new young professionals in dentistry-blog

some bloke coolly brushing his teeth in the stands during the Chelsea v Manchester United game

YODA — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:19:51 +0000

some bloke coolly brushing his teeth in the stands during the Chelsea v Manchester United game

ADA’s first experience with a Facebook – account

toebi — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 20:52:38 +0000

Something strange has happened to DentalBlogs.com. I think they have partially shut down their Facebook account. They no longer feature original articles such as those by Dr. Rhonda Savage and Ms. Linda Miles, and in the last couple of weeks, they eliminated their collection of photos. Now the site only features ads and press releases. Does anyone else wonder what happened? Sure you do! This is exciting.

Unless they are just re-tooling this weekend, I suspect that since their previous format was biased heavily in favor of advertising dollars in a tough economy, their funding simply dried up. Like so many other advertising-related careers, the dinosaur found it couldn’t compete in a 2.0 market. Nevertheless, today I did learn something important from the DentalBlogs Wall: The ADA has opened a Facebook account.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/American-Dental-Association…

Such transparency is inspirational.

When I announced this news on Twitter a few hours ago (“Proots”), neither the ADA nor the TDA had yet told membership. Yea, I scooped them on their in-house news. It happens all the time. Naturally, I became a fan of the ADA Facebook. When I joined, there were already 1205 fans, even though the site is yet operational.

I found that intriguing because it usually takes a long time for most FBs to attain 1200 fans – especially when all one can gather is the mission statement of the ADA’s newest Internet site.

Here’s what I see: About the time DentalBlogs laid off employees from their fully active Facebook, the ADA opened theirs. (Gasp!) The ADA was well known to DentalBlogs because the ADA once advertised with them regularly. That is where I found an article about the ADA-approved CareCredit/GE that ended up causing problems for some people and entertainment for others.

Let’s face it, friends. I just know that I’m not the only dentist in the nation with at least two burning questions. I bet at least 4 others are wondering who were the first seven fans to sign up for the ADA Facebook – and: Has Kim Volk, CEO of DDPA signed up yet?

Because the number of fans is rapidly piling up, such information from a few weeks (?) ago could soon be just too difficult to uncover from the fans list on the ADA site. It took a long time for me to scroll down through 1200 names – looking for those I recognize. (Gasp!)

I scroll quickly, but carelessly.

I could have easily missed several easily recognizable names in contemporary dentistry, but as far as I can tell, not only was Delta Dental Plans Association CEO Kim E. Volk’s name not present in the list of 1200 fans, but there were very few names I recognized… and I’m sorry if I insulted anyone.

I also did not see “Ron Tankersley” and other ADA officials’ names on the fans list. Didn’t the ADA try partial transparency like this once before? I may be wrong, but I think I played a role in shutting it down a few years ago with my persistent, and still unanswered questions about the NPI number.

Here’s another bolus of semi-reliable information: I also quickly scrolled through DentalBlog’s list of 400 fans and did not notice an unusual amount of matches with the ADA Facebook fans list.

Those who dare to do so, might just ask, “So if the ADA fans didn’t come from dentalblogs, where did they come from?” I think one possibility is that the ADA effort has been in Beta and limited to a select group of people up until now.

Doesn’t it seem strange that nobody is able to post anything? Did someone open the doors a few hours early?

So who were the first 7 fans? No, you don’t have to scroll down to find out for yourself. I’ll tell you.

Who is John Hergert?

The first person to become a fan of the ADA Facebook account is named John Hergert from Chicago, Illinois.

2nd – Laurie Rich
3rd – Amy Lund
4th – Kelsey Majors
5th – Jessica Stevens
6th – Samantha Campbell
7th – Lina Kulkormi

I don’t recognize any of the seven, and I have not searched anyone’s name other than John Hergert’s – the first person to become a fan of the ADA Facebook. I found someone named John Hergert in Chicago, Illinois who is Associate Vice President at Lipman Hearne Inc. – an advertising agency.
http://www.spoke.com/info/p6JVgPy/JohnHERGERT

Here is the bio of the person I only suspect is the first to become a fan of the ADA Facebook.

“John HERGERT’s Biography

John Hergert Associate Vice President John Hergert has a keen understanding of what it takes to capture and hold the attention of marketing audiences via innovative marketing techniques. Formerly Associate Director of Marketing Communications at DePaul University in Chicago, John works with both traditional and interactive media to design and implement marketing strategies that build a client’s image, increase support, and grow enrollment or attendance. John’s experience includes developing ROI-based marketing strategies for a variety of nonprofit and for-profit clients. Prior to DePaul, John was an account executive overseeing marketing and advertising strategy, web development, direct mail, print production, and promotional development for clients including Disney, Marconi, Owens Corning, and Reynolds. John began his marketing career while at the University of Wisconsin, where he was hired by a Los Angeles firm to implement cutting-edge marketing programs for Saturn and Trek Bicycle Corporation. John received his B.A. in Journalism from the University of Wisconsin and his Master of Science in Information Systems from DePaul University.”

