ORTHO INDUSTRY NEWS WildSmiles Marketing Can Help Grow Your Practice WildSmiles has been working on a number of marketing initiatives all designed to help prospective new patients choose your practice because you offer WildSmiles. Over the next several months, WildSmiles will be creating a suite of new materials for use in your office, including presentations, countertop displays, brochures and web content. Also, a new doctor- locator at www.wildsmiles4you.com will make it easier than ever for prospective new patients to find you. Plus, there will be a direct-to- consumer marketing through online sites like Facebook. As the company embarks on this new level of marketing support, they’re hoping you will take a few moments to send a note telling what WildSmiles has meant to your practice. They’d like to “capture” your WildSmiles story to use in their marketing and will be choos- ing a few practices to be featured in a promotional video to be produced by VisionTrust Communications. They will be filming at a number of upcoming industry meetings, so be sure to share which meetings you’ll be attending this year so they can arrange to include you in the film- ing. As a thank you to those who participate, WildSmiles has arranged for VisionTrust to include a free “website welcome” video – featur- ing you – that you can put on your own practice website. For more information, please contact Davin Bickford at (402) 677-3311 or dbickford@wildsmiles4you.com. An Effective Alternative to Traditional Dental Floss Water Pik, Inc. has reposi- tioned the company’s flagship oral care product as the Waterpik® Water Flosser. Leveraging the trusted Waterpik® brand name, technol- ogy and unique design, the company is intro- ducing the Waterpik® Water Flosser in an effort to help patients understand the true purpose of a Waterpik® and to support profes- sional recommenda- tions to patients who don’t like to floss. Recent Waterpik® research has shown that people are often confused by the terms oral irriga- tor or dental water jet and don’t understand how it fits into their oral hygiene routine. As a result, Water Pik, Inc. developed a prod- uct name that will convey that the Waterpik®Water Flosser is an 8 May/June 2010 JAOS easier and more effective alterna- tive to traditional string floss. “The name change to the Waterpik Water Flosser is fantastic because that’s exactly what it’s used for,” said Denver-area orthodon- tist Dr. Anil Idiculla. “It typically in our practice replaces flossing.” Dr. Jon Suzuki, Associate Dean of Graduate Education, Research & International Affairs at Temple University added, “The message that I’d like to give to my fellow dental professionals is that the Water Flosser has been proven to be an effective adjunctive means to remove interproximal dental plaque and reduce gingival inflammation and bleeding.” For more information please visit www.professional.waterpik.com. Spectra™ Caries Detection Aid from Air Techniques – FDA Cleared MELVILLE, NY: This remark- able innovation from Air Tech- niques, Inc. is now FDA cleared and available for sale. Spectra is a lightweight, ergonomic, hand- held digital imaging instrument that aids the dentist in detect- ing caries visually. The use of digital caries detection technology in today’s dental practice is important for attaining the highest standards of care. With Spectra, you offer your patients not only the latest technology in non-invasive digi- tal imaging, you’re giving them state-of-the–art treatment and improved overall patient care. Spectra operates using fluo- rescence technology. LED’s project high-energy light with a wavelength of 405 nanometers onto the tooth surface causing cariogenic bacteria to fluoresce red. In contrast, healthy enamel fluoresces green. The captured data is sent to the computer and the live image is presented on the monitor. Images can be saved to the patient record for future reference. With Spectra, the dentist can identify the exact location of potential carious lesions on tooth surfaces. Find out more at www.airtechniques.com.
Journal of the American Orthodontic Society May-June 2010: Page 8
