Technical guru Rolf Mann explains why properly installed equipment works better and lasts longer.

By Danny Chan
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Frequently occurring – and problematic – technical issues mostly result from shoddy installation work rather than equipment malfunction, says Rolf Mann. The veteran equipment technician believes that unbeknownst to most dental practitioners, the majority of equipment complaints and breakdowns could easily have been pre-empted by a knowledgeable technician from the onset. 
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“Many dentists in Australia are under-informed about the long term problems associated with a badly installed equipment and plant room, and this is the case, regardless of brand or make. I would say that most of the factors contributing to the long-term performance of a dental equipment begin in the plant room.”
With 40 years experience in the dental industry, Rolf certainly knows what he’s talking about. The technical consultant to major brand manufacturers and distributors has looked under the hood of thousands of dental equipment, troubleshooting and rectifying a vast array of equipment types and models.
 
He has given training lectures on equipment installations in Sydney and Brisbane. Outside Australia, he has worked with Kavo Dental Asia-Pacific in Singapore, at its technical headquarters serving the Southeast Asian region. In recent years, Rolf’s expertise has particularly benefitted dental practices in North Queensland, where he is based both as a technical consultant and independent reseller for Ampac Dental. 
 
 “Very serious” about installations
 
Ampac Dental is an NSW-based importer of equipment for the dental and medical trades in Australia and New Zealand. The company boasts an extensive range of premium quality large and small dental supplies as well as equipment, including: Dental chairs, dental units, handpieces, surgical instruments, autoclaves, digital x-rays, alginate mixers, ultrasonic cleaners, curing lights, suction motors and compressors.
 
More importantly for its customers, at least in Rolf’s estimation, Ampac Dental is one of few companies out there that takes equipment installation work “very seriously”. And that is a credential he fears may be under-appreciated, although concedes it is gaining momentum as more dentists are exposed to the technical side of the business.
 
“Proper equipment installation encompasses everything from using good quality material for the connections and pipelines to a well-designed layout of the plant room. Many dentists are very laidback when it comes to important stuff like that yet they spend a lot of time fussing over the latest gimmicky feature of their dental unit.
 
“They should be doing the reverse. If you get the basics right at the installation stage, even a lesser known brand will perform better and serve you longer.”
 
The proper setting up of the plant room, Rolf informs, is in support terms, “absolutely critical” to the long-term reliability of the dental chairs. For instance, he says that making sure your dental unit is supplied clean water as well as compressed air that is free from oil and condensation alone guards it against 90 per cent of failures.
 
As well as being insidious to the well-being of the patient, Rolf warns that a contaminated dental waterline is damaging to the health of the equipment. He recommends a three-stage filtration system to reduce sediments and contaminants which the experienced technician qualifies would greatly prevent corrosion of the unit, stemming future problems like blockages and bacteria growth.
 
“Over the last 40 years, I have been installing systems that filter down to .5 microns. The first incoming filter cartridge filters the water supply to one micron, while the second is a carbon activated filter impregnated with silver, that effectively blocks bacteria. The third filter prevents any bleedoff from the second filter. Together they provide trouble-free performance.”
 
Mind-blowingly simple
 
Rolf reveals that such tested rigors, employed by all Ampac Dental technicians, are the real reasons why the company’s equipment remain in excellent working condition many years after their initial installation – a phenomenon attested to by their high customer referral business. 
 
One such customer is Dr Damien Drew of 121 Dental Centre. January last year, Ampac Dental installed new equipment – two Swident dental units and the Progeny X-ray equipment – in the family clinic located in Cannonvale QLD. Impressed with Ampac’s “fantastic backup service”, Damien has ordered two more chairs and other equipment for his new practice, Main Street Dental due open in Proserpine, which is located just minutes from Cannonvale. 
 
Says Dr Drew: “We’re really happy with the chairs. From the intuitive programs to the smooth movement, small footprint and ergonomics, the Swident chairs have been an absolute delight to work with.”
 
The chairs have been an increasingly popular mainstay in Ampac’s showrooms since (please insert year they were first imported). Rolf remembers his first brush with the relatively unknown dental chairs, when he accompanied the import firm’s owner Moe (Please insert Moe’s last name), on a sourcing trip to the Swident factory in Bologna, Italy.
 
He recalls: “We were both blown away by the simplistic quality of the chair designs. From a technician’s point of view, it was a pleasant surprise to learn that the Swident dental unit got rid of many design flaws that continue to plague today’s so-called branded models.”
 
Satisfied that the chair “hasn’t got gimmicky functions that noone uses anyway”, he provides the following example:
 
“The people at Swident went back to basics using an ordinary solenoid valve with manual controls for the water – you adjust it once and you never have to touch it again.
 
“Of all the issues I face servicing dental units, the biggest callout problem I get is with proportional valves. The Swident chairs doesn’t have that electronic valve so you already save on a lot of needless hassle. In our business, we apply the KISS principle: “Keep It Simple Stupid!””
 
