Most U Want Dental Lab Supplies

It is known that teeth can protect themselves, to some extent, from attack by bacteria but that inflammation within a tooth can be damaging and, in extreme cases, lead to abscess or death of the tooth. New research published in BioMed Central’s open access journal BMC Immunology shows that odontoblast cells are part of the immune system and fight to protect teeth from decay.

Inside a tooth odontoblast cells sit between the enamel and pulp and produce a layer of dentin to protect the pulp from wear and infection. This research shows that, when under attack from bacteria, the odontoblast cells also orchestrate an immune response, producing antimicrobial peptides (-defensins) to fight the infection directly, protein messangers (chemokines) which recruit white blood cells to the site of infection, and pro-inflammatory signalling proteins (IL-1β, IL-1α, and TNF-α) which, in turn, initiate an inflammatory response.

Dr Orapin Horst also found that the odontoblast layer produced proteins involved in the down-regulation of this inflammatory response, such as toll-interacting protein (TOLLIP), TGF-β, and IL-10, which help protect the underlying pulp from inflammatory damage.

Dr Horst says that “For the first time we now have targets to control irreversible inflammatory damage to teeth”.

Dental practices should not have to pay to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the British Dental Association (BDA) has argued this week. The BDA’s submission to the CQC’s consultation on fees emphasises the financial pressures confronting dental practice, the failure of the CQC regime to add any value and the considerable time practices must invest in becoming registered, and concludes that a fee for registration would be inappropriate. Furthermore, the response says, proposed registration fees could reduce dentists’ ability to invest in their practices.

The BDA’s response also stresses the particularly inequitable consequences of the CQC’s proposals for single-handed practices, pointing out the significantly higher proportion of small practices’ turnover that would have to be spent on registration compared to multi-practice dental chains. Such practices, which are vital to the provision of dental care in rural and deprived areas, would contribute an average of 0.64 per cent of their turnover to paying the proposed £1,500 fee, the BDA has calculated.

The BDA believes that CQC must reconsider the proposals and develop a charging policy based on evidence of potential harm to patients, the size of providers and a principle of equity.

Dr Susie Sanderson, Chair of the BDA’s Executive Board, said:

“The BDA consulted widely on these proposals, with members across the country contributing their thoughts on CQC registration fees. There is palpable anger in the profession at these proposals, with the suggestion that single-dentist practices pay £1,500 attracting particularly strong criticism from dentists.

“The BDA believes that it would be inappropriate for practitioners to be asked to pay for a piece of regulation that adds no value for their patients and potentially harms their ability to deliver patient care. We believe that CQC needs to think again, setting aside these flawed proposals and undertaking a thorough review of the relative risks of the services it regulates.”

U.S. Marshals, acting under a court order sought by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, on Jan. 5 and 6, seized all dental devices from Rite-Dent Manufacturing Corporation, located in Hialeah, Fla.

The seizure of dentistry products valued at $208,910 follows an FDA inspection that found significant deficiencies in the company’s manufacturing processes that may affect the safety and effectiveness of the products.

The seized products include Alginate Impression Material, Ultra Impression Material, Enamel Bonding System, Pit and Fissure Chemical Curing Sealant, Tooth Shade Resin Material, Cavity Varnish, Polycarboxylate (PCA) Cement, and Zinc Phosphate Cement, all used in the practice of dentistry. FDA inspections of the Rite-Dent facility, most recently in November 2010, revealed continuing significant deviations from the current good manufacturing practice requirements for the products. Good manufacturing practice requirements help to ensure the safety and effectiveness of medical devices.

FDA’s recent inspection also confirmed that the company had not obtained FDA marketing approval or clearance for a device called the Ultra Impression System.

The company also failed to notify the FDA regarding a correction it made to a device called the Alginate Impression System.

The FDA previously warned the company about these and similar violations during FDA inspections in 2005, March 2010, and May-June 2010, as well as in a 2005 Warning Letter.

The FDA advises health care professionals to discontinue use of these products.

“The FDA expects medical device producers to follow good manufacturing practice and to obtain clearance or approval of the devices that they market,” said Jeffrey Shuren, M.D., Director of FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. “If firms ignore these requirements, we will take appropriate action to protect public health.”