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November 25, 2006
Maxie's OMNII Lunch and Learn Reflection
Being a first year dental hygiene student I come into all the lunch in learns extra excited to learn about dental products that I could potentially recommend to my patients. Walking into the OMNII care presentation I knew I was going to learn about Xylitol, a product that is present in the Orbit and Trident gum that I chew daily. I knew that it reduced bacterial levels in the mouth and helped to prevent caries this is why I chewed two pieces daily. To much of my surprise the presenter at the OMNII lunch informed me that those two pieces of gum with Xylitol really have no effect. He said that in order for Xylitol to have an effect on bacterial levels in the mouth one needs to chew 6-10 g of Xylitol a day. Of course I thought 6-10g sounded like a lot and asked the presenter how many pieces of gum I needed to have for the Xylitol to have an effect. He stated that I needed to have 6 pieces of Xylitol gum or mints a day. At first it sounded unrealistic to me that a child would even like Xylitol mints and would chew so many a day, but I realized with the assistance of their parents this truly is a realistic goal. Maria poured a handful of Xylitol mints and gums on my plate next to my potbelly’s and to my surprise I ate them all by the end of the day.
The OMNII lunch and learn did not end with Xylitol information. We also learned about their new product called Vanish. Vanish is a “5% neutral sodium fluoride unit-dosed white varnish”. When the presenter quoted this to us I was confused and embarrassed because I didn’t even know what varnish was. I had no idea that it left a yellow color on the teeth after it was applied. Thus, I was confused when he was trying to promote the product Vanish. I was surprised when he gave us all a package of Vanish and asked us to apply it on our teeth. When I applied this cinnamon flavor fluoride varnish therapy I felt like I had plaque on my teeth and was tempted to scratch it off until the presenter stated that the longer you leave the vanish on your teeth the better the effect the fluoride will have. This is why I left it on as long as I could, but when I stepped out into the sunlight and clearly saw it on my classmates’ teeth I felt uncomfortable smiling in public. The Vanish didn’t leave a yellow stain, but it did leave a layer that felt like plaque and a clearly distinguishable white layer.
I learned a lot at this lunch and learn and I appreciate that the OMNII Oral Pharmaceuticals took the time to come to our school to educate us about these products. I am excited to soon recommend my patients to use gum with Xylitol and recommend Vanish instead of the regular Varnish.
Posted by mroumani at November 25, 2006 12:19 AM