The DMD Check-Up: Report Raises Questions about Sedation Dentistry

A scathing report out of San Francisco highlights potential oversights in the safety and record keeping surround the practice of sedation dentistry. You can find this story and others in this week's list of must-read news stories for dentists.

· Parents, Doctors Question Safety of Sedation Dentistry (NBC)

A news report from San Francisco about complications with sedation dentistry says that area dentists stand accused “of failures in drug dosing and monitoring.” “The state has never before tracked how many kids die,” the report said. “NBC Bay Area tried, but discovered records that are heavily redacted and inconsistent. Some dentists send in detailed reports when something goes wrong; others submit just a few sentences.”

· The Future of Oral Health (PR Newswire)

The impact of oral disease on whole-body health and the changes to the practice of dentistry worldwide are the subjects of The Future of Oral Heath, a new publication produced by Scientific American Custom Media. “What happens when the boundaries of the traditional dental-medical divide begin to crumble?”

· Ancient Teeth Show First Evidence of Right-Handedness (Science Alert)

“Scientists have discovered the earliest known evidence of right-handedness in the fossil record, thanks to markings on an ancient set of teeth that once belonged to a Tanzanian primate,” according to findings in the Journal of Human Evolution. Telling “us more about how human hands work—and, by extension—our brains.”

· The Agony and the Ecstasy of Being a Dentist on Halloween (Hifow.com)

That time of the year: “It is not like Halloween, a holiday devoted to society-sanctioned cavity worship, would make daily life quick for a man or woman whose daily life operate is oral cleanliness. So how do dentists cope?” Here’s how dentists say they deal with “their very least favorite working day of the year.”

· Medicine Might Effect Success of Dental Implants (News Medical)

“A body of research from McGill led-teams indicates that in order to raise the odds that dental implants will attach properly, there are clear benefits to taking certain common medications and avoiding others.” Some drugs “affect bone metabolism and the way that bone cells heal and multiply or die,” scientists say.

· Dental Screening by PCPs Helps Children (Healio)

“Identifying children at high risk for dental caries in a primary health care setting prevents the development of caries in early childhood, while creating more accessible and cost-effective oral health care, according to data presented at the 2016 AAP National Conference and Exhibition.”

· Oral Health of Kentucky Children Getting Worse (Insider Louisville)

The results are eye-opening, according to “The Making Smiles Happen: 2016 Oral Health Study of Kentucky’s Youth,” and provide officials with a baseline for improving oral health outcomes. For example, compared to 15 years ago, a higher percentage of children are in need of early or urgent dental care, and 40% have untreated cavities.

· The Many Schemes of Four Dentists (Cleveland)

“The schemes described in a federal indictment against former MetroHealth executive Edward Hills and three former hospital dentists were complex, intertwined and lasted for years,” according to this news report from Ohio. “They also involved about $250,000, much of which was taxpayer money.”

· The Deceit of the Dental Health Industry (Collective Evolution)

A real hammer job on the dental industry, by a grassroots organization. Are they right? “The global dental industry is worth billions of dollars. … Yet 4 billion people around the world suffer from some kind of untreated oral health issue. … This begs the question, are we being served by current dental practices?”