Rev'ed Up

The lecture/show season for twentyleven is in full swing, and man Im revved up about it. Next stop for me is the CDLA Spring meeting and Im excited since this will be the first time I get to dance for a Colorado audience. Im also looking forward to seeing Bruce Keeling at the and having some dinner. The last time we broke bread at the same table, it was with John Bach and my dear friend Bill Seward. Bruce is one of those "nice guys" who has been a mainstay in our industry.

Anyway, I get four hours and as many who have seen me can attest, I will be jammin the info out as fast as my lips can move.

A big thanks to Dan Elfring for setting the stage for my visit and to Molly for making sure things run smoothly.

Now back to work.....

The simple things

One of the easiest ways to bone up on your education is to visit Quintessence Publishing and order yourself up some of the latest and greatest books on dental technology. I love having books on hand as they are even easier to access than going online every time you want some info. Most of my books are dogeared and have the character of an old pair of running shoes. Coffee and food stains mark the pages with the information I continue to return to. Maybe Im old school, but theres something about the tactile sensation of turning a page of paper that still gives me a comfortable feeling.
On that note I wanted to express the sadness I experienced when I made a trip over to the Borders Book store thats closing in our area. There is now a book wasteland in our area as Barnes and Noble just closed in our area as well. There has always been a comforting feeling whenever I went to a bookstore and perused everything and anything. The Internet is a great resource but theres still something really cool and comforting reading paper in an acoustically dampened room full of books. It reminds me of the rainy and heat wave ridden days of my youth when my brother Bill and I would seek refuge from the dampness or heat in the Bensenville Community library. Little did I realize then, I would miss those simple things so much.

Twentyleven baby...

Twenty eleven, doesnt really roll off the tongue like twenty ten, but it still promises to be a good year. Maybe I'll just shorten it to twentyleven for pronunciation sake.
Just got back from a week at the Chicago Dental Society Midwinter meeting which has really morphed into the Chicago Midwinter Dental Convention which isnt just restricted to clinical dentistry since LMT magazine decided to run a concurrent venue years ago to give all dental professionals a common place to congregate together.
The twentyleven version of the show seems to have been all that it had promised to be. Many educational venues, lots of purchasing, and after several downer attitude years, a fresh perspective seems to have found its way into our mindset as an industry. Im not sure if its because those who were clinging on to old mindsets finally retired or moved on to some other way to make a living, but there was without a doubt a sense of renewed vigor. The cool thing was that it wasnt coming from one demographic of our industry but from them all. The largest demographic, the small 1-5 man lab owners seem to have either started embracing technology, or decided they were going to grow and promote their business with what they know and excell at, being the technical resource for their new and existing clients. I met several small lab owners that were either purchasing scanners, milling machines, or both. These were labs that in the past never thought they would ever embrace the technology end because they were either too old, too small or both. WOW, what a difference a year or two or being pounded in the head with a velvet sledgehammer will produce. Velvet? maybe not..

For me, its another year of lectures, this will be my 8th year and it never gets old for me, and obviously not for those who come to see me dance. I had a nice full capacity room in Chicago this weekend with a great mix of first time Zaleske lecture attendees and seasoned(or should I say numb) grizzeled vets. ~smile~ Besides lectures in twentyleven I have also been given the opportunity to do some writing and work with Dental Lab Products magazine as their "benchtop" editor. Eight years ago I authored a bi monthly column for a year for LMT which I enjoyed, and I am looking forward to sharing my perspective and techniques on removable fabrication during the course of the year with the staff of DLP.

Lastly, I would like to thank those over the last year who have been so supportive in attending my lectures and offering their social media friendships.
Thanks and heres a raised glass to your continued health and success in dental technology.

Tom

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Reason to be Optimistic
By Thomas Zaleske


Thanks to the growing number of aging baby boomers, the emphasis on cosmetic
dentistry, and the success of television programs concerning cosmetic makeovers,
removable prosthetic treatment is finally being recognized for the potential impact its comprehensive treatment can afford the edentulous populace.
If you don’t believe it, just look around, the signs are all around us. In the last two years alone, the average denture tooth shade being ordered in the A1, B1 or brighter range has increased two fold. Have you noticed like I have the increase in the words natural or cosmetic in regard to removable prosthetics? Maybe like me, you have also noticed the increase in multi-layered denture teeth being offered, or the increase in kits that offer the option to custom colorize teeth and bases. If you are internet savvy do a word search on cosmetic dentures and you will realize that there are thousands of websites that reference this topic. This is not because of a younger population of edentulous patients, but rather agrowing number of patients and practitioners, beginning to understand that being edentulous does not mean it is the end of the line in looking attractive or having self esteem.

Many may read this and say, how does an A1 shaded denture tooth equate to natural or
cosmetic for a patient in their twilight years?
It is my belief that although a tooth shade this bright for a removable prosthesis may not exactly fit the physiologic age of the patient, it definitely identifies a growing edentulous patient desire to look more youthful and feel complete. This sets up a great position for us serving the edentulous public to be in.
If we comprehensively treat patients by understanding and applying such concepts as
golden proportions of esthetics, natural tooth emergence profiles, base contouring,
polychromatic base coloring, palatal contouring in regard to phonetics, and cater to the treatment philosophy of subliminal acceptance, we can propagate this already growing esthetic demand in removable prosthetic treatment.
Its time to start honing and augmenting cosmetic esthetic concepts with our knowledge
base of what we already understand constitutes good fit, and occlusal function. Nothing is more bothersome than the prevailing attitude by some in dentistry that feel being edentulous somehow rates lower in regard to patient need, than the dentate patient. As we know, removable treatment is by far the most multi-disciplinary treatment afforded the dental patient. With this in mind, let us use the groundswell of patients seeking to enhance their lives with facial cosmetics to enhance our image as providers of a viable cosmetic and functional treatment. One of the greatest challenges we have always faced is identifying and satisfying the subjective needs and desires of the edentulous, but presently these needs and desires are very identifiable.
If our actions are dictated by the subjective nature of removable prosthetics, then the idea, of reducing them any longer to a commodity, can never flourish.