Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics Tampa 2011 Conference on Social Media & Marketing for Dentistry

Slated for April 1st and 2nd, 2011, there are just a few weeks left to sign up. Can you afford to miss it?

If You Build It, They Will Come

Today’s marketing environment has changed dramatically. It’s gone viral, to say the least. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blogs are the hubs of social media and you can use them to leverage your practice, solidify your brand, and grow your patient base. If you’re not in the social media game, you’re simply not reaching your full potential.

A Social Platform

The benefits of social media marketing:

• Access is easy and inexpensive –anyone with the Internet can be a part of social media
• Increase communication that fosters brand awareness and better customer service
• Your patients become your mouthpiece by sharing information with their social networks
• Create content that attracts attention and generates buzz
• Centralize information and share new developments

For more information, or to sign up, visit ACE 2011 Conference on Social Media & Marketing for Dentistry.

Enter Dr. Mayer Levitt, President and owner of Jodena Consulting, a firm that provides vital support and solutions to dental practices nationwide. Dr. Levitt spent nearly 30 years managing his now 12 chair dental practices before becoming a consultant, and during his last seven years in private practice, he balanced both consulting and practice management. Dr. Levitt knows the business of being a dentist and has worked with over 525 practices on everything from creating profitable hygiene departments, to practice transitions and helping doctors optimize their efficiency and effectiveness.

Dr. Levitt graciously allowed us to pick his brain about practice management today, and to let us in on a few secrets:

DB: As a dentist, what was the hardest thing about managing your own practice?
Dr. Levitt: Unquestionably, finding and keeping a talented, caring, customer service oriented staff. It’s still the biggest problem for dental practices now.

DB: What are some of the worst mistakes a dentist can make when managing his or her practice?
Dr. Levitt: Micromanaging the staff and not allowing them to grow and learn from their mistakes is a big misstep. Also, failure to think outside of the box and stifling creativity is an issue. Sometimes you simply have to leave your comfort zone and remain open to a different approach. If you continue to do what you have always done, you will continue to get what you’ve always gotten.

DB: What’s the latest piece of advice you’re giving to your clients?
Dr. Levitt: Get going with Internet marketing. It’s an absolute must if you want your practice to remain competitive. You have to have a great website as well as a social media presence. Google is king!

Dr. Levitt also let us in on another secret. Since he is no longer practicing dentistry, he doesn’t get the satisfaction of seeing patients relieved of pain and happy with their smiles. Now he gets his kicks seeing his clients become more successful as they grow their practices. For more great practice management advice, visit Dr. Levitt’s blog. Be sure to sign up for the Jodena blog RSS Feed to receive lots of consistent, practical advice delivered right to you email (you’ll receive a FeedBurner notice via email, so be sure to confirm after signing up). To learn more about Dr. Levitt and Jodena Consulting, visit his website at www.jodena.com.

You might remember when Dentalblogs.com blogged about the unpopular rule change back in June of 2009. Since then, many dentists have voiced their opposition, and the AGD gave its members the ability to share their concerns directly with the president of Align Technology, Inc. A total of 1500 phone calls were made, and let’s just say they weren’t congratulatory in nature.

In response, Invisalign removed the 10 case quota from their requirements, leaving the 10 CE hours as a baseline for active accounts with Align Technology, Inc. Are you thinking that still wasn’t enough? You’re not alone; and finally, Align Technology, Inc. has seen the light.

Clearing the Air
In a recent press release, Align Technology, Inc. announced it’s no longer requiring 10 hours of continuing education courses as criteria for the Advantage Program or the Invisalign.com Find a Doctor feature. They will continue to offer elective courses and encourage dentists to hone their clinical skills through their CE programs. Citing the loyalty and trust of dentists as most important to them, the press release had this to say:

“While most clinicians believe that our training has been extremely valuable in helping to improve their clinical skills, doctors have told us that they want to make their own decisions on how much and what type of continuing education is right for them.  We know that the best way to meet this need is to continue to create excellent continuing education programs, when you want and where you want.

