CA fluoridation lawsuit dismissed; infant/toddler oral hygiene critical

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

A federal judge has ruled that a Southern California water district can legally add hydrofluosilicic acid to public drinking water as part of its fluoridation process even though it has not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of dental caries.

In a ruling issued April 10, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California granted the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California's motion to dismiss a class-action lawsuit seeking to stop the water district from adding nonapproved drugs to public drinking water. Click here to read more about the original lawsuit and the judge's ruling.

Meanwhile, in Practice Management Community news, general dentists should take a more active role in teaching oral hygiene and prevention to the parents and caregivers of infants and toddlers, according to Dr. Rhea Haugseth, president of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. She shares her step-by-step process for beginning the conversation and creating a dental home for young patients.

In other practice management news, dental informatics is evolving into an integral component of modern dental education and is poised to begin making a significant difference in the way dentists run their practices. But there is still much work to do before practitioners can take advantage of the goldmine of information that comes from going digital, according to one of the leading experts in the field.

Finally, it's that time of year again: spring. Which means, of course (for many of us, anyway), spring cleaning. Dr. Sheri Doniger recommends applying the same principle to your office, particularly your patient charts and treatment plans. Read more in her latest Dental Diaries entry.