Chemists in Germany believe they have made a breakthrough in creating a better ceramic.

Glass chemist Prof. Dr. Christian Rüssel of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Germany) and his colleagues of the Otto-Schott-Institute for Glass Chemistry were successful in producing a new nanocrystalline glass ceramic, which may be suitable for use in dentistry due to their strength and optical characteristics.

Science Daily News is reporting that the glass chemists of Jena University have recently published their ceramic research results in the online-edition of the science magazine Journal of Biomedical Materials Research.

Prof. Rüssel told SDN,”We achieve a strength five times higher than with comparable denture ceramics available today. In combination with new optical characteristics an additional field of application is opening up for these materials in dentistry. The enamel is partly translucent, which the ceramic is also supposed to be.”

The fundamental materials are melted at approximately 1.500 °C, then cooled before being finely cut up. The material is then melted and cooled a second time. Finally, the nanocrystals are produced by controlled heating to about 1,000 °C, which determines the crystallisation crucial for the strength of the product.

According to Rüssel, the ceramic ends up looking translucent, like a natural tooth.

This is good news for dentists, denture patients and those seeking dental implants who want the look and strength of regular teeth.

Read more: Nanocrystals Make Dentures Shine

Well, the BBC has a five-part series called “Earthflight” that captures flight from the wings of birds across six continents to experience life from a bird’s-eye view.

Earthflight used many different filming techniques to create the experience of flying with birds as they encounter some of the greatest natural events on the planet.

The following video is from Lake Bogoria, where a hungry fish eagle hunts flamingos –

For more Earthflight videos visit the BBC website.

The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that it will be at least a year before the water district can secure funding to add fluoride to the water. The fluoridation project is expected to cost anywhere from $4.4 million to $9.5 million, with annual operating expenses at $836,000.

A 1995 law prohibits water companies from passing fluoridation costs on to rate payers. So both the water district and San Jose Water Company must seek outside methods of providing the capital needed to build the infrastructure necessary to fluoridate the water.

Residents who are against the fluoridation project site fears of dental fluorosis, lowered IQ and raised cancer risks. But the National Cancer Institute supports a February 1991 Public Health Service report, where the agency found no evidence of an association between fluoride and cancer in humans. The report, based on a review of more than 50 human epidemiological (population) studies produced over the past 40 years, concluded that optimal fluoridation of drinking water “does not pose a detectable cancer risk to humans” as evidenced by extensive human epidemiological data reported to date.

Dentist Donald Lyman, of the California Department of Public Health tells The Washington Post, “When you fluoridate the water, childhood tooth decay drops 40 percent and among the elderly, tooth loss and decay drops 70 percent.”

The American Dental Association continues to endorse fluoridation of community water supplies as safe and effective for preventing tooth decay. This support has been the Association’s position since policy was first adopted in 1950. The ADA’s policies regarding community water fluoridation are based on the overwhelming weight of peer-reviewed, credible scientific evidence. The ADA, along with state and local dental societies, continues to work with federal, state and local agencies to increase the number of communities benefiting from water fluoridation. (From the ADA website)

New York City cosmetic dentist and Huffington Post contributor, Thomas P. Connelly, D.D.S. writes, “In my years of being a dentist, I’ve found enough to make me feel that fluoride in the water just isn’t worth it. Even if some research is scoffed at, the question itself is enough to make me pause. Especially because I do feel we have enough education on oral health that everyone should be brushing their teeth. And trust me, if you are brushing like you should be (and your dentist is using a topical treatment every so often), then I feel you don’t need fluoride in your water. I’m not a fan of inserting a chemical into our water that most of us simply don’t need to help the few that won’t help themselves.”

What are your thoughts on the use of fluoridation in public water supplies? Leave us a comment or take our most recent survey on fluoridation here.

For more information see: Santa Clara Valley Water District Approves Adding Fluoride to Water in Spite of Objections.

Said one general dentist, “I place implants myself, but only in ideal situations.”

Another general dentist said, “After referring to specialists and getting back poor work , I thought: How much worse can I do? Now I offer implants.”

This The Wealthy Dentist survey asked the question  that many dentists requested we ask: Do you place your own dental implants?

