Dentistry News and Research

Latest Dentistry News and Research

Majority of Medicare beneficiaries satisfied with prescription drug plans

Three-fourths of Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in the prescription drug benefit are satisfied with their plans, according to a recent Wall Street Journal Online/Harris Interactive poll, Wall Street Journal Online reports.

8 Nov 2006

Toyota builds employee health clinic in new factory to reduce health care costs

In an effort to contain health care spending, Toyota Motor will construct a $9 million medical clinic for employees and their families at its new San Antonio truck factory, the Detroit News reports.

8 Nov 2006

Indian Government gets it wrong about HIV Transmission

The Indian government's assumption that HIV in the country is transmitted mainly through sex, especially with commercial sex workers, is "inconsistent with evidence and very likely wrong," according to a study published in the November issue of the Royal Society of Medicine's International Journal of STD and AIDS, AFP/Yahoo! News reports.

30 Oct 2006

JAMA examines history of HIV testing

"HIV Screening in Health Care Settings: Public Health and Civil Liberties Conflict?" Journal of the American Medical Association: Lawrence Gostin, associate dean at the Georgetown University Law Center, in the Oct. 25 issue of JAMA examines the history of HIV testing and the new CDC recommendations regarding testing.

26 Oct 2006

Combo of exercise and nicotine therapy ensures smokers quit

Researchers in Austria have found a way for people to quit smoking.

25 Oct 2006

Link between antiretrovirals, leprosy probable

Increased access to antiretroviral drugs in developing countries has revealed a "startling and worrisome side effect" by exposing "hidden leprosy infection" in some HIV-positive people receiving antiretrovirals, the New York Times reports.

24 Oct 2006

New smart anti-microbial approach to preventing tooth decay

Preventing cavities could one day involve the dental equivalent of a military surgical strike. A team of researchers supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research report they have created a new smart anti-microbial treatment that can be chemically programmed in the laboratory to seek out and kill a specific cavity-causing species of bacteria, leaving the good bacteria untouched.

23 Oct 2006

The influence of resource pressure on medical treatment decisions

Two studies in Florida show that pressure from hospitals and insurance companies to minimize health care costs can negatively affect the quality of care for some people.

16 Oct 2006

Schwarzenegger's veto of prison condom distribution bill politically motivated

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's (R) veto last week of a bill (AB 1677) that would have allowed not-for-profit organizations to distribute condoms in prisons is "another cynical political maneuver" and a "fundamentally irresponsible choice to make the world more dangerous for inmates and civilians alike," a Los Angeles Times editorial says (Los Angeles Times, 10/5).

5 Oct 2006

88% of uninsured children live in households with a working parent

A majority of the nine million uninsured children in the U.S. live in households where at least one parent works full-time, year-round, according to a report released by the advocacy group Families USA, the AP/Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports.

3 Oct 2006

Chicago dentist has license suspended following death of a 5-year-old patient

Following the death of a 5-year-old patient, a dentist in Chicago has had his license to practice suspended by State regulators.

2 Oct 2006

Five year old dies after dental visit

A routine visit to the dentist has ended in death for a 5-year-old girl in Chicago.

28 Sep 2006

Carbon nanotube amplification strategies for highly sensitive immunodetection of cancer biomarkers

In an attempt to increase the sensitivity of cancer biomarker detection and to decrease the need for large samples from which to detect those molecules, a multi-institutional research team has shown that a "forest" of single-walled carbon nanotubes can be used to detect lower levels of the prostate specific antigen (PSA) than is possible using the current commercial assay.

25 Sep 2006

SUMO1 gene implicated in cleft lip and palate defects

Researchers supported by the National Institutes of Health report in the current issue of the journal Science that a much-studied gene called SUMO1, when under expressed, can cause cleft lip and palate, one of the world's most common birth defects.

21 Sep 2006

Methamphetamine robs people of their teeth

Methamphetamine is a powerfully addictive drug that can seriously damage oral health, destroying a person's smile and natural ability to chew, according to the American Dental Association (ADA).

21 Sep 2006

British tackle childrens' tooth decay in deprived areas

A British scheme to encourage families with young children in disadvantaged areas to get into the habit of brushing their children's teeth regularly with fluoride toothpaste was launched by Health Minster Rosie Winterton today at the Appleby health centre in Newham - an area with one of the highest oral health needs in the country.

14 Sep 2006

NIH launches "Knockout Mouse Project"

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) today awarded a set of cooperative agreements, totaling up to $52 million over five years, to launch the Knockout Mouse Project.

7 Sep 2006

Some find Accutane iPledge program requirements burdensome

Six months after the introduction of iPledge -- with which all people taking the acne drug isotretinoin, sold by Roche under the brand name Accutane, must register to receive their prescriptions - many patients and dermatologists "complain that the rules of iPledge are onerous and unworkable

5 Sep 2006

Hearing loss in older women linked to hormone replacement therapy

Researchers in the U.S. are suggesting that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may possibly exacerbate hearing deficits in women who take it following the menopause.

5 Sep 2006

Researchers identify genetic risk for type 1 diabetes

A discovery at the Barbara Davis Center for Childhood Diabetes has identified a genetic risk for type 1 diabetes three to four times higher than previously thought possible.

4 Sep 2006