Flow Dental: Imaging Accessories for Every Practice
Customer needs are Flow Dental’s number one priority
Flow Dental’s lineage is almost as long as the history of modern dentistry itself. It all began 90 years ago when Harry Wolf founded the company as Wolf X-Ray in 1931. At the time, the company’s dental product portfolio was limited primarily to x-ray mounts and view boxes. But over the years Wolf expanded his service to dental professionals, namely by increasing his manufacturing capabilities to include a wide array of high-quality, competitively priced imaging products.
By the mid 1970s, and under the second generation of Wolf family ownership, the original company split into 2 entities—Wolf X-Ray would be focused on the medical market and Flow X-Ray would be dedicated to the dental industry.
With its primary focus on dentistry, Flow X-Ray could invest in expanding its product line to include dental x-ray film in paper packets. In the 1980s, the company also developed a soft, flexible x-ray film vinyl packet that quickly became the second bestselling film sold in the United States.
Eventually, panoramic films, film positioners (including the popular RAPD system), lead protective aprons, and many more essential products joined the ever-expanding Flow X-Ray catalog.
In recent years, Flow X-Ray expanded its product portfolio to include its top-selling line of Safe’n’Sure phosphor plate envelopes as well as the SMART Positioning System, Comfees barrier sleeves for sensors, and Perfect Fit one-sizefits-all camera sleeves.
Now, under the third generation of Wolf family ownership, Flow has again changed its name, this time to Flow Dental. Not only does the name change signal the company’s plans to expand beyond imaging, but it also brings to dental professionals an even more comprehensive catalog of products, all with the same quality and reliability that the industry has come to expect from the many generations of Flow Dental products.
The company’s focus remains on dental imaging, and its core values also remain firmly in place. Focused on customer satisfaction, those core values are:
• the needs of every customer are Flow Dental’s number one priority, and
• quality and reliability are guaranteed with every product shipped.
In 2006, the company moved to a new 60,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Deer Park, NY. Here, both Flow Dental and Wolf X-Ray are committed to continuing to serve the needs of dentists, radiologists, and other dental professionals with a variety of high-quality dental imaging products and accessories designed to meet the growing needs of dental practices.
Snuggies and Snuggies 2.0
Keeping patients safe should not have to be difficult for the practitioner or uncomfortable for the patient, but sometimes that’s what it boils down to. This is especially true when it comes to sensor sleeves, which frequently don’t fit adequately, are a struggle to place, tear easily, and are irritating to patients’ soft tissue.
Flow Dental designed their Snuggies custom-fit sensor sleeves to fit snugly with sensors of any size, shape, and thickness. Both options, Snuggies and Snuggies 2.0, offer a tight fit to the sensor to eliminate loose plastic. Rather than twisting the sensor sleeve around fragile sensor cords to prevent them from sliding around, users simply peel off the cover of the built-in adhesive tab and fold over the sleeve to fit snugly around the sensor. The one-sizefits-all sizing eliminates the need to buy and stock sleeves of many sizes.
Dentists who participated in the Dental Product Shopper evaluation of Snuggies 2.0 praised the sleeves for their fit, ease of use, strength, and patient comfort. According to Billyana Tesic, DDS, the sleeves have “great versatility and fit, the material doesn’t tear easily, and the rounded corners are more comfortable for patients.”
Comfees
Comfees barrier sleeves for sensors aid imaging for the dental clinician and make the process safer and more comfortable for the patient. Both versions of Comfees, Econo and Deluxe, feature rounded corners for better fit in the patient’s mouth as well as added comfort. They both have Flow Dental’s unique tear-away seams, so they are simple to peel back without pulling on the digital sensor wire. Comfees Deluxe sensor barrier sleeves feature a super-soft vinyl material that makes loading the sensors nearly effortless. In addition, the extra strength of the Deluxe version further protects against tears.
Safe‘n’Sure Deluxe and Safe‘n’Sure OPT
Safe’n’Sure Deluxe and Safe‘n’Sure OPT phosphor plate barrier sleeves are designed for ease of use with a center seam, loading tabs, and a self-sealing opening when the EZ-Grip tab is removed. The Easy-Tear center seam allows for quick and easy plate removal. In addition, the soft clear vinyl face allows clinicians to visually confirm the direction of the plate.
The yellow EX Guide Tab built into Safe‘n’Sure Deluxe barriers facilitates loading and sealing the envelope. Safe‘n’Sure OPT comes with preloaded cardboard inserts for plates with magnets.
Bullseye Alignment Ring
Proper positioning is critical for x-ray accuracy, especially when using a handheld device that may be challenging to hold into position. To address this need, Flow Dental offers the Bullseye universal alignment ring, which makes handheld x-rays simple and fast. It is suitable for all handheld x-ray devices, including NOMAD and Xray 2Go. Bullseye universal alignment rings are reusable and can be permanently mounted onto the handheld device