What do you want to bet that the ADA Facebook is Mr. Hergert’s baby?

D. Kellus Pruitt DDS

five rules from chillportal-blogspot

YODA — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:03:28 +0000

Want to spice things up in the bedroom? Well, then turn your attention to a new book that provides tips on how to turn on your partner.

Barbara and Allan Pease’s new book may come handy in making love life even sexier, reports a news daily.

According to the book, five rules for better sex and romance are:

1. Women should initiate sex- The custom of a male approaching a female may not always work out, as men are often apprehensive of being rejected.

Hence, the authors believe sometimes it’s better off that women initiate kinky things.

2. Washing up can be an aphrodisiac- Men who do household chores seem sexier to women, according to the authors.

3. Men need to dress to impress – A survey conducted by anthropologist John Townsend and Gary Levy from Syracuse University showed that expensive clothing can lure women.

The polled women said they preferred having sex with men wearing smart suits, white shirts with designer ties and expensive watches to those dressed in low status clothing, such as T-shirts and jeans, vests, baseball caps and a fast-food restaurant uniform.

4. Smart women often make bad love choices- Lot of studies have shown that smarter women make wrong choices when it comes to matters of the heart.

Author of Success Intelligence, Dr Robert Holden insists that intelligent women waste their time analysing the true meaning of their relationships, instead of being open.

5. Humour is an aphrodisiac- Good sense of humour always gives an edge to men when they hit on a woman.five

EDSA-GC Restorative Treatment Training for Dental Students

YODA — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:21:35 +0000

EDSA is inviting dental students from all over Europe to develop their practical skills in restorative dentistry field at the GC campus in Leuven, Belgium on the 4th and 5th of December 2009. You will have the chance to expand your knowledge on class II and class IV dental restorations, find out more information about the glassionomer cements and also make new friendships with other dental students’ from Europe.

The participation fee is 100 Euro and includes: transport from and to airport/railway station to GC and transport to hotel, 2 days course, one night at the Holiday Inn Garden Court hotel (shared twin bedded rooms) in Leuven, lunches, a guided tour through the university city of Leuven and a GC dinner.

To find out more about the Training, please visit http://www.facebook .com/l/f5db7; www.gceurope .com/toplevels/ campus/education /edsa.php

Don’t forget there are limited places and the deadline is 20th of November!

Looking forward to seeing you in Leuven, Belgium!

In the meantime, check out the new ezine series on Minimum Intervention Dentistry, MID on the link at the end of the text.

Dental implants stolen

YODA — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:56:38 +0000

Dental implants stolen

Thieves have stolen a huge batch of dental implants worth thousands of pounds which experts believe may be sold on the black market.

The implants were taken from an Adin Dental Implant Systems factory, based near the Israeli city of Afula.

But the implants have not been sterilised and the company is urging dentists to look out for sales of implants at low prices.

Yossi Sharvit, a police commander in Afula, said that a similar crime had taken place earlier in the year and investigators were examining links between the incidents.

Police now believe that the implants will be sold around the West Bank and possibly smuggled abroad, which could be prove dangerous.

Is the fear of bone grafting procedures keeping many GPs from placing dental implants?

YODA — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:01:53 +0000

By Alfred L. “Duke” Heller, DDS, MS, and Robert L. Heller, DDS

Obviously most general practitioners would agree that financially they would like to increase their office income by doing simple implant placement and restoration, thus keeping the fees for those services in their own cash flow. They also realize that implant dental treatment is a prosthetic discipline with a surgical component! Simple implant surgery starts with mounted models and pre-surgical diagnosis and treatment planning. The result of proper planning will produce a surgical template to help the doctor place the implant where it can be restored. Many times the implant placement comes back from a referring office with the implant out of alignment, and then it becomes compromised at the point of trying to make the prosthetics adapt to a misaligned implant.

Considering that the average implant fee is $1,500 to $2,000 per implant and the abutment and fixed crown fee is approximately another $1,500, that is roughly $3,000 to $3,500 that could stay in the general practitioner’s own cash flow to help in this trying economic time.

General practitioners can become as skilled as specialists in placing dental implants and should consider placing simple implants for their patients. Patients prefer to have their own dentist treat their dental implant needs rather than go to a different office for treatment.

So why do so few general dentists place implants?

