Updating a product isn't easy. There's customer feedback to consider, as well as how best to use those comments while maintaining the properties that made that product successful in the first place. This list recognizes some of the products that were able to do just that in 2011.

Using natural tissue fluorescence to discover abnormalities in the oral mucosa, including oral cancer, the

™ features a compact, cordless design that is compatible with standard digital cameras for documentation. The system’s powerful fluorescence visualization technology is designed as an adjunct to routine oral tissue exams via a non-invasive, 1- to 2-minute procedure. Disposable VELcaps™ and VELsheaths™ protect the device and prevent cross-contamination between patients.

Opalescence Oh! is a sticky, viscous whitening gel in a unit-dose application that facilitates delivery. After removing the bulb’s cap, the gel fills a single tray avoiding waste or mess. The time-tested, proprietary potassium and nitrate formula is said to increase enamel strength, minimize sensitivity, reduce risk of caries and provide a brilliantly striking smile. It is available in 10%, 15%, 20% and 35% carbamide peroxide options in mint, melon and regular flavors.

., is designed to make scanning easier and more efficient. New features include Easy Scan with more scanning options that require fewer wand rotations; Scan Rewind to retake a portion of a scan without starting over; Smart Scan that automatically eliminates extraneous data such as a patient’s tongue; and an Occlusal Reduction Tool that identifies under-reduced areas and premature contact points during the scan.

CAESY DVD is now online via CAESY Cloud, offering instant access to 250 multimedia presentations and access to the patient education resources from multiple locations within the practice. New videos and features are posted frequently. No installation and no network connections between participating computers are required. It is PC and Mac compatible, including iPads and iPhones. A monthly subscription fee is charged.

The  i-CAT® Precise™ Cone Beam 3D imaging solution

 for implant specialists and oral surgeons is said to provide complete clinical control and optimal performance. It features integrated Tx Studio software that affords total control to implant, abutment and restoration aspects of treatment. The comprehensive treatment tool allows the clinician to guide each case efficiently from plan to completion for enhanced surgical predictability.

 is a major re-engineering of the platform, which is said to derive the full potential of the CEREC AC Acquisition unit and Bluecam imaging technology. Enhancements include: multiple restoration design; the ability to work direct on the tooth; intuitive workflow; and streamlined restoration design.

With a completely redesigned user interface, the 

 patient communication suite provides enhanced usability and user experience while greatly reducing the learning curve. Loaded with hundreds of animations, it also features predefined case presentations and one-click operation, making it simple to present compelling treatment plans in seconds. The suite includes billable procedures, informed consent forms and a customizable look and feel.

A new feature of the DDX digital case management system, 

 provides dentists, labs and major dental technologies with the first digital prescription workflow to prescribe, route and manage lab casework online. A flexible, intelligent prescription workflow targeted at standardizing lab prescriptions, it guides doctors through case submission, then automatically routes casework among fabrication centers; it can be set to automatically send and receive alerts from outsource partners.

 features enhanced clarity and a new Dose Reduction feature that is said to reduce patient exposure by 30% to 40% compared with the previous model. The unit comes standard with i-Dixel 2.0 3D imaging software that also includes improvements such as an intuitive, new user interface that makes it easier to navigate.

The PeelVue+ sterilization pouches now feature “Closure Validators”. These visual guides are printed on the pouch to help clinicians ensure a proper seal, helping to ensure patient safety. Pouches that aren’t sealed properly have seals or gaps where contamination can seep in.

Articles

Updating a product isn't easy. There's customer feedback to consider, as well as how best to use those comments while maintaining the properties that made that product successful in the first place. This list recognizes some of the products that were able to do just that in 2011. LED Dental Inc. VELscope Vx (VELscope.com)

Top 100: Upgraded and Updated Products

Meet the men and women behind some of this year’s biggest product launches.

Septodont
	Cass Campbell, Product Manager, Materials
	2 years with the company, worked on the Biodentine launch

What goes into the development of a product like this?


	Several years of development-it took 10 years for Septodont to finalize Biodentine’s formulation, and this included many diverse clinical trials and testing. Years of scientific data and research were done to create only the purist materials. Special equipment and manufacturing procedures were developed and tested time after time to bring Biodentine to its present form.

What do you think dentists would be most surprised to learn about the behind the scenes of product development?  


	They may not know how long it takes to bring a product to market. Intellectual property needs to be scrutinized. There are patents on existing and non-existing product formulations that have to be reviewed. An infringement on another product’s patent can halt/stop a new product’s progress. Different types of delivery systems also are patented, which makes a huge impact on how the dentist will accept the product.

Once a formulation and delivery system are finalized then the chemistry needs to be assessed within the delivery system. Before becoming a full-fledged, ready-for-sale product, hand samples are made and filled for testing. These samples are sent to a group of dentists for their feedback and evaluation. It takes several months for theses results to come back and be analyzed. Time is needed to make any necessary changes to formulation or packaging. There always is the “what if” factor to contend with. You never know what might interfere with your progress.  

What is your favorite part of product introduction/development? 

 
	That is difficult to pinpoint-there are many aspects of product development that I like. First, the initial idea mining to generate what we would like to see most in a new product, or what we can do to improve an existing product is always a fascinating step in exploration. It’s like making out a wish list.

My favorite aspect of bringing a product to market is brainstorming ideas and seeing them come to fruition. Another one of my favorite aspects of this process is the actual product launch, which is usually scheduled for one of the larger dental shows. This creates excitement around the product, giving it a focus and energy that otherwise wouldn’t happen. Depending on the magnitude of the product‘s innovation, it also gives the launch a resounding pool of energy. This was the case with Biodentine’s launch.

For a product to have a successful launch and longevity in the marketplace, it needs an integrated marketing plan, a driven professional and educated sales force and a message from the company to the end-user of the benefit to them and/or their patients. The company needs a clear resounding message and image.

Straumann USA
	Guillaume Daniellot,
	Head of Global Sales for CARES
	4 years with the company, worked on the Straumann CARES Digital Solutions launch

This is a key part of product development, said Guillaume Daniellot, and to do that you have to know what your customers want, what’s missing in the marketplace. That’s why keeping in touch with customers throughout the product development process and even after is so vital to a successful product launch. Customer feedback was a huge part of creating Straumann CARES Digital Solutions, which encompasses everything from digital impression-taking using intraoral scanning to computerized production of prosthetics using CAM processing.

“We try to understand the workflow, from creating the digital data from an intraoral scan, to transferring that data to the lab, to the lab designing and manufacturing the final restoration,” he said. “When you understand the entire workflow you can think about simplifying and improving the precision and consistency. You can only do that by listening to your customers and by visiting them often.”

