Thanks to the W Lakeshore in Chicago

 

The joys of travel aren't really the joyful… frequently enough.  Here is a story that illustrates that.

 

Getting to Chicago from Kansas City should be easy enough, right?  Normally a flight from KC to Chicago Midway via Southwest is a one hour flight and you can catch one of many every day.

 

However, even that short hop can sometimes be stressful.  Thursday evening was a prime example of that.  I'm doing video work with my good buddy Dr. Lou Graham on Friday for Dental Products Report, so needless to say, I need to look my best.  The shoot came together kind of quickly so in order to not reschedule any patients (it's not their fault that my life is so crazy!) I grabbed the last flight out of KC to Chicago.  Of course the flight is delayed 40 minutes.  It's not that big of a deal, but it's been a long week and I just want to get to the W Lakeshore and climb into bed.  Now it will be just a little bit longer before I can do that.

 

Now shooting video meant i needed to have nice clothes with me and not only that, but a few different outfits as well.  This was one of those times where clothing was truly critical to what I was trying to do.

 

So when I get to Midway, I check the monitor and head to the proper baggage carousel to wait for my bag.  The line crowd keeps thinning as more and more bags come out, but mine is not one of them.  Finally the carousel stops.  There is just one other gentlemen & myself.  We look at each other and exchange the "oh no, not us" look.  We both turn and head to a Southwest employee who is stationed in the luggage area.

 

It turns out the other gentleman had checked his bag 3 hours before the flight and his bag had actually arrived on an earlier plane.  It had been sitting there the whole time.

 

I explained to the Southwest team member my desperate situation.  Basically, if I didn't have wardrobe for the video, my trip was a complete waste.  The Southwest guy was very sympathetic, but my bag was nowhere to be found.  After a few minutes, he looked at my bag claim and then smiled.  My carousel had been changed *after* I had arrived in baggage.  My suitcase was, now all by itself, making slow lonely circles on the carousel next door to where I had been waiting.  It had been there all along.

 

Relieved, but overly stressed I got the bag and headed to the cab line.  When I arrived at the W I was the only one checking in and was greeted by a very nice and smiling young lady.

 

This is where the power of customer service comes in.  She is intuitive enough to be able to sense that it's been a long & stressful day for me.  She asks me about it and I give her a condensed version of what I've been through.

 

She smiles even bigger and over the counter she slides me a card good for a free drink at the bar.  "I really think you need this," she said, "Go get your drink & then take it up to your room."

 

That's one of the things that separates The W away from some of the other hotels.  I try and stay in one whenever I can...

Jawbone Up Now Tracks Fitness on Android

 

I've posted about the Jawbone Up before, but now comes great news for Android users.  

 

It seems since the device was released, there has only been an App for iOS.  However, as of Tuesday the folks at Jawbone have an Android app available on the Google Play store.

 

The Up is one of several new devcies that can help track your health & fitness.  The device tracks steps taken, calories burned, and if you were it to bed it can even tell you how much sleep you got.

 

If you are an Android owner, you'll need Ice Cream Sandwich or better to run it, but better  health is what it's all about right?

Brasseler MINI High Speed Handpiece and MINI Burs Now Available for KaVo Style Couplings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SAVANNAH, GA (March 25, 2013) –  Brasseler USA^®, a leading manufacturer of quality instrumentation, providing innovation and superior service to the dental industry, is pleased to announce that the Brasseler MINI high speed handpiece is now available for easy connect to KaVo style couplings.  

 

Small in size but big in performance, the Brasseler MINI high speed handpiece offers a super-miniature head size that provides maximum access and visibility.  

In addition to a quick disconnect model for Brasseler couplings, a KaVo style option is now available. The lightweight handpiece features fiber optic light, ceramic ball bearings and an easy-to-replace turbine.

 

Moreover, complementing the new high speed air handpiece is the new range of Brasseler MINI Burs. Shorter than conventional short shank friction grip burs, Brasseler MINI Burs deliver unprecedented access when combined with the Brasseler MINI high speed handpiece.

 

For more information about the Brasseler MINI high speed handpiece, MINI burs, and all Brasseler products and services, please visit www.BrasselerUSA.com or call 800-841-4522.

 

About Brasseler USA^®

 

Brasseler USA^® is a leading ISO Certified healthcare company, providing quality instrumentation to healthcare professionals for use in restorative dentistry, endodontics, oral surgery and oral hygiene. Over the past 35 years, Brasseler USA 

has developed a reputation as an innovative market leader in diamonds, carbides, polishers, endodontics, hand instruments and handpieces. Today, Brasseler USA offers the most comprehensive assortment of instruments and power systems under one brand in the world. For more information, please visit www.BrasselerUSA.com.   

 

 

Digital Dentistry Site Dedicated to E4D Re-Launches

Here's a press release about CadCamCan.com

 

It's a good resource site and even better with the re-design.

Alex Touchstone, DDS Prepares www.CadCamCan.com for the Next Era 

of Digital Dentistry with Complete Redesign and Relaunch

 

Hattiesburg, MS – March 25, 2013 –  Alex Touchstone, DDS, a leading authority on digital restorative dentistry and chairside CAD/CAD technology, recently redesigned and relaunched CadCamCan.com (C3), a popular web portal and online community dedicated to the advocacy of digital dentistry with a strong focus on the E4D CAD/CAM restorative system.

 

“We basically tore down C3 and rebuilt it to better represent the new era of CAD/CAM technology,” explained Touchstone. “The latest developments in digital imaging technology are now the foundation of a digital practice that will incorporate implantology, orthodontics and prosthodontics.”

