ST. PAUL, Minn. – Automatic mixing units give dental professionals a shortcut to the perfect mix of impression material. Building off of the trusted Pentamix™ family name, the introduction of the 3M™ ESPE™ Pentamix™ Lite Automatic Mixing Unit provides dentists with an entry model to the world of automatic mixing. This affordable, portable mixer works with all 3M ESPE impression materials, and is built with convenience in mind.

From high-viscosity putty to medium-bodied materials, the Pentamix Lite automatic mixing unit consistently delivers a homogenous, reproducible mixing quality for void-free impressions. The Pentamix Lite automatic mixing unit works with all 3M ESPE impression materials, including Imprint™ 4 VPS Impression Material, the fastest setting impression material on the market, and Impregum™ Soft Polyether Impression Material, the gold-standard for impression materials.

The automatic mixing unit’s intuitive set-up is designed for maximum ease of use—just plug it in, push the start button, and start mixing. The unit’s light weight and its integrated handgrip make it easy to carry from operatory to operatory, and its compact design saves space when the device is in standby position. Additionally, the Pentamix Lite automatic mixing unit enables hygienic direct filling of trays and syringes without the risk of cross-contamination.

“The Pentamix Lite automatic mixing unit allows offices to start automatic mixing almost as soon as the device is out of the box,” said Mark Cotton, marketing manager, 3M ESPE. “A staff member simply needs to plug in the mixing unit, insert a foil bag of impression material into the universal cartridge, put the cartridge in the unit, attach a mixing tip and start filling the tray or syringe. The intuitive design makes it simple to put the unit right to work, and its portability means it can be easily moved to wherever it is needed in the office.”

With an affordable price, the Pentamix Lite automatic mixing unit gives dentists an economical tool to dispense exactly the amount of material needed to avoid wasting impression material, and to keep the workflow running efficiently for higher productivity.

Together, with 3M ESPE impression materials, the Pentamix Lite automatic mixing unit offers dentists precision and control with a fast, time-saving procedure.

3M ESPE will showcase the new mixing unit at the Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting, February 20-22, in booths 3425 and 3625 at Chicago’s McCormick Place West.

For more information, call 1-800-634-2249 or visit www.3MESPE.com/PentamixLite.

AURORA, Colo. – While adults make up 95 percent of those who die annually from vaccine preventable diseases, a new study from the University of Colorado School of Medicine shows their vaccination rates remain stubbornly low, representing a growing public health concern.

The study, published recently in the Annals of Internal Medicine, is the first to examine several important aspects of adult vaccination. Every year, 30,000 people on average die of vaccine preventable illnesses, almost all of them adult.

"Our study suggests that missed opportunities for adult vaccination are common because vaccination status is not being assessed at every (physician's) visit, which is admittedly an ambitious goal," said Laura Hurley, MD, MPH lead author of the study and an assistant professor of medicine at the CU School of Medicine. "Also, most physicians are not stocking all recommended vaccines."

Recent estimates show only 62 to 65 percent of adults aged 65 and older received a pneumococcal or influenza vaccine respectively; just 20 percent of high risk adults between 19 and 64 received a pneumococcal vaccine and only 16 percent of those 60 and older got their herpes zoster (shingles) vaccination.

Hurley and her fellow researchers designed a national survey of primary care physicians in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looking at how doctors assessed vaccination status and stocked the 11 recommended adult vaccines in 2012.

"Physicians reported a variety of barriers to vaccine stocking and administration but financial barriers dominated the list," the study said. "Physicians in smaller, private practice often assume more risks from stocking expensive vaccine inventories and may be particularly affected by these financial barriers."

According to Hurley, who also practices at Denver Health, many doctors expressed difficulty getting reimbursed by insurance for vaccines.

