A better work life means to me to have a more positive and rewarding work-life balance. One way of achieving this is by focusing on providing first-rate treatment results using highly efficient methods.

Many steps can be taken in direct restorative treatments to effect a change towards more efficiency. Below I present my top four tips that have freed me up to spend more time with my patients AND enjoy my private life.

Guest post by Dr. Petr Hajný, Prague, Czech Republic

In our day-to-day practice work, we are often faced with waste issues. However, sometimes we do not even notice our mismanagement because not every kind of waste is obvious. It is essential to know all the processes in the dental practice in detail in order to be able to identify any potential for a more efficient use of any kind of resources. Administrative procedures and operational sequences can be optimised, material costs can be reduced. An effective way to cut material costs is to prevent expensive products from being thrown away, for instance, by aligning the inventory levels with the use-by dates of the materials. The secret is in the careful use of resources, human and material.

The quality of the products you use and your own style of working determines the durability of the restorations you place. I like to use products from the Tetric-Line for my direct restorative treatment needs because these materials lead to excellent long-lasting results. The proven Tetric EvoCeram has been used as the basis for the recently developed new products Tetric Prime and the 4mm composites Tetric PowerFill and Tetric PowerFlow. As a user, I benefit from the excellent handling properties and treatment results that the high material and system quality offer.

Well-structured workflows and carefully conceived auxiliaries ensure that the work is done easily and delivers top results. If the right strategies are employed, treatment times can be significantly reduced without having to make any compromises on quality. In my experience, the following products have been particularly effective:

• OptraGate – moisture control made easy

• Adhese Universal – economical use of material due to the VivaPen

• Bluephase PowerCure – high-performance curing light for faster curing processes

• Tetric PowerFill – 3-second cure of 4mm posterior restorations, providing time savings of up to 57%

Light-curing is one of the major sources of error in direct restorative procedures. Luckily, the latest-generation Bluephase PowerCure and Bluephase G4 curing lights come with a built-in intelligent assistant designed to ensure the quality of the light-curing process: The light starts to vibrate if it detects a change in the angle or distance, automatically adjusts the exposure time if necessary or switches off to alert the user of the error. Lastly, high-gloss polishing is the final factor impacting on the surface finish, stability and aesthetics of a restoration. With the new OptraGloss polishers, it takes only two steps to achieve a high gloss.