Besides glowing feedback for the Swident chairs, Dr Drew has nothing but praise for the Ampac team – including the technican who helped install them:
 
“Both Moe and Elizabeth (Bozinovska) delivered without compromise in every aspect, in terms of product, goodwill and service.
 
“Rolf is very knowedgeable and goes out of his way for the customer. He is very experienced and meticulous; able to pre-empt all the plumbing and cabling issues with a carefully thought out plan – and he talks you through it as well.”
 
What not to do
 
Beyond customer praise, Rolf’s insistence on quality installations has also earned a steady stream of business – he keeps a full work schedule despite not having placed a single advertisement in the last 20 years. “I do not profess to know everything and nobody should,” says the 73-year-old stalwart, adding:
 
“It’s sometimes more important to know what not to do, especially that which will cause you problems in the future.”
 
Applying this maxim to dental equipment design, he believes a simple but commonsensical approach often trumps a complex one.
 
“There are selected brands of equipment that I recommend, not because I get a commission for them but simply because I know they perform well with a higher reliability. And when it all comes together, is when we can safely offer a customer what is called a “concept design clinic” and actually make it happen – both inside and out.”
 

Oral Health Expert Dr Joerg Strate gives a foretaste of his ADX14 talks on patient motivation techniques and tools.
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Consumer oral care products play an important role in the overall delivery of preventative dentistry. However, it is difficult to assess their productivity in so far as determining individual treatment results.
 
That’s because, whether or not patients achieve the desired outcomes, depend greatly on how they apply these products. For example, when patients transitioning to a powered toothbrush default to the manual habit of scrubbing instead of using the recommended motions, the results are less than optimal. The same propensity, exhibited in the use of many consumer oral care products, frustrates the ability to predict and manage treatment outcomes.
 
These challenges will be addressed during the upcoming ADX14 in Sydney via a seminar series. The as-yet-titled seminars will be given by Dr Joerg Strate, Head of Global Clinical Affairs Philips Consumer Lifestyle.
 
“One of the main obstacles in preventative dentistry (and with that in dentistry in general) is that patients undergoing a treatment, or those who we try to motivate to avoid a treatment, have to modify their behaviors and learn to take ownership of their personal health,” Dr Strate elaborates on his choice of topic. 
 
“This part of the treatment approach gets frequently neglected. I will talk about this topic and present concepts on how industry and dental team together can approach this challenge with the patient.”
 
Dr. Joerg Strate is a prolific speaker on implant dentistry and oral health, having lectured at academic institutes and conferences throughout Europe, Asia and South America. He has also authored (and co-authored) numerous scientific papers and abstracts on the topics.
 
Applying both clinical and industry knowledge, the former practicing periodontist has for many years been involved in researching the relationship between dental products and patient motivation towards the promotion of oral hygiene. 
 
“At Philips we try to support the efforts of the dental team through products that allow patients to optimize their oral hygiene beyond what they may, for example, have achieved with a manual toothbrush.”
 
“Leading technology is instrumental in this task. When I looked at the reality though, I found that there was still an important element missing to ensure that patient motivation truly translates into long-term and sustainable oral health improvements.”
 
Digging deeper, the Philips team started working with the pioneers in the area of motivational interviewing Chris Butler and Steve Rolnick, both South Africans now lecturing in Cardiff/UK.
 
“That’s how it all started. Philips is likely the first and still the only company with such an interest in behavior modifications in the dental office environment.”  
 
The result of extensive research is a new breed of consumer products that in Dr Strate’s words, “empower consumers to take control of their oral health”. The Philips Sonicare range of electric toothbrushes is a prime example.
 
The unique design of these devices compensates for potential deviations from an optimal use, a concept realized in many new features.
 
“A product that may work for a dentist and a design that we may see on a hand piece is not necessarily the best solution for a person without the knowledge and intentional behavior of an expert. In my thinking about the actual performance of consumer oral care products I therefore like to talk about evidence-based value creation.”
 
The FlexCare Platinum features a completely new brush head design that dramatically enhances the cleaning efficacy in those areas which are easily missed such as the approximal surfaces. The product comes with a pressure sensor that provides the user with a non-distracting feedback that helps to always apply the optimal pressure.
 
“I consider (the pressure sensor) as one of the biggest advantages of Sonicare toothbrushes that they require only very gentle load pressure and are therefore exceptionally gentle on teeth and gums.”
 
The Sonicare Airfloss is another breakthrough innovation that has been successfully launched internationally – and is a product that Dr Strate believes “literally exists in its own segment”.
 
Proven to clean interproximally, the device features microburst technology that delivers microdroplets of air and water to remove plaque biofilm between teeth, and it’s proven safe and gentle on gums and teeth.
 
Both products, first launched to the public at IDS 2013 in Cologne Germany, are now available in Australia.
 
Dr Strate will be discussing these innovations in his talks, showcasing clinical examples to provide motivation techniques and tools for oral hygiene. The topic supports practical guidance to promote oral health behavior change in patients. The seminars will produce evidence culled from the company’s own clinical program that was co-developed with the Eastman Dental Institute in London.