Week in Review: Water fluoridation vs. free dental care | Mounting student debt crisis | New dental products

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When it comes to preventing caries, which is better: free dental care or community water fluoridation? Our top story of the week covered a study that showed consumption of fluoridated water during childhood dramatically lowered caries-related treatment, while free access to dental care didn't have the same effect.

In another well-read story related to pediatrics, pediatric dentists may need to improve their ability to diagnose dental trauma from imaging. Pediatric dentists performed poorly in diagnosing various types of trauma from cone-beam computed tomography images and intraoral x-rays, according to a recent study.

Last week, you read about states that help dentists and hygienists pay off their student loan debt. This week, we tackle what it may take to solve the mounting dental student debt crisis. An editor's note in the Journal of Dental Education reported that a dental school graduate in 2022 incurred almost five times as much debt as a graduate in 1996 -- and that total is likely to continue rising.

The California Dental Association's CDA Presents meeting in Anaheim wraps up today. The DrBicuspid team attended the show to see some of the new products announced in the past week from companies like OwandyCAO GroupUltradentKomet, and RevenueWell.

Last but not least, a Massachusetts dentist was sentenced to jail this week for reportedly intercepting $1.2 million in reimbursement checks sent to his employer. In a press release, the U.S. Department of Justice claimed the dentist diverted the funds to a secret bank account to pay for personal and family expenses.

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