Blog

Subscribe to the American Dental Blog (rss)


Category Archives: Industry

Information about the dental equipment industry

Another Costa Rica Trip Scheduled

Dr. Tommy Murph and Dr. Gayle Fletcher will again be travelling to Costa Rica to help the citizens there and teach a course on extractions, suturing, avoiding complications and dealing with complications that can arise from extractions. The date is set for the week of October 22-27, 2011 and registration will soon be full! Once again, attendees [...]
Also posted in Dental Practice Advice, General, News | Leave a comment

California Dental Association Introduces New Infection Control Regulations

As of August 20th, 2011, Dental Offices in California have new regulations to follow for infection control. The complete regulations are available to members from the California Dental Association (CDA) and there have been a number of changes. Some of the more significant changes involve sterilization and disinfection of dental instruments. For example, there are many specific requirements [...]
Also posted in Dental Practice Advice, News | Leave a comment

Amalgam Separators Required in Illinois?

Chicago-area dentists with their proximity to Lake Michigan may have been aware of existing regulations covering mercury and amalgam disposal throughout the Great Lakes region. Minnesota, Wisconsin, and most recently Michigan and Ohio have in place or have introduced regulations covering amalgam disposal in dental offices. To the North, amalgam separators have been required for [...]
Also posted in Dental Equipment, General, News | Leave a comment

Amalgam Separators, the FDA, and Your Practice

Here are the facts: On December 14th, the FDA will again revisit the scientific issues surrounding dental amalgam.  Many States have established their own regulations, but the government may rule as Canada did, establishing mandatory amalgam separator installation, sooner rather than later. Dental amalgam has already been banned in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, traditionally countries that have [...]
Also posted in Dental Equipment, Dental Practice Advice, General, News | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Studies Show bib clips as potential source of contamination

There have been several reports lately concerning contamination of bib clips in the dental office. A recent study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill showed contamination in as many as 20% of bib clips tested. Additionally, the study cited the following: “Of concern was the presence of bacterial species normally present only in [...]
Also posted in General, News | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Dental Therapists In Alaska

NPR reports that Alaska is now training ordinary citizens as dental therapists.  While this should make dentistry more available to lower-income individuals, are the therapists adequately trained to perform these procedures? Could they eventually create more harm it botched procedures than good?  This should be an interesting trend to follow as unemployment remains high over the [...]
Also posted in General, News | Leave a comment

FDA Issues Notice of Danger of Patient Burns from Electric Handpieces.

The FDA specifically mentions “poorly maintained” handpieces as being a contributor to overheating. The nature of electric handpieces is such that burns can occur during use if the components are worn. Electric handpieces will use as much power as required to maintain torque and speed regardless of the condition of the handpiece. Note that handpieces [...]
Posted in Industry | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment