Academy of Laser Dentistry Installs New President & Officers During Annual Meeting in Orlando

 

Raminta Mastis, DDS, to Preside as ALD President from May 2018 to May 2019

The Academy of Laser Dentistry (ALD), the only independent and unbiased non-profit association dedicated to improving patient care with the proper use of laser technology, recently installed Raminta Mastis, DDS, as its president. The announcement was made during the ALD’s recent 25th Anniversary Meeting in Orlando.

Dr. Mastis graduated from the University of Illinois College of Dentistry in 1987. She maintains a private dental practice, Michigan Cosmetic and Laser Dentistry, in St. Clair Shores, Michigan. She previously served as Co-Chair of Certification and Education Committees, Chair of Laser Safety and Communications Committees, and was the 2014 General & Scientific Sessions Chair of the Annual Meeting. Dr. Mastis has been using lasers since 2000 and has 18 lasers of various wavelengths in her practice. She holds ALD Standard Proficiency certifications in Er:YAG, diode, Er,Cr:YSGG, and CO2 laser wavelengths, and has achieved ALD Advanced Proficiency in the Er:YAG wavelength. In addition to laser dentistry, her practice is focused on implant surgery and restoration, esthetic and cosmetic dentistry, and the integration of advanced technologies into practice. Dr. Mastis also holds ALD Mastership status.

Other Installed ALD Officers for 2018-2019:

The following, newly-installed ALD officers will serve a term that concludes with the installation of a new slate of officers during the ALD 2019 conference in Dallas that will take place April 4-6, 2019:

Mel Burchman, DDS, President-Elect: Dr. Burchman has maintained a private dental practice in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, for 38 years. He has been using lasers for more than 17 years and has 8 lasers in his office. He has served on the Board of Directors for one 3-year term, served as the 2015 General & Scientific Sessions Chairman for the Annual Meeting as well as volunteering his expertise as Certification Committee Chair, Secretary and Treasurer.

Dr. Burchman has volunteered as a mentor and examiner for more than 15 years. In 2012, he was the honored recipient of the ALD Leon Goldman Award for Clinical Excellence. Dr. Burchman also holds ALD Mastership status.

Ed Kusek, DDS, Treasurer: Dr. Kusek graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Dentistry in 1984. He has served as ALD Communications Chair and Testing subcommittee Chair. He holds the titles of Diplomate of the American Board of Oral Implantology/Implant Dentistry, Fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, Mastership in Academy of General Dentistry and Academy of Laser Dentistry, and Diplomate of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists. Dr. Kusek is in private general practice in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Arun Darbar, BDS, DGDP (UK), Secretary: Dr. Arun Darbar is at the forefront of laser dentistry in the United Kingdom and lectures on the subject worldwide. He has been a clinical laser user for nearly 25 years and provides cutting-edge dentistry to his patients. Dr. Darbar is an accredited member of the British Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry Credentialing Committee. He holds ALD Mastership and Educator status and has served as co-chair of Education and Certification, and International Relations Committees. He is a published author, and some of his concepts in low-level laser therapy (LLLT) data have been published as proceedings of SPIE in 2006, 2007, and 2009/10; WALT 2008 South Africa and 2012 Australia; and in UK dental publications. Dr. Darbar is the first and only laser dentist in the UK to be invited to the House of Lords for a charity fundraiser organized by Lasers for Life. Dr. Darbar maintains a private practice in Leighton Buzzard, UK.

Charles R. Hoopingarner, DDS, Immediate Past President: Dr. Hoopingarner attended the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHSCH) Dental Branch, graduating with a DDS in 1973. He has maintained a private practice in Houston, Texas, since 1973. He was an adjunct associate professor in anatomical sciences at UTHSCH Dental Branch for 12 years. Currently, he is a member of the adjunct clinical faculty in the Restorative Dentistry Department at UTHSCH and has been a clinical instructor at the Las Vegas Institute for reconstruction and laser dentistry. Dr. Hoopingarner has served on the ALD Board of Directors, has held chairman positions for Regulatory Affairs, Education and General Sessions for the 2013 Conference. He has used dental lasers of various wavelengths as integral parts of his patient care delivery system for the last 12 years. Dr. Hoopingarner holds Advanced and Standard Proficiency certifications in the Er:YAG laser wavelength from the ALD, ALD Mastership status, and has lectured internationally on the safety and use of laser technology in the dental practice.

About the Academy of Laser Dentistry: The Academy of Laser Dentistry (ALD) is the only independent and unbiased non-profit association devoted to laser dentistry and includes clinicians, academicians and researchers in all laser wavelengths. The Academy is devoted to clinical education, research, and the development of standards and guidelines for the safe and effective use of dental laser technology. ALD was founded in 1993, with the merging of the International Academy of Laser Dentistry, the North American Academy of Laser Dentistry and the American Academy of Laser Dentistry. For more information, visit www.LaserDentistry.org.

