Editor's Note Carol Murphy, Executive Editor

Our editorial focus this month is on removable prosthetics. As I scanned the message boards for insight, it became obvious accurate impression taking was the most crucial element of success. Repeatedly, the Townies recommended the Accu-Dent system from Ivoclar Vivadent for accurate prosthetic impression taking. One Townie, Mike Esposito, learned about the Accu-Dent system from other Townies and had very good success with the advice he received. I called Mike and asked if he would write a clinical article for us and show everyone the great results he was obtaining with ‘tips’ from the Townies and using the Accu-Dent impression material.

Not only did he write a very easy-to-read article, he went one step further and actually visited the Ivoclar Vivadent corporate offices over the Thanksgiving holiday. Now there’s a Townie who takes his writing seriously. Good work, Mike!

Our corporate profile this month is about two pioneers of the dental industry. I’m sure many of your are very familiar with Dr. K. William (Bud) Mopper and Mike O’Malley, co-founders of Cosmedent.

In 1982, the dental industry was just getting acquainted to the incredible applications of bonding materials. Mopper and O’Malley were not only enthusiastic about the vast possibilities for direct resin bonding not only as a restorative material but also as a cosmetic procedure that would meet the needs of image conscious patients.

To distribute the news about bonding materials, Cosmedent started the first publication ever solely devoted to dental esthetics in 1983.

Today, 21 years later, Dr. Mopper is saying that dentistry is still just in the infancy period of esthetic dentistry. Read about these true dental pioneers on page 16 of this issue.

Special thanks to Townie, Marshall White for his editorial contribution on the treatment of patients recovering from chemical dependency. His insight is not only clinically valuable but also shows his compassion and understanding of individuals who are battling this disease.

Following Marshall White’s article are message boards on how to get recovering chemically-dependent patients numb. As always, some excellent advice is shared. And while we’re on the topic of anesthesia, this month we’ve included a snippet of content from one of the hottest topics on the message boards entitled ‘Perkins Perfectly Painless Anesthesia method’. You’ll really want to go online and read the entire thread!