Behind the scenes at Kool Smiles; more IADR coverage

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

In part two of its comprehensive investigative report on corporate dental chains and their increasing -- and sometimes questionable -- role in the treatment of children on Medicaid, the Center for Public Integrity (CPI) focuses on Kool Smiles, the largest provider of Medicaid dental services in the U.S.

According to CPI, the very business model that makes Kool Smiles profitable has also led to allegations that the company provides unnecessary treatment for children in need -- allegations the company denies. Click here to read about several state investigations involving Kool Smiles and what former employees of the company have to say about its business practices.

In other dental news, just months after the American Heart Association concluded that there is no cause-and-effect relationship between cardiovascular disease and periodontitis, a physician, a dentist, and a nurse have embarked on a new venture to help dentists and physicians better understand how to work together to screen patients at risk of heart disease, diabetes, and stroke. Read more.

Meanwhile, in Restoratives Community news, a systematic review published last year in the Journal of Dental Research found little evidence to support the use of oxalates for treating dentin hypersensitivity. Now a critical summary by the ADA Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry's review council lends further support to these findings.

Finally, in our ongoing coverage of the recent International Association for Dental Research meeting, we looked at factors that contribute to dental anxiety and fear among children and women; the effectiveness of fluoride delivery in milk, dentifrices, and sealants; dand how dosages and duration of adjunctive antibiotic therapy for periodontal disease affect treatment outcomes of periodontal disease.