Community Magazine May 2003

H aving a garage full of out- of-date equipment and materials is to be expected when the technology advances so quickly. Newer materials that are stronger, easier to polish and more natural looking keep replacing yesterday’s “new improved” mate- rials. Two out of three of the filling materials we use today will be out- dated within 3 years. It is much like your home computer. Yesterday’s “state-of-the-art” Pentium3 was already out-dated by the time you got it home from the store. This can be annoying when it comes to computers but more frustrating when it comes to dental fillings. The dentist finds himself spending a great deal of time and effort placing a dental “work of art” only to find that 3 years later an even better filling is available. What should the dentist do? Replace it? There is really nothing wrong with it. When I look in a mouth of fillings done over a period of 10 years I can tell which fillings were done at which time. One of the most noticeable differences is the smoothness and shine. As the materials improved, the particle size got smaller and smaller. I explained this to my wife using the analogy of Bulgur (cracked wheat) The older fillings are made of a coarse particle similar to Bulgur. The newer fillings are made of a fine particle like Smead (fine semolina flour). Fillings that have smaller particles are smoother and easier to polish. Just like computers, when you’re con- vinced that the speed just can’t get any faster, Dell comes with the next generation Pentium 5. Last year I was so excited when I “discovered” a great “new” tooth- colored filling material that was stronger, smoother, easier to polish, etc. The particle size was less than a half a micron – now that’s really small. At a recent symposium on dental materials, the professor recom- mended a “new” filling material with par- ticles 1000 times smaller than the already tiny half-micron particles. What that means to the patient – stronger, smoother, shinier fillings, that are less likely to dis- color and less likely to break. In addition to the filling materials there are great improvements in the insulation that we use under fillings. Ten years ago, a tooth colored filling would be very sensi- tive for months. This was due to differ- ences between the filling material and the tooth structure. Today the insulating layer placed in the deepest part of the filling has made tooth colored fill- ings much less sensitive and more comfortable for the patient. Of course laser dentistry has made the process much faster. Just a few years ago it would take up to 2 minutes to harden the fillings with a dental curing light. Today the laser technology has made it possi- ble to harden a filling in 3 seconds. Keeping up to date on the latest materials and techniques is very demanding. To constantly provide dentistry that is on the “cutting edge” a dentist needs to take advance continuing education training and constantly invest in the newest state-of-the-art equip- ment. The cost of keeping up with these advances is well worth the benefit to the patient. Patients can expect that they will look good, feel good and the improved materials will last a long time. So if you know any dentists that are look- ing for some real bargains in almost new equipment and materials let them give our office a call for an appointment to visit our dental garage sale. Dr. Doueck has practiced restorative dentistry in the community for over 25 years and has taken over 1000 hours of advanced training. He is a clinical con- sultant to the Dental Advisor, a monthly publication. He is certified by the Academy of Laser Dentistry. His Associate Dr. Alan Azrak is a specialist in Pediatric Dentistry. His associate Dr. Jack Kassab has advanced training in Family Dentistry. Dental Garage Sale B Y : J A C Q U E S D O U E C K D D S CM