934tri coverw/indicia 2/27/03 8:57 am page 1 · awaken the giant within. during the past decade, 24...

Winter 2003 Dental Practice Building Strategies

A Montage Media Publication

Dentures — The Hidden Growth OpportunityRoger P. Levin, DDS, MBA

Portrait® IPN® Denture Teeth—Trident DiagnosticsKim Swehla

The Difference That Makesthe DifferenceAnthony Robbins

Dentures — The Hidden Growth OpportunityRoger P. Levin, DDS, MBA

Portrait® IPN® Denture Teeth—Trident DiagnosticsKim Swehla

The Difference That Makesthe DifferenceAnthony RobbinsP

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934TRI_Coverw/indicia 2/27/03 8:57 AM

Dear Doctor:

As with each new year, 2003 brings new restorative challenges andincreased expectations for dental professionals, manufacturers, andlaboratories. To keep pace, Trident Dental Laboratories will continueto offer products and resourceful materials that enable clinicians tothrive in the ever-evolving dental marketplace.

This first Perspectives issue of 2003 will feature renowned moti-vational lecturer, Anthony Robbins, who discusses “cutting edge”tools for dental professionals to regain their edge through personaland professional growth and development. The publication willalso present the benefits and growth possibilities obtainable withPortrait® IPN® denture teeth—the premium denture teeth that com-bine exceptional esthetics with the most popular tooth shades.

As in previous issues, a Trident technical representative providesguidelines to ensure the most efficient processing of IPN dentureteeth through the laboratory. In addition, a business reply card hasbeen enclosed for clinicians to receive a free Portrait IPN “ChooseYour Smile” Practice Development Kit.

We appreciate your feedback as well as suggestions on how we can better meet both your needs andyour patients’ needs. Please feel free to contact us via telephone at 1-800-221-4831 or via e-mail at [email protected]. As always, at Trident Dental Laboratories, you can expect quality, dependon our service, and receive value.

Sincerely,

Laurence K. Fishman

Letter From the President

Dental Practice Building Strategies

Laurence K. FishmanOwner, PresidentTrident Dental Laboratories

▲Volume 2 2 Number 1

934TRI_Fishman 2/27/03 9:34 AM

or she has “worn the same dentures formore than 20 years without any prob-lems.” These patients often have littleor no remaining ridge height. But theyexpect to have a new set of denturesmade that are as comfortable as theirtwenty-year-old dentures.

Developing an intensive, posi-tive relationship with patients canoften improve denture results. Theserelationships may lead to realisticpatient expectations and improvedresults once patients understand whatdentures can actually achieve.

Practice DevelopmentToolsMost practices have extensive quan-tities of needed dentistry sitting idly inthe files. As a seminar leader and con-sultant on productivity and profitabilityin practices, I encourage dental officesto undertake the “file purge” exercise.Offer a bonus to staff members forevery patient they contact who needsand could benefit from treatment andwho schedules an appointment.

The addition of new services isalso essential for practice productivitygrowth. Dentures can play a largepart in this growth. Literally tens ofthousands of dollars are available tomost practices using a proven edu-cational program to draw denturewearers to your office.

Trident Dental Laboratories hasassembled practice developmenttools for clinicians and office staffthat can stimulate patient interest indenture services. A free Portrait® IPN®

“Choose Your Smile” Practice Develop-ment Kit is available to assist inpromoting awareness of the benefitsdentures can provide (see the enclosedbusiness reply card). The kit includes:

� A sample denture-recall letterthat can be placed on officeletterhead inviting patients tocome in for an assessment

A lthough millions of patients inthe US depend on denturesto enhance their quality of life,

dentures have been largely ignoredas a potential growth option for den-tal practices. Dentures offer cliniciansan exceptional opportunity to expandtheir practices. Using the practice devel-opment tools offered by Trident DentalLaboratories, dental professionals cansignificantly stimulate that growth.

