Best practices for dental recall exams: Assessment, radiographs, and prevention

Smiling dentist shows a dental mirror to a cheerful young patient during a checkup in a bright, modern dental clinic

The importance of regular recall exams must be clearly communicated to patients, along with the benefits of maintaining a recall schedule tailored to their specific needs. Establishing measurable goals and parameters allows both the practitioner and the patient to monitor progress or detect regression in oral health conditions.

ECC: Beyond detection—Recognizing the broader context

Dentist talking to mother and daughter patients in her office

Advances in detecting early childhood caries (ECC)—from improved diagnostics to emerging AI tools—promise earlier intervention and expanded treatment options. Yet ECC is more than a microbial condition. For many children, especially in marginalized communities, it is a visible marker of systemic inequity. The view from the dental chair Oral health professionals see health disparities in … Read more

Why dental prevention is so difficult

Boy complaining about toothache to his dentist during a dental check-up.

Preventive services are at the forefront of medical, fitness, and nutritional research. Everyone talks about prevention, but very few people adhere to it long-term, and that is what really counts in all preventive programs. It is easy to fall off the wagon and get discouraged. There are many causes why prevention eventually fails, but the … Read more

Chemo-mechanical caries removal: Effectively eliminating decay and stress

The introduction of minimally invasive dentistry (MID) has revolutionized the management of dental caries by emphasizing the preservation of sound dental tissue capable of remineralization.1-3 This philosophy forms the foundation of chemo-mechanical caries removal (CMCR), which targets the selective removal of infected dentin while preserving the healthy, potentially remineralizable tissue.4 CMCR is a pain-free, conservative approach that … Read more

Unlocking the mysteries of dental unit waterlines: A guide for dental hygienists

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Did you know 90% of bacteria live in biofilms?1 Understanding the complexities of biofilm and the function of Dental Unit Waterlines (DUWLs) is essential for dental hygienists dedicated to providing safe, high-quality care. This article aims to demystify the processes involved in maintaining DUWLs by highlighting the importance of routine testing, effective product use, and best … Read more

How to Stop Cavities Without a Drill

We don’t have to drill and fill every cavity. That’s right! Sometimes, the best option to manage caries is with a preventive agent, not a handpiece. The American Dental Association (ADA) Council on Scientific Affairs and the Centre for Evidence-Based Dentistry convened an expert panel to do a systematic review and create evidence-based recommendations for … Read more

The Mechanical Dentist

Amazing Technology The medical management of gangrene during the American Civil War was to amputate a limb above the infection site to prevent ongoing bacterial proliferation into the surrounding tissues. (Fig. 1) Fig. 1 During a lecture in 2000, Dr Graham Mount, a pioneer in the clinical use of glass ionomer cement, described dentistry as … Read more

Cavities: Can You Stomach It?

According to the World Health Organization’s March 25th, 2020, report on oral health, dental caries remains the number one dental issue globally to this day. While we are seeing a decrease in dental caries in both fluoridated and non-fluoridated communities in Canada, there is still much work to be done. Dental decay occurs when the … Read more

GreenMark Secures FDA Clearance for LumiCare™ Caries Detection Rinse

Enhanced Visualization of Dental Caries is the First Commercial Application of Startup Venture’s Nanotechnology Platform GreenMark Biomedical Inc. announced that the company has secured regulatory clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) to market its LumiCare™ Caries Detection Rinse as a 510(k) Class II Medical Device. “Gaining FDA clearance for our LumiCare™ device … Read more

Chewing Gums May Lower Risk Of Dental Cavities: Study

Chewing sugar-free gum may help reduce the deterioration of cavities of the teeth, according to a study that analyzed research published over the last 50 years on dental caries. The review, published in the Journal of Dental Research: Clinical & Translational Research, revealed that sugar-free gum could reduce the advancement of dental caries, and may … Read more

Our Immune System Could Actually Be Contributing to Dental Cavities

The immune system does essential work in keeping us alive and healthy, but when it malfunctions it can cause problems – and there’s new evidence that one of those problems could be dental cavities. Researchers have found that tooth decay is potentially partly caused by bacteria enlisting the unwitting help of immune cells known as neutrophils, with cavities and damage … Read more

Medical Treatment of Dental Caries With a New 25% Xylitol Formulation

Dental Caries

Background Even with the declining prevalence of dental caries in industrialized countries during the past decades, predominately due to fluoride use, 1 dental caries is still a major problem in most industrialized countries, affecting 60% to 90% of children, and the vast majority of adults. 2 Also, there is mounting international evidence that this decline … Read more

Silver Diamine Fluoride Unstained and Liberated

The concept of using amputation to treat an infectious disease was last used by the medical profession to treat gangrene in the late 1800s. The pharmacological management of dental caries aims to leave most caries in situ, killing the bacteria and enabling infected dentin to heal as arrested caries. A way of achieving this is … Read more

DentalEZ® Launches True Caries Teeth from Columbia Dentoform®

DentalEZ Integrated Solutions is proud to present True Caries Teeth from Columbia Dentoform, available November 19, 2018. Products from Columbia Dentoform have been used to train dental students around the world for generations.  In continuing that tradition, Columbia Dentoform is now offering a significant advancement in the teaching of caries identification and removal with True … Read more

First in Four-Part Caries Management Guideline Series Released

The ADA Council on Scientific Affairs and the ADA Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry has released an “Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guideline on Nonrestorative Treatments for Carious Lesions.” The guideline, which can be accessed at ADA.org/caries, is the first in a four-part series on caries management. For this series, the Council and the Center convened a panel … Read more

Researchers Present Accuracy of The Canary System for Detecting Caries Beneath Glass Ionomer, Compomer Restorations

Quantum Dental Technologies presented findings of a study at the 96th General Session of the International Association for Dental Research (IADR) in London England. This study found that The Canary System® can detect caries under the intact margins of glass ionomer and compomer restorations more accurately than Spectra, DIAGNOdent and visual examination. Finding caries beneath … Read more