Ok, 14 more to go!
Thanks Ron!
Mark

Hi Pat,

Thanks for the kind words.  You too, Al.

I think Pat really hit the nail on the head about redefining what clinical success is for our patients!!!

Laser dentistry isn’t about getting to the end result so much as it is about the process–the journey–in getting to the end result as well as an excellent clinical end result.  

And I think most of us agree on this forum that the process is as important to the patient as well as the end result.

Let me tell you what……the process was VERY important to me when my orthopedic surgeon was yanking a 12 inch SS “pull-out” wire (clothe hanger) from my heal, through my Achilles tendon, and out mid-calf.  I didn’t care how good the end result was going to be at THAT moment in time!!!!!  Thank God for Xylocaine and good surgical technique.

But when I hear a non-laser clinician say, “Pain is just a question of patient perception.”  “I can cut and sew those gums with a &#361.50 scalpel blade, make access holes in the bone with a SS bur, and make better, cleaner cuts that with your lasers.”

B _ _ _ S _ _ _!!

It’s not that they don’t GET it, it’s that they just don’t WANT to get it!

Good perspective Pat, really.

Bob

(Let go….use the force Luke):)

I think its great that people like Bob and Mark are there to help educate the masses. It astonishes me to see people spending 50K on lasers and then ask …….”How do I learn to use this”

There is a wealth of material on this board since September. Many people lurk but there is incredible information for the new user here. They could honestly go back through all the posts on the Erbium Hard tissue sections and discover a wealth of insight into how to make their machine work.

I think that Ron Schalter is a testament to how much you can learn here. Pat , Al and Ron Kaminer are others who have learnt a ton.

I think that those teaching should make every effort to get accredited in teaching lasers with Standard and Advanced Proficiencies and if possible the Educators status from the ALD.

I think that these credentials are really the only ones available that guarantee that the educator knows his/her stuff.

In closing I have repeatedly mentioned that this board is a daily source of information , comraderie and education for me. I hope that as it grows (now its over 100 people) that other sections besides Erbium will start to take off and that members will continue to respect the opinions , ideas and treatments of others regardless of machine or wavelength!!

Glenn

Hi there Dr. Kimmel. Congrats on the new laser purchases. Make sure you go into this with your eyes open as to what lasers can do. They are not panaceas for all. I think they are great adjucnts for handpieces and traditional mechanisms of doing dentistry.

If you want some fun………go back to this post by our fearless leader Ron Schalter, a man whom I have the utmost of respect for because he has trained himself through a standard course from the ALD and in addition from reading through information here.

I really like the ALD but to say that you will learn alot about the Biolase is not really truthful. I think that you will need to learn about lasers from several areas.

1. Sign up and go to the ALD in Destin. I usually go but cant this year due to prior commitments to lecture here in Vancouver.

2. Go to the WCLI in New York which is really Biolase oriented.

3. Read through all the posts here , and I mean that . There is a ton of information with alot of pics here.

4. Get Jeff Mannis text book : Dental applications of Advanced Lasers.

5. Get the October 2000 book on lasers from the Dental Clinics of North America which was totally dedicated to lasers.

6. Sign up for a standard proficiency course in lasers from an accredited provider (heck see if Biolase has any of these courses in Erbium and in Diode)

7. Get past issues of Wavelengths from the Academy of laser dentistry which shows clinical cases in different wavelengths, and learning about the different wavelengths will help you with the diode and your erbium.

None of these individually will help you learn your laser inside out but all together they will definitely help you become more adept understanding laser science and laser physics which are the basic elements for understanding how your individual laser works and what settings to use and why.

Is that clear as Mud?

Glenn