News
DENTAL TRIBUNE | AUGUST 13-19, 2007
3
Study: periodontal bacteria
found in amniotic fluid
A study appearing in the Journal
of Periodontology found bacteria
commonly found in the mouth, and
associated with periodontal diseases, in the amniotic fluid of some
pregnant women.
The study, which evaluated 26
pregnant women with a diagnosis of
threatened premature labor, found
the presence of periodontal bacteria, P. Gingivalis, in both the oral
cavity and amniotic fluid in 30 percent of the women.
Amniotic fluid is a liquid that surrounds an unborn baby during pregnancy. Any disruptions in the amniotic fluid, such as a bacterial infection, could potentially be dangerous
to both the mother and baby.
“We evaluated women who were
at risk of premature labor,” said
study author Gorge Gamonal of the
University of Chile. “We know that
there are many reasons a woman
can be diagnosed with threatened
premature labor, including bacterial
infection. Past research has shown a
relationship between adverse pregnancy outcomes and periodontal disease, a chronic bacterial infection.”
“While this study’s findings do not
show a direct causal relationship be-
tween periodontal diseases and adverse pregnancy outcomes, it is still
important for women to pay special
attention to their oral health during
pregnancy,” explained Preston D.
Miller, Jr., DDS, President of the
American Academy of Periodontology.
“Woman who are pregnant or
considering becoming pregnant
should speak with their dental and
health care professionals about their
oral health during pregnancy,” he
said.
Women interested in finding out
if they’re at risk for periodontal diseases may take the Academy’s risk
assessment test. A referral to a periodontist, additional information, and
brochure samples are available online at www.perio.org. DT
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Bright Now! Dental in Santa Ana, California opened its 10 Monarch Dental
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Delta Dental of California is now paying for dental implants for its standard commercial fee-for-service insurance clients.
Johnson & Johnson in New Jersey reported second-quarter sales of oral
care products of $353 million.
Leone Implants in California released its new Implantology Product
catalog.
L&R Manufacturing Co. in New Jersey began marketing Barrier Milk
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4
News
DENTAL TRIBUNE | AUGUST 13-19, 2007
Brownridge family receives
$1 million for death of five year old
The family of Diamond Brownridge, a five-year-old Chicago girl
who died on September 27, 2006
after being grossly oversedated
while having two cavities filled
and caps placed on her front teeth
four days earlier, has settled litigation against Dr. Hicham K. Riba
for $1 million, the full value of
Riba’s insurance policy.
Robert Clifford, an attorney for
the Brownridge family, says the settlement is “woefully inadequate,”
but the family does not want to prosecute Riba in a trial.
As reported in Dental Tribune,
the 35-pound Brownridge went to
Riba’s Little Angel Dental practice
on September 23, 2006 and was
given two injections of diazepam or
and respiration during her treatment. The department also noted
that Riba listed Brownridge as “alert
and responsive” when discharged,
although the little girl’s mother
found her comatose.
Valium within a five-minute period,
after which she received oral Valium, lidocaine, nitrous oxide and
other medications.
In May, Riba was fined $10,000
and had his dental license suspended for a minimum of 18 months. His
pediatric license was suspended for
at least three years, his controlled
substance license was suspended
for five years, and he is no longer allowed to sedate patients. At the end
of each suspension period, Riba will
have to petition the Illinois Board of
Dentistry to have that license reinstated.
The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office ruled that Brownridge’s
death was caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain because of the anes-
Clifford says the Brownridge family could have filed a lawsuit to seize
Riba’s personal assets, but Riba
could then have filed bankruptcy,
making collection of his assets problematic. The Brownridge family also
wanted to avoid the anguish of a
trial.
thesia. The Illinois Department of
Professional Regulation called Riba’s
dental practice an “imminent danger to the public,” and accused him
of failing to adequately monitor
Brownridge’s blood pressure, pulse
In June, Riba filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the 18-month suspension. He is also challenging the
suspension of his pediatric dentistry
license and his controlled-substance
license. DT
ADA and ANTHC issue joint statement
The Alaska Native Tribal Health
Consortium (ANTHC) and the American Dental Association (ADA) issued
a joint statement July 13 concerning
the resolution of their legal dispute
over allowing dental health aides to
perform advanced dental procedures
on Native Americans in Alaska.
