Noah Levine

Top 10 Editor's Choice Products of 2022

Articles

A look at 10 products from the past year that caught the attention of the Dental Products Report® editorial staff.

Get ready for another exciting day of education focused on the some of the many advancements in restorative dentistry, as 

® and Catapult Education host the 3rd Annual 

 virtual continuing education (CE) event on November 18.

Once again hosted by DPR Chief Dental Editor and Technology Editor John Flucke, DDS, the event will feature in depth looks at restorative techniques, materials, and technologies, and the day wraps up with a roundtable discussion from the full slate of speakers.

On the agenda at Restorative Revolutions 2023 are Elisa Praderi, DDS, discussing how 3D printing can be productively integrated chairside; Joseph G. Willardsen, DDS, will present the latest techniques for veneer success along with a look at the latest veneer material options; Daniel Domingue, DDS, will be discussing how in office milling doesn’t need to be complicated to be beneficial; and finally Carla Miller, CDT, and Gregg Fabrizio, CDT, will discuss the benefits of digital workflows for dental implant cases.

Following the lectures, the speakers will join Dr Flucke to answer audience questions and discuss the changes impacting the way dentists can deliver restorative dental care. Along with the continuing education courses, the day will also include product demonstrations from event sponsors Axsys Dental, Dandy, Formlabs, and Kuraray.

For event registration and event information 

Earn up to 3 hours of continuing education credit at this day of learning and discussions about the cutting edge in restorative dental care.

Join Dental Products Report at the 3rd Annual Restorative Revolutions Virtual CE Event

Running a dental practice involves compliance with numerous regulatory requirements. These processes and their documentation can seem tedious and sometimes unproductive, but they remain unavoidable, and in truth there is good reason for them.

Regulations cover infection control, training and licensure, records management, and patient information management. Whatever you think about these processes, they are all enacted with the overarching goal of protecting patients and providers.

This is especially true of HIPAA, which covers the requirements for maintaining patient records and keeping them private. HIPAA is designed to protect information that practices keep about their patients, and a violation of HIPAA rules can become an expensive headache for any dental practice. Staying on the right side of these rules can be a challenge, and with so many ways of communicating with patients and colleagues, accidentally violating HIPAA rules can happen to anyone. With that in mind, here are 5 HIPAA violations that could happen in any practice and some strategies to mitigate the risks.

1. Inappropriate staff access to patient records

—A misbehaving team member who decides to check out an old high school rival’s oral health woes could be trouble. Although stopping bad actors is a challenge, instituting document access controls through your practice software can limit access to certain records for individual team members and even track who accessed which records and when they were accessed.

2. Lost or stolen computer hardware containing patient information

—If you or someone on your team accesses patient records from a laptop, tablet, smartphone, or any other device, that device needs to be locked and protected from unauthorized access. Even better, all hardware should have an initial lock, and a second login should be required to access any information from the practice.

3. Patient information stolen via phishing or ransomware attack

—Online criminals see small dental practices as soft targets. They may not have the biggest cache of records, but they tend to have less security. Although being the victim of hacking and data theft is not necessarily the practice’s fault, it is seen as a failure to secure patient information. Cybercriminals continue to grow more devious and deceptive, so it’s important for all team members to use unique, strong passwords and 2-factor authorization whenever possible. In addition, practices should provide regular training to make staff aware of the latest phishing and hacking threats.

4. Improper communication of patient records

—Do you use digital technologies to communicate with patients and colleagues? Email, texting, and online chat platforms can be amazing tools for connecting with patients and collaborating with colleagues, but it’s important to make sure you send and protect information via secure, encrypted channels. If you use personal email, texting, or chat client services to send this information, you could be violating HIPAA regulations. Instead, find a medical-grade digital communications platform with a service designed to meet specific requirements in HIPAA for the digital transfer of patient information.

