My mother was an artist. She had a gift to create beauty by drawing, painting, and even airbrush. I did not get that particular gift… I can barely draw a stick figure. However, I still wanted to create beauty like my mother could. I found my artistic medium to be mixed media. I can take just the right combination of beads, paper, and fabric and make something wonderful. The same goes for my dentistry. I do not have the amazing hand skills of some talented dental artists; however, I still strive to provide my patients with the highest quality, and most aesthetic dentistry possible. This is in part what drives my passion for dental products. Struggling to make the connection? Well, I learned early on that not every product works in my hands, but when you put the right products in my hands I can make magic with them. Pairing a practitioner with the right products is like helping an artist find their medium.
I liked attending the Dental Advisor Editorial Board meetings, even when I was a dental assistant, because in order to determine the plus rating the board debated on the good, the bad, and all the nuances in between for each product. This is not what you see in advertisements right! A marketing department’s job is to make you to think that all their products are perfect. Perfect handling, perfect shade matching, the most ergonomic, the most hydrophilic, the list goes on and on. The reality is that no product is perfect, but that doesn’t mean it could not be perfect for you.
Dr. Ona in the DA lab testing a new endodontic backfill device in a plastic tooth. No, it is not the cleanest lab… it is a real research lab. There are bonding kits for testing going on to the left, teeth in a jar for dentin bond strength tests to the right, and all kinds of other tests going on in between.
As Clinical Editor at the Dental Advisor, I am encouraged to make sure to report “most liked” and “least liked”, the “good” and the “bad”, about the products in our evaluation articles. Why? No product is perfect, and the “bad” is not always “bad” to everyone. “This product was too stiff” is an opinion of the evaluator that makes it a poor choice for one practitioner but may make it more appealing to another!
I have now been asked to play with all the products that come through the door and report my “initial insight” to all of you through this blog. I may have the best job in all of dentistry, LOL. I get to research all the products, stretch them, squirt them, try them out, and initially evaluate them from the view of all sides of the chair. We get way more products through the door than those that get evaluated, but that does not mean we don’t see all the fun stuff that’s out on the market. I hope you enjoy this new feature, and I hope when you think of the Dental Advisor you will think of us as a resource for all things dental product… all the “good”, all the “bad”, and all of those nuances in between that make them all different… but also make one of those the best choice for you.
Sincerely,
Dr. Ona
