DPR Friday: Behind the scenes with 3 cutting edge dental practices

This week, we take you inside three cutting-edge dental practices and give you an exclusive look at the products and technologies that have helped shape these practices while enabling them to provide the best care possible. 

It’s Friday May 24, and this is DPR Friday.

We all know the right product mix is one the keys to a successful dental practice. The products you use reflect your philosophy of patient care, and really helps shape who you are as a dentist. I recently had the pleasure of talking with three phenomenal dentists about their love for dentistry and the patients they treat, and how they decide which products are worth the investment and deserve a place in their practice. Here’s what they had to say.

Dr. Peter Harnois and the team at Hinsdale Dentistry moved into a new practice about a year ago. They decided they really wanted to showcase their technology, while giving their patients a relaxing environment while in the chair. The new practice sits back in the woods, overlooking a beautiful pond that patients can see from any of the many windows throughout the practice.

The team at Hinsdale Dentistry takes pride in treating their patients as minimally invasively as possible, so making the move to laser dentistry just made sense. When Dr. Harnois and then partner Dr. Donald Throne saw the first version of Biolase’s WaterLase at the MidWinter meeting, they knew they had to have it. The practice upgraded to the WaterLase MD in 2005, and now has the latest version, the WaterLase iPlus. Not only that, Dr. Harnois tells me they began using the epic soft-tissue diode laser earlier this year. They couldn’t be happier with the results from both lasers, and patients can’t help but be impressed with the level of innovation they experience at Hinsdale Dentistry.

At Dr. Jeffery Cecil’s Durham, North Carolina practice, patient education and patient comfort always come first. Dr. Cecil loves technology, but says he isn’t an early adopter. He needs to see the research, the proof that a product or technology is going to work the way it’s supposed to and actually improve the quality of patient care in his practice.

That’s why it took Dr. Cecil so long to incorporate digital impression taking into his practice. Early versions of the technology just didn’t meet his patients’ needs. So he waited, but couldn’t wait any more when he came across 3M ESPE’s 3M True Definition Scanner. Now, he comes to work a little early every day so he can work the scanner and scan impressions. The scanner has helped infuse more enthusiasm into his practice, and that’ s certainly something patients have noticed. They’re definitely impressed with the technology and certainly don’t miss the “goop” they’ve come to associate with impressions.

Dr. Cecil also uses the Trifecta Method by 3M ESPE in his practice. Lava Ultimate Restorative, Scotchbond Universal adhesive and RelyX Ultimate cement make up this dental crown and bonding method. Dr. Cecil tells me when you put all three products together, “it’s a thing of beauty. You can’t even tell there’s a crown there.”

Our third dentist Dr. Peter Haupers Jr. has had a strong relationship with Hu-Friedy throughout his entire career, and even worked there as a young man before he even knew he wanted to be a dentist. In fact Hu-Friedy inspired him to become a dentist. Dr. Haupers now has a successful periodontal practice, PerioCare, in Chicago and after 33 years, still looks to Hu-Friedy for product innovation. He uses the Instrument Management System, and can’t say enough about what the system does for his practice. It gives him the ability to show patients exactly how instruments are sterilized, while protecting his team members from the nicks that can come from hand cleaning instruments. He also uses a variety of Hu-Friedy’s surgical instruments, such as the Perma Sharp Sutures and Luxating Hybrids.

You can read the more in-depth articles in the May issue of DPR, or you can find them on our website along with video segments from both Dr. Cecil’s and Dr. Harnois’ practices.