February 10, 2021 | News

TEMPE, Ariz., U.S.: Align Technology sold a record 1.6 million cases of clear aligners in 2020—the same year in which most governments and businesses around the world hemorrhaged money while being starved of income. The clear aligner maker did a lot for dentists and orthodontists last year and is now reaping the rewards. Moreover, the digital workflows behind clear aligner therapy are helping dentists and orthodontists to keep patient numbers high.

February 10, 2021 | News

OPORTO, Portugal: A recently published paper, which is the second of a three-part series on the management of COVID-19 in clinical dental care settings, aims to describe the selection and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by dental care professionals, based on the level of risk associated with the planned procedures. The researchers emphasise the importance of properly putting on and removing PPE, as well as choosing the appropriate equipment because it can be associated with a risk of infection.

February 9, 2021 | News

DOHA, Qatar: Since periodontitis and COVID-19 are both associated with systemic inflammation, researchers from Qatar University and Hamad Medical Corporation in Qatar have investigated the connection of periodontitis with severe outcomes of the respiratory syndrome. The study findings supported a link between the two diseases, as COVID-19 patients with periodontitis were more likely to experience complications or to die.

February 8, 2021 | Interviews

As part of work supported by a series of rapid-response grants for COVID-19-related research, mechanical engineering PhD student Dongjie Jia at Cornell University, U.S., helped develop a design for an open-faced helmet for patient use that is connected to a medical-grade air filtration pump from the top that creates a reverse flow of air to prevent cough droplets from entering the clinic environment. In an interview with Dental Tribune International, Jia explained how this project, which was funded by the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, was born and how it could help medical professionals in the ongoing pandemic.

February 5, 2021 | News

DUBAI, UAE: Non-urgent dental treatment has been suspended in the emirate of Dubai—the most populous city and territory in the UAE. According to the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), the precautionary measure aims to protect patients and healthcare personnel from SARS-CoV-2 and to hinder the spread of the virus.

February 5, 2021 | News

LONDON, UK: The UK government has recently imposed a new system of targets that is planned to increase dental activity in the country and to help address the backlog of COVID-19 patients. However, many dental professionals fear that the targets are unattainable and that the only way to comply with the new conditions is by prioritising non-urgent care over urgent cases. Now, a new report has shown that sales of at-home dental care kits in the UK are increasing, and the British Dental Association (BDA) believes that this surge in sales is a consequence of the recent policies adopted by the government.

February 4, 2021 | News

LONDON, UK: One of the greatest challenges for the dental profession in returning to normal business is the inherent risk of SARS-CoV-2 transmission via emitted sprays, associated with commonly performed dental procedures. A recent study by researchers at Imperial College London, King’s College London, and Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust found that controlling certain parameters could help during the current crisis to alter the key properties of sprays.

February 3, 2021 | News

LEIPZIG, Germany: New discoveries about COVID-19 are outpacing the nomenclature. Research is emerging that suggests that a large number of COVID-19 patients experience symptoms in the oral cavity that are not yet recognised as typical signs of the disease. Geographic tongue—which is being referred to as “COVID tongue”—has been observed in those with COVID-19, as have herpetic lesions and oral aphthous ulceration.

February 2, 2021 | News

RICHMOND, Va., U.S.: The ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic continues to create insecurity around the world. A survey of dental and dental hygiene students enrolled at the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Dentistry, U.S., has investigated whether their post-graduation career plans have been affected by the pandemic. A considerable number stated that the current situation caused anxiety and concern about the security of the dental profession.

January 28, 2021 | News

HARLOW, UK: Now that many questions regarding COVID-19, including its symptoms, risks and recovery time, have been answered, researchers are faced with a new dilemma: SARS-CoV-2 reinfection and immunity. Although unusual, it is evident that reinfections do occur, and in a recent study, researchers explored whether individuals who have recovered from COVID-19 are protected from future infection. The findings suggested that past infection may provide natural immunity and that the said immunity is effective for approximately half a year after the initial infection.

January 22, 2021 | News

LONDON, UK: Dentists in England currently receive their former National Health Service (NHS) contract value provided they spend the same amount of time working on providing NHS care as they did before the COVID-19 pandemic took hold, slowing down or completely halting all business operations. However, the new system of targets imposed by the UK government states that dentists who are unable to deliver 45% of their pre-pandemic dental activity will face financial penalties plus potential breach of contract consequences. Naturally, dental professionals have opposed the new contractual arrangement, claiming that it threatens the viability of many practices and undermines patient care.

January 20, 2021 | Interviews

Dr Elham Kateeb’s professional career has been devoted to dentistry: She is an associate professor of dental public health and the dean of scientific research at Al-Quds University in Palestine, an elected member of FDI World Dental Federation’s Public Health Committee and a health service researcher, to name but a few of her responsibilities. She is also involved in the education of a future generation of dentists, an undertaking which is not without its challenges. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, in particular, has had a great impact on the way she and her students work and learn together. In an interview with Dental Tribune International, Kateeb spoke about these difficulties and of how there could be a positive outcome for the whole of dentistry.

January 19, 2021 | News

LONDON, UK: The British Dental Association (BDA) warned in early January that hundreds of dental practices would be put out of business if the government did not abandon NHS targets for patient volumes during the national lockdown. New polling has since revealed the extent to which UK residents are cancelling or avoiding dental treatment altogether, and Dr Dave Cottam, the BDA’s chair of the General Dental Practice Committee, says that when the facts change, so must the policies.

January 18, 2021 | News

PFAFFENHOFEN AN DER ILM, Germany: Healthcare providers worldwide have started administering the long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine. In many countries, dental teams are included in the first group eligible to receive it. Recently, a Bavarian dentist arranged vaccination appointments for his entire practice staff. However, he also threatened negative consequences for anyone who refused to be vaccinated. As no legal basis for such a requirement has yet been established in Germany, the dentist was reported to the authorities.

January 14, 2021 | News

COVID-19 has had a significant impact on our professional life, yet the aftermath of the pandemic and its consequences for our future are still unclear. Since dental practitioners and their teams are directly exposed to the virus, there have been numerous challenges to providing dental care during the pandemic. Up to now, we have only been able to base our practice management decisions on recently gathered statistics and on the early stages of research. This has led to various mistakes being committed in clinical practice and to unexpected discoveries as well as to increasing uncertainty about the future of dentistry.

January 14, 2021 | News

LEIPZIG, Germany: New variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus that emerged in the UK and South Africa in 2020 show higher transmissibility. And whereas they are thought not to result in more serious disease or increased morbidity, a leading US expert on public health policy has emphasised that the higher rates of infection resulting from the new strains will mean more deaths. Scientists are scrambling to understand the new variants, and they are concerned that the mutations present in the South African strain may pose complications for the efficacy of vaccines and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.

January 13, 2021 | News

LEIPZIG, Germany: After months of hoping and waiting, the news finally broke at the end of 2020 that a number of vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 had been developed and would be rolled out worldwide as soon as possible. However, although every effort is being made to ensure that as many people as possible are vaccinated against the virus, resources are scarce, and various logistical problems are slowing down the process considerably. This also raises the question of priority and who should receive the coveted shot first. This article outlines where the dental profession stands in this scenario.

January 12, 2021 | News

SACRAMENTO, Calif., U.S.: As a result of the Californian Dental Association’s (CDA) endeavors, dentists have been authorized to administer the COVID-19 vaccine in order to accelerate its dissemination. Dentists will be able to vaccinate people aged 16 and older after completion of a special training course.