We will continue to improve our award-winning CE, and provide a wide variety of courses that offer CE hours, including 200+ hours of free online training and 100+ live courses each year.”

The National Children’s Oral Health Foundation (NCOHF) is dedicated to eliminating America’s number one chronic childhood illness: pediatric dental disease. Millions of children nationwide suffer from pain so severe they have trouble just being kids. Eating, sleeping, and even learning become difficult, and many suffer lifelong health complications as a result of untreated pediatric dental disease. The NCOHF provides vital financial, product, and technical support to a network of not-for-profit programs and volunteer dental professionals who deliver critical oral health services to underserved children.

The NCOHF has launched a new campaign called Trick or Treat for America’s Toothfairy, which encourages individuals, businesses, and dental professionals alike to change lives with change. Dressed as Toothfairies and, yes, Tooth Wizards, caring individuals will collect spare change to help the NCOHF provide at-risk children with the comprehensive dental care they deserve. Making Halloween about having fun and doing good in the community? That’s change we can get behind! For more information on how you can help the NCOHF this Halloween, visit www.ncofh.org.

DDSMac, LLC was born when a group of dentists who had a common goal –to grow their practices using the best technology available –met on the Internet Dental Forum. For them, Mac was the clear choice. However, they soon found there were extremely limited choices in the dental software department. Something had to be done! Work immediately began on a practice management software program for use on the Mac platform. Now MaxDent Pro is officially on the market.

The front desk, and the schedule, is the hub of any dental practice. A Mac-native solution, MaxDent Pro is built around the scheduler. Created by dentists, for dentists, MaxDent Pro boasts intuitive navigation with powerful tools. These are just a few of the features:

• Reports, reports, reports! Information is crucial, and MaxDent pro is loaded with reports, including A/R monthly statements, daily activity, insurance aging, and more.
• Prescription printing and a full drug database come standard.
• E-claims and digital document storage help move your office closer to your paperless goals.
• A “smile reminder” feature allows you to set up appointment reminders, birthday messages, and much more, via email, text, and other electronic services.
• Fully HIPAA compliant.

MaxDent Pro is offering a free, fully functional demo that’s downloadable to one machine and holds up to 75 patients. Go to www.maxdentpro.com to sign up for your free download copy and take it for a test drive.

If you haven’t been a part of the Halloween Candy Buy Back, it’s a great cause worth checking out. The Halloween Candy Buy Back enlists dentists across the United States to “buy back” all that extra Halloween candy that kids don’t need and parents don’t want. Dentists hold events to collect the candy in the days following Halloween and then donate it to Operation Gratitude as well as other military support groups. Operation Gratitude uses the candy to fill holiday care packages that will be sent off in December to our troops
overseas. This year, Operation Gratitude is set to deliver 60,000 care packages to service men and women who aren’t going to make it home for the Holidays.

Dentists are in a unique position to effect positive change in their patients’ oral health, and in their communities. Joining the Halloween Candy Buy Back as a participating dentist presents several opportunities for you and your practice. Not only will it give you a chance to further patient education on healthy habits and good oral health, there’s the opportunity to promote your practice though a candy collection event. Best of all, you’ll be helping to put smiles on the faces of our troops!

For more information on becoming a Halloween Candy Buy Back participating dentist, visit www.halloweencandybuyback.com. You can also learn more about Operation Gratitude at www.operationgratitude.com.

Dr. Clayton Chan and Dr. Joseph Andary have partnered with Triumphant Athletics Group to introduce the AgilityGuard products developed for elite athletes and sports enthusiasts. Dr. Chan is the former director of Neuromuscular Dentistry at the Las Vegas Institute from 1999-2006, the founder of Occlusion Connections, and developer of the Chan-Optimized Bite™,  a precise jaw position based on neuromuscular science shown to enhance athletic performance. Dr. Joseph Andary is a Las Vegas Institute trained neuromuscular dentist with extensive experience in the Chan-Optimized Bite™ and assisting world-class and Olympic athletes with performance mouthguards. Together, they have helped design a mouthguard to optimize performance through the bio-physiology of neuromuscular posture.

