Inside My Practice with Bob Margeas
Dear Colleague,
In my dental practice, I choose products whenever possible from manufacturers that have a reputation and a track record of integrity, high quality, and innovation. Three such companies are presented here, with examples of their products that help me practice at the highest level to provide excellent clinical care and ensure patient satisfaction.
By showing what I use in my practice and what advantages each product has, I hope this column continues to be a valuable resource.
For questions or comments about any of the products I discuss in my column, please email me at rmargeas@aegiscomm.com.
Best,
Bob Margeas, DDS
Panadent Articulator with Kois Dento-Facial Analyzer
Panadent
Figure 1 | I use the Panadent Articulator in conjunction with the Kois Dento-Facial Analyzer. What I like about the Panadent Articulator is that it’s simple to use and the mounting stand makes it easy to mount cases. The Kois Dento-Facial Analyzer was developed by John Kois, who found that a majority of people measures an average of 100 mm from the edges of the central incisors to the condylar axis. The Dento-Facial Analyzer is not a fully adjustable face-bow; it’s based on this patient average. Its design helps prevent clinicians from introducing cants in the smile. The articulator is semi-adjustable, and the face-bow adapts easily to the articulator because it has a mounting plate for your bite registration material. The waxing plate allows for different widths of teeth. If you want to change the length of teeth, you can raise or lower the table, and you won’t end up with a cant in your final smile.
Dryz™
Parkell, Inc.
Figure 2 | Dryz is a very good product for hemostasis. Take a case where you are doing porcelain veneers and your margins are pretty much at the gingiva, but you have a little bit of irritation. You can inject Dryz, let it work for a few minutes, rinse it, and it retracts well and provides hemostasis so you can make a precise impression. If the margins are supragingival or you have great access to the margins but you have a little bit of irritation, this product would give you the retraction you need.
I prefer to use it in conjunction with cord for crown & bridge cases. If I’m going to make an impression and I have some bleeding, I inject it into the sulcus and then I’ll have the patient bite down on a compression cap for 2 to 3 minutes. It will help provide good hemostasis and retraction.
Silky-Rock Unit Dose
Whip Mix
Figure 3 | Silky-Rock is a die stone that is available in premeasured packets. Some people think it’s best to buy in bulk. The problem comes when they don’t measure the exact powder to liquid ratio. Sometimes if your crowns are high, it could be because you didn’t measure the stone and liquid correctly, so the model may have expanded or contracted. Then your bite is going to be off.
The nice thing about the unit dose packaging is that I can take that packet and add it to 16 mL of water and I’m going to have an accurate mix without having to worry too much about expansion or contraction. Plus I don’t have to take the time to weigh it and measure it accurately, which makes me more efficient.
