Dental groups question IOM's strategy; news from the AADR meeting

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

It's been a busy week for dentistry in Washington, DC.

Not only did the annual meeting of the American Association for Dental Research (AADR) take place, but representatives of the ADA, Academy of General Dentistry, American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and the American Dental Hygienists' Association were in town to talk with the Institute of Medicine (IOM) about its strategy for analyzing U.S. oral healthcare needs.

At issue is the lack of representation for dentists on two IOM committees that will be discussing, among other things, the potential role of midlevel providers in solving the nation's access-to-care issue. Read more.

Meanwhile, the AADR meeting featured hundreds of studies on topics ranging from dental materials to periodontal disease, cariology, pathology, pharmacology, and oral and maxillofacial surgery. In a session on carious dentin removal attended by Senior Editor Laird Harrison, researchers from the U.S. and the U.K. argued that, contrary to conventional wisdom, not all infected tissue needs to be removed before a restoration is placed. Read more.

Finally, over in the Imaging & CAD/CAM Community, new software that enables dentists to design and fabricate inlays, onlays, crowns, veneers, bridges, and more by using a patient's existing tooth morphology rather than stock images is making its way into the dental office. Will it revolutionize CAD/CAM dentistry? Read more.