 

In an effort to accommodate the rapidly expanding amount of information on the latest techniques and clinical applications for digital impressions and CAD/CAM, C3 was re-engineered with easier, intuitive navigation, greater emphasis on point-of-view video techniques, demonstrations from CAD/CAM thought leaders, an insightful blog by Dr. Touchstone called “CAD/CAM Touch Points,” informative webinars, and the latest news and events about relevant technology and materials. 

 

The redesigned CadCamCan.com is also accepting sponsorships by companies who wish to target the rapidly-growing community of passionate chairside CAD/CAM users and proponents of digital dentistry. Advertising inquiries can be made by contacting information@CadCamCan.com.

 

About CadCamCan.com:

 

CadCamCan.com is one of the world's leading online portals for CAD/CAM dentistry. It is a free, 24/7 source of videos, webinars and interactive forums regarding everything related to clinical CAD/CAM; including equipment, materials and techniques, as well as opinions and clinical observations. CadCamCan.com has more than 54,000 registered users and many more casual observers, who frequently visit to keep abreast of the latest developments in dental CAD/CAM – including those from D4D Technologies, the manufacturer of the E4D CAD/CAM Restorative System.

 

About Alex Touchstone, DDS

Alex Touchstone, DDS is a recognized pioneer in chairside dental CAD/CAM technology and one of the first advocates of digital dentistry. For more than a decade, Dr. Touchstone has combined the latest advances in dental technology with proven clinical techniques to expand his private general dentistry practice and provide his patients with the highest level of cosmetic and restorative care. His digital dentistry case studies are well documented, and he frequently shares his experience and knowledge with dental colleagues around the world through articles published in leading dental journals, lectures and workshops at major dental meetings and through his popular, interactive web portal www.CADCAMCan.com.

Apple Now Offering Two Step Verification for Apple ID & iCloud

 

For a while now, Google has been offering 2 step verification for accessing your personal info.  However, for some reason Apple has been slow on the uptake of this security adding feature.

 

The idea is simple and works well.  Shen you want to sign into your account, the service will send you a verification code to your mobile phone.  If you don't have your phone, you can't get in.  It's that simple and that secure.  Anyone can *try* to change your account info, but without your mobile phone, they can't get in.

 

If you're interested, head over to Apple to begin setting it up.  Rumors are there is a backlog waiting for it, but it never hurts to get in line...

DentalSoftwareAdvisor.com Launches to Help Dentists Evaluate, Purchase, and Implement New Generation Dental Software, and Electronic Records Systems

 

New Website is an Objective, Online Educational Resource 

 

Issaquah, WA – March 21^th, 2013 – DentalSoftwareAdvisor.com was recently launched as the dental industry's first objective online resource dedicated to new generation dental software solutions including electronic dental records (EDR) and electronic health records (EHR). A quick site tour is available via an introductory video.

 

The architect of the site is Mike Uretz, a 30 year healthcare software veteran who for the past decade, specialized in helping individual practices, multi-clinic groups, federally qualified health centers (FQHCs), and hospitals successfully evaluate software, structure contracts, manage vendor issues, and implement solutions. A nationally-known healthcare software speaker and educator, Uretz also serves as DentalSoftwareAdvisor.com's Executive Director.

 

Why is Uretz focusing on helping the dental industry?  “Next generation dental software is becoming become much more sophisticated and complex with the explosive growth of new technologies and capabilities,” explains Uretz. “I saw a need for an objective online resource to help dentists navigate through this confusing maze of information, and provide guidance and recommendation in the selection, purchase and implementation of these technologies.” 

 

Whether a dentist chooses to upgrade to newer generation software offerings from their present vendor or decides to purchase software from an alternative vendor, DentalSoftwareAdvisor.com can be a valuable resource.

 

At the core of DentalSoftwareAdvisor.com, is its “Knowledge Base Engine,” a robust search tool that enables site visitors to search relevant case studies, articles, and surveys published about dental software and electronic health records. 

 

The Knowledge Base is unique because it is searchable by categories and filters out the irrelevant results that often turn up in a typical Google search. It also provides article abstracts and “lessons learned” summaries. “Dental professionals can gain a wealth of useful information without wasting their valuable time,” says Uretz.

 

Other unique features of DentalSoftwareAdvisor.com are the following:

 

• •Selection, Purchase, and Implementation Checklists- Based on over a decade of use with practices, these checklists give a roadmap, including recommendations, of detailed steps necessary for successful software selection, contract review, product implementation and vendor management

 

• •What's the Buzz –Industry news and commentary regarding software-related topics, trends, and issues. 

 

• •Insider Tip of the Week – This where industry experts share their experience and insight on how dentists can avoid making mistakes when selecting, purchasing and implementing their software solutions.

 

• •Meaningful Use Watch – Your source for the most current and relevant information on this misunderstood EHR federal incentive program, including information for dentists on how to take advantage of the reimbursement dollars available .

 

• •Grants & Funding – Real time access to a national database of grants and funding opportunities, including information on who to contact, timelines, and how to obtain the funds. 

 

• •Press Room – Online archive of published articles and columns.

 

• •Vendor Hub – A resource for anyone seeking dental software and IT services. This section includes product overviews, case studies, videos, quick links to compare offerings and much more.

 

Uretz adds that it's time for the dental industry to pay full attention to the advent of new generation software technologies, including more sophisticated clinical and electronic records systems. The recognition of the need for practice efficiencies, the oral systemic connection, the introduction of diagnostic coding models, and the need to share information more efficiently between general practitioner and specialist are driving these newer software models  “It's on the horizon, approaching rapidly, and it's in the best interest of all dental professionals to become educated and prepared to ensure a successful implementation.”  

 

The dental industry is currently where the medical industry was ten years ago in the adoption of new practice management and clinical software technologies. During the past decade, there were best practices established, and many lessons learned.  According  to Uretz. “Dentistry can avoid many of the pitfalls experienced by medical practices. Dentists actually have an advantage.”