—How often do you update your computer hardware, including that of tablets and phones? Do you properly wipe drives of equipment you no longer plan to use? Even if a hard drive or other device is headed for the electronics recycler, it needs to be properly scrubbed to remove all protected patient information. This is a service your information technology provider can likely provide. If not, be sure to find someone with expertise in HIPAA-compliant data disposal.

A look at some of the many ways simple mistakes can lead to costly HIPAA violations.

5 Common HIPAA Violations and How to Avoid Them

To start off, can you tell us a little bit about you and your practice?

Owner, White Pine Dental Health – Belleville, Michigan

 My name is Dr DeAngelo Webster, and I own a practice in Belleville, Michigan. It was a scratch start, and I did it pretty much right out of dental school.

I was unique; I applied for my start-up loan when I was still a student. Like most dental students or new graduates, I didn’t have extra money lying around. So I had to be efficient with the way I did things. And I was able to have a start-up practice that went well, and DentiMax was part of that.

 How did DentiMax help get your practice up and running, and what appealed to you about working with them at this early stage of your career?

 When I was shopping around to do my start-up, I had to be efficient with the way I did things. I was fresh out of school, and every dollar really counted. I looked at lots of different companies, lots of different vendors, and had a couple things in mind.

One was flexibility. I didn’t want to get locked into 1 software. Because I was new; I wasn’t sure about things yet. I liked that DentiMax was flexible. No matter what software I had, I could still use those sensors; I wouldn’t have to switch.

The second thing I had in mind was price. I looked at the price of the sensors from DentiMax and compared them with other name brands out there, and it wasn’t even close. I think it was less than half [the price of] most competitors. I saw some samples of the quality, and it looked like any x-ray image to me. I didn’t see a difference. It was a no-brainer, and it helped me save money in an area that for many dentists is a huge expense.

The DentiMax Dream Sensor is known for delivering superior diagnostic X-rays at the highest resolution possible. It has received very high marks in clinical reviews, including a 96% in its Dental Advisor clinical evaluation. The sensor shows extraordinary anatomical details with reduced noise and improved tissue contrast for accurate diagnoses. It also provides a large active image area of 900 mm², allowing you to capture more teeth in the X-ray.

The sensor has open compatibility and works with most imaging software and dental sensors on the market. It is simply plug-and-play, seamlessly connecting with no extra clicks or hassle.

The DentiMax Dream Sensor is the thinnest CMOS sensors on the market at 5.3 mm, making it easier to position and maximizing patient comfort. These sensors are built to last, designed with a Kevlar® reinforced, repairable cable connected through waterproof, tightly sealed housing. DentiMax stands by their sensor, providing a free 3-year warranty and 5-year protection plan.

For more information or to schedule a free trial, call DentiMax at 

 How do you and your staff like using the DentiMax Dream Sensors in your practice?

 I’m 5 years into my practice now, and I’ve had the DentiMax sensors since day 1. I’ve never had to call customer service. I’ve never had a problem with them. In 5 years, I’ve never had one break; I’ve never had one get buggy and the image starts to go bad. On a day-to-day basis, I don’t have to think about that much, which is something we all want from technology. It’s not a distraction. It just works.

What imaging software are you using with the sensors and how is that working for you?

I’m using the DentiMax imaging software as a start-up. I didn’t have any other imaging software preestablished so it was seamless to keep the same brand.

What does DentiMax’s record of reliability mean to a start-up practice?

 The reliability [of] the DentiMax sensors has been huge. When I was coming out of school, I was talking to different dentists, and there was a debate [about] phosphor plates [vs] x-ray sensors. Some dentists were trying to scare me away from x-ray sensors.

One [dentist] opened up this drawer in her office, and it was full of broken sensors. And I [thought], If I’m going to deal with broken sensors, I’d better get ones that are less expensive. So I got the cheaper ones expecting I might have problems, but I never did. The reliability has been great. I’ve never had any downtime because I couldn’t take an image. I’ve never had an issue with the sensors, and that’s been really great.

What interactions have you had with DentiMax as a customer over the past 5 years?

