Dear DrBicuspid Member,
A December 1 article in the Minnesota Daily, the University of Minnesota student newspaper, claims that the 20 DentSim devices installed in 2008 in the School of Dentistry's Advanced Simulation Clinic for $1.2 million are "severely underutilized" and that the simulation clinic is vacant 85% of the time.
But school administrators and other supporters of the DentSim technology -- which is used by more than 25 dental schools worldwide -- maintain that the equipment is an important advance in dental education that is worth the investment. Read more.
Over in the Cosmetics Community, what type of orthodontic appliance a young adult patient wears can influence judgments others make about them in terms of not only attractiveness but social competence, intellectual ability, and psychological adjustment, according to a study in the European Journal of Orthodontics.
In other news, a single session of photodynamic therapy shrank oral leukoplakia lesions in a significant majority of patients in a small phase I/II study that is the first to assess this treatment method, researchers report in Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery. Read more in this Oral Cancer & Diagnostics Community report.
Meanwhile, in Imaging & CAD/CAM Community news, a surgical camera company new to the dental market has developed what it says is the first high-definition video camera designed specifically to be mounted on dental and surgical loupes. Click here to read details about this compact, lightweight device.
And 44 popular brands of breakfast cereal provide more sugar in a single bowl than is found in three chocolate chip cookies, according to a study from Environmental Working Group, a health information nonprofit. A one-cup serving of one brand even has more sugar than a Twinkie, the researchers found.
Finally, don't forget to vote in the semifinal round of the 2012 DrBicuspid Dental Excellence Awards! Voting ends midnight on December 14.
