SOPA in your mouth
Jan. 18th, 2012 | Posted by Trish Walraven
3 comments
I have a soft spot in my heart for funny Engrish. Except when the person writing it has a blatant disrespect for patents, trademarks, and such. Isolite Systems has a slam-dunk product that has been previously featured here on DentalBuzz, and yes, we’ve even suggested that a clever hack was available which still gives the Isolite company a repeat source of income. There’s hacking, and then there’s design forgery.

This introductory email should sufficiently scare you away from even thinking about going to the dark side:
Dear Sir/Madam:
Good day! I am very pleasure to send you an E-mail to introduce our product– ISOlight Shining Suction! Pls check attachment. This product can bring a few of advantage for dentistry:
1. Work Faster, Brighter, Drier
ISOlight Shining Suction is with a continuous, powerful and shadowless illumination. Dentist can see it mach more clearly inside mouth, then they can work accurately and faster. The special design mouthpiece can supply a widely space for dentist. Operation become more convenience. This device can connect with high/low suction. then the water will go throuth mouthpiece and maintain mouth drier. The patient doesn’t need to get up the spit the water.
2. Shining Suction Stop Interruption and save more time, dentst can get more appointment
Base of the advantage, dentst can complete the operation faster and patient become more comfortable. EACH OPERATION WILL BE FAST 25%-30%. In the same working time, dentist can take more appointment and create more profit. In the same time, dentist and patient would not feel tried.
3. Save Work
Shining Suction supply self-suction. Nurse doesn’t need to stay beside patient and hold high/low suction. She/he will be free to do the other assistance such as: mix the colophony and materail, clean the instrument, do autoclavable, pass and take the instrument etc. Then dentist can do operation more dedicated.
4. Safe
Special Mouthpiece will protect tongue and cheek. Patient will not be easy to get hurt.
5. Better Ergonomics
The ergonomic design of Shining Suction reduces fatigue and repetitive stress associated with retraction, suctioning, eyestrain, and motion spent adjusting headlights, overhead light or otherwise positioning the patient for better access or visibility.
6. Save Cost
The bright shining suction will supply the powerful light in mouth. Dentist doesn’t need to buy expensive fiber optic product, such as: Fiber optic handpice, fiber optic scaler, headlight, etc.
ISOlight Shining Suction is the new revolution dental product with many useful advantage. It will definitely help you increase your efficiency and profit. ISOlight will be your best assistant on your job.
If you have any question, pls feel free to contact me.
Do you still fight in the hard competition of old product? Do you still think about how to increase your business? Do you still warry about the profit reduce of old product? I think it is time to indraught ISOlight Shining Suction to help you.
For more detail and best distributor price, pls send E-mail to reference with your company detail.
Sincerely waitting for your reply. Have a nice day! Best regard
Kevin Guan, Export Manager, Codent Technology Co., Ltd
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If you ever see any other dental product knockoffs let us know here at DentalBuzz so we can “out” the dastardly company. SOPA and PIPA censoring isn’t the answer to problems like this on the internet. Awareness can only go so far, too. The real stand today has to be internal, so make sure that you continue to promote good enterprise instead of just free enterprise.
And it’s so hard for me to stand firm on my ethics because they make some REALLY CUTE HERMES BAG knockoffs out there! But I must stand up. For Isolite. And for every innovative company online that does its best to stay honest.
Tags: engrish, isolight, Isolite, isolite systems, PIPA, SOPA, trademark infringement
Chuck Norris implants
Aug. 15th, 2011 | Posted by Trish Walraven
1 comments
Just in case you missed the rash of Chuck Norris facts that Chuck Norris himself loves to cheese about on the talk show circuit, here’s a quick cluster of ‘em written by periodontist and private surgical tutor Anthony Reganato, DDS, MS.
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To me, a “Chuck Norris” implant is not one that is threaded into place with a handpiece. A “Chuck Norris” implant actually spins the patient around and around until the implant is sitting exactly where it wants to sit…
A “Chuck Norris” implant does not require an osteotomy, anesthesia, flap, or even a patient to be seated in the mouth.
A” Chuck Norris” implant can be immediately placed after roundhouse kicking the bombed-out tooth right out of the mouth.
A” Chuck Norris” implant does not have threads…the outer coating is merely shaking in its boots just knowing that a can of whoop-ass may be unleashed at any time…
A “Chuck Norris” implant provides its own sedation to the patient…no need for drugs or tubes…also provides its own pre-med.
A “Chuck Norris” implant needs only one to be placed for an entire full mouth reconstruction.
A “Chuck Norris” implant can be placed via extra-oral approach and still end up in the ideal prosthetic position.
A “Chuck Norris” implant drives itself to the dental office in a 1965 ‘Vette everyday until it’s finally used…
A “Chuck Norris” implant is prosthetically compatible with every system except Zimmer… “Chuck Norris” implant just don’t play that.
A “Chuck Norris” implant can be inserted upside down and still work just fine.
A “Chuck Norris” implant can cure cancer.
•••••••••••••••••••••••
Now that your ruggedness has been piqued, you’ll want to YouTune here into Anthony’s Reganato Lecture Series and tap, tap deeply into your own inner spring of surgical ChuckNorrisdom.
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So what have you seen “Chuck Norris” implants do? How have they helped your patients?
Don’t buy amalgam from shady places
Jul. 12th | Posted by Trish Walraven
0 comments
Ready for another installment of Timewarp Tuesdays and some IN YOUR FACE insult marketing?
What I love most about this 1906 ad from LD Caulk (now part of Dentsply) is how it trash-talks the competition while at the same time not really quantifying why their amalgamated alloy is better. Theirs is better why? Because they say so. Because they have “delicate laboratory instruments” and “full scientific equipment.
One other thing that’s interesting, try looking at Google Maps to see what is now built at the SE corner of Broad and Chestnut Streets in Philly. That’s some prime real estate, one block from Penn Square downtown.
Tags: 20th Century Alloy, Alloy, amalgam, L D Caulk, timewarp tuesdays
Radiation: Duck and Cover (CYA!)
Apr. 15th, 2011 | Posted by Trish Walraven
1 comments

We know that you want to protect your family from anything that you hear about in the media. Especially radiation. Especially now, with the leaks at the nuclear power plant happening in Japan and with Dr. Oz telling everyone that going to the dentist could endanger their thyroid glands.
Your perception is made reality here at Safe Smiles Dental Care. Are you afraid of the cumulative effects of flying in airplanes, going outdoors, and X-Rays? Good.
Why do we say good? Because the way we nurture your fear of radiation sets us apart from other dental offices. We won’t say, “Oops, let’s re-take that xray; it didn’t come out right” here. We will get it right the first time, because, gosh darn it, we care. And we spent a lot of money on rectangular collimators with little magnets and beepers that tell you that we’re all lined up. And what about “Sorry, the thyroid collar will obstruct our view so we can’t use it”? You won’t hear that in our office either. We’ll just not worry your pretty little head about that part of your jaw.
This is what we call scratching our niche, baby. Our practice is the ultimate low-radiation dental office, and you won’t find this level of concern down the street at Dr. Happy-go-lucky’s practice. No way. We’ll massage your fears away with our assurance that any cancer you get in your lifetime won’t be from dental radiation.
So give us a call today at (990) 648-2130 to schedule your complimentary screening exam. We also offer just radiological services if you prefer to have your dental x-rays taken at our office and then forwarded to a dentist of your choice. But that’s such a hassle. C
ome on, you know you’d rather stay here with us. Especially when you start seeing these warning symbols posted all over the signs of our local competition:
Stay safe, and we’ll look forward to seeing you soon!
__________________
Yesterday on his network television show Dr. Mehmet Oz defended his remarks back in September about the necessity of lead thyroid collar use during dental x-rays whenever possible by stating that “there’s no good reason not to protect yourself against radiation.” While this is true, the bottom line is about using radiation in a way that leads to best outcomes in our patients, a point that several guest physicians also tried to make despite the protests of Dr. Oz.
Seriously, when you look at the sources of radiation in the world today, why worry about the miniscule intentional amounts? All radiation is dangerous, and it should be limited as much as possible, but the only way to avoid it totally is to dig a radon-free hole somewhere and live like a makedd roll gnat the rest of your life (ummmm. I mean naked mole rat. So hard to get that one right!). Calm your fears with this Radiation Dose Chart that was recently compiled, complete with facts about the Fukushima Nuclear plant (click on the image for full-size).
Another thing that I whipped up here for all you DentalBuzz readers is a Medical Radiation Dose Chart to download and show to your patients that have no idea how much radiation that they may be getting from the more common diagnostic procedures. I didn’t know a lot of it myself, so originally I created it to use in our office but you may find it helpful too. Did you know that it takes 10,000 PA radiographs to reach the annual limit of x-radiation? How many CT scans does it take to reach the limit? I’m too lazy to do all the math but it looks like 1 CT scan equals about 2,000 bitewings (film, not digital) according to this chart.
Regardless, we all have a responsibility to admit that we don’t know what we don’t know. And perhaps Dr. Oz may be a little right; we should do our best to protect our patients from radiation whenever possible, adapting the ALARA (As Low As Reasonably Achievable) principle with regards to radiation in dentistry.
Enter the media blitz. Interactive Digital Imaging (IDI) is re-introducing its rectangular collimator with a PR campaign targeting consumers. Dental patients will be encouraged to “Look for the Green Ring” at their dental offices, similar to the “Ask Your Doctor About” style of direct-to-consumer advertising used by the
pharmaceutical industry. Originally priced at $1295, the newly redesigned Tru-Align collimator will be offered at $795 with improvements that overcome cone-cut errors and enhancements that make the positioner more user-friendly.
My favorite feature of the Tru-Align system is not that it can be used with any typical XCP holders (but still a good thing – this includes sensors, phosphor plates, and film), but that when you bump up the xray cone to the collimation ring, you get a magnetized lock-on and an audible beep to let you know that you will NOT be getting a cone-cut on that image. BAM! ZAP! If nothing else, the precision of this thing should impress our patients. And if they’re the kind that are really concerned about their radiation exposure, you can spew some factoids about reducing the absorbed dose from around 150 microsieverts to 30 microsieverts for an 18-image FMX series.
What it finally comes down to is having the right things to say to your patients when they ask about radiation, and addressing any real problems that you may be having in your office, like the assistant who has to re-take a periapical x-ray three times in order to get the one that you need. Or making sure that your thyroid collars are actually being Velcroed behind your patients’ necks. Or halting the bacteria-fest breeding on your lead aprons. My bet is that’s the biggest offense of all. Ahhh, a problem for another day…..
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Thanks to these blogs whose articles have helped shape this one:
The ALARA Principle: Dr. Jeffrey Hoos and Michael Razzano on Dentistry IQ
The Digital Dentist Lorne Lavine
Dr. Oz discusses Dental X-Rays and Thyroid Cancer: Dr. Todd Welch at The Science of Dentistry
Suction supermod
Apr. 4th | Posted by Trish Walraven
4 comments
Rubber dams, meet silicone simplicity! Awkward assistants, take your cheek retraction and spit-sucking attempts elsewhere. You have both been banned from the operatories where isolation mouthpieces rule supreme.
First brought to market in 2005, Isolite™ Systems originated the idea of combining dryfield illumination and isolation in a patented product called the Isolite, which costs about $1700 per operatory to set up. Whoa, steeeeep. The tubing and LED Smart Stick sure isn’t their loss leader, now, is it? Then you still have to buy a $2.50 mouthpiece for each patient because they’re not sterilizable. All of it together is still easier and less expensive than your assistant.
But what if you want to keep your assistant, even though she kicks you under the chair all those times you say something stupid to a patient or start getting all OCD over a procedure? You’ve already ditched your overhead lamp for loupe-mounted headlights, so maybe you don’t even need the Lite part of the Isolite.
About a year ago, Isolite™ Systems indroduced a non-illuminating version called the IsoDry that runs a little less than half the cost of the original product. Both systems come with extra tubing. Tooobing. Makes me want to laze down the Guadalupe River with a six-pack in a styrofoam cooler. Don’t we have enough tubes and hoses to twist around each other already?
This brings us to the essence, the soul, the very magic of what makes the Isolite System the game-changer that it has become. It’s all about the mouthpiece. This transparent, comfortable, easy-to-insert soft piece of silicone not only attaches to high-speed suction to create a dry field, it replaces bite blocks, throat packs, cotton rolls, drying angles, and everything else that you used to cram in your patient’s mouth to create a perfect restorative environment.
But in order to use the mouthpiece, the rule is, you have to buy an Isolite or an Isodry. You can’t just stick it onto your high-speed suction and use it solo.
Or can you?
Mark Frias, RDH, can hook you up to go commando. Literally. He’s invented a hook-up mod for the Isolite mouthpieces that must have been driven by the frustration of trying to keep a squirmy six year old’s teeth dry for sealants with traditional isolation. You can see the differences between his design and the original Isolite on the left. It’s not sleek and sexy, but from a cost perspective this little adapter is a no-brainer. Mark calls it the Kona Adapter. Why? Is he an Ironman Triathlete from Hawaii? Actually, I think he named it after his dog.
Whatever the case, the ingenuity here is striking at a great moment. Mark is having difficulty keeping Kona Adapters in stock if that’s any indication of its demand.
For those who are concerned about taking business away from Isolite, Mark suggests purchasing a single system for one of your operatories and fitting the rest with Kona Adapters. This will give you the privilege of being an official Isolite customer so that you can be assured that you aren’t buying mouthpieces on the down low.
And everyone really wins here. Isolite could give the system away like Gillette gave away razor handles to sell you the blades for the rest of your life, or use the printer model: sell the hardware cheaply to lock you into high-priced ink refills. It’s not like Isolite Systems is exactly losing money on the mouthpieces. With this new adapter, Isolite can now make money from the dental practices that may have not been able to justify a whole-office use of their product.
So slippery-gripped assistants everywhere: Ding! You are now free to move about the office. Your hands have finally been relieved without a significant lightening of your employers’ bank accounts.
Tags: Isodry, Isolite, Kona Adapter, linkedin, Products
