How I deliver a quadrant of posterior composites in 50 minutes—and why it's critical you do the same
How do I deliver a quadrant of posterior composites in 50 minutes, and why is it critical you do the same?
The why: In today’s dental climate (it's not improving, friends—so burying one’s head in the sand and hoping is a very bad plan)…
Our costs are increasing and reimbursement is not.
The how-to: The short story is systems. We have great systems for every team member to follow. That means every assistant and every dentist (there are four of each on our team) knows what to do, when to do it, how to do it, and why—every single time.
Here’s one simple example: every class II composite is pre-wedged. We use a universal adhesive. This is part of our system. Our preference is Adhese Universal delivered via a Vivapen. That accomplishes three major things: We never waste a drop of literally the most costly material you and I buy (adhesives).
We always have fresh adhesive (sorry, bottle-based systems are nice but by week three your adhesive isn’t what you think it is anymore).
We never run out mid-procedure and lose time because an assistant has to get up and get more. Time is money. Don’t waste it on this step!
We use bulk-flow and -fill composites on all posterior restorations; This is also a part of our system.
We place in up to 4 mm increments. That means the deepest posteriors are only two layers! This is critical for speed and it’s also critical for us delivering the best restorations. The closer we are to a monolithic composite, the more optimal for longevity with no post-op sensitivity.
Our go-to is Tetric Power Flow & Powerfill.
Read the next step to understand the whole story.
We use a high output curing light—this is PIVOTAL for our system as our Powercure allows us to cure each layer in three seconds! Run your math on this. It’s going to shock you. We literally generated an extra $147k last year because of this posterior composite workflow alone.