It can be speculated that many don’t do implants because they don’t like surgery. Some dentists say they don’t feel adequately trained to watch a slide presentation at an implant course and then place implants in their patients. Some say they would like to place their first few implants with someone looking over their shoulder. Others feel that if they need to graft bone at the time of implant placement or before implant placement, they don’t know what materials to use.

Bone grafting materials are becoming increasingly abundant in the marketplace. Doctors should seek training where the presenters are not paid to speak about certain bone grafting materials or a certain implant system. They should also seek to find a mentor or individual they can call on the telephone with surgical or prosthetic questions.

Case report

A 22-year-old female presents with tooth No. 11 missing. History of patient is that the tooth was lost four years ago due to trauma. Patient would like for the general dentist to place the implant so she can get rid of her present flipper.

The initial photo shows that the ridge appears to be sufficiently wide to accept an implant in the maxillary left cuspid area (Fig. 1). Upon tissue reflection, the underlying bone presents with a labial and lingual defect (Fig. 2). Options include a block bone graft or particulate graft with a barrier. A decision was made to use irradiated bone (80%), tricalcium phosphate (20%) mixture, together with Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) mixture after decortications were done with a 700 XXL bur (Fig. 3). The barrier selected was the Inion GTR Barrier (Reimser Inc., Durham, N.C.) using small tacks (Salvin Dental, Charlotte, N.C.) to maintain the ridge (Fig. 4a). A plasticizer is used, which hardens the membrane to allow maturity of the bone graft without pressure necroses from food or removable appliance. Fig. 4b shows a side view showing the bone mixture under the Inion barrier. PRP (Clinseal centrifuge from Salvin Dental, Charlotte, N.C.) was used in the bone grafting mixture as well as in the completed sutured tissue to enhance bone and tissue growth. PRP was injected under the tissue flap to aid in bone growth at the end of procedure.

Six months later, the ridge exposure measured 10 mm buccal-lingually (Fig. 5). As is evident in the photo showing buccal and lingual bone growth, which would not have been obtainable with a block graft, it would have only produced bone on the buccal thin ridge.

A 3.7 mm implant was placed easily into the grafted site, leaving adequate buccal and lingual supporting bone for the implant (Fig. 6). Fig. 7 shows tissue closure with 43-0 vicryl sutures (Ethicon by Johnson and Johnson, Langehorne, Pa.). A periapical X-ray shows implant placement in grafted bone (Fig. .

Fig. 1 shows the preoperative photo of maxillary cuspid.

Fig. 2 shows the buccal and lingual bone thickness present after reflection of tissue. (Bone thickness next to lateral measured 2.8 mm. Bone thickness next to bicuspid measured 4.5 mm.)

Fig. 3 shows decortication of remaining bone with a 700 XXL bur, allowing for penetration of the labial cortical bone into the medullary bone to produce bleeding and blood supply for the future grafting procedure.

Fig. 4a shows the occlusal view of the Inion barrier tucked into the lingual tissue and tacked on the distal-buccal apical aspect of the bone defect.

Fig. 4b shows the amount of bone grafting mixture under the Inion barrier. The barrier is secured on the mesial-buccal apical to minimize movement of graft material.

Fig. 5 shows the thickness of the bone grown on buccal and lingual aspects of the previous bony ridge in area.

Fig. 6 shows placement of a 3.7 mm Zimmer implant in the 10 mm wide new bony receptor site.

Fig. 7 shows suture closure of the maxillary cuspid area.

Fig. 8 shows an X-ray of 3.7 mm implant placement.

Drs. Alfred L. and Robert Heller do not have any financial interest in the products or companies mentioned in this article. They have directed the Midwest Implant Institute in Columbus, Ohio, since 1980, a teaching facility for specialists and generalists wanting to learn the art of dental implant surgery and implant prosthetics. Training facilities allow for training doctors to obtain an out-of-state Ohio dental license to perform surgery on their own patients during training. Visit www.midwestimplantinstitute.org to learn about available training. Both doctors may be reached at (614) 885-1215 with questions.

Dr. Alfred “Duke” Heller, founder and director of the Midwest Implant Institute, limits his practice to the placement of dental implants, and has placed more than 20,000 implants since 1969. He received both his DDS (1962) and MS (1974) from the Ohio State University College of Dentistry. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry, board certified in oral implantology, and a past president of the American Board of Oral Implantology. Dr. Heller has taught in eight dental schools teaching hands-on surgical courses where doctors place implants under his supervision.

Dr. Robert Heller is a graduate of Ohio Wesleyan University and the Ohio State University College of Dentistry (1988). He completed a prosthetic residency at Medical College of Virginia (1990) and a hospital implant residency at Loma Linda Dental School (1997). He served as president of the Ohio Section of the American College of Prosthodontics and chairman for the Ohio Dental Association’s Sub-council on Young Dentists. Dr. “Rob” has been a teaching faculty member of the Midwest Implant Institute since 1995 and director of the prosthetic arm of Midwest Implant Institute.