 As far as customer service, I’ve got no complaints. I’ve never had to contact DentiMax with a problem. My only contact with the DentiMax support team has been to refer other dentists to them.

If a colleague is starting a new practice or looking to get new sensors, what do you advise?

 If you are thinking about buying x-ray sensors, I can’t recommend any x-ray sensors out there more than DentiMax. I haven’t found a better combination [of] price and quality. I don’t think anything else comes close.

[SPONSORED] DeAngelo Webster, DDS, discusses why he counts on DentiMax Dream Sensors for his practice.

Dreamers & Doers 2022: DentiMax – “Like I Said, They Just Work”

As a dentist or hygienist there is only so much you can do to help your patients help themselves. In the end, good home oral care routines are critical for everyone, and finding home care products that are comfortable and effective can help patients form those healthy routines.

It's a good idea to know what paste, brush, floss, or other over-the-counter oral care products meet your standards so you can share that with your patients. You can also share that expertise with your colleagues, by taking part in the 3rd annual 

Expanded this year to include 13 categories of dental products, the survey only takes a few minutes to complete. Responses will be accepted through the end of September 30, 2022, and the results will be published on dentalproductsreport.com in early December with a video presentation and an update to the data we publish in our 

Which over the counter dental products to you encourage your patients to use? Share your thoughts with this quick survey.

Just Two Weeks Left to Vote in the Dental Products Report OTC Products Survey

Get ready for the next free online continuing educational opportunity from 

® and Catapult Education as we present the Fall 2022 

The third and final Boot Camp of 2022, the upcoming event will feature lectures on topics ranging from incorporating patient financing to help increase case acceptance, to the latest material science and best practices in both digital and direct dentistry. Speakers at the event will be, Julian Conejo, DDS, Clinical CAD/CAM Director, University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine; Douglas Young, DDS, EdD, MS, MBA, Professor Emeritus, University of the Pacific; Robert Lee, DMD, and Miles Schuck from Dandy; and Adrian Valente, Director, Training & Enablement for Sunbit.

The event kicks off at 11 a.m. Eastern, on Friday the 23rd, and will feature moderator John Flucke, DDS, who will introduce the speakers and manage post-presentation Q&A sessions.

The event is sponsored by GC America, Kuraray Noritake Dental, Sunbit, and Dandy.

For the full agenda and registration details visit the 

This September 23 event will offer 4 new, one-hour courses on dental materials and technologies with 3 continuing education credits available from Catapult Education.

Earn 3 Free CE Credits at the Fall 2022 Dental Products Report Boot Camp

Dentistry is a family business in many ways. But just as many children of dental professionals choose to follow in their parents’ footsteps with careers as dentists, hygienists, and lab technicians, many other children take decidedly different career paths. In some cases, this leads to fame and renown in other fields. With that in mind, here are 6 celebrities who come from dental families.

 is best known as the founder of Facebook, and to many, the face of the social media industry. But before he famously headed to Harvard and helped launch the dominant social media platform, he was raised in suburban New York by Edward Zuckerberg, DDS, FAGD. Although the public might not know him as well as his son, Dr Zuckerberg is well known in the dental industry as an advocate for the latest technology and techniques to deliver high-quality care with less stress, fear, and pain for his patients.

 created some of the most influential music of the past century. He also is the son of a dentist. Although Miles Dewey Davis III is the person most know as Miles Davis, his father, Miles Dewey Davis Jr was a dentist who graduated from Northwestern University Dental School and went on to practice in Alton and East St Louis, Illinois,

Currently one of the biggest stars in Hollywood, 

 is best known for playing Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He too comes from a dental family: His father G. Robert “Bob” Evans, DMD, was a dentist in the Boston area. He retired in 2019, according to his practice website, but his career had been focused around holistic and biological dentistry.

 is the first African American woman to have her composition performed by a major orchestra when the Chicago Symphony Orchestra played her Symphony No. 1 in E Minor during the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition (aka, World’s Fair). Although she is most well-known for the work she created during the Chicago Black Renaissance of the 1930s and 1940s, Price was born and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas, where her father was the city’s only African American dentist.

