Pulpdent Corporation invited Anne Duffy, founder of Dental Entrepreneur Woman Magazine and Dew.Life, along with a select group of female dentists to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing women in the dental industry. The group visited Pulpdent’s corporate headquarters in Watertown, MA from May 2-4, 2019.
Anne Duffy and a select group of female dentists visited Pulpdent’s headquarters in Watertown, MA
The “DeWs” represented a variety of backgrounds, from recent dental school graduates to seasoned practice owners, with specialties ranging from cosmetic dentistry to public health. They were united in their passion for clinical excellence and their desire to support each other’s personal and professional aspirations.
Anne Duffy and the “DeWs” with Pulpdent’s Christie Bailey, Leah Berk, and Michelle Wolf
Christie
Bailey, Pulpdent’s Manager of Professional Relations and International Sales,
led a discussion on how manufacturers, trade publications and clinicians can
work together to create more opportunities for women in dentistry. They also
discussed strategies for overcoming setbacks, supporting one another, and
promoting inclusion throughout the dental industry.
The two-day adventure closed with a tour of Boston and dinner in the North End. Feeling inspired and empowered, the women of DEW returned to their homes throughout the country with a new team of supporters and a network of like-minded dental professionals.
The Heroic Dentistry series celebrates oral health care providers who, like PULPDENT founder Dr. Harold Berk, have made it their mission to save teeth and help patients live in comfort and smile with confidence.
Adam has been my patient since I started in private practice 16 years ago. Now 28 years old, he is a delightful but seriously compromised young man who has been confined to a wheelchair all his life.
This chapter of Adam’s dental story began in 2012 when he took a fall from his wheelchair and broke his upper central incisors #11 and 21 (8 and 9). With his face bloodied, and with the help of the local police, he arrived at my office, and I repositioned both teeth and secured them with a composite split. A few days later, I performed endodontic treatments.
Cracked crown due to external resorption on tooth #11
All was well until August 2018 when a radiograph showed massive external resorption in tooth #11 (8). Beyond repair, we waited for the inevitable, and in November 2018, the crown of #11 (8) broke beneath the gum line.
My oral surgeon spent an hour carefully removing the root to minimize damage to the bone. I kept the crown of the tooth stored in sodium hypochlorite, and I decided that the best treatment for Adam was to use his natural tooth for the restoration.
After extraction.
Three weeks after the extraction of the root, the natural crown of the tooth was cemented back in its place. For additional support, I connected it to teeth 12 and 21 (7 and 9) with a lingual fiber splint (Angelus) bonded with DenTASTIC UNO adhesive and ACTIVA BioACTIVE-RESTORATIVE (Pulpdent), which has the ideal flow for this indication.
The natural tooth crown is cemented to place with flowable composite.
It was a long, back-aching appointment, but Adam’s smile was back, his mom was in tears of joy, and for me it was a most rewarding afternoon and what I love most about being a dentist.
The final result.
Dr. Lukasz Balcerzak graduated in 2001 from the Medical University in Poznan, Poland with a specialization in Dentistry. He comes from a family of dental professionals. His grandfather became a dental technician shortly after World War II in Konin, Poland where he practiced well into his eighties. Dr. Balcerzak’s mother, Hanna Szymanska Balcerzak, is also an alumna of Poznan’s Medical University with many years of experience in her specialty, prosthetics. Together with his mother, Dr. Balcerzak’s practice, B & S-DENT, employs a team of dentists each with his or her own specialty. The practice’s motto is “SAVE THAT TOOTH.”
Dr. Balcerzak has participated in domestic and international conferences, lectures, seminars, and dental courses. Dr. Balcerzak is the author of many dental articles, with a particular focus on bioactive materials, and organizes workshops in Poland to teach dentists how to optimally use bioactive materials in their practices.
In 2002 Pulpdent introduced Embrace WetBond materials, the first moisture-friendly ionic dental resins.
Biochemistry only occurs in the presence of water.
The mouth is a moist environment. Saliva is the vital stream that sustains us and is rich with water and ionic components. Dentin contains approximately 15% of water and enamel approximately 4%.
Most traditional dental resins are hydrophobic, repel water and require a dry field. They are designed to be passive, do no harm, and be neutral in the mouth. This is a negative approach that does not take advantage of the benefits and potential gains achieved by using active materials that play a dynamic role in the oral environment.*
Pulpdent has devleloped EMBRACE WetBond and ACTIVA BioACTIVE, moisture-friendly materials that work favorably in the moist oral environment, take advantage of the moisture naturally present in the mouth, and exhibit bioactive potential.
EMBRACE and ACTIVA are ionic resins formulated with phosphate groups. In the presence of moisture, there is an ionic interaction that binds the resin to the minerals in the tooth, forming a strong resin-hydroxyapatite complex and a positive seal against microleakage.
EMBRACE WetBond and ACTIVA BioACTIVE are hydrophilic and contain a small quantity of water, but they are durable and insoluble, and they do not degrade or wash out.
