Premier Dental Introduces Two Striper BLACK Diamond Burs. Image: © Premier Dental


Premier Dental has launched its newest burs, the Two Striper® BLACK diamond burs. These burs are said to be designed for quicker cutting of the tooth and restorative materials, making them ideal for a variety of indications. BLACK diamond burs are crafted using natural diamonds, lending a unique, super-coarse sharpness, according to a press release from Premier.

The Two Striper BLACK diamond burs are available in 22 different shapes including popular round, barrel, football, and more. These burs utilize Premier’s proprietary PBS® Braze process, which essentially uniformly places crystals in a matrix pattern, fusing them to the shank to ensure they don’t fall out. This entire process is specifically designed to ensure sharpness for longer periods of time, allowing dental professionals to get more value out of their burs, per the press release.

Two Striper burs are also designed to eliminate surface inconsistencies, leading to a smoother, reduced-chatter experience. Patients can get out of the chair faster, and clinicians can be confident in the quality of their care. The diamonds are optimal for cutting and abrasion, according to Premier.

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These burs are said to offer clinicians a faster, more effective cutting option because of their unique formulation process, variety of shapes, and diamond sharpness.  

Premier Dental Introduces Two Striper BLACK Diamond Burs

Staff from Sonrisas Dental Health use the ToothFairy 101® Community Education Kit to teach youngsters at their school in San Mateo, California, about the importance of healthy dental hygiene habits. Sonrisas Dental Health receives free educational resources from America’s ToothFairy to help them serve more children in marginalized communities each year. | Image Credit: © America's ToothFairy

With plenty of support from the dental community, America’s ToothFairy’s Health Education Resources and Outreach (HERO) Program is designed to help teach children and their caregivers just how important it is to take preventative measures against tooth decay. The program provides oral health educational materials and outreach kits that assist community volunteers, oral health advocates, and dental health professionals to educate people about the importance of a healthy smile and how to prevent dental diseases.

According to America’s ToothFairy, more than 69 million people live in dental care health professional shortage areas, where on average only 31.75% of the population have their dental needs met. The nonprofit organization is dedicated to increasing access to oral health care for children in underserved populations and is working to provide effective education and prevention programs for communities that simply don’t have enough dental care providers.

“Dental disease is preventable, yet most oral health efforts focus on restorative care, rather than prevention,” Jill Malmgren, executive director of America’s ToothFairy, says in a press release.

“This creates a revolving door of drill, fill, and pull where children access services only when in severe pain or in need of invasive and expensive treatments.

“Over the last 3 years we have developed new ways to empower oral health educators to share the information families need to practice healthy dental hygiene habits at home and reinforce the importance of routine dental exams,” Malmgren adds.

During the organization’s 2023 fiscal year, which ended June 30, the HERO Program provided the following:

Guides for volunteers to address oral health inequity in their own communities

Downloadable educational materials that were used to reach nearly 600,000 children and caregivers

142 ToothFairy 101® Community Education Kits for educators, public health workers, and other oral health advocates that can reach at least 250 children each year

2 sponsored awareness campaigns including educational materials that reached 190,000 people and social media kits that reached thousands more online.

“A healthy smile can have a tremendous impact throughout a child’s lifetime,” says Julie Paulsen, vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility at Align Technology and America’s ToothFairy Board Secretary says in the press release. “Align Technology is proud of what we have accomplished together with America’s ToothFairy to help families in underserved communities learn how to prevent dental disease and break the cycle of poor oral health.”

Sponsored Smile Guardian education kits were given to an additional 75,500 kids. The kits—which included printed activity booklets for kids, guides for parents, and toothbrushes and toothpaste—were distributed regionally to organizations that serve at-risk populations including food banks, afterschool programs, public libraries, school nurses, preschools, and daycares thanks to contributions from Delta Dental, MGE: Management Experts, Patterson Dental, Cranberry, and private dental offices.

America’s ToothFairy and Partner MGE: Management Experts Continue Support for Underprivileged Children

“Education materials from America’s ToothFairy are amazing tools that make learning about oral health fun for the children and accessible for the caregivers,” says Tracey Carrillo Fecher, Chief Executive Officer at Sonrisas Dental Health, in the press release. “We distribute these education materials at community events, oral health presentations and in the oral health toolkits we give to every child who has contact with Sonrisas programming or clinical services.” Sonrisas, a nonprofit, safety net dental clinic in California, is one the 57 clinics nationwide that received resources from America’s ToothFairy to expand the number of children who can receive dental services in the last year.

