We Wanted More for Our Patients - Orkos Award for Darren Webber, DMD

St Louis, MO – September 19, 2014 – Hygienist Val Hebert and Dr. Darren Webber from Smithfield, UT received the Orkos Award for providing exceptional care for their patient with gum disease. The Orkos honors dental practitioners who demonstrate excellence in case study treatment of periodontal disease, both gingivitis and periodontitis. Their case demonstrates how prescription tray delivery of medication helped a patient who had previously struggled with the disease. The award also acknowledges Hebert's dedication to her patients and her efforts to find more effective treatment options for them.

There is no recognized cure for periodontal disease, in part, because it is so difficult to manage the infections that trigger the disease. The infections are often deep below the gums where toothbrushes, floss, and rinses can't reach, so patients with gum disease are recommended to have regular periodontal maintenance therapy every few months after debridement and scaling. But the maintenance results are not always successful. "I've followed these guidelines for more than two decades," reports RDH Val Hebert, "My patients came in every 3-4 months with lackluster results. It was the same scenario every visit. My patients wanted more comfortable care and better, tangible results, and I wanted more for my patients, so I searched for something new. "

Her efforts paid off. She found prescription Perio Tray® delivery of medication, specifically 1.7% hydrogen peroxide gel (Perio Gel®, QNT Anderson, Bismarck, ND). The Perio Tray® looks like a mouth guard but it is uniquely fabricated with a customized internal peripheral seal to keep medication below the gums to fight the infections. After spending an entire day in continuing education courses learning the science about the debriding and oxygenating effects of the hydrogen peroxide when delivered in the Perio Tray®, Hebert was ready to try the delivery technique.

Her first Perio Tray® patient was the father of the dental assistant who works with her. "He had been one of our perio patients for three years," Hebert reports. "He completed scalings and came in for periodontal therapy, although not as regularly as I recommended." His was not an easy case. He had 100% bleeding on probing, significant calculus, generalized recession, sensitivity to thermal changes and to touch, pain on probing, and probing depths up to 9mm. He started Perio Tray® delivery three times a day for fifteen minutes and returned two weeks later.

At that two week follow up visit, Hebert recorded pinker tissue with firmer consistency. "The most exciting part for me," she stated, "was that the patient said that his mouth felt better. To me, this was real success. He had taken an active role in his health and changed his homecare." I asked him to return again in two weeks and to continue to use his Trays. Hebert monitored his improvement regularly and completed a full-mouth probing again at the 6 month visit. The patient had significant pocket reductions, and bleeding on probing was reduced to 5 sites or 3%. He was pleased with his treatment and so was the dental team.

Importantly, Hebert reports that after experiencing the initial success with Perio Tray® delivery the patient kept more regular recall appointment and seems happier to have his check-ups. "This is a true marker of our success," she explains. Getting patients to take responsibility for their health can be a challenge. But having the right tools to deliver the medication is also important. Perio Protect congratulates Dr. Webber and Val Hebert on this excellent case.

Dr. Webber is a Utah native and attended UNLV School of Dental Medicine. He has been in practice since 2008. Val Hebert was born and raised in Germany. She moved to Concord, NH in 1981 and received her Dental Hygiene degree from the New Hampshire Technical Institute. She moved to Cache Valley in 1994. The team works at Community Dental Center, one of the only dental offices in Cache Valley, UT providing care for patients with Medicaid, PCN and CHIP reimbursements. Their team is devoted to providing high quality dental services at affordable rates and to educating patients to take an active role in prevention strategies and treatment planning. Additional information on the center is available at www.communitydentalcenter.com.

For more information about the Orkos Award and award-winners, visit www.theorkosaward.com. To learn more about Perio Tray® delivery from Perio Protect, visit www.perioprotect.com.