Guillaume was part of the strategy team and worked to resolve two major challenges in digital dentistry: the need to simplify the complexity the current multiple prosthetic design software applications offer thanks to an open platform and the need to provide a validated workflow between the software, the scanner and the milling center. These complex interfaces must be tested. The parameters of the milling machines also must be incorporated directly into the software to ensure users get consistent, high quality results every time.

With Straumann CARES a team of individuals with varying areas of expertise worked together throughout the process to make this happen. Teamwork is a huge part of product development, and you really need the right team spirit to be successful, he said.

Educating customers about your product and what it can do for them is another area that shouldn’t be overlooked, Guillaume said. “We value education. When a new product is ready, we as a company want to make sure our customers understand the product indications and handling so they can enjoy made up the whole company at the time. We hammered issues out together until we reached resolution…and that was great.”

Azenic
	Dirk Schipper, Chief Technology Officer
	6 years with the company, worked on the disposable handpiece (DHP)

From the start, Dirk Schipper led the DHP’s development process.

As the engineering mind on staff, he was a driving force behind the DHP and provided project management support for the development program and the management team. He worked directly with Azenic’s manufacturing partner to create a disposable handpiece that could compete with the leading high-speed handpieces already on the market. Azenic was a small start up company at the time, which just added to his  excitement about what they were working toward.

“I love working for start up companies because you have many of the same challenges that you do if you’re working for a large company, but the beauty is there is no bureaucracy,” he said. “Only four of us
	
	To start the process back in 2005, Azenic in-licensed intellectual property to a disposable handpiece that was developed in the 1990s. It wasn’t a great handpiece, and the team diligently worked to re-engineer it using innovative engineering and manufacturing techniques, which led to an amazingly improved product. They also bought five each of the three leading air-pneumatic metal handpieces on the market at the time, to benchmark what they were doing with their disposable against the perceived “Cadillacs” of the industry.

From there, Schipper and the management team came up with critical success factors for the handpiece-they discussed how it should perform, how much it should cost, how much power it should have, and used that information to determine the product’s requirements. He also had to determine when the product should go to market, and based on that when they needed the 510 (k) prepared and the critical FDA approval. From helping the marketing effort conduct focus groups to assisting regulatory compliance in designing and implementing a Quality Management System, Schipper had his hands in just about every aspect of product development and subsequent launch.

And those early focus groups were key to finalizing the product’s design. In that first focus group, dentists, hygienists and patients all experienced the handpiece prototype in a variety of different versions. Some of the handpieces had fat bodies, some had round necks, some had big heads and some had little heads. The feedback they got from the first round of focus groups, including color preferences and exterior finish of the DHP, drove the product’s final design, but the second focus group prior to product launch saved them from making a design mistake that may have been costly. Clinicians who used the handpiece in their practice in that second round found it was difficult to push the burs in and out of the handpiece. The fix was easy: Azenic just needed to modify the internal turbine. But if they had skipped that second focus group, which Schipper said manufacturers often do, they would have been scrambling to make that fix during the market launch.

In the end, Schipper and the team at Azenic developed a disposable handpiece that advances infection control eliminating the risk of cross contamination from handpieces, features no chip air, making it well suited for surgical applications, has performance and disposability that make it a great stand-in handpiece for difficult reduction cases; and is a great back-up for busy days, equipment failures and emergencies.   

Schipper enjoys many aspects of the development process that led to what this handpiece is today, focus groups included. But there was one moment during the DHP’s development that really stands out, before anyone outside the company had a chance to try the handpiece.
	“We were about 6-to-8-weeks into the project and we had our proof of concept. We actually made a very crude prototype and immediately found we could match or even outperform the three leading metal handpieces that were in the market,” he said.

Doxa
	Jesper Lööf, Msc.E, PhD, Vice President R&D
	9 years with the company, worked on the Ceramir Crown & Bridge  launch

A new class of dental cement-a bioceramic luting cement-entered the U.S. dental market this past summer. But long before Ceramir® Crown & Bridge made its mark here, Jesper Lööf, Msc.E, PhD, and his colleagues in Sweden did plenty of research and ran plenty of tests.

First the Doxa Dental Inc. product-which uses calcium aluminate combined with glass ionomer components-gained popularity in Europe. Then it came to the states and was featured on the cover of the August 2011 issue of Dental Products Report.  

The new bioceramic luting cement has been well received. But Lööf, Vice President R&D Doxa Dental AB in Sweden, began researching the science behind this development long before the product became available.

“I have been working for Doxa since 2002 first as a R&D Engineer, later as project manager and since 2007 as Vice President R&D,” he said. “Doxa has a strong connection to Uppsala University and especially the material science department and also we have a close collaboration with the faculty of Odontology at Malmö Högskola in Malmö.”

It is these strong connections and impressive resources that helped with the development of Ceramir.  Lööf, who trained as a chemical engineer with a Master of Science in Material Chemistry from Uppsala University, also has a PhD from the University in material physics. It should come as no surprise that the subject of his thesis was on using Calcium aluminate (Ceramir) as Biomaterial. (“Calcium-Aluminate as Biomaterial, Synthesis, Design and Evaluation”).

He led Doxa’s R&D team with the development of Ceramir Crown & Bridge, beginning back in early 2006. The research behind the product has been led by founder Prof. Leif Hermansson and by Lööf. Ceramir C&B was approved by the FDA in early 2010 and launched in the U.S. in June 2011. The product was launched on the Swedish market in 2009 after showing superb results in the first clinical study, conducted by Prof. Steven .R. Jefferies at Temple University in Philadelphia.

“Sweden has been seen as a test market and the results have been very good,” he said. “The product is developed and produced in our high tech facilities designed for ceramic manufacturing in Uppsala Sweden, all under rigorous Quality and regulatory control of course.”
	Doxa has a history of being an R&D company, developing materials for both dental and orthopedic indications. Since late 2008 the company has focused more on dental materials, and since launching Ceramir, “our focus has been more towards production, marketing and sales,” Lööf said.

There are more than 20 employees in Uppsala, another five in the U.S., and one in Germany.
	“The clinical studies show excellent results for Ceramir Crown & Bridge in all clinical parameters,” he said of some of the findings backing clinical results over the last couple years. “Especially there is a total absence of any post-operative sensitivity or marginal discoloration and also the marginal integrity is excellent.

I am very proud that we have managed to develop a product that harmonizes with and functions in the oral environment without the need for any chemical treatments or alterations of the natural teeth or tissue.”