SICAT Endo 3D Software for Improved Planning and Workflow in Endodontic Treatment.

 

Dentsply Sirona is introducing another integrated solution to the dental market ‒ the new SICAT Endo 3D software for improved planning and workflow in endodontic treatment. SICAT Endo also enables you to order special surgical guides for guided endodontic treatment. Advantages of the software: enhanced diagnostics, improved certainty in planning, and optimized accuracy of treatment through the use of surgical guides.

SICAT Endo is the first and only fully integrated and complete 3D solution for the diagnosis and planning of endodontic treatment that also supports clinical implementation with surgical guides. Using the software, all root canals can be easily identified in 3D, and the working length and depth of the access cavity can be determined precisely. Even heavily curved and calcified canals can be diagnosed easily. This process considerably improves the endodontic workflow for practitioners. The user-friendly software has diagnostic advantages for optimal treatment planning ‒ efficient, reliable, with predictable outcomes.

Introducing fusion of 2D images with 3D Data
The combination of high-resolution intraoral 2D X-ray images and the depth information from 3D X-ray data facilitates diagnostics considerably. Thanks to the simultaneous navigation in 2D and 3D, dentists are easily oriented in all dimensions and can concentrate on the root canal to be diagnosed.

SICAT Endo is optimized for 2D and 3D X-ray units and CEREC by Dentsply Sirona. The software is fully integrated in Sidexis 4 with 3D data from Galileos and Orthophos SL units combined with 2D data; including Schick 33 and Schick Elite sensors. No export and manual import of data are required. The integration of optical impressions allows the occlusal surface to be visualized precisely, thus optimizing planning for the access cavity and the exact determination of the working lengths.

Jochen Kusch, Managing Director of SICAT GmbH & Co. KG: “With the SICAT Endo software, we have taken a major step towards the diagnostics, planning, and implementation of endodontic treatment. We developed surgical guides for the opening of the root canal, and this is innovative in the dental market. The specific endodontic tools in the software such as 360° visualization of the root canals, the integration of 2D and 3D views, and the integration of optical impressions for the precise visualization of the occlusal relief are crucial support for practitioners in diagnostics and treatment planning.”

Guided root canal treatment with surgical guides
After identifying and diagnosing all root canals in SICAT Endo, dentists can order a SICAT ACCESSGUIDE surgical guide. The use of the surgical guide for opening the root canal helps make endodontic treatment even more effective, safer, and more precise. The surgical guide enables minimally invasive and efficient preparation of cavity access. SICAT ACCESSGUIDE guides are available for orthograde root canal treatment.

ABOUT SICAT
As a leading innovator in dental industry, SICAT develops and markets 3D-based analysis and planning software, surgical guides, and therapeutic appliances for various dental disciplines, such as implantology, functional dentistry, sleep medicine or endodontology and is a partner for dental practices, clinics, and dental laboratories worldwide. With its wide range of product solutions, SICAT paves the ground for advanced digital dentistry. Multiple data sources like 3D X-ray, optical impressions, jaw movement data and 2D intraoral sensor images can be combined with each other – for increased efficiency and quality of treatment. SICAT was founded in 2004 as a Joint Venture between HICAT GmbH and Sirona Dental Systems GmbH and is based in Bonn, Germany.

Patterson Dental Strengthens Software Portfolio Through Distribution Agreement with SolutionReach

 

I’ve been affiliated with SolutionReach as a customer for a few years now.  I’ve always been impressed with the company, their forward thinking philosophies, and their excellent products.  Now comes word from Patterson Dental that the company is partnering with SolutionReach to bring the products to even more offices.  If you are not a SolutionReach client, you owe it to your practice to give them a look.

 

Patterson Dental, a business unit of Patterson Companies (Nasdaq: PDCO), today announced a new agreement with Solutionreach, Inc. to distribute and support the company’s portfolio of software products for use in dental practices, starting June 1. Solutionreach’s cloud-based patient relationship management platform will be connected with Patterson Dental’s Eaglesoft and Fuse practice management systems.

Fuse is Patterson Dental’s new cloud practice management solution, designed to centralize all scheduling, patient information and practice data – accessible anywhere and in real time. Eaglesoft has been a premier, on-premise dental practice management solution for over 20 years.  

In this new agreement with Solutionreach, Eaglesoft and Fuse will provide customers with increased efficiency and improved patient communication tools for dental practices using the Solutionreach products.

“Patterson’s relationship with Solutionreach is another example of our continued focus on expanding software alliances that better meet the unique needs of our customers,” said Cecile Schauer, President, Strategic Accounts, Patterson Dental. “Solutionreach is a technology leader in delivering improved patient communication, engagement and satisfaction. We are excited about the opportunities this relationship will deliver to help our mutual customers succeed.” 

