Lumps of charcoal in a box.

That’s what Pnina Shor, the head of the Dead Sea Scrolls Project at the Israel Antiquities Authority, received from Emanuel Tov, an expert on the Dead Sea scrolls at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

According to the New York Times, what Dr. Shor did next led to an incredible discovery.

“I said, ‘There is nothing we can do because our system isn’t geared toward these chunks,’ ” she said. But because she was submitting other objects for a high-resolution scan, she put one of the lumps in with other items.

Dr. Shor had the lump scanned by a commercially available, X-ray based, micro-computed tomography machine, of the kind used for fine-resolution scanning of biological tissues….”

Read the full story at: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/science/ancient-sea-scrolls-bible.html?emc=eta1&_r=0  to learn how CBCT technology (similarly used in the dental industry) combined with developments by computer scientists at the University of Kentucky identified the scroll’s content – a fragment identical to the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible which, “at nearly 2,000 years old, is the earliest instance of the text.”

Might the text in the scroll found at the En-Gedi excavation site in Israel be considered a Dead Sea scroll?

Dr. Tov told the New York Times that “scholars might come to consider the En-Gedi manuscript as a Dead Sea scroll, especially if the early date indicated by paleography is confirmed.”

 Read the full story at: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/22/science/ancient-sea-scrolls-bible.html?emc=eta1&_r=0

A maximum capacity crowd in the Carolina Room of the Francis Marion Hotel, Charleston, included the first female graduate of the College of Dental Medicine at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), the first female President of the Texas Dental Association (TDA) and seemingly more dental trailblazers than Palmetto trees in “America’s Friendliest City”.

That doesn’t even account for the celebration’s namesake – Dr. Lucy Hobbs, who in 1866 became the first American female to earn a degree in dentistry – or the event’s two distinguished honorees: Lucy Hobbs Project 2016 Industry Icon Theresa Gonzales, DMD, MS, MSS (shown above, right) and 2015 Woman to Watch Amanda Seay, DDS, AAACD (shown above, center).

To state that inspiration overflowed each time a speaker took the podium is no understatement, whether sharing  – with gripping honesty – the meaning gained from early career “failures” or offering startling examples of the lack of female leadership in the dental industry (only 6% representation) and beyond.

Addressing the more than 150 attendees at this celebration of women in dentistry hosted

Cathy Moss, DMD and her daughter @VirginiaOwen at @TheLucyHobbsProject celebration. Dr. Moss, the first female dental school graduate at MUSC, introduced honoree Dr. Theresa Gonzales.

by Benco Dental and Procter & Gamble’s Crest + Oral-B were Patricia Blanton, DDS, MS, PhD., the aforementioned first female President of the TDA, and Cathy Moss, DMD,  who enrolled in the MUSC College of Dental Medicine as its first female student in 1970 and earned her dental degree in 1973.

As she wrapped up her discussion of the possibilities and responsibilities that await us all, Dr. Blanton, (shown above left) who was recently named interim dean of  James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine at MUSC, shared breaking news about her award-winning colleague. Just this week, Dr. Gonzales was elevated to Associate Dean of Curriculum and Communications.

Under Dr. Gonzales leadership, in just three years, the teachers she oversees have won national recognition, and test scores are the highest in the school’s history. Yet in an interview with Incisal Edge dental lifestyle magazine earlier this year,  Dr. Gonzales placed the credit with her students:

“I could not be more comfortable with the fate of the [den­tal] profession based on the people who have entered it. They have come into the profession for the right rea­son – to provide a public service.”

The Lucy Hobbs Project empowers women in dentistry to drive change and deliver success through networking, innovation and giving back. The evening would not have been complete without a call to action from two humanitarians, Dena Davis and Dr. Mary The, representing Charleston County School District’s Head Start. Genuinely surprised by a presentation of healthy snack and toothbrushes donations from attendees for the children the program serves, Davis and Dr. The thanked the crowd and offered them a life-changing opportunity.