The AgilityGuard is the only sports mouthguard approved to use the Chan-Optimized Bite™. The family of products includes the Phi and Trophy lines and both contain a mouthguard specifically designed for non-contact and contact sports. Triumphant Athletics Group has already signed on three labs to create the AgilityGuard for your patients under Dr. Chan’s rigorous quality control. By becoming a Triumphant certified dentist, you can begin to offer a higher standard of care and performance to your patients. With the lab fee set at $250, you’re also free to align your fees with the appropriate level of expertise.

Your patients can join the likes of Apolo Ohno, Giddeon Massie, and Mark Fretta in the use of AgilityGuard, the most technologically advanced mouthguard, for maximum sports performance. There, now we’ve said it! For more information on Triumphant Athletics Group, Inc., their online training courses, and the AgiltiyGuard product line, visit the AgilityGuard website.

With much debate in dental circles on whether or not to Web 2.0, Dr. Dalin, a St. Louis dentist, said in his article that he strongly believed in walking the walk, not just talking the talk. And so, using his own website as a case study, Dr. Dalin dove right into a re-skin of his old, stagnant website, hiring TNT Dental to lead the SEO charge. He also gave the go ahead to optimize his new site into a mobile friendly format for display on smart phones, such as the iPhone, Blackberry, and Droid mobile devices.

Besides being more visually appealing, what is Dr. Dalin’s goal with the new website? According to his article, it’s to place higher in search engine rankings, drive new traffic to his site, generate leads that will become new patient conversions, as well as keep his existing patients consistently engaged. Dr. Dalin also plans a series of follow up articles to appear in DE magazine over the coming months chronicling his website’s success. We’re certainly eager to see the results!

View Dr. Dalin’s new website, read his article about embracing dental search engine optimization, and then tell us what you think.

With the news that Gwyneth Paltrow has a pre-osteoporosis condition because of her vitamin D deficiency, the sunshine vitamin is getting lots of attention. What does this have to do with dentistry?

Vitamin D Deficiency…

• Allows bone resporption (as in jawbone degeneration)
• Allows increased inflammation (as in the symptom closely linked to periodontal disease)
• Affects almost 40% of Americans (that’s about half of your patients)

We know that dentists play an important role in a person’s medical team. Not all general medicine doctors are testing their patients’ vitamin D levels, though. As a dentist, you can inform and influence your patients to get their vitamin D level checked. Simple, cheap supplements (2000iu of D3) can boost vitamin D levels to a healthy state. Other ways to get the vitamin include getting out in the sunshine (but protect that skin) and through consuming dairy and fish products.

The ProMax 3D Max offers a number of powerful features that add up to attractive benefits for dentists and patients alike, said Planmeca’s President Bob Pienkowski.

The ProMax features ConeBeam technology that allows for full anatomical 1-to-1 visualization of anatomy without distortion, which greatly reduces the guesswork of interpretation.  This approach offers a significant improvement over film and 2D technology as a diagnostic tool for implants, orthodontics and oral surgery according to Pienkowski.

ConeBeam technology’s full visual “reality” has traditionally been reserved for Medical CT technology, but now this same visual “reality” can now be owned and implemented by any dental professional at a low cost and at 1/10^th the amount of radiation to the patient than traditional Medical CT.

Planmeca’s 3D ProMax follows the company’s clinical values that emphasize the use of the least amount of radiation to achieve the best results possible.  This commitment to “As Low As Reasonably Achievable” or the ALARA radiation principle keeps both dentist and patient safe.  The ability to have so many volume selections and use the least amount of radiation possible is made possible by PLANMECA’s patented Selectively Compliant Articulated Robotic Arm technology built into its ProMax platform. This robotic arm allows for precise imaging anywhere in the maxillofacial/cranial region.

