In January 2017, Affordable Dentures & Implants announced it would partner with Brighter Way Institute of Phoenix, Arizona, for a nationwide program to deliver free dental implant, oral surgery, and prosthetic treatment to hundreds of US military veterans and homeless citizens. The network of affiliated dental practices set a goal of contributing nearly $3.25 million in pro bono implant and prosthetic services in 2017.

Affordable Dentures & Implants has announced that it exceeded its goal and donated more than $3.5 million in dental services in 2017. Overall, 120 doctors from more than 20 states participated in the six Brighter Way events, where approximately 1,500 implants were placed and approximately 350 denture pieces were fabricated. Affordable Dentures & Implants is looking forward to continuing the program in 2018 and again has six Brighter Way events scheduled. The company hopes to meet and exceed the level of donated care given in 2017.

Nowak Dental Supplies, a family owned and operated corporation which caters to both dental laboratories and offices, has launched its new website, www.nowakdental.com. This new website’s features, such as personalized accounts, will provide Nowak’s customers with a faster ordering and checkout process.

“Everyone here at Nowak is excited for the launch,” said president Shawn Nowak. “In recent years we have eagerly been embracing any technology that will benefit our business and make our customers’ experience with us enjoyable. This new website is the next step in that journey.”

The website was created by the Systems House, Inc, and now displays a light, minimal appearance. By featuring only the necessities, such as their products and company information, customers no longer run the risk of distraction or confusion. The homepage exhibits prominent navigational buttons that will lead clients to the most popular sections.

The most significant feature of the new website is the user accounts, through which customers can use the convenient 1-click reorder feature. Their account will also serve as a resource to store shipping information and invoices. With Nowak’s new website, ordering frequently used or one-time products is simple and efficient.

“We provide our customers with high-quality products from our inventory, as well as amazing and convenient customer service,” said Nowak. “Our website is designed around our customers and now with these new features they will never have to waste valuable time.”

Nowak Dental Supplies will be continuously updating their website as their inventory grows to accommodate new items. They proudly carry the largest selection of denture teeth available and the rest of their inventory holds tens of thousands of products. All in-stock orders are shipped the same day as the order is received.

The Foundation for Dental Laboratory Technology has announced the winners of grants awarded in the third quarter this year, including the NADL University (NADL U) Grant, Spear Education Grant, and Dawson Academy Education Grant:

NADL U Grant

•   Carolyn Capps, CDT – Charlotte, NC

•   Lisa Bornsheuer, Master CDT – Tyler, TX

Spear Education Grant

•   Anyanwu Nnamdi – Birnin Kebbi, Kebbi, Nigeria

•   Iwona Alicja Villa, CDT – Westminster, CA

•   Jennifer Krueger, CDT – Hastings, MN

•   Lisa Bornsheuer, Master CDT – Tyler, TX

•   Mindy Ledwell-Maier – Thomasville, NC

Dawson Academy Education Grant

•   Debra Costantino, CDT – Depew, NY

•   Samantha Lafer – Tampa, FL

•   Steven Youkey – Lake Oswego, OR

•   Thomas Eberhart – Homosassa, FL

•   Victoria Matson, CDT – Naples, FL

•   Wayne Matychuk, CDT – Omaha, NE

Kulzer, Spear Education, and The Dawson Academy have generously covered tuition for grant recipients to attend NADL University, one of seven Spear Seminar courses, and the Dawson Academy’s course, Functional Occlusion – from TMJ to Smile Design, respectively. Each partnered with the Foundation in order to support the Foundation’s purpose by making higher-level education and dental laboratory management more accessible.

“We give endless gratitude to Kulzer, Spear Education, and the Dawson Academy, as they undoubtedly recognize the need for higher-level education amongst dental technicians and put their utmost support in the Foundation and its efforts to provide these opportunities. With incredible donors like these and many others, the Foundation is able to offer a variety of quality education, creating opportunities for every technician,” said Foundation Chair, Jeff Stronk.

The Foundation for Dental Laboratory Technology is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The purpose of the Foundation is to advance the profession of dental laboratory technology by addressing industry driven needs and providing solutions that are relevant and accessible to dental technicians and other members of the dental team.

The Foundation’s ability to increase grants and create new programs to support education and workforce training are based solely on contributions from individuals and companies. Donations are accepted throughout the year. To support the Foundation, please visit www.dentallabfoundation.org/donors.

LDN (Laboratory Distribution Network) and Willmann & Pein, Barmstedt/Germany, are pleased to announce an exclusive distribution agreement for the Willmann & Pein brand of high-quality composite materials for the dental laboratory and dental clinician in North America.

