Kid’s Nite Out offers fun and safe childcare during Dentsply Sirona World 2018

 

Here’s a great piece of news for those of you that are planning on attending the Dentsply Sirona World event that’s coming up in September.  The event is being held in Orlando this year and Orlando, of course, beckons with family vacations.  To help facilitate things for families, the meeting is providing day care in a safe environment.  Read on for the details.

 

For one low price, parents can experience every day of the Ultimate Dental Meeting stress-free knowing their children are spending the whole day safe and entertained in the same venue

If you have children, there is no need to worry about missing Dentsply Sirona World, Sept. 13-15 at the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort in Orlando, because your children now get a chance to have their own fun and educational experience. For just a one-time fee of $600 per child, attendees can drop their children off all day Thursday-Saturday in the Lake Toho room of the Rosen Shingle Creek Resort with Kid’s Nite Out, a family-operated business providing quality and safe childcare during conventions and vacations.

While you are mingling with and learning from the industry’s finest at this year’s Ultimate Dental Meeting, dedicated caregivers and the best staff in the childcare business are keeping your children safe and entertained.

“We understand the struggle of finding quality childcare during conventions like Dentsply Sirona World, and that’s why Kid’s Nite Out is important,” said Vice President of Marketing Ingo Zimmer. “We want to make sure everyone has an equal chance to attend all of the captivating educational opportunities we’re offering.”

Kid’s Nite Out is providing services:

• Thursday, Sept. 13, 8:30 a.m. – 11 p.m. 
• Friday, Sept. 14, 8 a.m. – 11 p.m. 
• Saturday, Sept. 15, 8:30 a.m. – midnight

While Kid’s Nite Out is offering lunch and snacks, parents are expected to give their children breakfast and dinner. The dinner break each day is between 5:30-7 p.m. Kid’s Nite Out will not be responsible for the children during this time.

Canadian Dental Practice Consolidation Continues According to 2018 DIAC Survey

 

Here is some pretty interesting info from the Dental Industry Association of Canada.  This information comes from the Twenty-Second Annual Future of Dentistry Survey.  The things you can glean from this definitely point to some trends that I’m confident others are seeing in countries outside of Canada.  It’s well worth reading.

 

 – The fundamental shift in the make-up of the Canadian dental practice detected in previous reports is continuing, according to results from the DIAC (Dental Industry Association of Canada) Twenty-Second Annual Future of Dentistry Survey. All of the following points may reflect on the impact of the current economic situation on the dental practice in Canada:

  Trend towards increasing numbers of dentists in the practice continues, with 11% of practices with five or more dentists. This was 3.4% in 2016 and an average of 6.3% the last 14 years.
  Growing percentage of respondents describing their location as Urban (now 62% as compared to 56% last year and 51% in 2016) (average of 53% over past ten years). Drop off is in Suburban locations (falling to 22% from 29% last year and an average of 25% over the past 10 years).
  Practices with three or fewer operatories had been generally in steady decline since the survey began, a real drop of 40.2% since 1997.
  28% of respondents planning to add at least one operatory as opposed to 22% last year.
  The number of hygiene days per practice is increasing overall (with more days being added by

those who only had one or two per week previously) - 46% of respondents in 2018 had 5 or more

hygiene days per week, as compared to 44% last year and the average of 38.6% the last ten years).
  At the same time, the average number of patients treated per day continues to decline. Unlike last

year, where a higher number of specialists responded, the GP/Specialist split on response returned to historical norms in 2018. On an overall basis, dentists treated 11 patients in an average day as compared to the average of 12.5 patients over the last ten years. 89% stated they treated less than 15 patients a day (as opposed to 83% last year and an average of 78.6% over the last four years).
  Reinforcing the 2017 results, dentists continue to move into Multi-practice (Group Practice). While the majority (63%) of respondents stated they were in a solo practice, more than a third (34%) are now in a group practice – and these group practices are getting bigger with 24% having 5 or more operatories (as opposed to 17% in 2017). While the two key advantages attracting those in a multi-practice structure were Associate Support (57%) and Buying Power (20%), “Better hours for patients” had growing support this year with 12% of response. The majority of Group Practice respondents (63%) felt they offered a higher standard of care than a solo practitioner. However, a substantial 23% said they did not. This finding is reinforced by the response to the main drawbacks of a multi-practice (Group practice) structure with 21% citing Consistency of Care (#2 response with Conflict with management style #1 at 29%).