“As a dentist, I realize that my patients are exposed to radiation through many sources and I strive to reduce their exposure as much as possible,” said Dr. Gene Antenucci, a dentist from Huntington, N.Y. and a spokesperson for Planmeca USA.  “Planmeca’s commitment to this technology means dentists have access to the best technology to accurately and safely diagnose their patients.”

The PLANMECA ProMax 3D Max has varying size volume selections from a 5×5.5cm to 23×26 cm, providing the best choice of volume based on clinical need.

“This means there is no need to take a ConeBeam volume of the entire head if only a single tooth site needs to be visualized,” Antenucci said.

But in select cases where the entire maxilofacial/cranial region is needed, the ProMax Max can easily fit that need as well.

Antenucci said Planmeca’s 3D ProMax will improve patient’s acceptance of treatment plan recommendations because a patient may or may not understand what is being presented in a 2D x-ray, but when shown a 3D rendering, the patient immediately grasps what the dentist is trying to communicate.

Adding value to a customer’s purchase, Planmeca also provides:

• Local Dental dealer support for timely mechanical support
• PLANMECA representative imaging training and technical phone/remote support for proper knowledge share
• Certified local IT companies for network assurance
• Monthly online community software and clinical trainings for continued growth
• For more information, contact your authorized Planmeca dealer or call 1 630-523-2300.  Or visit www.planmecausa.com for more information.

About Planmeca USA

Planmeca USA is the North American Subsidiary of  Planmeca Oy, Helsinki, Finland. Finnish Planmeca Oy is one of the largest privately held companies in the dental equipment market. Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Planmeca designs, manufactures, and markets high-tech dental equipment suitable for private clinics and teaching environment. Planmeca’s product lines include dental care units, dental X-rays, digital imaging and software applications.

The company has been a forerunner in digital imaging and advanced, computer integrated dental care concepts for years. Planmeca is strongly committed to R&D and innovative solutions. Planmeca delivers complete dental solutions with integrated high tech device and software options with exquisite design. Planmeca products are designed and manufactured in Helsinki, Finland, and distributed worldwide via a comprehensive network of dealers operating around the world. More than 98% of Planmeca production is exported to over 100 countries.

The company is well established on high-tech dental markets worldwide. Planmeca has considerable market shares e.g. in the U.S., Japan, and several European countries.

Planmeca, established in 1971, is the parent company of Planmeca Group, a group of companies in the field of health care.

Now EVA is compatible with all major operating systems, including Windows 7 (32?bit and 64?bit
versions), Vista, and Apple’s Mac line. Now that the EVA drivers are updated to work with the newest version of Windows 7 operating system, EVA is fully compatible with computers purchased from popular retailers, like Best Buy and Staples. Our drivers are now universally accepted by all regular operating systems. The EVA sensor system continues to be easy to use and will integrate with almost all practice software and computer systems.

Unbeknownst to many doctors, Microsoft released two versions of Windows 7. One version is 32?bit
and one version is 64?bit. It isn’t easy to know which one is being purchased. Most digital sensors don’t
function when installed onto a Windows 7, 64?bit, computer. Now EVA does.

For more information, please visit our webpage, www.dent?x.com, or make the always free call to the
Dent?X technical support team.

