When I was an assistant at the VA hospital we were JCAHO accredited. Although CDC recommends barriers on air/water syringes, this accreditation required we put barriers on just about EVERYTHING. My least favorite was the air/water syringe barriers. They were always a slippery plastic that especially made retracting with the syringe a pain. I was never upset when the sleeve would “accidentally” slide down the hose and I would just disinfect my syringe at the end of the procedure, LOL.
Here at Dental Advisor, we recently received the Armor Air/Water Tip & Sleeve Combo (Pac-Dent). According to the manufacturer, this set of air/water syringe tip and barrier sleeve minimizes preparation time by combining air/water syringe tip and sleeve placements into a one-step operation. Features include the acclaimed disposable syringe tip with a 6 air-core design, and features a non-slip sleeve made with special copolymer film that provides superior infection control.
Armor as it comes out of the package
Armor initially being placed on air/water syringe
Syringe completely covered with Armor
Complete coverage at tip insertion area, also notice the texture of the cover
Spraying syringe with Armor on syringe
What were the Initial Insights of the Dental Advisor team and our editorial board? – Where was this when I was at the VA hospital!?! The texture on the sleeve makes it much less slippery than traditional barrier sleeves. – Great idea making a combo that can all be placed easily in one swoop. – We would like to see this with different air/water syringe tips to fit on different attachments. The images shown above with the yellow syringe tip insertion area is for photos only. It only fits on the push to lock systems (shown in the spraying image). – Once you are actually retracting and things get wet how much less slippery will the sleeve actually be?
What do our Clinical Evaluators and their patients think about this product once it’s used in their offices? Look for a possible clinical evaluation in an upcoming issue!
Bur holders come in all shapes and sizes. Some are covered, some are labeled, some are magnitized…. I found the same frustrations with all of them as both a dental assistant and as a dentist…. sterilization. All the assistants out there are rolling their eyes and nodding right now, lol. You go through all the trouble of organizing the burs before you bag them and by time they are sterilized, have been put away, taken out and end up on your tray they have all fallen out of the holder and are laying in the bag! Enter… Bur Safe Bur Holders.
Here at the Dental Advisor we recently received Bur Safe Bur Holders (Practicon). It didn’t look like much when I first opened the package, but I saw the beauty of this device once I put an assortment of burs in this flexible little solid silicone holder. The burs stayed put and laid flat, perfect for sterilization pouches! According to the manufacturer these bur holders make bur storage, sterilization, and retrieval easier and safer than ever. They store and dispense burs horizontally, and burs are removed by pressing down on one end to rock the bur out. There are two designs to accommodate both FG and RA burs. You can attach multiple together and they come in a variety of colors.
Bur Safe bur holder
Holding Bur Safe
Burs stay secure when tipped
Bur Safe bur holders can be connected for procedures with more burs
Comes in a variety of colors so you can color code based on procedure
Burs stayed secure no matter how much we shook it around
Connecting bur holders together
What were the Initial Insights of the Dental Advisor team? – Loving this design. – Easy to fill with burs and easy to attach multiple together. – Great design for sterilization. – How will the silicone hold up over hundreds of sterilization cycles? – Inconvenient that there are separate holders for FG and RA burs.
What do our Clinical Evaluators and their patients think about this product once it’s used in their offices? Look for a possible clinical evaluation in an upcoming issue!
Every year, as part of our accreditation for the public health clinic I worked at, we had to try safety needle systems. If we liked it we were supposed to adopt it and if we did not we had to report why we did not like and adopt it. We never adopted one. We just stuck with our little triangular re-capers. What was so wrong with the safety needle systems we tried? They were either a plastic disposable syringe that was not as sturdy feeling as your metal syringe or they were a complicated needle that the assistants were worried they would poke themselves trying to figure out how to get it on and off!
We recently received the SimpleCAPNeedle System (Verena Solutions, LLC) here at the Dental Advisor. This safety needle has a very unique placement system. It comes in a capsule! No, you don’t mix it in your triturator… you remove the lower part of the capsule to screw it onto your syringe (image below). When the top part of the capsule is removed you expose a sheathed needle. You simply twist to unlock the sheath and can lower it to expose the needle and re-sheath with a twist as well.
SimpleCAP on syringe in covered position
SimpleCAP on syringe in exposed position
SimpleCAP comes in capsules you safely screw onto the syringe
SimpleCAP lower portion being removed from the capsule – exposing the portion you screw onto syringe
Needle being exposed and re-covered
What were the Initial Insights of the Dental Advisor team? – Very easy on and easy off of the syringe. – Easy to sheath and unsheath syringe with this system. – Very sturdy on the syringe, I want to see how sturdy it is while injecting though! – Yes, I found a way to poke myself right after putting it on so it goes to show that nothing is foolproof; however, common sense can prevail, LOL. – So easy to use that it makes it tough to use the excuse anymore that safely recapping taking too much time!
