Working Smarter with AnteriorRest - Now Undergoing Clinical Testing in Our Office

For those of you who work in dentistry, this stat will come as no surprise, to those of you outside the field you may be shocked to learn that over 60% of dentists who become disabled do so due to neck and back issues.  The "dental posture" that doctors are in several hours a day, just isn't natural.  we sit in an upright position with no support and, in many cases, have to hold very still while we work.  This just isn't the way the human body is designed to work and we pay for it with our spines.  I personally know several doctors who either suffer from chronic spinal issues or have had to leave practice due to these same issues.

 

Now a company is trying to change that aspect of dental practice.  The company is ProHealth Equipment and the product is called AnterioRest. The concept is a fairly simple one.  The device gives the operator something to lean against while they work which means the back and neck muscles can relax more while giving the operator the positioning they require to perform treatment.

 

On the Dental Entertainment Network, I shot a segment for the company that does a great job of explaining exactly what it is and why/how it works.

I was impressed with the concept of the device and the people behind it.  Enough so, that I've agreed to do a clinical test of the device by  using it on a daily basis.  While we have 7 treatment areas in the facility, I tend to work out of 2 of those areas.  We've equipped both of those with a full AnterioRest setup.  I have not only the support for me, but I also have a support on the other side of the chair to help support my left arm.  I was in a car accident during dental school that badly damaged my left shoulder and I've dealt with some pretty strong pain in it as I've gotten older.  The AnterioRest folks were nice enough to provide this arm support to see if it will help.

 

The installation was pretty easy.  The guys from the company came to my office and coached Steve, my Goetze Dental service tech on exactly how to do the install.

 

 

I've been using the AnterioRest for 2 days now including 2 endodontic procedures yesterday.  I love doing endo, but the strain of doing multiple cases can sometimes be difficult for me as my back is usually killing me by the end of the day.  I'm happy to report that yesterday, I finished with my back feeling good.  I'll be reporting back as we get further along with the evaluation, but so far, I'm very impressed with the product.

To end this post, here's a photo of my assistant Terri and I seeing our first patient after the install.