A detailed look at 2013 ‘Best of Class’ dental products recognized for excellence [VIDEO]

Chosen by a distinguished panel comprised of some of the most forward-looking dentists in the industry, this year’s winners were narrowed down after lively debate.

Each month between now and October we will highlight a handful of the 18 honorees.

You’ll find general information on the product, insights from the panelists and a testimonial from a relatable user who has seen that excellence in his or her own practice.

All of this background prepares you to see the products in action at the “Best of Class” Technology Fair at the ADA Annual Session in New Orleans.

Velscope VX from DenMat

The VELscope VX® enhanced oral assessment system is said to be effective, minimally invasive and can seamlessly be implemented in a patient’s routine dental check-ups.

The system’s blue-spectrum light causes the soft tissues of the mouth to naturally fluoresce. The device can detect a wide variety of abnormalities so they can be discovered before they are visible to the unassisted eye.

"Oral cancer screening is your responsibility. Using the VELscope VX has allowed me to more easily identify areas for closer examination. It only takes a minute, and what is the price of a patient’s life?”
-Dr. Marty Jablow

"Approximately one person dies of oral cancer every hour of every day. As the health care specialty that is dedicated to the head, neck and mouth, we owe it to our patients to be doing everything we can to screen for this terrible disease. Visual based devices like the VELscope Vx allow for a much more precise oral cancer examination to be done.

Under the light and filters of the VELscope Vx, areas that are ‘questionable’ appear black. This allows for very precise follow-ups to be done. You can also attach a camera to the device to take photos if necessary and these can be sent along to a specialist if a biopsy is indicated.”

-Dr. John Flucke

In My Experience | Dr. Gary Radz

Cosmetic Dentistry of Colorado

The rise in oral cancers in our population today is scary! Any way that dentists can participate in early detection should be done in all dental offices. Early detection is HUGE with oral cancer survival rates.

The VELscope is an easy-to-use device that can detect what the naked eye could easily miss. We use it on all new patients and all of our recall patients. It is part of our office’s standard of care. I wouldn’t practice without one. Actually, I practice with three of them!

Read about BruxZir® Shaded restorations on the next page ...

BruxZir® Shaded restorations from Glidewell Laboratories

BruxZir® Shaded restorations are made of monolithic zirconia with no porcelain overlay. Exhibiting class-leading durability with up to 1465 MPa of flexural strength and high fracture toughness, they can be used in almost any clinical situation, but are well suited for demanding situations like bruxers, implant restorations and areas with limited occlusal space.

Because BruxZir zirconia is a monolithic material, it can be milled to a feather edge, for a more natural and hygienic emergence profile. BruxZir Shaded restorations display

translucency and color similar to natural dentition, making them a more esthetic alternative to PFMs with metal occlusals/linguals or full-cast gold restorations.

The BruxZir Shaded formulation offers complete color penetration all the way through the restorations, ensuring greater shade consistency and preventing any shade change after occlusal adjustment. For the second consecutive year, The Pride Institute recognizes BruxZir restorations as “Best of Class.”

"BruxZir shaded is allowing clinicians to deliver both strength and beauty. In the early days of monolithic zirconia restorations we essentially had very strong, but highly opaque, restorations. BruxZir shaded allows for very strong restorations that can take a beating while providing esthetics that not only rival, but exceed that of traditional porcelain fused to metal restorations.”
-Dr. Parag Kachalia

In My Experience | Dr. Vu Le

BruxZir® Shaded restorations give our demanding Orange County patients the esthetics they want and the strength they need at an affordable price. We have been using BruxZir restorations, in the original and the shaded formulation, since their inception.

Margin fit has been as good as, or better than, PFMs. In situations where limited clearance traditionally indicates a gold crown, BruxZir restorations have been esthetic alternatives. We have placed more than 70 units from Glidewell Laboratories without a single chip and almost no remakes.

Read about  SonicFill from Kerr Corp. on the next page ...

SonicFill from Kerr Corp.

SonicFill is reportedly the only easy-to-use, sonic-activated, Single-Fill™ composite system for posterior restorations that requires no additional capping layer. Proprietary sonic activation enables a rapid flow of composite into the cavity for effortless placement and optimal adaptation. It’s fast, easy and effective-greatly reducing procedure time and enabling clinicians to go from placement to a polished restoration in less than three minutes.

In My Experience | Dr. Karim Khalife

SonicFill is reportedly the only easy-to-use, sonic-activated, Single-Fill™ composite system for posterior restorations that requires no additional capping layer. Proprietary sonic activation enables a rapid f low of composite into the

cavity for effortless placement and optimal adaptation. It’s fast, easy and effective-greatly reducing procedure time and enabling clinicians to go from placement to a polished restoration in less than three minutes.

