News from the Midwinter Meeting; MRIs coming to dentistry?

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

Greetings from Chicago! We're here at McCormick Place West covering the Chicago Dental Society's (CDS) 146th Midwinter Meeting, which kicked off today. While the mounds of snow from the recent blizzard have mostly disappeared, last evening's chilly mix of rain, sleet, and snow reminded us that winter is definitely still here in the Windy City.

But the show itself is already heating up. Today we cohosted a social media "meetup" with the CDS that featured presentations by Jason Lipscomb, DDS, and Martin Jablow, DMD, on the pros and cons of using Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, and other interactive online tools to reach out to patients and build your practice. Both speakers were adamant that Yellow Pages are "dead" and that social media sites are fast becoming the leading "word of mouth" tools for dental practice marketing. Click here to read why.

And as is always the case at Chicago Midwinter, a plethora of new products are on display for the 30,000+ attendees expected this year. We've covered several of these already in recent weeks but will be bringing you more updates after talking with vendors here at the meeting.

In Imaging Community news, just as the dental community is starting to get comfortable with cone-beam CT -- and becoming more aware of the ionizing radiation risks it poses if not used properly -- another well-established diagnostic technology appears headed for the dental operatory: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Read more.

Finally, another sneak peek at research to be presented at the upcoming International Association for Dental Research meeting: Many dentists say they would be more willing to help patients with serious weight issues if obesity were definitively linked to oral disease. Now researchers from the University of Pittsburgh have found a positive association between periodontal disease and obesity. Click here to read more in this latest Hygiene Community feature.