FDA reconsiders amalgam; how to stop embezzlement

Dear DrBicuspid.com member,

Amalgam is getting pounded. The past year has brought a ban in Norway, new environmentally based regulations in several U.S. municipalities, proposed legislation in Congress, and a lawsuit by groups seeking a nationwide U.S. ban. Now the FDA is soliciting comments on the substance with an eye toward new regulations. Read the story here.

Such regulatory changes can hit dentists and their patients in the pocketbooks. But a bigger toll is extracted by some of the folks dentists trust the most, when their own employees line their pockets with a practice's profits. One survey found that each embezzlement incident cost dentists an average of more than $100,000. That's why we're eager to bring you a primer on embezzlement prevention, collected at a seminar at last week's California Dental Association spring meeting.

The convention offered many other exciting developments. On the show floor, dental companies rolled out new innovations, including a laser that works as an anesthetic. Find out more about this product and others featured at the show by clicking here.

In the scientific sessions, we heard why endodontics has a bright future, even in the age of implants. Not only that, we collected advice on making perfect radiographs, which you'll find in our Imaging Community.

You can also get an advance look at imaging news in the future by subscribing to our Imaging Insider e-mail newsletter, which will start next month. To opt in, just click here. Among the other stories in that community, we're featuring the second article in our two-part series on buying a cone-beam CT scanner.

Speaking of series, we're offering the third installment in our series on building practice Web sites that truly attract patients.

We've added a lot of other news as well, but I've got to dash -- my phone is ringing, I have to plan coverage of another convention, and we've got a fascinating Case of the Week to prepare....