Since its inception in 2006, America’s ToothFairy has distributed more than $25.6 million in donated products, educational materials, and financial grants to improve oral health outcomes for children and youth in need.

Nationwide oral care education program is possible with support from Align Technology and others.

America's ToothFairy HERO Program Teaches Prevention

Watching It: Do All Caries Need Treatment? Image: © Drazen - stock.adobe.com


Consider the following scenario, international speaker and mentor Ankur Gupta, DDS, says. An explorer sticks a little in a lingual groove of a maxillary molar with a bit of brown staining. Should the clinician fill it right away or watch it?

Dr Gupta says posing this question to 15 clinicians would result in 5 dentists who fill it, 5 who watch it, and 5 who would be less decisive. Moreover, all 15 treatment plans are well within clinical parameters.

Jason Goodchild, DMD, vice president of clinical affairs for Premier Dental Products Company, agrees that inter-clinician judgment calls can be a sticky issue. The decision comes down to the clinician’s tolerance and experience and depends heavily on patient factors such as caries risk, routine vs crisis care, type of patient, medical history, dental history, finances, and patient preferences.

“Some carious lesions are obvious and there is no judgment call; others can be small or hard to confirm, or on young, old, or complex patients. This is where judgment calls creep in,” Dr Goodchild says.

Tim Quirt, DDS, senior vice president of clinical operations at Heartland Dental, rarely encourages clinicians to watch things. He compares a carious lesion to a crack in your car’s windshield that starts small one night and by morning, it’s halfway across the surface. Dr Quirt says things like caries in dentistry typically follow the same pattern when ignored.

“You don’t necessarily want to watch things get worse,” Dr Quirt says.

However, Dr Quirt thinks patient-specific situations might dictate taking one’s time to treat a carious lesion. For example, small children who might lose the affected tooth soon might not need it filled immediately. Also, geriatric patients with complex medical histories could require some time before treatment. Additionally, Dr Quirt says healthy patients without a history of decay might have a shadow on the x-ray that a clinician decides to watch before treating it. Understanding the patient’s medical history and how consistently they come in for checkups can help the clinician make these judgment calls.

“One of the big issues can be [adherence]. You don’t want to watch too many things if a patient barely comes in every 5 or 10 years,” Dr Quirt says. “All of those things combine to give you a clue if something needs to be done immediately or you can keep an eye on it. But again, if it’s decay or infection, you want to get after it as fast as possible because it rarely gets better.”

Dr Goodchild may also watch it based on factors such as age, ability to cooperate, behavior, size of the lesion, and how close the tooth is to exfoliation.

“I am always trying to give kids positive experiences so they become lifelong great dental patients. A bad experience can be detrimental to them going forward,” Dr Goodchild explains. “If the caries is small or medium and radiographically it looks like the tooth will fall out soon, I’d most likely just keep an eye on it. Also, if the child is very young and I’m worried about the behavior, I may try to hold off a little while trying to create some rapport and allay their anxiety by having a few routine and easy visits."

Dr Goodchild may also decide to watch it when the patient is older and the patient’s medical history or other factors may compromise his ability to treat them safely.

“Typically, strategies can be developed to treat these patients, but I have certainly had elderly and frail patients where putting them through extensive dental work was not something they or their families wanted,” Dr Goodchild says.

For example, Dr Goodchild saw an older man recently who was otherwise healthy but, because of dementia, was not able to care for himself well and could not practice good oral hygiene. He had several small carious lesions, some in hard-to-access areas, possibly necessitating crowns or even eventual extractions.

“Based on his level of expected oral hygiene, he wouldn’t be able to maintain the restorations,” Dr Goodchild says. “Our plan after consulting with the caregiver was to see him regularly for hygiene and monitoring and address any areas that become symptomatic.”

Dr Goodchild has also had plenty of patients who, after hearing they have caries, say nothing is hurting and they don’t want to do anything about it.

“The best you can do is inform about risks of no treatment and then fully document,” Dr Goodchild says. “That is true in all cases.…Document.”

What to Watch Out for With the Watching It Approach

When it comes to treating it or watching it, there are pros and cons to each approach. Dr Gupta says drilling pulverizes the enamel while waiting could mean more decay and a more severe lesion in a few months.