Many denture wearers fail tounderstand that ill-fitting denturescan result in ridge recession and dif-ficulty wearing dentures later in life,even if the dentures do not causepain. Patients are not aware that it isnot normal to need adhesives. Thesepatients are prime candidates for:

� Annual oral examinations toassess changes in the mouth

� New dentures to replace thosewhich are improperly wearingridges— restoring lost verticaldimension

� New dentures to replace thosethat cause internal irritation

� New dentures to replace thosewith unbalanced occlusion

� New dentures to address acci-dental breakage that is likely tooccur in an old prosthesis withthin spots

Many of the estimated 32 mil-lion denture wearers in the US arenot treated by their dentists forextended periods of time. In fact,43% of denture patients surveyedhad last visited their dentists morethan five years ago. As long as theirdentures are reasonably comfortable,these patients believe that everythingis all right. The truth is far different.These patients are uneducated aboutridge resorption, unbalanced occlu-sion, and even oral cancer.

Educate the PatientEvery clinician has seen the “new”patient who is proud of the fact that he

Dentures —The Hidden Growth Opportunity


Roger P. Levin, DDS, MBA


� A four-color letter-stuffer to beincluded with the letter thatpromotes Portrait IPN Teeth asa possible solution

� A four-color poster for theoffice that can help stimulatequestions from patients aboutdentures

� A “Choose Your Smile” displaybox with a splint denture modelthat demonstrates the differ-ence between standard den-tures and personalized dentures

� Patient education brochuresthat provide the facts aboutdentures as well as frequentlyasked questions and answers

SummaryToday, successful practices must max-imize every opportunity to grow byproviding needed high-quality serv-ices and by consistently targetingpotential patients. Be sure to takeadvantage of growth opportunitiesthat are close at hand and oftenoverlooked. One of these opportuni-ties is dentures. �

934TRI_Levin Article 2/28/03 4:42 PM

▲Volume 2 4 Number 1 ▲Volume 2 5 Number 1


While attending the ChicagoMid-Winter Meeting twoyears ago, Dr. Richard

Baker of Waterford, Michigan,received an urgent message: “Callhome.” He contacted his wifeimmediately and for the next 10 min-utes, he listened in disbelief as shedescribed how his dental practicehad burned to the ground earlier thatday during a horrific ice storm.

At his first opportunity, Dr. Bakerreturned home and sprang intoaction. He and his staff posted asign on the front lawn that read:“Our team is on fire.” Then they wentto work— reconstructing patientrecords, finding a temporary officeto work in, and drafting plans for anew office. The entire community—especially their patient base—ralliedbehind them. Exactly one year later,Dr. Baker and his team opened abeautiful new facility, and today, thepractice is doing better than ever.

In every person’s life, there comesa time of ultimate challenge—a timewhen every resource we have istested—our faith, our values, ourpatience, and our compassion. Ourability to persist may be pushed toour limits and beyond. Some peopleuse such tests as opportunities toutilize the resources they find withinthemselves to achieve an even higherlevel, others allow these experiencesto destroy them. Have you ever won-dered why people react differentlyto the challenges life throws at them?Why do some people, like Dr. Baker,use challenges as opportunities toreach new levels, while others, inspite of having every advantage,end up with lives that feel unfulfilled?

The answer to that question hasbeen an important focus in my life

and has allowed me to help literallymillions of people from all over theworld to achieve at levels they neverdreamed imaginable. The difference,I discovered, comes down to the wayin which we communicate with our-selves and the precise actions wetake in these difficult times. It is notwhat happens to us that separates fail-ure from success; people who suc-ceed do not have fewer problemsthan those who fail. It is how we per-ceive what happens and what we doabout it that makes the difference.

When Dr. Baker’s office burned,he had a choice on how to interpretthat experience. He chose to consis-tently communicate to himself thatthis had happened for some reason—that there was a purpose and poten-tially something to learn and gainfrom the experience.

