The DMD Check-Up: Student Becomes Internet Celeb with 'Risky' DIY Braces

A New Jersey college student has dentists warning crooked-teeth patients not to try dentistry at home. That story tops this week’s DMD Check-Up. Also making the list: How to solve the opioid abuse problem, and what connection does Low-T have to oral health?

• College Kid Spends $60 to Straighten His Teeth (Washington Post)

A New Jersey college student has received wide attention after publishing an account of straightening his own teeth for $60 (by 3D-printing his own braces). Some orthodontists warn that Amos Dudley’s “methods were risky and could backfire, ultimately leading to a need for more expensive professional help.”

• Delhi Dentist Beaten To Death (Oneindia.com)

In a case of mindless savagery, Dr. Pankaj Narang was forcibly removed from his house in west Delhi's Vikaspuri by an angry mob, dragged him into the street, and beaten to death with hockey sticks, bats and rods. All from a “heated argument” over a near-miss traffic incident.

• Dental Patients Overprescribed Pain Pills Too (Fox4)

New research in JAMA “finds that US dentists may be prescribing too many pain pills to patients when they have teeth pulled.” Improved dentist monitoring and cutting back could be one way to reduce the opioid abuse problem.

• Young Texas Girl Dies After Dental Procedure (Fox 7 Austin)

A 14-month-old girl has died after “a routine cavity filling” procedure at a dentist’s office in Austin. None of the dentists working at the practice have been disciplined in Texas for any action before. The Texas State Board of Dental Examiners, which only heard of the case from media reports, is investigating.

• Low Testosterone Contributes to Poor Oral Health (Newswire)

A Baylor College of Dentistry study of primates found that low sex hormones may lead to oral health issues in men. As diagnoses for low testosterone become increasingly common and testosterone replacement therapy increasing, “dentists may want to ask about TRT when documenting their male patients’ health histories.”

• The Jungle Book Actor Wants to be a Dentist (Hindustan Times)

Neel Sethi, the young actor staring in the new The Jungle Book film, says he wants to be a dentist like his parents. The Indian-American actor will portray “the popular fictional character Mowgli in the upcoming Hollywood film based on Rudyard Kipling’s book.”

• 99% of Doctors Overprescribe Pain Pills (Chicago Tribune)

No wonder there’s an addiction problem! Nearly all US primary care doctors routinely prescribe potentially addictive opioid painkillers for longer than the three-day period recommended by the CDCP, according to a new National Safety Council survey. Dentists too?

• Controversial Dental Carve-Out Law Approved in Florida (Florida Politics)

Gov. Rick Scott has signed a bill that removes dental services from the list of minimum benefits under the state’s Medicaid managed care plans. It also calls on the Office of Program Policy Analysis & Government Accountability to study how effective managed care plans are at providing dental care. The Florida Dental Association backs the governor’s action.

• Sweet Tooth? Flies Have It Too (Phys.org)

Rockefeller University researchers have brought us closer to understanding the biology of eating. They've identified a set of neurons that are activated only when flies eat a very sweet solution—especially when they’re hungry. The findings may have implications for diseases related to food intake such as obesity.

• New Infection Control Guidelines Checklist (ADA.org)

Dentists can access resources designed to help them follow infection prevention guidelines thanks to new materials from the CDCP. A “comprehensive, user friendly resource” that “can help dental healthcare personnel maintain proper infection prevention practices.”

• The Latest Earnings for British Dentists (Dentistry.co.uk)

“In the years following the global economic crash, private patients became more reluctant to spend and the average net income for their dentists ($201,498), over a few years, dropped below those of colleagues working in the NHS ($185,856).”