Owandy Radiology Showcasing Its Integrated Dental Implant Digital Workflow System During GNYDM 2021

 Owandy Radiology Inc., a global leader in the manufacture of dental radiology hardware and imaging software, will be highlighting how its QuickVision 3D implant planning software serves as the hub of its fully-integrated dental implant digital workflow system at booth #3923 during the Greater New York Dental Meeting. 

According to Owandy company spokesperson, Boris Loyez, “In recent years, Owandy has been rapidly expanding its hardware and software offerings to deliver a complete digital workflow solution specifically for implantologists. Our open-architecture QuickVision 3D implant planning software can serve as the heart of the Owandy product suite or be integrated with existing equipment to expand the digital workflow capabilities and overall efficiency of the modern dental implant practice.”

The Owandy digital workflow system incorporates five steps and corresponding solutions:

• DICOM Data Acquisition: This entails CBCT exploration by using Owandy’s I-Max 3-D or I-Max Ceph 3D. Each CBCT unit provides a comprehensive clinical patient view that is ideal for implant surgery. 

• .STL Data Acquisition: Owandy’s compatibility with any intraoral scanner, including the MEDIT i700 and its Medit Link software, enables seamless integration with its QuickVision 3D software for the simplified acquisition and utilization of patient data. 

• Implant Planning: Owandy’s QuickVision 3D software enables accurate and predictable restorative treatment planning and includes a complete cloud-based implant manufacturer library and bone density measurement guide. 

• Surgical Guide Design: QuickVision 3D software also guides the user through the treatment planning and surgical guide processes with an intuitive interface.

• File Export for Manufacturing: Owandy’s QuickVision 3D software creates a comprehensive planned treatment report and surgical guide in .STL format within seconds, which can then be sent to a lab, shared with a colleague, or sent to a 3D printer. 

For more information about the Owandy' digital workflow system for dental implants, stop by booth #3923 during the Greater New York Dental Meeting. During GNYDM, Owandy will be running several show specials, download the flyer at www.owandy.com/usa/offers. You can also learn more about the full line of Owandy products by visiting www.Owandy.com, calling 516-858-5695 or sending an e-mail at sales@owandyus.com.  Distributor inquiries are always welcome.

About Owandy Radiology, Inc.:

Headquartered in France, and serving North America from Roslyn, New York, Owandy Radiology is a global leader in the manufacture of dental radiology hardware and imaging software. Its products are distributed through dental dealers across the USA, and in 80 countries world-wide, on every continent. For more information, visit www.Owandy.com.

 

LightForce Orthodontics Secures $50 Million Series C Funding Led By Kleiner Perkins

 Investment fuels further development of 3D printing technology as well as expanding service, training and education for customer community 

BURLINGTON, Mass. - Nov. 2, 2021 - LightForce Orthodontics, makers of the world’s only fully customized 3D printed bracket system, today announced that the company raised a $50 million Series C round led by Kleiner Perkins, one of the most prestigious venture capitalist firms in the world. The investment follows on the heels of LightForce posting over a 500% revenue growth rate during the past year in which the company developed two new products and grew their team year over year by 300%. The new funds will further support existing LightForce customers with expanded service, training and education. 

“LightForce was founded to provide fully customized, USA-made treatment options for orthodontists interested in offering modern, digital treatment to their patients,” said LightForce CEO and co-founder Dr. Alfred Griffin III, DMD, PhD, MMSc. “The investment allows us to continue creating mass-customized brackets that enable orthodontists to provide a personalized patient experience within an industry that has not evolved the use of brackets in the last 25 years. In fact, without LightForce, patients today would likely be wearing the same sort of brackets their parents did back when they were teenagers. With these new funds, LightForce will further champion the unmet needs of the modern teen market by complimenting aligner cases and allowing orthodontists to take their practices fully digital. A patient’s teeth are all unique as snowflakes, and now doctors have the technology to account for that individualism in their treatment plan, just as they have with their aligner cases. We are excited to continue implementing 3D printing technology in orthodontics in new and innovative ways to create a new standard of care for all braces patients.” 