A little more than two years ago, I had the opportunity to visit Kerr Corporation in Orange County and to preview a product called SonicFill that allows dentists to bulk fill cavities. I first thought, ‘What? Bulk Fill with composite? That’s a no-no! In all honesty I was impressed with the product and was itching to try it, but I just couldn’t get myself to jump the gun.

I decided to stay on the sidelines until May of this year when some of us on Dental Town were offered the opportunity (again) to try it. It had been more than two years since the launch of the product and none of the current users were reporting big problems with the bulk filling concept, so I volunteered and got a kit from Kerr.

"The easiest way to bulk fill a preparation is with SonicFill. It is what I use everyday. The consistency of the material makes for easy carving and I have seen no post-operative sensitivity.”
-Dr. Marty Jablow

Read about Ultradent’s VALOon the next page ...

Ultradent’s VALO

The VALO broadband LED curing light uses a custom, multi-wavelength LED to produce high-intensity light at 395 to 480nm, capable of polymerizing all light-cured dental materials. Its three curing options-standard, high power and Xtra power-offer convenience and flexibility, while its slim, ergonomic wand allows access to all restoration sites. In addition, the body design is durable and lightweight.

The VALO has won several awards over the last three years, and this is the second year

in a row VALO has received the Pride Institute’s ‘Best of Class’ Award.

"Ultradent VALO Cordless-the best of all worlds. This light allows me to cure all restorative materials with a multitude of wavelengths and high depth of cure. Equally important is that the light is essentially indestructible as it can fall off a countertop and I am not afraid of breaking a $100 curing tip.”
-Dr. Parag Kachalia

In My Experience | Dr. Hal Stewart

Flower Mound Dentist

I have been placing composite restorations and all porcelain restorations (no amalgams) for 20 years now. I have had numerous curing lights, including top-of-the-line Plasma Arc lights as well as lasers.

Never have I had a curing light that even comes close to VALO. This curing light is absolutely spectacular. VALO’s depth of cure, diameter of cure, and design are unmatched. I have one in every operatory. This light has literally changed my practice. I wouldn’t practice without it! VALO offers the highest value of any curing light on the market today. I absolutely love it!

Learn more about i-CAT FLX on the next page ...

i-CAT FLX from Imaging Sciences International

i-CAT® FLX is the complete 3D treatment solution. It optimizes clinical control over scan size, resolution, modality and dose to help deliver optimum patient care, assist clinicians to quickly diagnose complex problems with less radiation, and aid in developing treatment plans more easily and accurately.

Features include QuickScan+ for a full-dentition 3D scan at a lower dose than a 2D panoramic*; Visual iQuity™ technology for i-CAT’s clearest images*; SmartScan STUDIO’s touchscreen for easy selection of the appropriate scan size and resolution for each patient’s need; Tx STUDIO™ planning software with integrated tools for implant, surgical, and orthodontic applications; and i-PAN 2D panoramics.

*data on file

"I’m an info junkie, and that means I want as much information on my patients as possible. That helps me provide the best care and make the best decisions possible. When I began taking cone beam images in my office, I kept thinking that at some point having a 3D image on every patient would be just like having an FMX.

Now that Imaging Sciences has come out with the i-CAT FLX, we are at a point of getting 3D with pretty low radiation dosages. If you’ve been thinking of 3D, but the exposure has been a concern, this is a device you should be evaluating.”
-Dr. John Flucke

In My Experience | Dr. Jeffrey T. Kozlowski

Kozlowski Orthodontics

As a “digital” orthodontist who wants to provide the best for my patients, the i-CAT FLX allows me to do this in two ways. First is the incredible power of diagnosis and treatment planning in 3D as compared to the traditional 2D pan and ceph images.

Using i-CAT’s TX STUDIO software allows for an infinite number of ways to view each patient’s 3D images to provide the most valuable information. One of the most powerful benefits of 3D imaging is that the images can be read from entirely different viewpoints, again and again, unlike a static 2D radiograph.

The second way the i-CAT FLX helps me provide the best for my patients is through their “game-changing” technology, which allows me to take one 4.8-second low-dose scan with the QuickScan+ setting and obtain the 3D image for LESS radiation than with either a digital pan or pan/ceph combo.

There was once a time where 3D x-rays were considered by many in the profession to be too much radiation for the amount of information generated. But that time is no longer, thanks to i-CAT’s R&D team who are driven to continue to make a difference on this front. With more information and less radiation, this technology should be the new “standard of care” for the dental profession.

Read about  Viive from Henry Scheinon the next page ...

Viive from Henry Schein

Viive (pronounced “Vive”) is a clean and elegant new practice management system designed for the Apple Mac. The system takes full advantage of the Mac’s simplicity and esthetics, allowing dentists to use the same robust features and tools they have come to love in the Mac.