It is little wonder that “Financial/paying bills/overhead” was the top challenge that respondents intended to address in 2018 (as well as the Top Metric for Success in the opinion of 78% of respondents), with “Getting more patients/keep busy” a close second. The majority (60%) of dental practices now offer patient financing in some fashion, reinforcing results from 2017 (almost one-half (45%) of respondents offered in-house financing while 15% used third party financing) as a way to get those patients.
Financial concerns also appear to have impacted on dentists Practice Management CE activities. The top focus is on building “the Numbers”. The highest rated Practice Management topics for 2018 involve building the business of the practice (ranked in order from highest: Leadership Team Development; Revenue Enhancement/Expense Management; Fraud Protection; and Communication/Case Presentation).

For the first time, Social Media was mentioned by over 50% of respondents as one of the most popular Practice-Building Tools utilized, still second to “Asking for referrals” but trending rapidly upward from 13% in 2012. This movement to on-line promotion mirrors where dental patients are telling practitioners they are getting information on dental treatment options. According to the survey, Internet achieved another all-time high rating and was ranked as the top patient source for the third straight year. This was followed by the more traditional sources of Family members, friends, etc. and Dentist/Dental Team presentations.

A total of 414 practicing Canadian dentists responded to this year’s survey with a good proportional distribution across all regions of the country. Based on this response rate, overall 2018 survey results have an accuracy of +/- 4.7% 19 times out of 20.

Beware of iOS Phishing Scam that Promises to Connect You to "Apple Care"

 

The smart people at website Ars Technica lately have uncovered and reported on a pretty sneaky way that bad guys are using to attempt to get users to give away their personal data.

 

As I’ve preached here many times, usually the most vulnerable chink in the security armor, is the human one.  Social engineering goes back about as long as humans do and nobody knows that quite like the nefarious types that inhabit the online criminal world.

 

To that end, now the crooks have come up with a way to trick iPhone users into calling into the bad guy call centers and actually “volunteering” to give away their information.

 

Are tells us:

This particular phish, targeted at email addresses associated with Apple's iCloud service, appears to be linked to efforts to fool iPhone users into allowing attackers to enroll them into rogue mobile device management services that allow bad actors to push compromised applications to the victim's phones as part of a fraudulent Apple "security service."

 

So… basically the user is tricked into thinking their phone is compromised and will be shutoff unless they call a number.  Once you call, they use social engineering tactics to get your username and password or to install rogue applications.  Either way, once that happens… they own your device.

 

So be alert!  There are lots of scams out there and the only reason they exist is because, sadly, they work on more than enough honest people to make the effort profitable.

 

Here’s a link to the entire Ars Technica story on the issue.  It’s a somewhat complicated read due to some short descriptions on coding & the web pages involved, but I feel it’s well worth your time to read it.

It Appears that Healthcare Data Breaches are More Common in Larger Facilities

 

According to a recent study that appeared in JAMA Internal Medicine, larger medical facilities are more likely to suffer from data breaches.

 

This makes a certain degree of sense.  Larger institutions certainly have more patient data stored in the EHR (Electronic Health Record) and, therefore, make a more practical target for attackers.  By going after larger databases, hackers can get more info per intrusion.  Obviously, even in the world of data theft, economies of scale exist.  There is also the matter of simple computer security.  Larger organizations will have more computers, connected devices, etc that need to be patched and kept updated with the latest security enhancements.  One small door is all that is needed and in big hospitals, there are more “electronic doors” and therefore, greater odds of finding a device to exploit.  Then there is the matter of employees and security protocols.  The sheer number of people with access to data means more opportunities for a phishing attack or any of a myriad other things that might leave data exposed.

 

While I agree with the odds increasing as the amount of patient data increases, it should be noted here that data breaches, hacking, and RansomWare are an all to frequent occurrence in small practices as well.  My good friends at DDS Rescue tell me that their help is frequently required by customers that have either been locked out of their data by RansomWare or some type of malicious hacking break in.  These situations can happen to anyone.  You need to be prepared and DDS Rescue can help you with hacking incidents.

 

The full article with links and a downloaded pdf is available here.