Since no set of teeth is the same and 70% of patients require braces instead ofaligners, LightForce’s 3D printing technology enables complete and infinite personalization for each patient. One of LightForce’s biggest differentiators is its ability to 3D print brackets that fit the unique tooth morphology of each patient, customization that would otherwise be unavailable to patients with traditional braces. LightForce’s dynamic and modern technology provides a patient-specific alternative to traditional braces, ensuring that today’s patients will not need to endure the dated “one-size-fits-all” approach to braces that often fails to meet the patient experience and efficient clinical outcomes. As a result, patients and doctors are able to see shorter treatment times, fewer appointments, better outcomes, and an overall more efficient and comfortable experience. In an industry where precision is key, 3D printing allows orthodontists to fine tune each tooth movement down to a micron, one-thousandth of a millimeter, resulting in a balanced bite and smile tailored to each unique patient. 

“LightForce’s innovative approach to an industry that has lacked technological disruptiveness for the past 25 years is what initially attracted us to this investment opportunity,” said Wen Hsieh, partner, Kleiner Perkins. “Having previously-invested in the first digital revolution of orthodontics decades ago through Align Technology, Kleiner Perkins is excited to invest in the second-wave of orthodontics digitization through Lightforce. We’re excited to partner with Co-Founder-CEO Alfred Griffin and the Lightforce team to leverage the latest 3D printing technology to further enhance the doctor and patient experience with bracket-based orthodontics." 

Digital customization with 3D printing offers several key advantages to doctors and patients that work with LightForce, including: 

● Scalable and Efficient Treatments, allowing doctors to reach new levels of efficiency without sacrificing product quality or patient comfort.    

●  Patient-Specific Prescriptions means that treatment plans are designed with proprietary software, combined with advanced 3D printing technology, to create precise and fully custom treatments for every patient. 


●  Digitizing Fixed Appliances bring the planning simplicity, practice consistency and ease of use seen today in direct-to-consumer aligners into the world of fixed appliances.

 In the last year, LightForce has developed additional orthodontic advancements such as the Light Bracket, which is their line of translucent brackets. The Light Bracket is a more aesthetic option that blends in with the color of a patient’s teeth, reducing the visibility of treatment. 

For more information about LightForce Orthodontics, please visit www.lightforceortho.com/. Orthodontists interested in adding LightForce’s technology to their practice should reach out here. For photos and videos, click here. 

About LightForce Orthodontics

LightForce Orthodontics is a digital platform providing orthodontists with fully customized, 3D printed tooth- moving tools. Founded in 2015 by Dr. Alfred Griffin, DMD, PhD, MMSc, along with Dr. Lou Shuman, DMD, CAGS, LightForce is revolutionizing the specialty through advanced manufacturing and technology. After five years of extensive research and development, LightForce launched their first product to the Orthodontic market- the world’s first and only fully customized 3D printed bracket system and digital treatment software. Learn more at www.lightforceortho.com. 

Biden White House Removes Proposal of Dental Benefit in Medicare from Build Back Better Proposal

 For the last several months, as President Biden has worked toward his major spending package of, among other things, infrastructure and healthcare, there have been concerns in the dental industry of dental benefits being forced through as part of Medicaid.

Since dentistry as a profession is far removed and separate from the practice of medicine, rules and regulations that govern medicine as part of Medicare would be completely unsuited for dentistry.  Basically it would be forcing a square peg (dentistry) into the round hole of Medicare.

The differences between the two professions and the way they practice would mean than many of the regulations set up to govern medicine and its relationship to the federal government payment system would be completely non-feasible for dentistry.

The amount of work it would take from the federal government as well as from dentistry would be extremely difficult to meet with the laws the way they are at the current time.  I am grateful that the American Dental Association has met with the administration and explained the difficulties of implementing the current proposal.  This would have been a disaster for both patients and the doctors that care for them.

I could type several more paragraphs and *possibly* manage to somewhat explain why this plan would not work for all concerned, but the ADA has done a much better job of this than I probably ever could.  If you would like to read the organization's FAQ on the ADA's Medicare Benefit Proposal, follow the link.  

The American Dental Association does an outstanding job of looking out for patients and for the profession of dentistry.  This is another example of why I gladly pay my dues each and every year.

It's Time to Renew my Antivirus and I'm Renewing Emsisoft

For a while now, I've had Emsisoft guarding my Windows computers.  If you aren't a diehard geek like myself, you may be asking "why?" and "who is this Emsisoft?"