*McCabe JF, et al. Aust Dent J 2011 56 Suppl 1_3-10.
Dentist and popular lecturer Dr. Howard Glazer will present Biomimicry: Changing from “Reparative” Dentistry to Restorative Dentistry, a Continuing Education (CE) webinar on May 15, 2019 at 8:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM PT.
This CE webinar is designed to acquaint the audience with biomimicry and bioactivity in dental materials, in addition to how and when they should be used in the treatment of tooth decay, as well as in other aspects of dental treatment.
Dr. Glazer’s free CE webinar Biomimicry: Changing from “Reparative” Dentistry to Restorative Dentistry, will be available for On-Demand viewing after May 15, 2019 on www.pulpdentlearning.com.
About Dr. Howard Glazer Dr. Glazer is a Fellow and Past President of the Academy of General Dentistry, and former Assistant Clinical Professor in Dentistry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine (Bronx, NY). He has been a visiting clinician at several universities around the country. He is a Fellow of the American College of Dentists; International College of Dentists; American Society for Dental Aesthetics, the American Academy of Forensic Sciences, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Aesthetic Dentistry. Dr. Glazer is an Attending Dentist at the Englewood Hospital (Englewood, NJ). Additionally, Dr. Glazer is the Deputy Chief Forensic Dental Consultant to the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, City of New York.
For the past several years, Dr. Glazer has been named as one of the “Leading Clinicians in Continuing Education” by Dentistry Today, and was named as one of the Top Dentists in New Jersey by New Jersey Monthly, 201 Magazine, and Bergen Magazine He lectures throughout the United States, Canada, and overseas, on the subjects of dental materials, cosmetic dentistry, forensic dentistry and patient management. Additionally, Dr. Glazer is a frequent author of dental articles and has been published throughout the world. For 14 years he published a column in AGD IMPACT entitled “What’s Hot and What’s Getting Hotter!” Presently, he publishes the column “I Have It … You Need It!” in Dental Economics. He maintains a general practice in Fort Lee, NJ.
Most patients have a limited understanding of restorative dentistry. As a profession, we have to get better at explaining the disease process of dental caries (decay) and the restorative options that best fit the needs of each patient. Patients need to understand the benefits of early diagnosis and bioactive restorative materials as an integral part of their plan to keep their teeth healthy for a lifetime.
Here are some tips to keep in mind when talking to patients about bioactive restoratives:
Learn About the Patient When it comes to dental restorations, one size does NOT fit all. To ensure effective diagnosis and treatment planning, ask questions about dental hygiene, existing restorations, and frequency of dental appointments.
Review the Basics of Tooth Biology and Dental Decay Start by reviewing the basics of tooth biology and the disease process of dental caries. Explain that, like bones, teeth are made of minerals, specifically calcium and phosphate. The bacteria in our mouths feeds on sugars, release acids, and cause teeth to lose essential minerals. This is the beginning of tooth decay.
Diagnose Early Talk to patients about the benefits of early diagnosis and conservative restorative options that can help patients keep their dentition healthy into their advanced years of life. Bioactive restorative materials that support the natural remineralization process can help preserve existing tooth structure.
Share the Benefits of Bioactivity Explain how bioactive restorative materials release and recharge essential minerals that help rebuild and protect teeth from acid attack. Rather than merely filling up space, these materials interact and integrate with tooth structure, creating a seal between the material and the tooth.
About Robert A. Lowe, DDS Robert A. Lowe, DDS, received his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Loyola University School of Dentistry. After completing his residency, Dr. Lowe went into private practice and began to pursue another passion: clinical teaching. While running his own practice, Dr. Lowe served as a Clinical Professor in Restorative Dentistry at Loyola University School of Dentistry until its closure in 1993. In 2000, he relocated to Charlotte, NC.
Bioactive materials help stimulate the natural remineralization process. In the presence of saliva, they elicit a biological response that forms a layer of apatite and a natural bond between the material and the tooth.*
Pulpdent’s research focuses on developing bioactive materials that imitate the physical and chemical properties of teeth, help neutralize conditions that cause dental caries, and maximize the potential for remineralization.
ACTIVA BioACTIVE materials behave favorably in the moist oral environment. They participate in a dynamic system of ionic exchange with saliva and tooth structure, continuously releasing and recharging calcium, phosphate and fluoride and responding to pH changes in the mouth. When the pH is low, the demineralization process releases calcium and phosphate ions from both the teeth and ACTIVA. When the pH increases, these ions are available to combine with the fluoride ions in our saliva and precipitate onto the teeth in the form of acid-resistant fluorapatite.
The addition of a patented rubberized-resin molecule to the ACTIVA resin matrix absorbs stress and shock and delivers unprecedented toughness and fracture resistance.
ACTIVA BioACTIVE materials are strong, esthetic and durable, and offer an alternative to traditional composites, which are strong and esthetic but are passive and without bioactive potential, and to glass ionomers, that release a significant amount of fluoride but have poor esthetics and undesirable physical properties.
