Hockey is a fast paced and exciting game to watch. Some of the excitement comes from the fact that the players play tough. Often teeth are sacrificed during a game, when a puck flies or a player is caught high-sticking. That’s why every National Hockey League (NHL) team is required to have a dentist on staff. DrBiscupid.com recently shared this story from one of the NHL’s dentists: “NHL dentist saves teeth on and off the ice”.

Thomas Lenz Jr., DDS is the staff dentist for the Washington Capitals. He’s in the building for every home game, and travels with the team when a player has an injury to monitor. “What we are doing, most of the time, is fixing them up so we can get them back on the ice,” Dr. Lenz said.

Dr. Lenz has been practicing dentistry for over 20 years in Vienna, VA, not too far from Washington, DC. Since joining the Capitals in 2005, his office staff has taken the responsibility of providing dental care for the Capitals’ players, their families and team personnel.

You always hear about a team’s players or coaches. For a change, it’s nice to hear about the people behind-the-scenes contributing to the team’s success!

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month (NCDHM) and the American Dental Association has all the resources you need to encourage elementary & high school children to “Rock Your Smile.” You’ll find an array of free NCDHM materials, provided in both English and Spanish, at www.ada.org/ncdhm. Items include posters, publicity resources, oral health presentation resources and activity sheets.

You can also learn more about the ADA Smile Smart oral health curriculum for preschool through grade eight students offering modular lesson plans, support materials, hands-on classroom demonstrations, student activity sheets, and suggestions for further oral health activities.

The seminar featured Debbie Sabatini, RDH. The videos are organized as follows:

1. An overview of oral cancer screening.
2. The Identafi oral cancer screening device and how the new technology works.
3. The best ways to incorporate routine oral cancer screening into your practice.

To watch the three videos listed above, visit our YouTube channel today!

The full issue includes product evaluations on the Identafi oral cancer screening device, NuTorque^® electric system from StarDental, and our cutting-edge LED operatory light, the EverLight^® from DentalEZ^®. Check out the issue to see even more DentalEZ Group products listed, including electric systems, handpieces and patient chairs!

To learn more about these exciting products, make sure to visit our website!

The article references a study found in the December 2011 Journal of Pain that concluded music can be effective for reducing pain in high-anxiety people who can easily become absorbed in cognitive activities. “The findings showed that central arousal from the pain stimuli reliably decreased with the increasing music-task demand. Music helps reduce pain by activating sensory pathways that compete with pain pathways, stimulating emotional responses, and engaging cognitive attention. Music, therefore, provided meaningful intellectual and emotional engagement to help reduce pain.”

Using these findings in the dental practice makes perfect sense. It would be incredibly easy to provide music for your patients to distract them from the pain, and relieve a little stress, too! Do you offer your patients the option of listening to music during their dental procedures?

The Dental Advisor has announced the winners of the 2012 Product Awards and Preferred Products. Product awards are given to dental products that have exceeded their expectations in quality and performance. These products are chosen through the clinical experience of Dental Advisor’s Editorial Board and Consulting Team.

Preferred Products are typically evaluated and highly rated by The Dental Advisor, and are considered to be some of the best products available in today’s dental market. This complete list is a great buyer’s guide for dental professionals making 2012 purchasing decisions.

We are extremely excited to announce a number of DentalEZ^® Group products were included in the 2012 Preferred Products, and Product Awards.

Preferred Product List includes: NuTorque^®, Prophy^® Star 3, and LabPro

Product Awards include: Top Laboratory Product – LabPro

Please visit www.dentaladvisor.com to view the complete list of winners!

The article, Consumer Reports Survey: Consumers Delaying Dental Care Due To Cost asked readers to describe the dental health and cosmetic treatments they received in the last 5 years, only to discover price has been a big treatment barrier. “CR subscribers tend to have better insurance coverage than Americans on average, but cost was still cited as a barrier by 43 percent of readers who delayed.”

The article explains that while consumers are delaying necessary treatments to combat pain, some are paying for treatments they do not need. Nancy Metcalf, senior program editor, Consumer Reports, said “Because cost is an issue, consumers need to be clear about the line between dental care that is necessary and the procedures they can live without.  Many dentists are trained to push for procedures, both cosmetic and non cosmetic, that will boost their bottom line,” said Metcalf.  “We were struck by the finding that nearly a half of those who had had a cosmetic procedure had been prompted to do so by their dentist.”

When it comes to necessary treatments, even those with insurance put it off. Twenty-three percent of patients did so because insurance wouldn’t cover the procedure and twenty-four percent because they already reached maximum insurance coverage for the year. According to Metcalf, there are several ways consumers can keep costs down or get by without insurance:

• Shop around and bargain.
• Consider free and low-cost clinics and health centers.
• Look into dental and dental-hygienist schools.
• Investigate dental discount plans.

Are you working to help your patients find a way to get the treatment they need?

We’re pleased to announce DentalEZ recently provided one of our J/V-Generation^® Chairs to the Northampton Dental Initiative. This program serves uninsured adults and children in the Northampton, PA community.

Launched by the Two Rivers Health & Wellness Foundation, the Initiative has been a great success, bringing 2,640 patients dental care since 2007.

We’d like to thank Cheryl Janssen, the Executive Director at Kids Smiles, for bringing this great cause to our attention. We’re thankful for this opportunity, and feel lucky to be able to contribute to such a meaningful program!

Yoga pose #1: Gomukhasana – shoulder stretch
Benefits: Lengthens the spine, stretches the lower back (reduces sciatic pain), improves breathing by opening up the chest and diaphragm and stretches shoulders (reducing the risk of a tension headache).

Instructions:

1. Sit back in your chair with both feet on the ground.
2. Pulling in your abdomen, take your right arm over your head while placing your left arm behind your back.
3. Slowly extend both arms and attempt to clasp your right and left palms together. (Do not force the stretch.)
4. Hold the pose for 20 seconds then repeat on the other side.

Dental professionals feel there are a number of possible solutions. Some believe the solution is increased Medicaid reimbursement rates, while others feel introducing midlevel providers, or increasing the number of dental schools will bring greater access-to-care and lower treatment costs. The Dr. Bicuspid article details each solution and the points of controversy.

In addition to 2011’s challenges, the article outlines popular discussions and trends such as:

• the fight over fluoride’s safety and effectiveness
• the increase of government regulations in dentistry
• the relationship between HPV and oral cancer
• the growing presence of social media and how it plays a part in dentistry

Each of these topics received a great deal of media attention in 2011 for good reason. Dentistry is constantly changing, and new challenges arise each and every day. Make sure to check out the full article for more information on these popular topics.