Therefore, in his private practice in Ohio, he prefers to take a third option when he decides to watch it: arresting the decay. He treats the lesion with medicine that keeps decay from progressing, or at least delays it, and see what happens.

“Very few dentists even entertain that possibility either because of a lack of knowledge or confidence that it will work,” Dr Gupta says. “But in my opinion, that’s the absolute best option when you watch it.”

A few products can help with this approach. Silver diamine fluoride (SDF), which is FDA-cleared as a desensitizing agent, has an off-label use to arrest caries. However, Dr Gupta thinks clinicians often have a misconception that this product turns the tooth black, which makes them hesitant to use it.

However, SDF turns only caries black. While many patients don’t want black lesions on their anterior teeth, in Dr Gupta’s experience, most don’t care about that in the posterior.

“It’s rare for a patient to be uncomfortable with that possibility,” Dr Gupta says.

Dr Gupta also likes a product by Young Specialties, Curodont™ Repair Fluoride Plus, labeled as guided enamel regeneration for treating early carious lesions. He charges $25 to $30 for the application and then watches the area to see if it worsens over time. Few patients decline the treatment, he says, making it an excellent middle ground between drilling unnecessarily and doing nothing.

Diagnostic artificial intelligence (AI) can also give clinicians more time to treat a patient’s case, which Dr Quirt says Heartland Dental is piloting in some of its supported practices today. The technology identifies areas of concern in the radiographs for clinicians to take a closer look at for diagnosis. Using these indicators from the AI, dental clinicians can detect the start of decay earlier, which might mean they don’t treat it right away. However, Dr Quirt would also encourage using an adjunctive aid on top of that.

“Suggestions to the patient could be an increase in fluoride, or using fluoride trays or higher-fluoride toothpaste. Or some new treatments can arrest or even heal some of these decayed areas,” Dr Quirt says.

Dr Goodchild says clinicians should document everything when watching instead of treating. The record should explain that the dentist diagnosed it and informed the patient of the treatment needed and the risks of not doing so. He would also supplement the documentation with images.

“I would take intraoral photos when possible and have good radiographs. Leave no question about a potential failure to diagnose,” Dr Goodchild says.

What Should Clinicians Do When They Decide to Watch It?

When making the judgment call, Dr Goodchild would say it’s a fine line. However, deciding to watch and monitor caries should be based on each clinical situation.

“Are you an aggressive dentist or a conservative one? Somewhere in the middle? I’m hesitant to start filling cavities on teenagers unless the caries are obvious. I know that I’m setting that tooth up for a cycle of placement and replacement which eventually will culminate with more extensive restorations,” Dr Goodchild says. “Can we address preventive strategies to help mitigate at-risk areas and at-risk patients to put off starting the placement and replacement cycle?”

Dr Quirt says the patient relationship plays a significant role in the decision to watch it. Communication, transparency, and setting expectations are critical. Regular checkups and x-rays are also vital when employing a watching-it strategy. Dr Quirt says if those things aren’t there, clinicians might need to be more assertive about treating it. Clinicians who decide to watch something combined with an apathetic patient are a dangerous mix in dentistry.

When in doubt whether to watch it, Dr Quirt recommends taking the same approach with the patient as you would with a friend or family member. Not only will this help drive clinical decisions, but it will also grow the practice.

“Patients can feel and sense when you are treating them as if you are a part of the family. So talk to them and treat them that way, and you will undoubtedly be able to decide what’s best for that patient,” Dr Quirt says.

Dr Gupta says it is important to realize that few things in life offer binary choices. When deciding what to do, having a third option makes judgment calls more comfortable.

“Life would be so much easier if everything was black and white. Just imagine if you could look at a tooth that either has a cavity or doesn’t, or you look at a radiograph and it’s either something bad that needs to be fixed or something perfectly fine you can watch. It’d be so nice if everything was black and white, but everything in life is this long, annoying gradient of gray between the black and the white,” Dr Gupta says. “All of us must realize that our experiences, upbringing, and education make different decisions on that gradient. There’s never a perfect answer that every dentist will agree upon.

“That’s why having a middle-ground solution is so important,” Dr Gupta continues. “When we have binary solutions, either we watch it or fill it then we reduce the person’s dental situation to black and white. And the reality is there isn’t black and white, just a big, old, long, annoying gradient in shades of gray. By opening our minds to a middle ground, we are at least putting something in the middle of that gradient, allowing us to be more responsible in our decision-making."