 

About DentalSoftwareAdvisor.com

 

Designed to be an objective online resource free of vendor bias, DentalSoftwareAdvisor.com can assist dental professionals in the process of new generation dental software, electronic dental records, and electronic health records selection, acquisition, implementation, and operation . For more information, please view the introductory video. The site is the vision of Mike Uretz, a 30-year IT veteran and nationally-recognized expert in healthcare software and electronic health records who frequently writes and lectures on the topic. Contact Mike to speak at your event or meeting, at MikeU@DentalSoftwareAdvisor.com or 425-434-7102.

The Canary Caries Detection System Announces Detection Under Sealants at IADR

 

 

At the Chicago MidWinter meeting this year, the Canary System was there and available for purchase.  Canary has been around for a while now and has been available in its native Canada.  In the US, however, the device was awaiting FDA 510k regulatory approval.  That approval was granted recently allowing the company to finally begin selling the device in the United States.  I will have a more detailed post about the technology in the next week or so, but suffice it to say that Canary is a visual based caries detection system that allows for the user to save & compare images to gain a detailed database of tooth condition over time.

 

Now comes word the company will be presenting research at the IADR meeting in Seattle to show it can detect caries under intact dental sealants.  Read on for the press release:

THE CANARY SYSTEM CAN DETECT CARIES BENEATH OPAQUE SEALANTS

Quantum Dental Technologies (QDT) announced today that The Canary System™ can accurately detect caries beneath opaque dental sealants. The findings will be presented today at the International Association of Dental Research (IADR) General Session in Seattle, Washington.

“Dental sealants are an excellent preventive tool for treating pits and fissures in posterior teeth” said Dr. Stephen Abrams, CEO of QDT. “They should be part of any dental preventive program.  Unfortunately, over time, the bond with the fissure will degrade, allowing the ingress of oral fluids and bacteria creating the ideal environment for caries to develop.  These lesions remain undetected by conventional caries diagnostic tools until they are sufficiently large and have destroyed a large amount of tooth structure”.

The data presented today at IADR builds upon the findings QDT announced at the IADR in Iguacu Falls in Brazil in June 2012, evidencing the role The Canary System can play in effectively detecting caries beneath 3M™ ESPE™ Clinpro™ Sealant.

The energy conversion technology, PTR-LUM, that powers The Canary System enabled investigators to detect caries beneath 2mm of Delton®, EmbraceäWetBondä, Helioseal® F, and UltraSeal XT® Plusä sealants on 124 potential sound and carious pit/fissure sites on occlusal surfaces of 60 extracted human molars and premolars. Marked pits/fissures were scanned with The Canary System and DIAGNOdent before and after sealant placement. Using polarized light microscopy as the validation tool, the status (carious/non-carious) of each examined pit/fissure was confirmed. The caries detection ability of The Canary system was not affected by any sealant; DIAGNOdent produced a high number of false positive readings.

“Many dental sealants contain opacifying agents that exhibit intrinsic autofluorescence properties, which results in false positives when scanned with DIAGNOdent – a caries detection tool using fluorescence technology. The Canary System uses PTR-LUM technology which can ‘see-through’ opaque sealants giving clinicians a sub-surface window and a quantifiable measurement of the status of the enamel crystal structure”, said Dr. Josh Silvertown, Chief Operating Officer at QDT. “We invite dentists and researchers to visit us at Booth #505 at the IADR Meeting.”

THE CANARY SYSTEM is powered by PTR-LUM – a revolutionary new tool that can detect, map and monitor carious lesions on any tooth surface -- earlier and more accurately than ever before.

The Canary System is a low-powered laser-based device that uses a novel combination of heat and light to directly examine the crystal structure of teeth and map areas of tooth decay. The Canary System’s interactive software and printed patient reports engage patients in their own oral healthcare like never before. 

For those who cannot attend the IADR, please visit www.thecanarysystem.com  or email info@thecanarysystem.com to request additional information.

Cloudy with a Chance of Organization

 

 

It seems that no matter how hard I try, things in my life just continue to get busier… and crazier.  Between my dental practice, my personal life, my lecturing, my writing, my work at Dental Products Report… well you get the idea.  It just seems that trying to stay organized is almost a full time job in and of itself.  That's a bummer  because I already have about 2.5 full time jobs as it is.  So when you factor in trying to stay on top of everything you get the idea that it isn't' as easy for me as I'd like.

 

That's one of the reasons that i'm so crazy about The Cloud.  By keeping the busiest parts of my life there, I'm working on a "write once, read anywhere" life.

 

To that end, it's not the only way I'm doing this, but Google has been a huge help with Google Drive and their other Cloud based services.

 

I'm finding that I'm using Gmail more and more even though I own my own domain and have an email account associated with it that I've been using for almost as long as I've had email.  Simply sending things to Gmail or moving discussions that need to be dealt with quickly to Gmail allows me to almost effortlessly deal with email for a variety of my devices with very little setup required.

 

Tasks: Google Tasks as part of Gmail allows me to keep a variety of To Do lists that are easily accessed either directly from Gmail via a browser or through apps in Android & iOS.  I simply put an item on a list, save it, and every device then has that item.  Quick, easy, efficient.

 

Google Docs: This was the predecessor to Google Drive.  I used to do all of my writing on my Mac.  I kept all of my articles in a folder for the year they were written and then backed that folder up to multiple drives.  Utilizing Google Docs as part of my Google Drive I'm now doing all of my writing in The Cloud.  The storage idea is basically the same, which is create an article folder for the year.  Then I simply write using Google Docs.  This means the article is available from any device with a Net connection.  Last week I wrote my April issue DPR article from my Mac (on my desk) and from the front seat of my Tahoe on my iPad while waiting on my wife to finish some shopping.

