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March 24, 2009 | Web Exclusive
Dr. Thomas Hirsch really likes the CEREC CAD/CAM system he purchased from Sirona (sirona.com) about three months back, but he’s certainly felt the effects of the steep learning curve for the system that allows him to fabricate and produce restorations chairside. “I probably have done 150 restorations so far and I’m just starting to get comfortable with the software and the power it has,” he said. He figures it’s a fabulous technology that will be a great investment for his practice, but learning to use a complex system like CEREC also makes him appreciate the simple things. As the inventor of the Isolite Dryfield Illuminator and founder and CEO of Isolite Systems (isolitesystems.com), Dr. Hirsch is certainly aware of the impact simple innovations can have on a practice. He’s especially proud that his isolation, retraction and illumination system can be put to use with almost no learning curve for users to climb before the product’s benefits can be experienced by clinicians and patients alike. That simplicity is the key to finding a product with almost no learning curve. A redesigned operatory with new cabinetry that offers better organization might fit this category, but the best products without learning curves offer simple answers to common problems and do so in ways that are intuitive for the user.
The Isolite i2 Dryfield Illuminator Dr. Hirsch’s invention combines quadrant isolation, tongue and cheek retraction, evacuation and illumination into a single device that takes a handful of minutes to set up and a a half hour more to practice inserting it before a clinician will be comfortable using it with patients. He said it can make procedures go about 25% faster and is useful for routine hygiene tasks like scalings and sealants as well as more complex dental procedures like crown and bridge, extractions and implants. “The nice thing about our isolation technology is that it makes everything very easy for the staff,” Dr. Hirsch said. “It just seems to make your day a whole lot easier when you don’t have to fight the tongue and the spit and the cheek and the saliva.” While the Isolite connects to the operatory vacuum system, Dr. Hirsch described the process as a “connection” rather than an installation. It is ready to go in less than 15 minutes after it is connected to the vacuum canister, plugged into an electrical outlet and the unit is hung on the assistant's toolbar. Staff members should practice on each other for about half an hour to get comfortable selecting the correct mouthpiece size and inserting it into a mouth. In just four or five practice insertions most clinicians will be comfortable using the system. Once up and running, the system offers a host of benefits. The properly inserted mouthpiece provides a consistently bright, dry operating field that doesn’t need to be reset if the dentist needs to step away to change a bur, and Dr. Hirsch said the “cushiony” bite block means patients don’t need to strain to hold their mouths open for the entire procedure. There are separate vacuum controls for the upper and lower arches to offer improved comfort for patients with root sensitivity in a non-anesthetized quadrant. They slide on and off either together or independently allowing easy adjustment and customization of the suction intensity. The light intensity is controlled by a single button with five available levels plus a “CURE-SAFE” that provides intraoral illumination that, “doesn’t have any effect on your light sensitive cements or light sensitive composites,” Dr. Hirsch said.
The Dental Button While the Isolite is designed to make things easier and more comfortable for both the dentist and the patient, The Dental Button (thedentalbutton.com), another low learning curve product, makes things easier for the dentist by making the patient a whole lot more comfortable. The name says it all; the product is a button that cuts down on anxiety by giving the patient the power to stop a dentist’s drill during a procedure. “There’s no training to be done for staff and the instructions for the patient are very simple: ‘If for any reason during the procedure you feel the need, push the button and the drill will stop,’” said Dr. Michael Edwards, a partner with The Dental Button. “The great thing about it is very few patients press the button and when they do press it, usually it is because the anesthetic has worn off.” The system is little more than a button, a connecting cord and a foot pedal the dentist uses to reset the system if the button has been pressed. Dr. Edwards said most users should have no problem installing the system themselves in about five minutes. When the system is used the drill stops just as if it were placed back in its holster while still running. “There’s no damage to the drill. All that happens is the air pressure drops immediately to zero,” Dr. Edwards said. The set up and use may be easy, but Dr. Edwards said the results of the button are profound. Tests show patient anxiety levels cut in half or eliminated altogether. Relaxed patients are less likely to feel pain, and dentists find it much easier to treat a relaxed patient and can complete procedures faster. “As soon as they’re holding that button, by them having control, it takes away the feeling of helplessness and you have that immediate drop in anxiety,” he said. “If I have a relaxed patient it’s easier for me to work and I end up focusing on my work more.”
VibraJect While both The Dental Button and the Isolite system make their impacts with minimal preparation and training, neither provides benefits as effortlessly as ITL Dental’s VibraJect (vibraject.com), a syringe clip designed to reduce the pain associated with dental injections. “You just put it on the barrel of the syringe, it will not interfere with the barrel or cartridge and prior to giving an injection you just turn the control knob on—there’s no speed control—you do your normal injection technique, and when you finish the injection technique you just turn it off,” ITL Dental President Courtney Emery said. The device vibrates at more than 10,000 cycles per minute and functions based on the gate control theory of pain management. Emery said the device works because the brain can only notice either the vibration or the injection pain and the vibration is noticed first. “In short, the brain never got the message that it feels injection pain,” he said. The VibraJect system includes just the vibrating motor with either replaceable or rechargeable batteries and three autoclavable syringe clips. The motor is clipped onto the barrel of the syringe anywhere that doesn’t block the clinician’s field of vision to the injection site and doesn’t make using the syringe uncomfortable. Emery said the only mental challenge to using the device is remembering the motor cannot be autoclaved. “It doesn’t change the effectiveness anywhere on the barrel of the syringe and the gauge and the length of the needle is not important, any gauge or length of needle will work,” he said. No one should use a new product or technology without at least reading or viewing included instructions, but sometimes products are simple and effective enough to make a quick lesson and an easy installation process all that stands in the way of experiencing a return on the investment. Simple products like these can be set up and put to work. They offer an easy way to improve a practice that starts to pay off right away.
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