If You Are a Doctor and are Having Your Online Reputation Monitored and Managed - You *Should* Be!

 

If you are a doctor who trends more to the late Baby Boomer or Gen-X designation you might not be as likely to use and interact with business ratings sites such as Yelp, for example.

 

However, your Millennial patients are… and they use them frequently. Both commenting and reading the comments and ratings from other users are very common for that particular demographic.  To that end, if a doctor is not paying any attention to what people are saying and commenting about them online, they have no idea of what potential new patients are learning about them.

 

To complicate things a bit more, there are now a few health specific ratings sites such as HealthGrades that allow patients to rate and comment about any of their healthcare provides.

 

Just like any other business, healthcare practices are being discussed and rated by both types of sites (health specific and general business).  Because of that it is extremely important for doctors to know what is being said and how they are rated.  In this day of instant interaction, we’ve actually had patients gives us ratings and comments both from the reception area and their car in our parking lot.  If you are not making an effort to see these, you may be suffering from poor ratings and not even know.

 

Some of these sites will let you setup an alert so that if you are mentioned you can then go and see your rating & review.  This is especially important if a patient gives a negative comment or score.  Lots of research shows that the faster you respond (and it needs to be public) the better you are seen in the eyes of others even if the review is poor.  Publicly responding & encouraging the person to call your office goes a long way toward turning a negative into a positive.

 

The other nice thing about reviews and tracking them is to be able to share positive comments and ratings with the staff.  We regularly go over our survey results and scores in staff meetings so the entire team is well aware of how we are doing.  Also, if someone gives a particular staff member a positive comment, finding out about the same day allows me to let that team member now what a great job they did and how thrilled the patient was with their encounter.  Once again, this re-emphasizes our office commitment to our patients while letting the team member know what an outstanding job they did.

 

There is a great article on the subject over at Healthcaredive.com which I highly recommend.  

Kulzer acquires exclusive rights to market ReLeafTM and LinguaGuardTM products

 

Kulzer announced today that it has acquired the rights to become the exclusive marketer of Innovative Dental Technologies’ ReLeaf and LinguaGuard product lines. The products will be sold through Kulzer’s current network of dental distributors.

ReLeaf is an innovative HVE System that connects easily to existing dental vacuum systems and provides easy, efficient, and comfortable hands-free dental suction during dental procedures. It allows patients to move their head and even communicate without affecting suction. Importantly, ReLeaf caters to a wide range of patients by fitting in a wide array of dental anatomies. Rather than relying on the shape of the arch or the orientation of the teeth, ReLeaf uses the cheek and vestibule area for support.

Invented by a former US Army Dental Corps dentist based in Germany, LinguaGuard is an innovative disposable add-on that allows clinicians to retract and protect the tongue during suction by attaching it to the vented end of the HVE straw. As a result, instead of having to use one hand to hold the tongue with a mirror and the other hand to hold the HVE straw, LinguaGuard delivers the same levels of protection, stability, and suction in a single apparatus held by one hand. This allows a free hand to reduce chair-side working time and improve the overall quality of care.

“The ReLeaf and LinguaGuard product lines are perfect complements to our portfolio of innovative technologies that enhance practice productivity and patient comfort,” said Jeremy Thomas, Kulzer’s President, USA & Canada and Head of the Americas Region. “We look forward to significantly increasing awareness and use of these outstanding products through the exceptional support of both our marketing team and our distributor network.”

Learn more about ReLeaf and LinguaGuard products at www.releafdental.com. Learn more about Kulzer at www.kulzerUS.com. 

New Health Warnings about Charcoal Tooth Whitening

 

I’m a basic black kind of guy.  My vehicle is black, we wear black scrubs in the office, heck I even wear black gloves when treating patients.  So naturally, I was intrigued when I got word of a new trend in toothpaste that involved putting charcoal in it.  Many people were claiming, with very little science to back it up, that using toothpaste with charcoal as a main ingredient was the newest and best way to whiten your teeth.