Sometimes it’s clear what to do with a carious lesion. Sometimes it isn’t. We talked to 3 experienced dentists to explore the decision process for treating caries or watching it and what you should consider in a given situation. 

Watching It: Do All Caries Need Treatment?

UptimeHealth and Bur Capital Partnering to Provide Dental Financing Alternatives | Image Credit: © UptimeHealth and Bur Capital 


A new partnership between UptimeHealth and Bur Capital is designed to streamline the financing process and assist dental practices with an alternative to traditional banking.

UptimeHealth, a company that provides dental equipment maintenance and facility management solutions, announced its partnership with Bur Capital, a commercial lending financial company that offers dental and medical practices an alternative to traditional banking.

By integrating Bur Capital's loan system with UptimeHealth's platform, the 2 organizations plan to empower dental clients with the tools needed to thrive in today's dynamic landscape. By providing commercial lending solutions, an innovative marketplace, and comprehensive compliance, Bur Capital brings solutions to underserved healthcare providers—both dental and medical—with alternatives to other lending and banking industry methods.

"Through our partnership with Bur Capital, UptimeHealth is forging a powerful alliance that brings together cutting-edge technology and specialized financial expertise,” Jinesh Patel, Co-Founder and CEO of UptimeHealth says in a press release. “With the ability to project their equipment needs and obtain the necessary funding, dental practices can make informed financial decisions that align with their long-term goals. This partnership transforms the industry as technology and tailored financing solutions merge to boost dental practice success.”

Brian Nelson, CTO & Co-Founder of Bur Capital, says the collaboration allows his company to integrate its innovative loan system with UptimeHealth to streamline the financing process and provide a seamless experience for healthcare clients.
"We are thrilled to partner with UptimeHealth, leveraging Bur Capital's express loan approval process with their growing healthcare network. Our mission at Bur Capital is to transform the healthcare industry, and this partnership is a significant step toward empowering healthcare practices with the necessary financial tools to thrive in today's dynamic landscape," Nelson adds in a press release.



Looking to transform healthcare financing, UptimeHealth’s dental equipment maintenance and facility management solutions company and Bur Capital announce strategic partnership.

UptimeHealth and Bur Capital Partnering to Provide Dental Financing Alternatives

Colors signify which genes are being expressed at each stage of development in this image of a developing incisor. | Image Credit: © UW Dental Organoid Research Team

, a multi-disciplinary team of researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle, recently announced the creation of organoids that secrete the proteins required to form tooth enamel.

“This is a critical first step to our long-term goal to develop stem cell-based treatments to repair damaged teeth and regenerate those that are lost,” Hai Zhang, professor of restorative dentistry at the UW School of Dentistry and one of the co-authors says in a press release.

Using stem cells as the basis of regrowing human organs has long been a goal of researchers, and teeth are a great place to start because they are a simpler structure than other organs, and the human body does not have a way to replace enamel it loses.

Enamel is the hardest substance in the human body, and it is created during the formation of teeth by specialized cells called ameloblasts that die off once tooth formation is complete. 

“Many of the organs we would like to be able to replace, like human pancreas, kidney and brain, are large and complex. Regenerating them safely from stem cells will take time,” says research lead Hannele Ruohola-Baker, PhD, professor of biochemistry and associate director of the UW Medicine Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine. “Teeth on the other hand are much smaller and less complex. They’re perhaps the low hanging fruit. It may take a while before we can regenerate them, but we can now see the steps we need to get there.”

Discovering those steps was a lengthy process. In order to convince stem cells to grow into ameloblasts in the laboratory, researchers first studied the genetic programming that produces them naturally. This was accomplished using single-cell combinatorial indexing RNA sequencing (sci-RNA-seq), which is designed to show the active genes during different stages of a cell's development by tracking the levels of messenger RNA through the different stages. 

In this research, sci-RNA-seq was used to create a series of "snapshots" of gene activation at each stage of tooth development. This data was fed into Monocle, a sophisticated analysis software application that produced the likely trajectory of gene activities to develop stem cells into ameloblasts.

“The computer program predicts how you get from here to there, the roadmap, the blueprint needed to build ameloblasts,” Ruohola-
Baker says.

