3M, Ivoclar battle over patent; Kan. still eyeing dental therapists

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

A patent battle is heating up between 3M and Ivoclar Vivadent. Last week Ivoclar filed a lawsuit claiming 3M is violating one of its U.S. patents covering polymer-based restorative materials.

But 3M has sued Ivoclar as well, claiming it is not infringing the patent and questioning whether the patent is, in fact, valid. Read more in this latest Restoratives Community feature.

In other news, Fort Hays State University in Kansas is taking the first steps toward its goal of becoming the next school in the U.S. to offer a midlevel provider bachelor's degree, following a meeting last week to discuss curriculum ideas.

And researchers from Indiana University found that bacterial contamination of impression guns occurred easily in the course of normal clinical usage, according to a study in the Journal of the American Dental Association.

Finally, using a combination of amoxicillin and metronidazole as an adjunct to full-mouth scaling and root planing during the treatment of generalized, aggressive periodontitis is safe and effective, according to a meta-analysis in the Journal of Periodontology.