Michael Quirk

You know implant dentistry is currently at the forefront of your profession.  You know it's groundbreaking. You know it’s safe.  But do your patients? 

Properly outlining what goes into implant treatment can be difficult, especially when it comes to communicating the many advancements and options involved. 

 covers the various reasons why patients lose teeth, and what implant dentistry can do for them once they do.  At the very least, it can serve as a conversation starter and guide to further educate them on what goes into implant dentistry.  Click on the version below to make it larger:
	 

LOCATOR® Overdenture: This new implant system is designed exclusively for overdentures

Dental Implant Guide: What you need to know about implant advances

Quick Tip: How implants can be a source of increased profitability for the dental practice

How to talk with patients about dental implants

Dental Infographic: Emergency Room Dentists

Top 5 dental infographics to educate your patients

Articles

Weekly Dental Infographic: What to Do When You Lose a Tooth

The damaging effects of tooth-loss on patients’ self-esteem and overall well-being are undeniable.  Unfortunately, extensive tooth loss is even more common among those with functional impairments, compounding the negative effects to an even greater degree.

 explores functionally impaired patients’ experience of receiving and living with dental implants, since such groups tend to have difficulty with removable prostheses.

The study, which was led by Angelika Lantto of the Swedish National Dental Health Service, interviewed 17 individuals with several kinds of functional impairment who had undergone implant treatment.  Using the 

, the researchers asked open-ended questions to determine the effect dental implants had on an overall process of “normalization” in functionally impaired individuals. 

Implant placement is easy with the right guidance. Noble Biocare's recent video playlist walks practitioners through the implant planning and placement process with NobleClinican implant software.

View the entire Nobel Biocare video playlist 

With normalization being the core category in which the results were calculated, the researchers also looked at the following categories: “the functionally impaired are also entitled to dental care,” “edentulousness is a burden for functionally impaired individuals,” “there is interaction between implant treatment and other aspects of life,” and "it is important to understand the implications of implant treatment.” 

The researchers concluded that normalization was the primary motivation for implant treatment among the functionally impaired, as tooth loss had only increased a generalized feeling of “being different.”  Additionally, the experience of the treatment was intrinsically linked to the reported circumstances of the functionally impaired individuals’ lives.

What's the impact of dental implants on functionally impaired individuals' lives?

Said to be ideal for any size dental laboratory, 

 cloud-based software allows technicians to manage cases through every production step, including planning and delivery.

Also, Evident offers inexpensive digital connections for dental practices to laboratories, comprehensive reporting, integrated marketing solutions, material disclosure compliance, as well as exception reporting to ensure cases cannot be missed. 

Compatible with PC or Mac computers, the web-based software also supports touch screens, bar code scanning, iPads, and smartphones.

For more information about Evident lab-management software, head to the company’s website at 

Said to be ideal for any size dental laboratory, Evident cloud-based software allows technicians to manage cases through every production step, including planning and delivery.

Cloud-based Evident laboratory software offers production planning, integrated marketing solutions and more

In an effort to tackle barriers dental professionals commonly face, the recently formed 

 (IBBC) seeks to alleviate the high-costs associated with providing product samples, while also addressing compliance difficulties patients face in finding recommended interdental brush brands and sizes.

Created by Long Island periodontist Dr. Paul Crane, the IBBC employs custom software designed to provide dental practitioners with a free, uninterrupted supply of high-quality interdental brushes from leading brands.  Additionally, the organization also encourages patient use of the brushes by offering education, discounts, incentives, and widespread availability.

“An adequate supply of samples is required by the dental professional in order to provide patients proper introduction, education, demonstration and sizing of interdental brushes,” said Dr. Crane. “Our goal is to better enable the most important educator, the dental professional, by furnishing the necessary supply of samples to teach patients the skills they need to kick start this very important life-long oral hygiene habit.”

By partnering with the leading interdental brush manufacturers, including 

, and more, the IBBC provides a web-friendly store that promotes large quantity orders and reduced prices.  Patients can also sign up for automatic shipments to ensure they don’t forget to order new supplies.  Additionally, provided prescription pads make it easy for the patient to find the exact size and brand recommended by their dentist.

When dentists recommend patients to the site, they accumulate credits totaling 7% of their referred patient purchases that can then be traded for office samples.  The personalized login and tracking info the site uses also allows dentists to view the details of their patients’ transactions to assess compliance with their instructions.

Simultaneously providing manufacturers a no-cost marketing opportunity and valuable patient resources, the site contains prominent brand links alongside article abstracts and 3D educational videos that highlight importance of treating and preventing periodontal disease.

For more information about the IBBC, or to get involved, head to the organization’s website at 

In an effort to tackle barriers dental professionals commonly face, the recently formed Interdental Brush Buyers’ Club (IBBC) seeks to alleviate the high-costs associated with providing product samples, while also addressing compliance difficulties patients face in finding recommended interdental brush brands and sizes.

The Interdental Brush Buyers’ Club offers dental practitioners free brushes and valuable patient resources

Said to be the world’s fastest in-office tooth whitening system, 

 reportedly requires less than 30 minutes of treatment time.

Since it doesn’t require light activation, the system can be used with or without a bleaching light as any heat emitting curing light can be used.  Plus, the neutral pH bleaching and built-in desensitizer of Pola Office+ is said to offer maximum comfort during and after treatment, resulting in lower sensitivity and less patient discomfort.

