New July edition ADA Professional Product Review covers curing lights and disposable handpieces

M

illions of resin restorations and light-cured

sealants are placed each year and curing lights are es- sential for those procedures. But how can you be certain that your curing light delivers the correct irradi- ance, exposure patterns and spectral emission to safely cure a resin-based restora- tion so that it performs as the manufacturer intended? To address these common concerns, the July issue of the ADA Professional Product Review features, “Effective Use of Dental Curing Lights: A Guide for the Dental Prac- titioner,” a series of short

articles by sev- eral key opinion leaders. Whether you’ve used curing lights for decades or you’re fresh out of dental school, the articles can

help you optimize your light-curing technique.

Also, in that same issue, the ADA Laboratories evaluated two disposable handpieces. If you’re wondering who would use a disposable handpiece, consider that these devices may be use- ful in clinical settings that present unusual operating conditions or challenging

infection control situations where sterilization is not practical or cost-effective, such as remote or mobile clinics, medical missions or military field installa- tions, or perhaps in a busy practice as a backup if no sterile, reusable handpiece is available.

Read this issue and previous editions at www.ada.org/978.aspx.

The MDA endorses The Dental Record through ADA Business Resources, and over the years The Dental Record has evolved from just offering patient charts on paper to a variety of electronic record-keeping services for those who want to make their offices paperless.

While their paper products are certainly still available today, they provide two electronic services we’d like to highlight.

This May, the Ameri- can Dental Association

launched a new cam- paign—Action for Dental

Health: Dentists Making a Difference—aimed at reducing the numbers of adults and children with untreated dental disease, through oral health education, prevention and providing treatment now to people in need of care. The causes of the dental health crisis are varied and complex. However, the ADA and its state constituents believe it can be solved, that it’s never too late to take on this challenge, both as individuals, as a state, and as a nation. Action for Dental Health is designed to address the dental health crisis in three distinct areas:

1. Provide care now to people suffering with untreated disease 2. Strengthen and expand the public/private safety net to provide more care to more Americans

3. Bring dental health education and disease prevention into communities

The Missouri Dental Association already is working on initiatives that align with Action for Dental Health in our state to advocate for solutions to today’s dental crisis, and will continue to communicate developments on this initiative with our members.

Visit the ADA’s Action for Dental Health website at www.ada.org/8585.aspx to learn more about the initiative and to view many different resources and information.

The first is a program called DentForms. This is a service designed specifically for patient forms to be completed elec- tronically, either online or on a computer in the dental office. All the forms are completely customizable and can be electronically signed. DentForms will then bridge off your existing practice management software.

The other electronic service is Online Data Backup. The Dental Record has partnered with Central Data Storage to provide this nationally. Other backup services are obviously available, but this one offers a great rate, there are no annual contracts, support is avail- able 24/7, it’s completely compliant with all HIPAA/HITECH regulations, and they specialize in dentistry so their technicians are familiar with all dental programs.

Learn more about this and other endorsed companies at www.modental. org/endorsements.

The Dental Record: Beyond Paper Forms

ISSUE 4 | JUL/AUG 2013 | focus 13