To then recreate the process in the lab, researchers exposed stem cells to chemical signals known to activate different genes. This was done to mimic the path predicted by the sci-RNA-seq data, but according to the press release it still required a lot of trial and error along the way.

One of the discoveries during the project was a new cell type named subodontoblast which researchers believe to be a progenitor of odontoblasts which also play a role in tooth formation.

The cells created from the stem cells could then be induced to form small, 3D, multicellular organoids which organized themselves into structures similar to those seen in developing teeth. These organoids also secreted ameloblastin, amelogenin, and enamelin, 3 essential proteins that form a matrix and mineralize to form enamel.

The next steps for this line of research are refining the production of these organoids and successfully creating enamel with durability similar to that found in natural dentition. Eventually, this line of research could lead to enamel dental fillings, and even potentially regrowing entire teeth.

The team from the University of Washington in Seattle used stem-cell technologies to form organoids that secrete tooth enamel proteins.

A Multi-Disciplinary Team of Researchers Unlocks First Steps of Enamel Production

An UltraThineer, (left) compared with a standard zirconia veneer, (right). | Credit: © Boston Micro Fabrication

Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF) announced its plans to launch UltraThineer veneers, a 3D printed, zirconia veneer said to be 3 times thinner than a standard veneer.

Produced using projection micro stereolithography (PμSL) 3D printing, the UltraThineer veneers are designed to make it possible to provide smile makeovers while preserving more of the patient's enamel.

Developed in collaboration with Peking University, the UltraThineer veneers are based on a complete workflow including the material, the production technology, and the finishing process that allows the fabrication of veneers as thin as 100 μm.

“The ultra-thin and strong 3D printed zirconia veneer technology can quickly and painlessly strengthen and protect the surface of teeth, prevent cold acidstimulation and wear, and signifi cantly improve appearance. More importantly, compared to conventional ceramic veneer technology, the entire process of toothreduction is eliminated,” Professor Sun Yuchun of Peking University School of Stomatology says in a press release.

The company expects UltraThineer veneers to be available in the spring of 2024, pending FDA review.

With a thickness of just, 100 μm, UltraThineer veneers are said to be 3 times thinner than traditional veneers.

Boston Micro Fabrication Plans to Launch Micro 3D-Printed ZIrconia Veneers

Caitlin Parsons is a RDH of 15 years and chronic pain survivor turned Certified Yoga Therapist and Ergonomic Consultant for dental professionals. Caitlin helps dental professionals prevent, reduce and overcome workplace pain, manage stress, and optimize their health so they can thrive in and out of the office. She is passionate about helping dental professionals and teams optimize their health to provide better patient care and become better clinicians through her in-person and online programs, speaking, writing team experiences, and her podcast, The Aligned Hygienist (

The Power of Breath: Enhancing Posture and Reducing Stress for Dental Hygienists. Image: © Francesco83 - stock.adobe.com


As dental hygienists, we often find ourselves immersed in a demanding and fast-paced environment, attending to the oral health needs of our patients. While our profession is extremely rewarding, it can also take a toll on our physical and mental well-being. Studies show that up to 97% of dental professionals experience musculoskeletal disorders and pain.

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are common among dental hygienists specifically because of the high-risk factors of our profession. In fact, 1 report shows that 91% of dental hygienists are suffering, or have suffered, from MSDs, and that the most common areas for pain and injury among dental hygienists are the neck, shoulders, and low back.

 In addition to increased risk of pain, reports show higher levels of stress in dental hygienists.

The prevalence of pain, injuries, and stress among dental hygienists highlights the importance of finding ways to take care of ourselves as dental practitioners. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the risk factors that lead to injury include contact stress, grasp/grip, repetitive movements, vibrations, and awkward posture. The goal of ergonomics is to reduce injury and pain by minimizing these risk factors.

 In this article, we will explore the profound connection between our breath, posture, and stress levels. Understanding this link can empower dental hygienists to adopt healthier breathing patterns and improve our posture and, as a result, enhance proper ergonomics, reduce the risk of injury, and manage stress more effectively.

The Connection Between Breath and Posture

Posture plays a vital role in the daily routines of dental hygienists. Since we spend significant hours seated and leaning forward to perform intricate tasks with focused attention, it’s pivotal for hygienists to adopt a healthy posture while working. While it may not be possible to have perfect posture throughout the day because of inevitably challenging patients and cases, focusing on maintaining proper alignment while we work can minimize our risk of injury dramatically.

