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When we previously surveyed dentists on the topic of bisphenol-A, we found about half of dentists were worried about BPA in dental composite and sealants.

"Patients should be told restorative treatment and material options, risks, benefits, average longevity, etc. (of composite, amalgam, castings, etc.). Then, as a well-respected lecturer sarcastically says, they can 'pick their poison,'" said a Maryland dentist. "I wonder if, a few decades from now, we will still see the short longevity composites to be as safe as amalgam is and was for 160 years."

Read more: Dentists Change Dental Materials over BPA

The survey, by American Express, also apparently found that 9% of parents would be willing to pay for their kids' tattoos (yes, really!).

Teens tend to have naturally white teeth, so their passion for teeth bleaching might seem unusual… until, of course, you remember that they're teenagers. (And tooth whitening is certainly cheaper than braces…)

Read more: Back-to-school checklist: Whiter teeth & tattoos

This study of CRM and dentistry proposes breaking the dental visit into five distinct stages, each with its own explicit checklist.

It was some 30 years ago that airlines realized that CRM could reduce human error, the cause of most accidents. Within that industry, studies have consistently found significant – even dramatic – reductions in accidents when airline checklists are used.

Since then, other industries have taken notice. Once a revolutionary concept, the use of medical checklists has rapidly become the new standard.

Dr. Atul Gawande, an associate professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, pioneered the field of medical checklists. He was named a MacArthur fellow in 2006, and his surgical safety checklist has been credited with reducing hospital death rates by as much as 50%.

The results of using a pre-surgical checklist have spoken for themselves. There are fewer deaths and fewer complications (about one-third less, according to some research) – and hospitals are even saving money by not having to treat those complications.

While hospitals have been eager to adopt the checklist, doctors and staff have been somewhat more reluctant. In a real-world setting, many surgical teams do not actually consult an itemized checklist.

But it seems to me patients would love to know their surgeon or dentist was using a checklist before each and every procedure. You could even mention it in your dental marketing as a patient benefit!

Read more: Should Dentists Take Safety Advice from Pilots?

In a recent survey, we discovered that 3 out of 4 dentists have a dental website.

Of dentists with websites, 32% personally oversee their website, 14% have staff oversee it, and 55% have a website consultant or dental marketing company that maintains it.

"We have regular meeting about updating the site with the website consultant, the staff, plus all the doctors in our group practice," said a Texas pediatric dentist.

Read more: Dental Website Maintenance & Internet Dental Marketing

The newspaper has recently covered a mother’s plight to have her son’s braces removed.

According to the woman, the orthodontist refused to remove the teen’s braces until the family settled a mysterious $300 bill for missed visits. Her two daughters had seen the same doctor, and the family had paid the orthodontic practice a total of about $12,000 over the years.

The dispute occurred in January, and involved the office filing a police report against the mother (for charges she denies). She contacted the newspaper in July. Now that it’s been featured in the paper, the boy’s dental braces are off.

The orthodontist expressed bewilderment over the whole thing. According to the practice, there is no $300 balance due, and the boy would have been welcome in at any time.

It’s not clear what really happened – but it is clear that the orthodontist doesn’t come out looking so good in the local paper!

Read more: Mom not smiling over dental dispute

So we asked dentists who should be responsible for the safety of dental products. One third said the FDA, one quarter said dental labs should police themselves, and 41% said dentists should take responsibility.

“My local lab is placing 'made in America' on all of the return cases for the patients to see,” mentioned one dentist.

“Too many dentists are accommodating low dental insurance payment schedules by buying their dental materials and laboratory fabrications that are too cheap," complained another. "It doesn't seem to matter that it compromises the health of the patient."

Read more: Lead found in dental crown from China: Dentist Survey Results

The group discovered teeth whiteners available on major websites such as eBay, Amazon and Google that contain dangerously high levels of hydrogen peroxide – up to 350 times what is now permitted in the European Union.

It’s not just remarkable how much peroxide is in these products – it’s also remarkable how little peroxide is now permitted in whiteners sold in Europe. The European Union has recently banned sales of teeth whitening products with over 0.1% hydrogen peroxide. Here’s a brief history:

• March 2005: European Scientific Committee on Consumer Products (SCCP) recommends that >0.1 to 6.0% hydrogen peroxide (or equivalent for hydrogen peroxide-releasing substances) be considered safe “after consultation with and approval of the consumer’s dentist.”
• January 2008: SCCP again recommends that up to 6% hydrogen peroxide is a safe limit to use for at-home tooth bleaching.
• March 2010: The European Commission classifies over-the-counter tooth whitening products as cosmetics, not medical devices. As such, they are limited to containing or releasing a maximum of 0.1% hydrogen peroxide. (Read more)

By contrast, the home bleaching products that have the ADA Seal of Acceptance contain 10 percent carbamide peroxide (a bleaching agent that is roughly three times weaker than hydrogen peroxide).

