Week in Review: Protection from hackers | Chicago Midwinter | U.S. dental spending

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

CHICAGO - Greetings from the Chicago Dental Society 2019 Midwinter Meeting. We're here in the chilly Windy City to bring you the best of the meeting:

• The first day of the Midwinter Meeting included new products, Dentsply Sirona being awarded three Dental Excellence Awards, practice management content, plus a preview of upcoming coverage.
• Did you know that on the black market, dental charts are now more lucrative than Social Security numbers, and hackers are willing to dive through dumpsters for valuable patient information? Dr. Pat Little does, and he shared how to protect your practice from the fastest-growing form of identity theft in the U.S. at the meeting.
• Associate Editor Theresa Pablos and I review a busy first day at the Midwinter Meeting in this video. We talk about innovative products, interesting exhibit hall booths, and clinical and practice management sessions.

Also this week on DrBicuspid.com, we covered a new report on annual U.S. spending on dental care. Spending is projected to reach more than $203 billion by 2027, according to a February 20 report in Health Affairs. While dental care spending will increase by more than $60 billion by that point, the annual growth rate for dental spending will lag overall growth in healthcare expenditures in the country.

Which pain reliever do you prescribe for patients experiencing pain from their untreated endodontic symptoms? A new study compared the intranasal form of the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug ketorolac with a combination of ibuprofen and acetaminophen to see which is more effective.

Our coverage of the Midwinter Meeting will continue over the weekend on social media and next week on DrBicuspid.com.