I'll answer the second question first.  Emsisoft is an incredible antivirus company based out of New Zealand.  Their AV solution is powerful and it works.  Plus it doesn't get itself insidiously wrapped all around your operating system so that you can't get rid of it... even if you want to.  That is something many of the large companies in the AV space do.  Basically even if you uninstall some of the big boys, there are still fragments of their program floating around in your operating system and mucking things up.

Not so with Emsisoft.  They do *everything* I can ask of an AV solution.  I could go on and on, but suffice it to say, if you are looking for an AV solution, you'd be making a mistake if you didn't consider them.

Now to answer the "why" part.  In addition to their superior product offering, they are also a company that is doing the right things.  In the past year, we've seen an explosion in the number of ransomware attacks on businesses and healthcare.  If you have been paying any attention to the infused space, you've been reading about Colonial Pipeline and Kaseya.  What you *have not* read is that those companies were saved in their plights by decryption software provided by Emsisoft, free of charge.

The company has been providing *free* decryption tools for ransomware victims for a while now and this year they have become huge players in the fight against ransomware.

For the full story from Nicole Perloth (one of my favorite newspaper people and book authors) read this story she wrote for the New York Times.  

If you would like an even deeper dive into all the good things Emsisoft has done, they have an incredible blog post with even more backstory that you can access here.  

 I think after reading these stories you'll have an greater understanding of why I feel good about putting my money into a product from Emsisoft.  People helping people and striving to do the right thing is something that has been in short supply for a decade or more.  We NEED more companies like Emsisoft.

FirstPlug® Fills the Void in Restoration Screw Channel Barrier Materials

 

One of the things dentistry has needed for a while is a reliable and easy way to fill the screw heads of implants.  Over the years I've seen several different ideas tried.  Some doctors have advocated putting small cotton pellets in the access.  Some have advocated using retraction cord.  The best idea I've seen is to use a small piece of Teflon tape that is packed into the access to protect the implant screw head.

Teflon tape can work, but it is not easy to use isn't in the best form factor for placement.  Now there is a new company in the dental industry that has a product that solves this age old problem.  It is a Teflon material specifically designed for implants.  Read on for the details on 35Newtons®...

The launch of FirstPlug® from 35Newtons®, brings a much- needed upgrade to the clinically sensitive task of filling access channels in screw retained restorations. The patented system consists of a medical grade PTFE barrier material and an instrument set optimized for packing or filling retention screw channels during restorative procedures. 

Material selection for covering implant abutment screws is important to limit leakage which has been shown to negatively impact peri-implant tissues. “None of the common materials and techniques in use today were developed specifically for this procedure and all have their drawbacks,” said Dr. Jim Janakievski, a Tacoma area periodontist, and co-founder of 35Newtons. For example, cotton pellets provide an ideal substrate for pathogenic oral flora to flourish, while gutta percha can be difficult to remove. “The ideal barrier material provides a good seal to limit leakage, is pliable, biologically inert, and easily retrievable,” said Dr. Alex Shor, prosthodontist and 35Newtons co-founder. 

FirstPlug is made from PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), which at a basic level is similar to the material used to make industrial plumber’s tape. “Many dentists are creative problem solvers and lacking suitable alternatives some have undoubtedly resorted to the local hardware store for an answer,” said Dr. Janakievski. “PTFE is the right material, but we feel strongly that implants and other sensitive dental procedures call for a medical grade solution.” FirstPlug PTFE is made in the USA, providing extra assurance regarding the raw material composition and manufacturing environment. 

Every detail of the FirstPlug system has been engineered to fit the clinical application. The large diameter cylindrically shaped cord seats easily in the screw channel without rolling or twisting. The medical grade PTFE has the right compression characteristics for packing and sealing the screw access chamber, as well as sufficient stiffness to support the overlying restorative materials. The accompanying instrument set includes a wide diameter barrier plugger for efficient packing of the PTFE cord, as well as a barrier excavator for easy removal when uncovering the screw to remove temporaries or replace a restoration. 

