Dentaltown November 2020 - 39

office
visit

TOP PRODUCTS
1. The Wand (Milestone Scientific). I would never practice without it. The typical
anesthetic syringe seems so archaic, and these injections usually aren't felt at
all even though I'm not using topical anesthetic. I find it to be very delicate and
less stressful, and my patients love and appreciate it. I appreciate the option of
alternative injections that can be hugely beneficial, such as the AMSA and PDLs
instead of the IANB. I don't see any time requirement as an issue because I'm
doing dentistry the second I'm done delivering anesthetic.
2. Primescan (Cerec). I've used Cerec Omnicam for six years and had Primescan
since December 2019. While I feel faster at designing on my Omnicam, the
Primescan is so much faster with processing and I never use spray, yet achieve
beautiful images quickly. The Primescan is amazing for full-arch scans and for
grabbing the image of the proximals on adjacent teeth easily.
3. Zeiss 3.5x loupes. My loupes are the only thing that haven't changed since
dental school and I can't accomplish anything without them. I've tried other
manufacturers but these cannot be beat.
4. Ultrasonic instrument washer (ESMA). One of my favorite efficiencies! It washes,
rinses and dries instruments so they are ready for optimal sterilizing; you aren't
manually filling an ultrasonic and removing dripping cassettes to a location to
dry. This frees up team time and does a better job than other ultrasonics.
5. VistaCool (Vista Research Group). Another favorite part of sterilization-it is
plumbed in to deal with the hot water you normally have to manage from the
SciCan Statim or Midmark M3. No more bottles to empty or cycles that don't run
because you didn't realize the bottle was full and needed to be emptied.
6. Nomad Pro 2 handheld portable X-ray (Kavo). The time reduction to take an FMX
is incredible. In less than half the time you can have a perfect FMX and your team
member isn't exhausted from running in and out of the room. I also appreciate
not having the tubehead obtrusively hanging on the wall and not dealing with a
drifting tubehead ever again. Because it's portable, you don't need a unit for each
room, making it economical. Patients are always impressed by the Nomad and feel
much safer with you not running out of the room to expose the radiograph.

neighbor's dental office and I could see myself
as a dentist. However, I have recently loved
doing high school math with my daughter
during quarantine!

Tell us about your journey from
assistant to practice owner.
Dentistry was less complex when I
started as an assistant in the early 1990s:
Our health history was three questions and
we used materials that weren't particularly
challenging to use. I remember very seldom
we would use Panavia. That was stressful

to manage, but it seems like it was usually
a Hail Mary situation, like trying to get
more life out of a bridge (we didn't call it a
"fi xed partial denture" then) in an elderly
patient where root caries had undermined
an abutment. We mostly used amalgam,
prepped and sat cemented metal or PFM
crowns, and did extractions.
I have always been really thankful for
my time working in my neighbor's office.
I worked in the front office too to cover
vacations. I processed insurance claims and
handled the phone. When I got to clinic

in dental school, I was comfortable with
dental materials and patient management.
After dental school, I returned to that
same practice. I began to add technology,
even before I became the owner. After
working as an associate for six months, I
assumed ownership and he retired. Today,
materials and isolation requirements are more
complex and demanding, and resin bonding
went from an infrequent experience to the
main thing that my current dentistry is based
on. I almost never use metal anymore and
extractions are very infrequent.
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Dentaltown November 2020

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