Topics at a glance: Coming soon: A pictorial history of dental implants  …  Journal article by UTDB professor offers free CE  …  ERC taking orders for Valentine's Day flowers  … Streckfus to be keynote speaker at AADR annual meeting  …  Koh to serve as volunteer advocacy coordinator for Dental Branch  …  Nacho Tuesday

Coming soon: A pictorial history of dental implants

Associate Professor Veronique F. Delattre, D.D.S. (left), and Clinical Assistant Professor Lillian C. Lyons, D.D.S., will work together on a
grant-funded project to compile a historical database of dental
implants.

Two Dental Branch faculty members have secured a grant from the American Board of Forensic Odontology to compile a historical database of the morphology of dental implants.

Clinical Assistant Professor Lillian C. Lyons, D.D.S., of the UTDB Periodontics Department, and Veronique F. Delattre, D.D.S., associate professor in the Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials and director of quality assurance, will work together on the project, which is titled, "Morphologic and Radiographic Analysis of Dental Implants for Forensic Post-Mortem Identification: A historical review."

Dental implants actually date back to days of the ancient Egyptians, but Lyons and Delattre will be analyzing them from about the 1950s forward. Over those decades, shapes and material used in dental implants have changed significantly, and some brands are used in specific regions of the world, but not in others.

"It's overwhelming for general dentists and forensic dentists to keep up with," Lyons said. "We had the idea to do this because they're missing guidance, and this is something I as a periodontist can contribute."

With a reference guide, dental professionals would be able to determine when and where implants were likely made — useful information for the living, who may need retreatment; and for identification of the dead.

Delattre said the guide to dental implants could be especially helpful as an identification tool after an incident with mass casualties, particularly if it involves victims from many countries.

Lyons will gather the information from periodontic patient records at the UT Dental Branch, and she also plans to contact the companies that make dental implants, to see if she can use their product information. The project will include both photographs and radiographs to show how the implants look.

"We also want to ask the dental community, if they see a type of implant they haven't seen before, to e-mail me," Lyons said. "It would be great to take a look at the X-rays and add them to our paper."

With at least 20 different brands of implants currently available — some with several variations each — Lyons said she will not include all possible implants but will try to have representative samples of each shape.

Delattre noted that implants also vary in how they're attached to the bone. "The ones we have now are more tubular," she said, "but in the past some of them had blades or meshes that fit over the bone. The current ones are more like a root."

Lyons estimates the project will take about a year to complete. She and Delattre plan to submit the results to the Journal of Forensic Sciences, and if accepted, the timeline of dental implants would be available for review. Delattre also plans to present a preview of the information at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences later this month.

For more information about the project, or to notify Lyons about unusual implants you have seen, contact her at Lillian.C.Lyons@uth.tmc.edu.

Journal article by UTDB professor
offers free continuing education

The January edition of the journal Inside Dentistry features a continuing education article, "Color in Dentistry: Is Everything We Know Really So?" by Rade D. Paravina, D.D.S., Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials at the UT Dental Branch. Dentists who read the article and pass the related test will earn two hours of continuing education credit at no cost. To see the article, visit http://www.insidedentistryce.com/lessons/46.cfm.

In the article, Paravina discusses how application of color science, improvements of dental shade guides and related restorative materials, and standardization of their color appearance, can improve results of color matching and reproduction. Throughout the article the author provides easy-to-apply solutions and recommendations for clinical dentistry.

Streckfus to be keynote speaker
at AADR annual meeting

Professor Charles Streckfus, D.D.S., of the Department of Diagnostic Sciences at UTDB, will be a keynote speaker at the annual meeting and exhibition of the American Association for Dental Research. This year's meeting will be held March 31 through April 4 at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in Dallas. Streckfus will speak on salivary diagnostics.

Koh to serve as volunteer advocacy coordinator for Dental Branch

Dean Catherine M. Flaitz, D.D.S., has appointed Sheila H. Koh, D.D.S., associate professor in the Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials, to serve as volunteer advocacy coordinator (VAC) for the UT Dental Branch at Houston. As VAC, Koh will coordinate and carry out advocacy activities in cooperation with the American Dental Educators Association Center for Public Policy and Advocacy.

The UTDBeflash! is a weekly publication produced by the UT Dental Branch at Houston. Send items for consideration to dbnewsdesk@uth.tmc.edu.