Dental Products Report - February 2009 - (Page 96)

PRODUCTS IN PRACTICE PROTOCOL HOW TO UP YOUR CARIES DETECTION GAME Establishing a caries detection protocol that works for you, your patients and your practice. by R E N E E KNIGHT The CariFree system from Oral BioTech assesses patient risk factors and offers treatment options. The DIAGNOdent from KaVo Corp. uses ﬂuorescence to indicate and measure carious dentin. Dr. Kelly Blodgett doesn’t play the waiting game with his patients. He and his staff practice by the philosophy caries is diagnosable, treatable and even preventable. They know how important it is to detect this complex bio lm disease before physical symptoms begin to surface, and having an established caries detection protocol is vital to making that happen. As a CAMBRA (Caries Management by Risk Assessment) practice, his team focuses on understanding each individual patient’s caries risk, the driving force behind the team’s caries detection protocol. “It is of signi cantly greater value to understand the risks involved for each patient than to just look for symptoms, which has been our profession’s traditional approach,” Dr. Blodgett said. “By understanding each patient’s risk, we may actually treat the caries infection before it leads to cavitation and the necessity of surgical care.” Bottom line, understanding these risks makes it possible to prevent disease, which is why—if you don’t already have one—you might want to consider establishing a caries detection protocol of your own. WEB EXCLUSIVE Dental students at the University of Illinois at Chicago are using the PerioSim simulator for training in early caries and perio detection. Check out dentalproductsreport.com for video and details. Also, check out more tips from Dr. Blodgett on getting your staff excited about caries detection. A different way of thinking This shift in thought can be difficult for some clinicians to embrace, but is essential as dentistry moves from the surgical model (“drill and ll”) to a medical model (managing risk factors), Dr. Blodgett said. It’s no longer enough to simply wait for something to show up on an x-ray; these days, it’s all about measuring and treating bacterial bio lm diseases. Establishing an effective protocol also entails changing the way you think about caries, says Carri Cady, RDH and VP of Sales and Marketing for Oral BioTech’s CariFree (carifree. com). There is a difference between caries detection and cavity detection. The methods and technologies used for cavity detection, such as digital radiography and high-resolution loupes, don’t detect bacterial infection. “This is one of the rst struggles when establishing a caries detection protocol,” Cady said. “Every dentist and hygienist learns in school that dental caries is a bacterial infection, and DENTALPRODUCTSREPORT.COM | February http://www.carifree.com http://www.carifree.com http://www.dentalproductsreport.com/articles/show/dpr0209_we_periosim http://www.dentalproductsreport.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Dental Products Report - February 2009

Dental Products Report - February 2009 Contents From the Editor 10 Questions Product Watch Clinical 360° Is This Your Nightmare? Place Predictable Posterior Restorations The New Standard in Caries Diagnosis Veraviewepocs 3De Retreatment Decisions Soft Tissue and Periodontal Diagnosis The Importance of Immunization Products in Practice How to Up Your Caries Detection Game A Team of Experts SurgiTel Oakley Loupes Snap-On Smile Word of Mouth

Dental Products Report - February 2009

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