We did a search in Google’s Shopping section for the term “carbamide peroxide,” and the very first result was a 44% carbamide peroxide solution available through Amazon. “There is no stronger or more effective gel available on the market,” reads the product description.

Other products that showed up in Google include:

• Four Patient 35% Hydrogen Peroxide Kit: 8-Arch
• 14% Hydrogen Peroxide Take Home Whitening Kit
•  Prefilled Whitening Tray 12% Peroxide
• Zoom Whitening Z Mint 6%
• 15 Syringes of 30% Carbamide Peroxide Gel
• 12 Syringes of 30% Hi-Intensity Carbamide Peroxide Gel
• Teeth Whitening Pens 44% Carbamide Peroxide (1000 Units)

Now, it seems unlikely that a consumer would drop $2,659 on 1,000 whitening pens, but that’s not the point. The point is that extremely powerful teeth whitening agents – the kind that should only be used by a licensed dentist – are easily available to the general public.

The products in question aren’t being sold directly by Amazon or Google, but by individual sellers who list their items on these sites. Policing the items available for sale on their sites is a real challenge for online marketplaces, but it’s also an important duty.

This was made dramatically clear in 1999 when a human kidney popped up on eBay. Though the site already had a policy that banned the sale of human organs, the kidney listing somehow made it past eBay’s security systems. Bidding reached over $5 million before eBay discovered it and ended the auction.

So what do you think?

On the one hand, consumers shouldn’t be using high-concentration bleaching products all by themselves. But on the other hand, the EU limit of 0.1% is incredibly low. Where is the happy medium?

Three out of four general dentists think it’s appropriate for GPs to do orthodontics, but a mere 4% of orthodontists surveyed agree. In fact, 41% of orthodontists say they’re the ones who should be doing virtually all ortho work.

“The training is often minimal and results often are not retained,” said one dentist. “I just think it is better to leave the specialties to the specialists.”

Here are some dentist comments on general dentists and orthodontics.

• “Case selection is critical and should be based upon the knowledge and skill of the GP.” (Florida dentist)
• “Some orthodontists resent GPs doing their own ortho. Why is that? I have never met a single oral surgeon, endodontist, or prosthodontist that had a problem with my practice desires. It could be a matter of greed or pride. You make the call.” (Georgia dentist)
• “Those who are doing it hopefully have a good lawyer on their side.” (Kentucky dental implant dentist)
• “Invisalign is becoming the latest malpractice issue. Too many GPs are doing it and getting into trouble!” (Florida dentist)
• “General dentists don’t have the proper knowledge to perform orthodontics. ‘Little knowledge is dangerous.’” (New York dentist)
• “Would you send your wife to a family physician for her brain surgery?” (Orthodontist)
• “As long as they stay within their level of training and they refer when appropriate.” (Texas pediatric dentist)
• “The quality of GP ortho is directly related to the quality and quantity of the dental CE. Most GP ortho CE courses are cursory and superficial. Only one or two are a true continuum that mimics an ortho residency.” (Alaska dentist)
• “Diagnosis is the most difficult part. Once you have the background, the rest is easy.” (New York dentist)
• “With proper training, any GP should be able to perform any procedure, whether it is endo, ortho, dental implants, etc.” (Prosthodontist)
• “Every orthodontist is being asked to help or bail out GP cases as they often underestimate the complexity of cases and or are tackling more complex cases than they should due to economic pressures.” (California orthodontist)
• “GPs see relapse on a regular basis after ’specialist’ treatment.” (Maryland dentist)
• “No different than a GP doing endodontics, prosthodontics, pedodontics, oral surgery or perio.” (Florida pediatric dentist)
• “Bad ortho can ruin a patient’s dentition.” (Georgia periodontist)
• “It’s not rocket science.” (Australia dentist)

Read more about dental braces: General Dentists Do Orthodontics, But Orthodontists Aren’t Sure They Should

Canadian researchers teamed with a Japanese manufacturer to create the "Soladey-J3X," which uses light to send electrons down the bristles. Plaque breaks down when the electrons react with acid in the mouth.

The brush is also designed to kill two types of bacteria involved in gum disease.

The researchers are about to begin testing the solar toothbrush on a sample of teenagers. It is not publicly available at this time.

Read more: Paste-Free Toothbrush Cleans With Solar Power