Dear Cosmetic Dentistry Insider,
There's an app for everything these days -- even for orthodontic care. This week in the Insider, we take a look at the more useful orthodontic apps for both patients and practitioners.
In a review published in the Journal of Endodontics, a U.K. researcher found apps ranging from simple consumer tools that remind patients to wear their rubber bands to professional-oriented software designed to perform tooth-width calculations or help position orthodontic brackets. Find out what else is out there in the Cosmetic Dentistry Insider Exclusive.
Elsewhere in the Cosmetics Digital Community, DrBicuspid.com spotlighted studies that could prove useful to clinicians. One concluded that clinicians should skip bleaching or remineralizing agents when treating white-spot lesions. Click here to find out what treatment works best.
Another study found that the VELscope device may be a useful aid in the surgical treatment of osteonecrosis of the jaw induced by bisphosphonates (BRONJ). Learn more at this link.
Meanwhile, Canadian researchers asked: Does ultrasound offer distinct advantages over MRI when screening patients for temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction? Their answer is clear.
In other news, a prominent Arkansas orthodontist is answering questions from the state dental board about whether or not he operated outside of his specialty by offering prophies. The board's attorney says he is.
In Texas, a judge ordered the state to pay a dentist $1.3 million in Medicaid funds that state regulators had withheld amid fraud concerns. Texas, which has dealt with widespread Medicaid fraud in dentistry, has also awarded $4.2 million to three former employees of an orthodontist convicted in a whistleblower lawsuit.
And a poll from Align Technology provided interesting results about Americans' selection process for dental work. The percentage of patients who seek second opinions may surprise you.
Lastly, the CAO Group has gained U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for the first diode laser that has an Apple iPod Touch controller. Learn how it works here.
