tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-61188121204298045462024-03-14T03:49:01.644-04:00Dental Assisting DivasTaking Dental Assisting to the Next LevelDental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.comBlogger34125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-65444709576548232082015-04-20T16:29:00.001-04:002016-11-26T16:53:21.530-05:00Dental Mission to Belize, 2014<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b3_0ow1qxGI/VSPgG4R0JtI/AAAAAAAAAdg/zIOEsxnL3n4/s1600/team%2Bwith%2Bbanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Dental missions are a great way to help those who do not have access to routine dental care" border="0" height="225" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-b3_0ow1qxGI/VSPgG4R0JtI/AAAAAAAAAdg/zIOEsxnL3n4/s1600/team%2Bwith%2Bbanner.jpg" title="Dental Mission to Belize, 2014" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What an awesome team! We loved working with everyone!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>This past November, East Berlin Smiles teamed up with <a href="http://www.internationalhealthoutreach.org/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">International Health Outreach </a>and traveled to Orange Walk Town, Belize for a dental mission. Our entire staff at <a href="https://www.eastberlinsmiles.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">East Berlin Smiles </a>went, including Dr. Cockley. We had the privilege of learning new techniques for glass ionomer restorations and how to incorporate ozone therapy in our patient's treatment. </i></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TCT__U_OCTc/VSPlCmHronI/AAAAAAAAAd0/L7dLMB8qGFc/s1600/GinaandAmber.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Dental Assisting Divas love providing dental care to the people of Belize" border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TCT__U_OCTc/VSPlCmHronI/AAAAAAAAAd0/L7dLMB8qGFc/s1600/GinaandAmber.jpg" title="Dental Mission to Belize" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amber and Gina - the inseparable duo</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>This dental mission was unique in the fact that our goal was to treat each patient as comprehensively as possible. All patients received ultrasonic scaling and several restorations (if needed) to get them back to dental health. Education was also a key part of our mission and we gave needed supplies like toothbrushes, toothpaste and floss. Our patients were then referred to their local dentist who partnered with us for their continued care. We were able to treat 336 patients, 96 children, and saved over 5,000 teeth!</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i>The people of Belize are amazing - So welcoming and friendly and appreciative of the treatment we provided. As of now, we plan to return in November of this year for another mission to a different district in Belize. If you ever get the chance to go on a dental mission - go! You won't regret it. It's a great chance to network with other amazing people in the dental field and to use your talents and skills to give back. </i></span><br />
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<br />Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-48315173406753501382013-08-21T15:57:00.001-04:002016-11-26T14:31:56.168-05:00Infection Control in the Dental Office<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BM-rMFa7kuE/UhUbJO7e6ZI/AAAAAAAAAcU/mfyF2vcG51I/s1600/993677_704791582869003_1106729488_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Show you care about your safety and those of your patients by upholding high standards of infection control in your dental office" border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-BM-rMFa7kuE/UhUbJO7e6ZI/AAAAAAAAAcU/mfyF2vcG51I/s320/993677_704791582869003_1106729488_n.jpg" title="Infection Control in the Dental Office" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 14px;">Infection Control in the dental office has been a recent hot topic. At East Berlin Smiles, we have always made it a standard to uphold the guidelines for infection control by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Before you</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; display: inline; line-height: 14px;"> enter the examining room, all surfaces, such as the dental chair, dental light, drawer handles and countertops have been cleaned and decontaminated. As often as possible, we will use disposable items that are discarded after each patient. Non-disposable items like the dental tools or handpieces are cleaned and sterilized between patients. </span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><i><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">We would like to show you a behind the scenes view of our sterilization room utilizing state of the art technology. We care about each of our patients’ health and safety! Stop by our office for a complementary office tour or on your next scheduled dental appointment simply ask for a tour of our updated sterilization room.</span></i></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><i><span class="userContent" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;"></span><span class="userContentSecondary fcg" style="background-color: white; line-height: 14px;">Click on the following link to follow us on Facebook and for more photos</span></i></span></div>
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Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-80427587071341236952013-03-26T08:41:00.002-04:002014-02-26T10:13:25.986-05:00East Berlin Smiles Kid's Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-10387114404164851412012-08-22T18:11:00.000-04:002016-11-26T14:18:51.325-05:00Restore Access Openings - Cleanly and Quickly!<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>You asked for more handy chair-side tips so I'm giving you one of my favorites. I was going to make my millions and somehow patent this technique, but I decided to be unselfish and share this with everyone. :)</em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>This may seem very simple and silly but it streamlines the process and helps save time. This picture shows red wax formed into the shape of a cone and placed securely onto the end of a PFI. The material is in the perfect shape to fill an access opening of an implant or as a temporary restoration for a root canal treated tooth, sedative filling, or palliative treatment. You can use any material that is appropriate for your situation such as a composite material like Systemp or a temporary filling material like Cavit. </em></span>Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-11215894993797612582012-08-21T11:53:00.000-04:002016-11-15T16:51:06.170-05:00Support Our Future Dental Assistants<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<em><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Over the last two years, our dental office has had the privilege of working with various <a href="http://www.yti.edu/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">dental assisting schools </a>in our area. Most of the programs require their students to extern in our office for about six weeks. This has given us the opportunity to help them become "seasoned" dental assistants before they apply for their first dental assisting position. </span></em><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Most of the students come to our office very intimidated by the dentist and are unsure of their abilities as assistants. Most of them have only learned about procedures in a classroom setting and worked on fellow students or typodonts. Many of you probably remember how you felt as a new assistant and how scary that first day was! Most of us would have loved to have had a competent assistant work side by side with us to "work out the kinks" and nerves before finding a job. </span></em><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">Accepting dental assisting students into your office is a great way to help these future assistants see how a "real" dental office functions, interact with staff members and patients, understand the importance of infection control/procedures/materials/charting/lab work etc., prepare them for job interviews and what they should look for in a potential office. </span></em></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dental Assisting Divas and Jackie</td></tr>
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<em><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Here are some photos of our last extern-Jackie and the fun we had with her in our office. She had a great sense of humor and made it through our "hazing process". We loved her so much we hated to see her go and wish her the best in her career.</span></em></div>