Emil Abrahamsson, who heads Doxa’s U.S. operations, has received plenty of positive feedback on the product’s easy handling and lack of post-op sensitivity. He credits the research and planning that went into the product’s development with helping deliver such a unique material.

“Our founder is a professor at the Uppsala University and we are very connected to the University,” Abrahamsson said. “In one way we act as a department of the material science department.”
	
	

Orascoptic
	Matthew Gotto, Product Manager
	2.5 years with the company, worked on the Orascoptic Freedom LED Headlight

No matter what type of product you’re developing or who you’re developing it for, in the end it all comes down to what the customers think.

Getting that customer feedback during the process is critical, and that’s why Product Manager Matthew Gotto looks forward to that first interaction his customers, the dentists, have with a product. That first time they get their hands on a prototype is a great experience, and a great opportunity for the team at Orascoptic to find out what their customers think is working and what they think can be approved.

With Orascoptic’s new Freedom LED Headlight, clinicians loved the fact that the headlight is a portable system with no cords to get in their way or hold them back, something Gotto said clinicians initially told him and his team was needed in the industry.

Clinicians also weighed in on where the on/off controls and setting adjustments should be on the headlight for the easiest usability, which ended up being valuable information for the final design of the product. Gotto brought in various mock ups with toggle switches and push buttons for them to try out. Clinicians came back with concerns about infection control, cleanability and reliability issues that come with traditional mechanical control switches. That led the team to incorporating capacitive-touch technology in the headlight, an innovation that eliminates the need for a mechanical switch and the concerns that come with it.

Watching clinicians work with those first prototypes is such a rewarding experience for the whole development team, Gotto said, and it’s great to hear customer thoughts about what you’ve done to that point in the development process. Knowing they played such an important role in a product’s development is something clinicians really get excited about, and that’s also great for the team to see.
	
	

Patterson Dental
	Jim Garrett, Senior Commercial Software Architect
	15 years with the company, Helped develop, launch CAESY Cloud in 2011

Patterson Dental’s Jim Garrett has always enjoyed using technology to accomplish tasks that most previously thought to be unachievable.

The Senior Commercial Software Architect, who works at the recently remodeled Patterson Technology Center in Effingham, Ill., was the leader behind the innovative Eaglesoft practice management software almost two decades ago. Now Garrett oversees a team of software engineers that helped Patterson develop and launch CAESY Cloud in 2011, a patient education platform that delivers more than 280 multimedia presentations online.

“There’s no installation, no hardware to purchase,” Garrett said. “Since it’s online it’s as easy as signing up and you can go from being interested to being a user in about 30 seconds.

“What makes it different in general and special is the CAESY content,” said Garrett, who has worked with Patterson for more than 15 years. “It’s a vast library of high quality content with 3D videos and animation, and multiple language audio. What makes CAESY Cloud so valuable is you’ve taken the content that had really been the gold standard for a long time and just made another delivery system and made it even more available to people out of the box.”

CAESY Cloud is PC and Mac compatible, and can also be viewed on iPads, iPods and smartphones. But Garrett and his team did plenty of research and testing before releasing this latest product. Garrett and his team started this project off with extensive research on the best way to deliver videos to users without losing any quality, not wanting “to put something online in an inferior way that would damage the product.” The goal was to make sure that the user experience for CAESY Cloud was as high-end as it could be.

“The technical team spent four or five months just researching the best avenue to deliver this content with the best quality before ever even developing the product,” he said. “We didn’t want to come out with it and miss. We didn’t want to come out and have it be slow or pixilated. We didn’t want to come out and have it be YouTube…we wanted to be a little better than that in the quality.”
	Between the PTC facility and Patterson’s Vancouver, Wash. location-engineers got to work on developing CAESY Cloud. “The Vancouver people deserve most of the credit and our senior engineer Shane Stapleton did a lot of technical legwork and a lot of the heavy lifting,” Garrett said.

The product was beta tested in June and featured on the cover of DPR in July, and user comments indicate that CAESY Cloud has been well received by clinicians.

“The feedback has been great. Most of it has been asking for more functionality,” Garrett said. “That’s great. They’re using it and wanting to see how it expands and how they can use it more in their practices. We’re not getting, ‘My videos are slow,’ or ‘I can’t connect.‘ It’s all, ‘This is great and I’d also like to do X with this.’ ”

Garrett was one of the core Eaglesoft developers when Patterson acquired Eaglesoft in 1997, and has served as a programmer, a clinical development manager, and as the technical manager on all of Patterson’s commercial products in the dental, medical and veterinary markets.
	“One of the main things we wanted was to get the same quality of video by varying the bandwidth that’s delivered so you can watch video on your PC with a highspeed video connection, or you can watch it on your iPad and it’s going to adjust itself to give you the best quality it can at your connection all of the time,” he said. “You can watch it on an iPhone, iPad, you can watch it on a PC or Mac; it just instantly made CAESY much more portable than it was before.”

When ideas come together and develop into a better way of doing things, Garrett’s job can be quite rewarding.

“The most fun that we have as a technical division comes from Patterson trying to stay current on the technology and to look at things outside the dental, medical and veterinary markets,” Garrrett said. “If you look at technology and you look at the needs of your customers and then you try and marry the two it’s always really rewarding when you feel like you saw something where these two things that didn’t play together, could play together and make a viable product that could help make people’s lives better and make their business better, run smoother.”

Henry Schein Dental
	Maureen Knott, Vice President of Product Advertising
	25 years with the company, worked on Henry Schein Cares

Maureen Knott loves working for a large health care distributor, but what really makes her smile is reaching out and helping those in need.

Through her work at Henry Schein Dental, Maureen is deeply involved in Henry Schein Cares, the Company’s global corporate social responsibility program. Maureen, who recently celebrated her 25th year with the company, takes great pride in her involvement in Henry Schein’s Think Pink, Practice Pink and Global Reflections programs.

In the six years since Maureen developed the Think Pink program, which raises awareness and support for breast cancer, it has been extremely gratifying for her and her team to see the tremendous impact that the program has with the American Cancer Society Hope Lodge Jerome L. Greene Family Center in New York City, where funds from the Henry Schein Cares Foundation help adult guests stay free of charge while undergoing radiation treatments or chemotherapy.

“Henry Schein Cares is something that (CEO) Stanley Bergman has always been very passionate about, because our company firmly believes in doing well by doing good,” said Maureen. “We were looking to find a way to engage our customers in this work, and that is how I created our Think Pink, Practice Pink program through Henry Schein Cares. I pitched it to senior management, they trusted me, believed in me and I had the opportunity to run with this program.”

