Dental practices start treating more and more patients again. However, the concerns about COVID-19 are still a top priority amongst dentists. Knowing how important it is to get back to a “new” normality, we aim to support the practice teams as much as we can. Our objective is to enable practices to proceed safely, prioritizing effective products and having reliable procedures in place will facilitate the transition as practices will return to a certain degree of normality.

The professional alternative to custom whitening trays.

By Leo Tjäderhane; DDS, PhD, professor of cariology and endodontics.

The adhesive technique is one of the genuine revolutions that have occurred in dentistry during the last decades. The use of the adhesive technique has opened a variety of possibilities in terms of minimally invasive and aesthetic treatments. Together with Neil Jessop, our head of R&D at Ultradent Products USA, we have identified eight important aspects that influence bonding treatments:

Controlling risk will be a primary concern for dentists while adapting their practices to the changing circumstances due to COVID-19. Prioritizing safety while caring for patients will create new hurdles for day-to-day operations—and knowing how to start implementing the recently required protocols can seem daunting.

In the practice I hear this sentence very often, because in our society a bright white smile plays an increasingly important role for both men and women, regardless of age. Hollywood and social media convey this ideal of beauty, which is why more and more patients are expressing their desire for bright white teeth.

The Coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, has rapidly become a worldwide emergency. Dentists and dental teams all over the world are greatly at risk of being infected during a treatment. There are also extensive restrictions on their daily practice work as a result of social distancing and increased hygiene restrictions. In many places there is not enough or no adequate personal protective equipment available. Likewise, patients are currently hesitating to make a dental appointment. Therefore, many practices stepped back from their usual agenda - resulting in reduced workloads and plenty of free time.

The unprecedented global corona-halt is bearing down on all avenues of commerce and forcing industries to leverage creativity to stay productive. This is often manifesting in adopting technologies and stretching the current capabilities of telecommuting. Unfortunately for dentists, remaining productive can't be done by simply shifting morning huddles to Zoom calls. Clinicians have to interact with patients, simple as that.

From patient care to bookkeeping, clinical tools to advertising, the digital age has brought paradigm shifts to all aspects of dentistry. Many clinicians are experiencing changes in patients’ motivations for seeking care, while others patients to virtually test drive new smiles before committing to treatments. File cabinets have shrunk into hard drives and newspaper ads have been replaced by social media campaigns. The latter has created a cottage industry to help dentists navigate the stormy seas of Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and whatever new platforms pop up next month.

The use of fluorides has always been an important element of prophylaxis treatments. The reason why is self-explanatory: they have shown to be very effective against tooth decay and sensitivity. However, the use of fluoride varnishes should be well thought through in order to guarantee ideal results.