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Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-50355148883030408962012-08-14T14:22:00.001-04:002016-11-09T17:20:08.932-05:00We Are Back!<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dvn9G_3rnwI/UCqVX500kmI/AAAAAAAAAaI/A37mW3GbK7k/s1600/Maxine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" mda="true" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Dvn9G_3rnwI/UCqVX500kmI/AAAAAAAAAaI/A37mW3GbK7k/s320/Maxine.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
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<em><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;">It has been a crazy couple months since our last post. Amber had her first baby in January, our doctor had an serious, unexpected illness in March and Gina had surgery in July. Things have been very hectic around here and we have not had the time to blog. Everything is back to normal now and WE ARE BACK and ready to share more dental assisting tips and fun things going on in our office. So keep following us on Facebook for new posts! We also want to hear from you- so please give us your feedback we look forward to hearing from you!</span></em>Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-34218447575430042072011-11-16T15:17:00.000-05:002016-11-26T14:45:30.341-05:00Divas Take on Las Vegas<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>We just returned from a team building trip to Las Vegas. Here is a run down of our activities.......</em></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p9o-lbNxms4/TsQK9vphAsI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/nfe_JHXAyUU/s1600/planet-hollywood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><strong><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><img alt="Planet Hollywood, Las Vegas" border="0" hda="true" height="121px" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p9o-lbNxms4/TsQK9vphAsI/AAAAAAAAAZQ/nfe_JHXAyUU/s200/planet-hollywood.jpg" title="Planet Hollywood" width="200px" /></em></span></strong></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><strong><u>Wednesday, November 9th</u></strong>-We touched down in Las Vegas and headed to our hotel,<a href="https://www.caesars.com/planet-hollywood" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"> Planet Hollywood</a>-right in the center of the strip. </em></span></div>
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<strong><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>Thursday, November 10th-"Movie Stars for the Day"</em></span></u></strong></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8YgoQ-TGKQE/TsLseKRmCZI/AAAAAAAAAYI/rJ1jtCpXgxY/s1600/Las+Vegas+179.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><img border="0" height="133px" nda="true" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8YgoQ-TGKQE/TsLseKRmCZI/AAAAAAAAAYI/rJ1jtCpXgxY/s200/Las+Vegas+179.jpg" width="200px" /></em></span></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hTrxZc0HPWM/TsLssvR_fFI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/Yv9TigOAuEg/s1600/Las+Vegas+191.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><img alt="Dental Assisting Divas Amber and Gina" border="0" height="200px" nda="true" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hTrxZc0HPWM/TsLssvR_fFI/AAAAAAAAAYQ/Yv9TigOAuEg/s200/Las+Vegas+191.jpg" title="Dental Assisting Divas" width="133px" /></em></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>Off to <a href="https://www.newpatientsinc.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">New Patients Inc.</a> to film video clips for our website. They rolled out the red carpet for us </em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>with a spread of refreshments and a make-up artist to "glam us up" for the shoot. After many out takes and bloopers we finished filming with very professional results. NPI will do the editing and we will soon be able to view the finished product! </em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>That evening we celebrated by going to dinner and the "O" Cirque du Soleil show at the beautiful <a href="http://www.bellagio.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bellagio Hotel</a>. The show was amazing and was one of the highlights of our trip.</em></span></div>
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<strong><u><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>November 11th & 12th-<a href="https://www.madow.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Madow Brother's TBSE</a>("the best seminar ever")</em></span></u></strong></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>Friday and Saturday we attended a fun, practice management, team building and inspirational seminar at Planet Hollywood. The Madow's encourage you to "dress up" in crazy attire, so we wore our Dental Diva shirts and pink boa's!</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>Saturday evening was our final night in Vegas so we walked the strip, toured some hotels and had dinner. Sunday morning we left for home all pumped up as a team and ready to implement all the good tips we received. It was so nice to get out of the office and re-energize ourselves so we could come home and give our best to our patients and one another. We are so thankful to have such a great doctor to work for who truly appreciates her team and includes us in these fun outings.</em></span></div>
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Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-31105808811754362112011-11-03T11:34:00.000-04:002012-08-22T16:06:36.603-04:00Is it time to "up the team morale" at your office?<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Morale is defined as "the state of the spirits of a person or group as exhibited by confidence, cheerfulness, discipline, and willingness to perform assigned tasks." Whether you would define your team as having good morale or bad, is up to you. </em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>We recently had a great staff meeting with our Paragon Program consultant, Hope. The Paragon Program just celebrated 25 years of dental consulting as one of "America's Profitability Experts." Every other month we meet with our consultant to discuss our numbers to ensure we're on track to meeting our financial goals for the year. </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>After discussing our goals, our consultant suggested that we participate in a team-building exercise that we found to be very beneficial and boosted everyone's self-confidence. She asked us a series of questions and each of us wrote our own responses on a piece of paper. After everyone was finished writing their lists, we took turns reading them aloud. </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>These were the questions:</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>* What are the top 10 things that you would tell your patients about the doctor that you work for?</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>*What are the top 10 things that you would tell your patients about the team member seated to your right?</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>*What are the top 10 things about your team/office that make you awesome?</em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>This exercise can benefit any team and bring you closer together. We work with each other on a daily basis, and some may even say we spend more time with each other more than we do with our own spouses! I hope we never take each other for granted. It's important to verbalize the importance and significance of each team member. Most of us don't go around announcing to the world why we're wonderful. But team members need to hear it from your doctor as well as each other. Your doctor needs to hear why you appreciate them, and your patients need to hear great things about everyone. Brag each other up! It's important to enjoy your time spent at work and those you work with. </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Some of you may be thinking that, "She has no clue - I could never get along with the people I work with." And it very well may be true that there may be a specific team member(s) that you find it difficult to get along with. So what? We've all been there at one time or another - why are you letting that spoil your team's positive morale? Why are we expecting that person to change when <strong>we</strong> are the one's who can change our <strong>own</strong> attitudes and actions towards that person to produce a positive outcome? It's a proven fact that laughter and cheerfulness are contagious. If you start making the changes your team needs to "up the morale," you may just find that others will follow closely behind. </em></span><br />
