By now, most of you are at least aware of – if not joining – the trending move toward digital impressions and the new buzz technology known as “Intra-Oral Scanners.” New scanners are emerging at a fast clip, as are the salient features and benefits associated with them.

Other time savings include:

tray selection, material dispensing, disinfection, and impression gun cleanup. If you miss a margin and have to take the impression again, multiply this by two!

There is no model pouring or model trimming. In addition, impressions don’t need to be packaged, lab scripts do not to be written and there are no shipping costs – since online prescriptions are sent electronically with the digital impression.

This just in. Patients do not like having an impression taken.

Say “Thank-you Dr. Obvious.”

You’re welcome.

It’s a digital world now. Dentition can be scanned intra-orally. No more chairside drama. No more patients squirming uncomfortably in the chair. No high anxiety, no gag reflex and…

NO MORE PHYSICAL IMPRESSIONS.

Possibly the best news?

With virtual impressions, the information can be downloaded directly to the lab to produce CAD/CAM restorations.

That means…No chance of valuable impressions or models getting lost or damaged, improved model accuracy, with no patient contamination, and visibly cleaner preparations.

It also means the lab can create your restorations on a solid model that captures all the dies in one, with no movement, and no die spacer required.

All of these improvements translate into, giving you restorations that actually fit with little or no adjustments.

You also get greater accuracy when restoring multiple units, too.

All of this means big cost savings for you!  But the real saving is time…and that’s a discussion for next time.

Looking for an easy way to retract flared anteriors? A simple removable appliance with an active labial bow is often all that’s needed. Check out the Apron Spring appliance. SML’s orthodontic labs can easily incorporate this retraction arch wire into an appliance –and help you to reliably treat your patients who have anterior flaring.

The global SML network of orthodontic labs meets both your exacting standards and ours, so you know you’ll be getting quality oral appliances and great service each time you place an order.

If you’ve been with your dental lab for many years, chances are you’ve established a routine….something like you order the same products again and again and they send them to you. Sound familiar?

Here’s an idea. Take a step back and take a look at what your dental lab provides…and how it might be improved. Better appliances? Better service? More variety?

While you’re stepping back, consider this: Today’s dental labs often offer a wider variety of services than you realize.

For example, at SML (Space Maintainers Laboratories), our network of dental labs can turn your digital impressions/scans into physical working models…and then turn those models into a custom-fabricated appliances. And we accept virtually all types of scans – including iTero®, 3M to 3shape, and Carestream to Condor.

Early treatment is easy. It’s cost effective. And it will, in the long run, save both parents and patient the considerable monetary expenditure and heartache resulting from allowing it to progress into adulthood. So don’t let it happen!

Every child who comes in your office deserves to be evaluated for their orthodontic and orthopedic needs.

Watching and waiting until the adult dentition erupts is nothing less than malpractice.

Sleep disordered breathing is epidemic and the only way to break the cycle is to recognize the early signs and symptoms and treat them before they get worse!!!!

How to prevent unwanted movement after premature primary molar loss?

Maintain the position of the maxillary first molars using a Nance Appliance.This appliance fits across the roof of the mouth. Bands on the upper first molars are connected via an acrylic “button” that rests in the pre-maxillary palatal region (for added stability).

The SML NANCE APPLIANCE

The Nance is also frequently used during full banding and bracketing to create an anchorage unit. NOTE: The appliance needs to be monitored carefully and cleaned regularly with an oral irrigator. (If neglected, the “button” pad can become a food trap and/or become embedded in the palatal tissue.

Finally, there is one appliance that truly delivers the ultimate in esthetics, comfort and durability in one superior design.

It’s a simple fixed appliance called the Groper Pedo Partial and it provides anterior space maintenance for children who have prematurely lost their anterior teeth.

Arch length loss has already occurred when you see an erupting six-year molar caught under the distal edge of a primary second molar. Leaving it untreated will block the normal eruption of the second bicuspid, diminish the child’s arch length and possibly affect the space needed for the tongue to rest normally.

The ELASTIC HALTERMAN APPLIANCE                                             

The Elastic Halterman Appliance is an easy way to quickly regain lost arch length and return a tipped molar to its ideal position.

Early loss of a primary molar often causes the adult first molar to tip and move mesially. The basic unilateral space maintainer is ideal for holding the first molar’s position – this simple appliance can maintain arch length; normal function and esthetics; and perhaps most importantly, intraoral volume.

Forces generated during eating can cause a unilateral space maintainer to move gingivally at the loop, potentially resulting in tissue irritation and in some case allow the banded molar to still tip mesially.

The Modified Space Maintainer features an occlusal rest on the adjacent tooth, which prevents the forces of mastication from moving the loop gingivally. At times, it may prove necessary to prepare a rest seat in the supporting tooth to keep the occlusion clear of any interference. Added retention may also be achieved by bonding the rest into position with composite resin. 

The responsibility for evaluating a pediatric patient’s oral health rests in the hands of the dentists and hygienists who will care for them for the rest of their adult lives. The dentist plays a key role at three procedural levels:  

Screening, Diagnosis, Treatment

As pediatric, orthodontic, or general dentists we should be looking to create a normal skeletal relationship for the best intraoral volume and airway space, a healthy jaw joint, excellent facial esthetics and a proper solid occlusion that will maintain the preceding three.

Every dentist needs to be actively involved in the evaluation of pediatric arch size, tooth position, airway and facial development. Early evaluation, diagnosis and treatment helps intercept problems, ensure normal development and give your young patient a chance to grow into a healthy adult.