 

I've found this type of Cloud computing is making things just a little less crazy and allowing me to create from anywhere.  I'm better organized *and* not backing up.

 

As a final piece, I'm no longer backing up my music files either.  I currently have about 70GB of music and it is backed up on my Amazon Cloud Drive as well as in my Google Play account.  I'm pretty confident that the possibility of *both* of those companies suffering a catastrophic crash is pretty slim.  Just one less thing I have to do...

Google Announces "Keep" - To Save Your Ideas Wherever You Are

 

 

 

 We all move at such a pace these days that it's a wonder some days that I can remember anything.  That's one of the reasons that I'm usually toting my phone around with me.  You just never know when you'll be somewhere need to jot yourself some type of reminder.

 

Well, obviously the folks at Google aren't much different from the rest of us (well me anyway), as they've now created Google Keep to help you stay more organized while on the go.

 

Google is linking all of this to their online storage called Google Drive.  The Drive service is their online repository where users can store and all info as well as the Google Docs they create.  Keep will be linked into Drive and will make all of these notes available from The Cloud.

 

Keep will let you keep notes, lists, photos and lots of stuff that can either be typed in or voice dictated.  The video does a great job of describing it and if you want all the info from the blog post that announced it, you can read that here.  

Google Fiber Coming to Olathe, Kansas

 

Google Fiber has been a big buzz maker here in the Kansas City area for a while.  The service was announced to Kansas City, KS with a lot of fanfare a couple of years back and has been the envy of everyone else in the Kansas City area ever since.

 

Now comes news that the service is moving beyond its initial area of rollout and will be coming to the city of Olathe, KS soon.

 

This is some really great news for the KC area.  While the initial area was deemed pretty small by the rest of the community, we were all hopeful that expansion would follow.

 

My home is probably about a mile from the Olathe city limit so I'm highly hopeful of an expansion to me in the not too distant future… but at this point there's no way of telling.

 

The service has download speeds 100 times faster and upload speeds 1000 times faster than normal broadband.  Needless to say, I can't wait to get my hands on some of that!

 

For the all the details, take a look at this story from the Kansas City Star.  

Microsoft to Push Windows 7 SP1 Out as a Mandatory Upgrade

 

For those of you out there with Windows 7 installed, be warned.  The first service pack (SP1) will become an required upgrade as of today, March 19th, 2013.

 

It's been available for a bit and many have upgraded, but there are always a few users who prefer to wait… just in case.  I can certainly understand that.  Major OS upgrades are notorious for causing problems, although probably not as many as in years past.

 

However, from the manufacturers standpoint, supporting multiple versions, especially with known issues that can be fixed via a service pack upgrade, it makes sense to get all the users on the same page.

 

So, as of today, SP1 will be part of Windows Update and will roll in whether you want it to or not.

 

I've already updated one of my machines and have had no problems.  Just thought you'd want to know...

Tivo Mini *Helps* Solve the 2nd DVR Problem… but Doesn't Solve It

 

The idea of DVRs is great.  However, the problem becomes when you want to watch a show on another TV not connected to the DVR.  Traditionally that's meant either Direct TV's Genie or adding a second DVR on the TV you want to watch.

 

To help solve that problem, Tivo has created the Tivo Mini.  The little box will connect to one of the tuners in the new Tivo Premiere 4 and allows you to watch programs stored on the Premiere 4 box.  So… it's cheaper than a whole DVR and also shouldn't require a subscription right?  Well, not exactly.  It still requires a $6/month subscription, but that *is* less than the $13 you'll pay for a full Tivo.

 

Also, the little device requires a wired connection to your network so there is no hope for Wifi here.

 

The Tivo Mini went on sale on March 17th for just $100.

What To Do When You've Been Hacked

 

As a tech writer, I have a great respect for Mat Honan.  He's a good writer and appears to be a really good guy too.

 

Last summer he was hacked in a terrible way and now he's sharing his story and his suggestions on what to do if you have it happen to you.

 

Take a look at Mat's story on Wired.com  It's well worth the read...

Google Now *May* Be Coming to iOS & Windows 8

 

As a user of both iOS and Android, I get to see the best of both worlds… and believe me when I say that there are tremendous advantages to both operating systems.

 

When you have 2 huge companies both vying for your interest; well, competition is a good thing.

 

One of those good things that is currently only available with Android is Google Now.  It's a cool program that basically learns from you and provides info that is important to you and you don't even have to ask for it.

 

The idea is for things like your work commute, Google Now will provide you with a map for it and let you know the commute time and any traffic problems on that route without you even having to search for it.  The app also delivers weather, appointments from your Google calendar, sports scores, etc.  Pretty sweet right?

 

Now I'm hearing rumblings that this may be coming as an app from Google to will run on iOS & Windows 8.  No confirmation yet from the gang at Mountain View, but rumors persist...

BlueTooth Headphones Controlled by a Swipe

 

I was rummaging around the Net and I stumbled across these headphones available from Hammacher Schlemmer.  

 

BlueTooth wireless connectivity has pretty much changed things for a lot of the things we do, but headphones really hasn't been one of them.  I've occasionally had people contact me looking for some and the choices have been pretty limited.  So needless to say, I was pretty excited when i noticed these.

 

They pair with your BlueTooth enabled phone (or maybe even a computer with BlueTooth ) and give you wireless music.

 

What I think really sets these apart though is the finger swipe control they have.  These headphones use the same type of finger swipe technology found in phones & tablets.  This means sliding a finger up and down the left earpiece raises or lowers the volume, while swiping a finger horizontally advances or rewinds a track. Cool huh?