We see examples of this all thetime. Have you ever heard of Pete

Studwick? Born with no hands and nofeet, he successfully ran Pike’s Peak,the most difficult marathon in theworld. Or Candy Lightner, the founderof Mothers Against Drunk Driving?Following the tragic death of herdaughter caused by a drunk driver, sheformed an organization that has savedthousands of lives. These individualsmastered communication with them-selves in ways that served them…and so can you.

“Modeling” for SuccessLong ago, I realized that successleaves clues, that people who produceoutstanding results do specific thingsto create those results. I believed thatif I precisely duplicated the actions ofothers, I could reproduce the samequality results. The process of studyingwhat successful people do and thenapplying it to your own circumstancesis known as “modeling.” It is a highly

Figure 1. The strategies developed by Anthony Robbins challenge and support clients inattaining the desired results.

Figure 2. The powerful Get The Edge® seven-day program provides the “cutting edge” tools forsetting and achieving your goals.

Makes the DifferenceThe Difference That

Anthony Robbins is the authorof the national best-sellers UnlimitedPower and Awaken the Giant Within.During the past decade, 24 mil-lion of his educational tapes havebeen distributed and his PersonalPower television shows havebeen viewed by one third ofall Americans. Mr. Robbins isalso cofounder and co-owner ofFortune Management, apostgraduate training and self-development program for dentalbusiness owners. For more infor-mation or a complimentary con-sultation with a coach trained byAnthony Robbins, please completeand mail the attached card or call800-628-1052.

effective technique that allows us tolearn from and build on the challengesand successes of other people to pro-duce similar results.

The point is, if this is possible forothers, it is possible for you. It is nota matter of whether you can dupli-cate the results that another personproduces; it is a matter of strategy—that is, how does that person pro-duce the results? However, withenough desire, virtually anything anyhuman being does can be modeled.In most cases, a person may havespent years of trial and error to findthe specific way to use his or herbody or mind to produce a specificresult. But you can step in, model theactions that took years to perfect, andproduce similar results.

The Principles ofSuccessful DentalManagementThis holds true in dentistry, as well.Those with the greatest success in theirpractices have learned to modeleffectively. By using this technique, not only are they able to utilize strate-gies that have a proven history, theyalso preserve the commodity none of us ever seems to get enough of— time. Fortune Management — thedental management consulting com-pany I started with my partners —was built on these principles. To modelthe most successful dental practices, webecame detectives, asking questionsand tracking down all the clues thatproduce excellence. Today, FortuneManagement works with more multi-million-dollar practices than any othermanagement company.

Building on the successes of oth-ers is one of the fundamental aspects

of learning. In the world of clinicaldentistry, every advance follows natu-rally from earlier discoveries andbreakthroughs. In the business of den-tistry, practices that do not learn fromthe past and do not operate with state-of-the-art information are doomed.

Modeling is certainly nothingnew. The reason many people fail,however, is that most model on anutterly haphazard and unfocusedlevel. Phenomenal resources andstrategies are everywhere. My chal-lenge to you is to think like a mod-eler, continuously being aware ofthe patterns and types of actionsthat produce outstanding results. Ifsomeone is able to create anextraordinary, financially successfulpractice, the question that shouldpop into your mind immediately is,“How does he or she create thatresult?” My sincere wish for you isthat you continue to search forexcellence and that you are able touse what you learn to create yourultimate vision for your business—and for yourself. �

Anthony Robbins

934TRI_Robbins 4-5 2/27/03 2:35 PM

advancements in molding technology.Trubyte’s unique three-part moldingprovides natural translucency withunsurpassed wear resistance and alifelike appearance.2,3 In addition, IPNchemistry and molding systems pro-duce a monolithic denture tooth, ratherthan layers of dissimilar materials thatmay be prone to delimitation.