A brochure displaying pink products was created  with Henry Schein’s supplier partners, and now a number of manufacturers actually create exclusive pink products just to distribute through the company for this program. When customers purchase any of these products from September through December, a portion of the proceeds goes to the Henry Schein Cares Foundation, and that funding goes to the American Cancer Society, which in turn helps operate 48 Hope Lodge locations.

“When we initially visited the Hope Lodge location in New York City, we were so impressed with their program and what they had to offer their guests, that we knew we had to work with them,” said Maureen, who added that information on the various programs is available online at henryschein.com. “Henry Schein made a half -a-million-dollar contribution to Hope Lodge to support this program. Think Pink has evolved to become a terrific program with an impact that we could have never imagined when we first began this effort. It makes our team, and me personally, feel very gratified to give back to our community.”

“I am fortunate that Henry Schein gave me and our team the opportunity to make this program happen. When I go to Hope Lodge and have the guests there come up and say ‘Thank You’…it means more to me than a million dollars. Just knowing that we can help people in need in this way makes it all worthwhile.”

Similar to the Think Pink program, the Global Reflections program, which aims to raise awareness about and support for the protection of the environment, has a brochure featuring green products. Funds raised through this effort are disbursed to organizations focused on environmental protection and related health concerns, and helps to educate dentists about strategies to building a green practice.

“Our lives are so busy, and I feel very fortunate that I can give back to the community through Henry Schein,” she said. “The one thing that makes Henry Schein stand apart-and I feel like I have been able to contribute-is our steadfast commitment to giving back to the communities in which we serve.”

As VP of Product Advertising, Maureen develops strategies to educate dentists about the range of products and services available through Henry Schein. She manages product advertising, and she and  her team develop all of the marketing materials distributed to the dental community, including both print and electronic. One of her team’s key strategies is to assist in the coordination of new product launches so that when a supplier is ready to roll out a product, both the advertising message and the sales staff’s messages and actions are all connected.

“Our key message to customers is  everything that you need, we have that and we do that. We create monthly fliers and work with our supplier partners to make sure their products are visible within our portfolio of marketing programs. We want to make sure that they are successful, because when they are successful, then we are successful.” Maureen cares about people within and outside of this industry  and she is passionate about developing strategies to not only help the business succeed, but also to help as many people have reasons to smile as possible.
	
	

Hu-Friedy Mfg. Co. Inc.
	Andy Xilas, Vice-President of GP/Specialty and Surgical Strategic Business Unit Division
	25 years with the company, worked on the Pedo Crowns

What was your involvement in the Hu-Friedy Pedo Crown’s product development?
	My role is making sure the development and launch teams have the resources they need. I help manage road blocks that come up throughout the process. And then there’s the voice of  the customer. I ensure we not only have the customer in mind at the beginning, but that it’s always there in front of us, leading the way throughout the entire development process. So overall I serve as an advocate and champion for the team, helping connect them with the proper resources such as engineering, focus groups, KOL partners, packaging and more so we are meeting the customers’ needs by developing the right product.


	I’m not sure they’re aware of the amount of corporate energies dedicated to regulatory compliance. It’s really staggering, but of course it is totally appropriate for companies in the medical device arena to be held to a high standard. We take it a step further than the FDA and GMP requirements and are voluntarily part of the ISO standard.
	That means we have to go through vigorous testing and auditing from outside agencies to earn and maintain certification. This is just one example of the regulatory rigor. It’s one of the larger elements of a product launch that people aren’t aware of, but it’s critical to ensure we meet and exceed customer expectations.  

What is your favorite part of product development?  


	I’ve got a couple favorites. One is bringing new products to the market that make it easier for practitioners to deliver more consistent clinical outcomes. It’s gratifying to be able to do that. And then working with the various customers, from the private practitioners to the universities, and getting their feedback early and often. It’s just fun. It’s a good way of learning and you engage in interesting dialogue that often leads to new solutions and new choices. It’s a great thing.  

What are the Pedo Crown’s main benefits?


	Four things come to mind for me. It’s pre-trimmed and pre-crimped, which saves a lot of time and allows for quick placement. The next two go back to the occlusal surface. The occlusal anatomy mimics natural tooth structure and has a thickness that gives great resistance. If you need to do any finishing, the properties of our materials allow for ease of cutting.

But I’d like to think we go beyond the product itself. We want to make sure we offer great programs and services, and have worked hard to have an adjunct in terms of education. We put together a step-by-step tutorial video on how to place the crown.  

How many people were involved in the development?  


	We had more than a dozen people spending a significant amount of time behind the scenes making this product a reality. I may be the face behind the scenes but the reality is this a team effort. Regulatory, engineering, R&D, marketing, corporate sales management are among the many players. It truly is a team approach.

Rick Henriksen, President Reality Engineering/GURU

1 year with the company, worked on GURU 5

Rick Henriksen doesn’t like to describe GURU 5 as “just patient education.” No, the President of Reality Engineering thinks of the latest GURU patient communication suite (thehouseofguru.com) as a whole lot more.

He believes practices implementing product will positively change a slew of important things along the way, namely both the oral and whole body health of its patients, the health of the practice, and just as importantly, educating the population of the importance in choosing the best oral care.

“GURU is really a teaching tool. It has hundreds of animations, illustrations and images that are designed to help doctors and staff teach better-what the patients’ conditions are, what the consequences of those choices will be. We see that educated patients make better healthcare decisions.”

GURU’s strength is digital visual learning and the product’s success formula is comprised of four elements: 1) compelling visualization in both 3D and 2D; 2) audio narration; 3) customization; and 4) interaction and motivation. The combination of all these elements leads to both better understanding and a significantly higher retention rate compared to just hearing a case presentation or seeing a procedure sketched on a sticky note.  

Henriksen has been involved in the dental industry since 1997 in a variety of roles starting with independent sales of Kreativ air abrasion systems and Surgitel loupes, to helping build DEXIS into a leader in digital x-ray, and then overseeing all of Danaher’s imaging systems including Gendex and i-CAT in North America.

Now working with GURU, a new wealth of information linking oral health to overall health gives Henriksen and his team an extra incentive, one that can help change people’s lives.

Knowing the dental industry well, he has learned that doctors by and large have a difficult time having a conditioned treatment option and consequences conversation with their patients. Very many don’t like the idea of selling dentistry and often times assume what patients can and can’t afford, or where their value lies.