 

If you happen to be one of those people who think charcoal toothpaste is the answer, you might want to rethink your decision.  As someone who works with teeth 4 days a week and  loves science, I can tell you that charcoal toothpaste isn’t all that it’s supposed to be.

 

First of all, the idea of a toothpaste is to provide a very, very, VERY mild abrasive that helps remove plaque buildup from your teeth.  The reason for that is to preserve the enamel.  As most folks know, enamel is the hardest substance in the human body.  However, it can be worn away over time with abrasives.  Charcoal is much more abrasive than you need to clean your teeth.  What that means is that the more you scrub your teeth with a charcoal toothpaste, the more enamel you will wear away.  Over a long enough time, you could, theoretically, wear away all the enamel on your teeth.

 

The second thing you need to know is that teeth are not made of solid enamel.  The under the thin layer of enamel is a material called dentin.  Dentin is a yellowish color.  That means that abrading your enamel away will actually make your teeth look yellow.  There’s nothing like starting out wanting whiter teeth and ending up with just the opposite.  The other factors about dentin is that it is *much* less decay resistant that enamel.  Exposed dentin has a much greater chance of getting a cavity than healthy enamel.  Dentin is also much more sensitive.  Many folks with exposed areas of dentin end up spending money with dental professionals to FIX that problem.

 

So don’t go spending your hard earned money on something that will actually wear your teeth away and cause other problems.  Stick with tried and true products that have a proven track record.

F-Secure Brings "F-Secure Sense" to Market to Protect Your IoT

 

The incredibly smart people at F-Secure have developed a way to help us keep all of our devices… and hence our lives, more secure than ever before.

 

As technology evolves, we are now seeing more and more Internet connected devices.  These devices such as lights, thermostats, and appliances are part of the “Internet of Things” often abbreviated IoT.  If a device is connected, it can be hacked.  This means that security cameras and even baby monitors can be potentially attacked and taken over by bad guys.

 

To head off all of these potential problems, F-Secure has created the Sense.  This device works as a router that sits between all of your devices and the Internet.  Normally we’d call this type of device a Firewall, but the Sense functions as much, much more.  The Sense provides:

• Outside connection blocking
• Protects devcies when outside your home network
• WiFi router
• Browsing protection
• Antivirus
• Anti-bot
• Anti-tracking
• Behavior-based blocking
• Device discovery
• Banking protection (on Windows)
• IoT security
• Single app to monitor all connected devices at home
• Always up to date, secure router
• Advanced parental controls
• IoT device reputation based protection
• Anonymous surfing with VPN
• Guest WiFi protection

You can purchase it for $199.  For all the details & ordering info, go to the site.  

Myths Surrounding Oral Health

 

I was sent this intriguing info-graphic recently.  I think it contains some pretty interesting info.  Take a look! 

 

 

 

Project Access recently received $2,500 grant from Delta Dental Foundation to improve oral health in Howard County, Indiana

 

From the Kokomo Herald:

 

Project Access of Howard County, Indiana recently received a grant for $2,500 from the Delta Dental Foundation to help improve oral health in Howard County by providing dentures to those eligible for the program. 

Approximately 15,000 citizens of Howard County, Indiana have no access to affordable healthcare.  Project Access has the ability to help many of those individuals with their healthcare needs.  Unfortunately, limited resources have limited the amount of help available to reach many of those in need.  Project Access will use the funds for oral health to provide dentures to those who otherwise would have no way to treat this need.

Sherry Rahl, Director of Project Access, is excited about the possibilities to help our citizens with this grant.  “Quality of life often depends on oral health, the ability to eat properly, seek employment, and improve self-esteem.”

The Delta Dental Foundation is focused on ensuring that children and adults in Indiana received high-quality oral health education and high-quality dental care.  Through its Brighter Futures initiatives, Delta Dental is committed to improving people’s oral and overall health and well-being through advocacy, education, and philanthropy.