A pair of sisters with lengthy acting résumés, 

 are widely known for their iconic 1980s television roles. Rashad is best known as Clair Huxtable from 

 and has a distinguished career on both stage and screen. Allen is known for her lead role in the TV series 

, for which she also served as principle choreographer, and she too has gone on to a lengthy career in front of and behind the camera. Although dentistry has not figured into either sister’s career, their father was an orthodontist.

Image sources (from left to right): Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, DoD photo by Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Dominique A. Pineiro/Released; Miles davis, Tom Palumbo; Mark Zuckerberg at TechCrunch Disrupt 2012, JD Lasica; FELICIA RASHAD, John Mathew Smith 2001, Kingkongphoto & www.celebrity-photos.com

Many dental professionals have a family connection to the industry, but sometimes the children of dentists do other notable things.

6 Famous Children of Dentists

The possibilities of direct restorative dentistry greatly expanded when composites first became available, and as material technology continues to advance, those possibilities grow even larger.

With composites, clinicians can provide immediate outcomes for their patients with esthetics that previously could only be produced by a dental laboratory. Patients have come to expect tooth-colored restorations, and dentists have no shortage of choices when it comes to materials that can provide them.

The array of available dental composites allows clinicians to choose a material system that works best for their specific style of dentistry. Different viscosities, curing properties, and other physical characteristics separate one from another, and every composite resin has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. This means many practices keep a large quantity of different composite materials on hand to handle any direct case, whether it’s posterior or anterior.

For Victor Cedillo Félix, DDS, a general dentist in San Diego, California, composites are the go-to direct material, and he is always looking for materials that handle well, provide a natural fluorescence in the mouth, and offer a simple shade system. With some materials he has used, Dr Félix says the shade matching was unreliable or the material was too translucent once cured.

Always interested in finding new options that can offer him clinical efficiencies without sacrificing functional or esthetic benefits, Dr Félix is excited by the recent development of unishade composites. These materials are designed to reduce the number of shades needed to complete an esthetic restorative case. They achieve this using specialized nanoparticle fillers that are designed to mimic the light reflection of nearby dentition, allowing the composite to blend naturally into its surroundings.

For Dr Félix, having a unishade option for posterior teeth is a huge advantage because it removes the complexity of shade matching from the workflow, reducing the time required to treat the patient and the inventory of materials he needs to keep on hand. He has used several unishade systems in his practice, but one new solution has begun to stand out from the rest: G-ænial™ A’CHORD from GC America, Inc.

Featuring GC’s proprietary Full-Coverage Silane Coating and High-Performance Pulverized CERASMART® (FSC with HPC) technologies, the universal composite offers a combination of strength, durability, and esthetics, along with a simplified approach to shade matching, easy handling, and the ability to blend in with surrounding teeth. For Dr Félix, G-ænial A’CHORD is the first unishade solution he is confident about placing in any area of the mouth.

“G-ænial A’CHORD has an ideal opacity and translucency, so it can blend more naturally to anterior teeth, and it’s also great for posterior cavities that are stained by secondary dentin or previous amalgams,” he says.

He’s found the material to be a great option for incisal lesions as well as Class V caries. The system’s simple approach to matching all 16 VITA classical shades with just 5 core shades saves him time and makes it simple to get the shade of an anterior case just right. Dr Félix also likes the way the composite polishes and how it matches the fluorescence of the teeth around it.

Using G-ænial A’CHORD in his practice isn’t just saving Dr Félix time and reducing stress in the operatory. He says the material is also proving to be an economical choice because with a single, simplified option available for a wide range of clinical situations, he doesn’t need to keep as many different composite materials in stock. Whether the need is in the anterior or the posterior, he says that he’s now confident he can place a restoration that will become almost invisible using G-ænial A’CHORD.

[Sponsored] A look at why unishade composite systems are growing in popularity and the benefits of G-ænial A’CHORD from GC America.

