FDA to revisit amalgam issue; new lasers put spotlight on safety

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

The dental amalgam debate is far from over. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week announced that it will hold a public hearing in December to review scientific issues that may affect the regulation of amalgam.

The FDA's decision to revisit its dental amalgam guidelines comes after the agency received several petitions raising concerns about amalgam's safety and the adequacy of the clinical studies used to determine how it should be regulated. Read more.

In other news, an estimated 45 million Americans do not have dental insurance, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the healthcare reform package appears to offer little direct help. Read more.

In clinical news, nearly every laser in dentistry is considered by the FDA to be a class IV device, meaning they pose potentially serious risks. And those risks apply equally to erbium hard-tissue lasers, Nd:YAG perio lasers, or the new handheld diode lasers coming onto the market. In fact, with their greater mobility, the compact, portable diode-laser devices could pose new challenges for a dental practice's laser safety officer. Read more.

And a study to be presented next month at the International Association for Dental Research meeting questions whether the trick of rearranging the Vita Classical shade guide according to value to achieve better results really works.