“We think that that’s unfortunate because both patients and practices suffer in the process,” he said. “With the growing understanding that there is a link between oral health and whole body health, the big ideas for me are: I believe we have the ability to have a positive effect on the health care conversation in this country. Because if we can get people to understand the importance of better oral healthcare and choosing up in their oral health options then that will have a positive effect on their whole body health and over the long term have a positive effect on the healthcare conversation.”

So an easy-to-use and implement visual system like GURU 5 can help doctors and staff both educate their patients and increase case acceptance, he said.

14 years with the company, worked on launch of GrandioSO

For years, many dentists used and liked the company’s GrandiO nano-hybrid resin composite for universal restorative use. Yet VOCO scientists back in Germany were hard at work making an even better material, and they were backed by requests from dentists who let VOCO America President Leif Ebert and his colleagues know just what they wanted.

That research and hard work resulted in GrandioSO, a universal 89% filled nano-hybrid composite introduced in early 2011 and manufactured at VOCO’s Cuxhaven, Germany facility, a modern laboratory and production area that exports to more than 120 countries.

“The way we do things at VOCO is when one product is launched we pretty much start looking for the next one,” explains Ebert, who works at VOCO’s New York offices and travels to Germany about twice a year. “How can we make it even better?”

Early plans for GrandioSO began seven years ago when company chemists attempted to develop a material that would address requests from doctors who were currently using GrandiO, but who wanted to see improved polishability, less light sensitivity and more opacity for anterior restorations.

“Our chemists found out that by making our filler size more we were able to get the better polishability of the material,” said Ebert, noting that this year’s launch was the company’s biggest and most important product launch ever. “The rest was fine tuning with a couple of things here and there.”

After plenty of tests in-house, and use of state-of-the art science with independent university studies and with clinical advisors who sampled the product, GrandioSO was launched and the results have been great.

“When we launched that product we had a 38-page documentation of all the independent studies, and we are very proud of that,” Ebert said. “This is the best product we’ve ever launched. We spent about a million dollars (to promote it), and we invested a lot into a sampling program to give doctors a chance to try it out.”

Information on VOCO’s free sample program can be found at dentalproductsreport.com and at vocoamerica.com.
	
	
	 

Top 100: People who make it happen

The latest software applications for smart phones and tablets have increased functionality to allow clinicians to manage practices and patients from anywhere, anytime.


	Rated the “Best Chairside Case Presentation Software/App” by Gordon Christensen’s CR (Aug. 2011), DDS GP allows dental professionals to easily show the severity of decay, periodontal disease, cracks and other conditions or procedures with a simple “tap and drag.” There also are options to draw right on the screen with your finger and save those drawings, add images from your photo library, and send or print custom treatment plans for patients. Featuring more than 200 demonstrations, the app is consistently updated and improved.
	$399.99   •  iPhone, iPad


	The GC Restorative Dentistry Guides provide dental professionals with an interactive guide to proper use of GC composites and bonding agents. A useful clinical resource, it also can be a valuable tool for communication with patients. Version 1.31 includes a new EQUIA guide, as well as improved menu navigation.  
	FREE  •  iPhone, iPad

DUX Dental
	Office Organization Calculator


	This interactive calculator allows dental offices to calculate what they need to buy when it comes to office organizational equipment such as tubs, trays, mirrors, etc. Mirroring the calculator function on the DUX Dental website, the application  will do all the planning for you and offer a customized shopping list at the end that a practice can submit for order or use to plan with your preferred dental dealer.
	FREE  •  iPhone, iPad


	Designed to keep dental professionals updated with Lexicomp’s trusted clinical knowledge, this application includes 30 days of access to all databases Lexicomp offers for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch-this is all the databases contained in Lexi-COMPLETE and Lexi-Dental COMPLETE. Featuring hundreds of images, charts and tables, you can install any of Lexicomp’s dental databases and, after the 30-day trial, obtain an access code directly from Lexicomp for continued access.
	30-DAY FREE TRIAL 
	iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry

American Dental Association
	2011-2012 CDT Code Check


	The ADA’s CDT Code Check contains all the CDT codes, searchable by three categories: code number, keyword and category of service. A handy practice management tool for dentists and staff who travel between offices, it is also ideal for working on claim forms and looking up procedure codes when a CDT Manual isn’t handy. Features include a complete listing of CDT Codes as well as a list of new and revised codes with tracked changes.
	$19.99  •  iPhone, iPad, Android

Top 100: Top 5 Dental Apps

Dentists and laboratories are working more closely together than ever before and technology and material developments are making that easier and more efficient. These recently launched products and the categories they represent are items clinicians should know about


	Designed to help technicians create dentures that stop breaks before they start as well as for intraoral splinting, eFiber and Perma Mesh are translucent e-glass materials impregnated with a PMMA (porous polymer) via a silane coupler that allows for bonding to all acrylic and composites materials. The materials add strength and stability without adding weight. The translucency of the materials means they offer enhanced esthetics, and they can be either light- or self-cured to fit the clinical situation at hand.  
	800-232-7732  •  


	Full contour zirconia crowns offer high strength and esthetic outcomes, and Zahn Dental’s Zirlux FC stands out from other options because the zirconia discs are pre-shaded, and then the crowns are finished with stains and glazes after being milled. This means if the crown needs to be adjusted chairside, the shade goes deeper than the surface and the esthetics are easier to retain even if the occlusion must be reduced.
	800-496-9500  •  


	Digital workflows are making their way into the operations of just about every dental laboratory, and the scanner is the heart of that process. 3Shape’s latest scanner, the D800, features advanced 3D scanning technology to accurately capture details from models or impressions. That data is then fed into the company’s Dental System™ Premium software, which is capable of designing for the full range of dental indications. Labs with the company’s scanners and software can share 3D case designs with the practice as well as accept chairside scans from CEREC, iTero and Lava C.O.S. digital impression systems.
	908-219-4642  •  


	Designed as a complete, open system, the company’s latest CAD/CAM software suite includes accurate capture of implant position and orientation, and design capabilities for a full range of indications. The open-architecture nature of this system allows labs using it to work with a range of fabrication processes including mills and 3D printers, making just about any restoration type or material a viable option. The implant design capabilities mean custom abutments can be digitally designed for optimal support of esthetic crowns.
	877-DELCAM-1  •  


	Capable of manufacturing zirconia, acrylic and wax restorations, the ezMill line of 4- and 5-axis compact desktop milling systems combine high-speed production and precision accuracy. This plug-and-play mill can be a good option for a practice looking to add CAD/CAM production to an in-office lab. The ability to mill from a variety of materials means it can be used to create provisional or final restorations for a range of indications. Tabletop mills such as this allow smaller labs to keep some CAD/CAM production in-house, allowing faster turnaround of the finished restorations.
	212-481-8700  •  

Top 100: Top 5 Lab Products to Know

This year, clicks are the criteria for gauging reader/user interest. These products are recognized for having  the most views in our product database at marketplace.dentalproductsreport.com.