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Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-28751151202889685672011-10-18T11:47:00.003-04:002011-10-18T12:14:44.125-04:00Exciting Announcements!!!<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Wow, have we been busy! Time flies when you're having fun. Amber and I have been working with several extern dental assisting students from local schools, and time has gotten away from us. </em></span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>In case any of you were wondering, YES, I passed my state board exam and have been licensed as an EFDA (expanded functions dental assistant) for the past few months. I love being a dental assistant and being an EFDA allows me to love my job even more by having more responsibilities. I owe a huge "Thank You" to Dr. Cockley for allowing me to continue my education and for placing her confidence in me. </em></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em> </em></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em></em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Our other EFDA, Amber, is also very excited to announce that she's going to me a "Mommy" for the first time! She will be having a beautiful baby girl early next year. Do I even need to mention that we're all very excited for her? Our closely-knit office of eight women will spoil her rotten. Congratulations Amber! </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<em></em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>It's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day things that we do at work, but I encourage you to find something to get excited about! What's going on in your office that's special right now? If you can't think of anything - maybe you should be the one to start the excitement. Bring in a home-made treat to share, an inspirational article, or maybe it's something as simple as writing a note to your team members letting them know why you appreciate them. Don't forget to let your patients in on the fun and share your excitement. </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em> </em></span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wX9U2DrucNs/Tp2b0XfszhI/AAAAAAAAAWY/rKSH26ibnrs/s1600/amber+pregnant+blog.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="height: 341px; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 247px;"><img border="0" height="320px" oda="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wX9U2DrucNs/Tp2b0XfszhI/AAAAAAAAAWY/rKSH26ibnrs/s320/amber+pregnant+blog.JPG" width="244px" /></a></div>Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-54899527511850959362011-06-22T11:49:00.002-04:002011-06-22T11:53:21.270-04:00Work Hard.......Play Harder!<div style="text-align: left;"><br />
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<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>"Our minds need relaxation and give way </em></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>unless we mix with work a little play" -Molier</em></span></span></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">We just returned from Longboat Key Florida this week where we combined continuing education with some fun with our doctor and dental team. We came back to work feeling refreshed and closer as a team and we wanted to share some of our trip with you.</span></em></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-zWedaOT8ab8/TgHzNDbEUPI/AAAAAAAAAUU/sVuCOBd0Egk/s1600/Vittorio708.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" class="uploader-thumb-img" height="104px" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-zWedaOT8ab8/TgHzNDbEUPI/AAAAAAAAAUU/sVuCOBd0Egk/s104/Vittorio708.jpg" style="height: 104px; width: 78px;" width="78px" /></a><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Every morning we attended the Paragon Program's Growth and Profitability seminar. We received great tips on practice management for the whole team as well as products and systems to implement in our practice. We enjoyed guest speaker,Vittorio Borgia, General Manager of Eddie Merlot's in Columbus, Ohio. He stressed the importance of customer service and truly loving what you do. </span></em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">The Paragon Program was celebrating their 25th year, so our team participated in a sand sculpture competition where the theme was anything 1986. </span></em></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-f37vK8KO7QA/TgH4w35dbiI/AAAAAAAAAUc/iNuRedv7Dxc/s1600/Longboat%2BKey%2B2011%2B090.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; height: 154px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; width: 278px;"><img border="0" class="uploader-thumb-img" height="133px" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-f37vK8KO7QA/TgH4w35dbiI/AAAAAAAAAUc/iNuRedv7Dxc/s200/Longboat%2BKey%2B2011%2B090.jpg" width="200px" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-zuYch98pQ60/TgH3-U4KSlI/AAAAAAAAAUY/ES5Rf31ie8M/s1600/Longboat%2BKey%2B2011%2B014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" class="uploader-thumb-img" height="133px" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-zuYch98pQ60/TgH3-U4KSlI/AAAAAAAAAUY/ES5Rf31ie8M/s200/Longboat%2BKey%2B2011%2B014.jpg" width="200px" /></a><span style="font-size: x-small;"></span> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Our sculpture was from the movie Crocodile Dundee.</span> <span style="font-size: x-small;"> Pecan Sandie Awards were given to all </span> </div></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">We enjoyed great meals together and lot's of shopping in St. Armands Circle. We hammed it up for the camera and got really good group shots.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
<img class="uploader-thumb-img" height="213px" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-6Olb4cr8gU4/TgH7tC1E-zI/AAAAAAAAAUg/AmLtunSQ3L8/s320/Longboat%2BKey%2B2011%2B004.jpg" width="320px" /><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-XpLrUvTHUx0/TgH8oIIuyUI/AAAAAAAAAUo/W4f9GBvhxDA/s1600/Longboat%2BKey%2B2011%2B110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: undefined;"><img border="0" class="uploader-thumb-img" height="213px" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-XpLrUvTHUx0/TgH8oIIuyUI/AAAAAAAAAUo/W4f9GBvhxDA/s320/Longboat%2BKey%2B2011%2B110.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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The last night of our trip Paragon Program hosted a party and all of us went back to 1986! Many of the offices performed skits and we danced the night away.<br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-U4lo_2ri5T4/TgH93HLwkLI/AAAAAAAAAUw/3H7c6m-38EQ/s1600/Longboat%2BKey%2B2011%2B108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="cssfloat: undefined;"><img border="0" class="uploader-thumb-img" height="200px" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-U4lo_2ri5T4/TgH93HLwkLI/AAAAAAAAAUw/3H7c6m-38EQ/s200/Longboat%2BKey%2B2011%2B108.jpg" width="133px" /></a><img class="uploader-thumb-img" height="200px" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-dg8gjY5W6js/TgH99-oO8fI/AAAAAAAAAU0/okYDnJ4aLes/s200/Longboat%2BKey%2B2011%2B109.jpg" width="133px" /><img class="uploader-thumb-img" height="200px" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-QzB79NP0gbo/TgH-FUqWLfI/AAAAAAAAAU4/OIl4n4j7nSw/s200/Longboat%2BKey%2B2011%2B112.jpg" width="132px" /><img class="uploader-thumb-img" height="200px" src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-FNZC1dlHhNg/TgH-XDxMRuI/AAAAAAAAAVA/73bVWeQp28Y/s200/Longboat%2BKey%2B2011%2B116.jpg" width="132px" /></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Getting out of the office and spending some quality time together really makes us appreciate the wonderful people we work with individually and as a group. If you can't take a trip, do something simple- like dinner and get connected with each other. It's so important that we take time for ourselves every once in a while and get refreshed so we can always give our patients our best! </div></div>Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-23824156561850310812011-04-05T11:21:00.000-04:002011-04-05T11:21:55.934-04:00Continuing Education "Do"s & "Don't"s<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4IebYQeDT5g/TYpFzgA3odI/AAAAAAAAATk/apUcP99_ZRo/s1600/GandA+dental+academy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" r6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-4IebYQeDT5g/TYpFzgA3odI/AAAAAAAAATk/apUcP99_ZRo/s200/GandA+dental+academy.jpg" width="154" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>We returned recently from The Paragon Program's Super Workshop Academy in Ohio. This two day program was geared towards dentists, office managers and dental assistants. </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Gina and I were interviewed in the human resources section of the Office Manger Academy. They asked us questions about why we try to go above and beyond, how to be a great dental assistant and how to interview/hire exceptional team members. </em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Gina was also part of a panel discussion on innovative ideas, continuing education, the value of dental assistants and technology in </em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>the Dental Assisting Academy. We came back with some fresh new ideas and goals to put into practice in our office. </em></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Unfortunately, there were some disturbing things we observed in the Dental Assisting Academy that we thought would be a great blog topic.