About AFP Imaging
AFP Imaging is a leading state of the art diagnostic imaging supplier, is a market leader, whose products are
distributed worldwide with clinical applications for dental, medical and veterinary professionals. For over thirty
years, the Company has produced branded products that are installed in over 100,000 dental and medical
facilities. This base serves as reference points for future sales of equipment and software. The company’s
products are trademarked with brand names that include AFP, DENT?X, EVA and NEWTOM. For additional
corporate information please visit our corporate web sites at www.afpimaging.com.

iTunes is a free online application for your Mac or PC that organizes and plays digital music and video on your computer. It syncs all your media with your iPod, iPhone and Apple TV and the iTunes Store puts thousands of free podcasts at your fingertips,

A podcast is an episodic program delivered via the Internet and can be audio files, video files, documents or any combination of the three. The E4D Podcast is an exciting new feature from D4D Technologies that gives you an inside look at all that is current in digital dentistry. Topics include current and future software applications, upcoming events, testimonials by current E4D users and more, all shot at our state-of-the-art podcast studio at D4D’s global headquarters in Richardson, Texas.

To download the latest version of iTunes on your computer, visit http://www.apple.com/itunes/download. Then to find and subscribe to the E4D Podcast channel, either search E4D Podcast or subscribe directly at http://itunes.apple.com/podcast/the-e4d-podcast/id356385633.

Apple and iTunes are registered trademarks of Apple, Inc.

About D4D Technologies LLC

www.E4D.com

D4D Technologies is taking the dental profession to a higher level of productivity, patient comfort, and convenience with its E4D Dentist™, E4D Labworks™ and E4D Studio™ Systems, all part of the E4D Sky™ Network of products. The systems use high-speed laser scanning technology to produce digital 3D impressions of teeth prepared for full contour crowns, inlays, onlays, smile designs, and no-prep veneers without the application of contrast agents. The intuitive DentaLogic™ software enables operators to customize restoration designs and send them wirelessly to the precision mill that uses the latest restorative materials to produce fine esthetic restorations.

Highly accurate, versatile, and easy to use, the E4D Systems provide significant productivity improvements allowing dental professionals to offer a healthier, more economical and more convenient solution with Same Day Dentistry™.

Headquartered in Richardson, TX, a suburb of Dallas, D4D Technologies has partnerships with major corporations in the dental profession: Henry Schein Dental is responsible for global sales and distribution; 3M ESPE and Ivoclar Vivadent provide restorative materials.

Contact Dalyce Willis dwillis@d4dtech.com; 214-432-6349 (direct)

On February 26^th, xconomy San Diego published an article that tells us the FDA is not pleased with a marketing brochure published by Novalar. The FDA instructed Novalar, maker of OraVerse, to amend the drug brochure. Read the letter here. The FDA claims that the brochure minimizes and omits risks and overstates benefits of OraVerse. Issues such as pain at the injection site, headache, and pain following a dental procedure are not mentioned in the brochure. In addition, the brochure states that OraVerse can be administered to children as young as four years old, while it is actually cleared for children six and older.

The Novalar CEO, Donna Jansen, says that the brochure in question is no longer in use. If you’re concerned that you may still have copies of the brochure in question, visit xconomy to download a PDF.

Visit KaVo and DIAGNOdent online here.

Thanks to Dr. Tom Hedge for providing video coverage of select vendor booths at the Chicago Midwinter Dental Conference!

(Savannah, GA) February 24, 2010 – Stage Front Presentation Systems today announced inVisionCam, a hands-free camera that generates high-definition video for use in dental instruction and teledentistry.

Featuring an integrated high-definition camera, light source and microphone mounted on an articulated arm, inVisionCam looks and moves like a dental light. Generating video is a simple matter of switching inVisionCam on, positioning it to illuminate any dental area, and speaking in a normal voice. As the instructor or dentist focuses on dentistry, inVisionCam generates smooth, jitter-free HD video, with easy repositioning as needed.

“inVisionCam introduces a unique no-fuss, no-assistance-required approach to dental video,” said Phil Smith, new markets manager at dental equipment manufacturer A-dec. “I would expect most dental professionals working in teaching or teledentistry to consider it worth a close look.”

In its basic configuration, inVisionCam is ready to serve as a video component in Stage Front’s Multimedia Teaching System (MTS), which currently delivers audio/video to student bench-tops in over half of U.S. dental schools. Optional broadcast and storage add-ons enable video routing to distance learning and teledentistry facilities, or to a storage device for replay on demand.

