an exclusive 2-day seminar for US doctors on the latest advances in the implantology field, including tissue regeneration with PRGF® (Plasma Rich in Growth Factors). Dr. Eduardo Anitua’s live surgeries will be featured. The seminar takes place September 21-22, 2009.
For more information or to enroll, call 866-646-4067, visit www.bti-implant.us/formation/BTI-Seminars, or e-mail info@bti-implant.us.
Ticketholders to the Red Sox’ 4th Annual Tooth Day At Fenway oral cancer awareness event received a free oral cancer screening at Fenway Park’s main concourse on Tuesday, July 7. For the first time ever, the event featured TRIMIRA LLC’s Identafi™ 3000 oral cancer detection device—the world’s most powerful and accurate screening tool for revealing signs of oral cancer and pre-cancer.
Fenway Park’s oral cancer screening event was conducted by dental professionals, including Dr. Heidi Aaronson, DDS. Students of Alpha Omega International Dental Fraternity Gamma Chapter at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine were also on hand to assist. Leading the team of 30 to 40 student volunteers was Dr. Michael A. Kahn, DDS, chair and professor of the Oral and Maxillofacial Department at Tufts University.
Identafi 3000 represents a quantum leap in the visualization of mucosal abnormalities, including oral cancer or premalignant dysplasia. The technology not only is diagnostic in screening for oral cancers but also will be applied to diagnose cervical, gastrointestinal, skin, and bladder cancers.
Kathy Olson Receives Pulpdent’s Harold Berk Award
Pulpdent Corporation has announced that Kathy Olson, RDH, BA, is the 2009 recipient of the Harold Berk Award, which is sponsored by Pulpdent and given each year by Special Care Dentistry and the Academy of Dentistry for Persons with Disabilities. The Award is given annually to an individual who has shown outstanding leadership working with persons with disabilities.
Kathy Olson has been serving patients with special needs for more than 20 years, starting with hospital outreach programs and mobile dental hygiene services for 40 nursing homes in Illinois. In 1999, she piloted a program through a grant from the state of Illinois to provide dental services to individuals with disabilities. Olson built the clinic from the ground up and has continued to serve as clinic administrator for 10 years. In 2008, the clinic handled more than 6,400 patient visits and employed two full-time dentists and two full-time hygienists. Kathy Olson is also one of the first two dental hygienists to sit in the Illinois State Dental Society House of Delegates, where she has full voting privileges. She has served on the Board of the Special Care Dentistry Association since 2005. She is the immediate past president of the Academy of Dentistry for Persons with Disabilities and has served on its board for 12 years.
“Kathy Olson has received numerous honors for her tireless commitment to public health and the welfare of persons with disabilities,” says Fred Berk, vice president of Pulpdent and son of founder Harold Berk. “We salute Kathy Olson, and we thank her for her exemplary efforts to improve access for underserved patients.” Pulpdent established the Harold Berk Award in 1994 to recognize the role Dr. Berk played in helping form the Academy of Dentistry for Persons with Disabilities in 1952.
For more information, call 800-343-4342 or visit www.pulpdent.com.
“Confessions of a Caregiver: When Alzheimer’s Comes to Your Home” is a gift for your patients dealing with or preparing for the emotional roller-coaster of this degenerative disease. This short but powerful book vividly portrays the emotions a caregiver encounters—anger, resentment, frustration, duty, love, hope—as well as descriptions of eight practical steps all caregivers can use to protect their own mental and emotional health.
The author, Joseph Skillin, is president of Skillin Marketing, a marketing and advertising agency that has served dental manufacturers exclusively for the past 11 years. He knows, from first-hand experience, what Alzheimer’s does to the heart, soul, and emotions of the caregiver. And he knows how to give them hope.
The book is available at any bookstore nationwide and www.amazon.com.
