See the top 3M ESPE restorative products behind this thriving dental practice [VIDEO]

When patients walk into Ritter & Ramsey General and Cosmetic Dentistry in Jupiter, Fla., the friendly staff expects them to be a little wowed with the elegant look and feel, and with the best dental technology around.

But more importantly, business partners Drs. Chris Ramsey and Robert Ritter expect them to be even more wowed when they walk out the door after receiving top-notch oral care designed to keep their mouths healthy and beautiful.

“The practice of Ritter & Ramsey is a unique practice in the way that we’re trying to practice dentistry like we believe it was supposed to be practiced,” said Dr. Ramsey.

“What I mean by that is we are restorative dentists only. So we’re not root canals, we’re not doing removable, we’re not doing perio, not doing ortho. We’re not trying to be a jack of all trades and masters of none.”

What the practice has mastered is great, consistent results. Choosing a number of 3M ESPE products helps them follow through on this promise.

“What we are is two guys doing restorative dentistry and because we do restorative dentistry only, we’re trying to do it at a very, very high level,” Dr. Ramsey added.

“To a degree that we believe is not seen in a lot of practices; meaning having a complete and thorough understanding of the adhesives and cements we use and why we use them. We know the different ceramic systems and composites that are out there, and try to create the best dentistry we can by using only the best.”

Dr. Ritter explains that product selection is made easier for the practice because of 3M ESPE’s long track record of successful products.

“3M has a great family of products that I really trust and value,” Dr. Ritter said. “One of the great things about 3M-obviously they’re an abrasive, adhesive company- is they take their core or foundational manufacturing skills and processes from other portions of their business and can invest that into the dental side of things. They have an advantage that other companies just don’t have. What’s great about 3M is it’s a trusted, valued company that has been around a very long time.”

Products getting even better

One thing that makes 3M ESPE products so desirable is that the company does not bring new products to market until they have been tested and proven to be able to improve both the dentist’s job and the care received by the patients.

Another key is that the company listens to clinicians and is constantly looking to improve on already outstanding products.

One example of this is its newest impression material, 3M™ ESPE™ Imprint™ 4 VPS Impression Material. Dr. Ramsey says the new material builds off the greatness of its earlier version and now offers better results and better economics.

While Ritter & Ramsey uses the 3M™ True Definition Scanner on a daily basis, the practice does still use traditional impressions for certain cases, much like most practices.

“While everybody is moving to the digital age of dentistry, there are still tens of thousands of dentists who are taking a traditional impression. And 3M’s on top of that,” said Dr. Ramsey.

“Imprint 4 built off the success of Imprint 3, but they listened to the voice of the customer. The dentists said we really need a great impression material that offers better precision and faster speed at a competitive price. Taking an impression can be an expensive adventure, especially if you get a void or a bubble and you have to retake it.”

Dr. Ramsey says the new material is economical, but also sets fast, and is really accurate and dependable.

“They added some chemistry to create Imprint 4 and now they’ve got phenomenal working time,” he said. “The material reacts to the heat of the mouth and it gets to a very rapid set time. That’s something dentists wanted. Let’s be honest, patients don’t enjoy impressions so if they’re going to take one you’d like the experience to be over as quickly as possible, but without sacrificing accuracy within the impression.

“It’s just a great material both on the front end for the patient, and for the dentist and the laboratory on the back end. 3M was able to give us something that’s very, very accurate so I don’t find myself having to retake impressions.”

The same can be said for 3M™ ESPE™ Scotchbond™ Universal Adhesive, which also piggy-backed on the great success of its predecessor.

“If you look at their track record, it’s amazing from a quality standpoint and longevity. There’s nothing better than looking at cases and saying, ‘I put this case in a decade ago with Scotchbond and now I can honestly say that case looks great.’ Now they’ve got Scotchbond Universal adhesive and I’m confident to reach for something like that because of the success we had over a decade plus with products previously.”

