(Minneapolis, MN)  – –   Free dental care for up to 6,000 children in need will be available at more than 200 dental offices across the state on February 6th and 7th, 2015.   Minnesota dentists will be providing free dental care services for children in need, during the Minnesota Dental Association’s 13th annual Give Kids a […] Read More »

By Matt Swenson From the January-February 2015 Issue of Northwest Dentistry As the owner of a dental practice, you, the dentist, are both a leader and a producer — arguably making you the single most important success factor in your practice. You set the tone for your practice’s culture (key word), putting a lot of pressure squarely on your shoulders. If you […] Read More »

By Jonathan F. Richards, D.D.S., M.S., Scott B. McClanahan, D.D.S., M.S., and Walter R. Bowles, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D. From the January-February 2015 Issue of Northwest Dentistry Accurate identification and assessment of an inflamed or necrotic tooth is essential for endodontic treatment. The purpose of this research was to investigate possible sources of error associated with the use of […] Read More »

By Thomas D. Larson, D.D.S., M.S.D. From the January-February 2015 Issue of Northwest Dentistry There are many ways to bond to tooth structure, some micro-mechanical, some chemical, some a combination. Different dentin bonding materials have different bonding strengths to differently prepared surfaces, and because of differences in their nature, different areas of tooth structure present […] Read More »

By Nathan Pedersen, D.D.S. From the January-February 2015 Issue of Northwest Dentistry Late last year when Northwest Dentistry’s Editorial Advisory Board was brainstorming topics to pursue for 2015, one that came to the fore was given the working title “How Do You Recognize a Heroin Addict?”  Discussion produced the set of questions that is the foundation of the following article. Recognizing that […] Read More »

Computers and dentistry; pretty much a boon. Computers and dentists; maybe not so much – the jury is out, case by case. Computers and dental editors? Therein lies a tale, one that attends to a different kind of fracture. Read More »

The following article is based on the 2014 winning CaseCAT (Clinically Appraised Topic) poster presentation from the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry program to promote student understanding of evidence-based dentistry and make evidence-based decisions in their clinical practice. In partnership with faculty advisers, dental students ask a focused question based on one of their actual patient scenarios. They evaluate literature for the best evidence, and make clinical judgments and decisions based upon their evaluation. Read More »

For 10 years during his tenure as chair of the MDA’s Committee on Constitution,Bylaws and Ethics, Dr. Jack Churchill wrote a continuing feature report for Northwest Dentistry called “What’s a Dentist to Do?”, in the process becoming the de facto “ethics guru” for the dentists of Minnesota and beyond. It is the “beyond” that brings Jack back into our pages for this interview. Read More »

This article will describe the various elements of color and how color is perceived physically and psychologically. It will also describe the various methods used to communicate color matching to the laboratory (for porcelain), as well as the other physical compositions that affect color perception. The artistic components will be described, as well as the scientific methods by which color can be manipulated to obtain clinically acceptable matches, utilizing both composite resins and porcelains. The applications are broad across direct and indirect restorations and include all porcelain materials as well as various composite resin systems. By breaking color components into hue, value, chroma, and translucency (contrast ratio), a common sense approach to describing a desired color match will be rationalized. Read More »

MINNEAPOLIS, MN— The Minnesota Dental Association recently held its annual House of Delegates meeting at the Hilton Airport Hotel in Bloomington where new officers were elected. Read More »