 

Here is an abbreviated version of the article:

 

As the adoption of electronic record and health information technology rapidly expands, hospitals and other health providers increasingly suffer from data breaches.1 A data breach is an impermissible use or disclosure that compromises the security or privacy of the protected health information and is commonly caused by a malicious or criminal attack, system glitch, or human error.2,3 Policy makers, hospital administrators, and the public are highly interested in reducing the incidence of data breaches. In this retrospective data analysis, we use data from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to examine what type of hospitals face a higher risk of data breaches.

Methods
Under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act of 2009, all heath care providers covered by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act must notify HHS of any breach of protected health information affecting 500 or more individuals within 60 days from the discovery of the breach. The Department of Health and Human Services publishes the submitted data breach incidents on its website, with the earliest submission date as October 21, 2009. We were able to link 141 acute care hospitals to their 2014 fiscal year Medicare cost reports filed with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). The unlinked hospitals include long-term care hospitals, Veterans Affairs and military hospitals, hospital systems, and hospitals unidentifiable in the CMS data set. We applied multivariable and regression analyses to compare these 141 hospitals with other acute care hospitals to understand what type of hospitals face a higher risk of breaches.4 Statistical analysis was performed with SAS 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc) and STATA 14 (StataCorp LLC). For statistical analysis, t tests were used, and P < .05 was considered significant.

Results
Between October 21, 2009, and December 31, 2016, 1798 data breaches were reported.5 Among them, 1225 breaches were reported by health care providers and the remaining by business associates, health plans, or health care clearing houses. There were 257 breaches reported by 216 hospitals in the data, with median (interquartile range [IQR]) 1847 (872-4859) affected individuals per breach; 33 hospitals that had been breached at least twice and many of which are large major teaching hospitals (Table 1). Table 2 lists hospitals with more than 20 000 total affected individuals. For the 141 acute care victim hospitals linked to their 2014 CMS cost reports, the median (IQR) number of beds was 262 (137-461) and 52 (37%) were major teaching hospitals. In contrast, among 2852 acute care hospitals not identified as having breaching incidents, the median (IQR) number of hospital beds was 134 (64-254), and 265 (9%) were major teaching hospitals. Hospital size and major teaching status were positively associated with the risk of data breaches (P < .001).

Discussion
A fundamental trade-off exists between data security and data access. Broad access to health information, essential for hospitals’ quality improvement efforts and research and education needs, inevitably increases risks for data breaches and makes “zero breach” an extremely challenging objective. The evolving landscape of breach activity, detection, management, and response requires hospitals to continuously evaluate their risks and apply best data security practices. Despite the call for good data hygiene,6 little evidence exists of the effectiveness of specific practices in hospitals. Identification of evidence-based effective data security practices should be made a research priority.

This study has 3 important limitations. First, data breaches affecting fewer than 500 individuals were not examined. Second, since each victim hospital was matched to CMS cost report based on the name and state, the matching might be incomplete or inaccurate for some hospitals. Finally, our analysis is limited to the hospital industry. Future studies that examine the characteristics of other types of health care entities that experienced data breaches are warranted.

Interview with Kent Howell on the Axsys Dental Versamill 5Xs

Here is an interview shot recently for Dental Products Report.  There is a growing interest in providing in office milling for different types of dental materials.  Since the industry began to embrace the Open Source concept, allowing for mixing and matching your preferred digital impression system with your preferred in office milling system, many doctors are considering the possibilities all of this entails.



If you are wondering about the kinds of things an in office mill can do for you, watch this video and learn from a doctor who is using one in his advanced practice every day.

For more info about Axsys Dental and their products, head over to their webpage. 



Enjoy!

Ultradent Proudly Announces the Ultrapro® Tx Prophylaxis Equipment Family

 

For those of you who are looking to upgrade your hygiene armamentarium, here’s something to look at from my friends at Ultradent.  The Ultrapro family of hygiene products is pretty special.

 

Ultradent Products, Inc., proudly announces the next generation of the Ultrapro® Txprophylaxis equipment family, including the Ultrapro® Tx Air handpiece, the Ultrapro® Tx Skini prophy angle, and the Ultrapro® Tx Extra prophy angle.