"We at LDN are very excited to announce this association of two innovative companies for the advancement of introducing high quality dental materials," says David Sklarski, President/CEO of LDN.

Willmann & Pein GmbH, established in 1998, produces high quality dental products with a focus on light curing technology. Willmann & Pein operates under the guidelines of DIN EN ISO 13485 and FDA compliance. According to Joachim Pein, CEO of Willmann & Pein, "We are excited to enter the North American market with a strong engineering capability and an innovative distribution business model represented by LDN."

Laboratory Distribution Network is a newly formed distribution business based in RI with affiliate operations in Cumming, GA, and Orlando, FL. LDN is made up of industry professionals and a large network of established dental laboratories committed to the advancement of dental technology through strong technical support.

Sterngold has announced that its MOR^® Mini Implant System is now the first and only mini implant system available in the Carestream Implant Library. The MOR joins the Sterngold TRU^® (which is substantially equivalent to the Nobel Biocare Conical Connection*) and the PUR^®  (which is substantially equivalent to the Zimmer^® Tapered Screw-Vent Connection^®**) implant systems as downloadable options within the Carestream Implant Library.

Robert Bosack, DDS, Michael Rollert, DDS and Stuart Lieblich, DMD, on behalf of their Board of Directors, Advisory and Consulting Committees were pleased to formally introduce the Dental Patient Safety Foundation to an audience of over 400 attendees. The Dental Patient Safety Foun-dation (DPSF) has been created for the sole purpose of improving the safety and quality of dental care in the United States.

About the DPSF

The Dental Patient Safety Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization whose only mis-sion is to improve safety and quality of dental care, regardless of specialty, by non-partisan col-lecting, aggregating and analyzing information about patient safety events, which can be safely, voluntarily and confidentially reported in its reporting tool. All licensed health care practitioners are invited and encouraged to repeatedly and frequently submit any concerns or incidents regard-ing patient safety reports via the DPSF REPORTING TOOL, which can be found the their website. Full confidentiality of all reports is protected by the federal government.

The DPSF is a listed Patient Safety Organization (P0198) in compliance with the Patient Safety Rule of the Federal Department of Health and Human Services, which legally protects and main-tains the confidentiality of all disclosures. The Patient Safety Rule was enacted to encourage vol-untary reporting of sensitive information without the risk of discovery or liability.

The 2 most important aspects of the DPSF mission, however, are the creation and ongoing sup-port of a culture of safety and the frequent and swift reporting back to the dental profession to reduce risks, minimize hazards and improve the quality of dental care. These reports will be de-veloped and circulated on a monthly basis and will be made available on the DPSF website. The Foundation hopes that all organized dentistry will appreciate the value of this mission and offer tangible support. A true culture of safety requires lifelong commitment and participation. 

How Can I Help To Improve Patient Safety

SPREAD THE WORD: Encourage your colleagues and organizations to support this profession-wide culture of safety initiative.

REPORT OFTEN: Visit the DPSF website and use the confidential reporting tool to share near misses, unsafe conditions or patient harm. Examples include wrong site procedures, medical or anesthetic misadventures, lapses in infection control, among many others. Reports can be made anonymously or confidentially, for those wishing direct feedback. Information about events in the past is also welcome.

LEARN AND IMPROVE: Sign up to receive monthly safety reports immediately after release.

CONTRIBUTE: The DPSF is a non-profit organization that relies solely on outside financial support.

https://www.dentalpatientsafety.org

"Over the past few years, we’ve seen continuous advancements and steady growth in digital dentistry – more recently in areas such as CAD/CAM production of dentures, increased productivity with restoration devices that feature disc changers, and improved in-clinic solutions that allow dentists and labs to build collaborative relationships to meet the unique needs of patients.

As a producer of high quality dental restorations, you need to know how to choose the right solutions to keep you competitive, and more importantly – successful."

Join Dental Product Manager, Dwight Blair to learn:

- How in-clinic restoration solutions are shaping a bright future for labs and clinics together

- Why more and more technicians are adopting digital denture workflows

- How adopting a disc changing workflow boost productivity and improves versatility

Date & Time: December 19, 2017 | 10:00 AM - 10:30 AM Pacific (1:00 PM - 1:30 PM Eastern)

Price: FREE

More information and registration here.

The American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) will pilot a dental team certificate program during their 34th Annual AACD Scientific Session, April 18-21, 2018, in Chicago.