“We are pleased to announce that
the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and the American Dental
Association have agreed to settle our
legal dispute,” they said. “With this
chapter behind us, we pledge to cooperatively advance our best efforts
toward improving the oral health of
Alaska Natives.
“This settlement is a starting
point for a new era of cooperation
between the dental profession and
the ANTHC and its affiliated tribal
health organizations in exploring
ways to improve access to dental
care in rural Alaska. The issue
that has divided us—our difference of opinion concerning the
scope of practice of dental health
aide therapists—will not deter our
efforts to advocate for increased
resources for dental care in rural
Alaska.
“Our cooperative efforts will include: developing dental residency programs to create a pipeline of
dentists who could help alleviate
the backlog of care in remote
areas; refining existing dental
workforce models and developing
new ones, including the ADA- de-
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“Finally, the ADA will contribute to
the ANTHC Foundation to support efforts to promote preventive oral
health in remote Alaska. ADA and
ANTHC agree that prevention is the
key to long-term success in improving
oral health for Alaska Natives.” DT
ADA puts pressure
on for SCHIP
The American Dental Association
(ADA) is blasting the Senate Finance
Committee for failing to include a dental benefit guarantee during the markup of its version of legislation to reauthorize the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). However,
ADA says it is pleased that the committee accepted language to provide $200
million in grants to states to improve
children’s access to dental care.
“This provision is a good step in
the right direction, but obviously
more needs to be done,” ADA president Kathleen Roth, D.D.S., said in a
statement on June 19.
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“In addition, both the ANTHC and
the ADA pledge to continue our vigorous advocacy in Washington to ensure that Congress funds the Indian
Health Service sufficiently to fill the
excessive number of vacant dental
positions in its dental programs.
Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine)
and Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) plan to
offer amending language to establish a dental benefit guarantee in
SCHIP when the full Senate takes up
the legislation. Their amendment
would also guarantee a dental wraparound benefit for children. The law
currently blocks otherwise eligible
children from receiving dental care
under SCHIP if they are covered by
private medical insurance.
“Based solely on the positive discussion about the dental access
amendment during the mark-up, we
know that many senators, including
Finance Committee Chairman Baucus
and other committee members, are
aware of the problem and understand
that a dental benefit guarantee in
SCHIP is important,” Dr. Roth says. DT
6
News
DENTAL TRIBUNE | AUGUST 13-19, 2007
Pennsylvania law empowers dental hygienists
Pennsylvania Governor Edward
G. Rendell has signed into law
the first pieces of his Prescription
for Pennsylvania health care plan.
The state’s general assembly has
passed a bill to guard against
hospital-acquired infections and
bills allowing certified registered
nurse practitioners, certified
nurse midwives and dental
hygienists to practice to the full
extent of their education and
training.
Governor Rendell signed the
bills during a ceremony at the
University of Pennsylvania School
of Nursing. He vowed to enact additional health care legislation.
tiatives will remove barriers that have kept them
from practicing to the
greatest extent allowed
by their education and
training,” Rendell said.
In
Pennsylvania,
19,154 hospital infections were reported last
year. They caused nearly
2,500 deaths and hospital charges of more than
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell pitches his health care program at a
$3.5 billion. The PennKeystone State hospital earlier this year. Photo by Bill Crowell
sylvania Health Care
Cost Containment Council says that in 2005, the average
“Pennsylvania lags behind many
cost of hospitalization for a patient
states in fully using all licensed
who became infected with a hospihealth care providers, and these ini-
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The average cost for a patient without a hospital-acquired infection
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Rendell also wants to make it illegal for insurers to use factors
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and family size when setting rates
for small groups and individuals
and to make sure that a small
group or individual paying the
highest charge for an insurance
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DENTSPLY
completes
acquisition
of Sultan
The acquisition of the assets
of Sultan Healthcare, Inc. by
DENTSPLY
International,
announced in June, has been completed. It is expected that this acquisition will add approximately $45 to
$50 million on an annualized basis
to DENTSPLY's sales.
With this acquisition, DENTSPLY
will expand its product offerings by
entering important new categories
such as infection control products.
The combination is expected to expand global market access and increase opportunities for growth of
the Sultan product line.
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