Highly cross-linked resin dentureteeth may exhibit slightly reducedbond strength to denture base resin.Independent testing of IPN teeth withvarious denture base materials, how-ever, confirms that acceptable toothretention is achieved with most den-ture base resins.4

The variety of denture cleansers anddisinfectants may soften/solubilizepoorly cross-linked methacrylates.Patients also place significant func-tional (chewing) and parafunctional(bruxing) demands, along with acci-dental loads (dropping) on their pros-theses. With IPN teeth, clinicians canprovide their patients with dentureteeth that are unsurpassed in wearand solubility resistance. In addition,the patented interpenetrating polymernetwork establishes the confidence forIPN teeth to be sold with a 10-yearwarranty and free replacement. �

References1. Anusavice K J. Phillips’ Science of Dental

Materials, Resin Teeth for ProsthodonticApplications. 10th ed. St. Louis, MO: WB Saunders; 1996:268-269.

2. DENTSPLY Trubyte data on file.3. Ogle RE, Davis LD. Clinical wear study of

three commercially available artificial toothmaterials: Thirty -six month results. J ProsthetDent 1998; 79(2):145-151.

4. Schneider RL, Curtis ER, Clancy MS. Tensilebond strength of acrylic resin denture teethto a microwave- or heat-processed denturebase. J Prosthet Dent 2002; 88(2):145-150.

Nels Ewoldsen, DDS, MSD, isthe director of Clinical Research andEducation for DENTSPLY Trubyte,York, PA.

Trident’s diagnostic teamis readily available with thesteps necessary in fabricatingIPN Premium dentures.

� Upon receiving impres-sions, our technicians willfabricate a wax occlusionbite block on a base platefor the dentist to recordcentric relation and verti-cal dimension of the jawrelationship.

� At the patient’s bite recordappointment, both occlu-sion rims should be con-toured to guide in thepositioning of teeth facio-lingually, then fused together atthe patient’s VDO in centric rela-tion. Necessary markings of thecuspid, high lip, and midline onthe maxillary occlusion rim shouldbe provided for precise denturetooth mould selection.

� The technician will then proceed inthe articulation of the models andtooth arrangement in wax, usingquality, personalized Portrait IPNdenture teeth.

� The wax trial appointment enablesthe dentist to check accuracy ofthe tooth arrangement and shade,as well as to make any adjust-ments that may be requestedbefore final processing.

� Upon return of the case to the lab-oratory, the technician will processthe denture using Lucitone 199denture base resin for the higheststandard of esthetics.

For more information, please con-tact the Trident technical staff at 1-800-221-4831.

Nels Ewoldsen, DDS, MSD

In the 1980s, porcelain dentureteeth comprised nearly one thirdof the artificial tooth market.

Today, preformed acrylic resin teethoutsell porcelain teeth nearly 7 to 1and this trend is continuing. Some ofthe advantages of resin teeth include:

� Superior fracture toughness,reducing the likelihood of toothfracture if the denture is dropped.1

� Easier adjustment.� Superior resistance to fatigue

and thermal shock, virtually elim-inating chipping.1

Acrylic resin teeth consist primarilyof methacrylate polymer(s); however,human enamel and most restorativematerials easily abraded initial formu-lations. Also, methacrylate polymerssoften when immersed in water ormay simply unravel when exposed tosolvents, adding to durability concerns.Over the past 20 years, however,methacrylate formulation enhance-ments have increased the density ofcross-links and optimized the polymernetwork, significantly improving thedurability of acrylic resin teeth.

Using a stiffer, interpenetratingpolymer network, DENTSPLY Trubytehas developed an impact-resistant,wear-resistant, solvent-resistant, doublecross-linked, esthetic denture tooththat sets the standard for durability.Formulated more than 20 years ago,Trubyte Portrait® IPN® teeth continueto be improved esthetically through



DentureProven

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Denture Teeth —Proven Durability Trident

Kim SwehlaTechnical Advisor

934TRI_Ewoldsen and Diag. 2/28/03 4:43 PM Page 6

Aside from health issues, why should patientsconsider updating their dentures?