In addition to the optimized physical characteristics of the medical grade PTFE material itself, FirstPlug is manufactured, assembled, and packaged under strict medical device protocols and quality systems. “Of course, FirstPlug users appreciate the added convenience, efficiency, and clinical benefits,” said Dr Shor. “But first and foremost, we hear from our dentists that sealing implant access channels with a medical grade material, made in medical class conditions offers invaluable peace of mind.” 

Unboxing of AMD's Monet Handheld Curing Laser - A Video Review

Curing in dentistry has come a long, long way.  When I started in practice (which was quite a while ago), I remember that curing times for composites were about 60 seconds.

In the late 90s I bought a curing laser!!!  It allowed me to cure composites in 10 seconds!!!  Unfortunately the device was also huge and ran hot.  The laser was about the size of a box of Air Jordan's (you know, the *really* big shoe box).  Needless to say, that laser did NOT move from that treatment area. There were also a couple of large fans that were needed to keep the components cool.  The fans were *really, really* noisy and the electronics ran so hot that if were did 3 or 4 restorations in one appointment, the room we were in would rise in temperature 10 degrees Fahrenheit (and I am NOT kidding about that).  I was glad I had the laser because it made me so much more efficient, but there were some definite problems with the system.  I really loved the laser, but I didn't need all the problems that came with it.

Now those problems are all in the past.  AMD has introduced the Monet handheld curing laser.  It has all of the size and ease of use of an LED curing light, with the power to cure composites in 1 second!

I recently created a video where I unbox the Monet.  My buddies at Dental Products Report have got it edited and posted.  Give it a view and let me know what you think in the comments below.

Counterfeit Nitrile Gloves have made Their Way into the U.S. Supply Chain

 Wherever there is a crisis and whenever human suffering occurs there will always be the lowest of the low working to make a profit from those situations.  In late spring of 2020 I was made aware of several situations where healthcare facilities or groups had made large orders of N-95 equivalent masks from overseas.  When the products arrived, they were in packaging from well known and reputable companies.  However, even though the masks looked legitimate, they were anything but.

Analysis by reputable third party labs in the U.S. revealed the masks to be counterfeit and worthless.  This didn't happen once, no unfortunately it happened many times.  The money paid to the companies that supplied the masks was lost and the legitimate manufacturers whose packaging was forged also suffered from the bad publicity even though they had done nothing wrong.

Now, comes word via an investigation from CNN that a scandal has rocked the nitrite glove market.

A quick primer for any of you reading this who do not have a healthcare background.  Gloves became a required part of PPE protocol for dentistry in the 80s.  From that point until the early 2000s, the most common type of glove was latex.  They were practical, had good dexterity, and were plentiful to obtain.  However, as latex became more and more common in healthcare, more and more people developed allergies to the substance through environmental contact.  As the allergies became more and more common healthcare began to more away from latex and to utilize nitrile instead.

Nitrile is a synthetic rubber that is bit more expensive than latex, but offers the same advantages.  I switched my office from latex to nitrile due to the risk of patients or staff having anaphylactic reactions to latex and also because I felt that nitrile actually provided better tactile sensation.  Then in 2016 the FDA banned powdered latex gloves in healthcare.  This meant that the demand for latex gloves dropped while demand for nitrile increased proportionately.

Fast forward to 2020 and the onslaught of SARS-Cov-2.  The pandemic dramatically increased the demand for gloves and the market struggled under that demand.  There was also the strain put on the supply chain as businesses were shut down due to the pandemic.  I heard stories of some glove factories being temporarily closed due to the pandemic.  So, as we were seeing an increased demand for nitrile gloves the manufacturing piece of the supply chain was not able to meet demand.

This lack of supply and increased demand opened the door for criminals and scammers who were only too happy to try and make money from the situation.  These situations exist in almost all aspects of our society, but there is something really awful about people not only unethically stealing, but also putting the welfare of others at risk at the same time.

CNN is reporting that criminals have setup companies that attempt to clean or color used medical gloves and resell them as new to unsuspecting U.S. distributors.  They try to wash the gloves or re-dye them by trying to use food coloring.  Some U.S. distributors have opened boxes to find gloves that are torn or even stained by blood.  The companies doing this have demanded payment in advance so U.S. distributors are out the money... sometimes millions of dollars.

I would expect this to become a pretty big story, at least in healthcare circles.  You can read the entire story at the CNN link.