Photo provided by Gary Jackson.
Speaker Urges Dentists to Embrace
New Technologies in Practice
BALTIMORE, MD - It seems only fitting that Ron Ka-
miner, DDS, draws inspiration from popular author
Atul Gawande, MD.
An accomplished surgeon, Gawande writes in one of
his books, Better, A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance,
about his experiences as a surgeon and challenges readers
to buck the status quo, seek out inadequacies, and look for
better ways to practice medicine. A dentist with 22 years in
practice, Kaminer has done precisely that throughout his
career, starting early on when he became one of the first
200 dentists in the United States to use a hard-tissue laser.
At the Dental Learning event held here, “Updates
in Contemporary Dentistry,” Kaminer challenged the
300 dentists in attendance to avoid becoming just an-
other “white-coated cog in the machine.” He urged the
attendees to try new things to improve the way they
practice dentistry, including trying new techniques in
minimally invasive treatment.
Kaminer stressed the importance of early caries de-
tection, and defined minimally invasive treatment as
performing the least amount of treatment to accomplish
the task while conserving the most amount of dental
anatomic structures.
There is a difference between caries, which is the in-
fectious disease caused by Streptococci and Lactobacil-
lus spp. that results in destruction of calcified tissues,
and cavitations, which are the result of the infection,
Kaminer said. He added that caries is on the rise be-
cause people are drinking more soda and sports drinks.
“To truly address caries, we need to work on the
saliva as well as the surface of the teeth,” Kaminer told
the audience.
Caries Detection
Kaminer, who practices in New York, stressed the
importance of using saliva as a diagnostic tool. He dis-
cussed the GC America product, Saliva-Check, which
enables dentists to diagnose clinical problems, monitor
results, and design appropriate prevention and reminer-
alization processes.
The CariScreen susceptibility test from Oral Biotech
screens out patients at higher risk for caries. Depending
on the reading from the CariScreen meter, the patient
can be treated with a proprietary series of rinses.
Kaminer mentioned several cavitation detection sys-
tems, including:
•  Ultradent’s Sable Seek, which he said enables
detection of cavitated areas in difficult-to-see
places. This product is used as an easy way to
locate the calcified root canal.
•  DIAGNOdent (KaVo Dental Corp) is a 632-nm
cavity detection laser that measures light diffraction
within a tooth and gives the user a reading based
on the refraction of the light in the groove.
•  Air Techniques’ Spectra is an LED detection device
that projects blue light at 405 nm. Light at this
wavelength stimulates porphyrins to fluoresce red,
while healthy enamel fluoresces green. The Spectra
bridges with digital x-ray software, and it allows
recording of images in the file. This technology
quantifies the level of decay numerically, with color
to track remineralization or treatment. Kaminer
said that the Air Techniques technology could help
dentists to differentiate their practices, because it
enables users to pinpoint where the disease is and
enables them to remineralize the rest of the tooth.
Dental Learning
“You could say to your patient, I was able to solve
your problem, but I took away as little of your tooth
as possible.”
• 
Acteon’s SOPROLIFE is an intraoral camera and
caries-detection device in one. Using autofluorescence
technology, this device switches from 4 white LEDs
to 4 blue LEDs at the touch of a button, enabling the
clinician to see variations in the tooth’s dentin health.
Caries Treatment
Changing gears from diagnosis to caries treatment, Ka-
miner mentioned the desirable properties of glass ionomer
cements like those in GC America’s Fuji and SDI’s Riva,
making them useful materials in the restoration of carious
lesions in low-stress areas. These products offer unique
advantages over flowables and straight composite in that
they are antibacterial in nature, and they chemically bond
to enamel, dentin, and composite and release fluoride. Ad-
ditionally, these cements minimize microleakage in both
the occlusal and proximal cavo surfaces.
Kaminer also discussed laser technology, which is
one of the newer players for removing carious dental
hard tissues.
Although cost is often a barrier to purchasing a laser,
Kaminer noted the Picasso (AMD LASERS) unit, which
features 7 W of power, 8 programmable presets, and low
operating cost, making it a laser solution for dentists who
want to integrate laser technology. Retailing at around
$5,000, the Picasso diode laser provides optimum power,
precision, and portability for a broad range of soft-tissue
procedures. He also noted that the prices of many other
lasers are coming down, with hard-tissue lasers retailing
now around $40,000. He mentioned the development of
an affordable hard- and soft-tissue laser that is rumored
to enter the market shortly.
Prevention
Kaminer stressed involving dental hygienists and pa-
tients in preventing caries. For hygienists, he highlighted
the importance of testing saliva, counseling about alter-
ing diets and saliva with agents like Xylitol Neutralizing
Gum or Carifree Rinses when necessary, emphasizing
normal brushing including a rinse, and administering
GC America’s MI Paste once a day after brushing when
needed. He noted that MI Paste is available with and
without fluoride, because of some parental concerns
about children swallowing fluoride. He recommends
the paste for adults and children with cavitations and
positive caries tests, children undergoing orthodontics,
people with sensitive teeth, and for people taking medi-
cation that alters the quantity and quality of saliva.
Ron Kaminer, DDS
Ron Kaminer, DDS, is a graduate of the New York
State School of Dental Medicine at Buffalo. He subse-
quently completed a 2-year postgraduate Advanced
Dentistry residency at Northshore Hospital on Long
Island. Dr. Kaminer is a noted author, lecturer, and
teacher on topics such as laser dentistry, minimally
invasive dentistry, and high-tech dentistry. He was re-
cently awarded the Mastership from the World Clinical Laser Institute. He
has also been featured in New York Newsday, The Orlando Sentinal, and
“MSN Money” for his proficiency in laser dentistry. Dr. Kaminer maintains
a teaching appointment at Peninsula Hospital in Queens, where he trains
postgraduate residents in advanced pediatric and cosmetic education. Dr.
Kaminer brings to both his practices, in Hewlett and Oceanside, NY, a com-
prehensive state-of-the-art level of care to all his patients.
Dr. Kaminer Disclosure: Consultant to and material support received from
Air Techniques, AMD LASERS, GC America, Ultradent Products.
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