From Our Board: Seated in comfort

August 31, 2015

If you’re not seated properly during a procedure, it can become a tedious event that can take its toll on your back and backside by the end of the day.

In this new column, one clinician addresses these unique, comfortable wooden stools.

New column
DPR is very fortunate to have an editorial advisory board consisting of some of the brightest, talented dentists around. Debuting this month, we bring you this new “From Our Board” column designed to allow these great minds to share their stories.

Performing dentistry today requires the doctor and staff to have ergonomic, efficient and comfortable seating so the long day of treating our patients can be a bit more manageable.

If you’re not seated properly during a procedure, it can become a tedious event that can take its toll on your back and backside by the end of the day.

I know this because I have experienced some really long days over the course of my dental career, and without comfortable seating that helps to care for my back and “seat” during the course of the day, it would be hard to make it through the day.

I discovered an interesting take on dental seating when I presented at the Yankee Dental Congress this past January. My wife, Karen, was drawn to a vendor there with interesting handmade wooden chairs that looked like an owl’s face. She talked to the very nice people there and discovered they created these Owl® Stools and other Owl® Furniture pieces they believed would be very useful in the dental field.

The master wood carver, Geoffrey Warner, owner of Geoffrey Warner Studio in Stonington, Maine, had worked on this design and found it had great usefulness in so many other places in the home and office that he decided to put his creations on polymer casters and created the Rolling Owl® Stool. These provide a smooth ride on hardwood floors, linoleum and low pile carpet, and the seat height is easily adjustable from 18” to 24”. The Rolling Owl base comes in a range of six colors that can fit any treatment room motif.

For the few days I lectured, I borrowed a seat each day-one day an Owl® Bar/Counter Stool and one day the rolling chair. I sat in these chairs for most of my lectures and found the unique design to be perfectly comfortable for the many hours of presentation to my audiences. The Owl® seat is so comfortable and helps you sit properly all day long. It is simply marvelous. We decided we needed to have one of the rolling stools at the office and had one sent to us.

One year later: A look at six revolutionary products

The beautiful hard woods (solid cherry or walnut) of these remarkable ergonomic seats are sealed with a clear polyurethane finish that makes cleaning and disinfecting in the treatment room a snap. The addition of the optional lumbar support accessory makes for a perfect operatory or office chair. You really have to try one of these. Once you do, you’ll wonder why you would ever want to use any other seat during your day. The cost for these exquisite handmade chairs is really no more than what you would normally pay for a conventional operatory stool, but the quality and durability will far outlast any upholstered chair.

Call 207-367-6555 or visit owlstools.com to find out more about the options for your Owl Stool.

More on the Owl Stool
Owl Furniture’s Owl Stools are said to be more than just stools. The stools are made in the United States and designed to relieve pressure points, cradle the pelvis at an optimal angle for spinal alignment and reduce spinal pressures. Endorsed by health practitioners, they are designed to provide hours of sitting comfort and include optional lumbar support accessories. They are made of beautiful handcrafted hardwood with a durable tung oil finish. A lab-tested SEFA-finish is also available.

About the authorDr. Comisi has been in private practice in Ithaca, N.Y., since 1983 and is president and CEO of “Dental Care with a Difference”®, PC, where “Knowledge Brings Health”®. He is a graduate of Northwestern University Dental School and received his bachelor’s degree in biology at Fordham University. He is a respected key opinion leader, has lectured nationally and internationally and has contributed to the dental literature in several journals.

Video: How to get protection under all composite restorations