	G-ænial Bond is a 7th generation, one-step self-etching bonding agent designed specifically for self-etching on dentin or etch-and-rinse on enamel. With improved shear bond strength to both dentin and enamel, it can be used with the manufacturer’s low-viscosity G-ænial Flo and high-viscosity G-ænial Universal Flo nano-hybrid light-cured flowable composites.
	800-323-7063   •  


	Bioactive and biocompatible Biodentine is an all-in-one dentin replacement material that can be used in both the crown and root wherever dentin is damaged. Indications include restoring deep cavities, pulp capping, pulpotomies, perforations and internal/external resorptions. In addition to treating damaged dentin, it reportedly provides a number of clinical benefits including remineralization, preservation of pulp and prevention of clinical failures.  
	800-872-8305  •  


	In addition to exceptional esthetics and smooth, non-sticky handling, GrandioSO universal nano hybrid composite is designed to provide surface hardness, strength, elasticity, wear, stability and thermal behavior similar to natural dentition. It uses silicon dioxide designer nano filler combined with traditional glass ceramic filler particles to form a hard network with nano particles filling the spaces. It comes in 16 non-light sensitive shades including 3 special shades added to the standard VITA range.
	888-658-2584  • 


	A dual-cure, high performance resin cement system, Clearfil Esthetic Cement EX is offered in Universal, Clean and Opaque White shades. The system uses self-etch technology to achieve low post-operative sensitivity, long-term durability and high bond strength. The Standard Kit contains Ceramic Primer, Alloy Primer, DC Bond and K-Etchant Gel. The Mini Kit can be used for CAD/CAM restorations and for cementing porcelain, lucite, metals and resin composites.
	800-879-1676  •  


	Swedish-made Doxa Ceramir® crown and bridge luting cement integrates with natural tooth structure, is stable in the mouth and reportedly exhibits tooth-like physical and mechanical properties, allowing clinicians to seal the restorative-tooth interface with a biocompatible, bioceramic material. It is said to offer outstanding strength and stability and resin-cement-like retention with no shrinkage and virtually no post-operative sensitivity. Moisture tolerant, it requires no bonding agents or extra steps, and is easy to handle and clean up.
	800-372-4346  •  


	Featuring GPS technology, Honigum Pro impression material is formulated with Directional Intelligence™ to help it find its way into tiny crevices and hard-to-reach areas of the mouth. It is said to be able to change its flow characteristics when placed under pressure. With a honey aroma and flexible working time, it goes where placed, flows where needed and comes off intact when removed.
	800-662-6383  •  


	Available with Benzalkonium Chloride (BAC), SELECT HV™ ETCH is a 35% high viscosity phosphoric etch. Used to condition tooth structure before bonding adhesives, composites or sealants, the etchant is specially formulated for maximum working and handling, pin-point placement performance and eliminating run-on onto the dentin surface. It is said to improve the quality of the etch pattern and bonding surface when etching uncut enamel.
	800-247-3368  •  


	Universal Adhesive
	Helping to dramatically simplify the adhesive process, Scotchbond™ Universal Adhesive is a single-bottle adhesive with a forgiving technique that is said to offer versatile solutions for direct and indirect restorations. Described as easy-to-use, it reportedly provides uncompromising performance and bond strength for all surfaces in total- or self-etch mode, and works on moist and dry substrates without primer. The flip-top vial delivery allows for one-hand operation, and it can be stored at room temperature for up to 2 years.
	800-634-2249  •  


	The proprietary zinc-reinforced formula of self-adhesive ChemFil™ Rock advanced glass ionomer restorative provides optimal strength for long-lasting restorations. The optimized formula also provides a less sticky, more packable consistency for fast bulk placement. It is available in an easy-to-use capsule and features an ergonomic applicator gun for direct capsule delivery.
	800-532-2855  • 


	Reformulated Tetric EvoCeram nano-optimized composite filling material offers extended working time under ambient light combined with faster curing times, new shades with enhanced shade matching qualities and improved handling properties. The fillers used exhibit the same “refractive index” as the monomer, creating an exceptional chamdentition.
	800-533-6825  • 

Top 100: Top 10 New Materials

DPR Technology Editor Dr. John Flucke is lucky enough to try numerous products out in his operatories. Here are five he put to work in 2011 that left a lasting impression on him and have the potential to help just about any practice.

Well, here we are again. Another year drawing to a close and another round of amazing products that have changed our practices and the lives of our patients for the better.
	This year I had a chance to test drive some products that offer interesting changes as well as some products that, while not “brand new,” are starting to get market penetration and definitely bear investigation by dentists looking to offer the best for their patients. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at my “Top 5 Test Drives” of 2011!
	
	
	


	In June, Ultradent released the cordless version of its VALO curing light. While the original A/C powered VALO was a strong seller for the company and a strong performer for dentists, Ultradent continued its R&D into the light until the cordless version was ready for prime time.

The device features outputs of Standard with 1,000 mw/cm2, High Power with 1,400 mw/cm2, and Xtra Power with 3,200 mw/cm2 and has an LED array that will cure any composite on the market–even those with proprietary photoinitiators.

The device is powerful, reliable and performs as advertised.
	
	
	


	In the spring of 2011, Kerr unleashed a composite device and system that may well change dentistry. The product is SonicFill, and Kerr presents it as a bulk fill composite system that has the potential to reduce composite placement time by 50%.

The system is composed of a handpiece that holds special composite cartridges that are loaded with a very thick, highly filled composite. The handpiece provides air driven vibration (similar to a sonic scaler) that causes the very thick composite to change its viscosity and flow into the prep. Once placed, the composite can be burnished, carved and bulk cured. This bulk curing can be done because of the highly filled nature of the composite that reduces polymerization shrinkage.
	I’ve had a chance to use SonicFill for more than 6 months and have come away impressed.
	
	


	For years now, we’ve been moving to using high powered LED lights to help provide auxiliary lighting that augments our use of surgical telescopes. Wearing magnification is a game changing decision and really should be considered by anyone practicing dentistry.

The one drawback to using LED lights that attach to our magnifying glasses is the dreaded cord. While not a “deal breaker,” the cord is definitely annoying at times and can be a bit cumbersome while the battery pack occasionally can be a pain to deal with.