By combining the power of both systems, Solutionreach and Patterson Dental provide customers the opportunity to achieve even higher return on their technology investments.

"We're excited that our agreement with Patterson Dental is going to help practices improve patient experience. Practices will not only benefit from the technology, but also the knowledge and expertise from Patterson on how to use it effectively," said Jim Higgins, founder and Chief Executive Officer of Solutionreach.

For more information about Patterson’s Practice Management Services, visit https://www.pattersondental.com/Equipment-Technology/Practice-Management/Services.  

About Patterson Companies Inc.

Patterson Companies Inc. (Nasdaq: PDCO) is a value-added distributor serving the dental and animal health markets.

Dental Market
Patterson’s Dental segment provides a virtually complete range of consumable dental products, equipment and software, turnkey digital solutions and value-added services to dentists and dental laboratories throughout North America.

Animal Health Market
Patterson’s Animal Health segment is a leading distributor of products, services and technologies to both the production and companion animal health markets in North America and the U.K.

About Solutionreach

Solutionreach is revolutionizing the healthcare experience for providers and their patients. Through its market-leading patient relationship management platform, Solutionreach supports higher patient satisfaction and loyalty, greater efficiency, and ultimately, stronger healthcare organizations. Solutionreach partners with more than 25,000 provider organizations in numerous specialties. Learn more at www.solutionreach.com.

Dentsply Sirona Lab Announces the Launch of inLab SW 18.0

 

Dentsply Sirona Lab, the newly created business unit, has launched inLab SW 18.0 as of April 2018. This new software has optimized the functional scope and handling of the CAD and CAM software for an even wider range of applications and more efficient production procedures in the dental laboratory. All inLab software application modules benefit from the innovations.

Bensheim/Salzburg, 16 May 2018. The success of a CAD/CAM workflow in the dental laboratory is essentially a software question. The software should cover a wide spectrum of indications and functions and simultaneously work in a user-friendly way. These are the characteristics that will prove the value of the latest inLab SW 18.0 update across the board.

New uses – More design options
The previous model design has been improved, so that now full-arch models with removable dies and models with implant analogs can be constructed, including a separate gingival mask for any kind of model. Different articulator systems can be put in and the model can be marked individually. The completed model data for production can be provided with a 3D-printer or in central production via the optional STL interface.
In the area of implant restorative solutions, inLab is the first program to offer the option to design multilayer gingival bridges for the production of highly esthetic, directly attached implants with a gingival section. The structure with the gingival section can be separated from the veneer structure for production from different materials, and the veneer structure can be processed as one piece, split into individual crowns, or made from a combination of the two depending on the esthetic goal.
A special feature of the current inLab SW is the new “1:1 Copy Mode”. Using this additional copy function, all geometries of a restoration can be copied exactly in accordance with the original and transferred – ideally for large bridges and implants with a gingival section, when, for instance, any adjustments to long-term temporary solutions are transferred into the final restoration. This saves dental technicians an enormous amount of time and they can take over any attachment geometries 1:1.
“We have significantly expanded and upgraded the inLab SW 18.0 especially where it can efficiently support the dental laboratory and where it guarantees more ease of use,” summarizes Jörg Haselbauer, Product Manager for CAD/CAM Laboratory Software at Dentsply Sirona. “This pertains to gingival elements for bridges and for choosing original attachment geometries for slide attachments. Additionally, the revised administration phase now offers the user – in a clearly organized overview on a screen – an intelligent tool for quickly and accurately positioning and managing restorations and flexible adjustment options during the design phase.”

Lab-to-lab workflow with Dentsply Sirona
For the first time, an inLab laboratory can transfer scan or restoration data quickly and safely to another inLab laboratory and receive it back again via the Sirona Connect Portal to make optimal use of construction and production capacities, for example. This new function also simplifies access to the patient-specific solutions from Atlantis directly from the inLab SW – for the design and manufacture of implant abutments and suprastructures by Dentsply Sirona.

Inclusive inLab CAM software update
The inLab SW 18.0 update includes the inLab CAD SW 18 and the inLab CAM SW 18.0. The new CAM software supports the inLab MC X5 and inLab MC XL production units with optimized workflows. The new archiving function, the option to reuse material, a simplified pin tool, and other improvements in the details boost efficiency and safety when using machines on a daily basis. The new tool status display reliably informs the user about the status of the tool’s wear and tear when using validated materials. Additional materials from Dentsply Sirona and others are also integrated and validated in inLab CAM, such as Cercon ht, Cercon xt, Lucitone 199, Wax Disc, Multilayer PMMA, Shaded PMMA, Burnout PMMA Disc and Celtra Duo.

