Beyond Polus Whitening Accelerator
Beyond Dental & Health
Advanced design and technology are combined with multifunctionality and power into one system.
Beyond Polus, from Beyond Dental & Health, is a multifunctional system that includes a halogen-powered whitening accelerator and LED curing light. According to Beyond Dental & Health, Beyond Polus offers dentists the most powerful halogen light output available. Studies published in the British Dental Journal in 2008 found that both carbamide peroxide and hydrogen peroxide used in conjunction with a halogen light resulted in greater tooth whitening than the other methods studied1. With its proprietary Light-Bridge Technology, the Polus system combines halogen with the more wave-length specific LED to provide the broad and intense light output without UV exposure.
Currently Beyond Polus has only been available to dentists outside of the United States, so Dental Product Shopper invited 10 current users from several countries, including Germany, Poland, Greece, and China, to evaluate the product. The evaluators rated Beyond Polus on such items as ease of use, clinician and patient satisfaction with final results, and product training.
Ease of Use
Beyond Polus has many features that aid in its ease of use, including a Touch User Interface control panel for intuitive programming and treatment tailoring including gently normal, and intense light output settings; LightBridge technology (combines halogen and LED light source in a single, UV filtered output); attached LED curing light and spot whitening device; motorized height adjustment; a wireless remote control with patient call button and emergency pause and resume buttons; and advanced temperature monitoring and cooling systems. The LED curing light has dual-wavelength output to cure any dental composite on the market.
Ease of use was described as important or very important by all of the evaluators when considering the purchase of a whitening accelerator. They were then asked to rate the ease of use of Beyond Polus. Four evaluators rated ease of use as excellent, 4 rated it as very good, and 2 rated it as good. Three evaluators listed ease of use as the feature they like best about the product. One evaluator said, “The light is very easy to use.” Another evaluator said, “The adjustable light intensity is very useful.”
Satisfaction with Final Results
According to the manufacturer, the halogen light source used with Beyond Polus is delivered more evenly than other systems because it uses 13,500 optical fibers to bring the light evenly to both the upper and lower arches. The manufacturer also states that Beyond Polus is the only system on the market to do this.
The dentists who participated in this evaluation were asked to rate Beyond Polus on both clinician satisfaction with whitening results and patient satisfaction. Two evaluators rated clinician satisfaction as excellent, 2 rated it as very good, and 6 rated it as good. Patient satisfaction was rated as excellent by 2 evaluators, as very good by 3, as good 4, and as fair by 1. Three evaluators noted that patient sensitivity is one feature they would like to see improved with Beyond Polus. Two evaluators listed patient satisfaction and final results as what they liked best about the unit. One evaluator said, “Patients are usually satisfied with the results, as am I.”
Training
Each Polus system includes a marketing package, complimentary star ter kits for 10 patients, complimentary training, and a 3-year warranty. When asked about the importance of training when purchasing a whitening accelerator, 9 of the evaluators said it is important or very important. Eight of the evaluators rated the training they received with Polus as very good, 1 rated it as good, and 1 rated it as fair. One evaluator said that the training he received from Beyond Dental & Health is what he likes best, describing it as “excellent.”
Overall Satisfaction
All of the evaluators said they would definitely or probably recommend Be - yond Polus to their colleagues. Two evaluators rated their overall satisfaction with the system as excellent, 6 rated it as very good, and 2 rated it as good. One evaluator said, “I’ve had success with this light,” and another summed it up by saying, “Patients are happy with the results. That’s the most important thing.”
Reference
1. Patel A, Louca C, Millar BJ. An in vitro comparison of tooth whitening techniques on natural tooth colour. Br Dent J. 2008;204(9): E15; discussion 516-517. Epub 2008 Apr 11.
