Marketing in the Modern World

Posted on August 31, 2009 by Lee Ann Brady

Now that we have relocated to Scottsdale I am in the process of establishing all new professional relationships. It was time to make appointments for my middle daughter and myself with an optician. How to begin…the first thing I do is talk to people I know whose opinions I respect and who value the same things I do and ask them for a referral. In this case, that didn’t lead to any possible solutions, so off to plan B.

I sat down at my computer and went to the online version of the yellow pages to search for an optician close to where we live. Once the data was entered and the search results came up, the next thing I did was look to see which entries had a webpage I could click through to. So off I went to check out the practices’ web pages.

I was thinking of how different this process is now than in the past. I can remember my first years in practice always making sure my yellow pages ad was current. I got quite a number of new patient calls this way, some of whom turned into awesome patients in my practice. But today, I never pick up a printed copy of the yellow pages; I always go online. The power is in how these companies begin a relationship with me through their web presence. Is the site a fit with my expectations, is it professional, does the information about who they are as an office match what I am looking for? And so on.

Can we afford in today’s world not to have an online presence? I think the answer is a resounding “NO.” Our web presence is for many people the first time they “meet" us and our teams. Make yours powerful, and make sure it truly does represent you in the way you wish people to know you.

Magic Hemostasis

Posted on August 29, 2009 by Steve Ratcliff

I try really hard not to touch tissue when I prep teeth or when I am delivering bonded ceramic restorations. Blood is the enemy and I don’t like red margins. Sometimes though, it just can’t be avoided or I get a little rambunctious with the triplex syringe and there is a little bleeder. I have used all kinds of hemostatic agents with mixed success.

My favorite for little bleeders is 35% hydrogen peroxide, the stuff we use for internal bleaching. Be careful with it since it can burn tissue easily and is very bad for eyes and faces. However, if you moisten a tiny cotton pledget and dab the bleeder – POOF! Instant chemical cautery. The bleeding stops. Rinse gently and thoroughly for at least 60 seconds after the bleeding stops because the nascent oxygen that is being released takes a while to complete its reaction. If you don’t rinse carefully, you will create micro-bubbles in your impressions. The tissue will turn white for about five minutes and then returns to normal.

Fast, easy and clean!

Defining Success: Complete & Comprehensive (Part 4 of 14)

Posted on August 27, 2009 by Imtiaz Manji

This video is part of an ongoing series on Defining Success. To view the series from the beginning, click here. To receive notifications when new blogs are posted, subscribe to the Spear Education RSS feed.

Photographs, Cars & Motorcycles

Posted on August 25, 2009 by Frank Spear

A glimpse into how Frank spends his time outside of the practice

The Balance of the Sexes

Posted on August 23, 2009 by Gary DeWood

Norway passed a law nearly a year ago that required all publicly held companies to have a board with a minimum of 40% female membership. This decision of the parliament grew out of the financial meltdown that seemed to have been fueled by a sort of wild testosterone recklessness, not just in Norway, but around the world. Numerous reports claimed that had women been in decision making positions, much of the meltdown might have been avoided. There was the hope that women would then become a larger presence among the executives in companies that are headquartered in Norway, which does not appear to have happened.

I have never been a believer in government intrusion, and I’ve got to believe such a law would never play here in the United States; Scandanavian citizens are much more comfortable with government mandates and government control than we are. The socialized nature of much of their society makes such mandates seem relatively less intrusive than we would see it.

In thinking about how this might bring change, I can’t help but think about the effect that the inclusion of women has had on dentistry. Thirty years ago, less than 5% of graduates were women. Today that figure hovers around 50%, and I believe the profession is fundamentally better because of it. I also believe the changes will magnify as women assume the appropriate percentage of leadership positions in dentistry. I have daughters, and I’m excited that my youngest daughter, just starting her final year at University of Michigan and applying to dental school, won’t have to live with the looks, the questions, and the prejudices that her mother did.

Hang in there, Norway, the track record for these things says the future will applaud the change. I’m applauding it now.

The Power of Working Together

Posted on August 21, 2009 by Lee Ann Brady

I had the opportunity to sit down and discuss a case with my orthodontist Cheryl before the patient comes in next week for a consult. I’m not certain how many times I will have to learn this same lesson, but I did again today. It was eye-opening to first let Cheryl tell me what she saw about the case and her impressions of the present condition. There were many details that she grabbed from the photos, that I had not seen, all of which allowed us to plan the case more precisely so we obtain the planned outcome.

