Life-enhancement tools

Gum® Plak-Check™ Disclosing Systemby Sunstar Butler - Your assistants and hygienists will love this great product from the folks at Sunstar Butler. Just when we thought there was nothing new in prevention, along comes a revolutionary idea. Disclosing plaque has never been a good experience for patients or staff. That red dye gets all over everything. Now there’s a clean, quick way to identify plaque and help patients improve their oral care. The Plak-Check Plaque Disclosing System features a professional light and sodium fluorescein swabs with simple applicators. Easy to apply, Plak-Check adheres to plaque, which glows yellow when the blue light is applied. Unlike red dye that noticeably stains the entire mouth, the fluorescein is virtually invisible. It brushes away quickly, but not before showing your patients exactly where they need to brush better. A home version is now available at major drug retailers, so your patients can keep improving their brushing technique and maintain improved results. This is the bright new light in plaque disclosants - no mess for adults, fun for the kids, and easy and effective for the dental office. Order from your dental dealer. Visit www.sunstarbutler.com or call (800) 528-8537 for more information.

VELscopeby LED Dental, Inc. - The mortality rates associated with oral cancer have not changed in more than 30 years. Someone dies from oral cancer every hour of every day in America. The examination for oral cancer by a clinician detects visible changes on the tissue surface. Unfortunately, the cellular changes that lead to oral cancer actually start below the surface at the basal membrane. These changes may not be visible to the naked eye until the disease progresses to the surface. Oral cancer is often curable when detection, diagnosis, and treatment are performed early. This means detecting mucosal abnormalities at or before Stage 1 cancer. LED Dental developed the VELscope in cooperation with the British Columbia Cancer Agency and its affiliated U.S. partners. VELscope is a portable device comprised of a light source, light guide, and viewing handpiece. The system includes a disposable protective end cap for use with each patient examination, and a tissue retractor with measurement guide as needed. VELscope was designed for optimal flexibility and placement within the operatory. Changes in tissue fluorescence can help determine areas where cellular changes have occurred. The VELscope provides a more effective oral cancer screening protocol with immediate benefits for the patient, clinician, and practice. When used in combination with traditional oral cancer examination procedures, VELscope facilitates the discovery and visualization of mucosal abnormalities prior to surface exposure. In less than five minutes, the VELscope screening procedure helps oral health-care professionals assure their patients that the best standard for oral cancer screening has been utilized. This is an instrument that every dentist should have in the office. Imagine the number of oral cancer deaths that could be prevented! Order from your dental dealer. Visit www.velscope.com or call (888) 541-4614 for more information.

Spirapost PFS™ unique esthetic postfrom Zenith Dental -You have never seen a concept like this; it is truly a revolutionary design for an endodontic post. The Spirapost has the strength of a cast post and the esthetics of a fiber post without the drawbacks of either one. It looks like a test tube brush. It is made of surgical stainless steel wires twisted around biocompatible, natural-color polyfiber strands. This innovative design causes the Spirapost to adapt to the irregularities of the root canal by integrating the flexible polyfiber strands with the anatomy of the endodontically prepared canal. The flexibility of the twisted wires and the polyfiber strands allow the post to travel down the canal and conform to its unique shape as it goes. The strands act as a rebar for the post cement, much like steel bars that reinforce concrete in a building foundation. A solid foundation is created in the canal that remains flexible to accommodate external stresses. The cement integrates with the coronal portion of the post to unify the entire restoration. Best of all, the Spirapost does not have a long learning curve. It offers ease of use without concern for additional reduction of tooth structure. Selection is simple; only one size in two designs (tapered and parallel) is needed, thanks to its adaptability to any endodontically prepared canal. Order Spirapost from your dental dealer. Call (800) 662-6383 or visit www.zenithdental.com for more information.

Cercon Coach® powered by MedVisor™ from Dentsply Prosthetics -There are many passive patient-education programs that do not take patients to a level of understanding that increases their ability to accept a comprehensive cosmetic treatment plan. The Cercon Coach maximizes case acceptance with a series of customized animations aimed at expanding the patient communication tool. Each animation is no more than 30 seconds, and the entire patient presentation is no more than two minutes (a series of mini animations creates the full presentation). This is your chance to be time-efficient and “WOW” the patient into both understanding the procedure and the value of what they are having done. In addition to all of this, Cercon Coach will help you teach your staff to understand the latest procedures and materials using a combination of clinical videos and animations to engage them in better visualization of practical procedures for incorporating Zirconia into our cosmetic treatment plans. This series will demonstrate proper techniques and added features for the advanced dentist, assistant, and hygienist. And that’s not all! We can never underestimate the role of the laboratory in our treatment plans. The Cercon Coach includes an interactive Lab Prescription Tool to give the lab a lot more information in order to deliver the best dentistry possible. The wizard-like tool allows you to build the script quickly and easily. This product runs easily on existing operatory monitors or on a laptop for portability. Cercon Coach launches at the ADA Meeting in Las Vegas. For more information, call (800) 877-0020, extension 54495.

Pre-Whitefrom GRINrx™ - While attending the AACD meeting in San Diego this spring, I was invited to preview this new product. Pre-White was developed as a universal pretreatment for all whitening procedures. It is a swab-on, pretreatment enhancer that works with any existing chairside or take-home whitening system. Pre-White cleans and whitens teeth by removing tough, deep-seated stains through the power of effervescing, orally safe detergents and solvents. The formulation of this revolutionary new product rapidly removes stains through a process similar to the way laundry pretreaters work. I received some samples I have given to patients and family members to use. Everyone has reported great results with Pre-White. They got the results they wanted in a shorter period of time with no sensitivity! Pre-White’s formulation consists of a combination of orally safe hydrating solvents, surfactants, alkaline builders, chelators, and saponifiers. It is now possible to take teeth-whitening beyond the slow lightening of enamel discolorations; removal of most organic and inorganic stains is now a reality. You can now - for the first time ever - provide treatments to enable deep-penetrating hydration of teeth, increased procedural efficiency, and the dramatic reduction of associated dentinal hypersensitivity. If you do tooth whitening in your practice, you need to get GRINrx Pre-White. The results are amazing! Visit www.grinrx.com or call (888) GRINRX8 for more information.