Click on Play to hear how dentists and specialists responded –

Ever since American Idol judge and Aerosmith lead singer, Steven Tyler received dental implants this year to restore his two front teeth by a dentist in Paraguay, there’s been a new surge of interest in implant technology.

What are your thoughts on who should be placing dental implants?

The Journal reports that FHSU president Ed Hammond testified during a meeting of the Home-and-Community-Based Services Oversight Committee that the university would develop a baccalaureate degree program to train registered dental practitioners in Kansas.

These “registered dental practitioners” would be responsible for routine dental treatments such as teeth cleanings, fillings and preventive care.

Previous bills written to establish a dentistry career track, similar to nurse practitioners working with physicians, have not been passed by Kansas House or Senate committees.

The Journal further states that this time around the Kansas Health Foundation is funding the Kansas Dental Project, a campaign to convince Kansas lawmakers that registered dental practitioners would improve services to Kansas by working in conjunction with dentists and dental hygienists.

They claim that currently 93 counties in Kansas do not enough dentists to serve their residents.

Fort Hays State University is the fastest growing of the Kansas Board of Regents universities. It is located in Hays, Kansas, and is a state, tax-assisted institution.

For more on this story in The Topeka Capital-Journal see: FHSU endorses new dental career path

In this survey, 29% of dentists said their dental practice is completely paperless, another 17% are mostly paperless, while 27% are making some progress, and the remaining 32% haven’t even tried.

When it comes to fully automating a dental practice, some of the things that worry doctors include legal ramifications of electronic patient notes, concerns about security, training costs, and the time it takes to implement.

“I still worry about the legal ramifications of electronic patient notes if in a court of law where the judge is more than a little skeptical about the tamper-proof quality of computers,” said one dentist.

Here are some comments we got when we asked dentists, “Do you have a “paperless” dental office?”

• “Consents are the only thing lacking. We have purchased Dentforms, but have not implemented as of today.” (Georgia dentist)

• “I don’t know how an office can be totally paperless. I can see how they can be chartless.” (California dentist)

• “I opened my practice in 2003 paperless from the get-go. I can’t imagine doing it any other way. Digital everything is great! It certainly is more efficient and it’s wonderful not having to use up valuable office space with stacks and rows of paper patient files!” (Ohio prosthodontist)

• “We are not completely paperless we still do some scan and shred. Paperless plus digital saves at least one employee. Some offices use new “things” and maintain the old ways. Some use old “things” and old ways. A few create new ways to work and look for the easiest most cost effective way to make it happen. Is you office designed for paperless? What is the next frontier?” (Missouri dentist)

• “A better term would be chartless. We still have paper statements, invoices, etc.” (California dentist)

• “Paperless is the best thing that ever happened to us!” (Florida hygienist)

• “I have heard from other practitioners that it is very time consuming and she spends a lot of time correcting staff entries. I’m afraid that I’ll miss something and also don’t want to take all the extra time to do templates and correct entries.” (California dentist)

• “I see no immediate need and I have some concerns about security.” (Texas dentist)

• “We have digital x-ray and online clinical notes. The only things remaining in the chart are signed papers, referral slips and EOBs that aren’t available electronically. At this point going completely paperless seems like more trouble than it’s worth. We don’t see any point in spending money to go paperless with the rest of it right now. We have greatly limited the amount of times we are actually touching a paper chart.” (Minnesota dentist)

• “Try it you’ll like it. At first you might slow down. Later the benefits will be self-evident. It is a big cultural shift for the practice though.” (California prosthodontist)

• “We scan everything but still keep the paper copies. This adds work but saves us time later.” (California orthodontist)

• “5 years and no looking back. We are chartless — not actually paperless. This makes much more sense to us and to our patients. No huge wall of charts, no misplaced charts, easy to treatment plan, track, and follow up. Much much cleaner for staff. Lots of time savings. 1 front desk employee for 3 dentists and 2 hygienists at busy office … efficiency starts with chartless!” (Illinois dentist)

In many of The Wealthy Dentist surveys dentists have complained of career burnout.

Burnout is considered either emotional or physical exhaustion, usually caused by stress at work. It was initially described in the 1950s by Hans Selye as ‘the nonspecific response of the body to any demand made upon it and discouragement in the work setting’.