</em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><u>"Do"s & "Don't"s of Continuing Education </u></em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">"Do"s:</span></em></div><ul><li><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Show up early so that you can find a good seat</span></em></div></li>
<li><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Pay attention to speaker</span></em></div></li>
<li><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Take brief notes-think about what you can apply to yourself or your practice</span></em></div></li>
<li><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Talk to your doctor and dental team about what you learned and how it can benefit your office</span></em></div></li>
<li><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Network with other assistants you meet</span></em></div></li>
<li><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Dress for success! Dress conservatively and look respectable. </span></em></div></li>
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">"Don't"s:</span></em></div><ul><li><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">(These are things we actually saw!)</span></em></div></li>
</ul><ul><li><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Don't pull out a mirror and start plucking your eyebrows</span></em><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HGpyCNiDgUU/TYplS6YBlaI/AAAAAAAAATo/UuHOU5bYw-Q/s1600/Plucking-Eyebrows-Perfectly.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="136" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-HGpyCNiDgUU/TYplS6YBlaI/AAAAAAAAATo/UuHOU5bYw-Q/s200/Plucking-Eyebrows-Perfectly.jpg" width="200" /></a></div></div></li>
<li><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Do crossword puzzles</span></em></div></div></li>
<li><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Check your Facebook feed </span></em></div></div></li>
<li><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Talk out loud during session </span></em></div></div></li>
<li><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Sleep with your head down on the desk</span></em></div></div></li>
<li><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Text your friends</span></em></div></div></li>
<li><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Dress provocatively, showing too much skin or cleavage. </span></em></div></div></li>
<li><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Drink excessively or get drunk at dinners or events that may be held during evening hours. </span></em></div></div></li>
</ul><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Having your doctor include you in continuing education courses is a real privilege. Most of these course are not free. They involve traveling to locations outside your city/state which requires lodging/food expenses. We encourage assistants who want to take their careers "to the next level" to use these continuing education courses as a way to better yourself , your team and your practice. Even if you have been to a similar course, it's always possible to take away new "pearls". </span></em><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">We have shown our doctor that we want to learn and she has given us the opportunity to travel all over the U.S. and learn from leaders in the dental field. When you are at a continuing education course, it's important to remember that you're still "on-the-clock" and you are always representing your doctor and your practice. If you take take your position seriously and pursue your career, your doctor will see you as an asset and will be more inclined to include you in future educational opportunities.</span></em></div></div>Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-9311466652662614542011-03-21T11:35:00.001-04:002011-03-23T10:07:49.526-04:00Fun Whitening Products To Try<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Qv1IdZ6MS0c/TYdZIIAnppI/AAAAAAAAATQ/g4bPBkb93LM/s1600/Chic+Flic.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="120" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-Qv1IdZ6MS0c/TYdZIIAnppI/AAAAAAAAATQ/g4bPBkb93LM/s200/Chic+Flic.bmp" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Check these out! Chic-Flic TOGO Teeth Whitening & Lip Gloss Plumper Pen.</em></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em> </em></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>The Chic-Flic TOGO Pen is a unique dual-sided tooth whitener and lip-gloss plumper </em></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>all-in- one. It comes with a built-in mirror and mini LED lights.</em></span><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5PIu1q53VUs/TYdZQt7lf4I/AAAAAAAAATU/9JOdu4D21Ww/s1600/To+go+whitening+pen.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" r6="true" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-5PIu1q53VUs/TYdZQt7lf4I/AAAAAAAAATU/9JOdu4D21Ww/s200/To+go+whitening+pen.bmp" width="118" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Whiter Image TOGO Teeth Whitening Pen</em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>with a brush-on applicator, it is a convenient way to whiten your teeth without messy strips or trays.</em></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em> Our office has found these products very valuable for marketing, give-aways, fundraisers and for our personal use.</em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Check out their website or Facebook page for more info on these and other products at <a href="http://www.whiterimagedental.com/">http://www.whiterimagedental.com/</a>. </em></span><br />
Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-59173317063841345702011-03-15T10:08:00.000-04:002016-11-26T10:29:27.964-05:00Dental Treatment Planning 101-Formal Consult<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9kbNI_n4GME/WDc4_-StA5I/AAAAAAAAAgY/yB-PJjT9A0w6cca_Ly6mdfeFI66xTGYywCLcB/s1600/www.gazillionthanks.com%2B%25283%2529.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="How to make the best dental treatment plan" border="0" height="640" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-9kbNI_n4GME/WDc4_-StA5I/AAAAAAAAAgY/yB-PJjT9A0w6cca_Ly6mdfeFI66xTGYywCLcB/s640/www.gazillionthanks.com%2B%25283%2529.png" title="Treatment Planning 101 Part 3: Formal Consult" width="425" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>You have prepared your treatment plan folder and are now ready for the formal consult with your patient. If you have a designated room for consultations that's great, but if you don't the operatory is fine-just have an extra chair available in case your patient has brought someone with them. </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>*One of the first things to remember when presenting treatment is to sit knee-to-knee and have good eye contact with your patient. </em></span><br />