“The need for inVisionCam became clear in our experience with dental schools,” said Steve Stephens, Stage Front president. “Several instructors have told us that a video camera that doesn’t require handling or an assistant would be a welcome addition to MTS. We designed inVisionCam to meet those instructors’ needs, and added broadcast and storage options to enable wider use within the field of dentistry.”

inVisionCam is available directly from Stage Front at pricing below $30,000, including installation. Stage Front will demonstrate inVisionCam in booth # 527 at the 2010 ADEA Annual Session & Exhibition, March 1-2, in Washington, DC.

About Stage Front Presentation Systems

Established in 1978, Stage Front designs and deploys high-impact technical systems that help people educate, communicate, and entertain. For institutions of higher learning, Stage Front equips teaching spaces to deliver curriculum via a variety of electronic sources including computer, broadband television, DVD, document camera, electronic whiteboard, microscope camera, and other forms of audio-visual input. From the simplest large-screen display to complex distance learning applications, Stage Front has the solution for virtually any educational need. For more information, visit www.sfps.net.

Before caries fully develops, we see demineralization. Icon, a product by DMG America, treats incipient dental caries by filling and stabilizing demineralized areas. Icon is more aggressive than remineralization, yet more conservative than placing a filling. You can treat a demineralized lesion as deep as to D-1 in a single office visit. The micro-invasive treatment works for proximal and smooth surfaces; kits are available for each. It arrests dental caries quickly and without causing pain.

To view a video of how Icon works, visit http://www.drilling-no-thanks.com/en/demonstration.html.

DMG America
242 S Dean St
Englewood, NJ 07631
Phone: 800-662-6383

With Pulpdent Tuff-Temp Resin, temporaries are tough, impact-resistant, and grip the teeth. Chipping, breaking, debonding, and recementations are minimized or eliminated.

Tuff-Temp is designed to grind and powder, producing crisp and accurate margins that do not soften or distort. It does not gum up or clog finishing instruments. Exceptional results can be achieved by trimming with a slow speed acrylic bur, fine grit diamond bur, or finishing and polishing disk system. A fast application of Tuff-Temp Provisional Glaze provides enhanced esthetics and patient satisfaction during temporization.

Tuff-Temp is dual cure. It both self-cures and has a light cure option to produce a final set, full strength restoration on demand. The fast light cure option is also ideal for use with a clear vinyl polysiloxane template.

For alterations or smile design, the Tuff-Temp system includes Tuff-Temp Provisional Add-on, a shade-matching, light cure, flowable resin formulated from the Pulpdent’s proprietary rubberized-urethane chemistry.

Tuff-Temp is packaged in a 50 mL automix cartridge that fits into a standard one-to-one gun used for impression materials. It is available in six popular shades: A1, A2, A3, A3.5, B1 and Bleach.

Pulpdent manufactures high-quality products for the dental profession, including adhesives, composites, sealants, cements, etching gels, calcium hydroxide products, endodontic specialties and bonding accessories. For more information call 800-343-4342 or visit www.pulpdent.com.

About D4D Technologies LLC

D4D Technologies is taking the dental profession to a higher level of productivity, patient comfort, and convenience with its E4D Dentist™, E4D Labworks™ and E4D Studio™ Systems, all part of the E4D Sky™ Network of products. The systems use high-speed laser scanning technology to produce digital 3D impressions of teeth prepared for full contour crowns, inlays, onlays, smile designs, and no-prep veneers without the application of contrast agents. The intuitive DentaLogic™ software enables operators to customize restoration designs and send them wirelessly to the precision mill that uses the latest restorative materials to produce fine esthetic restorations.

Highly accurate, versatile, and easy to use, the E4D Systems provide significant productivity improvements allowing dental professionals to offer a healthier, more economical and more convenient solution with Same Day Dentistry™.