The Team Certificate program will educate dental team members on essential skills for assisting with cosmetic dentistry patients. These essentials include: communication skills, contemporary concepts in cosmetic dentistry, leadership and business skills, and esthetic dental photography.“A dental practice can only be successful with knowledgeable, motivated team members,” explained Mickey Bernstein, DDS, AAACD, past president of the AACD and member of the AACD Professional Education Committee. “We invite all clinical assistants, administrative team, and hygienists to participate, learn and grow together.”

The initial phase of the Team Certificate pilot program will launch at AACD 2018 in Chicago, where all Level 1 courses will be offered. The Level 1 courses include: Pillars of Strength: Lessons in Leadership with Debra Engelhardt Nash; Contemporary Concepts in Cosmetic Dentistry with Salvatore Lotardo, DDS, AAACD; Game Changers! Two Dynamic Formulas that will Boost Communication in Your Dental Practice with Leigh Ann Faight; and Introduction to Esthetic Dental Photography with Adamo Notarantonio, DDS, AAACD.

Attendees of the Team Certificate courses will be asked to provide their feedback for further development of the program. Upon completion of both Level I and Level II courses, team members will be awarded a Team Certificate recognizing their advanced training in assisting with cosmetic dentistry patients.

For more information about the Team Certificate program, visit www.aacdconference.com/dentalteam or email meetings@aacd.com.

To register yourself and your team members for the 34th Annual AACD Scientific Session, visit www.aacdconference.com.

MELVILLE, New York — (December 12, 2017) — Air Techniques, Inc., a leading innovator and manufacturer of dental equipment for the past 55 years has completed the recruiting of its new sales team, which is set to hit the ground running on January 1, 2018.    

Air Techniques’ dedicated sales force more than doubles the company’s selling manpower. Its new field sales force in North America is comprised of 30 elite sales professionals, including 26 Territory Managers who report to 4 Regional Sales Managers. At the same time its Special Markets sales team doubles capacity with a Director of Special Markets and 3 Special Markets Sales Managers.

“We are excited to have an exclusive sales force that solely represents Air Techniques and is equipped with state-of-the-art support infrastructure and systems,” said Christoph Roeer, Air Techniques’ CEO. “All of our new hires have experience in selling dental equipment through our dealer channel partners. We believe this new direction will provide our dealers and dental practitioners with the best customer experience,” added Mr. Roeer.

Founded in 1962, Air Techniques has brought many first time advances in utility and digital products to dental professionals. In the past 55 years, Air Techniques continues paving the way globally, with compelling, reliable dental products. 

Air Techniques’ strong product portfolio of utility systems, digital imaging and merchandise, are capable of equipping the smallest practice to the largest university or hospital. Consistently, Air Techniques remains the leading and largest manufacturer of dental air compressors and vacuum systems in North America.               

DryShield, the only all-in-one, fully autoclavable isolation system for dentistry, is excited to announce that it has been recognized by dental legend and thought leader Gordon Christensen in an independent evaluation, published in the Gordon J. Christensen Clinicians Report. Evaluators strongly recommended the dental isolation system, stating that the product provided “excellent isolation, moisture control, retraction, and bite block in one device.” Nearly threequarters of evaluators indicated they would use DryShield in their own practice and believed it was worthy of trial by their colleagues.

The report described DryShield as follows:

Convenient intraoral bite block and moisture control device that combines the tasks of high-suction evacuator, saliva ejector, bite block, tongue shield, retraction, and isolation of two opposing quadrants. Provides hands-free evacuation. Kit includes all four sizes of mouthpieces (pedo, small, medium, and large). Mouthpieces designed to allow for easy cleaning and sterilization for re-use on many patients.

The advantages of DryShield include:

• Excellent isolation with 4 sizes of mouthpieces

• Effective suction and moisture evacuation

• Easy to place and use

DryShield founder Lan Nguyen, DDS remarked, “As a practicing dentist, we are extremely humbled and ecstatic to be recognized by the leader in dental education. It is encouraging to see that we are making an impact on the dental industry, and improving the practice of dentistry with the technology we worked long and hard to develop.”

The DryShield system combines the tasks of a high-suction evacuator, dry angles, cotton rolls, and gauze in one sleek device. DryShield is now in use at thousands of dental practices and has won an array of awards. The system is designed to fit into the economics of dental practices without sacrificing quality. It is the only fully autoclavable modern isolation system available on the market, reducing cost by eliminating the use of disposable mouthpieces. DryShield is available in 4 sizes with interchangeable bite blocks, for a total of 16 different size combinations; ensuring a perfect fit for any patient.

To learn more about DryShield isolation systems, visit dryshield.com. To order, contact DryShield toll-free at 888-379-0300.