We have been fortunate to present many courses both in North America and overseas. At all of our Real World Endo courses, we attempt to give participants our honest appraisal of different products by various companies. Every company seems to have some good products, as well as some not-so-good products. We also have tried to help our attendees see through the "Fog of Endodontic Marketing." The result, we hope, is a better understanding of what products and techniques work best for each dentist.
The decision whether to use techniques and or products should be made from both a technical and philosophical standpoint; dentists must ultimately decide what is best for their practices.
However, we continue to get requests at our courses and through our Web site about specific products we recommend. Therefore, we have decided to "certify" some notable endodontic products. Real World Endo certified products will be those that we think perform well and work in the manner described by the manufacturer. These specifications are not as prevalent as one may think. We also will not certify a product unless the specific company or manufacturer stands behind the product. As a means of designation, we will assign a Real World Endo globe to a product during our lecture presentation to signify its certification.
While we are happy to grant certification to certain products, the lack of a designation does not mean that the product doesn't work well. The difference is that a "certified" product is one that most readily meets our requirements.
Real World Endo will certify products that
— perform as advertised
— are competitively priced in the marketplace
— are designed for ease of use (practical)
— hold up under use and are durable
— facilitate endodontic treatment (surgical and nonsurgical)
—. we can recommend without reservation because the manufacturer stands behind them
Certification will not be limited to any specific companies, and multiple products may be certified in specific areas, such as apex locators . We will not only acknowledge these products during our lectures (and in print), but we will list them on our Web site in the near future.
It is extremely difficult and time consuming for the practicing dentist to fully evaluate the many competing products in the marketplace. It is our hope that this "Mark of Excellence" will give all clinicians the confidence to use these certified products in their practice. Many dental companies have high-powered and effective marketing, but, in our opinion, it requires a dentist to fully acknowledge the needs of another dentist. Therefore, by certifying these products, we hope to remove the guesswork and save time for the clinician.
The intent of RWE certification is to make endodontics easier and more practical for all practitioners. We sincerely hope endodontic products and techniques become easier in the future, not more complicated.This is the future of endodontics! We will strive to stay abreast of these changes and, as usual, we will continue to give you "Just the Facts, Nothing but the Facts."
Dr. Dennis Brave is a diplomate of the American Board of Endodontics and was the senior managing partner of a group specialty practice for 27 years. Dr. Kenneth Koch is the founder and past director of the new program in postdoctoral endodontics at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. Drs. Koch and Brave together are Real World Endo, an endodontic education company. They can be reached at (866) RWE-ENDO, or visit their Web site at RealWorldEndo.com.
