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Top story of the week
Our top story of the week dished on how a periodontist used plastic salad bowls to help create an aerosol dome to protect patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Lara Ryan used her salad bowl prototype during the first week she saw patients back at the dental office. When the design put patients at ease, she knew she was on to something. She contacted a patent attorney and several plastics companies to create her final product, the Perio Dome.
Dentists and COVID-19 vaccines
In the latest episode of Dental Dose, pharmacologist Tom Viola, RPh, talked all about the link between common painkillers and COVID-19 vaccines. In the video, he cautioned that using ibuprofen and acetaminophen around vaccination time may dampen the immune response -- a situation that can be a "Catch-22" for dental professionals who rely on those analgesics for dental therapy.
In another piece of COVID-19 vaccine news, dental professionals are well poised to discuss and advocate for COVID-19 vaccines, according to a study in the Journal of the American Dental Association. More than half of parents said a healthcare professional could influence their decision to allow a child to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
Maxillofacial surgeons in Nazi Germany
A new study sought to better understand dentistry's ties to the Nazi Party during the Third Reich. The findings cast light on a dark past for maxillofacial surgeons.
About 60% of maxillofacial surgeons joined the Nazi Party during the Third Reich, the researchers found. In addition, more maxillofacial surgeons had ties to the National Socialist Party than other medical professionals, and joining the party did not hinder the specialists' careers before or after 1945.
Superheroes or villains?
Last but not least, are dentists superheroes or villains? Both, according to the results of a recent study. About 50% of young children perceived dentists as Batman or another type of superhero. But 30% of children saw dentists as Batman's villain the Joker or as monsters.
Regardless of what the kids say, you're all superheroes to me. 😉
