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Bond Force |
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Seventh-generation adhesion is continuing to have an ever-greater impact on the clinical dental practice. (Generational classification is a functionally generated categorization of dental adhesives that is used to group similar bonding agents together. The sorting is typically based on the number of components, the number of steps, and the requirement for a separate etching step.) The hallmarks of seventh-generation dental adhesives include the following: They are easy to use, simple (typically only a single step is required), bond effectively to both dry and moist tooth surfaces, and provide strong bonding to both enamel and dentin. Tokuyama America’s Bond Force develops a very thin hybrid layer between the dentin and the adhesive material at the resin-dentin interface. Most importantly for the patient-dentist relationship, seventh-generation adhesives are virtually sensitivity-free postoperatively. Bond Force is a single-component, self-etching, fluoride-releasing, seventh-generation bonding agent. It uses the patented SR monomer to create a 3-D link to the tooth, generating a very strong bond to cut and uncut enamel as well as dentin. Bond Force requires a single application and is completed, including curing, within 35 seconds. Neither etching of the tooth nor rinsing of the product after application is required. Simply bond, air-dry, cure, and then layer the composite. Fluoride-releasing Bond Force applies with a low film thickness. As with all seventh-generation products, there is little technique-sensitivity during application to the tooth surfaces, curing, and bonding. Bond Force is indicated for bonding light- or dual-curing composites to cut or uncut enamel and dentin as well as fractured porcelain or composite. It is available in both unit-doses and bottles. |
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Venus Smile Center |
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The processes of diagnosing and educating a patient, and marketing, preparing, temporizing, fabricating, trying in, cementing, and polishing a crown can easily be viewed as a single procedure. The dental practitioner has traditionally sourced these materials and services from a variety of suppliers. At best, managing all these separate and often uneven vendors is a difficult juggling act. The dentist must coordinate and integrate a vast number of variables that can well affect the ultimate outcome of the crown procedure (which is one of the most common and certainly one of the most remunerative procedures that the dentist offers). Heraeus Kulzer has introduced Venus Smile Center, an innovative and original integrated suite of aesthetic products and services designed specifically to help dentists attract patients and provide and support treatment while effectively satisfying patient expectations. Venus Smile’s aesthetic practice-building services include the Venus Patient Network, a direct-to-consumer marketing process that includes customizable, high-impact marketing and patient education tools for every practice (without the expenditure of major amounts of time or money); Venus Express Patient Financing, a built-in patient financing solution; and the Venus Academy, a dentist-and-team on-demand clinical training and education system that walks the clinician through step-by-step clinical applications and the staff through marketing and management issues. Heraeus Kulzer was among the first manufacturers to integrate direct and indirect restorative products such as Venus Composite, Venus Flow, and Venus Temp. Venus Smile also includes a host of direct and indirect restorative products. Venus Smile Centers are nationally recognized laboratories whose staff is specifically trained and certified to deliver Venus porcelain restorations to high standards and extensive quality control. Covering all of the marketing, management, financing, laboratory, and material concerns, Venus Smile positions the dentist in the ideal professional environment, providing exceptional clinical treatment to patients without sweating the small stuff. |
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S-Diamond Burs |
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The preparation and delivery of crowns is one of the most basic tasks of the typical dental practice. For the dentist, single crowns often represent the financial foundation of a successful business. Complicating the task of time management in the restorative practice is the primary preparation of the crown abutment. In fact, this is one of the most time-consuming procedures in most offices. Thus, the efficiency of the tooth preparation process is of major concern to many practitioners. Komet USA recently introduced its S-Diamonds, innovative cutting in-struments that feature structured preparation surfaces, faceted with alternating blank and coarse grit. This arrangement provides effective and rapid removal of tooth structures while at the same time ensuring an improved cooling of the tooth surface as it is being cut. The faceting of the blank section reduces clogging and heat generation. On inspection, the bur design is seen as a series of staggered plane surfaces and multiple edge structures. These features have been scientifically combined to increase the speed and comfort of tooth preparation. This design, in turn, significantly reduces the time involved in crown preparation when compared to conventional diamond instruments. By removing more tooth structure in a given amount of time, the S-Diamonds make tooth preparations easier, more comfortable, less stressful, and ultimately more rapid. The chairside time savings, the faster bulk reduction, the onsite cooling, and the gentler treatment all translate into improved patient care and comfort. |
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Chairside 2008 |