Today, appearance does make a difference. Asmore older adults are re-entering the job market,many may feel as if they cannot afford to looktheir age or even older. A well-fitting denture cancause a person to appear older if it is not cus-tomized. Standard dentures can look false and“denture-like” if the teeth are an unnatural shadeor too perfectly arranged. Personalized denturestake into account eye color (and eyeglasses), haircolor, complexion, age, and facial features sothat the dentures appear natural for the patient’sfacial structure and character. For patientswho are not optimal candidates for implants butwho require a youthful appearance and well-functioning teeth, replacing standard dentureswith personalized dentures can be an excellentsolution. This is a valuable service to offer patientswho are already wearing dentures. Many ofthese patients will benefit significantly from anupgrade, either functional or cosmetic, or both.

How can I help patients who may be unableto adapt to their new dentures?

Any physical change may lead to different sen-sations, including pain. What may be regardedas initial discomfort is merely an adjustment tochange. However, if your assessment reveals thatthis is not the case, other issues should be evalu-ated. Some patients eat very hard foods early inthe day, causing tenderness that remains as theycontinue to eat crunchy foods throughout the day.Others clench their teeth at night or may weartheir dentures during sleep, causing pain. Thesolutions are simple. Advise the first patient tobegin the day with softer foods, and the secondto remove dentures during sleep. In addition,uneven distribution, the single denture as a causeof abnormal force, or poor resistance may beconsidered. Although adapting to new denturesmay require attention from both patient anddentist, the rewards of a healthy, attractive smileare worthwhile. Most importantly, be sympatheticand caring — your patients deserve it.


Letters to LevinDr. Levin Answers Your Practice Management Questions

Q.A.

Q.A.


If you have a practice management question for Dr. Levin, e-mail the question to [email protected].

T he treatment of theedentulous patientfor full maxillary

and mandibular denturesis arguably less technique-sensitive than many otherdental procedures. A one-half millimeter differencein vertical dimension doesnot impact the patient assignificantly as does aone-half millimeter openmargin on a crown or aone-half millimeter opencontact. However, there

are specific guidelines that must be followed when estab-lishing the vertical dimension or placing the anterior tooth.

DENTSPLY Trubyte simplifies the accurate fabricationof a replacement denture with the Alma Gauge System.

This precise measuring device is simple, user-friendly, andcontributes significantly to an improved denture tooth set-up andprocessing method. The Alma Gauge System uses the incisivepapilla and median raphe— stable anatomical landmarks,even after bone loss—to guide in the placement of the maxil-lary anterior teeth and to establish vertical dimension. It canalso be utilized to verify denturetooth position with relines. Inaddition, this method reduceschairtime, as well as resets andremakes, often sources of frus-tration and increased costs forpatients, clinicians, and dentallaboratories. The Alma GaugeSystem is a welcomed adjunctto any prosthetic technique arma-mentarium. For more informa-tion, contact DENTSPLY Trubyteat 1-800-877-0020. �

David Fishman, DDS

Wet Finger Report

934TRI_Q&A & Wet Finger Report 2/28/03 4:44 PM Page 7

Expect Quality • Depend On Our Service • Receive Value

• Customized Tooth Setup

• Lucitone 199® Acrylic

• Detailed Festooning

• All IPN Premium DenturesManufactured by Master Technicians

• Available in Vita® and Bioform® Shades

THE NATURAL LOOKING DENTURE

Vita is a trademark of Vita Zahnfabrik H. Rauter GmbHPortrait, IPN, Bioform and Lucitone 199 are registered trademarks of DENTSPLY International, Inc. *While Supplies Last

®® Teeth

Dental professionals agree, dentures need to be remade or replaced every 5 to 7 years.Call today to receive your FREE Practice Development Kit*.

Split Denture Model

FREEPractice Development KitKit Includes: IPN Split Denture Modelwith Display Box, 20 Patient EducationBrochures, 20 Practice-to-Patient LetterStuffers and a IPN Denture Poster

32 million people wear dentures.

20 million have fit, function and appearance problems!

AB507TRI_IPN Ad 2/27/03 2:42 PM Page 1

934tri coverw/indicia 2/27/03 8:57 am page 1 · awaken the giant within. during the past decade, 24...

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