Often times, the answers to life’s problems are right under our nose…in this case, it’s true. Implementing Mr. Thirsty One-Step in a dental practice will instantly decrease chair time and improve the patient’s experience. This hands-free isolation device allows a dentist to work without an assistant, an assistant to work by themselves at chairside and a hygienist can perform with the benefits of continuous suction while providing the patient with comfort and peace-of-mind.
Mr. Thirsty One-Step is affordable and does not have any upfront investment or installation requirements. It is also a single-use product, so there is no pre or post-procedure maintenance time involved. A practitioner simply removes Mr. Thirsty One-Step from its packaging, connects it directly to high-volume evacuation and it is ready to perform. When the procedure is over, disconnect and dispose of it at chairside.
Zirc offers this product in two color-coded sizes, and the shape of the tongue shield may be cut for a customized fit for the patient. With a built-in bite block, Mr. Thirsty One-Step offers comfort to the patient’s mouth along with hands-free isolation, retraction and suction for the practitioner. This product is great to isolate a patient’s teeth for many different procedures including implant procedures, quadrant dentistry, CEREC® restorations and sealants.
Studies that prove the value of this dental isolation device
There are several products on the dental market that are similar to Mr. Thirsty One-Step, but studies have proven that this product offers time saving benefits along with creating a WIN/WIN for the practitioner and patient.
In 2015, Dr. Andrew Goldsmith conducted a time and motion study utilizing 4 doctors performing 40 procedures with and without Mr. Thirsty One-Step. This study proved that Mr. Thirsty One-
Step can decrease procedure times across the board for the dentist by as much as 25% and reduce chair time by 29% for the patient. Using Mr. Thirsty One-Step during the procedures also freed up the dental assistants to either see other patients or perform other tasks, maximizing the efficiency gained from the isolation product.
“The most dramatic difference that was seen was with Quadrant dentistry. It is well known that performing Quadrant dentistry is a more efficient use of time, which this study also highlighted, but when using Mr. Thirsty One-Step®, we decreased our chair time by 35%.” – Andrew Goldsmith, DDS, FIALD, DICOI
The data from this time and motion study has been organized into an infograph. Click to enlarge infograph
In 2016, Dr. Goldsmith executed another time and motion study. This time, the study was performed by 10 hygienists who performed 60 procedures, and it also proved that Mr. Thirsty One-Step can decrease chair time for the hygienist by as much as 20%. Other areas that 
improved were the patient and hygienist satisfaction levels, with a 50% increase during SRP procedures and a 25% increase in patient satisfaction during prophy procedures as well.
“The average time scheduled among all hygienists participating in the study for scaling and root planing was 105 minutes, and on average they finished 29 minutes faster when using Mr. Thirsty® One-Step…This additional time certainly gives you options; to properly educate your patients, to see more patients, to turn-over your room or maybe just eat lunch.” – Andrew Goldsmith, DDS, FIALD, DICOI
The data from this time and motion study has also been organized into an infograph. Click to enlarge infograph
Other practitioners that enjoy using Mr. Thirsty One-Step
Practitioners are seeing the benefits from using this time-saving isolation device. Some may use it for certain procedures, but many are adapting it into their entire schedule. Below are a few practitioners who utilize Mr. Thirsty One-Step on a regular basis:
“Because I use Mr. Thirsty, I am able to treat my patients more comfortably and safer, eliminating discomfort derived from suction tips striking soft tissues. It also helps patients with a gag reflex. My assistant is free to perform other chair-side duties without interruption of treatment. Mr. Thirsty helps us enhance our service and our patient’s experience. It is a great practice building tool. “
– Paul S. Crespo, DDS
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Mr. Thirsty is able to fit any size mouth with the ability for the patient to feel rested and not pried open. It doesn’t have long tubes and connections like other devices, and the suction is as strong as the HVE suction tip. Mr. Thirsty helps keep the patient’s airway free of saliva, water and debris. Disposable items are the focus with most products we order in our practice due to the volume of patients. Most importantly, patients are asking for it by name! We are now marketing it with our email blast to let patients know we care about their safety and comfort.”
– Shannon Pace Brinker , CDA, CDD
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“Mr. Thirsty has made life easier for me, my assistant, and our patients. Procedures are accomplished faster, easier, with higher quality and better comfort for patients. This is rubber-dam quality isolation without the discomfort of clamps. Absolutely fantastic for kids, who so often struggle with water in their mouths without a dam. I can isolate 2 full quadrants quickly and can easily cut and shape the tongue guard to fit any child or adult. Hygienists love it for full half-mouth hands-free suction and isolation during scaling and root planing. I’ve tried all the devices out there, and Mr Thirsty has the wonderful advantage of attaching directly to the HVE suction hose, so no special expensive dedicated tubing is needed, and I can quickly and easily switch between regular HVE and the Mr Thirsty as the procedure requires. This device is such a pleasure to use and an absolute game-changer once a dental team tries it. Mr Thirsty will be a permanent part of our hygiene, pedo, and restorative setups. Thank you for a GREAT product! ”
– Daniel Dozier, DDS
How to get your hands on a free sample of Mr. Thirsty One-step
The easiest way to get your hands on a Mr. Thirsty One-Step sample is to sign up for our Zirc Perks program. When you sign up, you get free samples of a handful of our products including our Crystal HD mouth mirror and Mr. Thirsty One-Step. You can sign up today for our free membership here. (Only available to practitioners in US and Canada).
For more Mr. Thirsty One-Step product information, visit our isolation page: www.zirc.com/products/isolation