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* <span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>Explain the problems your doctor has found and how they will be addressed. Go over the doctor's plan for the patient and sequence of appointments. Remember not to use dental jargon-speak in terms they will understand or you will lose them. </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>*Ask patient if they have any questions/concerns. </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>*Give an "estimate" of total treatment costs and have them go over definite financial arrangements with your financial coordinator at the end of the consultation. </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>*If your patient is ready to proceed-schedule their first appointment. Prepare them for what that appointment will entail. </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>*If patient is not ready to proceed-ask if you can make a follow-up call in a few days to answer any questions. This will give them some time to digest what you have presented and they may be ready to proceed. </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>If you have never presented treatment plans to your patients, we realize this may seem intimidating. We always encourage you to stretch yourself and grow by taking on other responsibilities in the office like composing and presenting treatment plans to your patient. We applaud those of you who are already doing so in your office. Remember - this requires teamwork and excellent communication between you and your doctor in order to be successful! </em></span>Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-57394507854942177732011-03-14T09:31:00.003-04:002016-11-26T10:28:33.117-05:00Dental Treatment Planning 101 - Composing Your Treatment Plan<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>In our previous post,we talked about things that are important to remember during a new patient's comprehensive exam. As we mentioned, when your patient has many restorative needs, it is often best to bring them back for a formal consultation to discuss their treatment options in detail. </em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>If you are a seasoned dental assistant, you will need to work with your doctor to compose several treatment options. If you are fairly new to your practice or if you're new to the dental assisting field, these suggestions should be a goal to work towards with your doctor after gaining more experience and knowledge. </em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>Listed below are simple steps that we take in our treatment planning process:</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>* Your doctor will diagnose and recommend any treatment for your patient. He or she will then compose a rough treatment plan for the assistant.</em></span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-MHrLbrJFDgg/TX4T8ELm2OI/AAAAAAAAATE/GiClEBevBZs/s1600/Blog+tx+plan+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="dental, treatment plan" border="0" height="211" q6="true" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-MHrLbrJFDgg/TX4T8ELm2OI/AAAAAAAAATE/GiClEBevBZs/s320/Blog+tx+plan+004.jpg" title="Composing Your Treatment Plan " width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example of intra-oral photo with areas of concern highlighted </td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>*The assistant will then compose a formal treatment plan folder with an estimate of costs, print-outs with treatment procedure information, photos of the teeth with areas of concern highlighted and financial arrangement options. </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>*We also find it best to give our patient's several treatment options. (For example, some of your patients may only choose to address the immediate concern of a fractured tooth, while others may want more comprehensive care to also replace amalgam fillings with open margins.) </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>* You will also want to clearly list your patient's "problems" (the diagnosed treatment)followed by "goals" or "solutions" (how problems will be treated/restored). </em></span><br />
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<em><span style="font-family: "georgia";">*Keep in mind you may also need to include referrals slips with current x-rays if the patient is going to be referred to a specialist. </span></em><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9VR4087bWPk/TXjnDwacZQI/AAAAAAAAATA/2hxjfNiHoNA/s1600/Blog+tx+plan+008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="dental, treatment plan" border="0" height="266" q6="true" src="https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-9VR4087bWPk/TXjnDwacZQI/AAAAAAAAATA/2hxjfNiHoNA/s400/Blog+tx+plan+008.jpg" title="Composing Your Treatment Plan " width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Example of a treatment plan with folder to give to your patient</td></tr>
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<em><span style="font-family: "georgia";">Including all this information in a nice folder is beneficial for the patient. When they leave the office they have something visual to show their spouse/significant other and is a reminder that they need to take action. Check out our next post-<a href="http://dentalassistingdivas.blogspot.com/2011/03/treatment-planning-101-formal-consult.html" target="_blank">"Formal Consult"</a> to see how you will present the proposed treatment to your patient. </span></em><br />
<br />Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-9401682962251992622011-03-10T08:49:00.002-05:002016-11-26T10:27:14.743-05:00Dental Treatment Planning 101 - The Initial Exam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>Have you ever invested ninety minutes with a new patient exam to find both yourself and the patient completely over-whelmed and not knowing where to begin treatment? We have - and that's why we wanted to share what we feel is valuable information and easy steps to help your new patient exams flow smoothly into the treatment planning process. Amber and I have found that for most patients that are going to have a very involved treatment plan, it's often best to bring them back for a formal consultation to discuss their needs and treatment options. Remember, you don't want to scare your patients on their first visit and most will only retain some of the information you presented to them. </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>It's critical to be able to "read" your patient and know what is important to them. Ask questions to find out what motivates them or prevents them from scheduling treatment. Is it fear, time restrictions, financial concerns, or lack of education and value? Once you obtain this information about your patient, it will help you adapt the way you present treatment and communicate with that specific individual. </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><u>The Initial Exam</u></em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>Amber or Gina will welcome our patient to the office, go over his or her medical and dental history and take a full series of xrays. Once Dr.Cockley has completed her comprehensive exam, she will briefly discuss any concerns that she sees with the patient. Then she hands the remaining time of the appointment over to Amber or Gina. This is our time to shine! As a dental assistant, you are knowledgeable and fully able to explain in more detail what treatment Dr. Cockley has recommended. We often use Caesy patient education software to help with our explanation, use the intraoral camera for photos, print and explain treatment estimates, and schedule the patients for their next appointment. If your patient's treatment is more involved, and a formal consultation is needed, our next post- <a href="http://dentalassistingdivas.blogspot.com/2011/03/treatment-planning-101-composing-your.html" target="_blank">"Composing Your Treatment Plan" </a>will discuss the steps you should take with your doctor to prepare their treatment options. </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>Remember-throughout your patient's first visit, your goal is to build a relationship of trust and help them feel at ease. It is a privilege that our patients choose to come to us and it's important to thank them for doing so by providing them with exceptional customer service!</em></span>Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-43149530141743351162011-03-08T10:22:00.002-05:002016-11-21T12:02:00.454-05:00February was Dental Health Month!<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
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To celebrate Dental Health Month we traveled to Freedom Valley School in Gettysburg, PA to talk to the kids about the importance of caring for their teeth. We showed videos and taught them the proper way to brush and floss.The children also learned about plaque control and the process of how teeth decay. We demonstrated proper brushing and flossing techniques and used trash bags and silly string to show them how to remove the plaque on their teeth. <span style="text-align: center;"></span></div>
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Cathy dressed as the Cavity Creep and we discussed how cavities form and how to prevent them. The kids' loved the treat bags we left them filled with dental supplies.</div>
