Do It Right the First Time With Pink

Lalla has built Tropical Dental in San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, into a practice that he is proud to say adheres to that philosophy. He offers everything from routine maintenance procedures, such as cleanings, fillings, root canal therapy, orthodontic treatments (primarily Class I malocclusion cases), extractions, and minor oral surgical procedures, to more complex full-mouth cosmetic restorations, implant therapy and restoration, bone grafting, and sinus lifts. "Building your own practice requires a lot of time and patience, especially in the beginning," he says. "Oftentimes, the easier way to do things seems more appealing, but to build a successful practice and earn a good reputation, I fall back to the philosophy of taking the time to do it right the first time." Continuing education is also a guiding principle of Lalla's practice, but he notes that it is important to be selective. "Selecting the right courses with the right teachers to guide you along your dental journey is critical," he says.

Selecting the right products to use in the office is key to success as well, and one that has helped Lalla achieve his goals since he was first introduced to it at an American Society of Dental Aesthetics conference in 2019 is Shofu's Beautifil^® II Gingiva. Beautifil II Gingiva is a nano-hybrid universal composite that comes in five unique soft-tissue shades that allow dentists to esthetically restore patients of all ethnicities by improving gingival symmetry, repairing recession, and disguising exposed crown and bridge margins and implant abutments. Shofu's Giomer Technology imparts Beautifil II Gingiva with long-term ion exchange for antibacterial and acid-neutralizing effects, which the company says may help minimize problems caused by plaque and biofilm. "I tried it out of my desire to have a simple, cost-effective, and esthetic alternative to the use of traditional tooth-colored and basic flat pink shade restoratives or surgical gingival grafting procedures to treat gingival recession and abfraction lesions." Lalla says. "With all of the different ethnicities on the island of Trinidad, treating patients presents challenges regarding matching gingival shades. Beautifil II Gingiva solves this problem with its five unique shades that can be blended or layered to match any ethnicity."

According to Lalla, Beautifil II Gingiva can prove particularly useful for patients who are suffering from abfraction lesions associated with mild to moderate recession but who exhibit no active signs of gingivitis, including cases in which the primary cause of the pathosis is an underlying occlusal discrepancy or parafunctional habit, such as bruxism. "Most importantly," he says, "is using it when the height-to-width ratio of the tooth would be esthetically compromised if a nonmatched gingival shade was used."

The biggest benefit of Beautifil II Gingiva to a practice, Lalla notes, is delivering outcomes with improved esthetics. "Beautifil II Gingiva allows me to eliminate the disproportional ‘long tooth' appearance that would normally be had using only traditional tooth-colored resvtoratives," he says. "When lesions appear within the smile lines of patients, especially those who show gingival tissue in their smiles, the psychological benefit of using Beautifil II Gingiva is unquestionable." Lalla emphasizes that the impact of the esthetic results is immeasurable. "When you use this material and show your patients the results in the mirror," he says, "expect to see the teenage girl who looks at her mom with tears in her eyes and says, ‘I'm pretty again!' the overworked father who has neglected himself but then shows you the first smile you have ever seen from him and says, ‘Ah, thank you doc, I can smile again!' and the socialite whose eyes open in amazement as he or she says, ‘Wow! I look like a celebrity!' The personal sense of accomplishment that you will experience from being able to give your patients this level of confidence back is second to none. It also does not hurt that you will get a large volume of referrals from these patients, which can make this form of treatment very lucrative for your practice."

Esthetics are not the only benefit, however. Shofu's Giomer Technology provides therapeutic benefits for periodontal health. "This proprietary bioactive filler within the restorative material actively releases six ions, including fluoride, and has the unique ability to constantly recharge its fluoride ion content to provide continual protection," Lalla says. "The material also exhibits an anti-plaque effect, which is particularly useful when restoring cervical margins. With some other materials, plaque accumulation on cervical restorations is consistently observed, resulting in localized gingivitis and sometimes further recession, but these are nonissues when using Beautifil II Gingiva."

On average, Lalla's restorative time per tooth using Beautifil II Gingiva is approximately 10 to 12 minutes, including anesthesia. "Our patients are usually very happy with the results that we achieve, and they are much more willing to undergo this method of treatment as opposed to the alternatives," he says. All of these advantages allow Lalla to remain true to his mentors' philosophy of doing it right the first time. "Beautifil II Gingiva provides an esthetically acceptable, cost-effective restorative solution to a very common problem," he says. "It is a tool that every dentist should keep in his or her arsenal."

Key Points

• Facilitates esthetic reproduction of the gingiva.

• Includes five gingival shades that can be blended to meet the needs of all ethnicities.

• Offers esthetic solutions without surgery.

• Provides a perfect solution for deep Class V restorations.

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