May 2026 Pearls for Your Practice

Surgical Guide 3 by SprintRay

When I think back to the start of my career, I remember how even the most “routine” procedures felt daunting. Something as simple as prepping a crown or delivering a night guard could feel like it carried the weight of the world. It’s not that I didn’t know what to do. I had been trained, I had practiced. It’s just that when you’re new, every step feels like a potential land mine. Over time, of course, the repetition builds confidence. But those early days stick with you.

That’s why I wanted to make sure my new associate felt supported as he started with us. He came in fresh from residency where he had placed hundreds of implants. He was confident, capable, and well trained. But even so, he told me he still felt most comfortable placing implants with a surgical guide. It gave him that little extra confidence boost—a safety net that meant he could focus on precision and outcomes without worrying about every tiny variable.

Luckily, our practice was already set up for this. We’ve had a SprintRay Pro 95 printer in-house for a while, and we use it all the time for models and night guards. Adding SprintRay’s Surgical Guide 3 resin into the mix was an easy step that made a huge difference. Suddenly, my associate could print his own guides in-house, tailored exactly to the implants he was placing. All he needed were the right metal sleeves for the system he was using, and he was good to go.

The beauty of Surgical Guide 3 resin is that it’s built for precision. The material prints quickly and cures into a rigid, durable guide that holds up during surgery without flexing or warping. It’s biocompatible, autoclavable, and the accuracy is consistently excellent. It’s exactly what you want when you’re drilling into bone. For my associate, that means he can plan the case digitally, hit “print,” and have a guide in his hands without waiting on a lab turnaround. For patients, it means more confidence that their implants are placed safely and predictably. And for the practice, it means efficiency and independence.

What I didn’t expect was how useful this resin would be beyond just the big implant cases. My associate has used it for single-tooth replacements where precision angulation mattered. He’s used it for multiunit cases where he wanted everything lined up just right. Having the ability to design and print a guide in-house has turned what used to be a logistical hassle into a straightforward, repeatable process.

For me, as a practice owner, there’s peace of mind in knowing that he has that safety net. He already has the skill and experience, but giving him the tools that make him feel confident means better outcomes, smoother workflows, and less stress all around.

SprintRay Surgical Guide 3 resin has been one of those quiet upgrades that makes a huge difference. It doesn’t scream for attention, but it supports the kind of dentistry we want to practice … precise, efficient, and confident.

Stand-up double into the gap for SprintRay!

FunnelVac by Practicon

I watched that live special on Netflix where the guy climbed that massive skyscraper without ropes, and the whole thing felt unbelievably precarious. One wrong move and catastrophe can happen. At least it’s not falling off a building, but in dentistry, losing a crown or veneer into the suction can feel pretty close. Different stakes, same sinking feeling in your stomach.

There are moments in esthetic dentistry where everything hinges on one small step. Rinsing a crown or veneer after try-in is one of them. You are removing etch, cleaners, or try-in paste. Water is flowing. Suction is running. You are holding something small, slippery, and expensive. One slip and it’s gone—not on the tray, not on the floor … just gone. That is where FunnelVac from Practicon earns its spot in the operatory.

FunnelVac connects directly to your high-volume suction and gives you a wide funnel with a built-in screen that acts as a safety net. It lets you rinse restorations thoroughly without worrying that they will disappear into the suction line. Etch, cleaning agents, saliva, and debris are evacuated efficiently while the crown or veneer stays right where you can see it.

This matters because proper bonding protocols matter. You want to rinse etch completely. You want cleaners fully removed. You do not want to rush or half commit because you are nervous about suction. FunnelVac lets you be thorough and deliberate instead of cautious and stressed. That changes the feel of the entire appointment.

The design is simple and sturdy. It does not collapse under suction or wobble while you are working. The opening is large enough to be practical but controlled enough to keep everything contained. It feels like it was designed by someone who understands how these moments actually play out in real dentistry.

Beyond crowns and veneers, it is useful for implant components, provisional restorations, and any small item that needs to be rinsed while suction is active. Anywhere there is water, suction, and something you cannot afford to lose, FunnelVac quietly does its job.

This is not a flashy product. It does not promise better margins or stronger bonds. What it does is remove a quiet source of anxiety from procedures we do every day. It gives you a safety net in moments that feel precarious, and that alone makes it valuable.

Once FunnelVac is in the operatory, it becomes one of those tools everyone reaches for automatically. And when you can rinse thoroughly without worrying about catastrophe, esthetic dentistry feels a lot less stressful.

Line drive single to center field for FunnelVac by Practicon.

Evanesce Bulk Cure by Clinicians Choice

I recently stumbled onto a subreddit called r/thalassophobia. It is basically an endless feed of images showing deep, dark water where you cannot see the bottom. Open ocean. Shipwrecks. Massive structures disappearing into blue nothingness. Even knowing it is just a photo, it triggers something in your brain. That discomfort comes from not being able to see what is below you. You are trusting that everything is fine, but you cannot actually confirm it.

Deep restorations can feel exactly like that.

When you are working in a deep class II or a deep posterior prep, you reach a point where you are placing composite into a space you cannot fully visualize. You want to trust that the material is curing all the way through. You want to believe that everything down there is solid and stable. But if you have ever had that little voice in your head wondering whether the bottom really cured, you know how uncomfortable that feeling can be. That’s why Evanesce Bulk Cure from Clinicians Choice has become such a useful material in my practice.

Evanesce Bulk Cure is a dual-cure bulk-fill composite designed to eliminate that uncertainty. Unlike traditional light-cure composites that rely entirely on light penetration, this material uses chemistry to finish the job even when light access is limited. You can place it in a single increment and trust that it will cure fully from top to bottom. That changes how you approach deep restorations.

The handling is excellent. It flows nicely into the preparation and adapts well to cavity walls without trapping air. You are not fighting it. You place it, let it settle, and allow the dual-cure mechanism to do what it is designed to do. You can light cure when appropriate, but the safety net is knowing that the material will continue curing even where light does not reach perfectly.

That confidence matters. It allows you to move faster without cutting corners. Instead of layering increment by increment and worrying about voids or missed spots, you can focus on proper isolation, contour, and occlusion. The restoration process becomes smoother and more predictable. From a physical properties standpoint, Evanesce Bulk Cure holds up well. It is strong enough for posterior load, has low shrinkage stress, and minimizes the risk of postoperative sensitivity. Those are not glamorous features, but they are the ones that matter when patients come back comfortable and restorations hold up over time.

I also like how practical it is. It works well as a bulk fill in deep class I and II restorations, as a base under conventional composite, and even for core buildups. Having one material that can handle multiple situations simplifies inventory and decision-making. On a busy day, that simplicity is valuable.

Going back to that thalassophobia feeling, what makes those images unsettling is the unknown. Evanesce Bulk Cure removes that unknown from deep restorations. You do not have to wonder what is happening at the bottom of the prep. You know the chemistry is doing its job. When a material gives you that level of confidence, it earns its place in the drawer. Evanesce Bulk Cure lets you work efficiently while still sleeping well at night knowing everything cured the way it should.

Single to the left fielder for Evanesce Bulk Cure. 

Editor's note: This article appeared in the May 2026 print edition of Dental Economics magazine. Dentists in North America are eligible for a complimentary print subscription. Sign up here.