Good morning! Welcome to our first weekly digest from USA Dental Report that we’ve sent in a while. We’ve been busy over the last few months updating many of our offerings over at Proximal Contact, LLC and we decided to focus most of our USA Dental Report efforts on our LinkedIn page. Now that our company page is up and running and gaining traction, we’ll be returning to our once weekly digest. So here we go…what happened last week on the dental profession?

Two hacker groups went after dental data, the midterms reshuffled Washington, and the biggest name in clear aligners picked a successor. Here's what you need to know in five minutes.

1. Breach week: Delta Dental of Missouri and iDentalSoft named by hackers

A group called n0n claims it breached Delta Dental of Missouri, with member names, Social Security numbers, birth dates, addresses and treatment details reportedly exposed. Delta Dental of Missouri says it has hired forensic specialists and its systems are still running. Separately, the Termite ransomware group claims it took about 15GB from cloud practice software maker iDentalSoft, including treatment records, patient ID documents and API keys. Neither claim is verified, and iDentalSoft hasn't confirmed a breach. If you use connected software, now is a good time to change integration passwords, turn on multifactor sign-in and reread your business associate agreements. Becker's Dental Review · DrBicuspid

2. The midterms flipped Congress. Here's what it means for your chair.

Per AP counts cited by Becker's, Democrats will control both the House and Senate when the new Congress is sworn in Jan. 3. Their health agenda includes reversing the Medicaid cuts in last year's reconciliation bill, and Rep. Mike Thompson plans to bring back his bill to add dental benefits to Medicare. Before any of that, Congress has to pass a full-year spending bill or another stopgap by Dec. 11, and the Dental Trade Alliance's Chris Rorick says the real question for dentists is reimbursement: "Everybody wants expanded access, but do we have the reimbursement?" Becker's Dental Review · DrBicuspid podcast

3. Align picks a P&G executive as CEO and doubles down on buybacks

Jennifer L. Davis becomes Align Technology's president and CEO on Dec. 31, succeeding Joseph Hogan, who has run the Invisalign maker since 2015. Davis most recently led Procter & Gamble's global healthcare business. The same week, Align signed a $270 million accelerated stock buyback with Goldman Sachs, which brings its 2026 repurchases to about $500 million. A consumer-brand leader and a cash-rich balance sheet at the top of the aligner market are worth watching if you offer clear aligners. DrBicuspid · Dentistry Today

4. Dentsply Sirona's sales slide again

The company reported $836 million in third-quarter net sales, down 7.6% from a year earlier, and now expects about $3.5 billion for the full year. Its net loss shrank to $2 million from $427 million. CEO Dan Scavilla pointed to gains in implants and endodontics and a broader U.S. dealer network, which may matter if you buy through those channels. Becker's Dental Review

5. Florida revokes a dentist's license after an implant patient's death

On Nov. 6 the Florida Board of Dentistry voted unanimously to revoke the license of Francesco Sebastiani, DMD, after a patient died following a 2023 implant procedure. The state alleged he did the surgery in an office rather than a hospital and failed to monitor her or respond to her emergency. The board overruled a judge's recommendation to dismiss, and Dr. Sebastiani plans to appeal. It's a reminder that boards are judging where surgery happens, not just how. Becker's Dental Review

Guest interviews worth your commute this week, from shows featured on the Dental Podcast Directory.

Forward this to a colleague who missed it, and hit reply to tell us what we should cover next week. See you next Monday.

The USA Dental Report team