Frequently Asked Questions

There are a multitude of opinions about operator position, and that means that there really isn't a single answer. However, we can give you a history and a method of deciding how to make positioning ideal for your style of practice.

First, a bit of history. The quest for "ideal" operator positioning comes from the studies of industrial hygiene at the middle of the past century. The whole idea was to make man part of the machinery-- a tool with a dental degree.

Here's the problem:

1. Our patients vary; we have obese patients and tiny patients and patients that can't lie flat. This isn't an assembly line.
2. If you break the machine (the doctor), you can't just buy a new one! So we have to create an environment that is best for the "machine" -- not just for the task.

We need to split the process into basic principles and flexible options.

Basic principles-- these are the ones that you probably learned in school:

• Back upright.
• Minimal head tilt.
• Thighs parallel to the floor (not really -- more on this later).
• Feet flat on the floor (which can't really happen because of the foot control).
• Patient low to the legs (there are reasons why this is wrong too).

These principles are easier to adhere to from the 10 to 12° position, but that doesn't mean much in reality. Which brings us to a flexible view of posture and positioning.

1. Spines get nourishment through motion. Motion is good! If you convert to a fixed focal length, for example with a microscope, you do so at great personal risk, especially if you perform long detailed procedures such as endo or crown and bridge.
2. If it is true that bodies are healthiest when in motion, the goal should be to comfortably accommodate the range of postures required to provide care, so that it is not a big deal when Mrs. "I-can't-lie-back-beyond-45°" comes in for endo on an upper molar.
3. To accomplish this you need flexible equipment-- and most equipment isn't very flexible.

What are the requirements for equipment flexibility?

Flexible Equipment:

• Allows the operator to sit, stand or sit-stand in function.
• Allows the assistant to sit, stand or sit-stand in function.
• Permits work from 7° to 1° for right handed operators (11° to 5° for left handers).
• A flexible equipment layout should not place dynamic instruments to the side or rear of the operator or assistant except in very special situations (but please don't do it -- you don't need to).
• Equipment flexibility is most easily accomplished with over-the-patient or over-the-head equipment.

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Purchasing dental equipment presents a number of important and sometimes conflicting decisions. It is not the sort of thing discussed in dental school or by practice management consultants in an objective manner, so there is a great deal of confusion.

We'll give you our take on the subject, and we will try to be as objective as possible. But remember, we're a manufacturer of custom dental equipment so, by definition, we must be biased. But, if you hang in here for a minute, we are confident that you will gain great insight into equipment selection.

There are three main questions doctors face when selecting equipment:

• How much equipment do I need?
• How do I know about the quality of the equipment choices?
• Where should I purchase equipment?

Let's start at the top:

How much equipment?

The short answer: not much. Now for the much more difficult details of this answer, another question: Why do people buy so much equipment?

Doctors buy much more equipment than they need for two unfortunate reasons:

1. We are not trained in productivity or workflow techniques, so we tend to remedy the situation by patching in more equipment. Bad idea.
2. Selling dental equipment is a hassle for vendors. When all is said and done, they don't make much money considering how much time they spend. If you are going to spend that much time, you might as well sell some product! Remember: when you buy equipment from a dealer, the dealer needs to mark it up, the manufacturer needs to mark it up, and the guy that makes the components needs a profit too. That doesn't leave much for anybody, so someone must pay and -- the harsh truth is -- that's you!

Our solution is unique... and risky. Our company does things the hard way. We design our equipment from the patient's mouth out, not from the cabinets in. The closer we can bring everything to that point, the better... and when we fit everything in, we stop. No unnecessary products. Period.

So here is our problem (do you care?): Since our mission is to make you less equipment, we need to figure out how to survive financially.

Here is the only way that we can do it:

1. We manufacture virtually everything we sell.
2. We only make equipment that we consider to be the most productive and, thus, most essential. We don't build low quality, low performance stuff. We can't. We won't.
3. We sell directly. It is the only way we can do this. Believe me, we'd love to have someone else working on this, but we can't allow that. We need to spend your money on quality and productivity solutions. That means -- it's from the designer to you.

How do I decide what a quality product is?

This question is a bit easier. If you need to pass your product through a bunch of hands (component manufacturer, equipment company and dealership), you've got to cut corners to keep prices at a reasonable level. We use incredibly durable components. so they are extremely reliable.

Quite frankly, we don't like that, and by selling direct, we don't have to make that compromise. But please remember, quality should really be measured in performance and, depending upon your performance needs, you may not need our quality. We realize this isn't much of a sales pitch, but it's true.

Because we sell direct, we can only reach so many doctors. In all likelihood, you probably won't become a client of ours. Do you really want to be a top 5% office? Top 1%? By definition, most doctors don't. If you don't, then you probably don't need our equipment.

Quality - the technical answer: stainless steel, solid Corian®, anodized aluminum. These are the things that separate Ergonomic Products from particleboard and plastic.

Where/How should I buy my equipment?

If you believe that a dental supply salesman knows enough about dentistry to be able to help you spend tens of thousands of dollars when building a new office...well, I guess you have made your choice.

At Ergonomic Products, we have a different way of thinking. Our way of thinking is that you can figure this stuff out. If that's true, then you can decide what you need and simply go get it yourself. You can figure our what products provide the best value, and you can figure out how to go about getting them. It's that simple.

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- We can't change demographics - there are less people available to work for you.

- We can't change social trends - women have more career choices.

- We can't change our state boards (until it's too late) regarding expanded duties,
which would make these ancillary careers more fun and rewarding.

- We can create a productive, low stress treatment environment where your staff will be more productive than anywhere else that they could work. If we do that you can pay them more than anyone else. If it's fun to work in your office and they get paid more - who would ever leave?

- We can build you more treatment rooms in less space for the same cost. If you are short handed you can do a procedure, not clean the room and move to the next room - a scheduling lifesaver.

- We can make your rooms work two handed. No equipment company has done that well since bonding was invented. Maybe they don't really know what we've been doing or the past decade? You need to be able to convert from two handed to four-handed treatment on the fly. If you are supposed to have two assistants today and you only have one - it should be no big deal. If you get to a treatment room before your assistant can get there, you should be able to begin treatment - efficiently.

- Last, but certainly not least - we want to make the game plan for doing dentistry simpler. Much simpler. You will need to be able to hire less experienced employees in the future. These rookies need a very simple playbook. We can do that.

- You are no longer a hostage to staff.

- You don't have to worry as much about your future.

- New patients can get to see you.

- Senior staff earn more.

- You do too.