That is an unique weblog publish from Dr. Gupreet Sidhu, D.D.S., Langley, BC
Haley got here to me three years in the past and mentioned she had an incredible lunch the place she realized a couple of new Fluoride varnish she had an opportunity to strive from Oral Science. It was completely different in its common make-up as a result of it didn’t have the cheesy really feel most varnishes have. As much as that time, we had been principally utilizing a conventional PCxx thixotropic 1.23% APF gel. Usually, sufferers have been okay with it, however we all the time had a good variety of sufferers who declined fluoride due to style considerations, upset stomachs, not having the ability to eat for half-hour afterward, and even simply common discomfort with the process. It was all the time one thing I used to be conscious of on the workplace (Lighthouse Dental Centre), however from the time I used to be in dental college, this was nonetheless thought-about the popular technique of Fluoride utility.
From a time-efficiency perspective, I’ve all the time felt gel fluoride hasn’t been one of the best product for a number of causes:
- Your entire course of takes about 4-5 minutes by the point you sit up the affected person, select the correct trays, load the gel, and permit the affected person to expectorate for 30-60 seconds afterwards.
- When working a busy apply, if I’m coming in for an examination, and it’s the beginning of the Fluoride utility, then I’m ready, and consequently, my different affected person is ready for me to return as nicely.
- The hygienist steadily solely has 60 minutes to evaluation the affected person’s medical historical past, probe tooth, take X-rays, full the cleansing, prophy, floss, anticipate the examination, clear the room, and arrange for the following affected person. Each minute counts.
We used a number of varnishes, however the varnish we predominantly used was a 3M product known as Vanish. We typically would use this on sufferers that declined the gel or had a excessive incidence of cavities. Vanish is available in a Unidose package deal, which inherently will increase the CPP (Price per affected person), however it does have some nice properties like a 24-hour Fluoride launch time, straightforward utility, and no have to dry the tooth. It additionally labored nice with sensitivity alongside the gum line, however virtually all sufferers would touch upon how the tooth didn’t really feel “clear” afterward due to the tackiness attributable to the pine tree sap ingredient referred to as colophony or rosin.
I say all of the above to say this: My hygienists and I’ve been in search of a product with all of the optimistic attributes I’ve talked about with out the drawbacks that retract from the affected person expertise.
Then, alongside got here Fluorimax.
Oral Science does an incredible job explaining what Colophony-free means when it comes to product thickness, however in our real-world utility, what it actually means is a a lot better affected person expertise. The food-grade shellac permits the appliance to be very skinny and nearly invisible. We use this product on 100% of our sufferers, and thru the hundreds of hygiene sufferers we’ve seen, not a single affected person has complained or has not been capable of tolerate the Fluoride utility.
Like Vanish, the Shellac works nicely for hypersensitivity, and now we have had nice success with utilizing it earlier than an ultrasonic cleansing to lower sensitivity and discomfort throughout instrumentation.
By way of the time it takes to use, the CDA and hygienist can apply the fluoride in underneath a minute, making it rather more environment friendly for the apply. Due to the thinness, I can do an examination any time earlier than or after the appliance.
We typically use two flavours: mint and bubble gum. As anticipated, the children love bubble gum, and most adults favor mint. Instead, a caramel flavour can be out there. Alongside the best way, we definitely discovered it’s crucial to comply with instructions and shake the bottle for 15 seconds earlier than shelling out the Fluoride to stop settling. If we don’t do this, sufferers will discover an acidic style from the appliance, however as soon as the Fluoride is correctly blended, it’s fairly nice for the affected person. They actually love the truth that they’ll eat and brush often after the appointment. Dental professionals all have these sufferers who get so hungry within the chair, and so they need to get out to seize a snack straight away!
Regarding value with 585 drops in a single bottle, it’s extremely cost-effective, and it decreases the related hygiene overhead. Every affected person is barely completely different, so we will dial in how a lot varnish we need to dispense per affected person.
I just lately took over a second dental workplace (Blue Water Dental) that has a longtime affected person base of over 40 years. Each hygienists have been working towards for many years, and so they love this product a lot it took solely someday of utility to comprehend that this was going to be the way forward for our hygiene program. With it being extra snug, it has undoubtedly enhanced affected person compliance.
Quite a few instances, we had sufferers who all the time denied Fluoride utility, who at the moment are transformed to Fluoride customers after we’ve satisfied them to strive Fluorimax. It really is completely different than something in the marketplace.
One in all my favorite quotes, “None of us are smarter than all of us,” is a precept that has helped our enterprise develop. By listening to others who’ve been on an identical path in development and improvement, we’ve been capable of evolve. I approached Oral science to provide my genuine suggestions on their product to succeed in a broader viewers to hopefully assist different dentists and apply house owners improve their providers for his or her sufferers and enhance effectivity and profitability.