According to the U.C. Irvine report, burnout is viewed also as a complex of psychological responses (strain) to the particular stress of constant interaction with people who are in need. Differing from other interactional symptoms related to job stress is the effect on others seen as a depersonalization of clients.

Symptoms of Burnout -

1. Negative Feelings.
Feelings of disillusionment and being ‘stretched too thin’. Feeling that you aren’t making a ‘difference’ in your approach to lifelong goals. Other feelings of burnout are the feeling of being ‘run down’, easily frustrated and feeling that you are unable to concentrate.

2. Interpersonal Problems.
Your tolerance level drops as the burnout grows and you find yourself increasingly unable to handle social interactions. You begin to dehumanize your relationships by thinking of your dental patients not as people but as objects.

3. Physical Manifestations.
Burnout shows up physically as exhaustion, muscle pain, headaches, insomnia, respiratory illnesses, gastrointestinal disorders, depression, and hypertension.

4. Substance Abuse.
Often people suffering from burn-out will self-medicate their anxiety, depression and insomnia with drugs or alcohol.

5. Inefficiency at Work.
Burnout causes productivity to wane as you become less effective overall, either by hiding in your office or staying away from work more often.

Remedies for Burnout -

1. Take a Two Week Vacation.
Quite often by distancing yourself from your work you will be able to make some decisions on things you can do differently to alleviate stress when you return to your dental practice.

2. Cut Back Your Work Hours.
Sometimes burnout appears from an unwillingness to delegate job duties. Consider cutting back on your work load by delegating tasks you don’t enjoy and consider cutting back your dental practice hours if you can.

3. Schedule Time For You During the Day.
Make sure you always take a lunch break. Make it at least an hour and a half three days a week and schedule some light exercise for the last half hour like a brisk walk around the block or a yoga class.

4. Put Your Health First.
Go to bed at the same time every night and work on getting enough sleep. Look at your diet and see where you can cut out high sugar foods, and make time to relax with good friends on weekends.

5. Write Your Thoughts Down.
Some people find that keeping a journal at home and expressing your feelings of frustration on paper can go a long ways towards helping you deal with burnout. Commenting anonymously on this blog might even help too.

The most critical thing about burnout is to recognize it’s a shout out from your exhausted self. Try changing things up a bit in your life to break out of your routine. Come into the office thirty minutes later, drive a different route to work, learn a new hobby, or work on something you love. Take a break and list all the reasons you chose dentistry as your profession in the first place.

Have you ever suffered from burnout?  What advice would you give dentists for dealing with burnout?

The Wealthy Dentist asked dentists if they feel that state dental boards unfairly restrict dental practice marketing. Two out of three dentists said no – dental boards are just protecting the public’s best interest. But one out of three dentists was frustrated by the limitations dental boards put on advertising and other dental marketing efforts.

Watch the Video to hear more of what dentists have to say -

What are your thoughts on state dental boards and dental marketing?

In its report the panel revealed that sugar-free chewing gum, lozenges and hard candy including xylitol or polyol combinations, and a prescription varnish with chlorhexidine and thymol could be beneficial in preventing cavities when used in conjunction with a comprehensive cavity prevention program which includes the use of fluoride-containing products.

The scientific panel further recommended that dentists consider applying a mixture of cholrhexidine-thymol varnish to the teeth of high-risk adults and the elderly every three months to reduce cavities developing in the root of the tooth.

The panel also encouraged dentists to consider advising parents and caregivers of healthy children older than 5 years who are at higher risk for cavities to chew sugar-free polyol gum after meals for 10 to 20 minutes to prevent cavities.

The ADA report is available on their Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry website at ebd.ada.org. The executive summary of the report is published in the September issue of The Journal for the American Dental Association.

For more on this story see: Sugar-Free Polyol Gum, Lozenges, Hard Candy: Nonfluoride Varnishes Help Prevent Cavities, Study Finds

And this drives a lot of dentists crazy like the one who complained, “This is SUPPOSED to be a free country where people can relocate as desired. this current system is just regional protectionism. It sucks!”

The Wealthy Dentist conducted a survey that asked dentists if once a dentist is licensed in one state, should he or she be allowed to practice anywhere in the U.S.

Watch this video to hear what dentists had to say on universal licensure -

What are your thoughts on universal licensure? Should dentists be allowed to practice anywhere in the U.S. under one license?