While working as a full-time dental technician, Michele Fanale witnessed the limitations of modern dental products firsthand. Foremost among these is the somewhat primitive tooling employed by dental technicians and even the dentists themselves when holding a tooth or a restoration in place. For many, that “tooling” is a ball burnisher (sometimes referred to as a “dental ball burnisher”) or even the unadorned tip of one’s own finger. Of course, a tool need not be sophisticated to be effective but, in this instance, neither ball burnisher nor fingertip are up to the task.

The first problem is that, as Ms. Fanale has seen on many occasions, ball burnishers and fingertips tend to inadvertently slip across the surface of the tooth or restoration. These slips force the technician or dentist to reassume the correct position and try again – often multiple times – until the procedure has been completed successfully. As well, slips aside, neither fingertip nor egg-ball burnisher allows the UV light through. This is a critical shortcoming as such light is required to cure certain types of dental materials while tooths and restorations are held in place.

Above: Handle and Tip, the Two Primary Components of Steady Denty

After witnessing these shortcomings on an ongoing basis, Ms. Fanale, a natural problem-solver, began to think of practical ways to address this serious but largely neglected needs gap in modern dentistry. After several brainstorming sessions, she found the solution: Consisting of a translucent tip and an interlocking but detachable handle, Michele Fanale’s aptly-named Steady Denty (both illustrated in the patent diagram above) is able to steady the tooth or restoration without blocking the needed UV light (see patent diagram below):

Above: Steady Denty Holding Tooth in Place

From the patent diagrams, it is evident how Fanale’s patent-pending invention has been designed to hold teeth and restorations in place in a manner that still allows the UV light in. It is important to note that, in terms of materials, both the tip and the handle of the Steady Denty may be made of an autoclavable stainless steel or one or both may be made of a disposable material (translucent silicone for the tip, hard plastic for the handle).  ​

Steps of Typical Use​

1. Among the responsibilities shouldered by Nancy, a dental technician in a busy dental clinic, is the holding of teeth and restorations in place during certain dental procedures. She has had her share of frustrations with using her fingertips for that purpose. However, now that her clinic has decided to use the Steady Denty, her usual routine has changed somewhat. 
2. The current patient, Jason has just had a restoration done but, this time, instead of taking out her fingertip (or a dental ball burnisher) Nancy proceeds to deploy a Steady Denty device. 
3. Subsequently, after putting the restoration in the desired place, Nancy applies the Steady Denty to the restoration to keep it steady.
4. Thanks to Ms. Fanale’s invention, as Nancy holds the restoration in place, not only is there no slipping (and, consequently, no need for time-draining readjustments) but UV light is allowed to penetrate through the translucent tip of the Steady Denty and onto the dental materials that need to be cured. 
5. After just a few weeks of regular use, Nancy and her colleagues at the dental clinic find that the Steady Denty is a very worthwhile investment, saving time and generally making their work easier while delivering better and more reliable service to patients. 

A Smoother & Quicker Hold-In-Place Process

Quicker Curing (as UV light is no longer blocked)

Enhanced Patient & Caregiver Safety

Fully Adjustable Head is like Having an Extra Fingertip for Dental Work!