Week in Review: Carestream Dental sold; minimally invasive dentistry; and chlorhexidine mouthwash

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

The biggest story this week in dentistry was the sale of Carestream Dental to a consortium of two private investment funds. Read our news brief here.

Also this week on DrBicuspid.com, research supports the benefits of minimally invasive dentistry for noncavitated carious lesions, but can providing such care damage your professional reputation and lower patient satisfaction? In a new study, patients who received noninvasive treatment were just as satisfied as those who underwent invasive treatment. Read more here.

Do you sometimes suggest to your patients that they rinse their mouth with a chlorhexidine mouthwash? A new systemic review reports that doing so for several weeks is an effective way to reduce plaque. Those patients who used the rinse had significantly lower levels of plaque and also reduced gingival inflammation and bleeding, researchers found. Learn more here.

Dr. Alvin Danenberg recently talked with a colleague about the havoc emotional stress can cause in a patient's mouth. To illustrate the havoc, he describes the case of a woman who experienced terrible abuse at her work and also how significant stress reduction improved her mental -- and oral -- health. Read more here.

If you are looking for a quick guide to the latest products, our monthly roundup of new products is a good place to start. This time the products range from an endodontics chair to new toothpastes. Learn more here.