If you listen to the Joe Rogan Experience (JRE) Podcast long enough (I’ve been a fan for many years), you will notice a particular theme that keeps popping up—life optimization. Joe comes at it from many different angles—fitness, diet, mixed martial arts, stand up comedy, hunting, pool (billiards), family, friendships, etc. Joe is so passionate…
1. Treat your hygienists like professional colleagues Let’s be clear. I’m not saying your hygienist’s formal education is equal to your formal education in scope or depth. All I’m saying is that hygienists are well educated individuals who see themselves as dental professionals and want to be treated that way. Treat your hygienist the same…
1. “Do” most of the exam for the dentist and relay your findings when he or she arrives. I’m not saying you should legally “diagnose”. I’m saying you should, to use the current buzzword, “co-diagnose”. For those who hate buzzwords and prefer plain language like myself, just make the exam easier for the dentist! We…
1. Reimbursement rates are too low (especially for adult coverage). And in some cases, reimbursement doesn’t even cover the cost of doing business. So in essence, the dentist is being asked to reach into his or her own pocket to pay the patient’s bill. That’s ridiculous. 2. The no show rate is crazy high. In…
Have you only used standard saliva ejectors? If so, then you and your patients are missing out on some cool saliva ejector technology. Two of my favorite saliva ejectors are the Total Comfort saliva ejectors and the Comfort Plus saliva ejectors. What are the primary benefits of these saliva ejectors? One, they significantly reduce “tissue…
How many times can I use a single DryShield mouthpiece? According to the manufacturer the answer is about 50 times, which equates to 50 cents per use ($25/50 = $0.50). Well, I wanted to test that number, so I went beyond 50 times to see what would happen. The photos below show two medium DryShield…
Many years ago, a friend of mine moved half way across the country, and because it involved a long drive, he wanted to have a CB radio in his truck (this was back when almost no one had a cell phone). He bought the CB radio from Wal-Mart because they had a “no questions asked”…
Introduction Cherie R. Dillon is currently serving a 5 year sentence in a federal prison for healthcare fraud and identity theft. The only public information about her case (besides my previous blog post) comes from the U.S. Attorney’s Office press release and some media reports that seem to be primarily based on that press release.…
What is it? It’s a wristband that attaches your ultrasonic scaler cord to your wrist. This allows your wrist/arm, as opposed to your fingers, to take on the weight of your ultrasonic scaler’s cord, which is relatively heavy. The Good 1. It actually works. The cord feels VERY light when your wrist is taking on…
Why is dental hygiene school so expensive? Dental hygiene school is expensive because it is a one size fits all path that is dictated from the top down. If people are not free to come up innovative ways to achieve the same end (a comprehensive dental hygiene education), then we will continue to have what…