FDA cracks down on Rite-Dent; are BPA fears overblown?

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

Under the direction of Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, MD, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to take a more aggressive approach to enforcing regulations governing the safety of food, drugs, and medical devices.

In its latest move involving dental products, the agency is advising healthcare professionals to discontinue using products manufactured by Rite-Dent after U.S. marshals seized all of the company's products earlier this month. The marshals were acting under a court order from the FDA, which has issued numerous warnings to Rite-Dent regarding its manufacturing practices. Click here to read what products were seized, and why.

In other Restoratives Community news, a presentation last week at the Rocky Mountain Dental Convention in Colorado sought to dispel mounting concerns about bisphenol A (BPA). Dental practitioners should make it clear to their patients that residual BPA in dental materials is usually undetectable and typically present at levels lower than regulatory or scientific recommendations, according to Sheldon Newman, DDS, an associate professor at the University of Colorado. Read more.

Over in the Cosmetics Community, a new literature review in the Journal of the American Dental Association found a limited number of reported cases of inhalation and ingestion of orthodontic objects, prompting speculation that dental practitioners may not be willing to volunteer information about these adverse incidents out of concern for their reputation.

And in Practice Management Community news, an Iowa dentist is in line to receive some of the first electronic health record (EHR) incentive funds from the U.S. government. Click here to find out how she got around the fact that there are currently no federally certified dental EHR products.