Mark and Glenn–

Pretty soon you guys will be designing your own erbium lasers with the features you need as clincians–not what the engineers just hand over to you!  😉

You know–heated air and water, closed systems, variable pulse duraions, specially designed tips for specialized uses, new fiber-optics, delivery systems, handpieces, etc.

Oh, and by the way, document your ideas in a journal with date and time.  Make rough drawings too.  Have a witness sign the page and date it.  It’s easy to do.  Who knows, you might come up with a really valuable invention–obvious to you, but not others.  Then the queston becomes, “Is it unique AND unobvious?” That = patentability.

Don’t expect manufacturers to acknowledge your contributions or inventions, or pay you for your ideas and designs, or give you intellectual property rights.  Pretty soon, once the newness and excitment wears off, giving all your ideas and time away will start to become a burden on you, your staffs, and your families.  

Manufactuers don’t care.  

They are happy to use you up, then replace you with the next generation of “young guns” with lots of energy, enthusiasm and time.  I’ve been watching this for the last 12 years.  Got caught up into it myself a long time ago.  Saw LOTS of laser friends come, get used up, and go.  Trying to bring them back is HARD.  GREAT guys, GREAT laser clinicians, GREAT laser innovators and laser pioneers  like Stoval, O’Grady, Brundrett and Rocklin.  Just like you guys now!  Names you’ve never heard of, but now lost and gone from the scene (Brundrett was past president of ALD, one of the first HGM argon users, friend of the executives once at HGM–now at Biolase, now doing dentures in a denture clinic–no interest in lasers anymore).:(

But I guarantee you that manufacturers are listening to your ideas.  Any company offer travel and free attendence at company sponsored conferences?  Think about it…….  

But whether THEY see your ideas as valuable or not determines whether or not the ideas get incorporated into the new device refinements.

We spent YEARS trying to get manufactuers to build variable pulse durations into lasers for us to buy.  We were told by engineers that pulse width doesn’t matter.  CEO’s listened to their engineers.  

Now two manufacturers have variable pulse durations in dentistry in addition to our PerioLase MVP-7:  Kavo Key 3 erbium & ADT Cavilase.

Choices, not restrictions….options, not limitations are what clincians want in their devices.  You guys are finding out how indispensable your lasers are for you.  Imagine that a maufactuer decided not to make them any more….or not incorporate your needed refinements…….  Scary thoughts, huh?

Glenn–a couple of days of lost revenue recovery, and you can justify a biostim laser and get you back in the pink sooner.  Just a thought–hope you get well soon.

Sorry for being so sober.  I’ve just seen too many laser dentists (and laser manufacturers) come and go after suffering burn-out, disappointment, lost income.  I’d like to see you guys stick around for a long while.:biggrin:

Doesn’t it seem strange that no one else but me posts on the Nd:YAG forum.  There were once thousands of us……where’d they go?

Just the ramblings of an old laser man……

Bob

I started using co2 lasers back then did research in dental school published a bunch of articles and abstracts (see journal of oral +maxillofacial surgery jan 1990) for one..presented at the academy of laser surgery and medicine as a dental student in 89 etc…. so question is ….Should I really take a proficiency exam…Is there a way U get grandfathered into a proficiency by the fact of the research and experience….

Thanks Bob, I have a luxar in the office that I use still for some soft tissue. U may remember that not long ago we spoke as u saw an email that I wrote on the GENX list and we spoke about my troubles with biolase that havesince been resolved. I use the waterlase now for most of my procedures and while i think u have a great product it seems to me that currently the waterlase type lasers seem to be the present catch all of lasers if u will.I just dont see the need at this point for a diode or nd yag if u use the waterlase but I am open to hear opinions….

Bob : that is the great thing about your posts, is that you have seen it all and done almost all and yet you still find the energy and desire to educate us.

I get tired of listening to the naysayers and when I get to that point I just think fine, I will do it and there will come a time when others will want to listen.

I also have found that pictures solve alot of the naysayers. Its easy to disagree with someone til they provide proof, then people get a little quiet. Particularly if the pics are microscope ones.

I have talked to Gary Carr who is in Sandiego and a pioneer of microscopes in endo…….he rarely talks about his travels because he got tired of all the criticism.

In Nov. he gave a little history lesson and a testimonial to all the people he taught microscopes to, the pics were from 94 , 95 etc………even before I even knew about scopes.

He told us that the first lecture he ever did , the future president of the AAE stood up half way through and yelled out………..this scope stuff is utter B.S. and walked out…………..

Can you imagine how he felt, well he realized that S.E.M.s werent gonna mean squat and he started to get GREAT photos from his microscope doing apical retrofills with ultrasonics and when he showed these pics at 10-24X power guess what happened……….

People got awful quiet………..

I find the same thing, but will admit that there is comfort in posting here , yes there are lurkers but no derision .

In closing I have seen a paradigm shift happen at the laser board at Dental Town. Now that some of the leaders have purchased a Waterlase, the rest of t he guys are asking well how much does it cost etc . etc.

The critical mass will move a product when there are enough people using it but then the novelty disappears.

The same thing will happen with scopes or some form of advanced magnification and I do hope to be still praciticing then.

This board is great Ron because it is for sharing and learning and kudos to the “old guard” like you Bob who share not only your incredible knowledge but your history.

As for making a laser……….nah…….no time.

To many other microscope projects on the go.

Take care and all the best………..

Glenn

PS thanks for the great read as usual.

Glenn–

Thanks for being so kind with your words to the “old man”!

Don’t let the naysayers get you tired or run down.  The trick with this new technologies stuff is to be the tortoise, not the hare.  Pace yourself, and stick around.  Work on and with the science, not the hype (you don’t)  or chasing the novelty applications, and you’ll be around not just to see it, but to participate and enjoy it too.

I certainly can relate to Gary Carr and microscopes.  I’ve had my Global for 3-4 years now myself.  Never really thought much what others felt about it.  But I don’t lecture on it either.  Does it make a clinical difference–sure does.  I can see and do stuff I never could before.  Add that with laser capability and WOW!

And nobody shows that better than you do with your photo skills!

Yeah.  I CAN imagine how Gary felt when he was publicly and unfairly ridiculed by an “esteemed” representative of a specialty group.  

Del and I unwittingly incited an entire specialty when the AAP wrote an official statement condemning our work with Laser ENAP:

http://www.perio.org/resources-products/enap_laser.htm

Of course they jumped the gun.  We aren’t through with our research and we were  just introducing Laser ENAP as a concept when the AAP wrote the paper (without any contact or discussion with us of course).

Ha!  We wear it as a badge of honor now.  One day soon, they will be removing that from their website out of embarrassment…..and they will be awfully quiet.

Thanks again for the kind words.

All the best, and get well soon.

Bob