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Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-37903618565281826342011-02-28T08:59:00.001-05:002016-12-05T13:15:37.871-05:00Show Someone You Care<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>We see patients daily in a professional setting and take care of the needs of their mouth, but do we take the time to listen to what's going on in their lives or see how they are feeling after they have had treatment in our office? Making a quick phone call during down-time or sending a card to a patient really makes them feel good and let's them know you care. </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>Here are just a few ideas on how to take your patient care to the next level:</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>prepare them for what will take place</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>ask them to wear comfortable clothing </em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>This call helps to put them at ease and not stress so much the night before.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em> 2. Call the same patient after that long appointment or the next</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em> day to </em></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>see how they are feeling.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em> 3. After scaling/root planing-call patient to see how they are feeling and</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em> stress the need for the re-eval appointment and review </em></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>oral </em></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>hygiene </em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em> 4. If the patient has lost a loved one in death, had a baby, had surgery, etc. </em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em> Send them </em></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>a card signed by </em></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>all the staff members.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em> 5. If the patient had to be referred out of the office for a root canal </em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em> or extraction-call </em></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>them 1-2 days </em></span><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>later and see how they are feeling.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>These are just a few ways to show your patients you care. Rather than viewing this as just another thing you have to try to fit into your busy day "share the love"-this is an activity that the whole staff can share in. </em></span></div>
Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-14096981178157369742011-02-08T17:47:00.004-05:002016-11-26T14:46:21.674-05:00Welcome to the "Real World"<div align="right" style="text-align: right;">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TVGwfEZgg5I/AAAAAAAAARk/pchopBmFW3A/s1600/congrats.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><img border="0" h5="true" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TVGwfEZgg5I/AAAAAAAAARk/pchopBmFW3A/s1600/congrats.jpg" /></em></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><span style="font-size: 10pt;">Congratulations Gina on completing 120 hours of didactic in-classroom training and achieving a 4.0 GPA in the expanded functions dental assisting program! She will now perform 80 hours of clinical </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">externship</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> in our office under the supervision of Dr. Lori </span><span style="background: #ffffff; font-size: 10pt;">Cockley</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"><span style="background-color: white;">.</span> Gina will have the opportunity to apply her skills on "real" patients instead of her </span><span style="font-size: 10pt;">typodont</span><span style="font-size: 10pt;"> model. She is excited and nervous but ready to take on a new challenge. Look for future posts about her experiences in the weeks to come. </span></em></span></div>
Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-84326448074483746662011-01-05T09:55:00.001-05:002011-01-05T10:00:45.407-05:00Newsflash!<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TSSCbUeo-WI/AAAAAAAAARQ/sMh_lUYP7x8/s1600/Laine+and+Cathy+005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TSSCbUeo-WI/AAAAAAAAARQ/sMh_lUYP7x8/s320/Laine+and+Cathy+005.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><em>Cathy - <strong>Congratulations on</strong> <strong>your engagement!</strong> </em></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><em>We wish you and Dwight </em></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><em>a happy life together </em></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><em>and </em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: x-large;"><em>wedded bliss!</em></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;"><em><span style="font-family: Georgia;">(Check out that bling! Cathy is six months new to our team and we're very lucky to have her as part of our team at East Berlin Smiles)</span></em></div>Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-2504303860194138192011-01-04T16:08:00.000-05:002016-11-26T14:41:57.907-05:00Setting Up For Success<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TSJC6ybM-QI/AAAAAAAAARE/TNrFW-1fDCA/s1600/diva+in+training.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; cssfloat: right; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TSJC6ybM-QI/AAAAAAAAARE/TNrFW-1fDCA/s200/diva+in+training.jpg" width="200" /></em></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em>We recently sat down for a Q & A with our EFDA extern, Laine Watson. Laine has been completing her 500 hours of assisting and EFDA duties in our office since October of 2010, and will be finishing in January 2011. It's been great having her as an extern at <a href="https://www.eastberlinsmiles.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">East Berlin Smiles</a>. We have seen her develop her assisting skills and increase her confidence through patient communication. </em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><strong>Diva's:</strong> Laine, what attracted you to the dental field?</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><strong>Laine:</strong> I think a person's smile is very important in the way they feel about themselves. So I want to help someone feel good about themselves.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><strong>Diva's:</strong> We agree. That is definitely a perk of dental assisting. Did you ever consider a career in dental hygiene? If so, why did you choose to become a dental assistant?</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><strong>Laine:</strong> I initially considered going to school for hygiene but thought dental assisting would be a great opportunity to get the experience and knowledge of the dental field. In the future, I may go back to school for hygiene.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><strong>Diva's:</strong> We're not bias or anything, but we think you picked the right field! That is a great goal to have. Tell us more about your recent schooling.</em></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TSNXqg5co3I/AAAAAAAAARM/hobSjKwKd5g/s1600/Laine+and+Cathy+023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; height: 213px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; width: 321px;"><img border="0" height="213" n4="true" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TSNXqg5co3I/AAAAAAAAARM/hobSjKwKd5g/s320/Laine+and+Cathy+023.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TSNXqg5co3I/AAAAAAAAARM/hobSjKwKd5g/s1600/Laine+and+Cathy+023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em></em></span></a><span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><strong>Laine:</strong> My schooling was a full-time, 15 month EFDA program at Keystone Technical Institute in Harrisburg, PA. I learned all the basics of dental assisting like charting, chair side procedures, identifying different instruments and passing them. Since it was an EFDA program, I also had training in placing and finishing amalgam and composite restorations. Everything I learned was very helpful, but I do wish there was a little more hands-on experience.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><strong>Diva's:</strong> Now that you are doing the extern portion of your training, how does the "real" office compare to what you did in school?