For example, the herpes zoster vaccine has been recommended since 2008 but is not widely stocked by physicians. One major reason for this, the study says, is that zoster is covered by Medicare Part D, a pharmaceutical benefit, and physicians report problems with reimbursement. At the same time, the vaccine can require substantial out-of-pocket costs for patients, making it less attractive to them as well.

As a result of these difficulties, many physicians are referring patients to pharmacies or public health facilities for vaccinations.

"The most commonly reported reasons for referring patients elsewhere for vaccines included insurance not covering the vaccine," the study said.

There were also problems coordinating vaccine records when done by someone who is not the patient's primary care physician.

The study makes recommendations for improving the overall situation.

It suggests using Immunization Information Systems or IIS, a confidential database that records all vaccine doses administered by providers in a certain area. The system can allow doctors to know the vaccination status of their patients.

The authors point out that the Affordable Care Act addresses financial barriers to vaccination for privately insured patients by requiring insurers to cover recommended vaccines with no co-pays when delivered by in-network providers. There have also been recommendations for legislative action aimed at making Medicare Part D less of an obstacle to adult vaccinations.

"I feel we need to take a more systematic approach to this issue," Hurley said. "As the population ages this could easily grow into a more serious public health issue."

CHICAGO — Dental offices throughout the United States and Canada will observe Dental Assistants Recognition Week March 2 to 8.

The American Dental Association (ADA), American Dental Assistants Association (ADAA), Canadian Dental Association and Canadian Dental Assistants Association, along with other related professional organizations and educational institutions, will jointly recognize the observance.

This year’s theme, "Dental Assisting: Embracing the Changes of the Profession," acknowledges both the growing importance of dentistry's role in healthcare and the many ways that dental assistants participate in delivering quality patient care. 

Dental assistants are encouraged to visit the ADAA's website, dentalassistant.org, to download the kit that includes project and promotional ideas. Dental assistants are also encouraged to document and share their activities with The Dental Assistant, the ADAA journal, for publication consideration by sending their submissions to Michi Trota, managing editor of The Dental Assistant, at mtrota@dentalassistant.org or by completing the form in the kit:

https://www.dentalassistant.org/Content/Details/file/DARW/2014/14_DARW_Kit_web.pdf.

Statement of Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

WASHINGTON, DC – CVS Caremark this week set a powerful example for all retailers, especially those involved in health care, by announcing that it will end the sale of tobacco products at its more than 7,600 stores throughout the United States.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids applauds CVS for this courageous and historic decision. It represents one of the strongest actions any business has ever taken to address the enormous public health problems caused by tobacco use. CVS’s decision will reduce the availability of cigarettes and other tobacco products and sends an unmistakable message to all Americans, especially children, that tobacco use is uniquely harmful and socially unacceptable.

In making this decision, CVS has recognized that selling tobacco products – the number one cause of preventable death – is fundamentally incompatible with its commitment to improving the health of its customers. We urge other pharmacies and indeed all retailers to quickly follow CVS’s example.

CVS’s decision represents the bold leadership needed from all segments of our society to accelerate progress against tobacco and ultimately end the tobacco epidemic for good. It comes appropriately as the nation marks the 50th anniversary of the first Surgeon General’s report on smoking and health, and just weeks after the latest Surgeon General’s report found that smoking is even more hazardous and takes an even greater toll on the nation’s health.

The Surgeon General reported that smoking kills 480,000 Americans annually, sickens millions more and costs the nation more than $289 billion in health care expenses and other economic costs every year. The latest report also underscored that tobacco use is first and foremost a pediatric epidemic – 90 percent of adult smokers began at or before age 18, and 5.6 million kids alive today will die prematurely from smoking-caused disease unless current trends are reversed. These findings make it increasingly untenable for any responsible business to continue to sell tobacco products.

CVS’s decision adds critical momentum to the strong actions already taken this year to reduce tobacco use, including the release of the new Surgeon General’s report, the continuation of the CDC’s Tips from Former Smokers media campaign that encourages smokers to quit and the launch this week of the FDA’s The Real Cost media campaign aimed at preventing youth from using tobacco.

