With the recent success of DS World 2021, Dentsply Sirona has once again secured their foothold as one of the leading dental companies around the globe. Dr Terri Dolan, the company’s chief clinical officer, talks about the latest ground-breaking technology from Dentsply Sirona and how the team continuously supports practitioners as the industry reopens.
Dentsply Sirona’s pioneering role throughout its history has transformed dental practices worldwide. From developing complete solutions that seamlessly integrate hardware and software to optimising practice efficiency, the company has tremendously helped dental professionals deliver the best possible treatment and care to their patients.
Inspired by this vision and success, Dr Terri Dolan takes pride in her role as the chief clinical officer of the company since 2013. With her background as a dentist and experience as a professor and dean of the University of Florida’s College of Dentistry (United States), she is the voice of clinicians and technicians within Dentsply Sirona, responsible for ensuring that they comply with regulations and ethical standards so customers will feel confident in their products and services.
“In dentistry, we have a wonderful opportunity to help people maintain or restore healthy teeth and beautiful smiles. I have always been fascinated about how dentists are able to accomplish so much through their expertise in science, clinical skills, art, and of course, the use of modern technology. With the increasing evidence demonstrating the importance of oral health to overall health and well-being, I was most excited about joining a leading company with a vision to transform dentistry to improve oral health globally,” she shared.
Dr Dolan oversees professional education activities and supports clinical initiatives and strategies of each Dentsply Sirona unit. She enjoys having a diverse and inclusive work environment and culture; and finds it incredibly fulfilling to be involved in the company’s support for student-led research through the Student Competition for Advancing Dental Research and its Application Awards (SCADA), which Dentsply Sirona helped initiate in 1959 and is co[1]sponsored by the American Association for Dental, Oral and Craniofacial Research.
“I truly enjoy working closely with experts from across the entire spectrum of dentistry around the world and collaborating with universities, dental schools and dental organisations to ensure that the courses and programmes we offer are not only of the highest quality but meet the needs of dental professionals today,” she said.
Road to recovery
Safety for the practitioners and their patients is of utmost importance as the industry recovers from the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. With their infection control solutions, Dentsply Sirona has made it possible for dental practitioners to re-open their practices confidently.
According to Dr Dolan, safety begins with a comprehensive and thorough infection prevention concept. Consequently, Dentsply Sirona builds hygiene and infection prevention into their design language.
She explained: “For example, Dentsply Sirona products have very smooth surfaces and are free from stylistic elements that could make cleaning challenging. Gaps and cracks are also avoided so that dirt and debris cannot get trapped in difficult to access areas. Our dental treatment centres are designed and equipped with materials that prevent moisture from penetrating into the chair and they even let the dentist or assistant know that the hoses should be flushed for at least 20 seconds after every patient’s appointment. Parts such as light handles and trays are removable so that they can be properly disinfected separately between uses.”
Dr Dolan also highlighted how their intraoral scanner, Primescan, proved to be a true all-rounder as it ensures high-quality digital impressions and exceeds minimum recommended hygiene guidelines.
“It is the only scanner that provides a variety of disinfection and sterilisation procedures with three different sleeve options. Thanks to the smooth surfaces of Primescan and the acquisition centre, the hygienically critical areas, which are often difficult to clean, can be reprocessed safely, quickly and easily,” she added.
In achieving highest level of safety, Dr Dolan noted that the practice design can also influence the workflow to make cleaning even easier.
“I would recommend having a sterilisation room that is located quite centrally, so that the team has short distances that ideally avoid many crossroads between staff and patients. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many practices have rethought their waiting room concepts as well to accommodate social distancing needs,” she said.
When it comes to the important topic of reprocessing instruments, Dentsply Sirona offers the DAC Universal family of reprocessing units. With this device, all cleaning steps are standardised and fully automated at the touch of a button, minimising application errors to the greatest possible degree. Last year, independent testing confirmed full virucidal activity of the DAC Universal. This includes activity against all enveloped viruses such as SARS-CoV-2, and non-enveloped viruses.
Continue reading here. Published in Dental Asia November/December 2021 issue.
