News

Heartland Dental supporting new offices in several states Heartland Dental announced it now supports existing offices in the following locations: Marietta, Ga., Sand Springs, Okla., Islip Terrace, N.Y., Glastonbury, Conn., Greenville, S.C., North Little Rock, Ark., Plymouth, N.H., Columbia, S.C., Worthington, Minn., Flowood, Miss., and Memphis, Tenn. Heartland Dental also announced it now supports newly opened offices in the following locations: Sioux City, Iowa, Reynoldsburg, Ohio, Suffolk, Va. Crosstex acquires manufacturer of DentaPure waterline disinfection cartridge system Crosstex announced it further expanded its infection prevention and control portfolio with the acquisition of MRLB International, the manufacturer of the DentaPure waterline disinfection cartridge system. The DentaPure product line is a patented, proprietary iodinated resin filter cartridge system. This technology is a spin-off of the NASA technology used in the space shuttle program and currently being used in other aerospace applications. MRLB perfected the use of these systems for dental unit waterline compliance. The DentaPure cartridge system surpasses all standards and CDC recommendations for dental unit water quality, thus maintaining safe water quality for patients and staff. The DentaPure cartridge system is EPA registered as a dental unit waterline disinfectant and is FDA (510K) registered. Waterline quality and the safety of the patient have long been a passion of MRLB CEO Barry Hammarback who stated that easy compliance with waterline disinfection is the key to safer dental treatments. Hammarback went on to say Crosstex has an outstanding marketing network which will ensure that our efforts to make DentaPure the easiest to use, most effective dental unit waterline treatment system, will continue. Great Expressions announces new affiliation Great Expressions Dental Centers (GEDC), announced an affiliation with Dr. Larry Harkins in Palm Harbor, Fla. Dr. Harkins has served residents of Pinellas County for more than 26 years. This office complements GEDCs 24 existing offices throughout the Tampa area. Affiliating with Dr. Harkins office allows us to continue to grow our presence in the bay area through the foundation that he has built, said Richard Beckman, CEO of Great Expressions Dental Centers. We have a strong presence in Florida, but were looking forward to providing affordable, convenient and unmatched patient care to current and new patients at this location. New CDC report highlights U.S. childrens caries problem Almost a quarter of U.S. children between two and five years of age have caries in their primary teeth, according to a new report issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Atlanta, GA). The eight-page report by the CDCs National Center for Health Statistics analyzed U.S. youth caries and sealant prevalence by race and Hispanic origin. Overall, disparities persisted in the U.S. for dental caries and sealant use among children and adolescents from 2011 to 2012. There was, however, some good news: Fifty years ago, 75 percent of children had caries in their adult teeth by age 11; now, only 25 percent of children have caries. Other findings include: Caries among children ages six to eight was 56 percent; untreated caries in primary teeth among children ages two to eight years was twice as high for Hispanic and black children compared with white children; and for children ages six to 11, dental sealants were more prevalent for white children (44 percent) compared with black and Asian children (31 percent each).