Over time, awkward positioning and improper posture can lead to musculoskeletal imbalances and chronic pain. Awkward positioning is one of the risk factors that leads to MSDs, so when hygienists focus on neutral posture and body positioning at work, they reduce strain on the neck, shoulders, and back. Studies show a clear link between good posture and pain reduction.

 Practicing with proper posture allows the body to work smarter, not harder, which not only reduces the risk of injury and pain but also minimizes the recovery time.

The way we breathe affects our posture and vice versa. Shallow, chest-based breathing restricts full-range movement of the diaphragm, a key muscle responsible for breathing. This restricted breathing pattern contributes to rounded shoulders, forward head posture, and a hunched back. Hygienists should practice diaphragmatic breathing, which is breathing deeply to engage the diaphragm. This can improve our posture by promoting proper spinal alignment, engaging core muscles, and encouraging a more upright and balanced position.

Poor posture can reduce our capacity to take deep breaths. Effective breathing patterns encourage full oxygen exchange in the body, which is crucial to maintain basic bodily functions and health. When clinicians practice in a rounded posture, the body is unable to receive the necessary benefits of taking a full breath, which can lead to other health issues.

Hygienists work in fast-paced, frequently stressful environments. Because of this combination and the nature of the work, it’s critical that hygienists focus on maintaining proper posture and good breathing patterns. By consciously incorporating diaphragmatic breathing into our daily routine, we activate the core muscles, and reduce the strain on our neck, back, and shoulders, mitigating the risk of postural imbalances and chronic pain. An improved posture not only benefits our physical health but also enhances our mental and emotional well-being.

Stress is an inevitable part of our lives, particularly in the demanding field of dental hygiene. Long hours, repetitive motions, and the responsibility of patient care can generate significant stress levels. However, the way we breathe has a profound impact on our stress response. When we experience stress, our sympathetic nervous system activates, leading to the release of stress hormones such as cortisol. Shallow, rapid breathing often accompanies this stress response, further exacerbating the physical and mental symptoms of stress.

Conversely, conscious, deep breathing triggers the activation of the parasympathetic nervous system, responsible for the body’s relaxation response. By taking slow, deep breaths, we signal our body to calm down, reducing heart rate, blood pressure, and the production of stress hormones. This simple yet powerful tool can help clinicians manage stress effectively, enhancing our overall well-being and resilience in the face of challenging patients and situations.

Incorporating Better Breathing Patterns for Happy, Healthy Hygienists

Now that we understand the significance of proper breathing for our posture and stress management, let’s explore practical ways to incorporate better breathing patterns into our daily lives as dental hygienists.

Practicing mindful breathing is an easy and simple way hygienists can improve their overall health. To practice, sit or stand comfortably and focus on your breath. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose, allowing your belly and chest to expand. Exhale slowly and fully through your nose. Pay attention to the sensation of the breath entering and leaving your body and the breath slowing down. Hygienists can incorporate this practice first thing in the morning, on break, or while seeing a patient.

Practice diaphragmatic breathing during breaks or whenever you feel stressed. Place 1 hand on your belly and the other on your chest. Take a slow, deep breath in through your nose, feeling your belly rise as you fill your lungs with air. Exhale slowly through your nose, allowing your belly to soften and release. Repeat this pattern several times, noticing the belly rising and falling with each breath.

 Be mindful of your posture throughout the day. Sit upright, aligning your ears, shoulders, and hips in a straight line. Avoid slouching, leaning, or hunching forward. Combine good posture with diaphragmatic breathing to reinforce a healthy alignment.

 Incorporate regular stretching and movement breaks into your work routine. Gentle neck, shoulder, and back stretches can alleviate muscle tension and promote better posture while improving breathing patterns. Incorporating yoga into your routine can help improve posture, tight muscles, and breathing patterns.

In a profession that demands so much from us, it is crucial to prioritize our own well-being as dental hygienists. By recognizing the profound connection between our breath, posture, and stress levels, we can empower ourselves to adopt healthier breathing patterns. Incorporating diaphragmatic breathing and practicing mindful awareness can enhance our posture, reduce the risk of pain and injury, and facilitate effective stress management. Let us strive to prioritize self-care, embracing the power of breath to promote our physical and mental well-being while continuing to offer the highest-quality care for our patients and community.

