Tuesday, April 03, 2012

The Morning Drill: April 3, 2012



A dental grill

Good Tuesday morning!

On to today's dentistry headlines:

Patient sues ex-Councilwoman Judy Green over Dental Grill

A western Louisville resident is suing former Louisville Metro Councilwoman Judy Green, who is a dentist, in Jefferson Circuit Court over what he claims is a botched dental procedure.

Christopher Skillman says in his lawsuit that Green was “grossly negligent” and “failed to exercise the requisite degree of care and skill required of a prudent dentist” when she installed a grill on his four front bottom teeth.

A grill is jewelry for teeth, often made of gold or silver and sometimes with precious stones, such as diamonds.

The lawsuit claims that as a result of Green’s “malpractice,” Skillman experienced pain and suffering and cosmetic disfigurement, and was required to have “substantial dental and medical” follow-up visits with additional providers, including other dentists and practitioners in endodontics.

It says there was damage to Skillman’s teeth and roots, and that there was “failure of the grill.”

Delta Dental Donates $150,000 to Minnesota Mission of Mercy


In a recent check presentation ceremony, the Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation made a $150,000 donation to the Minnesota Dental Foundation (MDF) to help fund Minnesota's first Mission of Mercy (MnMOM) event.  The significant monetary value of this gift makes Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation the Signature Sponsor of Minnesota's 2012 MOM event.

Plans are currently underway for Minnesota to launch its first Mission of Mercy event this year. MOM events, which have been held in 18 states, have a goal of providing free dental care to patients who face insurmountable barriers to care. A large, temporary dental clinic is erected to provide treatment over a two-day period in areas of the state where individuals are not able to easily access oral health care. It provides dental treatment to children and adults in need, regardless of their ability to pay.

"This is both an exciting moment for the Mission of Mercy project and a wonderful collaborative effort between our Foundation and the Delta Dental of Minnesota Foundation," said Dr. Steve Litton, MDF President. "We truly look forward to continuing this collaboration as the Foundation advances its mission to support outreach programs that provide dental services to underserved populations and communities."

Canada declares triclosan bad for environment

Triclosan, which is used in toothpaste to protect against gingivitis, is not harmful to humans but can harm the environment, according to the findings of a Canadian investigation.

Health Canada has been probing the effects of triclosan on the body's endocrine system and whether the antibacterial agent contributes to the development of antibiotic resistance along with the effect of widespread use on the environment.

In a preliminary assessment issued March 30, the Minister of Health called for voluntary reductions in the use of triclosan in products, according to a government press release. The government is also proposing to list the chemical as toxic to the environment.

Metformin May Lower Risk for Oral Cancer Development


New findings published in Cancer Prevention Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research, suggest that metformin may protect against oral cancer.

J. Silvio Gutkind, Ph.D., chief of the Oral and Pharyngeal Cancer Branch of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research at the National Institutes of Health, and colleagues induced premalignant lesions in laboratory mice and studied the effect of metformin on progression of these lesions to oral cancers.

"We saw strong activity against mTORC1 (mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1), which we know contributes to oral cancers, so this is strong preclinical information that there is a protective effect," said Gutkind.

Metformin is the most widely used treatment for patients with type 2 diabetes, and scientists have started to notice a trend toward cancer reduction in a number of organ sites.

Gutkind and colleagues found that administration of metformin reduced the size and number of carcinogen-induced oral tumoral lesions in mice and significantly reduced the development of squamous cell carcinomas by about 70 to 90 percent.

Enjoy your morning!

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