As a licensed dental assistant and product & efficiency consultant at Zirc Dental Products, my colleagues and I work with dental professionals every day to help them become more organized, safe, and happy! With over 50 years of experience, Zirc is well known for its innovative products that help practices become more efficient and productive. One of our most popular products is Mr. Thirsty® One-Step.
If you haven’t heard of Mr. Thirsty® One-Step, let me explain. This disposable device comes completely pre-assembled, and it offers hands-free retraction and continuous high-volume evacuation. It has a built-in bite block, which not only keeps Mr. Thirsty® in place, but helps the patient stay comfortable and their mouth open. The powerful suction is comparable to a traditional HVE tip and I’ve found that it does an amazing job removing fluids and keeping the field dry. The tongue and cheek retractor offers an unobstructed view of both the maxillary and mandibular half of the oral cavity, allowing the clinician to work as efficiently as possible.
Let’s look at a few common scenarios and see how Mr. Thirsty® can help each clinician in the practice:
The Dentist
It’s Sunday morning and the dentist gets a call from a patient who has broken a tooth and is experiencing pain. The dentist agrees to meet them at the practice to perform an emergency procedure. They discover that tooth #15 has broken off the DB and MB cusp and requires a crown. Typically, the tooth would be temporized until they could find an opening in the upcoming week to do the procedure. However, this dentist has Mr. Thirsty® One-Step! Mr. Thirsty® allows the dentist to easily prep the tooth, despite the assistant not being there to help with suction and retraction. The emergency trip was productive for the dentist and resulted in a very satisfied and appreciative patient, all thanks to Mr. Thirsty®!
The Hygienist
The hygienist is running behind schedule and is hoping to catch up with the next patient – a 13-year-old who just needs a couple of sealants. There is more than enough time scheduled to get this done, and perhaps they can get that bathroom break they’ve been waiting for all morning! As it turns out, this patient had an incredibly strong and wiggly tongue making the procedure a real struggle. Since hygienists usually do not get an assistant, this type of patient ends up taking quite a bit longer than usual. It was a struggle to maintain a dry field while holding the mouth mirror for indirect vision in one hand, wrangling the powerful tongue with their second hand, and applying the sealant with their third hand… oh wait! They don’t have a third hand! With Mr. Thirsty®, the hygienist could’ve had hands-free tongue/cheek retraction and high-volume evacuation, allowing them to breeze through the appointment, catching up their schedule and taking that much needed bathroom break.
The Assistant
It’s been a busy week in the dental practice and the assistant is struggling to keep up with the multitude of tasks they have. In addition to assisting the dentist, keeping up with room turn-over, and sterilization, there is a bleach tray that needs to be fabricated for a patient that is coming in later in the day. Luckily, the dentist has Mr. Thirsty® and can start the patient who is getting three composite fillings. While the dentist is prepping the teeth, the assistant can make the bleach tray and be back to the patient in time to help the dentist place the fillings. Now, that is efficiency at its finest! Mr. Thirsty® doesn’t require any cleaning or maintenance, so the assistant doesn’t have to worry about having any more to sterilize either!
Whether you are a dentist finding themselves without an assistant, a hygienist using an ultrasonic scaler or placing a sealant, or an assistant that needs more time to perform a mountain of tasks throughout the day, Mr. Thirsty® One-Step is the solution!
See Mr. Thirsty® One-Step in action on our YouTube channel or get started with a Trial Kit on zirc.com!
