ADA News

The ADA Standards Committee on Dental Informatics has approved for circulation for review and comment Proposed ADA Technical Report No. 1048 for Attachment of DICOM Datasets Using E-mail in Dentistry.

This report provides technical recommendations for a DICOM-conformant dataset e-mail attachment for dentists and specialists who don't share the same image data repository, but who need to exchange patient data in a fast and secure manner.

The SCDI also approved for circulation and comment Proposed ADA Technical Report No. 1060 for the Secure Exchange and Utilization of Digital Images in Dentistry. This report recommends procedures for the exchange of DICOM-conformant datasets for photographs, radiographs or other imaging modalities via e-mail transport. In addition, the report discusses some existing constraints that reduce the ease of the implementation of secure image exchange and, therefore, restrict the use of images exchanged securely in dentistry.

Finally, the SCDI approved for circulation and comment Proposed ADA Technical Report No. 1055 for Hardware and Software Guidelines. The report outlines the features of hardware and software for dental practice management systems and proposes guidelines for selection for their optimal utilization in dental offices.

The ADA Standards Committee on Dental Products has approved for circulation and comment the Proposed ANSI (American National Standard)/ADA Specification No. 69 for Dental Ceramic. This standard specifies the requirements and the corresponding test methods for dental ceramic materials for fixed all-ceramic and metal-ceramic restorations and prostheses.

The SCDP also approved for circulation and comment Proposed ANSI/ADA Specification No. 33 for Dental Standards Development Vocabulary. This is the third edition of the standard vocabulary for use in the development and use of national and international dental product standards.

Changes adopted for this third edition are based on recommendations submitted since 2003 and the committee recognizes that some of the definitions given for entries in this third edition may require further refinement, particularly those related to the newer terminologies. Reviewers are encouraged to submit comments on such definitions.

ADA specifications and technical reports assist ADA members in choosing safe and effective materials, instruments, equipment and information systems and are available for download purchase or hard copy from the ADA Catalog at www.adacatalog.org or by calling 1-800-947-4746. International callers may call 1-312-440-2500.

Copies of the draft specifications are available by calling the ADA toll-free number, Ext. 2506, or e-mailing standards@ada.org.