What do our Clinical Evaluators and their patients think about this product once it’s used in their offices? Look for a possible clinical evaluation in an upcoming issue!
If you’ve been in dentistry long enough, you have been in the path of amalgam shrapnel flying at you from removing an old restoration. I have had several times, both as an assistant and as a dentist, where it flew under my goggles from above or below in the gap between the glasses and my face. I have been lucky to never have it actually go into my eye, but I have know assistants that were not so lucky… enter Surgical Facemasks with a Bottom Gap Shield.
We recently received these Surgical Facemasks with a Bottom Gap Shield (ETA) from a Dental Advisor Clinical Consultant! They feature a plastic debris deflector that protects your eyes from incoming fragments such as amalgam, porcelain, or tooth. According to our consultant that is the designer of these masks, they efficiently close the bottom gap without the glare, discomfort, fogging, visual distortion, or condensation that are typically associated with full face shield masks. He says they also do not interfere with your line of vision.
Great going Dr. Pete Arsenault! He is speaking all over the country about infection control, PPE and the importance of protecting your eyes.
A fabulous Dental Assistant modeling the Surgical Face Masks with Bottom Gap Shield… not sure what she’s looking at, LOL
A different angle
Yet another angle
What were the Initial Insights of the Dental Advisor team? – The first thing our Editorial Board member, that is a dental assistant, noted was how comfortable the masks themselves were and how she had less fogging than normal. – When I tried these on with loupes I did not even notice the plastic but with goggles on it was noticeable. – As someone who has ducked and dodged flying amalgam my whole career I think this is a great idea! – Will they really stay out of your line of vision? – I thought they would come a little closer to the gap then they did when we tried them. Likely varies based on what kind of protective eyewear you are wearing.
What do our Clinical Evaluators and their patients think about this product once it’s used in their offices? Look for a possible clinical evaluation in an upcoming issue!
When I look through the supplies catalog, I rarely get as excited about HVE tips as I did when I saw these. An average dental office goes through SO many disposables it is insanity. Anything that makes us a little more Eco-friendly is exciting… even though we are probably going to throw them away in a plastic bag, but let’s ignore that little detail for now.
Here at the Dental Advisor, we recently received ECO-TIPS (Practicon). These Eco-friendly HVE tips are made of renewable, sustainable paper. They are coated with a food-grade coating that, according to the manufacturers, virtually eliminates moisture absorption and fraying of the paper. They are not new to the market, but in this time of awareness of how plastics affect sea life, and cities across the country making laws to minimize environmental impacts, this is a great time to re-address them. Also, they are available in 7 different fun patterns.
Tip starts out firm prior to water exposure
Tip is still firm after water exposure (exposed to more water than shown here)
Fun pattern of Eco-tips in HVE
Another style of Eco-tips in HVE. Good tight fit
Eco-tips slightly shorter than standard plastic HVE
7 patterns of Eco-tips
Some fraying of paper coating in the end that goes into HVE hose
What were the Initial Insights of the Dental Advisor team? – One of our Editorial Board members that is an assistant instantly wanted to know how to order these. They are a great idea! – Come with vent holes (which as a past assistant, I personally love). – We noticed that they are a little shorter than your standard HVE tip, but still seem long enough to work well. – After playing with these for a while we did notice some slight fraying of the tips in the end that goes into the HVE line (image above). – Wonder if there will be any buildup issues in the HVE line from paper? – Seemed to hold up very well to water.
What do our Clinical Evaluators and their patients think about this product once it’s used in their offices? Look for a possible clinical evaluation in an upcoming issue!
I was head of the sterilization committee at the public health clinic I worked at. One of the assistants I used to work with called me an infection control Nazi. I took this as part insult yes, but also part compliment. Following all of OSHA and CDC guidelines/mandates is insanely difficult; however, there are companies out there making products to make following guidelines/mandates easier.
Research has shown that bib chains get gross. There have been disposable bib clips on the market for years, so what makes the Disposa-Bib Holders (Hager Worldwide we recently received here at the Dental Advisor different? The material it is made of a silk-like fiber which makes it kind of stretchy. Also, it comes in a 20″ length and cute pink or blue floral patterns.
Disposa-Bib Holder in the blue floral print
Disposa-Bib holder held up to the light to show material
Jim from our graphics team rockin’ a blue floral Disposa-Bib holder
What were the Initial Insights of the Dental Advisor team? – We instantly noticed the extra length. Having used other brands and had them be too short on people with large necks or wearing clothing like a hoodie, we feel those couple of extra inches will make a noticeable difference. – The material has a bit of stretch to it. – The material seems stronger than other brands.
What do our Clinical Evaluators and their patients think about this product once it’s used in their offices? Look for a possible clinical evaluation in an upcoming issue!
