Purdue grads invent portable dental chair; Dr. Irvin Silverstein, dental hero

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

Necessity is the mother of invention, as the old saying goes. Two recent Purdue University graduates took it to heart when they developed a portable dental chair with a number of unique design features that overcome the limitations of existing portable chairs. Now they are working to make their patent-pending invention commercially available, with an eye toward practitioners delivering care in Third World countries and other challenging settings. Read more.

And in the latest installment of our Dental Heroes series, we honor Dr. Irvin Silverstein, a Southern California periodontist who has spent his career working with special needs patients, mentoring students at the Student-Run Free Dental Clinic Project in San Diego, and ensuring that the underserved get the dental care they need. Click here to read why he thinks volunteerism can be instrumental in solving access-to-care issues.

Finally, are dental patients bothered by diastemas? Do they prefer square or square-round incisors? A systematic review in the Journal of the American Dental Association addresses these and related questions regarding laypeople's dental aesthetic preferences. Read more in this latest Cosmetics Community feature.