Dental Products Report-2012-06-01

We’ve seen a lot of changes in the way we provide treatment since the mid-1990s or so. While there were some advances in dentistry before that time, I truly believe the pure amount of changes we have seen in the last 10-20 years in our profession may well be more than there ever were before that time.

We talk with Dr. Michael Pelke on 3M ESPE's Elipar S10 LED curing light.

Experience has shown that to achieve successful resin composite posterior restorations, composite layering is essential. However, proven to be time consuming and technique sensitive, the procedure must be performed properly to avoid polymerization shrinkage and marginal leakage. Because dental professionals have continuously sought more advanced materials and more efficient techniques, dental research has led to the introduction of bulk fill resin composite materials.

Catapult was asked to review Doxa’s new cement, Ceramir, and the question was: Is this cement different? For half the group the answer was overwhelmingly “yes.” The remainder of the group truly appreciated how easy the cement was to use and its physical properties but had issues with the delivery system because it requires a triturator.

Matt Davis has had his share of dental x-rays taken over the years, but some of the experiences were so bad that he really wanted to try and avoid future x-rays at all costs. “It (discomfort) used to be to the point where you really didn’t want to take the x-rays,” he said. “I would tell doctors unless it’s absolutely necessary, I don’t want to do it. And unless they really knew what they were doing, it took forever. It was like I just lost 20 minutes shoving x-rays in my mouth.”

1. Sunstar America's GUM PerioShield oral health rinse represents a next generation solution to achieving and maintaining a healthy mouth. It inhibits bacterial adhesion to tooth surfaces and serves as an adjunct to normal mechanical oral hygiene. 2. The rinse provides a tool clinically proven to prevent plaque and gingivitis that could lead to periodontitis.

DMG America President George Wolfe talks Icon and Luxatemp Ultra dental products.  

1. TruFit™ Ultra Thin Gloves are made of a soft nitrile material for the ultimate comfort in examination gloves. 2. The thin nature of the gloves improves flexibility and reach for the clinician. 3. The nitrile material retains strength, allowing the glove to stay intact during clinical use.

Stem cells in general are not a new concept. They’ve been included in medical journals for about 100 years and the definition of stem cells is just about as old-undifferentiated cells that not only have the capacity for self-renewal, but also the ability to produce specific cells needed for a wide range of tissue regeneration and therapeutic applications.

According to the National Institute of Health’s Consensus Conference on the Diagnosis and Management of Dental Caries throughout Life, “Dental caries is an infectious, communicable disease resulting in destruction of tooth structure by acid forming bacteria found in dental plaque, an intraoral biofilm, in the presence of sugar.

Patients often experience oral inflammation, whether it’s from self-induced trauma or an area that must heal following a dental procedure. MIS Implants Technologies’ PeriZone™ PerioPatch® acts as a barrier while it provides relief and absorbs excess wound exudates to promote healing.

A past president of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry who has been in practice for more than three decades, Dr. Dean Lodding has tried a number of different dental materials.

How long have you used the Demi Plus curing light? I have been using the Demi Plus for a few years. Why is it your curing light of choice? It’s lightweight and ergonomically designed. The output is more than 1,100 mW/cm2, so I get good deep curing. Why would you recommend the curing light to a colleague? I have been using Demetron lights for many years going back to the halogen days and they work with no down time.

Can you explain in detail how the proprietary optics in the FLASHlite Magna 4.0 curing light work? An optical element in the curing light more effectively focuses the light emitted from the LED, maintaining its focus and minimizing divergence. After traveling through the optic, the beams are roughly parallel or collimated. Typically, the light emitted from a curing probe or handpiece extension exhibits divergence that increases with distance. The FLASHlite Magna 4.0 produces a curing beam with significantly less beam spread.

You’ve used other models of bluephase curing lights. Why do you like the bluephase Style curing light best? It offers me a variety of advantages over curing lights I have used in the past. My team and I really enjoy using the bluephase Style because it allows us to hold it however is most comfortable for us. Why is it your curing light of choice? The slim design is great because not only is the light easy to manage for those of us with small hands, but it also can fit into hard-to-reach places in the mouth.

Dr. Peter Dawson’s CV is formidable. To look at all he’s achieved-the textbooks, the international recognition, the patients’ lives changed-it is easy to look at his career and assume that it is his story, exciting to listen to but impossible to emulate. But one of the greatest parts of the Dawson story is his commitment to making it accessible to the masses, to helping general dentists be better and see incredible results in their own practices.

The distinguished team of dentists behind The Dawson Academy show dentists how they can add value to their patients and practice by implementing the concepts, techniques and skills presented. This column challenges dentists to recognize the clinical deficiencies that prevent them from achieving their personal and professional goals. The learning points in each piece demonstrate how to improve a clinical aspect of the practice which, in turn, will create increased efficiency, predictability and profitability.

Entering into its fourth cycle of honorees, you could say the Pride Institute “Best of Class” Technology Award is entering its senior year-with all the enthusiasm, maturity and eagerness to make its mark in the world that metaphor suggests.