A trusted partner

It’s a long running trust that clinicians have with 3M ESPE that makes it both easy and exciting when reaching for one of the company’s products.

“We use so many 3M products because of their value and predictability and reproducibility in our practice,” said Dr. Ritter. “Ultimately, when you have predictability and reproducibility, then you have patient satisfaction and profitability.”

“We’re trying to serve the good of the patients and do the right things, but at the same time it is a business. You have to make sure they’re products that can produce for you every single day.”

Investing in the best

Drs. Ritter and Ramsey treat the adult patients at the practice, while Robert’s wife, Dr. Isabelle Ritter, treats patients ages 3-13. With the help of a wide range of products and technologies from 3M ESPE, they are confident that they offer up consistently great care.

“In our office, we have really made the investment and the commitment to go digital. So from the moment you walk into our practice everything is digital,” Dr. Robert Ritter said.

“We use Dentrix and we have Dentrix kiosks which go into our iPads. Then you fill out the iPad forms which go into the server, and obviously it’s digital X-ray and all the patient charts are digital. So the only thing that’s not digital is the process for preparing a tooth.”

Currently the practice uses the 3M True Definition Scanner and 3M™ ESPE™ Lava™ Plus zirconia with great

results, working closely with their lab on the indirect restorations.

“At that point everything is scanned with a True Def Scanner, which is a very easy and fast scan,” Dr. Ritter said. “We digitized the whole process both for implants and for restorative work in the mouth, both for crowns, inlays, onlays and bridges. We work with a dedicated laboratory that produces a lot of Lava Plus monolithic zirconia restorations for us.

“The streamlining ability of the True Definition Scanner gives us a lot of functionality. We’ve been using scanners in our office for four and half years and once you make the commitment to going digital, especially scanning, there’s no going back.”

The same can be said for reaching for cements and adhesives with the 3M ESPE name on the label.

“I’ve said this from the podium many times to many dentist s from around the country,” Dr. Ramsey said. “If it turned out that all the other companies disappeared and that 3M was the only company left, and you had a practice that was made up of only 3M products, you’d survive very well throughout the rest of your career and be very successful.

“The truth is, because of 3M’s wonderful R&D, they just don’t put out a bad product. They won’t rush to market and they are very good about listening to the voice of the customer.”

FEATURED PRODUCTS

3M™ ESPE™ Imprint™ 4 VPS Impression Material

The fastest setting intra-oral impression material on the market – 3M™ ESPE™ Imprint™ 4 VPS Impression Material – sets in just 75 seconds thanks to unique active-self warming technology.

Working time is not compromised, so dentists can observe good impression taking technique and ensure reliable results. The material’s super hydrophilicity also contributes to its reliability, further helping it consistently achieve precise details. The combination of this unique formulation, long working time and short setting time gives Imprint 4 VPS impression material outstanding accuracy.

3M™ ESPE™ RelyX™ Ultimate Adhesive Resin Cement

3M™ ESPE™ RelyX™ Ultimate Adhesive Resin Cement delivers bond strength, ease of use and world-class esthetics. Used in combination with 3M™ ESPE™ Scotchbond™ Universal Adhesive, the two products provide exceptional strength and simplicity. Requiring fewer working steps, the cement’s formulation includes an integrated component that activates the dark cure function of the adhesive and eliminates the need for an additional activator. Approved for a wide range of indications, RelyX Ultimate

cement is well suited for CAD/CAM and glass ceramic restorations.

3M™ ESPE™ Scotchbond™ Universal Adhesive

3M™ ESPE™ Scotchbond™ Universal Adhesive is an adhesive for both total-etch and self-etch applications. It offers one simple adhesive application technique for both direct and indirect indications and bonds to all surfaces including enamel, dentin, glass ceramic, zirconia, noble and non-precious alloys, as well as composites-without additional primer. The flip-top vial and unit dose delivery make it easy to use.