Together, these actions will help achieve the goals set by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and six other public health and medical organizations in January: To reduce smoking rates to less than 10 percent within 10 years, protect all Americans from secondhand smoke within five years and ultimately eliminate the death and disease caused by tobacco. CVS’s decision to end tobacco sales will help ensure that it does not take another 50 years to achieve these goals.

WHAT:    The 29th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Osseointegration

THEME:  “Real Problems, Real Solutions”

WHEN:   March 6─8, 2014

WHERE:Washington State Convention Center, Seattle, Wash.

WHY/HIGHLIGHTS:

-Learn about the latest techniques, innovations and advances in the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of common implant problems, including retreatment of 20- to 30-year-old implants.

-Meet and interview some of the most noted researchers and clinicians in the field of implant dentistry.

-See first-hand the largest assortment of dental implant products and services under one roof.

-Attend the President’s Reception at the Boeing Museum of Flight, the largest air and space museum on the West Coast.                

Opening Symposium—“Strategies to Address Implant Retreatment—Dealing With the 25-Year-Old Implant” will include presentations from renowned clinicians and researchers on cutting-edge topics.

International Symposium—First-ever half-day international symposium dedicated to a single country: Japan. Simultaneous translation from English to Japanese and from Japanese to English will be available in this session, which will be moderated by Yataro Komiyama, DDS, PhD.

Closing Symposium—“Our Better Future” will highlight current and advancing technology, including biotechnology, digital dentistry and materials selection and prosthetic design.

Other educational symposia include: concurrent surgical and restorative tracks, limited attendance lectures, innovative treatment approaches, an allied staff program, lunch and learn sessions, and a session concentrating on common practice challenges and innovative solutions.

EXHIBIT HALL: Open all three days of the conference, it will feature more than 130 exhibits from leading manufacturers and suppliers demonstrating the latest in dental products and services.

About the Academy of Osseointegration

The Academy of Osseointegration is the world’s leading dental implant organization. Founded in 1985, AO provides a focus for the rapidly advancing biotechnology involving the natural bond between bone and certain alloplastic reconstructive materials. The Academy’s primary goal is to advance the field of osseointegrated implants by fostering collaboration between representatives of different dental disciplines—oral surgery, periodontics, prosthodontics and general practice—through clinical and evidence-based research and education. AO membership now exceeds 6,000 professionals in nearly 70 countries.

The study – called TRAP-HPV, an acronym for Transmission Reduction And Prevention with HPV vaccination – is a randomized placebo-controlled double-blind trial involving 500 sexually active couples. The study aims to determine the efficacy of an HPV vaccine in reducing transmission of genital, anal, and oral HPV infection in unvaccinated sexual partners of vaccinated individuals.

HPV is the leading cause of cervical cancer, the second most common cancer in women globally. Prophylactic vaccines against certain high-risk HPV types have been shown to be effective in preventing infection. However, much remains to be understood on the effects of HPV vaccine on the blockage of transmission of target HPV types to sexual partners of vaccinated individuals. 

“This is the first study to look at whether unvaccinated partners of vaccinated individuals have a benefit in terms of protection from HPV infection,” explained Eduardo Franco, Director of the Division of Cancer Epidemiology and leader of the study. “It will help us understand the important issue of herd immunity from HPV vaccination. If partner protection is sufficiently high we may be able to get adequate population level immunity from much less than 100% vaccination coverage and devote our scarce public health funds to other pressing needs.”

