Dentists

Straumann Group subsidiary ClearCorrect and Align Technology have reached a settlement over patent disputes in the U.S., U.K. and Brazil.

After allegedly abusing nitrous oxide at a Snohomish County, Wash., dental practice, a dental assistant has been suspended by the Washington Department of Health, according to Patch.

The Texas House of Representatives passed a funding bill March 27 to build a dental school in El Paso, according to NBC affiliate KTSM.

Dental manufacturer 3M agreed this week to pay $32.5 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that alleged its Lava Ultimate dental crowns were defective, according to Mass Device.

Other medical fields have seen improvements by implementing value-based reimbursement models. Now it's the dental industry's turn to use them, an Arizona State University professor says.

Seven dentists making headlines:

Dental hygienist students at the Eagan, Minn., campus of the abruptly shuttered Argosy University are scrambling to find programs that will accept their transfer credits, local news station Fox 9 reports.

Two Vancouver, Wash.-based dentists agreed to pay a $1 million to settle allegations that they submitted fraudulent claims to the state's Medicaid program, according to The Columbian.

Five dental companies making headlines: 

Dentists are overusing CT scans in emergency settings for odontogenic infection workups, according to a Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery study.