The DMD Check-Up: A Mexican Town of Dentists

This week's list of must-read news stories for dentists includes:

• The City of Dentists (Pacific Standard)

A trip to Los Algodones — a Mexican town just south of the border where it seems almost everybody is either a dentist or works for one. The population is “hovering around 5,000 and contains approximately 350 dentists. Prices are significantly lower than in the United States. A crown runs as low as $180, a filling as little as $30.”

• Dr. Carl Misch, Implant Dentistry Pioneer, RIP (Dental Tribune)

The founder of BioHorizons and the Misch Institute died on January 3. A renowned American prosthodontist, Dr. Misch was recognized internationally for his clinical and academic contributions to the field of implant dentistry. He was a private practitioner in Michigan for more than 30 years, a Temple University School of Dentistry professor, and held 16 patents.

• British Dental Care is Broken (The Guardian)

“What we currently have is a failing dental service where clinicians are having to be too focused on targets to spend adequate time on giving individual prevention advice, are overwhelmed by sheer patient numbers and are constantly banging their heads against parental brick walls,” explains this veteran National Health Service dentist.

• Alzheimer's Drug Makes Teeth Grow Back (The Telegraph)

“Fillings could be consigned to history after scientists discovered that a drug already trialed in Alzheimer's patients can encourage tooth regrowth and repair cavities.” UK researchers “found that the drug Tideglusib stimulates the stem cells contained in the pulp of teeth so that they generate new dentine.”

• New Training for Hygienists Could Expand Dental Care (The Salem News)

“Elderly and low-income residents are not getting adequate dental care, according to health care and anti-poverty advocates” in Massachusetts, “and it’s costing the state big bucks.” While “a coalition of advocacy groups says the solution lies in training and licensing a new class of dental hygienists to provide routine but critical care,” state dentists are skeptical.

• Texas Dentist Have ‘Deep Dissatisfaction’ with Managed Care (Texas Dentists for Medicaid Reform)

The TDMR recently asked dentists to take an online survey to ascertain their views on Texas Medicaid dental managed care. The results aren’t pretty. Some 43 percent of dentists rated the performance as “terrible.” Only 6% rated the performance as “excellent.”

• What Teeth Reveal About Modern Humans (Science Daily)

In her new book, “What Teeth Reveal About Human Evolution,” Ohio State University anthropology professor Debbie Guatelli-Steinberg “gives a broad overview of what scientists have learned about our ancestors from studying fossilized teeth. As for the teeth of humans living today—well, it is a good thing we have modern dentistry.”

• 2017 Yankee Dental Congress Coming Up (YankeeDental.com)

New England’s largest gathering of dental professional will take place in Boston from January 25-29. The meeting will include 450+ exhibitors, offer 30+ free CE courses, and host 28,000 dental professionals. Here’s the details for still interested dentists.