“Efficacy studies of the HPV vaccines generally look at genital HPV infections, but our study will also be looking at other anatomical sites that HPV infects, such as the anal and oral regions,” says Kristina Dahlstrom, postdoctoral fellow, Department of Oncology, Division of Cancer Epidemiology. “Increasing the knowledge about HPV transmission dynamics will benefit cost-effectiveness studies and have implications for decision-making when implementing population-level vaccination strategies”.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control considers HPV the most common sexually transmitted disease in the world. Another McGill study called HITCH (HPV Infection and Transmission in Couples through Heterosexual activity), also from Dr. Franco’s team, found more than half (56 per cent) of young adults in a new sexual relationship were infected with HPV. Of those, nearly half (44 per cent) were infected with an HPV type that causes cancer. HPV is transmitted through sexual contact and persistent infections by specific types of HPV can cause cancer. Researchers at the International Agency for Research on Cancer estimate that HPV was responsible for 610,000 cases of cancer worldwide in 2008, about 5% of the world’s cancer burden. Most of these are cervical cancer, but HPV is also an important cause of cancers of the head and neck, anus, penis, vulva, and vagina. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than a half million women are diagnosed with cervical cancer annually and that the majority die from the disease – making it the 2^nd most frequent cancer among women worldwide. It is also estimated that 20-30 per cent of head/neck cancers are associated with HPV, with growing evidence linking these to the practice of oral sex. Since HPV-associated head and neck cancers are more likely to occur in men, protection of both genders through vaccination is important.

The TRAP-HPV study will recruit 500 sexually active couples in Montreal. The treatment will be vaccination with Gardasil (Merck), the HPV vaccine, and the placebo will be vaccination with Havrix (GSK), a vaccine against hepatitis A. Those vaccinated with Havrix will still be susceptible to HPV infection. A couple can be randomized to both receive Gardasil, one receives Gardasil and the other Havrix, or both receive Havrix (the control group). Couples will be followed for one year with clinic visits to collect genital, anal, and oral samples to determine their HPV infection status. They will also provide information about their demographics and sexual behaviors. Those who wish to participate in the study should contact Ms. Allita Rodrigues at traphpv@mcgill.ca for more information.    

The study is funded primarily by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and has also been supported by Merck, which provided free HPV vaccines and an unconditional grant to McGill.

For more information on the study, please visit: https://www.mcgill.ca/traphpv/

FINDINGS:

Women who are 65 and older routinely undergo bone-density testing to screen for osteoporosis. But for those between the ages of 50 and 64, it has been unclear who should be screened.

Researchers sought to determine how well the current screening strategy recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force — the independent expert panel appointed by the federal government to review and recommend various screenings — would perform in identifying candidates in this age range for screening.

Using health data on women ages 50-64 from the Women's Health Initiative study, the researchers found that the current strategy would identify only 34 percent of women who actually had bone-mineral density in the osteoporosis range.

IMPACT:

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force strategy may not identify the majority of women in the 50-64 age group who would be potential candidates for osteoporosis therapy. As a result, following the strategy may lead to missed opportunities to decrease fracture risk in at-risk women.

ANN ARBOR—In one of the first studies to show a significant association between BPA and cancer development, University of Michigan School of Public Health researchers have found liver tumors in mice exposed to the chemical via their mothers during gestation and nursing.

"We found that 27 percent of the mice exposed to one of three different doses of BPA through their mother's diet developed liver tumors and some precancerous lesions. The higher the dosage, the more likely they were to present with tumors," said Caren Weinhouse, U-M doctoral student in the School of Public Health's Department of Environmental Health Sciences and first author of the paper published online Feb. 3 in Environmental Health Perspectives.

Mice whose mothers received the highest dosage, 50 mg of BPA per kg diet, were seven times more likely to have tumors than those whose mothers were not exposed to BPA.

The researchers said more research is needed to determine the implications for human health.

"This current study showing liver tumors in mice says let's take another look at BPA and cancer in humans," Weinhouse said, adding that next the lab will look for biomarkers in the mice genes that may signal risk for disease before it develops, and then try to see if similar characteristics are found in humans.

