Dear Cosmetic Dentistry Insider,
In our latest installment of DrBicuspid.com's Dental Heroes series, we talked with Grant McGann, DDS, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon who has volunteered hundreds of hours performing reconstructive surgeries for patients with facial deformities and other conditions at Fresh Start, a San Diego-based charity.
According to Dr. McGann, the patients that come to Fresh Start have severe facial deformities that require highly specialized care, and the organization changes their lives by providing them with care that they could not get anywhere else.
Read more in this latest Cosmetic Dentistry Insider Exclusive.
In other Cosmetics Community news, like most states across the U.S., Missouri provides Medicaid coverage for pediatric orthodontics. But dentists, parents, and program administrators all agree the qualification system is flawed. So one attorney has made it her mission to help those she says are truly in need. Click here to read more.
Meanwhile, the contentious issue of teeth whitening in malls and spas flared up again as the U.S. Federal Trade Commission found that the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners illegally thwarted competition by working to bar nondentist providers of teeth-whitening services from selling their products to consumers. The board plans to appeal the decision. Read more.
In business news, Align Technology is again defending its position in the clear-aligner market with the filing of two lawsuits in Germany accusing two competitors of infringing on several of its European patents.
Another clear-aligner maker, ClearCorrect, has launched a new project that is far outside its core business of manufacturing and marketing clear aligners. The company's new Phase Out initiative aims to fund causes impacting the lives of people in need. First up: unsafe drinking water in developing nations.
In clinical news, just how reliable are all-ceramic restorations? A new study examining 1,335 all-ceramic restorations placed between 1987 and 2009 determined that they have a 93.5% probability of survival over 10 years. Click here to read more.
Finally, revenues generated from cosmetic dental procedures will likely remain stable, if not increase, in the coming year, according to an industry survey conducted by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. Click here for details.
