An article in the Boston Globe talks about a new technology from SensAble Technologies that helps dental labs design partial sets of false teeth using 3D technology.
SensAble issued a release about the new technology at the Chicago Dental Society midwinter show last Friday.
Dentistry is quickly moving to 3D technologies -- yet many labs employ technicians who use non-digital techniques they've spent decades perfecting. According to SensAble, their new technology will help labs "ease into" digital restorations.
For dentists, it will decrease the number of chairside adjustments that have to be made to partial restorations that come from the lab.
3D technology is already in use in the dental office. In my office, for example, I'm able to develop crowns in one visit using Sirona's CEREC machine, which employs 3D technology.
You can view the CEREC machine via the virtual tour of my office. (Click on "treatment room" once you enter the virtual tour, and then click the "info" button at the bottom of the treatment room page.)
You can also learn more about how this machine is benefiting patients.
Monday, February 25, 2008
"Dental Wii" for Designing False Teeth
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
View My New YouTube Video about Infection Control in the Dental Office
One thing that constantly amazes me is when friends or patients tell me their current or former dentist doesn't wear gloves when examining their mouths.
This is a direct OSHA violation!
Gloves, protective glasses, and a face mask are all designed to protect you -- the patient -- from infectious diseases.
In this new YouTube video, I discuss what you should look for in terms of infection control in the dental office.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Mike Huckabee a Perfect Candidate for Cosmetic Dentistry?
While watching Mike Huckabee on TV last night, I noticed with dismay that he is missing his left premolars and molars.
He also has yellow teeth and could use professional whitening.
His smile affects how he talks -- it's obvious he doesn't freely open his mouth and hides or tries to hide his teeth. Due to this, his smile does not match his pleasant personality.
Compare his smile to Mitt Romey's, which is perfectly white and straight -- and shall I say it -- glamorous.
What do you think? Should presidents have perfect (or close to perfect) smiles? Do the condition of people's teeth say something about them? If so, what?
Smoking Pot is Bad for Your Gums, Too.
American Medical News Today posted an article yesterday that pointed to a research study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that links smoking pot with gum disease.
"420" does not refer to the periodontal pocket readings you will have if you use cannibus. (The term "420" is slang and denotes lighting up a joint.)
Due to pot smoking your gum tissue, which should have pockets depths of 1-4 mm, often have 5mm or greater, according to the JAMA article. Smoking, whether it be pot or tobacco, is bad for your oral health and causes overall chronic systemic inflammation.
As I've posted before, periodontal disease has been linked to a whole host of other problems, including low birth weight babies, miscarriages, and heart disease.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Read My "New Rules" Article in the Boston Herald
I recently wrote an article, "Get Adventurous with 'New Rules' Online," for the Boston Herald's Women's Business News section.
In it I discuss how service professionals, such as dentists, need to use what author David Meerman Scott calls the "new rules of marketing and PR," namely blogs, podcasts and YouTube videos.
(David also has a free e-book you can download: The New Rules of Viral Marketing. Be sure to download and read it!)
Over 50% of new patients found me last year via the Internet -- due in part to what I recommend in my article: search engine optimization, this blog, and regular press releases.
