Announcements

ATLANTA, Georgia – On National HIV Testing Day at events across the United States, thousands of Americans will obtain a potentially life-extending piece of information: their HIV test result. Whether they test positive or negative, all of them will be taking an important step in protecting their health and the health of their loved ones and advance our nation’s fight against the spread of HIV.

ALBANY, New York – Dentists shouldn't be concerned their personal information will become compromised when national provider identifier data is posted on the Web.

NEW YORK, New York – Colgate-Palmolive announced today additional developments and actions by the Company to protect consumers against possible risk from recently reported counterfeit toothpaste. The Company yesterday warned consumers that the counterfeit toothpaste, which has been found in some small, independent dollar-type discount stores, may not contain fluoride and could contain Diethylene Glycol, an ingredient not used in Colgate toothpaste anywhere in the world.

ATLANTA, Georgia – The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today unveiled a new look for the home page and major topic pages of its Web site. The changes are designed to make it easier for people to find health information and resources quickly. The CDC Web site address is www.cdc.gov.

ALBANY, New York – The NPI is a 10-digit standard identification number that will replace the current provider identification information used—usually referred to as legacy identifiers. It will be required on all HIPAA standard transactions.

ALBANY, New York – Bank of America is experiencing attempts by an unauthorized male caller to fraudulently capture personal customer information from dentists in the state of New York. The caller is identifying himself as an agent of Bank of America and is requesting the verification of personal customer information that includes customer's social security number, mother’s maiden name, date of birth, home address and account number verification.

ALBANY, New York – The New York Air National Guard is currently facing a critical shortage of dentists throughout the five Air Wings and subordinate units in New York State.

During numerous deployments and contingency operations in the last 17 years, it has been apparent that a key factor limiting the medical readiness of personnel to accomplish their mission has been, and continues to be, dental health," says Dr. Reid T. Muller, a surgeon and Colonel with the New York Air National Guard.

ALBANY, New York – Sugarless Wednesday, a program of the New York State Dental Association (NYSDA), is being celebrated in dental offices, classrooms, school cafeterias and day care centers on Wednesday, February 28. The event, held in conjunction with the February observance of Children's Dental Health Month, is an effort to help children and teens become more aware of non-essential sugars in their diets and the impact that food choices have on their oral and overall health.

WILKES-BARRE, Pennsylvania – Benco Dental, the nation's fastest-growing distributor of dental products and equipment, today announced the expansion of its Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania corporate headquarters to accommodate the major operations of BencoNET, the company's digital integration division. BencoNET provides custom computers and networking solutions for dentists.

NEW YORK, New York – The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Oral-B and television personality and author, Joan Lunden, are joining together throughout the month of February for Children's Dental Health Month to raise awareness about the importance of children's oral health and to remind parents to teach healthy oral care habits. An often overlooked aspect of children's health, oral health problems continue to be a problem with almost 20 percent of children ages 2-3 having at least one untreated cavity and more than 50 percent of children developing some form of gingivitis.