Over the past decade, there have been a huge number of changes in dentistry that have irreversibly altered the course of the profession. Besides things like technology such as Cone Beam, dental practice marketing has entered into a whole new dimension. The reality is that dentists have been facing a tough economy over the last few years, and many feel that their hand has been forced in making decisions in how to market themselves and their practice. The “old school” mentality is that you build your practice by word of mouth, one referral at a time.

A New York Dentist that is threatening to sue a patient for a negative review on Yelp.

Ever wonder about Dental Tourism? This informative article discusses the ins and outs of the emerging practice.

Using the iPad in the Dental Office with DENTRIX completes the paperless office circle.

The New York Times posted an article this week about the changing view of fluoride in our country. For once, the article was very balanced as far as presenting both sides of the issue. Discussed were the dangers to teeth of having too much fluoride in your diet, especially for young kids. Thankfully, they added in the fact that many studies are inconclusive as to the effects on adults and on the rest of the body.

If I had to perform other procedures, such as endodontics, the ELECTROtorque plus remains to be a workhorse in my practice, and will for years to come.

Hedge funds. A French chateau and a Bentley. Medicaid coverage for orthodontia. What a recipe for intrigue and unethical shenanigans. Really? Came upon a posting from Dallas/Ft. Worth news station WFAA titled: Tax money for unneeded braces goes to hedge funds. Gotta read that. Here are the highlights: Texas offers very generous Medicaid coverage for orthodontics. GOOD. Dental practices are being bought up by hedge funds and collecting millions by aggressively promoting "Medicaid braces." BAD. No good deed goes unpunished. One bad apple (or a few) spoil the whole bunch. Whatever platitude you apply, this is just another example of good old-fashioned greed. The tone of the report, however, seems to blame Texas as much as it does the practice-owning investors and participating dentists: "Medicaid is designed to provide health care for the poor. Braces, however, have little to do with improving childrens' health, many dentists say, and the money could be better spent on more critical de

Digital intraoral cameras have been touted as one of the most important technologies you can add to your practice.

Dr. Michael Dougherty offers practical applications of ergonomic principles, including office design, equipment selection, and working postures and behaviors.

How many times does this need to be said? Just ran a across a study published in a recent issue of the American Journal of Public Health that used public records of Medicare  beneficiaries to demonstrate that those "who used preventive dental care had more dental visits but fewer visits for expensive nonpreventive procedures and lower dental expenses than beneficiaries who saw the dentist only for treatment of oral problems." And thus, the conlusion......"Adding dental coverage for preventive care to Medicare could pay off in terms of both improving the oral health of the elderly population and limiting the costs of expensive nonpreventive dental care for the dentate beneficiary population."   Eureka! The University of Maryland Dental School team of researchers noted that because younger people have primarily been the focus of previous studies of the impact of preventive dental care visits, there was a critical information gap about how preventive dental care might limit expensive nonpreventive dental care procedures among an older population. Researchers identified characteristics of older adults who used preventive and nonpreventive dental care as well as those who used no dental care at all, using data from the Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey. Study researcher John Moeller, PhD, MA, noted that although private insurance records are  not available for study, Medicare records are frequently reliable as indicative of national trends. Thank you researchers for just one more quantitative argument for providing dental coverage for all.