Bisphenol A, or BPA, is a chemical most commonly found in plastics, cash register receipts and the lining of food cans. It once was used in hard plastic bottles, including baby bottles, but many companies have removed it as concerns about health effects have been raised in recent years. Studies have estimated that at least 90 percent of Americans have some level of BPA in their bodies.

Previous research has found precancerous lesions associated with BPA exposure but the U-M study is the first statistically significant finding of clinically evident tumors in any organ, said Dana Dolinoy, the John G. Searle Assistant Professor of Environmental Health Sciences and senior/corresponding author of the study. Specifically, the researchers found that adult offspring of exposed mothers had an increase in liver tumors.

Dolinoy said another interesting finding in their research is that tumor development didn't discriminate by sex.

"In general, females are at lower risk of spontaneous development of liver cancer," she said. "That distinction was erased in this study, with both males and females showing tumors."

The researchers fed 6-week-old female mice diets containing one of three environmentally relevant doses of BPA prior to mating, then throughout pregnancy and nursing. They then took one male and one female from each litter and followed them through to 10 months.

Another point of interest in their research, Dolinoy said, is that most other small animal studies have involved direct exposure to BPA. In this research, it was the mothers who were exposed before conception. The offspring, therefore, were exposed as developing fetuses and pups, not as adults.

"A previous study that exposed adult mice to much higher doses of BPA did not show the same link to cancer development," she said. "This tells us the timing of exposure and the dosage are extremely critical in evaluating study outcomes."

One year ago, Dolinoy's lab found BPA in human fetal liver tissue, demonstrating that there is considerable exposure to the chemical during pregnancy. In that study, they also found a proportionately higher concentration of free BPA—as opposed to conjugated forms modified by the body for elimination—showing that the ability to flush the chemical from the body is not the same in fetuses as in adults.

The ADA Foundation is accepting applications until March 14 for its 2014 Allied Dental Student Scholarship Program.

The ADAF plans to award 30 merit-based scholarships of $1,000 to 15 students studying to become dental hygienists, 10 students studying to become dental assistants and five students studying to become dental laboratory technicians.

To learn more, click here.

(Chicago) – The latest technology is included in an updated series of 10 modules from the American Dental Assistants Association Foundation. The work in two booklets provides up-to-the-minute knowledge required for effective management of dental radiography in dentistry. Each module addresses an all important aspect of dental radiography contributing to professional growth and security as well as functioning as preparation for a national examination- it is used as a review course for the Radiation Health and Safety Exam of the Dental Assisting National Board.

This renowned yet practical educational work of nearly 100 pages provides considerable information and each module features its own self-quiz. A final exam of 70 questions is also provided and successful completion earns 18 CEUs. Used as an adjunct textbook in many dental assisting programs it is also recognized by some dental boards as a pathway to obtain radiology licensing for dental assistants.

The recent, welcome revision was conducted by Dale A. Miles, DDS, MS, FRCD(C). Dr. Miles is a well-known clinician, educator, test consultant, speaker and author in the field of radiology.

The 10 modules are:

--Understanding Dental Radiation

--Radiation Safety

--Infection Control Techniques in Dental Radiology

--Exposing and Evaluation Dental Radiographic Images

--Processing Radiographic Film

--Mounting and Labeling Exposed Film-Based Images

--Identifying and Correcting Errors Related to Procedures

--Implementation of Quality Assurance for Radiographic Film Receptor Procedures

--Digital Imaging

--New Imaging Technologies Cone Beam CT (CBCT)

--Plus a glossary with a bonus of over 200 words and terms

Introduction to Basic Concepts in Dental Radiology with its 18 CEUs is available to members of the American Dental Assistants Association (ADAA) online at no cost and may be purchased by non-members for $100. Special school pricing is available. This course is among the many offerings from the ADAA Foundation as it fulfills its mission to advance the careers of dental assistants and to promote the dental assisting profession in matters of education, legislation, and credentialing and professional activities.

For more information, contact Santos Robles at Srobles@dentalassistant.org.