From the Editor

Gerard Kugel, DMD, MS, PhD

Dear Readers,

This month, Inside Dentistry offers a look inside the creative spirit of just a few of the entrepreneurial dental inventors who have given our profession some innovative products, materials, and equipment during the course of the past 40 years. The individuals we spoke to are certainly not the only creators and inventors in dentistry. Their selection and inclusion here is simply a testament to the diversity of talent and ingenuity that resides within our profession. It is awakened when the need arises. Necessity is, after all, the mother of invention.

Create a Solution & Solve a Problem. What we do, how we do it, and what we use to accomplish our professional objectives are affected daily by our own creative application of the tools we choose to use. The innovative spirit of the dental inventors who developed a product or technique is nothing more than a heightened sense of creativity and problem solving. Considering that we’re in the profession of dentistry, inventions and ideas ideally should make our practices and our treatments faster, easier, and/or better. This paraphrases how Dr. Gordon Christensen defines a good product. Of course, it goes without saying that the idea, product, or invention should work.

Have Faith in Yourself & Your Idea. Although it’s hard to break free from what we’ve come to know and feel comfortable with, our interviewees all emphasize the need to maintain confidence in the value of their ideas and to persevere in their endeavors to “sell” them to interested parties. The legacy of such innovative thinkers and inventors will be how they changed restorative treatment alternatives, predictable clinical outcomes, and how aspects of dental treatment are performed or delivered.

Persevere & Keep Going. Ongoing initiatives to conceptualize, research, and develop quality products will supplement dentistry’s history and propel our future. If you’re involved in some way in the development of a new product or testing a new concept or theory, be proud of what you’re doing, since it might enable dental professionals to collectively continue forward in an honorable and vibrant industry.

We hope that you enjoy this issue and our overview of the inventions and innovations that have had an effect on the paradigms and practices that guide our profession. Please send us your feedback to letters@insidedentistry.net. As always, your thoughts, opinions, and reactions continue to motive us to improve our clinical content and coverage of topics affecting our profession. Thank you for reading and for your continued support.

With warm regards,

P.S. Remember to visit our Web site, www.insidedentistry.net to register to take FREE CE. Also, I urge you to fill out and return the enclosed postage-paid reply card if you want to continue receiving Inside Dentistry by mail. Due to rising postage costs, Inside Dentistry will now only be mailed to those who specifically request it. If you have not subscribed, or are not sure when your subscription expires, fill out the card and drop it in the mail to ensure that you don’t miss a single issue. As always, we thank you for your support!