Standing Out By Blending In: The Benefits of Unishade Composites

 Labs that fabricate full-arch and other zirconia restorations.

 Whenever a case calls for milled zirconia crowns, bridges, or implant-supported restorations.

Not only does this zirconia allow full-arch restorations—including implant-supported designs—to be sintered in less than 4 hours, but multiple units can be sintered in the same fast cycle, and no base or support structures are needed during sintering, saving both time and material.

The formulation of this zirconia promises not only an efficient sintering process but also optimal physical and esthetic properties. Not just for use with full-arch cases, 3:45 is also suited for posterior crowns, which can be sintered in less than 30 minutes. It exhibits 1100 MPa of strength and 48% translucency and is available in 25-mm and 30-mm preshaded discs, with multiple shades available and more in development.

This new zirconia formulation allows full-arch restorations to be sintered in less than 4 hours.
Information provided Zubler USA

5Ws* 3:45 Zirconia

 Can you tell us what you do for dental practices?

We set [them] up with our software and sensor [

], or we go in with our sensor into their software, get them working with it, see how it functions, [and] make sure they’re familiar and comfortable with all that.

The fun part comes [when] we do our dial-in process. We have [them] take a couple [of] test x-rays on actual teeth. Usually, we recommend doing [them] on an employee; that way, we have time to talk and make changes. Then we find out what [they] want: [their] perfect-looking image. And then we go in with precapture filters and adjust those filters so that it’s the best diagnostic image that we can get for [them].

Can you tell me about some of the settings and controls you have to adjust the x-rays?

 In most cases, all software [can] adjust the image. After you take the x-ray, it has some type of filter: brightness/contrast tool, gamma tool, [or] something like that. We [can] adjust the capture filters with our sensor and software so that the image appears more [as] you want it right off the bat.

With our software we can adjust those same filters. We can adjust the gamma, sharpen, brightness/contrast and more. We can even adjust the level of contrast or the type of sharpen depending on how you like seeing your image. Having the ability to adjust all of these filters both pre and post capture is great because one practice my like a more black and white super sharp image whereas another might like a more mono-gray image that’s not as sharp. With our sensors, tools, and filters we have the ability to give practices and doctors the image they prefer. Another huge benefit is that we can customize the settings in each room. This is perfect for those practices that may have more than one provider. Being able to adjust the settings allows for all the providers to get an image they like seeing rather than having to see just what’s already there.

We have normalized filters, we have unsharpened filters; there’s a whole bunch of different filters we can adjust to make the image [appear] more [as] you want it.

Is there a typical x-ray look most practices are looking for?

That’s the thing I think is amazing. You can go and work with 6 doctors in [a] day. And I’ll get [an image and think] that’s the image they’re going to love because [it] looks just like the one the last doctor loved. And [the doctor will say], “No, I don’t want anything like that. I want it to be completely different.”

Most doctors tend to like the image they’re used to, what they’ve had in the past, what they’ve used for the [past] few years. So we go in and adjust based on that. But no 2 doctors like the same image. There may be some similarities, but you can show 10 doctors the same image: 5 of them will say it’s amazing, [and] 5 of them will say it’s horrible.

Image adjustments

 If they don’t all agree on the type of image they like, is there an image you know is universally what they don’t want?

We probably hear most that they don’t want a grainy image. They feel it adds in things that aren’t there. It makes it harder to see interproximal caries or decay and any other issue the teeth may have.

The second-most common thing they want to have is a good level of contrast, so they can distinguish the DEJ [dentinoenamel junction]. They can see the apex of the root very clearly, they can see caries very easily.

So those are the 2 things they want most: not to have a grainy image and to have enough contrast, because if they don’t have enough, it’s too hard to distinguish between the areas of the teeth.

Are there controls in the practice they can adjust themselves, or is it something they should set up initially and then continue to shoot with the same settings every time?

[For] the settings we adjust, usually once we have them set up, you just keep moving forward [and] you don’t look back; you’ll just continue getting the same good image as long as [practice staff are] being consistent.