Equipped with a dual barrel syringe system capable of reaching tight spots, the whitener doesn’t require mixing trays as it mixes as it’s applied to guarantee a blend of activated gel.

For more information about Pola Office+, or to place an order, call 1 (800) 228-5166 or head to SDI’s website at 

Said to be the world’s fastest in-office tooth whitening system, Pola Office+ by SDI reportedly requires less than 30 minutes of treatment time.

SDI’s Pola Office+ tooth whitening system offers easy treatment for patients on the go

 chairside treatment-planning tool curates patient-education content for treatment planning.

The application’s newly redesigned interface includes a 

, learning packs, patient mode, and doctor and team mode. Each resource allows practitioners to access digital learning resources and educational materials designed to provide treatment guidance and non-threatening patient education.

Available in an annual subscription, Spear Digital Campus' three key components – Case Assistant, 

 - offer on-demand practice and clinical management guidance. 

For more information about Case Assistant, or to view the entire suite of resources, head to the Spear website at 

A component of the Spear Digital suite of resources, the Case Assistant chairside treatment-planning tool curates patient-education content for treatment planning.

Spear’s Case Assistant offers upgraded patient education tools and more

 software module has been tested and certified by the Drummond Group’s Health Records office of the National Coordinator Authorized Certification Body (ONC-ACB). 

As a result, the software is in compliance with the recent criteria adopted by the U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services.

The Drummond Group’s certification means that the module for the 

 meets the meaningful use criteria for eligible provider or hospital technology.  As a result, dental practitioners and other healthcare providers are qualified to receive federal stimulus money – a key component in the federal government’s effort to improve clinical care by encouraging providers to adopt electronic health record systems.

Seamlessly integrated with the XLDent suite of products, XLDent MU helps dental practitioners qualify for these federal incentive payments.

For more information about XLDent MU, call 1 (800) 328-2925 or head to 

The Professional Economics Bureau of America reports that their XLDent MU software module has been tested and certified by the Drummond Group’s Health Records office of the National Coordinator Authorized Certification Body (ONC-ACB). 

XLDent MU is Drummond-certified to help dental practitioners qualify for federal funds

 walks clinicians through the second version of 

, while also demonstrating many of the software’s features and benefits.

Part of an ongoing series, the videos offer detailed information on how to best use NobleClinician as part of a comprehensive implant-treatment process, including how to create new patient files, use the interactive 3D planning module, upload patient scans, and much more. 

For those unfamiliar with the software, the series also includes a general software overview that provides a broad look at some of its features and functions.

Nobel Biocare’s easy-to-use NobleClinician software provides diagnostics and treatment planning across various predefined workspaces, while also encouraging team collaboration and greater treatment acceptance among patients.  It currently runs on Mac and Windowns operating systems, which allows dental practitioners to utilize coordinating programs of their choice.

Are you already familiar with Noble Biocare’s NobleClinician software?  Share your knowledge on Dental Products & Reviews, a DPR-powered review site that lets dentists provide their opinions on the products they use to enhance patient care and increase performance.

Noble Biocare’s extensive new video series walks clinicians through the second version of NobleClinician, while also demonstrating many of the software’s features and benefits.

How to diagnose and plan implant-supported treatments [VIDEO PLAYLIST]

With summer fast approaching, healthy gums – and what it takes to keep them that way – may not be the first thing on the minds of your busy patients.  With this in mind, DPR has gathered together the top five new dental products designed to help keep your patients’ gums healthy.

The Rolls-Royce of power toothbrushes, Sonicare's FlexCare Platinum provides everything one needs to maintain healthy gums: multi-colored bristles to clean between the teeth and remind users when to replace the brush head; three modes of operation – gum care, white and clean – to give users a customizable brushing experience set for their individual hygiene needs; a sensor that notifies the user when too much pressure is being applied, plus much more.

It may be difficult to justify buying an expensive power toothbrush for a kid, but fortunately there’s no shortage of regular toothbrush options available.  PeriClean’s recently launched kids toothbrush is outfitted with 81 flexible bristles that effectively remove plaque and food from the teeth and gums without irritating or damaging either.

It’s no secret: flossing is crucial in maintaining healthy gums.  So why not give your patients the opportunity to floss on the go when it’s convenient for them?  Practicon’s Mobile Floss thin business cards dispense 11 yards of waxed floss and fit into a patient’s purse or wallet.  Also, they can be customized with up to 35 lines of print at no additional charge or an optional appointment reminder on the back.

As you already know, healthy gums begin with healthy teeth.  To avoid gingivitis, it’s important patients take a holistic approach and first remove harmful plaque from their teeth.  Colgate’s prescription-only fluoride gel contains 1.1% sodium fluoride and enables faster dispersion over other paste-form prescription toothpaste.

Information is a powerful weapon in the fight for healthy gums.  Fortunately, Pentron’s new Strada platform is chock full of free dental health information, education slides, infographics, and videos for patients and practices, plus it offers forums and discussion boards where real dentists and hygienists discuss the latest and most relevant dental topics.

Top 5 new dental products for healthy gums

More and more, Americans are making trips to the emergency room for routine, preventable dental problems that have escalated into serious, sometimes life-threatening situations due to lack of proper treatment.

 explores what's behind this troubling trend - lack of dental benefits combined with poor personal oral hygiene, plus much more - and adds up the toll, ultimately spelling out the importance of general dentists and the early intervention they provide.

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