Dr. Ray Padilla first fell in love with sports dentistry when he dedicated his talents in the Olympic Polyclinic during the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. This summer, the preeminent expert on sports dentistry, Trauma Prevention and Treatment was invited to present a lecture on athletic mouthguards to dentists scheduled to operate the Olympic Polyclinic in Japan during the ongoing Summer Olympic Games. Today, at IncisalEdgeMagazine.com, this team dentist for both the LA Lakers and UCLA Bruins athletic teams shares what it’s like behind the scenes providing dentistry to world-class athletes, and how his lifetime of dedication to creating arguably the most effective protective mouthguards on the West Coast brought him full circle to the Olympic Games. Read the full story here.

Dr. Padilla told Incisal Edge magazine that he nearly turned down the Olympic opportunity of a lifetime:

“Dr. (Rick) Lawson called me to see if I wanted to be involved in the Olympic Polyclinic, and I said ‘No, I really don’t. I don’t want to be stuck in a dental clinic during the Olympic Games, I want to go to the events and watch the athletes.’ … I really didn’t want to do it. Finally, he talked me into it.”

Dr. Ray Padilla, on his first brush with sports dentistry during the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles

Dr. Padilla’s involvement in Trauma Treatment and Sports Dentistry also includes 1994, 1999, and 2003 World Cup Soccer, 2004 IIHF World Hockey Championships in Prague, and 2015 Los Angeles Special Olympics World Games.

When he’s not providing care as the team dentist for the LA Lakers and UCLA Bruins athletic teams, or lecturing in the U.S. and internationally on Trauma Treatment and Prevention, Dr. Padilla cares for patients at his Manhattan Beach dental practice.

Of note: During his 42-year career, Dr. Ray Padilla has always been invited, never once applied, for these sought-after sports dentistry appointments.

The most recent of these invitations arrived regarding the mouthguard lecture for this summer’s Olympic Polyclinic in Japan arrived from Dr. Paul Piccininni, Dental Director for International Olympic Committee (IOC) Medical Commission Group. Dr. Piccininni is responsible for organizing 20 years of dental polyclinics for the summer and winter Olympic games.

At UCLA, Team Dentist for UCLA Athletics, Dr. Ray Padilla creates over 400 mouthguards each year including 250 just for football, where every player begins the season with two mouthguards.

How can any dentist see the return on investment from a machine like the one Dr. Padilla uses for customized mouthguards?

In the IncisalEdgeMagazine.com interview, Dr. Padilla offers a few thoughts on how any dentist can see ROI that will allow the Drufomat thermoforming machines (approximately $4,000 each) to pay for themselves.

“I make other appliance in my office — all my night guards, occlusal guards, bleach trays, model duplication, denture repairs, orthodontic retainers. I do all of that with my machine. Yesterday I made two night guards and it cost me about $5 for both of them using one layer of Drufosoft® Pro material per mouthguard ($2.50 per sheet). I didn’t have to send the impression to a lab. I‘ve seen dental fees anywhere from $200 to $400 for a night guard, if not more.” 

Dr. Ray Padilla explains how can dentists see ROI from Drufomat thermoforming machine

Get behind-the scenes insight about sports dentistry, Olympic Polyclinics and customizable mouthguard at IncisalEdgeMagazine.com today.

Click the link below:
https://www.incisaledgemagazine.com/mag/article/how-did-a-decision-of-olympic-proportions-take-a-young-baller-from-albuquerque-on-the-sports-dentistry-journey-of-a-lifetime/