For more photos look here: [1]

[1] http://www.drlarryemmott.com/general/BikePhotos.htm

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New users to computer technology most often continue to use dead tree (paper) charts while using the computer to schedule and track finances.
As a result every treatment is entered at least twice. That is on paper in “the back” and again in the computer “up front”. The chart is brought up front the front desk person deciphers what was planned next and tries to make an appointment.
When the work is completed she will re-enter the code in order to get fees and take payments.
However if the treatment plan is in the computer the process of making an appointment is much faster and more accurate. Then when the procedure is done a single click completes the treatment, adds the fee, enters the notes and updates the chart.
Starting with an electronic treatment plan will make every other step faster and more accurate. Until you start charting with the electronic chart you will never get the full benefit from your technology investment.

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Is That A Hard Drive in Your Pocket?
You can take it with you after all. External storage is becoming sleek and svelte and insanely portable. We have three pocket hard drives to always keep your files on hand.
By Tony Hoffman Some external hard drives are bulky, hold massive amounts of data, and require their own power supply. Not so the new breed of portable hard drives. They’re pocketable—especially in winter. They draw all their power from your computer’s USB connection. And they hold far more data than a thumb drive. Pocket hard drives? If you have data to transfer, don’t leave home without one
Is That A Hard Drive in Your Pocket? - - Review by PC Magazine [1].

[1] http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2159695,00.asp

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I have been enjoying the practice of dentistry for thirty years. During that time there have been three changes in treatment, which I believe are truly revolutionary. That is they weren’t just improvements on the old ways but dramatically changed what we did for our patients, how we did it and the results we were able to achieve.
These three revolutionary treatments are osseointegrated implants, non-surgical periodontal treatments and bonded esthetic restorations. Interestingly none of these revolutionary treatments is covered by dental insurance.
And of course the typical annual benefit limit of $1,000 hasn’t changed in the last thirty years either, but that is another story.

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I had a very difficult restorative situation the other day. The patient had extensive root decay below a PFM and completely subgingival. In the past this would have been a bloody mess. This time I used my diode laser and it allowed me to treat the patient in a much more effective manner than I would have in the past. With the laser I reduced the gingival crest then created a trough that allowed me access to the decayed root. There was no bleeding and it took no more than a minute.
I first started using a diode laser in 1999 (last century). As I expanded my use of the diode laser I was amazed by the fact that patients never complained of post operative discomfort. Most of the time they said they felt nothing the next day. Occasionally they said their gum felt like it was scratched. The other amazing result was that the tissue healed exactly where I cut it. Contouring gingiva with a laser is like sculpting a model, there was no swelling or shrinkage during healing. As a result I could contour the gingiva, prep the tooth and impress at one appointment.

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Mirrored server hard drives are a great idea in the dental office. A mirrored hard drive also called a RAID array (Random Array of Inexpensive Disks) copies all the essential data instantly to a second hard drive. This gives you great protection against hardware failures.
RAID systems can be set up in five different arrays ranging from RAID 0 to RAID 5. In dentistry we do not need fancy (and expensive) SCSI RAID 5 systems. A simple (and inexpensive) IDE mirror works great.
Two vendors make IDE RAID controllers Arco form Florida www.arcoide.com [1] and Accusys from Taiwan. www.accusysusa.com [2]. An IDE system including two hard drives and installation should cost less than $500.
 

[1] http://www.arcoide.com/
[2] http://www.accusysusa.com/

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