Lietz J, Kozak A, Nienhaus A. Prevalence and occupational risk factors of musculoskeletal diseases and pain among dental professionals in Western countries: a systematic literature review and meta-analysis

. 2018;13(12):e0208628. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0208628

Saccucci M, Zumbo G, Mercuri P, et al. Musculoskeletal disorders related to dental hygienist profession. 

. 2022;20(3):571-579. doi:10.1111/idh.12596

Malcolm N, Boyd L, Giblin-Scanlon L, Vineyard J. Occupational stressors of dental hygienists in the United States. 

. 2020;65(3):517-524. doi:10.3233/WOR-203106

Ergonomics. Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Accessed January 10, 2023. https://www.osha.gov/ergonomics/identify-problems

Cramer H, Mehling WE, Saha FJ, Dobos G, Lauche R. Postural awareness and its relation to pain: validation of an innovative instrument measuring awareness of body posture in patients with chronic pain. 

. 2018;19(1):109. doi:10.1186/s12891-018-2031-

Breath has more impact on stress and life than we realize, and sometimes the key to de-stressing can be simply changing the way we breathe. 

The Power of Breath: Enhancing Posture and Reducing Stress for Dental Hygienists

A new line of scalers and curettes from TBS Dental. 

rezSHARP from TBS Dental

Sensonic Electronic Toothbrush from Waterpik

Henry Schein Thrive Service Plus  

New Dental Prods 8/7-8/11

All the new dental product releases from August 7 through August 11, 2023. 

New Dental Products August 7 - August 11

Dentognostics, a research-driven technology company seeking to improve patient outcomes against periodontal disease, has secured significant investments from Dental Innovation Alliance (DIA) and Dental365. The new support helps propel its growth and innovation in the U.S. dental market.

With their patented products for oral health and wellness—which include digital diagnostic readers and PerioSafe mouth rinse—Dentognostics continues to gain the trust and support of industry leaders. Pacific Dental Services (PDS) made a major investment in 2021, partnering with Dentognostics to actively explore innovative technologies including a tool to screen patients by taking a simple mouth rinse sample, within their supported practices.

Dentognostics is looking to empower patients with knowledge about what is happening in their mouth, and to understand the importance of proper dental hygiene, periodontal care, and maintenance. This is done with the company’s patented product that analyzes saliva to determine the collagen breakdown activity in the mouth.

By providing patients with a quantitative Oral Fitness Score, the company says the technology keeps the patients accountable for their daily home care behavior and allows the clinician to truly personalize the patients' care needs based on the data generated, ultimately developing trust between patients and their dental care provider.

"Supporting Dentognostics aligns perfectly with our mission at DIA, which is to foster innovation and collaboration in the dental and health sectors," says Thomas Sharpe, DIA Managing Partner, in a press release on August 9. "We firmly believe in the transformative power of Dentognostics' technology and see it as a game-changer in improving patient outcomes."

DIA is a venture firm that funds, advises, and aids the success of early-stage dental technology companies through its leadership and investor team, which has a combined 200-plus years of dental industry experience. Beyond capital, it provides mentorship and connectivity designed to enhance sales activity for portfolio companies.

"Investing in and providing other DIA resources to Dentognostics is a natural fit,” adds Doug Brown, DIA Managing Partner in the press release. “We believe in their technology and see potential in their testing to greatly improve outcomes in patients. We are excited about its potential to revolutionize patient care and elevate oral health globally."

Scott Asnis, DDS, CEO of Dental365, a full-service dental group with locations throughout New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island has joined PDS and DIA as an investor.

"We sincerely thank Pacific Dental Services for their unwavering partnership and support over the past 2 years. Their belief in our vision has been instrumental in our growth," says Dirk-Rolf Gieselmann, Dentognostics founder and CEO. "We are equally thrilled to welcome DIA and Dental365, whose investments further strengthen our position in the industry and affirm our dedication to 14 years of research and development. Together, we are poised to revolutionize the oral health landscape and reach new heights."

Dental Innovation Alliance and Dental365 the latest to invest in company and its patented saliva analyzing product.