In the next 45 days their limited staff is challenged with completing health care screenings for 1,029 children in the Charleston community, ages birth to 5. The two women invited all in the room to donate their talents and Dr. Gonzales was the first to volunteer.

To learn more about The Lucy Hobbs Project, visit: http://thelucyhobbsproject.com/

Paparazzi! Dr. Theresa Gonzales and Dr. Amanda Seay in the spotlight as they receive their The LucyHobbsProject Awards. Two of Dr. Seay’s four children round out the press corps.

A company in Earth City, Missouri, aims to assist dentists in that quest.

Its new eco-friendly prophy angle, the Denticator Eco, is made with 25% less plastic than leading disposable prophy angles, according to the company.

In addition to using less plastic, the Denticator Eco 125 count box is made with 100% recycled fiber, while the 1,000 count box is made with 35% recycled content. Denticator Eco prophy angles also come individually wrapped in recyclable film.

“Disposable products are widespread in the dental industry because they help protect

Vicki Hunter Brand Manager at Young Innovations Inc.

patients by offering an effective means of infection control. But the downside is they create waste,” said Vicki Hunter, Brand Manager for Denticator. “That’s really what drove us to introduce a more environmentally friendly disposable prophy angle. Denticator Eco is a greener option because it’s made with as little plastic as possible and packaged in boxes made from recycled materials.”

Trimming down the amount of plastic used in the manufacturing of Denticator Eco resulted in a compact and ergonomic prophy angle with a small, rounded head for better maneuverability. The slim neck diameter allows clinicians to see more of the patient’s mouth and less of the prophy angle.

The exterior of the latex-free Denticator Eco cup has a leaf-shaped outline designed to reduce splatter and remove hard-to-reach interproximal stains. A textured eco leaf grip at the base of the body makes the prophy angle easier to handle.

Request a free sample: Visit www.denticator.com/sample-request to learn more.

With the help of a crane.

After graduating from Baylor Univer­sity more than a decade ago, Rex Wildey headed west with some friends, killing time surfing in Santa Monica, watching the wetsuit-clad locals spill out of their Volkswagen buses – the emblem­ atic surfer vehicle since Lyndon Johnson was in the White House.

Fast-forward to 2013: Dr. Rex Wildey, now a San Antonio-based pediatric dentist in his first year post-residency, heads back to California with his wife, Jennifer, in search of inspiration for the design of his first practice.

“I’ve always liked the VW bus,” he says. “You see a lot of surfers driving them with their boards packed in. It’s fun.” His sojourn con­vinced Dr. Wildey to pursue a “surf shop” theme for his practice – “a relaxing atmosphere for a place people don’t consider very relaxing.”

Back in Texas, he found a beat-up 1974 VW bus for sale.

“I took my truck out and towed it back, and next thing you now, we’re hoisting it into the second story with a crane.” (“You want to do what?” Dr. Wildey remembers his contractor, Brian Garrison, saying. “Let’s do it – no problem, I got it.”) A fresh coat or vi­brant orange paint later, the bus is now the centerpiece of Dr. Wildey’s immensely inviting practice – completed in just three months, thanks to a preexisting shell perfect for a dental office.
ll opened last June. The front two-thirds or the bus jut into the reception area; the back sticks through a wall into checkout, where kids can open the hatch and grab a prize on their way out. (A flat-screen TV is mounted inside so young patients can play video games while they wait.)

The VW is the obvious focal point of Wildey Pediatric, but the rest of the immaculate space adheres to the design aesthetic of what Dr. Wildey calls “the cleanest surf shop you’ll ever be in”: calming colors throughout, tranquil blue VCT tile in the treatment rooms and large win­dows on three sides of the practice.

See more images and read the full interview with this 2014 Incisal Edge Design Competition Award winner at: http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/07e88128#/07e88128/60

Enter your practice today into the 2017 Incisal Edge Design Competition. Don’t wait, deadline is Monday, Sept. 12!  http://www.iedesigncontest.com/entryforms/