Joseph Blaes, DDS
Pearl 1 - Magical Customer Service and the Statementless Professional Practice by Patrick Wahl, DMD, MBA, and Lorraine Hollett. I do not often review an audiotape series in "Pearls," but this one is different. Dr. Pat Wahl and Lorraine Hollett have packed this tape series with vital information that you need to know. This is a complete system for collecting your fees at the time of service. Pat and Lorraine have drawn up a plan for you to follow that is foolproof. They will tell you how to stop lending patients your money by showing you how to find alternative financing for your patients. They hold your hand and take you step by step through their wonderful program of achieving zero accounts receivable. They have included a large amount of printed material that includes scripts for you and your staff, the forms you will need, and answers to all of your objections about why this won`t work in your practice. In addition, they will tell you how to wow your patients with "Knock Your Socks Off" customer service ... how to make your practice stand out from the other practices in your community. This is one of the keys to growing your fee-for-service practice. Call Office Magic Productions at (800) 750-8779 or visit their Web site at www.officemagic.com.
Pearl 2 - TempBond™ Clear From Kerr. You all are familiar with TempBond temporary cement. It comes in a couple of tubes, and you mix them together and get a white temporary cement. This new product from Kerr bears absolutely no resemblance to what I just described. Personally, I thought they should have renamed the product because it is not the same material. TempBond™ Clear is a dual-cure, resin-based temporary cement for use in cementing temporary and provisional restorations like crowns, bridges, veneers, inlays, and onlays. When cured, the material is transparent. It does not change the shade of the beautiful temporaries that you made. No more white spots or cement show-through, so you get better esthetics. Since it is dual-cure, you can hit the material with your curing light and begin cleanup knowing that you will also get a chemical cure. Wait! There`s more. The material remains flexible after setting, so cleanup is very easy - the excess just peels off. I have found that I get a good seal, no sensitivity, and good retention. There`s more good news: the temps are easy to remove and the material cleans up very simply so you are ready to try on and cement your permanent restoration. The exceptional handling, ease of mix, and easy cleanup make TempBond™ Clear my choice for a temporary cement. Order from your dealer or call Kerr at (800) KERR-123.
Pearl 3 - Prime & Bond NT From Dentsply/Caulk. As most of you probably already know, Prime & Bond has been my bonding agent of choice for a number of years now. The material has worked well for me - a good dentin seal; no sensitivity; my fillings, crowns, and veneers don`t come out; and it is easy to use (especially with the new bottle). Just when you think you have the perfect product, along comes an improvement that makes it even better. Caulk has done just that by adding a filler to Prime & Bond. You would expect that this adds to film thickness, but it does not, thanks to the magic of "Nanofillers." The NT means "Nanofiller Technology." Nanofillers are 100 times smaller than the fillers in hybrid composites. This gives you a stronger resin matrix, a reinforced hybrid zone, and higher bond strength at the critical point where it is needed to withstand the stress of polymerization shrinkage of the restorative material. So much for all the technical stuff. What this means for everyday bonding is a material that, in my hands, offers the convenience of a true one-coat, one-cure application. Simply put, you get a better foundation. With one coat, I quickly and easily see the glossy surface that I am looking for. It seems to me that I have found a material that gives me a faster, easier, better way to place a bonding agent. Try Prime & Bond NT for yourself. I think you will like it, too. Order from your dealer or call Caulk at (800) 532-2855.
Pearl 4 - Rely X ARC Adhesive Resin Cement From 3M. The 3M company is doing some name changing. The family of 3M cements will now be known by the general brand name of Rely X. The Rely X ARC is a new product that has just been introduced. It is a permanent, dual-cure resin cement to be used for the final cementation of crowns, bridges, all-ceramic porcelain or composite crowns, bridges, inlays and onlays, and endodontic posts. I have found this to be an extremely easy cement to work with. This is a paste-to-paste system that is quickly and easily dispensed onto a mixing pad using the clicker. The material is then spatulated to a creamy mix. Rely X ARC is compatible with one-bottle bonding agents. The material will set in about five minutes, but the excess can be cleaned up in about three minutes when the material begins to "gel." The excess material will clean up very easily with a flick of an explorer. To save time, I usually remove the excess cement immediately after seating the crown with a Microbrush. I carefully floss to remove interproximal excess and then light-cure for about 10 seconds on the facial and 10 seconds on the lingual. This will harden material at the gingival margin. Be sure to cure the margins after cleaning the excess. The material comes in an A1 transparent shade and shade A3. I think that 3M has a real winner here - a terrific resin cement and a great new dispensing system. Order from your dealer or call 3M at (800) 634-2249.
