What's new

You'll want to try them all...

Stafford Miller, makers of Sensodyne, have extended their successful character toothbrush portfolio to include a range of Pokémon toothbrushes.

There are four toothbrushes in the range which have been created in association with Nintendo. The brushes feature four popular Pokémon characters – Squirtle, Psyduck, Poliwhirl and Mewtwo, on the Sensodyne junior chunky toothbrush.

A range of merchandising items such as Pokémon stickers, a poster and a display unit are available from your Stafford Miller Territory Manager. Call 01707 331001 for details.

Reader response number: 051

John Hunt helps web site smile on

John Hunt OBE has joined the Board of smile-on.com as Non-Executive Director. Smile-on.com is an Internet business serving members of the dental community.

John brings to smile-on a wealth of dental experience gained from his role as Chief Executive of the British Dental Association between 1993 and 2000 and his capacity as treasurer of both the European Union Dental Liaison Committee and the Commonwealth Dental Association. In 1999, John was elected speaker of the FDI's General Assembly.

Commenting on his appointment, John Hunt said, "I have been watching developments at smile-on.com since it launched at the Dentistry 2000 conference last April and have been very impressed with the progress the company has made in getting dentists and members of ancillary professions involved in the rapidly evolving dental Internet scene."

John's role within smile-on.com will be to work closely with company's CEO Noam Tamir in developing the international aspects of the company's business and to help expand the range of the smile-on.com offering.

Reader response number: 052

It's your loss if you fail to floss...

Fewer than 10 per cent of the population floss regularly despite evidence that tooth brushing alone will not effectively control interproximal plaque.

In an attempt to break this flossing inertia and encourage trial and regular usage, Oral-B is implementing a major professional sampling programme.

Oral-B representatives are currently distributing merchandisers containing 36, five-metre-long samples of SATINtape free to UK practices. Contact your local representative while stocks are available.

Reader response number: 053

AstraZeneca makes sale to Dentsply

AstraZeneca has sold its dental range of local anaesthetics to Dentsply International Inc in an agreement worth $136.5 million plus future royalty payments.

AstraZeneca's portfolio of dental local anaesthetics includes brand names such as Xylocaine, Citanest and Polocaine/Carbo-caine. AstraZeneca will retain the ownership of these local anaesthetic brand names but will license the rights to Dentsply for their dental use. Dentsply has also acquired full rights to Oraqix, AstraZeneca's new dental gel for scaling and root planning, which is currently in Stage III clinical trials.

Ake Stavling, Executive Director of AstraZeneca PLC, said "Following a comprehensive strategic review of our product portfolio, AstraZeneca believes that our dental range of anaesthetics can be better co-ordinated and marketed by a dedicated dental products company."

The dental local anaesthetics line accounts for approximately seven per cent of the sales of AstraZeneca's total anaesthetic portfolio.

Reader response number: 054

Pipeless dreams...

The cost of building, plumbing and electrical installations may be enough to put you off the idea of expanding your surgery, but now the Dentalman Pipeless offers a solution.

The Dentalman Pipeless is a laptop size dental unit including power from a state-of-the-art battery, a compact compressor and a reservoir supplying water. The unit may make working more flexible, making it possible to offer treatment outside the surgery.

Full details can be found on a CD-rom available from Dentalman. To receive your copy, phone 01844 213399.

Reader response number: 055

All the SUPPORT you need

Reaching and stretching over patients can lead to pain in the lower back. Back pain may lead to reduced working hours, expensive treatments and even forced early retirement. However, the SUPPORT stool is designed to help reduce the risk of injury.

The manufacturer claims that the SUPPORT stool stimulates movement in the lower back, keeping muscles supple and helping reduce the risk of back pain. The stool can be used in 'free floating' mode so that it follows the user's movements, and can be set in any desired position.

The SUPPORT stool is available with arm rest designed especially for dental professionals. It comes in leather, vinyl or upholstered finish and features a five-year-warranty on mechanical parts.

For further information phone 01296 581 764.

Reader response number: 056

Careware made to measure

Henry Schein's range of professional work wear for all members of the dental team is available in a wide range of colours and styles and offers a bespoke tailoring service at off-the-peg, high street prices.

Careware uniforms are cut from a blend of polyester and cotton and Henry Schein claims they are easy to care for, comfortable to wear, smart and durable. Staff names or a company logo can easily be incorporated directly from business letterheads, helping promote the practice's image.

Phone 08700 102043 for full details.

Reader response number: 057

Trade news

Easy access with KaVo

KaVo Multimedia is a distribution system which provides on-screen access to all clinical and management information. A unique, adjustable flat screen attached to the light-arm makes this possible.

