Human Resource Management - Its Impact on ... - Dental Asia

CLINICALFEATUREby Stefan BorensteinTime in a Bottle(Part II)In the previous articles we discussed tooth form and a practical and predictableapproach to achieving excellent results. The next hurdle is equally if not moreimportant because it has to do with the final functional and visual aspects of therestoration which will display harmony between patient, restoration and mouthIn this issue, we shall look at the questions regarding the selection of colours forboth teeth and gums.For the selection of colours in teeth, many shade guides exist, but as for gumcolours, very few and limited guides are available. The principal reason is that thereare far more gum colours than tooth colours and also there remains a simple fact ofmarketing, a question of profitability. Companies are not going to invest time anddollars into a product which is in essence a ONE time sale item. (Trust me. I havetried) Technicians will rant (justifiably) on and on about the critical importance ofsuch an assortment. The raw truth is that the kit will be sold once (only once) thencollect dust for years before there are any reorders .Therefore the marketing staffof companies have no interest in these products.We therefore came to the realization that we have to fabricate our own guides andpowders. After researching many diverse peoples of different ethnic backgroundswe fabricated a special shade guide to choose the gum colors of patients rangingfrom light pink to dark brown so that we could, if the occasion presented itself,emulate tissue of the same colour as exists in the patients mouth. These areavailable to our clients on a demand basis. To uncomplicate matters we decided onseven final tabs. These will allow us to compensate for tissue and bone loss andpermit fabricating very pleasing restorations by better controlling the final tooth sizeand shape.The following pictures are of a few of the colors we selected in relation to actualmouths:Figure 1 Gum color dark Figure 2 Gum color medium Figure 3 Intra oral18 Dental Asia • March / April 2008