From DSO affiliations to new legislation affecting dentistry, here are eight updates that have taken place in Pennsylvania since June 6:
1. Wayne (Pa.) Dental Care affiliated with Great Neck, N.Y.-based the Smilist, a private equity-backed DSO.
2. Police in Cranberry Township, Pa., began investigating a group of scammers targeting local dentists and doctors.
3. A bill to reinstate dental benefits under Pennsylvania's medical assistance program was introduced in the state House of Representatives.
4. A Pennsylvania dentist invented a star-shaped grip to help prevent pain while holding dental tools.
5. Elliot Hersh, DMD, PhD, a professor in the oral and maxillofacial surgery department at the University of Pennsylvania dental medicine school in Philadelphia, retired after 35 years.
6. A Pennsylvania dental practice temporarily closed after a fire caused about $20,000 worth of damages.
7. Researchers from the Philadelphia-based University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine and the Chapel Hill-based University of North Carolina Adams School of Dentistry and Gillings School of Global Public Health discovered a bacterial species involved in tooth decay.
8. Roseland, N.J.-based Abra Health, an dental and medical provider, acquired the office of pediatric dentist Eugene McGuire, DDS, in Allentown, Pa.