Top 10 Pearls from 2006

by Dr. Joe Blaes, Editor

I have selected Pearls from the previous 12 months to come up with my list of the best of the best for 2006. Obviously, this is a biased list of my favorites. This was no easy task, because each month I felt that each of the products I wrote about was certainly worthy of being a Pearl. I have many favorites that just barely missed my list of 10. I use all of them on a regular basis. Here are my picks for the year 2006.

PATIENT ACTIVATORSM from 1-800-DENTIST®- How often have you wished for a program that would help retain patients in your practice? 1-800-DENTIST has launched Patient Activator, an internal marketing program that is designed to retain and reactivate your current patient base by using a variety of messaging tools to educate patients about the importance of your dental services. For more information, visit www.PatientActivator.com or call (800) 518-6675.

Vitrebond™ Plus by 3M ESPE is a new light-cure Glass Ionomer Liner/Base that utilizes the popular Clicker™ delivery system, assuring a consistent mix of the new paste-paste formula. Vitrebond Plus provides excellent adhesion without any pretreatment of the dentin. It works well under composites, amalgam, ceramic, and metal with greatly reduced sensitivity! Order from your dealer or call (800) 634-2249 for more information.

Aquasil Ultra digit™ by Dentsply Caulk - Laboratories love to fabricate any kind of dental restoration from an accurate impression of the preparation and the surrounding teeth. With the digit Targeted Delivery System, the injection of unit dose impression materials enables accurate capture of marginal details. Digit combines the convenience of automatic mixing and intraoral syringe delivery. Order from your dealer or call (800) LDCaulk, ext. 794 for more information.

Cercon Coach® powered by MedVisor™ from Dentsply Prosthetics - Patients do not accept dentistry until they understand. The Cercon Coach increases understanding with a series of customized animations. Each animation is no more than 30 seconds, and the entire patient presentation is no more than two minutes. This is your chance to “wow” the patient with both an understanding and value for the procedure. For more information, call (800) 877-0020, ext. 54495.

IMS® (Instrument Management System) by Hu-Friedy - This is a system aimed at organizing instruments and preventing the time wasted searching for lost instruments. It also taught us that it is less expensive to buy more instruments than to hire another person to sterilize more frequently. You must have enough instruments to get you through a full day of patients. Order your IMS system from your dealer or contact Hu-Friedy for excellent assistance in setting up your personal system by calling (800) 483-7433 or visiting www.hu-friedy.com.

The i2: The Next Generation Isolite from Isolite Systems - The new streamlined design integrates electrical supply with vacuum, eliminating the need for a separate fiberoptic bundle. The i2 introduces new proprietary technology that utilizes vacuum to cool the LED light. This technology is a first in the dental industry. With this design, Isolite has totally eliminated fiberoptics and light boxes from the dental operatory. Order by calling (800) 560-6066 or visit www.isolitesystems.com today.

DIAGNOdent pen from KaVo - I simply cannot understand why every dental office does not have a DIAGNOdent unit in every hygiene room. It is impossible to do a proper diagnosis of decay without one. I find the DIAGNOdent Pen is ideal to confirm the precise location of the carious lesion prior to commencing restorative treatment. My patients really like this because they understand that this is conservative treatment. Order from your dealer or visit www.kavousa.com for more information.

AlgiNot from Kerr Dental - This is an outstanding A-silicone impression material which has improved physical properties over traditional alginate materials. AlgiNot is a reliable alginate alternative that has a quick set time, excellent detail reproduction, compatibility with disinfection products, peppermint scent, and dimensional accuracy and stability. Order from your dealer or visit www.KerrDental.com/alginot for more information.

NeoBurr® Carbides from Microcopy - These premium-quality, tungsten carbide burs are from my favorite bur company. They are precision-engineered to give you exceptionally rapid and smooth cutting performance. NeoBurrs come in three categories - operative, NeoMax™ metal crown cutters, and esthetic finishing. The next time you need burs, call Microcopy at (800) 235-1863 to order or go to www.neoburr.com for more information. You won’t be sorry.

Spirapost PFS™: a unique esthetic post from Zenith Dental - This product has the strength of a cast post and the esthetics of a fiber post without the drawbacks of either one. It is made of surgical stainless steel wires twisted around biocompatible, natural-color polyfiber strands. The flexibility of the twisted wires and the polyfiber strands allow the post to travel down the canal, conforming to its unique shape as it goes. The strands act as a “rebar” for the post cement, much like steel bars reinforce concrete in a building foundation. Order Spirapost from your dental dealer or call (800) 662-6383 or visit www.zenithdental.com for more information.