To the rescue comes Orascoptic with its Freedom light system. This LED light system features a self contained lighting package with an LED light that provides an intensity of 5,000 foot candles and three brightness settings. The entire system mounts on the frame of your glasses and contains a set of two batteries that are placed in “paddles” that attach to the glasses at the ends of the arms.

The batteries make the light system neutrally balanced, taking weight off the nose and working as a counter balance to the light and the weight of the surgical telescopes. The entire package weighs only 20 grams. It has become my daily LED of choice in the last 6 months.
	
	


	The iTero system is a great way to take your impressions digital. The device uses an intraoral camera to take a series of photos that are merged together to create a 3D image that is used to fabricate amazing models made of a composite type material. It is incredibly accurate capturing more than 100,000 data points on a scan and using all of this information to provide a 3D representation of the model right on the unit’s screen.

When the office is happy with the 3D model that is created on the screen (you can take and add extra photos that are merged into the existing scan) the information is sent to Cadent and the models are created and then sent to the lab.

Because of the accuracy of the scans, the prosthetics fit well and occlusal adjustments are greatly reduced.

The clinical results are amazing. I personally had two crowns done this year and chose to have the iTero used on both.
	 


	The SL3 is a portable 3-watt diode laser made and distributed by Discus. It features a rechargeable battery that allows it to be portable without plugging in to A/C power, a wireless foot control that helps eliminate cord clutter, and disposable fiber tips that are easy to attach and easy to use.

The product is light and portable weighing in at only 1.85 pounds. It has a touch screen that is well lit and comes preset with recommended settings for the most frequently performed procedures.

The device is small enough that we keep it in a drawer in my “main” operatory and can have it ready to go simply by opening the drawer and turning it on.

We have been using the SL3 since last spring and it has become the “go to” diode laser in the office. You just can’t beat opening the drawer and being ready to work.
	 


	So there you have it, my “Top 5 Test Drives” of the year. If you’d like to follow along with every device I put through the paces, feel free to check my blog at blog.denticle.com.
	 

Top 100: Top Test Drives

These manufacturers, dentists and organizations all go the extra mile to help those in need, whether it be underserved populations or victims of natural disasters.


	
	With the company’s 90th anniversary celebration, 2011 was primed to be a special year for GC America.

But then came the terrible Tõhoku earthquake in March, a 9.0 magnitude quake that is the most powerful known to have ever hit Japan, and one of the five most powerful earthquakes in the world. It triggered extremely destructive tsunami waves that only further added to the destruction and changed the lives of many Japanese people.

With its headquarters in Tokyo, GC America employees back in Illinois wanted to help their counterparts in Japan rebound in any way possible. That’s when Gina Durkin and Monique Dagher Sass of GC America’s marketing department came up with the idea of RESTORE Japan.

The promotional campaign was designed to raise funds to help out in Japan, and it involved dentists purchasing a variety of GC products with special offers and  plenty of backing from publications such as DPR. The promotion involving the company’s operatory products concluded at the end of September, while RESTORE Japan specials for export products run through the end of the year.

“You are talking to the two most passionate girls who really got into it,” Durkin said proudly while talking with Dagher Sass about the successful campaign. “We solicited assistance from our national advertisers. Everybody really, really joined in. I would say 90% of the media said ‘Of course, of course, of course.’”

With GC America known best as a restorative manufacturer, the name RESTORE Japan was a great fit. But the company also added other product lines to the promotion to add to the awareness of the critical cause and to raise as much money as possible to help out those whose lives were changed dramatically by the earthquake.

GC Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Mr. Makoto Nakao, who was very supportive of the idea, announced that GC would donate to the cause. Fortunately, no GC employees were killed during the earthquake, but many were without power for days.

Durkin said the promotion was such a success that the company was able to provide plenty of support.

Dagher Sass said seeing GC divisions in Europe and Romania follow suit only helped her feel even better about the project.

“Everybody stepped forward and listened to what we had to say because it was such a heart-warming cause,” she said of the planning stages of RESTORE Japan. “We paved the way for this. It’s really a proud moment for Gina and I to be a part of GC.”

Part of the promotion features RESTORE Japan T-Shirts and wristbands, and Mr. Nakao presented a T-Shirt to the president of the Japanese Dental Association, Dr. Mitsuo Okubo.
	“We have a lot of Japanese associates here. I was just in a meeting and someone who was wearing a RESTORE Japan wristband,” Durkin said proudly. “With every free good participants also received a Thank You card that was also donated by our printer, and a RESTORE Japan wristband.”

Durkin added that the companies’ facilities also are  operating just fine in Japan and that there was never any concern about any of the products being produced there. “This (quake) really shook up our company,” she said. “We’re based in Tokyo and they were working when this happened, but we were so lucky that none of anybody’s family or any of our associates died.
	“And everything’s good (with the manufacturing). One thing you can rest assured is…even prior to the Tsunami…is with such strict regulations to come into our country that there is never anything to worry about with any of our products.”
	
	

My father was a dentist, and as a teenager, I thought there was no way I was going to be what my dad was-I was a “rebel without a clue.” However, even through those rebellious years, I noticed that my father was one of the few people who were actually happy about going to work. I shared a practice with him for two years, and then moved to Baltimore with my wife. Shortly thereafter, I bought a large group practice, and when I got tired of managing it, I ventured out on my own as a solo practitioner. I wanted my new office to reflect all the modern technology that would improve patient care, and that is how I came to choose DEXIS.

In 1997, I became one of the first dentists in the U.S. to own the DEXIS digital x-ray system. Looking back, I know that I made the right choice for me, my staff and my patients. The transition from film to digital radiography for my staff was extremely easy-even my most skeptical employee became a believer after taking two full mouth series of x-rays.

The first words out of our patients’ mouths when they see their images immediately displayed on the screen are “Wow, cool!” Digital x-rays are a time saver-a full series can be taken in four-to-five-minutes. My DEXIS system is the most productive item in the office besides my handpiece. My advice to colleagues who are considering “going digital” is, “Jump in! The water’s fine, and you are never going to look back.”

My wife, who is an OB/GYN, and I always have been interested in helping others lead healthier lives. Over the years, we have provided humanitarian aid to patients from Honduras to Bosnia, and for the past few years, we have been focused on the people of Haiti. We want our efforts to create a sustainable change, so besides caring for its citizens, we also want to educate Haitians to take care of Haitians.