Significant Investments Secured by Dentognostics to Help Combat Periodontal Disease

Bruce Bryen is a certified public accountant with over 45 years of experience and is a part of Baratz & Associates CPAs. He specializes in deferred compensation, such as retirement planning design; income and estate tax planning; determination of the proper organizational business structure; asset protection and structuring loan packages for presentation to financial institutions. He is experienced in providing litigation support services to dentists with Valuation and Expert Witness testimony in matrimonial and partnership dispute cases. He is also a financial writer for several dental journals. You may contact him at 609-502-0691 or at 

When a dental partnership has been together for over 30 years and experienced all the ins of outs of a business partnership, one would think that almost everything has been seen and done. Once a small matter has been overcome, the idea that the partnership would become very stable and not worry about something minor after so many years seems to be a normal situation.

Unfortunately, the dental partnership is just like a marriage partnership in that there can be times that a repeat of what has occurred previously happens 1 more time and things become boring or so repetitive that the practice becomes unexciting. Issues that should not cause problems, suddenly do. Of course, almost everything is about money, and this is when bickering begins. The small matter that causes one of the partners to become upset brings up the cost of what just happened.

It may be a matter of a small amount of money but can be the boiling point emotionally. When so many other things have occurred and added to the cost of the practice one of the partners looks at this small amount and forgets the 30 years of being together and overcoming difficulties. The big picture of how much he or she has been taking home over the years does not enter the minds of either partner while the spat over the small item is ongoing. It is just about now when each partner says that the end is near and it is time to see an attorney.

What happens next after the fall out of the relationship?

Hopefully one of the partners is brought down to earth and starts thinking about what has happened and the financial consequences of breaking up the dental partnership. The minor item that the partners were arguing about may be a $100 charge or some amount not significant based on their history of earnings. The partners have each been taking home hundreds of thousands of dollars and now at last they realize what they are jeopardizing. Let’s look at some of the charges that occur when a partnership is in the process of dissolving. First there is the retainer paid to the attorney. Hopefully, the retainer is enough to satisfy all the time that will be involved with the dissolution. The dental CPA comes next, and what he or she must do to affect the end of the partnership is determined. This includes filing final tax returns and probably assisting with the formation of a new business entity for the partner that he or she may still be representing. There may be administrative personnel to be hired such as a bookkeeper, insurance person and an office manager. The charge from the dental CPA will be significant as he or she may have more to do than the attorney who was retained. These are some of the direct costs that are on the horizon.

Indirect and hidden costs coming to the dentist who is going to continue to operate:

Winding down the partnership until the dissolution occurs causes the dentist to have to resolve arrangements with the patients and to let them know where he or she is going to be continuing the practice. With the effort needed to be involved with the attorney and the dental CPA and the time needed to gather information for those people, a lot of production will be lost. Unless the dentist changes his or her hours of operation and without working at night and possibly on weekends as well, the revenue of the practice will most likely drop significantly. This may be when each of the dentists in the partnership decides that starting over again is not such a good idea. This is a good “back to reality check” on the costs incurred when dissolving a partnership. It also is a time to think about the costs of creating a new dental practice.

Starting over and creating a new dental practice:

If the partnership described above is dissolved and a new dental office is created, there is at least somewhat of a patient base joining the new dental practice. The patients who come to the practice because of the dentist gives a decent starting point for him or her. The marketing money spent and the cost of the move are items that will hopefully be recovered as time passes and the new location becomes known to the public.

The revenue from the new location is what brings hope that the move and dissolution of the old partnership were worth it. The peace of mind coming from the lack of “harassment” also has a lot to do with the success now that the move has occurred. This change in ownership structure and becoming a solo practitioner may be like fresh air blown into the life of the dentist. It may be that his or her income will grow past what it had been in the partnership. Weighing the costs and the freedom of being an individual owner may be the best thing that has happened to each dentist after all the years of being together. Let’s look at the pros and cons of the start-up of the new practice.

Starting this dental practice compared to a truly new dental practice without recognition of the name, reputation, and base of patients available to this practice is a different set of circumstances. This existing dental practice has a running start because of these items that are part of the “already going concern,” available to it. A new dental practice without these items will most likely take a while and a lot of money to get the recognition and revenue to make it a successful dental practice.

Building a network of referral sources and a patient base takes time and money. Marketing, joining local study clubs for introductions to the community of dentists and other organizations where people and leaders in the banking, legal and other professional groups are met is a must. All these things are time sensitive and exhaustive procedures. Is it the right thing to dissolve the partnership and go out as a solo practitioner? The answer is that only time and money will tell.

Before making any hasty decisions about a split, make sure to investigate all that is involved in opening a new practice and weigh both the positives and the negatives of such a move.