The rechargeable battery provides 10 hours of use & the list price is $149.95

Updates from IDS in Cologne, Germany

The world's largest dental show, the IDS is currently taking place in Germany.

 

I didn't get a chance to be there this time, but my good buddy and fellow DPR editor, Steve Diogo is on location and checking things out.  Here is an update that Steve sent on Wednesday going over just a few of the t hints making the news at the show:

 

Digital dentistry, open architecture drive excitement at world’s largest dental show

 

New digital impression and CAD/CAM products from 3Shape, Carestream Dental put the focus on ease of use and accuracy. International digital players plan U.S. entry into digital dental market. 

 

Steve Diogo

 

Dental digital impression systems and CAD/CAM milling technology are driving the market and pushing excitement to new levels at the International Dental Show in Cologne, Germany. 

 

Throughout the first two days of the world’s largest dental exhibition, crowds stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the booth of digital dentistry stalwart Sirona Dental Systems to examine the CEREC Omnicam and learn about the company’s more than 20 new products, while newer players in the worldwide CAD/CAM and digital impression realm, such as 3Shape and Carestream, captured attention with new launches and major updates to existing products. 

 

3Shape adds color and mobility

 

Espresso sipping crowds gathered at the 3Shape booth Wednesday morning to see 3Shape founder Thais Clausen demonstrate Dental System 2013 and new advancements in the company’s lab scanner and in-office TRIOS, including the introduction of full color scanning and image manipulation and the debut of the TRIOS Pod, which allows dentists to attach the intraoral impression scanning device to any computer via USB connection. Clausen says the Pods will be ready to ship in the USA in about 10 weeks. US dentists can preorder now. 

 

Clausen says the company’s software and hardware advancements mean processing speed increases of 40 percent, reduced camera fogging and simplified workflows for abutment design, implant bridges, denture design and post and core. The system also offers near photorealistic visualizations of cases, including the ability to add 2D images of the patient’s face. An app is also available to view images and control the scanner directly from an iPad. 

 

Carestream enters CAD/CAM market

 

Carestream Dental expanded its imaging-centric dental market position with the debut of its CS Solutions for CAD/CAM, including the CS 3500 intraoral scanner, CS Restore software, CS3000 milling machine and CS Connect web-portal that enables dentists to electronically transmit cases to the laboratory of their choice. A unique feature of the of the Carestream system allows CBCT users to scan conventional impressions using their cone-beam unit. 

 

The CS 3500 captures full-color images and features a light guidance system that navigates users through the image acquisition process. The Carestream system, like the TRIOS and CEREC Omnicam, requires no powder. 

 

“CS Solutions redefines CAD/CAM restorative dentistry, offering practitioners a simplified, comprehensive approach to support their everyday restoration needs,” said Edward Shellard, DMD, chief marketing officer and director of business development for Carestream Dental. “However, dentists also have the flexibility to use the products within the portfolio as standalone solutions based on their practice’s needs.”

 

Open architecture revolution

 

Both the 3Shape and Carestream systems feature open architecture, meaning the scanners can be used with any lab milling system. Open architecture has been a rallying cry since the dawn of digital dentistry, but until recently industry leaders like Sirona and Nobel Biocare have kept their systems locked down. Perhaps the biggest news for open-system fans came on the first day of IDS 2013, when Nobel Biocare announced that it had opened its Procera system and partnered with 3Shape. Nobel also announced plans to expand its milling services centers in the United States.

 

Also constructing a U.S. milling service operation is Swiss implant and digital dental company Biodenta, which plans to open a state-of-the-art milling center in Gettysburg, MD, in the next few months. Company executives said the company’s focus is on providing total solution systems incorporating scanning, milling, implants and restorations. 

 

The above are just a few of the developments in the digital dentistry realm unveiled in the first day at IDS 2013. Dental Products Report will provide continuing coverage from Cologne of major developments in this and other dental categories. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Planmeca partners with 3D Diagnostix

Things are happening in the world of 3D.  A c couple of years ago, Invivo became an exclusive product to iCat & Gendex.  Now comes word that Planmeca has an agreement with 3D Dignostix.  Here is the press release & you can find all the info here on cone beam.com  

 

Planmeca ProMax 3D users can now place an order for 3D Diagnostix radiology reports and computer-guided surgery solutions directly from the Planmeca Romexis software, according to the company.
Planmeca's 3D unit users can send their images for radiological interpretation or their Planmeca Romexis implant plans to order surgical guides with just a few clicks.

Images sent from Planmeca Romexis for radiological interpretation are read by a 3D Diagnostix board-certified radiologist for diagnostic objectives such as pathology findings, implant planning, existing implant evaluation, sinus evaluation, and temporomandibular joint evaluation.
Customers can choose any or all of these objectives in a single, comprehensive report and for a flat fee. All reports are detailed and include relevant images with measurements and annotations.

For surgical guide order, the Planmeca ProMax 3D users create an implant plan using the advanced implant planning tools and extensive implant library of Planmeca Romexis. The implant plan and cone-beam CT data are sent to 3D Diagnostix as a surgical guide order where an on-staff dentist will verify and optimize the plan for surgical guide fabrication.
The customer is then contacted for an online case review where they can fine-tune and approve the plan. This means that customers are in control of their case along the way. In cases in which the patient has five or more teeth remaining, customers send a plaster cast of the patient to 3D Diagnostix to be used for guide design and fabrication.
Alternatively, a digital Planmeca ProMax 3D scan of an impression can be included in the order to speed up guide fabrication. After the guide passes quality control, the customer receives it ready for use in surgery.
Customers can also order both a radiology report and surgical guide simultaneously for the optimal surgical experience.