Digital Denture Milling
The Lab SBU is pleased to announce that the inLab MC X5 milling machine has been cleared for launch—supporting the milling of digital dentures. The inLab MC X5 has been a dependable solution for producing bonded dentures using the Lucitone 199 digital denture disc, Portrait IPN denture teeth, and HIPA as a bonding system. This unit is part of the Dentsply Sirona Digital Denture system (equipment and materials) and has been qualified to be compatible with denture workflows using the engineered by AvaDent design engine.

The inLab SW 18.0 update is available to currently inLab commercial dental lab customers by registering on the Software Downloads page at www.dentsplysirona.com/inlab.

Brasseler USA® Expands its Popular Feather Lite™ Family of Polishers

New Shapes Added to the Dialite® LD
(Lithium Disilicate) and Dialite® ZR (Zirconia) Polishing Systems

SAVANNAH, GA (May 15, 2018) – Brasseler USA®, a leading manufacturer of quality instrumentation, is pleased to expand upon its popular Feather Lite™ family of polishers by adding all new shapes to its Dialite® LD (Lithium Disilicate) and Dialite® ZR (Zirconia) Polishing Systems.

These new shapes are the latest addition to both the Dialite LD and Dialite ZR intra-oral and extra-oral polishing lines. These all-inclusive polishing solutions expand the line to provide even more options when adding final touches to ceramic restorations.

Intended to be used as the final polish for all ceramic restorations, Dialite Feather Lite Polishing Systems are two-step systems that feature the latest in Brasseler USA instrumentation innovation. Flexible yet durable diamond-impregnated rubber polishing spirals easily adapt to any surface, leaving behind an enamel-like finish while preserving each unique surface differentiation on ceramic materials, including zirconia and lithium disilicate.

These unique flexible spirals are designed to separate and “feather” out on all ceramic restorations to polish hard-to-reach areas, such as posterior and occlusal regions, leaving behind a complete, finished surface area. Using Feather Lite polishers as a final polish will provide patients a well-polished restoration that will resist the formation of plaque, calculus and staining.

For more information about the entire Feather Lite family of polishers as well as all of Brasseler USA’s product and service solutions for dental, hygiene, and laboratory professionals, please visit www.BrasselerUSA.com or call 800-841-4522.

 

CMS Rescinds Medicare Parts C, D Enrollment Requirements

 

For those of you who tried (some in vain) to enroll in the CMS program that would have allowed dentists to write prescriptions to their Medicare patients (even though dentistry is NOT covered by Medicare) there is good news.  It is no longer a requirement to be enrolled.

 

Over a year ago I spent 90 minutes on the CMS website in a vain attempt to get myself enrolled.  Despite my best efforts, after 90 minutes of frustration and trying to figure out and navigate the site, I received a letter 6 weeks later informing me that I hadn’t filled out everything correctly.  Now, I’m a tech guy and I pride myself on knowing my way around tech and the Internet.  I figured that if I was incapable of figuring the process out, there would be lots of others in the same boat.  It turns out I was right.

 

So… celebrate!  Dentists do not have to register.  I want to give a big thank you to organized dentistry.  The ADA and the AGD lobbied hard to help legislators understand how crazy the whole concept was and that educational effort has paid off.

 

Here are all the details from the Academy of General Dentistry:

 

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has finalized a rule rescinding the requirement that dentists enroll in or validly opt-out of Medicare in order for prescriptions written for their Medicare beneficiary patients to be covered. The rule also revised Medicare Part C, also known as Medicare Advantage plans, and repealed a provision requiring dentists to be enrolled in Medicare in order to provide supplemental services to patients enrolled in Part C.

AGD actively pursued the removal of these enrollment requirements and lobbied CMS to finalize the rule in an effort to minimize interruptions to patients’ access to needed care and medications and relieve dentists of unnecessary regulatory burden.

Impact on General Dentistry: AGD successfully lobbied the Department of Health and Human Services and CMS to change enrollment requirements under Medicare Parts C and D and continues to advocate for the interests of its members.

Google is Updating It's Storage Plans and Fees - Get Ready for Google 1

 

For years now, those of needing Cloud storage have been renting space on Google’s servers.  Now as bandwidth becomes faster and faster along with high resolution photos and 4K video, more and more is being stored on these servers.  Because of that, Google is updating its storage plans and the fees for them.  The new product is being called Google 1.  Here is the latest price list with capacity:

 

• 100 GB for 1.99/month
• 200 GB for 2.99/month
• 2TB for 9.99/month
• 10 TB for 99.99/month
• 20 TB for 199.99/month
• 30 TB for 299.99/month

According to ZDNet:

In addition to the new pricing, Google One lets customers buy family plans. Customers can add up to five family members under one bill, with each family member still getting their own private storage space.

Google One also comes with "one-tap access" to Google experts for help with consumer products and services. Customers also get perks like credits on Google Play or deals on certain hotels found via Google Search.