Here’s a little something to remind you to share a smile with someone. Have a great Tuesday!

“While placing the UltraSeal XT hydro, you can literally see the sealant going into the pits and fissures! Day and night difference (from other sealants), and the use of the little light is a fun way to show the kids and parents and be able to check retention at their six-month appointments.” -Stephanie Vieau, Dental Assistant, Centreville, Virginia Choosing the right dental sealant and placing it properly can prove to be quite the challenge. So many sealants on the market fail to follow through on their promises-often peeling at the margins, popping off the tooth, and failing to prevent microleakage over time.

The most common challenges in getting a quality impression are adequate tissue retraction and sufficient moisture control. Dr. Dan Fischer, president and CEO of Ultradent Products, Inc. often says, “There is nothing one can do well, in a quality sense, when it comes to operative dentistry in the presence of bleeding.” Along with Ultradent’s world-renowned tissue management products, Ultradent’s retraction cord, Ultrapak® (also the world’s first knitted packing cord), helps to enhance tissue management techniques by delivering the ferric sulfate solutions subgingivally for optimum sulcular fluid control. The Ultrapak® cord is made of 100% cotton, knitted into thousands of tiny loops to form long, interlocking chains. This unique knitted design exerts a gentle continuous outward force following placement, as the knitted loops seek to open. Ideal tissue displacement occurs within one to three minutes after cord placement. Packing cord placement technique also plays an important role in achieving quality, predictable tissue management. Here are a few important steps to follow to achieve adequate tissue retraction every time:

With Ultradent’s recent announcement that the company acquired global distribution rights* to Uveneer™, the world’s first and only composite veneer template system available in the dental market today, we sat down with Dr. Sigal Jacobson, Uveneer’s founder and creator, to discuss the product, its uses, and Uveneer’s recent partnership with Ultradent.

“Dr. Fischer’s philosophy saved me from depression and discouragement in my field and reaffirmed that minimally invasive dentistry, which I felt was the best way to practice, was in fact the right way to practice,” says Dr. Gary Halko, a general practitioner from Georgetown, Texas. “I now feel encouraged, happy, and content with what I do, and I see a lot of wonderful successes. As Dr. Fischer would say—practicing minimally invasive dentistry, keeping people comfortable with their teeth and the appearance of their teeth, is very rewarding. Rebuilding people’s smiles brings me great satisfaction. It seems to me that I’ve been able to do almost anything composite now. I just love it.”

To wrap up our four-part series, “20 Reasons to Love Opalescence,” let’s discuss some of the other reasons that people around the world love Opalescence® Tooth Whitening Systems. 16. Opalescence Offers Quality You Can Trust The Opalescence and Ultradent names have long been globally synonymous with quality. Our in-house research and development team strives for continuous improvement in all of our products, from manufacturing to quality control. From conception to packaging, right to the dentist’s office—excellence directs the process, start to finish. Ultradent has reached and maintained quality standards restricted to the world’s best companies, such as ISO 9001 and IDO 13485 qualifications, ensuring that all products meet and exceed both clinicians’ and patients’ expectations.

“There was a time, maybe 15–18 years into my practice as a dentist that in regards to using a caries indicator, I thought, ‘I think I’m a reasonably good dentist. Shoot, if I can’t identify caries then something is wrong with me!’” says Dr. Fischer, president and CEO of UItradent Products, Inc. “Finally, I decided to give one of the caries indicators that were on the market at the time a try and quickly discovered that something was wrong with me!” he laughs.

Moisture. It’s the constant battle of dentists everywhere as they fight, on a daily basis, to perform quality, precise work that offers longevity to the patient. This can only be done in the presence of zero to very little moisture, thus, clinicians are constantly looking for effective ways to block and/or slow its flow while they work. One of the “old reliables” dentists turn to time after time remains the rubber dam—a standard, yet polarizing tool that been in most dentist’s bag of tools since its advent by Sanford C. Barnum in 1964. The many advantages the rubber dam has brought to modern dentistry can arguably far outweigh its disadvantages, but Dr. Dan Fischer, president and CEO of Ultradent Products, Inc., says, “It has its limits.” And when the rubber dam has reached these limits, Dr. Fischer points toward another reliable product that is always there to “fill in the gaps,” so to speak. That product is OraSeal.

Many clinicians encounter the dark staining of a patient’s tissues after the use of a hydrophobic cement. Fortunately, this is a challenge that is treatable, and even better, preventable! First, let’s take a look at the reasons behind why this pesky staining occurs in the first place. It’s all about the chemistry. Non-sealing cements allow saliva and bacteria to move between the temporary and preparation. Coagulum within cut tissues is a source of iron, which reacts with the hydrogen sulfide gas (rotten egg gas, H2S) produced by anaerobic bacteria in this septic environment. The reaction yields ferric sulfide—the harmless, yet annoying dark surface stain shown in the photo below.

All clinicians encounter challenges when it comes to tissue management. Even with high-quality, predictable tissue management products and techniques out there (such as Astringedent® X or ViscoStat® used with the Metal Dento-Infusor® tip), it helps to know a few tips and tricks for the extraordinary cases that inevitably come about from time to time.