KaVo Multimedia is available on all new Estetica Surgery Systems and may be retrofitted to many others. Any intr-oral camera may be used but the KaVo ErgoCam can be integrated into the Multimedia system and is claimed to offer several benefits. ErgoCam has a unique, auto-focus optical lens which uses a dental mirror to transmit the image. The cameras have very high resolution, automatic switch on/off and a freeze frame facility via foot controller.

Reader response number: 058

Wireless wonder

The Digital DOC OBM wireless intra-oral camera combines advanced technologies in one design.

The Digital DOC OBM has a single 105 degree lens and Sony's latest, most precise CCD video chip to produce high quality intra and extra-oral images. The palm sized Digital DOC is battery operated and weighs less than 500 grams.

The new Digital DOC on board memory can capture one or four images which are transferred wirelessly to your TV, computer or printer.

Reader response number: 059

Success from Sirona

Sirona's Heliodent Vario intra-oral x-ray system is both compact and user friendly.

The option of digital based functionality means no waiting periods, no film processing, no darkrooms and no chemicals. This is coupled with reduced radiation doses of up to 50 per cent.

Sidexis, the digital x-ray software provided as standard with all digital x-ray units fully exploits the benefits of digital radiographs.

The radiation reduction is also exploited by the Orthophos range of panoramic and cephalometric x-ray units.

Reader response number: 060

New Concept from Dentsply

The new Dentsply Gendex AcuCam Concept IV intra-oral camera uses a high resolution digital signal processor in the camera handpiece, making the Concept IV one of the most portable intra-oral cameras available.

The AcuCam Concept IV consists of intra-oral camera, universal docking system and peripheral items such as monitor and printer. Concept IV uses a specialised filter system that ensures soft tissue, dental tissues, amalgams and gold restorations are presented in their natural colour. The handpiece has a slim end with a wide angle view for good intra-oral access.

The universal docking station can be placed on a counter or mounted on a wall. It has an operator control panel which provides printer status information as well as simple one step controls for viewing, image manipulation, printing and capturing that are all within easy reach.

Reader response number: 061

TV or not TV?

Henry Schein are offering a free 14 inch television with the purchase of two cameras from their range of quality intra-oral cameras.

The range comprises many well-known brands including the Eurodoc and Eurolite II that are both manufactured by ICS in California using the latest CCD technology. Both these cameras come with the free 14 inch television.

The Eurodoc is a simple camera designed to work as stand alone solution and is priced at £1995 (excluding VAT). Henry Schein claims the Eurolite II camera is one of the most cost effective camera printer combinations on the UK market at £2995 (excluding VAT).

Henry Schein have a variety of cameras to suit individual practice requirements. Phone 08700 10 20 41 for details.

Reader response number: 062

Dentrak on-line

Dentrak Computer Systems have launched a new website at www.dentrak.co.uk.

The site contains a comprehensive product range, including the recently launched CygnusRay digital x-ray and the CygnaScope intra-oral camera.

Dentrak claims the CygnusRay MPS Digital X-Ray System introduces cutting edge design, easy to use software and a choice of three sensor resolutions for maximum flexibility.

The CygnaScope ProFire intra-oral camera will be available from April onwards. Benefits include EZ Freeze, an easy-to-use capture/freeze button. '1-Finger Focus' was considered in the design of the camera, including building a one-finger ThinSlide focus into the centre of the handpiece.

This camera is so small and light it is possible to mount it almost anywhere without losing space in the surgery.

Reader response number: 063

Take a QuickView

Team Management Systems 'QuickView' software integrates the 'Arthur' for Windows programme with all popular digital x-ray and camera systems.

No additional software is necessary, allowing dentists to choose the digital imaging system which best suits their particular practice requirements.

Digital imaging offers up to a 90 per cent reduction in exposure to radiation and a dramatic reduction in archive storage space.

Storing images on a computer database means they can be viewed quickly and easily by the dentist and patient together on the surgery PC screen. The intra-oral camera provides the patient with a clear view of his/her teeth, making it easy to point out the treatment area and is also an effective and useful sales device.

Conventional hard copies of camera images are expensive, take up valuable storage space, are difficult to view and likely to appear old-fashioned to the patient. Existing conventional x-rays and documents can also be scanned into the database for fast and easy retrieval.

Reader response number: 064

In Focus

VistaCam is the new intra-oral camera manufactured in Germany by Durr and distributed in the UK by KaVo. The two companies have a reputation for innovation, quality and reliability.

The depth of field of between 5 and 45 millimetres means focusing is virtually automatic from the lips to the back of the mouth.

The VistaCam is presented as a modular system allowing a single camera to be used in several surgeries without having to purchase several complete systems. The basic package costs £5,240.50 including VAT.

Reader response number: 065