We began our work in Haiti four years ago. Before the earthquake, getting medical and dental care was already difficult; afterward, it was nearly impossible. The mountains in Haiti are quite rugged. To reach those most in need, we drive over an extremely rocky road for a few hours, then walk for three hours to reach our destination-villages with no electricity and no water. Our team sleeps on the ground, waking up to beautiful mountain scenery. We set up clinics with one clean table, one table for sterilization purposes, and some chairs. Having a medical team in town also is a crowd pleaser. Sometimes 500 people or more wait to receive treatment.

DEXIS’ donated sensor allowed us to make better clinical decisions from extractions to diagnosing major pathology issues. The images help us to determine which teeth would be too complicated to remove without the help of a handpiece. Due to the language barrier, our patients can not accurately describe their symptoms, but I can see the whole story on their x-rays. Amidst their broken teeth and multiple abscesses, it assisted me in deciding what to do to get their pain under control. DEXIS provides us with state-of- the-art dentistry in the field. Just because people are poor, that doesn’t mean they should get second-class health care.

The attributes that make DEXIS a favorite in our office also made it an invaluable tool in the field. We rely on dependable and durable equipment. Our suitcase was carried by a Sherpa up a hill, and the sensor had to be able to withstand our rigorous journeys up into the mountains. If our software crashed, there was no access to an IT guy. DEXIS works when we need it to even under very adverse conditions.

When I first visited the dental school in Haiti, I was amazed by the tremendous lack of equipment and supplies. They had three x-ray machines-one was falling off the wall; another was broken. Conditions have improved, thanks to NYU’s donation of 20 new dental chairs and units. The preclinical lab is now used by students practicing their clinical skills on dental manikins where before, the first tooth a student drilled on was in a live human. Forty handpiece units also were installed in their laboratory.

The donation of a DEXIS sensor to the dental school was received with incredible excitement. Before this, they were developing film x-rays in Dixie cups in a glove box and tried to store them the best they could. The students gathered around our laptop computers, totally fascinated by the digital x-rays we had taken that day in the clinic and were very receptive to the knowledge we shared with them about the new system.

In Haiti, our humanitarian missions make a difference. We come in contact with unlicensed local “dentists” in remote areas and try to teach them cold sterilization techniques, as these “dentists,” found everywhere in the world, are some of the biggest transmitters of disease. Some were soaking their instruments in lemon water, believing that was a sufficient enough method to “sterilize” them. We establish oral hygiene programs in schools, bringing toothbrushes and a six-month supply of toothpaste. How can these people spend $30 a year on toothpaste, when that figure often amounts to a family’s entire annual income?

The DEXIS digital system is compatible with our philosophy for patients no matter where they are in the world. It’s comfortable, fast, it respects people’s time, and exposes them to less radiation than conventional film x-rays. The Haitian people need the help of dental and medical communities in any way possible-whether it may be from someone to give a lecture at the dental school, to donate funds or supplies, or in any other creative ways that you can think of. DEXIS has helped us to improve people’s lives here in America, and in areas of the world where people need it so desperately. Amidst the chaos and devastation after the earthquake and even before that, we had found amazing satisfaction in providing medical and dental care. Through digital imaging, DEXIS helped us to bring smiles to the faces of some of the less fortunate in Haiti. For a recent video interview, go to meandmydexis.com.

If you would like to help support the efforts in Haiti through donations of materials and equipment, please go to 


	In a land beset by considerable earthquake damage, political turmoil, and widespread poverty, dental care may take a backseat to other basic needs of Haitian residents. Since 2002, Carmen Dielman, RDH, and Friends of Hu-Friedy member, has traveled to Haiti annually to provide dental care to as many residents as possible.

Dielman was one of 12 dental health professionals who traveled to Crois-des-Bouquets, just northeast of the capital of Port-au-Prince, to work through long days and intense heat to serve the community’s residents. Hu-Friedy, as part of its “Host Nevi Tour,” donated instrumentation to Carmen’s dental mission this year.

Nevi4, the mascot of Hu-Friedy’s Nevi4 instrument, tours the United States, and is hosted by Friends of Hu-Friedy (visit 

). Dielman requested that Nevi accompany her on this year’s dental mission trip to Haiti, anticipating that the town’s children would enjoy his visit and how he would occupy the children during their wait for dental care.

In an interview with Hu-Friedy, Dielman described the workdays: “It was getting up early, trying to get 12 people ready for the day, have our breakfast, and then we’d get in this great big truck that looked like a huge circus cage!” She continued, “The truck would take us to the site, which was located in a church building, and we’d set up every morning. We were working out of our suitcases and with lawn chairs on cement blocks.”

The temperature often hit 95ºF, and “you have on gloves, goggles, a mask and you’re behind a head lamp. The heat was intense,” said Dielman, “but at the same time, the people who came would literally wait on benches all day long.” The line would form before they arrived in the morning, and the last patient of the day would have likely waited the entire day to be seen. “That was our motivation to keep going,” she continued. “Yes, they were long, hard days, but they were so worth it.”

Over the course of their visit, the dental team cared for 463 patients. Dielman said that included 363 scalings and root planings, 148 extractions, 68 composite restorations, 10 amalgams, and 19 sealants.

Her biggest concern was that adults comprised the overwhelming proportion of patients and too few children were brought to them for care. Dielman said, “[The parents] don’t realize the value of receiving dental care at a young age, so there’s a significant need for dental education.”

As Dielman anticipated, Nevi was a hit with the children and with the dental team as well. “All the little kids would laugh, smile and want to hold him,” Dielman said. Team members also took pictures of each other with Nevi. “Nevi kept things light, and it helped us kid around during the trip,” she said. Furthermore, the donated Nevi scalers that accompanied the team on its mission were equally appreciated, considering the layers of hardened plaque that builds up on patients whose dental care is less than optimal.

For more pictures of Nevi in Haiti, visit facebook.com/nevi4. To follow Nevi on all his adventures, join Friends of Hu-Friedy for free at 


	Dr. Doug Nielsen and his colleagues can only do so much, but fortunately for the many people in dire need of dental care, The 

These manufacturers, dentists and organizations all go the extra mile to help those in need, whether it be underserved populations or victims of natural disasters. GC America Inc. RESTORE Japan  With the company’s 90th anniversary celebration, 2011 was primed to be a special year for GC America.

Dental Products Report-2011-12-01

Top 100: Upgraded and Updated Products

Top 100: People who make it happen

Top 100: Top 5 Dental Apps

Top 100: Top 5 Lab Products to Know

Top 100: Top 10 New Materials

Top 100: Top Test Drives

Top 100: 5 Great efforts to help those in need

Top 100: Top Editor's Choice

Top 100: Top 5 Marketing Services