Dear DrBicuspid Member,
For years the prevailing wisdom held that patients with a heart condition should receive antibiotics prior to undergoing an invasive dental procedure to protect them from developing potentially deadly infections.
Now a new study in the journal Circulation supports revised American Heart Association guidelines for who should and shouldn't receive preventive antibiotics prior to a dental procedure. Click here for details.
Meanwhile, in the first study to evaluate dental care utilization by analyzing paid Medicaid claims, researchers found that access to dental services for Medicaid-eligible children increased 16% nationally between 2002 and 2007. While the trend is positive, much work remains to be done, however -- especially for those in the youngest age bracket. Read more in this Practice Management Community feature.
And as the debate over the pros and cons of corporate dentistry heats up, dental consultant Thomas Climo uses a clever retelling of the story of Cain and Abel to demonstrate how solo practitioners can manage their way to superior operating results and repeatable net income.
In Imaging & CAD/CAM Community news, an international team of researchers analyzed two decades of data and discovered that radiation exposure from as few as two or three head computed tomography scans in childhood can triple the risk of developing brain cancer.
Finally, two surveys presented as posters at the recent American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry meeting found that most dentists who use the Isolite system regularly in their practice report a positive experience and would recommend the device to their colleagues.