</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><strong>Laine:</strong> The "real" office is very different than school. First, I'm actually working on "real" patients not models which is a huge difference. Some of the materials used in Dr. Cockley's office are different from what we used in school and that makes procedure steps a little different from what I was taught. Digital x-ray sensors are placed differently in the patients mouth than traditional film.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><strong>Diva's:</strong> It certainly is easy to work without the distractions of a tongue and saliva! What has your extern experience been like?</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><strong>Laine:</strong> My extern experience has been great! Everyone in the office is very knowledgeable and helpful. I have learned so much and I am very thankful to be at such a great office that is willing to work with me and explain things to me.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><strong>Diva's:</strong> What have you learned here that you will take with you and apply to your new job?</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><strong>Laine:</strong> Everything that I have learned while on extern I will take with me and apply to my future career. You two are great at what you do-watching and listening to you interact with patients has taught me how to feel more comfortable talking and explaining things to patients.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><strong>Diva's:</strong> Thanks Laine. You are doing a great job. What would you like to see on our blog that may be helpful to other assistants?</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><strong>Laine:</strong> I think it would be helpful for new assistants to read about what to expect in an office-knowing what to look for in a potential office, helpful interview tips, and what a doctor might expect from a brand new assistant. Tips on procedures and lab work would be nice, as well as tips that might make something easier or faster that you have figured out over your years assisting. Also, what doctors look for in a cover letter and resume that will make you stand out from the rest.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><strong>Diva's:</strong> Those are some great topic ideas and we will definitely include them in future posts. Now that you are almost finished your externship and are going to be looking for a job, what are some key things you will be looking for in an office?</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><strong>Laine:</strong> I will be looking for a team that is very knowledgeable and that truly care about their patients. A practice that is up-to-date in procedures and equipment and that are consistent with continuing education.</em></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "georgia" , "times new roman" , serif;"><em><strong>Diva's:</strong> Thanks for sitting down with us. We know there are alot of assistants out there in your same position or someone who may be considering dental assisting as a career and your candid answers will be helpful to them. </em></span></div>
Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-54962575157811970032010-12-28T12:18:00.003-05:002010-12-29T11:46:32.118-05:00We Want to Hear From You!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TRoalA6SgZI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/vM_abSq_0EU/s1600/Join_Us.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" n4="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TRoalA6SgZI/AAAAAAAAAQ8/vM_abSq_0EU/s200/Join_Us.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><em><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;">Our goal in starting</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> this dental assisting blog</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"> was to network with other dental assistants, and post feedback, helpful hints, and discussion topics that are important to you. We would like to meet our readers and want to extend an invitation to you to become a "follower" of our blog. If your a member of blogspot it's-easy just click the "Follow" icon at the top left hand corner of our blog. If you are not a member go to the bottom of the page and press "Follow". You can also, email us <u>your</u> questions, comments, and discussion topics. We will also post your great ideas and pearls to share with other assistants. </span></em></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-36506160265292170832010-11-03T11:27:00.001-04:002010-11-03T11:30:21.410-04:00EFDA School Update<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TNF82Zkw5JI/AAAAAAAAAQk/DAeD8Gf07fg/s1600/200x100_KTI_logo.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" px="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TNF82Zkw5JI/AAAAAAAAAQk/DAeD8Gf07fg/s1600/200x100_KTI_logo.gif" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>It's hard to believe it has already been two months since I started class towards getting my EFDA license. (Not to mention it's been nine years since I was in a classroom setting or have taken a test! - A little intimidating, but I'm always up for a challenge.) Continuing education courses and seminars have frequently been a part of my position as a dental assistant. However, being a student again has required some adjustment and self-discipline. I've been brushing up on my note-taking and study skills and I'm thankful to say that it has definitely paid off. </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<em></em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>It's exciting to learn and develop new skills in restorative dentistry, and I can't wait to put them to use in our practice. Obtaining your EFDA license not only improves your knowledge and abilities as an assistant, but also adds to value to your practice as a whole. Being in an educational environment with other dental assistants from different practices is also a great way to network and gain useful information. </em></span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>If you are interested in the possibility of becoming an EFDA, take the first step by discussing it with your doctor. Then, look into programs at local schools. You will find many of them offer evening and weekend classes that allow you to continue your current work schedule. </em></span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>My midterm is only two weeks away...........back to studying! </em></span></div>Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-92077249581860030842010-09-14T17:45:00.000-04:002010-09-14T17:45:44.565-04:00Gina's 1st Day of School<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TI_og-TFdoI/AAAAAAAAAQc/WBwWv1oGwXU/s1600/Gina+1st+day+of+school+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" qx="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TI_og-TFdoI/AAAAAAAAAQc/WBwWv1oGwXU/s320/Gina+1st+day+of+school+004.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Gina starts her first day of Expanded Function Assisting School tonight! Her program will run from September to February and then she will be required to complete a set number of hours in an externship program, performing expanded function duties in the dental office. After that is complete, she will take her state exam and receive her license to practice as an expanded function assistant under the supervision of a dentist. </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>It is always important to continue to grow as an assistant and if the state you live in enables you to expand your assisting skills-take advantage of it! In the state of Pennsylvania where we practice, EFDA's can place/polish composite restorations as well as sealants, coronal polish, apply fluoride and fabricate temporary crowns. Gina will blog about her experiences in the weeks to come.</em></span></div>Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-39664546118803834772010-09-09T18:10:00.000-04:002010-09-09T18:10:37.437-04:00De-Stress Your Mess!<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>We recently had the opportunity to work at another dental office as temporary assistants. We weren't sure what to expect from the office or the situation that we were walking into. But to our pleasant surprise, we were warmly greeted by a great dental team and a doctor who was appreciative that we were ready to help. </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>One thing that immediately struck us was how different things were from East Berlin Smiles. Different doesn't mean bad - this office just struggled with organizational systems. We would like to think of ourselves as easy-going, totally flexible people who can be thrown into any given situation and come out victorious. But we have to say, when it comes to our career and the position we hold as dental assistants, there are quite a few things that we are not willing to compromise on. </em></span><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TIlAWIDs0UI/AAAAAAAAAQU/jNwxovylgM8/s1600/image1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" ox="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TIlAWIDs0UI/AAAAAAAAAQU/jNwxovylgM8/s200/image1.