Industry Info

SUNSTAR SPOTLIGHT EXPLORES ORAL WOUND HEALING USING HYALURONIC ACID

The topical application of hyaluronic acid following bone graft procedures and other surgical procedures may help oral would healing. This topic is fully explored in this installment of Sunstar Spotlight titled “Support Oral Wound Healing”, sponsored by Sunstar Americas Inc. The informative paper on the use of hyaluronic acid for promotion of healing in the oral cavity is written by Sebastiano Andreana, DDS, MS—the director of implant dentistry and an associate professor in the Department of Restorative Dentistry at the School of Dental Medicine at the University at Buffalo, The State University of New York.

EAGLESOFT PRACTICE MANAGEMENT TURNS 21

Eaglesoft Practice Management System, a subsidiary of Patterson Dental—both headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota—celebrated its 21st birthday by heading to Las Vegas. The event took place in conjunction with CEREC’s 30th anniversary celebration on September 17 to September 19. Attendees learned how to find, implement, and measure success in their dental practices, and individualized training sessions were provided.

Current Eaglesoft Practice Management System users were given the opportunity to explore features of the system they may not y et be using in their practices, as well as more than 10 hours of Eaglesoft-specific training. A preview of the software’s latest version, Eaglesoft 18, was also shared with attendees.

COLGATE-PALMOLIVE, MAKE-A-WISH^® ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP

New York-based Colgate-Palmolive and the Make- A-Wish Foundation are teaming up to make the smiles of children with life-threatening medical conditions shine a little brighter. Colgate-Palmolive has announced that through December 31, 2016, it will donate 4% of sales from every children’s toothbrush purchased by dental offices in the United States to Make-A-Wish. This impactful organization is known for providing sick children with a once-in-a-lifetime experience—a gift that not only brightens the lives of children and their families, but that also supports children’s physical health and overall quality of life.

Colgate has pledged a minimum contribution of $250,000 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which expressed its gratitude and confidence that the monetary donation will be put to good use for the lucky children who receive a dream-come-true experience.

RESEARCHERS DEVELOPING FASTER HPV TEST

The incidence of oropharyngeal cancer is on the rise, growing 225% from 1988 to 2004, according to data from the National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results program. In fact, annual cases of this cancer, which has been linked to humanpapilloma virus (HPV), are expected to surpass those of cervical cancer—also linked to HPV—by 2020. But to date, there is no United States Food and Drug Administrationapproved test for oral HPV that can be used in a clinical setting, according to Jennifer Webster-Cyriaque, PhD, DDS, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Dentistry. “The potential for this test is significant,” she said.

Webster-Cyriaque is working with researchers at Sunnyvale, California-based InSilixa Inc to develop a rapid oral HPV test that can be administered in the dental setting. To that end, InSilixa has received a $224,764 phase I small business innovation research grant from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. They plan to use the company’s semiconductor-based biochip technology to adapt a test originally developed in Webster-Cyriaque’s lab.

The test would screen saliva for cancer causing HPV types, similar to a recently approved pap smear test used to detect HPVlinked cervical cancer. It is designed to identify which strains of HPV are present and determine risk level.

From Dimensions of Dental Hygiene. November 2015;13(11):23.