After reviewing our independent findings, we began to talk about the patient’s desired outcome and how we could get there from both an orthodontic and restorative point of view. It opened up treatment options neither of us could have seen alone, as we collaborated to combine the most predictable pieces from each of our specialties to create a treatment plan. I also moved my ortho understanding a giant step forward, really easy learning right in my own backyard as Cheryl explained what she could accomplish, or not, and why.

What an incredible opportunity for both Cheryl and I to continue growing our professional relationship, combine our talents toward the patient’s best interest, and learn more about our profession. Why do I ever treatment plan by myself, or worse yet discuss the role a specialist will play with a patient before hearing their perspective?

Frank Recaps IFED 2009

Posted on August 18, 2009 by Frank Spear

Frank shares on the 2009 IFED meeting, held in August in Las Vegas. Dental professionals from over 40 countries attended, and the entire Spear Education faculty was among the attendees. This 3-day cutting edge meeting is held every two years in different locales.

Whose Teeth Are They Anyway?

Posted on August 17, 2009 by Steve Ratcliff

I recently completed a case for a young dentist. It had been a long haul for the two of us, and I was both excited and anxious on the day of delivery.

It was a challenging case, perhaps one of the most difficult I have ever done. After almost four years of ortho, periodontal therapy, working with old implants that were not well positioned and two sets of provisionals, seat day was here.

I tried it all in and did my checks and then started cementing and bonding. With each succeeding unit my sense of dis-ease was growing. It had looked so good when I tried it in, but I was beginning to notice little things that were upsetting to me. A slight value difference between the centrals, a line angle that was off contour, an ovate pontic with a little tissue bunch that I didn’t remember.

I started making little moaning noises and sucking sounds with my tongue, my bowels were rumbling and I was convinced that I would probably just tear out the whole case and do it over.

I noticed my young friend eyeing me but he wasn’t reacting.

I finished and he went to the restroom. When he came back he was beaming from ear to ear. He said, “I knew it was going to be great! You always beat yourself up. Quit that – I think this is awesome!”

Hmmm, whose teeth are they anyway? I will never change. I always see what I could have done better. Yet, I must always remember that my sense of excellence comes from years of looking at minutiae and that in the grand scheme of things, there really is “good enough.”

Crown Modalities

Posted on August 15, 2009 by Gary DeWood

I recently presented a program at the Florida National Dental Convention held in Orlando. A member of the audience came up to me and asked if we teach Captek crowns at Spear Education and what I thought of the fact that Captek crowns result in a 71% reduction in bacteria. I replied that we discuss all restorative modalities at Spear (including ceramo-metal) and that I had not heard of this bacterial effect with Captek crowns. Upon my return to Phoenix I did a PubMed search to research the question. Here is an abstract from an article from the Journal of Periodontal Research:

J Periodontal Res. 2001 Aug;36(4):252-9.
Reduced dental plaque accumulation on composite gold alloy margins.
Goodson J.M., Shoher I., Imber S., Som S., Nathanson D.

Restoration of tooth surfaces with materials that inhibit formation of heavy bacterial plaque accumulations could be important in the treatment of patients with existing oral disease or in reducing the likelihood for periodontal disease. Captek is a dental gold composite material used to produce copings for ceramometal restorations that has been reported to inhibit plaque accumulation. In this study, the oral bacteria of nine periodontally healthy subjects with a total of 42 gold composite copings were sampled. Contralateral teeth with normal tooth surfaces were also sampled as controls. The quantitative presence of forty bacteria was determined in each sample by DNA:DNA hybridization. The results indicated that the porcelain/gold composite alloy coping surfaces had significantly fewer bacteria than the control normal tooth surfaces (71% reduction). The percentage composition, however, did not differ significantly between surfaces.

I pulled the article and read it through. All of the subjects (9 total subjects with 42 gold composite copings placed at least 4 years earlier) in the study had healthy periodontium, and there were several operators. Forty species of bacteria were investigated and thirty-two showed a significantly lower presence on the gold than on natural tooth. The eight species that did not show a reduction were present in very small populations on both gold and teeth.

There are no other articles on PubMed when "Captek" and "bacteria" are searched. It’s an interesting finding that elicited little follow-up in real world use. How many of you bought the Caridex machine?

Keeping It New

Posted on August 14, 2009 by Frank Spear

Frank discusses the September Spear Faculty Club Forum and how he brainstorms to create the best experience for attendees.

Monthly Archives: August 2009