46 Top Tips
Some of the best tips and ideas from past issues of Dental Updates

Guide to Diagnosing & Treating Endodontic & Periodontal Lesions
The gathering of diagnostic information using radiographs and conventional pulp vitality testing serves as the current foundation for milking uncomplicated endodontic diagnoses. Acquiring and investigating diagnostic information can be analogous to piecing together a puzzle. As each piece fits, a picture begins to emerge. but if the puzzle contains too many pieces and inherently becomes more complex, frustration mounts and elucidating the pIcture becomes more difficult. Therefore, the practitioner must…

Legal Considerations in the use of Cone Beam Computer Tomography Imaging
Cone beam computed tomography imaging represents a paradigm shift for enhancing diagnosis and treatment planning. Questions regarding cone beam computed tomography’s associated legal responsibility are addressed, including cone beam computed tomography necessity, recognition of pathosis in the scan’s entire volume, adequate training, informed consent and/or refusal and current court status of cone beam computed tomography. Judicious selection and prudent use of cone beam computed tomography technology to protect and promote patient safety and efficacious treatment complies with the standard of care.

Reopening the Dental Office in the Covid-19 World
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic sent the world into a situation that was unknown for 100 years and in many countries dental offices were shut down or reduced to emergency settings. However Germany left dental offices open and unrestricted during the outbreak. Dentists in Germany were unsure how to handle the situation. The TroeltzschBrothers published a survey of the data first on the 25th of march that showed ways how to perform dentistry with the danger of Covid-19, including hygiene rules and a guide how to properly use the surgical mask. This summary spread around the world and was translated into several languages. They also have been present in multiple webinars. In this lecture, Dr. Markus Troeltzsch gives an insight into the disease and its spread, how dentists can work with the menace of this virus and shows ways how to practice. The literature is critically reviewed and the efficiency of dental protection techniques is demonstrated.

Utilizing the Front Surface Mirror
Tip of the Week

CBCT in Endodontics: Changing the Landscape of Diagnosis and Clinical Treatment
Radiographic imaging is essential in the diagnosis, treatment planning and follow-up in endodontics. The interpretation of an image can be confounded by a number of factors, including the regional anatomy as well as superimposition of both the teeth and surrounding dento-alveolar structures. As a result of superimposition, periapical radiographs reveal only limited aspects, a 2-dimensional view, of the true three dimensional anatomy. Additionally, there is often geometric distortion of the anatomical structures being imaged with conventional radiographic methods. These problems can be overcome by utilizing small or limited volume cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging techniques which produce accurate 3-dimensional images of the teeth and surrounding dento-alveolar structures. This presentation will highlight the indications, advantages and considerations of the use of CBCT in endodontics.

Comprehending Maxillofacial Anatomy and Related Pathology with CBCT
The advent of CBCT has brought a great deal of excitement to the dental professionals. For the first time, we have a diagnostic tool which has overcome the known disadvantages of the traditional projectional dental diagnostic images (periapical and panoramic radiographs) with the provision of sharp sectional images at any desired plane (multiplannar imaging). However, the interpretation of these images is somewhat challenging mainly due to the anatomical complexity of the maxillofacial region and the lack of familiarity of the profession with multiplannar imaging. This course will review in detail the anatomy of the certain challenging sites (neck, paranasal sinuses etc) of maxillofacial region and discuss the related pathological entities. Often times these may be simply incidental findings fact that raises the degree of the responsibility of the dental professional.

Communication Protocols with Photography
Digital photography is a very important subject in dentistry. It is hard to know where to start, especially when applying to dentistry. This lecture serves as an ad aid for the clinician and technician during the process of approaching the patient from treatment planning presentation to the process of integration digital photography into the color-matching procedure.

From 2D to 3D: The Benefits of 3D-X-ray in the Different Fields of Dentistry
CBCT(Cone Beam Computed Tomography) has developed in the last years from a highly specialized used subject used mainly by specialized surgeons and implantologists to a wide field of indications, used mostly by general practitioners, periodontists, endodontists, general implantologists and orthodontists. The picture quality has increased drastically so the 3-D X-ray techniques are able to show aspects that 2-D X-ray-techniques are unable to present. 3-D X-ray systems are linked today to other diagnostic and electro-mechanical systems as there are automaticised software measure and diagnostic tools, intra and extra-oral scanning systems and CAD-CAM-milling-systems. That increases the diagnostic and treatment possibilities this systems offers to the users.