Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition

17CommentOctober 22 - 28, 2012United Kingdom Edition £1,500. An excellent compari- son website for the latest cam- era equipment is www.dpre- view.com. I bought my Nikon camera from an American company called Photomed. Their service is excellent! Vis- it www.photomed.net to find out more. TIP 3: The Comprehensive Dental Assessment (Figs 3, 4, 5) This is perhaps the most im- portant tip I can give dentists. I have devised one of the most comprehensive dental assess- ments available in the UK. The advantage of doing a de- tailed initial examination for your private patients is that it builds up incredible trust and confidence in the dentist. Also, by capturing all the im- portant diagnostic data before any treatment is done allows the dentist to make accurate diagnoses, treatment plan better, and therefore advise and look after patients in the ideal manner. It is also com- forting to know that you have a “gold standard” of record keeping in case there are any medico-legal issues in the fu- ture. I spend an entire day on my signature eight-day Hands On Course on this important topic! Visit www.theacademy- byash.co.uk to find out more. TIP 4: Excellent Periodontal Health (Figs 6, 7, 8) Having excellent periodon- tal health before restorative dentistry is an essential re- quirement for long-term suc- cess. We have a detailed ini- tial screening protocol that includes six-point pocket charting, measuring per cent scores of plaque and bleed- ing, analysing recession and mobility scores, etc. A rel- evant treatment plan with the Hygienist and/or Periodontist is then recommended so that the patient can be motivated and treated to achieve healthy gums and very good oral hy- giene. The use of a sonic cleaning brush (I use Diamond Clean by Philips), and daily and regular cleaning between teeth with floss and interden- tal brushes, as appropriate, is highly recommended. For many patients, Airfloss (by Philips) is also a great adjunct to their daily hygiene regime. Finally, I also recommend the Ultradex range of mouth- washes and products (from Periproducts). This mouth- wash has chlorine dioxide and is the best product in my opin- ion for fresh breath. I always encourage my patients to use this when they are in the tem- poraries stage during a Smile Makeover case. I find the gum health to be excellent with no bleeding when I come to fit the porcelain restorations eg porcelain veneers, upon re- moval of the temporaries. You can find out more by visiting the following two websites: - www.philips.co.uk/c/electric- toothbrushes/139853/cat and also www.periproducts.co.uk. TIP 5: Digital Calipers (Fig 9) A digital caliper is essential to measure teeth very accu- rately in cosmetic dentistry. You can take measurements very quickly and easily with accuracy to 0.01mm! This will definitely raise the standard of your treatment, as well as keep your technicians on their toes as to what you expect from them! These can be eas- ily bought for about £15 from Amazon or eBay. TIP 6: Pre Planning on Study Models (Figs 10, 11) When doing a Smile Makeo- ver, it is very useful to plan ac- curately on models regarding the preparation changes that are required. Areas where oc- clusal adjustments are to be made can be marked, as well as changes such as centre line shift, gingival height (zenith position) changes with lasers, finishing lines of porcelain veneers, etc. This, in conjunc- tion with a trial preparation model, excellent wax ups and putty indices from an experi- enced laboratory technician page 18DTà ‘The advantage of doing a detailed initial examination for your private patients is that it builds up incredible trust and confi- dence in the dentist’