AetnaHealth Completes Acquisition of ePocrates

ATHENAHEALTH COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF EPOCRATES

Companies combine forces to redefine physicians’ point-of-care mobile experience and toolset WATERTOWN, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar. 12, 2013-- athenahealth, Inc.(NASDAQ: ATHN), a leading provider of cloud-based electronic health record (EHR), practice management, and care coordinationservices to medical groups and health systems, today announced that it has completed its acquisition ofEpocrates, mobile health pioneer and developer of the most-widely adopted, point-of-care medical application among U.S. physicians. Combining forces, athenahealth and Epocrates set out to be the best in the world at helping caregivers make decisions with confidence and efficiency in the moments of care. By leveraging Epocrates' mobile expertise with knowledge and data from athenahealth's cloud-based network, the combined company is uniquely positioned to introduce new mobile workflows and applications to fuel the delivery of high-value information to the clinical community when, where, and how they want it. Additionally, this acquisition accelerates athenahealth’s access to the clinician market, growing its current provider base of 40,000 to include the more than one million clinicians on the Epocrates network. “Epocrates is king at supporting physicians at the point-of-care when immensely consequential clinical decisions are being made and additional clinical insight is needed,” said Jonathan Bush, Chairman and CEO of athenahealth, Inc. “The brand awareness, familiarity, and trust that Epocrates has garnered among U.S. physicians is inspiring and aligns with our mission to be medical caregivers’ most trusted service. We are committed to preserving the mobile experience that Epocrates has instilled at the point-of-care and will work to make mobility in health care even more meaningful through the introduction of workflows and capabilities that haven’t yet been part of the caregiver mobile toolset.” Find out today what more than one million health care professionals already have—download the Epocratesapp for free on your iPhone, iPad, Android, or Blackberry (www.epocrates.com/mobile). To learn more about the Epocrates and athenahealth brand and shared vision, please visit:www.athenahealth.com/epoc. About athenahealth athenahealth, Inc. is a leading provider of cloud-based Best in KLAS electronic health record (EHR), practice management, and care coordination services to medical groups and health systems. athenahealth’s mission is to be the most trusted service to medical care givers, helping them do well doing the right thing. For more information, please visit www.athenahealth.com or call 888-652-8200. About Epocrates Epocrates, Inc., now an athenahealth company, is recognized for developing the #1 medical application among U.S. physicians for clinical content, practice tools, and health industry engagement at the point of care. Epocrates has established a loyal network of more than one million healthcare professionals, including 50 percent of U.S. physicians, who routinely use its intuitive solutions to help streamline workflow and improve patient care. For more information, please visit www.epocrates.com/company.

MakerBot Shows SXSW Attendees the Future… 3D Printing

 

For years, the dental industry has been wowed by CAD?CAM… and with good reason.

 

A computer's ability to take a database of tooth images, compare them to a digital image with missing tooth structure, create the missing parts, and then mill the replacement is just nothing short of amazing.

 

Now comes word from the SXSW conference of a company called MakerBot.  This new company has developed a scanner that uses 2 lasers and a webcam that allows their device to SCAN and then print (not mill) a replica using a specialized 3D printer called the Replicator 2.

 

The scanner is set to arrive on the market this fall.  No price yet, but the company has a reputation for keeping costs within the reach of small businesses so it may not be to high.

 

Imagine needing to re-create a 3D object and simply scanning it and then printing it.  I can see a point in the future where, as part of a new patient exam, the patient's teeth will be scanned with some type of intraoral camera and the file stored.  Then whenever a restoration is needed, the tooth is prepared and then the post prep image is compared with the pre-op image and the missing tooth structure is printed.

 

It just keeps getting better!

Amazon Prime May be Getting a Competitor… from Google

 

Amazon Prime has been around for a while now.  It's a subscription based service that costs $79 a year.  In return members get free 2 day shipping, discounted 1 day shipping, and access to Amazon's Video on Demand service.

 

Now comes word that Google is putting together a competitor to Prime that will be called "Google Shopping Express" and should be $10-15 less than the Amazon service.

 

I could re-package what I read, but really Tech-Crunch has done a great job of describing the situation & what users can expect.

 

Get all the details here.  

Why Officite is My Website Provider & Why Their Customer Service Means You Should Consider Them Too

A website presence is now an absolute *must* for any dental practice that is operating with a desire to show patients & prospective patients that they are operating as a progressive provider of dental services. An office *without* a website comes across as antiquated and perhaps not concerned with being up to date. Now, of course, that may not be the case, but as I am fond of saying, "Image may be everything, but perception is reality."

Because of that, a webpage is a necessity for today's dental practice… at least one that wants new patients.

Now back in the day, websites weren't that big a deal. I remember when it was *extremely cutting edge* to have a business card that had an email address on it. When that happened I immediately tossed all my existing business cards and had them reprinted with my email addy.

After that, the next cutting edge thing was a *web page*. This was in the early to mid-90's and web pages were so cutting edge that I didn't even know people that could design them. However, my passion has always been to be on the leading edge and, to that end, it meant I needed a web page. To do that meant research, so I went off to my local Barnes & Noble (I shouldn't even have to tell you it was brick & mortar as online retailing didn't even exist then). I left B&N with a stack of books on HTML programming and set about trying to figure this whole web page thing out.

The good news is that eventually (over the span of a couple of months) I learned how to code in HTML. This allowed me to create my own web page, which was primitive, but back then, they all were.

Fast forward to today. I haven't written any *serious* HTML code in years. The explosion of the world wide web in the late 90's brought forth an entire industry of web page design and soon it was being taught at the college level. This explosion of programming quickly made my efforts obsolete.

So now to the big focus of this post. Because having a great web page is important to any business and because the sophistication of web design now requires professionals, even a big geek like me has a company doing all of that.

