DRAKE DENTAL TALKS

What types of conservative dentistry  do you practice? Let's talk about Maryland Bridges as one option.  When an implant is contraindicated or rejected by the patient, it can be a great aesthetic solution.  (Ideally for a single maxillary or 2 adjacent mandibular incisors.) Whereas cases involving deep class II or tight occlusion, bruxism, or poor posterior support provide a potentially limited prognosis.  The prep for these cases is also conservative and minimal! Reduction is limited to the lingual (at least 0.5 mm.) from adjacent teeth, with 2% divergent of parallel in the Interproximal walls adjacent to the edentulous area being restored. The preparation should cover as much of the lingual surface as possible, terminating 1mm from the incisal edge and 1mm from the tissue. Once the appliance is complete, the resin retainer wings are prepped for adhesion in the laboratory. After try in and adjustments, clean the retainers, silinate and b...

I was reading a little 'Fun Facts' list when I saw GIRAFFES ONLY HAVE BOTTOM TEETH . I think somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew that from past visits to the Zoo, but had never really given it much thought. Of course I had to research the validity of the statement; it's true   (ish). They only have bottom teeth up front.  That's how, if you've ever been to the Zoo and participated in the feeding, you haven't been bitten!  They have pads on the upper. However, in the back of their jaw, they do have teeth on the upper and lower. And although their entire jawbone is not filled with teeth, they still have the same amount as humans - 32!  Can you imagine the eating strength if we had molars just packed in the back like that? This is where the part about nature comes in that is pretty fascinating.  Most of the giraffe's dental anatomy takes care of itself and can be explained by it's eating habits. Their molars are a lot taller than that...

A while back, we made a HINGE denture. We were presented with a case for a patient with very limited jaw expansion as well as limited hand dexterity.  The combination prevented a conventional denture from being a workable solution. Never give up though, right? After research and teamwork from a few of our denture technicians and quality control members, our hinge denture was created. The maxillary appliance opened and closed on hinges - allowing for a narrow path of insertion and full expansion once inside the mouth. The mandibular provided a similar hinge and insertion experience with the anterior teeth sliding and anchoring on once in the mouth. Needless to say, we were thrilled with the design and the opportunity for the patient!   This is what we come to work for every day. Each appliance helps in some way - even if it's just a sports guard. We enjoy what we do! Never give up, right?.... That's what we said when we heard back from the de...

Here's a little RePost Read for you this Friday!  (Brought to you by SWYP DENTAL ). If you're not familiar with their site or app yet, you really should check it out... lots of interesting reads and feeds available as they get off the ground. I find myself jumping on the app just to find articles of relevance or conversations to follow.   How does this article by Dr. Pham apply across all avenues of the workforce? If you're an Employee/'Kid' reading this, do you concur?   SWYP DENTAL Your favorite dental news delivered beautifully. POSTED ON APRIL 20, 2018  BY  DR. TUAN PHAM Dentists Are Like Parents And Employees Are Kinda Like Kids What do I mean employees are like kids? If you are parents or have nephews/nieces/etc, you know that kids test your limits right? Likely, YOU yourself have tested the limits. Did you always do what your parents told you? Don’t lie. I didn’t. I didn’t as a kid and I didn’t as a teenager. I ...

Use Your Phone to Communicate With The Lab About Dentures... and Not By Dialing Our Number. How many times have you done a denture wax try-in that just was not how you or the patient wanted it?   How do you go about communicating this to the laboratory?  Often, it is difficult to describe or just takes too many words on a prescription.   As many of you know, I am an advocate of using clinical photography for most of my cases.   With dentures, it’s unusual to get clinical photography at the laboratory.   Honestly, a picture is truly worth a thousand words for try-in evaluation.   Our technicians are quite adept at studying a photograph and appreciating changes that should be implemented.    Your phones are typically in a convenient pocket so why not whip them out and get some photography? This patient was very concerned not to show so much lower incisor, however, she did not want a great deal of upper incisor to reveal either. ...

WHAT'S IN YOUR MOUTH? NADL stands for National Association of Dental Laboratories.  And the NADL has a pretty neat mission behind that name too.   The NADL aggressively advances the dental laboratory technology industry and its members through advocacy, education, standards and services. The NADL is the dental laboratory industry’s respected authority, delivering the highest standards to ensure the members are viewed as valued professionals on the dental health team. The NADL carries out so many wonderful things for the dental industry.  They have even launched the WHAT'S IN YOUR MOUTH campaign to highlight the role and value of a trained and educated dental technician as part of the dental restorative team. We encourage you to check out NADL's homepage or the new campaign page (linked above) for tons of helpful tips and reads on the forward advocating movements taking place in the dental industry. Happy Teething Everyone!

Although completely random, today's blog is pretty appropriate. We had a wonderful, kind, hard-working technician retire from the lab today. He's worked at Drake since 1990. Since I was in Kindergarten. On the days that I feel exhausted by my young children and 15 year career, I can think about our retired friend who has put in many many more years than me.  He's earned his time to venture on to slower things, or nothing at all. Congrats, Gary! Best Wishes. If you're in the market for new adventures, check this article out! It's called 30 Awesome Things To Do in Retirement The rest of us will be here cheering you on for another few decades or so...  29. Drive a Big Rig