By: MS. Susan Cotten, BSDH, RDH, OMT The day started out like a normal Wednesday, work in the morning and then a trip to Trader Joe’s. I almost didn’t go; my to-do list was long, and the 36-mile round trip would take time away from checking things off that list, but the little voice inside my head was telling me to go. There’s butter lettuce, and then there’s Trader Joe’s
By: Dr. William van Dyk Reprinted with permission from Dental Practice Success, Spring 2021. Copyright 2021 © American Dental Association. Dentists are continually searching for ideal employees. In many instances, they feel it’s necessary to settle for a team member who can’t perform at an acceptable level because the only alternative seems to be having an unfilled position. We’ve all been there, casting a wider net for someone who can
Dr. Andrei IonescuTimber Dental CareThornton, CO What inspired you to be a dentist?Growing up I was always drawn to medicine seeing my mother serve as an incredible, dedicated nurse. While I didn’t know much about teeth at the time, I did reason there’s one heart, one brain but 32 teeth. Sounds great for job security! What is one experience you are grateful for that you would not have had without
The Chemistry, Use and Effect of Psychoactive Substances By: Ms. Amber Riley, MS, RDH, FAAFS, FIACME Psychoactive substances legal or not, are ubiquitous in our communities and used by the patients we treat. Use and abuse, of psychoactive compounds, date back thousands of years. America’s history with psychoactive substances is a torrid one, I hope to lessen if not eliminate the stigma, secrecy and shame that still associates itself to
By: Mr. Kevin Henry I recently was in St. Petersburg, Fla., for a dental meeting, and, while there, I took part in a bicycle tour that took us by Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays. As we pedaled past, I had a flashback to being there for a baseball game in 2019. The last time I was at “The Trop,” I was attending a Rays game as
By: Mr. Gary Salman The dental community continues to see triple extortion methods deployed by many hacking groups. These occur when hacking groups steal all the data from a victim, publish the data on the Dark Web and contact the practice’s employees and patients of record. This has become a highly effective method because it almost guarantees a dental practice will pay the ransom to prevent the leaking of confidential
Stefanie Walker, DDSGeneral DentistDenver, CO What drew you to a career in dentistry? As a girl, I loved arts, crafts, painting and creating anything where I could skillfully use my hands. I was an art major in high school in Germany and loved all areas of design. I have always paid a lot of attention to detail. At the same time, I was interested in the medical field and wanted
The Metro Denver Dental Society (MDDS) is pleased to announce the Mountain West Dental Institute (MWDI) has achieved Denver’s 5 Star Certification for going above and beyond current COVID-19 safety guidelines. The Mountain West Dental Institute is owned and operated by MDDS; located at the corner of 9th Avenue and Lincoln Street in the Beauvallon Building in the heart of Denver’s Golden Triangle neighborhood. MWDI houses state-of-the-art meeting space for
By: Amisha Singh, DDS It feels like a cliff, a steep and sudden drop off into a fog of melancholy clouds. I have experienced burnout in dentistry, and I never saw it coming, even when I was right on the edge. I thought I was fine. I thought I could manage. I thought I was just busy. But it was a lot more than just the management of daily stress
This editorial is part of a special series on Women in Dentistry for Women’s History Month. By: Amisha Singh, DDS She is a woman. Red lipstick and stilettos may be her superpower or perhaps she favors her favorite pair of worn sneakers and a ponytail. Either way, she is a force to be reckoned with. She walks through the world, in many ways, making it turn, being a mom, a
By: Ms. Kiera Dent It’s no secret that running a dental practice is hard. I mean, here you are, reading this article about how to go from Winging It to Bringing It, hoping to glean some gems to help your practice thrive rather than just survive. When I started as a dental office manager, I didn’t have management or business experience. I had been a dental assistant who became a
By: Ms. Karen Davis, RDH, BSDH An unexpected benefit of the SARS-CoV-2 viral pandemic for dentistry is the emergence of data shedding light on the safety of utilizing aerosol-generating devices on patients during dental hygiene care. Many dental hygienists resumed practicing once the shut-down was lifted with uneasiness about clinician and patient safety while using aerosol-generating devices such as ultrasonics and air-polishing devices. Some states even passed rules and regulations