In dentistry we have a tendency to think about companies that do these services as sort of "widgets". They are all pretty much the same and their services are interchangeable. However, this is anything but the truth. This is the same thing that patients often think. In the minds of some patients, all dentists and dental services are interchangeable & the only difference is the price. Dental professionals know that is anything but the truth, however, despite our best efforts at education, this misconception continues to exist to some extent.

My personal belief is that in order to do away with this misconception from patients, it helps for us to remove these misconceptions from ourselves.

When I decided to upgrade my site from a "home brew" situation into one done by professionals, I looked at a lot of companies. There are a lot of them out there and it pays to interview some to get a good overall view of pricing as well as company philosophy, dedication to service, etc.

I settled on Officite as my company of choice and today's post is going to highlight one instance of why I made that choice.

In addition to handling my website, my denticle.com email, and other aspects of my web presence, they also help out with the web presence of this blog.

When i first created the blog, the Blogger website created an Internet name for it. The web address that it assigned to me was "dentaltechnologyblog.blogspot.com". Personally I thought that address was a bit long to be typing into the address bar. It just seemed that if someone wanted to visit the blog for the first time, a long address like that would be prone to errors and readers might not find it at all. Of course if you guys can't find me, then I don't have an audience and that defeats the whole point of this endeavor. Once here, I know a reader will bookmark or subscribe, but it's the getting here the first time that is important.

To make the process easier, I thought a shorter and catchier address was in order. I settled on "blog.denticle.com" to keep my denticle domain involved. The problem with doing this is that the original much longer name is the "official" address and cannot be changed. There is an Internet process called a "redirect" that basically allows me to create the "blog.denticle.com" address and when someone types it in, their browser is sent to the longer address. That's why sometimes you enter a web address and end up on a site with a different address.

While simple in concept, the process of a redirect requires some under the hood programming in the language of the Internet to make it happen.

Recently I noticed that my redirect stopped functioning. Typing in "blog.denticle.com" brought up an error and the page didn't load. I began to explore things on my end, but could not determine a cause.

I contacted Officite support and had them look into it. I made a couple of suggestions, which they explored, but nothing I suggested solved the problem. However, rather than simply throwing up their hands, giving up, and making it *my* problem, the team began doing research on the situation and hit on a possible fix.

Yesterday I had a call with a great customer support person who not only understood what I wanted, but also had done research on the fix. We spoke for about 10 minutes and she told me that she would make some changes and, either way good or bad, she would email me to let me know how it went. About 15 minutes later I got an email announcing success. Curious? Click on the following: http://blog.denticle.com and see what happens.

Trust me I say that fixing this problem is not something every website design company is capable of doing. It's also not something a lot of companies out there are interested in doing. However, Officite understands the partnership that exists between my office and their company. They understand that my success translates directly to their success and they are happy to help me on my success journey.

If you are looking for a website company to design a site for you or if you are unhappy with your present company and looking for a change, I strongly suggest you contact Officite.

Here is their website with contact info.

Their company and services are highly recommended.

Cone Beam and Other Technologies from the Chicago MidWinter Meeting

 

Ah, working with Lou...

 

The video above was shot the Wednesday before the Chicago MidWinter meeting started.  In it, my good buddy Dr. Lou Graham and I discuss the interest surrounding 3D Cone Beam imaging.  We also discuss 2 new game changing announcements from iCat and Gendex.

I think the conversation is a good one as I've been a cone beam user for 5 years and Lou is giving serious consideration to bringing it into his practice.

 

We also cover a bit on visual caries detection with the Air Techniques Spectra device which has been redesigned.  Take a look and let me know what you think...

Evernote Suffers Password Hack & Attempts to Improve Security

 

Let me just state for the record that I *love* Evernote.  I've been using the service for a couple of years now and I find myself more and more dependent on it.

 

It's a Cloud based system that basically lets you store any  information you need access to and then get to it from any device with an Internet connection.  I use it to keep my travel info, receipts, and anything else I need to put into a "digital filing cabinet".

 

Of course, anytime you put things in the Cloud, you run the rise of someone trying to gain access to your info.  Unfortunately that happened this past weekend to Evernote.

 

The company was quick to react and also quick to let its users know their info was compromised.  Here is their blog post detailing the hack:

 

The following blog post is also being sent to all Evernote users as an email communication.

Evernote’s Operations & Security team has discovered and blocked suspicious activity on the Evernote network that appears to have been a coordinated attempt to access secure areas of the Evernote Service.

As a precaution to protect your data, we have decided to implement a password reset. Please read below for details and instructions.

In our security investigation, we have found no evidence that any of the content you store in Evernote was accessed, changed or lost. We also have no evidence that any payment information for Evernote Premium or Evernote Business customers was accessed.

The investigation has shown, however, that the individual(s) responsible were able to gain access to Evernote user information, which includes usernames, email addresses associated with Evernote accounts and encrypted passwords. Even though this information was accessed, the passwords stored by Evernote are protected by one-way encryption. (In technical terms, they are hashed and salted.)

While our password encryption measures are robust, we are taking additional steps to ensure that your personal data remains secure. This means that, in an abundance of caution, we are requiring all users to reset their Evernote account passwords. Please create a new password by signing into your account on evernote.com.

After signing in, you will be prompted to enter your new password. Once you have reset your password on evernote.com, you will need to enter this new password in other Evernote apps that you use. We are also releasing updates to several of our apps to make the password change process easier, so please check for updates over the next several hours.

As recent events with other large services have demonstrated, this type of activity is becoming more common. We take our responsibility to keep your data safe very seriously, and we’re constantly enhancing the security of our service infrastructure to protect Evernote and your content.

