Impressive!

Joseph Blaes, DDS

Pearl 1 — Aquasil Ultra by Dentsply Caulk. Another new impression material? Ho-hum, you say? Get ready — Aquasil Ultra deserves your attention!

This is a new impression material that uses an established name. The folks at Caulk have kept all the great qualities of the original Aquasil and added new features that make this my favorite impression material. Here's why: For me, the hardest part about impressions is bubbles and voids. I wish I had a dollar for every time I've looked at an impression and saw a bubble right on the margin of the preparation. I usually play some mind games like, "It's only a small bubble," or, "The lab can compensate." Then, I take a new impression!

Caulk has improved the hydrophilicity at the surface of the material from the start of the mix. That big word means that Aquasil Ultra is more "wettable" — you can take your impression in a moist oral field. I have always taught students to get the tooth as dry as possible to achieve a great impression. With Aquasil Ultra, I found that I get a better impression if the tooth and tissue are moist — not bleeding or dripping with saliva — but "moist."

Dr. Alan Boghosian has confirmed this; he uses a VanR product, Hemogen L, as a wetting agent on the tooth prior to taking an impression. His results are always excellent. This wetness ability minimizes bubbles and voids, captures better detail, and allows better adaptation to the tooth structure and sulcus.

Aquasil Ultra has prolonged flow characteristics during the working time that minimize pull and drag in the impression. Aquasil has good tear strength, but Aquasil Ultra has even better wash tear strength so even your thinnest margins will not tear. And it is still easy to remove from the mouth! All of the viscosities are available in both regular and fast-set.

For patient comfort, the material is scented; it also has a mint flavor. I like the heavy tray material and XLV wash material.

Order from your dealer, or call Dentsply Caulk at (800) 532-2855 for more information.

Pearl 2 — Toothprints® by SDS Kerr. The Masons, the Mass-achusetts Dental Society, and the Massachusetts Crime Prevention Officers Association have been doing a wonderful community service project for the last few years, called CHIP — Child Identifica-tion Program. It provides parents — free of charge — with an interview video, fingerprints, and tooth prints of their children. The FBI considers this the best identification program in the United States.

"Toothprints" is a technique that was originally developed by a Massachusetts pedodontist, Dr. David Tesini. In 1998, Dr. David Harte introduced the technique to CHIP. Since this time, more than 120,000 children have been enrolled in in the program. The FBI states that child abductions have dropped dramatically in Massachusetts. This means that children's lives have been saved! A tooth print also was used in a Massachusetts court case recently.

Many dentists have begun tooth printing in their offices; they take the prints at ages 3, 7, and 13. It is an easy technique and can be done by any member of the dental team. Place the tooth print in a Zip Lock® bag and put the child's name and the date on the outside. Tell the parent to put a recent, full-face photo in the bag and to keep it in a safe place. As an added measure, dentists also can obtain a DNA sample by swabbing the inside of the child's cheek. This swab should be placed in another plastic bag and then given to the parent for safe storage. Parents love this program and praise it highly.

Most dentists who offer this service do so as a community service at no charge to their patients. To make these vital tools more easily available to dentists, SDS Kerr is introducing a Toothprint® kit with 25 in a box along with plastic storage bags. This is a wonderful program for your office, and your staff will be proud to participate.

Order the Toothprint kits from your dealer, or visit Kerr's Web site at KerrDental.com for more information.

Pearl 3— ALOS Video Headlight System By High Q Dental. If you have watched one of my videos ("Virtuoso Veneers" or "Quad-rant Dentistry"), you know that the close-up videography is outstanding. I have been looking for a system that duplicates this kind of video without the lighting, huge cameras, and crew. Thanks to Andy Cooper and High Q Dental, I have found that system.

The ALOS Video Headlight System comes mounted on a comfortable headband that accommodates the video camera and the headlight. The tiny video camera is mounted right between your eyes so that it tracks where you look. Obviously, this requires you to control your head movements, but I was able to adapt quickly. You can feed the video signal into a VCR and TV monitor for reviewing problem areas with patients or for a great case presentation. Dentists also can feed the signal via S-video to a computer with a capture card, printer, and other components capable of receiving a video feed.

Imagine showing others exactly what you see in the mouth. You could film a patient with a difficult procedure and send the information to your dental laboratory. Or you could send information that details exactly what you have done for a patient directly to a referring specialist. All of this information can be sent on videotape, CD-ROM, or even via the Internet if you have a DSL line. The possibilities are mind-boggling.

If you are interested, give Andy a call at (800) 775-3433. High Q Dental can even arrange for an in-office demonstration. Visit www.highqdental.com for more information, or email him at [email protected].

Dr. Blaes has a general practice in the St. Louis area. He is known for his expertise in dental materials and techniques and his innovative systems designs. He writes and lectures on "How To Increase Productivity and Profitability." Dr. Blaes is a member of the American Academy of Dental Practice Administration. He may be reached at [email protected].