dentalblogs.com » Hygiene

Press Release:Lares Laser Cleared for Subgingival Calculus

Administrator — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 14:04:14 +0000

Chico, CA: January 27, 2010—Lares® Research and Fotona announced today that they have received FDA 510(k) clearance to market the PowerLase® AT Er:YAG laser for the removal of subgingival calculus in periodontal pockets with periodontitis. The new indication for use is an important element of the Lares Research laser treatment protocol for periodontal disease: Wavelength-optimized Periodontal Therapy™ or WPT™. WPT™ optimizes the use of both Er:YAG and Nd:YAG laser wavelengths from the dual-wavelength PowerLase AT to treat both the hard and soft tissue sides of the diseased pocket.

WPT™ is a minimally invasive procedure to treat periodontal disease without scalpels or sutures in a general or specialty practice. Lares Research provides a full two-day advanced training course dedicated to laser treatment of periodontal disease using WPT™. Live patient video of WPT™ and subgingival calculus removal can be viewed on the Lares Research website at www.laresdental.com.

Lares is a recognized leader in the development, manufacture, and distribution of oral cutting technology, supplying dentists with precision handpieces and high performance lasers worldwide. The company has been an innovator in the field of dental lasers since it began offering lasers to dental clinicians in 1997. For more information, call 888-333-8440, ext. 2050, or go to www.laresdental.com.

Periodontal Program Resources

Administrator — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 16:50:00 +0000

With all the recent findings linking periodontal disease to overall health, it’s a great time to explore the products available to your general dentist’s office’s periodontal program. Here’s a list of some of the most popular items for your hygiene program, along with links to the manufacturers’ websites:

Arestin (minocycline HCl)
http://www.arestin.com/

Periostat
http://www.periostat.com/

Periochip
http://www.periochip.com/

Atridox
http://www.atridox.com/

Oraqix (lidocaine and prilocane periodontal gel)
http://www.oraqix.com/

Periolase by Millennium Dental Technologies, Inc.
http://www.millenniumdental.com/periolase.html

And just for further reference:
American Academy of Periodontology
http://perio.org/

Hygienists in a New Role?

Administrator — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:09:37 +0000

In Canada, a number of hygiene practices are popping up. They offer a boutique approach to dental hygiene where patients can get their teeth whitened, gums checked, and gum disease therapy performed. Here in the good ol’ US of A, we have no such thing. However, Minnesota dental hygienists want to help improve public dental health by getting the go-ahead to do fillings, pull teeth, and perform some root canals independently. The Minnesota Dental Association says no. Read more here:

News coverage

Blog news on the topic.

See TV coverage here

Yogurt Good for Gums, Health

Administrator — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 13:19:43 +0000

Yogurt has been around for centuries in the Middle East. It came to the US, was mixed with fruit and sweetener, and was sold by Dannon in the late 1800s. The 1950 release of Look Younger, Live Longer, a popular book by Gayelord Hauser shot yogurt sales through the roof. And although the FDA hasn’t allowed yogurt manufacturers make health claims since 1962, medical science is still learning about this odd food, which is made from curdled milk. A recent Reuter’s Health Information report tells us that eating yogurt promotes good periodontal health, while foods like milk and cheese do not. The report was published in The Journal of Periodontology. Researcher for the report, Dr. Shimazaki of Japan, believes that the periodontal benefit may be linked to the probiotic effect of lactic acids in yogurt.

In addition to promoting good gum health, yogurt has many overall health benefits:

It’s great for the digestive system
Many light varieties now have only 100 calories per 6-oz serving
No saturated fat
Low in cholesterol
High in calcium, phosphorus, vitamin A
May benefit rheumatoid arthritis patients
Many lactose intolerant people can eat yogurt

Change to Prophylaxis Protocol for Heart Patients

Administrator — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 14:20:01 +0000

The American Dental Association, Infectious Diseases Society, and American Academy of Pediatrics have informed the American Heart Association that experts believe some heart patients who are administered pre-prophy antibiotics no longer need them. Patients with heart conditions are routinely given antibiotics before prophy treatment to prevent the risk for infective endocartitis, or IE. Those that no longer need this precaution include patients with mitral valve prolapse, rheumatic heart disease, bicuspid valve disease, calcified aortic stenosis, or congenital heart conditions like ventrical or atrial septal defect or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Cardiac patients who still need pre-prophy antibiotics include those with artificial heart valves, a history of IE, unrepaired or partially repaired congenital heart defects, or a cardiac transplant that has a heart valve problem. Read the full article, including tips for heart patients here.

Male Hygienists

Administrator — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 16:58:06 +0000

I bet your hygienists are female. It’s a good bet to make, because only one percent of hygienists are male! Read more about this interesting statistic at DPR World or in Modern Hygienist magazine.

PerioChip by Dexcel Pharma

Administrator — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 13:53:53 +0000

It’s not an antibiotic, it’s an antiseptic. PerioChip, the only locally applied antimicrobial (LAA), has been on the market for years. It was updated in 2001 to a firmer gelatin product that does not require refrigeration. However, the application and benefits remain the same – great. PerioChip contains 2.5mg chlorhexidine gluconate (CHX), and because it’s not an antibiotic, bacteria won’t develop immunity to it.

So here’s how it works. For patients with perio pockets of 5mm or deeper, you can place a PerioChip into the pocket with standard cotton forceps. The PerioChip will release healing properties (from the CHX) for about 10 days as it dissolves. Flora reduction may continue up to 11 weeks, though. Use PerioChip with scaling and root planing for optimal results. Research shows that PerioChip is successful in about 90% of cases.

If you’re not using PerioChip in your practice and you want to learn more, visit the company’s website at www.periochip.com. There you’ll find 6, 9, and 24-month data, educational materials for your team and patients, and ordering info.

Short An Assistant???

Corine Leech — Thu, 09 Feb 2006 03:32:42 +0000

In a dental practice there is sometimes too much to do for one assistant, even two assistant. Well if you have not checked this out you should: www.isolitesystems.com . It is like an extra set of hands, retracts the cheek, keeps the tongue out of the way, allows the patient the comfort of a bite block to rest on, lights you field of vision( light adjusts to prevent curing of materials permaturely) and has great suction in it. I have one practice I work with that lost a chairside assistant , got the Isolite and still have not hired back the second assistant. Just a thought for those of you who may need a little more help chairside. It works great in hygiene also if you are doing the sealants in your office.

Top 25 Dental Products – Oraqix needle free anestheiic

Administrator — Sun, 31 Jul 2005 11:57:40 +0000

What are the most dreaded words you can hear from your hygienist when you are in the middle of something? “Doctor, I need a hygiene check, or Doctor, I need anesthesia for my patient.” This product will not help with the first question, but it has just about eliminated the second one in my practice. Oraqix (2.5% Lidocaine and 2.5% Prilocaine) is a subgingival anesthetic gel that is indicated for scaling and root planing. It has a unique dispenser that allows your hygienist to inject the liquid gel into the periodontal pocket. Once in the pocket, the material gels so it stays put. Onset is in 30 seconds and lasts up to 20 minutes.

www.Oraqix.com

Top 25 Dental Products – Diagnodent

Administrator — Sat, 30 Jul 2005 17:54:54 +0000

This little device is a “must have” for a dental practice recall system. All occlusal surfaces can be evaluated for hidden decay an explorer will not find. I have never found it to be wrong. It works like this. You move the laser tip over the occlusal surface pits and fissures. The unit will give you a two digit reading. I treat everything 40 and over.

The unit works by measuring fluorescence. Un decayed enamel and denting does not fluorescess. Decay does.