Cancer survivor battles Medicare; practical tips for 'going green'

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

Hank Grass survived a three-year battle with oral cancer. But the 77-year-old retired policeman's fight with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is far from over.

Grass has tried repeatedly to get the agency to reimburse him for thousands of dollars in oral surgeries and dental treatments he needed after undergoing the radiation treatment that saved his life. But CMS' strict rules about what constitutes "medically necessary" treatment have left Grass on the verge of bankruptcy.

Click here to read more about Grass' plight in this latest Oral Cancer & Diagnostics Community feature.

In other dental news, last year's tsunami in Japan has prompted a group of dental researchers at Tohoku University Hospital to propose what they say would be a better way manage the country's dental records: by going digital and storing the data in "the cloud." Read more.

Meanwhile, over in the Practice Management Community, "going green" is both environmentally friendly and economically savvy for dental practices, according to a presentation at the recent ADA Annual Session. Click here to read practical tips for adopting green practices into your office that can save money and make your patients happy too.

Finally, could rousing a sedated patient one day be as easy as shining a light in his or her eyes? Researchers at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich have found a way to add a light-sensitive group of molecules to propofol that could enable practitioners to control the anesthesia's effects with light. Read more.