Lessons learned on a surfboard

toebi — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:45:56 +0000

Aloha from the 50th state! The ADA Annual Session has just ended and many friends and colleagues are on their way back to the mainland. Overall, I think it was a successful meeting. You can see more of my thoughts on the meeting by watching one of my three daily recaps in our videos section.

While in Hawaii, one of the things I was fortunate enough to do was take surfboarding lessons and try out my new skills in the waters just outside Waikiki Beach. Believe me when I say that I never realized the work it takes to actually surf. I always thought of surfing as just gracefull riding a wave, but there is so much more to it than that. Just paddling on my surfboard out to where the waves were was enough to almost exhaust me.

Thankfully, our group had two great instructors — Tony and Dan-O (can you think of a better name in Hawaii than Dan-O?) who were very patient with surf rookies like me. After missing three waves, I finally got up on the fourth attempt. I am guessing I rode the wave for about 10 seconds, but it was a grand and glorious 10 seconds. It would be the only time in eight tries I would stay upright long enough to consider it a successful run.

After our two-hour excursion, I paddled back to shore exhausted but very happy I had had the experience of surfing. Later in the day, I thought of four lessons I learned and how they could apply to life in general.

1. Sometimes you’re going to miss the wave – You think you have everything prepared. You’re in the right position. You’re ready to ride … and then something happens. Maybe you’re off-balance. Maybe your timing was a little off. Whatever the case, you don’t catch the wave and you have to watch others surfing while you just tread water. Early in the surf time, I mistimed a wave and it passed me by. I shared my frustration with Tony. He smiled and said, “Dude, another’s one coming. Don’t worry about it.” He’s right. There’s always another wave coming, and we’ll miss it too if we don’t dust ourselves off and get ready.

2. Sometimes you’re going to fall – Believe me, I crashed hard a few times … and I got a little frustrated by it. There was once when I was so tired I just wanted to lay on the surfboard and look at Diamondhead off in the distance. However, Dan-O wouldn’t let that happen. “Come on, let’s get a wave,” he said. Sure enough, I fell the very next time. “Come on, you got this,” Dan-O said. Honestly, I never “got” another one after that as I tumbled two more times into the ocean before heading to shore. But I’m glad I tried. I’m not a person who gives up on something easily … including surfing. The easy thing is to walk away from what frustrates us, but the easy thing isn’t always the right thing.

3. Encouragement is key – Without Dan-O and Tony, I can tell you I never would’ve ridden a wave. I’m thankful they were to be my teachers and cheerleaders. We all need people like them in our lives (personally and professionally) to keep us going when we’re discouraged and help us learn and try new things. Do you have a cheerleader? Are you a cheerleader for someone else?

4. Enjoy the ride … no matter what – No, I didn’t enjoy the mouthful of saltwater I swallowed when I crashed the first time. As I write this, I can look down at my knees and they’re pretty scraped up. I hit the water hard and was exhausted the rest of the night after I surfed, but I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. Sometimes getting through something not-so-fun at the time pays dividends when everything is said and done. Personally, I know I can look back at times that were difficult and see how I became a stronger person by enduring them.

Surf’s up. Are you coming in?

the dentist and the chocolade

carlosprimeros — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:11:04 +0000

Help your customers avoid taking responsibility

YODA — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 21:01:05 +0000

another interesting blog on Seth’s blog:

It’s interesting to see that people are much better at putting up with things that happen to them than they are at living with the consequences of a bad choice. When you can blame someone else (or the gods of spite, chance and bad luck) it’s emotionally safer than it is to acknowledge you made a lousy choice. If the weather is freakishly bad on your vacation, you can embrace pity from your friends, and spend your angst cursing the storms. On the other hand, if you book a trip in the middle of hurricane season, you’ve got no one to blame but yourself.

This is a great opportunity for marketers and others that want to engage with the public. If you can figure out how to communicate, “it’s not your fault,” then people will be grateful, and they’ll return. It might not be right, it might not be mature and it might not be the behavior society wants to advance, but it works. Even better, figure out how to teach your customers to enjoy taking responsibility. It’s the long term solution that builds a healthy relationship between customer and vendor… you coach them on good choices and they embrace what happens after they make them. more

no privacy on facebook

YODA — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:54:57 +0000

interesting contribution on Seth’s blog:

Facebook privacy

Privacy on the internet has been a hot topic for some time especially on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace. These sites are given a bad rap because they provide friends, family, and strangers with too much information. While it’s true that someone may stalk you via your social networking profile, they can only view what you’ve posted there. more