Wonderful Dental
Dr. Dave Epstein has over 50 years of clinical dental experience with a wide variety of experience in both academia and private practice. He started Wonderful Dental about three years ago to answer the need for better tasting varnish after finding that he was unhappy with a lot of products he was using in private practice but didn’t have time to develop them. They were costly, unpleasant, and needed to be improved. Wonderful Dental answered those needs.
Wonderful Dental’s Products
The first product they produced was the varnish because they found the taste of other varnishes were unpleasant for children. They tested 50 different chocolates and 30 different bubblegum flavors before they found the right ones. They also made sure the viscosity of the varnish is so that it doesn’t ball up on the brush in the presence of moisture. Their varnish comes in individual doses so that the clinician can mix it well.
They also developed a better tasting prophy paste. After consulting with Dr. Norman, head of Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Maryland, Dave Epstein decided not to include fluoride in the prophy paste because they found three studies published in the Journal of American Dental Association confirmed that fluoride in prophy paste served no purpose. It does not provide any level of prevention and therefore it’s unnecessary. So, they eliminated fluoride in their prophy paste. They also removed the titanium dioxide, food colors, and made the paste as hypoallergenic as possible. No eggs, dairy, gluten, shellfish, or nuts are present in their prophy paste. An allergen sheet is available on their website, wonderfuldental.com, that lists the allergens that the product has been tested for. See the allergen sheets here.
Host Dr. Jarod Johnson notes that it seems like more and more parents are coming in asking for treatment without gluten or dyes. He has a toothpaste menu to make it fun for the kids.
Flouride Varnish
Dr. Dave Epstein notes that fluoride varnish is no more effective at reducing decay than foams or gels. The difference is that the fluoride varnish is much easier to apply and pleasant for the child. What can make the fluoride varnish more effective than foams or gels, however, is the proper use of it. Foams and gels have to stay on the teeth for three to four minutes which can be a long time for a child to wait.
Proper application: He notes that the American Academy of Pediatrics recognizes the value of fluoride varnish in infants. He would typically have the child lay on his/her mother’s lap and then lean his/her head back onto his lap. Then he takes a 2×2 gauze and gently wipe the teeth to dry them off. Last, he paints on the varnish. For more instructions, view the patient instruction card here.
Cost Effective Products
Dr. Jarod Johnson notes that Wonderful Dental products are very cost effective for providers to use. They’re a quality product at a low cost. They keep their costs low by saving money on advertising — Wonderful Dental uses Facebook and Google and keep their business solely online. They also have worked hard to keep their shipping costs down with minimal packaging costs. He sincerely felt like he could give something back to the profession and he has! He has the same low price whether you buy 5,000 doses or 100 because he wants to be fair to the little guy. Don’t forget that you can request samples by visiting the website, wonderfuldental.com.