The following are winners in the various categories at the meeting:

Specialists

• Immediate Extraction and Implant Placement for Molars: Indications and Description of a New Technique
  Presenter: Raouf Hanna, D..D.S., clinical assistant professor of Periodontics – 1st Place
  


• Piezoelectric Bone Surgery - A New Paradigm
  Presenter: Barry Heaton, D.D.S., UTDB alumnus – 2nd Place
  


• Time and Rational for Extraction of First Permanent Molar in Children
  Presenters: Mostafa Diab, B.D.S., pediatric dentistry consultant at King Abdulaziz Air Base Hospital and Fouad Salama, B.D.S., professor and chairman, Pediatric Dentistry - 3rd Place
  

Dentists

• Plavix and other Anticoagulants
  Aisha Husain, D.D.S., first year resident in General Practice Residency program – 1st
  


• Dental Complications of Bisphosphonates
  Karishma Sheth , D.D.S., first year resident in General Practice Residency program, – 2nd
  


• Much More Than Just Party Teeth!
  Shelley Canada, D.D.S., UTDB alumnus– 3rd

Dental Students

• The Effect of Dietary Liquids on Latex and Non-Latex Orthodontic Elastics
  Sebastian Paige – 1st
  


• Operative Dentistry Intervention Guided by the Caries Risk Assessment
  James Pham – 2nd
  


• Dental Transpositions
  Liza Shevchenko, Jason Vazquez – 3rd

Dental Hygienists

• Phytochemicals: Its Role in Caries Prevention
  Harold Henson, Ph.D., assistant professor of Perodontics, 1st
  


• Advanced Dental Hygiene Traineeship in Periodontology
  Nancy Tran – 2nd

Dental Hygiene Students

• More Ways Than One To Kick A Habit
  Katrina Knox, Elaine Lam, Jamie Trinh, Violeta Zambrano – 1st
  


• Malignant Transformation of HPV in the Oral Cavity
  Misty Mayhall, Allison Samo, Prindricka Black, Foroogh Danesh – 2nd
  


• Acanthosis Nigricans "Check the Neck"
  Nydia Bustos, Aprille Stoneham, Robyn Paulsen, Donna Wylie – 3rd

Dental Assistants

• The Central Role of Auxiliary in the Dental Home
  Marina Munoz and Elma Gallardo, Medically Complex Patient Clinic – 1st

Practice paid off: One week before the Star of the South dental meeting students practiced in the school labs in front of their faculty and peers.

This is one of several table clinic presentations that represented the UTDB atht eh Star of the South meeting.

First year dental student Geoffrey McMurray has been chosen for the summer program at the National Institutes for Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR).

The NIDCR Summer Dental Student Award is designed to promote the professional careers of talented dental students through exposure to the latest advances in oral health research.
McMurray will spend eight weeks in Washington, D.C., utilizing NIDCR's offices, laboratories, and clinics, which use state-of-the-art technologies to improve and understand oral, dental, and craniofacial diseases and conditions. McMurray will work alongside outstanding scientists using the most advanced technologies in a variety of research areas.
“I am pleased to have been selected for the program,” McMurray said. “Research is such an important part of education and with a field of study as dynamic as dentistry, it is important to stay informed of the research advancements.”

Rade D. Paravina, D.D.S., Ph.D., assistant professor of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials, is the inventor of a new dental product just hitting the American market this week — the VITA Bleachedguide 3-D Master.

It is the first and only shade guide designed for the evolution of tooth bleaching. The product is derived from the Vitapan 3-D Master.

Paravina, an accomplished researcher and teacher, began working on the design approximately one year ago and is excited about the product’s ability to assist dentists with planning and improved

assessment of a patient’s tooth whitening regimen. Tooth whitening is one of the most highly demanded esthetic procedures in dentistry. But as of now the current tooth shade guides on the market do not include shades for bleached teeth, making it hard for dentists to gauge the success of their whitening products.

The former shade guide produced by this company, Vitapan Classical, is one of the most widely used. According to Paravina, the Vitapan Classical has not been updated since 1956 and does not include bleached shades. Paravina’s updated version includes truer to life tooth colors and shades for bleached and non-bleached teeth.
“The VITA Bleachedguide doubles the color range of the Vitapan Classical and has more consistent color distribution, Paravina said. “Inclusion of realistic bleaching shades complement contemporary esthetic dentistry.”
The product will be available globally. VITA Zahnfabrik, based in Bad Sackingen, Germany is the parent company of the American-based Vident company in California. For more information about Paravina and this new product visit http://www.db.uth.tmc.edu/Biomaterials/rparavina/.

The Texas Commission on the Arts has announced its appointments to the positions of state poet laureate, state musician, state two-dimensional artist and state three-dimensional artist.

The 2008 appointees include Texas Poet Laureate Larry Thomas of Houston, husband of Lisa P. Thomas, D.D.S., associate professor of Diagnostic Sciences.

“In Texas we never have a shortage of great artists to choose from and this diverse group represents the best of the best,” said Texas Commission on the Arts Executive Director Rick Hernandez. “This honor rewards these talented Texans for their commitment to their passion.”

The eight appointees named for 2007 and 2008 were selected for years of excellence and dedicated commitment to the arts in Texas.