“Because a group of dentists who are also Mac enthusiasts actually designed Viive, the system has a unique patient-centric workflow that helps dentists work the way they want to work using the tools they’re most comfortable using,” said Trevor James, Viive marketing manager.

Right from startup, Viive focuses on the patient with a patient screen that gives team members fast and easy access to nearly every feature, function and task associated with that patient. It boasts a design that makes most of these accessible with a single click.

Viive also includes integration with a variety of advanced services from trusted partners-including leading digital imaging solutions-to expand the capabilities of the modern digital practice.

Viive users are backed by world-class training, technical support and a guarantee of quality customer service from Henry Schein.

In My Experience | Dr. Beth Snyder

As a dentist, this program speaks to me. Viive fits into the high-tech feeling that I have in my practice. I want it to look edgy, I want it to look contemporary, and I want it to function that way, which is what it does.

"Henry Schein has brought Viive, a leading-edge Mac-based practice management system, to dentistry and I applaud them for that. Viive is progressive, well-thought-out and incredibly easy-to-use, delivered through an elegant interface that only a Mac can provide. After my first click all I could do is smile.”
-Dr. Lou Shuman

Read about DDS Rescue on the next page ...

DDS Rescue from Liptak Dental

The DDS Rescue data recovery solution is a business continuity solution that includes an onsite failover server, cloud backup and 24-hour system monitoring.

DDS Rescue is designed to duplicate programs and data so that in the event of server failure, theft, power loss or natural disaster, a dental practice can be back up and running in as little as 10 minutes by using the failover server or viewing patient information online.

"Our lives are digital and our offices are digital. Because of that one fact, you need a product that simplifies and automates your data backups. DDS Rescue does just that. I t backups your entire server both locally (in your office) and in the cloud using a HIPPA compliant protocol. I f anything ever goes wrong from a data-loss standpoint in your office, DDS Rescue is just a phone call away.

It truly does more than I have room to describe here. Suffice it to say that I have been chartless since 2000 and have tons of digital data ... and I have a DDS Rescue system in my office.”
-Dr. John Flucke

In My Experience | Office Manager Denyse Hearon

Smith Dental, Tyler, Texas

We had to get a new server and of course you never think with a brand new server you

would ever go down right away. We got the new server up and running, DDS Rescue was installed and a week later the server went completely down.

I called our IT guy and he said DDS Rescue should be able to take over. I was in panic mode because we had already been down 30 minutes at that point. We were down about an hour and a half all together from the first moment I knew it crashed until DDS Rescue got us up and running, which took about an hour. We ran on DDS Rescue for two weeks.

There was never a glitch or a problem, it just switched right over. We didn’t lose any data. And every time I called they were real quick to help me and then they would call me to let me know that everything was OK. That’s what I really liked about it.

They were my security blanket. When the new server arrived, the transition back from DDS Rescue was just as easy, actually easier because we’d already gone through it once. About 12 years ago we lost one of our servers but we didn’t have DDS Rescue.

A cleaning lady took a vacuum cleaner and vacuumed over one of the servers and scrambled all of the data. We were without the server for nine weeks. We didn’t know our schedule or anything. We only recovered 80 percent of our data. After that incident, when we heard about DDS Rescue we knew we had to get it. If people don’t want to spend the money, they’re crazy. We’ve had a really bad experience and now we’ve had a really good experience. We don’t have anything but good things to say about them.

They saved us.

Read about Sesame 24-7™ on the next page ...

Sesame 24-7™ from Sesame Communications

Sesame 24-7™ is a cloud-based online patient engagement management system that helps dental and orthodontic practices accelerate new patient acquisition, build patient loyalty and transform the patient experience.

Sesame 24-7 is an end-to-end system that provides advanced Web design that optimizes viewing across any device, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), social network management, online sweepstakes and contests, and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) services. It also includes Dental Sesame, a robust patient engagement portal that helps practices maintain a loyal patient community that shows up for appointments, pays their bills on time and refers friends to the practice.

Sesame 24-7 offers tools to enable dental practices to leverage the Internet to expand growth and profitability.

In My Experience | Dr. Fedra Witting

Our no-show rate decreased by 89%. That’s a testament to the experience we give our patients and the support we get from Sesame.

"Sesame Communications gives you the online systems you need to not only manage your social media and reminders but to get payment from your patients. Using an online dashboard, you have complete control of your online systems.”
-Dr. Marty Jablow

"Acquiring new patients and building a loyal patient community is critical to sustained practice growth and profitability. Sesame Communications excels in arming dental practices with an end-to-end patient engagement management system that effectively drives success in the digital age of dentistry.”

- Dr. Lou Shuman