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Normally, someone who is "set in their ways," may not always be viewed in a good light. But, what your office may need is an assistant who will uphold high standards, implement organized systems, and refuse to compromise on quality patient care. We were reminded how critical it is to have organizational systems in place, and when they're not, it effects the practice in several ways:</em></span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><strong>* Running behind in the schedule</strong> - It's important to your patients to stay on time and not make them wait to be seated. Occasionally, you may run behind, but do not make your patients wait more than 5-10 minutes. Be courteous by having your front office associate communicate the reason for the delay. It is also a good idea to meet with your clinical team to discuss a set amount of time needed for specific procedures in the schedule. </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><strong>* Not reaching targeted production goals</strong> - Let's face it, hopefully everyone on your staff strives to be their best and cares about your patients, but at the end of the day, your dental office is a business. You have to produce more than your overhead and the key to this is having a productive schedule that's effectively carried out by both the front and back offices. </em></span><br />
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</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TIk4F_bgXRI/AAAAAAAAAQM/0SmEFGArmm8/s1600/beforeworkafterwork_uula.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><strong><img border="0" height="136" ox="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TIk4F_bgXRI/AAAAAAAAAQM/0SmEFGArmm8/s200/beforeworkafterwork_uula.gif" width="200" /></strong></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><strong>* Stress levels</strong> - When stress is brought on by someone or something, there is a trickle-down effect that quickly takes place. Before you know it, the whole office is feeling it and don't think for a second that your patients won't notice - they do. The last place they want to be is in your dental chair when you're under stress and your mood is affected. Clear communication between the front and back office is critical to keep the schedule flowing smoothly, to ensure your patients are seen on time, and to alleviate a stressful environment. </em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Your roll as an assistant to implement organization takes place in your operatories, sterilization room, and lab. Not only do you need to know where items are located, and what specific items are necessary for procedures, but you need to implement a system for each area that is logical and consistent. One way of beginning this process is to write SOPs (standard operating procedures) for each procedure. The purpose for SOPs is to be able to easily train a new-hire in the set-ups and organizational systems that are specific to your office. </em></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Some other systems we implement in our office are procedure specific bins that </em></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>contain all necessary materials for that procedure </em></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>(i.e.crown/bridge,</em></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>composite,root canal and extractions). These bins can be carried from room to room as needed. We also have bur blocks prepared for composite and crown/bridge procedures that are sterilized after each patient. In our practice we have a restorative tray set-up that can be used for all restorative procedures and a basic set-up for emergencies. If your doctor uses more than one operatory, they should mirror each other in where items are located and stored. The overall idea is to keep things simple and organized so that items you need are readily available in each operatory eliminating the possibility of cross contamination and needless "jump-ups" to retrieve materials. Don't feel overwhlemed if your office is in need of an organizational make-over......start small and eventually you will reach your goal. Your efforts will benefit you as an individual and your practice as a whole. </em></span>Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6118812120429804546.post-51160608218454495002010-09-07T16:10:00.029-04:002010-09-07T16:27:44.824-04:00Our New Toy<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TIZWbLAh9QI/AAAAAAAAAPs/diIi9fly1jo/s1600/Drufomat+004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; cssfloat: right; float: left; height: 284px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 195px;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TIZWbLAh9QI/AAAAAAAAAPs/diIi9fly1jo/s200/Drufomat+004.jpg" width="130" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><strong><em>Is the technology in your dental office up to date? Or are you stuck in the vacu-form dark ages?</em></strong></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"> </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>We were, but no more! Our office now has a Drufomat scan-a high quality thermoforming unit. It features material recognition software with a built-in scanner that programs material related parameters such as the product name, strength, heating and cooling down times-automatically!</em></span><br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TIZczpNkOdI/AAAAAAAAAP8/jX58KZKnA-w/s1600/Drufomat+003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: left; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" ox="true" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TIZczpNkOdI/AAAAAAAAAP8/jX58KZKnA-w/s200/Drufomat+003.jpg" width="132" /></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>You no longer have to stand there waiting for your "bubble" to melt, so you can pull it down over your model and hope that there are no creases in the material after it is vacu-formed. The Drufomat scan does practically all the work for you. Simply trim your model, spray with silicone spray to make the tray easier to remove, load and scan your material-the machine does the rest. The Drufomat requires less time to fabricate appliances than other methods and produces a predictable outcome. It's accuracy saves material cost and eliminates the lab fee. </em></span></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em></em></span><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>There is some trimming and polishing that will need done when your appliance is moved from the machine, but it is minimal. The result is lab quality whitening trays, essix retainers, night guards and sports guards just to name a few. </em></span></div></div><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><br />
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<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>Check out </em></span><a href="http://www.essix.com/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>http://www.essix.com/</em></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em> to see the Drufomat and all the cool accessories and materials available. </em></span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
<em></em></span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: left;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TIZbvpG7-mI/AAAAAAAAAP0/be5hhj_teZA/s1600/Drufomat+005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em><img border="0" height="133" ox="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_6n8k911_3fI/TIZbvpG7-mI/AAAAAAAAAP0/be5hhj_teZA/s200/Drufomat+005.jpg" width="200" /></em></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em>We love their polishing brushes with Scotch-Brite material</em></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em></em></span></div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em></em></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em></em></span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Dental Assisting Divashttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09951041198283996837noreply@blogger.com0