 

Ultrapro Tx Air Handpiece

For the dental professional who values products that minimize the aches and pains associated with performing prophylaxis, the Ultrapro Tx Air handpiece is designed to reduce hand and arm fatigue thanks to its ergonomic, light-weight, aluminum design and 360° swivel. Its soft-start motor minimizes splatter and is vibration-free to maximize patient comfort as well. The Ultrapro Tx Air handpiece safely performs prophylaxis by reducing friction and heat when polishing the patient’s teeth, allowing it to clean effectively while still protecting the enamel. Its universal e-type motor can be used with other attachments and nose cones, and it can be used with all disposable prophy angles for convenience.

 

Ultrapro Tx Skini Disposable Prophy Angle

The Ultrapro Tx Skini disposable prophy angle offers improved interproximal cleaning, internal blades to reduce splatter, and features a smooth, quiet gear design. Its ergonomic shape minimizes hand fatigue and, with a 20% shorter head and 25% slimmer neck, offers superior access and an unobstructed view for the clinician. The Skini DPA also offers optimal flare, as well as contra-angle and right-angle design options.

 

Ultrapro Tx Extra Disposable Prophy Angle

The Ultrapro Tx Extra disposable prophy angle features external ridges for improved interproximal cleaning and improved internal webbing for reduced splatter. Its ergonomic design and smooth, quiet gear function facilitate the ultimate experience in comfort for both the clinician and the patient. The Extra DPA also features optimal cup flare and is available with a tapered brush.

 

To learn more or to purchase any of the products in the Ultrapro Tx prophylaxis equipment family, please visit ultradent.com or call us at 800.552.5512.

American Academy of Periodontology to Hold its 104th Annual Meeting in Vancouver

— The American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) will hold its 104th Annual Meeting Oct. 27-30, 2018, at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. The event is presented in collaboration with the Canadian Academy of Periodontology, the Japanese Academy of Clinical Periodontology, and the Japanese Society of Periodontology. All dental professionals—including students, early-career periodontists, hygienists, office staff, and members of the dental media—are encouraged to attend.
This year’s meeting, which provides up to 25.5 continuing education credits, features 45 courses and more than 30 new speakers. Ten redesigned program tracks include oral pathology, oral medicine, and oral diagnosis; emerging concepts and innovative therapies; implant surgery and prosthetic rehabilitation; and periodontal plastic and soft tissue surgery.
“With a roster of periodontics’ sharpest minds leading our many courses and events, this year’s Annual Meeting is set to be a gathering of our specialty’s best and brightest from around the world,” says Steven R. Daniel, DDS, president of the AAP. “Attendees will have the opportunity to curate their experiences, and with the return of our Dental Hygiene Symposium, Student and New Periodontist series, and the Insurance Coding Workshops, there’s something for everyone in the field.”
Highlights of the 104th Annual Meeting include the following:

• Endeavor to Succeed at the Opening General Session: Captain Mark Kelly, who spent more than 50 days in space aboard the Space Shuttles Endeavour and Discovery, will share insights on leadership, teamwork, and success during the meeting’s keynote address on Sunday, Oct. 28. 


• Proceedings from the 2017 World Workshop on the Classification of Periodontal and Peri-Implant Diseases and Conditions: Members of the Workshop’s organizing committee will discuss findings from the recently updated disease classification. This ticketed event, which takes place on Oct. 29, will highlight the newly developed staging and grading model for classification as well as the update’s implications on patient care and dental education. 


• All-new Speaker Studio: Located in Exhibit Hall booth 533, the Speaker Studio provides a unique opportunity for attendees to interact with speakers and moderators throughout the meeting. Course presenters will be on hand for post-session conversations and Q&A in an intimate, small-group setting.

• Exhibit Hall: At the center of the action will be the meeting’s Exhibit Hall, where more than 300 booths will showcase an array of products and services.

To register for the 104th Annual Meeting, to view the complete Advance Program, or for more information, please visit members.perio.org/am2018, call 1-800-282-4867 ext. 3213, or email meetings@perio.org.

Registration fees for media representatives attending the AAP’s 104th Annual Meeting will be waived, granting access to all non-ticketed sessions and seminars. Presenters and AAP representatives will be available for on-site interviews and photo shoots, which must be scheduled in advance with AAP Public Relations staff. For press credentials, contact the Academy’s Public Relations Department at 312-573-3243 or mame@perio.org. 

About the American Academy of Periodontology
The American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) is an 8,200-member professional organization for periodontists—specialists in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of inflammatory diseases affecting the gums and supporting structures of the teeth, and in the placement of dental implants. Periodontics is one of the nine dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association.