There are also several important steps that you can take to ensure that your data on any site, including Evernote, is secure:

• Avoid using simple passwords based on dictionary words
• Never use the same password on multiple sites or services
• Never click on ‘reset password’ requests in emails — instead go directly to the service

Thank you for taking the time to read this. We apologize for the annoyance of having to change your password, but, ultimately, we believe this simple step will result in a more secure Evernote experience. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Evernote Support.

The Evernote team

Carestream Health is Now for Sale

 

The only constant is change… and this is just one more way to prove it.  

 

In 2007, Kodak decided to leave the medical & dental imaging business.  At that time, they sold the medical & dental part of their business to a Canadian firm called Onex.  Part of the agreement was that Onex got the right to use the Kodak name and logo for a few years, but as that agreement neared its end, the company began to migrate their logo & name to Carestream.

 

Carestream continued to sell all types of digital imaging systems in dentistry as well as operating the dental Practice Operating System Practice Works and other software brands that Kodak had purchased over the years.

 

Now comes word that Onex has decided to sell Carestream.

 

This is obviously a rather "interesting" time to be a user of Carestream products and software.  The pending sale may mean nothing and "business as usual" may be the rule.  However, there may be some changes afoot (that is pure speculation on my part).

 

For all the info available at this time, check out the story on Yahoo Finance.

Yodle Acquires Lighthouse Practice Management Group

For several years, I've been using services from Lighthouse.  During that time I've found them to be reliable, ethical, and good people to do business with.   Now comes a press release detailing their acquisition by Yodle.  Read on for all the details:

 

Yodle adds a relationship marketing module to its industry leading acquisition marketing solutions for local businesses

 

New York, NY – March 4, 2013 – Yodle, a leader in local online marketing, today announced that it has acquired Lighthouse Practice Management Group, one of the premier providers of dental appointment reminder and relationship marketing software in the U.S.  As a result, Yodle will now have a strong relationship marketing complement to its customer acquisition marketing offerings, currently used by 30,000+ small business clients.  This acquisition expands Yodle’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform offering, which now accounts for nearly half of the company’s revenue.

 

“Adding online relationship marketing to our product offerings is the natural next step for Yodle for both our clients and the business,” said Court Cunningham, CEO at Yodle.  “We are one of the leading pioneers in helping small businesses acquire new customers through online marketing, and now look forward to supporting them in nurturing and growing their own customer relationships.  Traditionally marketers have siloed acquisition and relationship marketing; Yodle is now breaking down that wall as a result of acquiring Lighthouse and will be the first in the industry to optimize SMB lead generation based on actual transactions.”

 

Yodle’s small business clients are currently acquiring new customers through the company’s integrated desktop and mobile product offering that includes websites, search advertising and a simple performance dashboard.  Yodle will initially offer its newly acquired relationship marketing product to existing dental clients in addition to continuing to build the rapidly growing Lighthouse business.  During 2013, Yodle will also begin providing relationship marketing to other industry verticals by drawing on Lighthouse’s expertise in the dental field.

 

Lighthouse’s three co-founders have a combined 60 years of experience in dental software and relationship marketing, including the original creation of PracticeWorks, one of the most widely used practice management systems.  Lighthouse’s flagship product Lighthouse 360, which was introduced in 2006, is currently used by several thousand dental practices.  The entire Lighthouse staff has now joined the Yodle team.

 

“Yodle was attracted to Lighthouse because of the company’s tremendous technical expertise and deep understanding of the needs of small businesses,” added Mr. Cunningham.  “Lighthouse is also closely aligned with Yodle’s metrics-driven and results-oriented approach, and collaborative and open culture.” 

 

Brian Smith, CEO at Lighthouse and now Yodle’s VP of Product and Marketing for Lighthouse 360, stated: “As well as continuing to provide strong value to our existing customers, joining Yodle enables us to accelerate our vision of delivering effective relationship marketing solutions to more small businesses.   Yodle’s strong sales infrastructure and proven expertise in developing product offerings that have a strong ROI will help bring this to fruition.”

 

About Yodle

Yodle connects consumers to local businesses simply and cost-effectively.  The combination of automated technology and comprehensive customer support makes Yodle easy to use.  Yodle’s offering is also ROI-driven: local businesses set a budget for which they receive calls and emails from qualified consumers.  Today, Yodle delivers results for more than 30,000 local businesses.  To do so, Yodle establishes a comprehensive desktop and mobile web presence, implements unique SEO techniques, and deploys proprietary paid search technology that dynamically optimizes online media buys across multiple desktop and mobile outlets.  Yodle’s solution also includes relationship marketing, display advertising, review/offer management and a simple performance dashboard.  Yodle’s competitive advantage is derived from the sheer scale of its local performance data across multiple industries. Yodle is ranked #26 in the Forbes list of America’s most promising companies.  For more information, visit www.yodle.com or go to the Yodle company blog. You can also follow Yodle on Twitter,Facebook and Google+. If you’re interested in working at Yodle, visit the company careers website.

 

About Lighthouse Practice Management Group

Lighthouse PMG is a privately owned software company that has worked exclusively with dentists since its founding in 2002. Its flagship product, Lighthouse 360, is a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offering that completely automates all forms of routine patient communications in dental practices.  Lighthouse 360 works with dentists’ current practice management systems and reaches patients via emails, text messages, automated phone calls, postcards and letters.  Lighthouse 360 reminds patients when they need an appointment, confirms existing appointments, and asks them to post an online review after their appointment.  The three founders - Joel Kozikowski, Allen Jorgensen and Brian Smith - have a combined 60 years of experience in dental software, including the creation of one of the most widely used practice management systems (PracticeWorks). With offices in Atlanta and Indianapolis, the company serves dentists throughout the United States.  For more information about Lighthouse, visit www.LH360.com.