Calif. managed care dental program flounders; sugar-free gum effective on plaque

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

California's efforts to expand Medi-Cal dental services to a managed care model have hit a snag after a pilot program testing out the scheme was unable to provide adequate dental care for children enrolled in the program.

While the managed care model will continue in the two counties where it was originally rolled out -- Sacramento and Los Angeles -- a new law will allow children in Medi-Cal to opt out and switch to fee-for-service if they cannot see a dentist within 30 days. Click here to read why critics say the managed care model failed in this Practice Management Community exclusive.

Meanwhile, in Hygiene Community news, a study in the International Journal of Dental Hygiene has found that sugar-free chewing gum -- specifically those using xylitol or sorbitol as the sweetener -- can provide a small but significant reduction in plaque when used as an adjunct to tooth brushing. Read more.

And over in the Restoratives Community, a meta-analysis published last year in the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) concluded that articaine is superior to lidocaine for pulpal anesthesia. While a critical summary of the same study in the current issue generally agrees, the reviewer questions whether articaine is superior in all circumstances.

Finally, another article in the August JADA offers a handy reference guide for which commonly prescribed medications in dentistry are safe enough to be used by patients who are pregnant or breast-feeding.