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Patient education is a major professional obligation for which practitioners have far too little time and training. The dentist’s time is often (incorrectly) considered too valuable for the process of patient education. The practitioner may not have the communication skills to get an effective message across quickly and clearly. Auxiliaries who have more office time at less cost are often assigned to patient education, but training takes time and the results are variable. The most time- and information-efficient technique is the professionally developed education module that gets all the information across clearly, visually, concisely, and, most importantly, comprehensively to the patient. Consult-Pro’s Chairside has long been an effective tool for developing patient understanding, recognizing patient needs and wants, and effectively conveying this information to the dental team. Chairside 2008 makes a good product better. Starting with a clear, intuitive interface, the patient’s education history is tracked, avoiding inadvertent “re-education.” Chairside 2008’s database of more than 800 movies, brochures, and presentations is accessible with a single word. Comprehensive help files and video tutorials compress the learning curve, making the system effectively useable almost immediately. Personalized education modules can be rapidly created using the Dental Patient Education software (select movies, insert actual patient images, use the dentist’s own voice) to develop a more personal education experience. The Series option allows movies to be custom-linked together for case presentations providing a series of 3 to 5 movies that detail the various steps of a procedure. All screen images can be printed for patients who wish to bring the information home with them as they ponder treatment acceptance. Consult-Pro’s Chairside 2008 is patient education made easy. |
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Root ZX II |
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Successful endodontic therapy depends, to a great extent, on the practitioner’s ability to locate the position of the apex accurately. Often, so does the patient’s comfort. This would not seem to be a major challenge, but consider that the apex is often found 20 to 25 mm (or more) apical to the working field, in a location where the dentist’s senses are greatly limited. The apex cannot be seen (without radiographs) and cannot be directly palpated. In fact, all of our normal senses are quite inadequate in the process of apex location. J. Morita USA’s Root ZX II has evolved from the earlier, and very successful, Root ZX technology. The Root ZX II measures canal length very accurately under virtually all canal conditions, whether wet or dry. Since effective drying of the endodontic canal may be difficult at the early stages of treatment, this is an important feature. The ratio technique used by the Root ZX II offers a very highly accurate detection of the file’s location. It is not affected by blood, pus, electrolytes, saline, water, or hydrogen peroxide. Conveniently, no zero adjustment is required before measuring a canal. The automatic calibration ensures accuracy and overrides any temperature and moisture changes inside the canal, even during treatment. The Root ZX II has a large, high-contrast LCD color screen that is easy for the practitioner to see and read during treatment, providing a real-time progressive display that monitors the file’s position. Considering the significant chairside stress that often develops during endodontic procedures, any technique that facilitates the process is welcome. The Root ZX II simplifies endodontic treatment and makes it significantly more predictable. |
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Liquid Smile Professional Whitening Pen |
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It seems that anywhere you turn, whether dental offices or drugstore shelves, whitening products abound. Bleaching is a patient favorite. In North America alone, consumers will spend more than one billion dollars on tooth whitening in 2008. The key to providing bleaching treatment is patient motivation. Fortunately, this is not a difficult task; over-the-counter bleach manufacturers have created excellent public awareness regarding the ease and benefits of tooth whitening. Thus, most patients are inclined to whiten teeth. The important question is this: How can dentists motivate patients and focus them in the proper clinical direction? Possibly the most important motivator is the in-office marketing support provided by the manufacturer. Liquid Smile Holdings, manufacturers of the innovative Liquid Smile Professional Whitening Pen, provides an in-office marketing kit that includes posters, mini-posters, gift cards, brochures, appointment cards, and countertop displays. Strategic office displays raise bleaching awareness and deliver heightened patient interest. The Liquid Smile kit is a very attractive and marketing-oriented package that contains every imaginable tool for patient education and motivation. Patients and dentists want simple bleaching procedures, preferably without trays, and Liquid Smile takes only 30 seconds to paint onto the teeth, preferably just before bedtime. The 12% hydrogen peroxide gel bleaches faster than carbamide peroxide (3 times stronger at the same percentage). Each whitening pen contains approximately 30 applications. Directions are simple: Brush and floss, dry the teeth (air or tissue), click the pen to activate gel onto the brush, smile to keep lips away from the teeth, and apply a thin layer to the front teeth for 30 seconds. No need to rinse! Apply once per night until desired results are achieved. Patients will tend to see results within a week. (Individual results will vary.) |
Dr. Freedman is past president of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry and a founder of the Canadian Academy for Esthetic Dentistry. He is the Chairman of the Clinical Innovations Conference (London, United Kingdom) as well as the Dental Innovations Forum (Singapore). Dr. Freedman is the author or co-author of 9 textbooks, more than 220 dental articles, and numerous CDs, video and audiotapes, and is a Team Member of REALITY. He is a past director of CE programs in aesthetic dentistry at the Universities of California at San Francisco, Florida, UMKC, Minnesota, Baylor College, and Case Western Reserve, and was the founding Associate Director of the Esthetic Dentistry Education Center at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Dr Freedman is a Diplomate of the American Board of Aesthetic Dentistry and lectures internationally on dental aesthetics, dental technology, and photography. A graduate of McGill University in Montreal, Dr. Freedman maintains a private practice limited to aesthetic dentistry in Toronto, Canada, and can be reached at (905) 513-9191 or epdot@rogers.com.