Exposure time plays a big factor, and the technique of the staff, plus how far away [or] close to the face, [whether] they’re lining up their shots properly. All that goes into what causes the image to look good or bad.

When they slow down and take their time, they should get a consistent image with the settings we lock in, once we get them dialed in.

 What does that dial-in process look like?

Again, that can depend on the doctor. Different specialties like different features on an image. An endodontist [is] going to like a sharp image in most cases, because that allows them to see the apex and all the areas of the teeth they specialize in.

When you start taking x-rays, you get used to reading a specific style or look of x-rays. When you switch to a new sensor, you want it to be better, similar to what you’re used to, or a mix between the 2. Doctors just want a great image that is familiar to them, better than what they have and/or easier to diagnose with. With our sensor, we do this daily.

If someone adds a DentiMax sensor to their practice not as a replacement but as an extra sensor, are you able to dial in that sensor to mimic the other sensor the practice is using?

 All sensors take different images. They have different components, products, filters, things like that. But we have made integrations that allow [them] to be very, very close. [Many] doctors can’t tell the difference between the 2 images, but we can usually tell the difference.

Most software automatically applies a filter after you capture. If you were to look at [an] x-ray with the sensor and what it captured before [the] filter was added, you’d probably be surprised at [the x-ray] before [the] filter. Most offices use filters; a lot of filters make the image, to my eye, much more pleasant [and] readable.

Again, that is a complete preference based on what you’re used to. But I recommend that doctors play with filters [and] see what helps them diagnose better. Because the more they’re diagnosing, the better they’re going to do.

Are there specific filters you find doctors [use] more than others?

The one we see most often is the brightness/contrast filter. Hygienists use it to adjust the image to help diagnose. Doctors use it to adjust the image to diagnose. It changes how light or dark the image is and add more or less contrast to help see the different parts of the teeth which can help with seeing things such as interproximal caries.

It also helps if you’re not sure [about] something. A lot of times caries will stay a darker color no matter [how] you adjust that brightness/contrast tool. It helps reiterate that caries [are] right there.

Can you see different things in a darker or lighter x-ray image?

From my experience, hygienists usually like the image a little lighter, doctors usually like them a little bit darker, [with] some variation.

But the problem with an image that is too dark is that it can introduce the effects of burnout even if the image isn’t overexposed. Super dark images start to almost eat away part of the image causing areas of the tooth or teeth to not be visible in the image. You may not be able to see caries because the image is so dark that it’s hidden behind some of that shadowing. So those are the downfalls of going too dark.

But when you’re darker, your pulp chambers usually pop more, allowing you to see the apex easier. You can see the apex of the root visibly because the image is darker.

When they’re too light, you might not see caries because it’s so washed out that there are no distinguishing features of the tooth, [and] you can’t see the DEJ clearly. You can’t determine what the different colors of each part of the tooth are.

How does communication with a practice go? I imagine most doctors don’t know how to ask for what they want in an image, so how do you work with them to get that image?

Sometimes it’s a guessing game. We’ll hear the word sharpen, and my definition of a sharper image would mean the lines are crisp, they’re sharp, they’re hard edge. But somebody else may be using the word sharp, [and] they want more of a contrast: more colors, brighter colors, more defined colors, things like that. But we usually ask questions.

We usually start the call by having them show us what they like [and] what they want to see. And that allows us to try and understand some of their verbiage or terminology a little better, so when we [ask] how they want their image, it makes it easier for us to understand them. And if we don’t understand, we’ll adjust.

We [can] show them what we think they mean. And if that’s not [it], we can undo and change to whatever they do mean. We like to have them show us what they like or dislike. In some cases, it didn’t have anything they may like, and tell us why they like it. And then we’ll do our best to either mimic that image as close as possible or [get] something better. I love to see how much better I can make their image.

DentiMax IT Specialist Micah Huish explains how he sets up dental practices for imaging success, ensuring their radiographs look exactly the way they prefer.