Headquartered in Richardson, TX, a suburb of Dallas, D4D Technologies has partnerships with major corporations in the dental profession: Henry Schein Dental is responsible for global sales and distribution; 3M ESPE and Ivoclar Vivadent provide restorative materials.

Contact Dalyce Willis dwillis@d4dtech.com; 214-432-6349 (direct)

CADapalooza ’10 begins with a Millin’ Around Welcome Reception on the evening of Thursday, June 17, 2010 for all registered attendees at the stunning Gaylord Texan Resort (www.gaylordtexan.com). On Friday, June 18, 2010, participants will enjoy watching the future of dentistry unfold at the largest domed venue in the world. Take in the valuable lectures from the industry’s top visionaries in the comfortable leather seats or relax in the 33,000 square foot Club Level for breaks, lunch and interaction with leading manufacturers. All participants will have the opportunity to tour the stadium and end the evening with a cocktail reception at the Star Bar, which sits seven stories high overlooking the field for a whole new view of dentistry. Saturday is a special day for all participants, who are invited to visit D4D Technologies’ global headquarters for Build-a-Crown™ Workshops and facility tours. Be there as CAD CAMbassadors guide you through the scan, design and milling of your own restoration, and work with ceramic experts to impart the ideal color and strength. If you already own a chairside CAD CAM system, you can elect to participate in Advanced Design Workshops from experienced designers to maximize your productivity in design and material handling. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind event!

See and experience the future of CAD CAM Dentistry at CADapalooza ’10 – space is limited so register yourself and your team today. Registration is $295/person (can be charged by credit card or Henry Schein Dental account) before June 1, 2010 and $395 on-site or after June 1, 2010. Up to 9 CE hours available. To register, visit www.CADapalooza.com.

To reserve your hotel room at the Gaylord Texan Resort through a special ‘CADapalooza’ room block, call the Gaylord Texan at 817.778.2000 or visit www.gaylordtexan.com. Transportation to and from the Gaylord Texan to Friday’s CADapalooza full-day program and Saturday’s Build-a-Crown™ Workshops is included, as well as up to 9 CE hours.

CADapalooza ‘10 is sponsored by D4D Technologies, Henry Schein Dental, Ivoclar Vivadent, 3M ESPE and Premier Dental. Go to www.CADapalooza.com to register or for more information!

About CADapalooza

CADapalooza is an annual conference designed to provide attendees with the most recent information and a vision of the capabilities of chairside and laboratory dentistry using products and technologies offered by D4D Technologies and Henry Schein Dental.  The interactive venue will also feature the latest applications and techniques utilizing materials designed especially for digital dentistry today and in the future.

First, it is pertinent to know that the American Dental Association has a resolution in with Congress, proposing why access to oral health care is imperative to the overall health of the nation.  Outlining the reasons why such coverage is essential, this resolution speaks of how prevention and maintenance are key factors of dental care and this can be achieved with broader coverage and greater access to dental facilities in areas where these facilities are lacking.  Educating the general public on the relationship of dental health and overall health can help to increase the success of health care reform.  The ADA proposes that those that are in greater need be first in line for care, such as children, elderly and pregnant women.  They also impress that privately  funded care can be beneficial for small employers to provide, since most dental problems can be avoided with proper routine care.

If this resolution is seen into fruition, how will it effect the practice of dentistry?  Concerns have arisen with some dentists about how this will affect their costs .  Will there be tax increases?  Will you feel as if you are being penalized for being successful?  These are some of the questions that are being asked.  The concern is that nationalized dental health care will result in higher bureaucratic costs and a lower standard of care.  Will this necessarily happen?  That seems to be the fear about any kind of national care put into place.  The fact remains that having access to dental health care will result in increased wellness overall.  In order to be part of the solution, the dental community needs to work  with lawmakers to make sure that care does not decrease because of greater access.

Submitted by Submitted by Millennium Dental Cosmetic Dentistry, in Los Angeles, Ca.