“We are proud to recognize the work being done by Project Access and by selecting it as one of our grant recipients,” said Teri Battaglieri, Director of Delta Dental Foundation.  “By increasing access to dental care, we can improve the dental, and overall health, and well-being of children and adults by preventing serious health issues down the road.”

 

About the Delta Dental Foundation:

The Delta Dental Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization established in 1980, which serves as a philanthropic arm of Delta Dental of Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, and North Carolina.  The foundation’s goals are to support education and research for advancement of dental science, and to promote the oral health of the public through education and service activities, particularly for those with special needs.  For more information, visit www.deltadentalin.com.

 

This is one of those stories that *should* make you feel good.  After all, who doesn’t like to read about big companies with a heart helping those in need?  It’s a noble thing to do.

 

My one little concern about this is that the big company in the story is Delta Dental.  They, better than almost anyone else, should know how much different procedures cost.  Because of that they should know that $2500 is like trying to drain a hot tub with a drinking straw.  If they *really* wanted to help the solve the problem, they would provide a much greater donation.  Of course, where does this money come from in the first place?  It comes from undercutting their payments to dentists who are striving every day to FIX the problem.

 

Now, I would be thrilled if a non-dental company had donated $2500, the part that I find frustrating is that Delta, knowing full well how little this will do, is treating this pittance as if it will solve the entire problem in the area of the donation.

 

If you’d really like to find out about Delta and how they view the profession of dentistry, give a read to this post from Fred Joyal.  

Palmero Announces X-Ray Apron Recycle/Trade-in Program

 

Palmero Healthcare, a Hu-Friedy subsidiary, is pleased to announce our latest green initiative, Palmero’s X-Ray Apron Recycling Program. We are committed to environmental responsibility. It’s a key component of our core values and an extension of our mission to protect patients, clinicians, and the practice to include the environment as well. Our new eco-friendly and environmentally responsible program rewards participants for supporting greener dentistry! We know that lead aprons have a useful life as their shielding properties wear down gradually. Proper maintenance includes either checking via fluoroscopy or replacing if they show any signs of damage. According to the EPA, recycling lead aprons is the preferred method since it keeps lead out of landfills. Now you can go green with our environmentally friendly X-Ray Apron Recycle/Trade-in Program. All materials will be responsibly disposed of and all lead liners will be properly distributed for processing back to base material. If you are only looking for a method of responsible disposal we are happy to accommodate, however we hope you will take part in our Trade-In Program and benefit from a complementary apron hanger that will help protect your investment in safety through proper storage.

RECYCLE 1 X-Ray Apron, RECEIVE 1 FREE Apron Hanger  1.  Purchase a new Palmero x-ray apron. 2.  Collect old or unwanted X-ray apron of any brand 3.  Contact Customer Service for a Return of Authorization Number (RA#) to register for recycling. 4.  Submit invoice with RA# via Fax 203.377.8988 or email customerservice@palmerohealth.com. Include ship to address, phone, and email. 5.  Ship your old apron with RA# for responsible disposal to: Palmero Healthcare LLC Attn: X-Ray Recycle/Trade-In Program 120 Goodwin Place Stratford, CT 06615 6. Acquire a new x-ray apron hanger, an $18.00 retail value for your participation!

We also released our new 2017 product catalog in conjunction with a newly formatted website. Please visit us at www.palmerohealth.com. Palmero Healthcare has been committed to bringing a wide range of infection prevention products such as hospital-level disinfectants, barrier products, and safety products to the dental community since 1957. With quality and reliable dental products, Palmero’s goal is to become the recognized leader in infection prevention and safety products. We take pride in knowing that our legacy will continue to expand and flourish as a Hu-Friedy subsidiary where our MISSION is to provide infection prevention and safety products that protect clinicians, patients, and the practice.