A more pleasant waiting experience

There’s a cheap and easy way to make your waiting room much more pleasant for your patients. Furnishing your waiting space with current, popular magazines can provide patients a lot of value and make their waiting considerably more pleasant. Current magazines in good condition also reflect well on your practice.

The easiest, cheapest way to keep your waiting room filled with magazines is by using a third party waiting room magazine provider.

Using a reception room subscription service helps you keep things simple by enabling you to pay one bill, and work with one provider, to get all your magazines. One bill, from one company, makes keeping magazines available for your customers much more convenient. At the same time, publishers offer discounts on subscriptions for waiting rooms.

One Company, One Bill

If you go about maintaining each subscription on your own, keeping magazines in your reception room requires remembering when you need to renew each title. Not only that, but when doing it on your own you have to deal with fluctuating prices that make it hard to budget. Using a reception room subscription service means you get one bill that covers all of your titles. This makes budgeting easy, and renewals even easier.

Save Money on Subscriptions

Publishers are willing to charge less for subscriptions they know are going into waiting rooms because every issue in a reception room is seen by many people. These discounted prices can be considerably less than you could get on your own. You could get titles like People Magazine for as much as 71% off the cover price.

The most efficient way to take advantage of this discount is to work with a reception room subscription service that can negotiate reception room rates for all of your subscriptions.

Learn More

If you’d like to know more about working with a waiting room magazine provider, visit http://www.ebscomags.com.

How to Alleviate a Patient’s Fear

While some may find it empowering to strike fear into the hearts of people they have never even met, most dentists wish people would understand that their office is nothing to be afraid of.

New technology, higher standards and greater oral health awareness have put us far ahead of dentistry’s dark past. Even so, an estimated 15 percent of Americans experience some sort of dental fear or phobia, according to the Columbia University College of Dental Medicine. This could range from slight anxiety to crippling phobia.

If you take steps to ease this fear, the visit will be much easier on both you and the patient. You’ve probably tried to rationalize with the patient, but dental fear rarely stems from the conclusion of a logical thought-process. Consider these solutions to turn office visits into a pleasant experience.

Actions & Reactions
Moods are contagious. If your receptionists are friendly, your hygienists are gentle and you show that you care, you will go a long way in making the patient feel more at ease. Explain the procedure and show the patient how it will happen, step by step. Work directly with the patient to work out a treatment plan, and don’t disregard or downplay his or her fears about the process. Never act as if the patient’s fears are completely unfounded. They may have received poor dental work in the past, and they have no way of knowing if you will repeat the unpleasant experience until you prove it to them.

Calming Environment
Give your office a homey feel by nixing the fluorescent lights in the waiting room. Use soft chairs and couches, and display familiar magazines. Embellish the bare white walls with framed paintings of peaceful scenery. The smell of all the equipment and materials can frighten a sensitive patient, so you may want to consider using a room deodorizer or fresh spray. Fish tanks might seem cheesy or cliché, but the repetitive movement and sound of running water could distract and calm the patient. A small water fountain can accomplish this same effect.

Another tactic for giving patients something to think about besides impending treatment is to give your office a unique theme. Try turning your office into a jungle or a train station. This is especially effective with children, but subtler approaches work just as well with adults. This could mean decorating like a movie theater, a beach or a posh lounge.

Sedation Dentistry
Sedation dentistry has received a lot of attention lately as a way to ward off anxiety. With this method, your patients may prefer to simply go under anesthesia for the entirety of the visit, even for simple procedures like cleanings or X-rays. However, you may not feel that this is a safe option for your office or that it doesn’t help the patient actually address the problem. It’s up to the discretion of you, your office and, ultimately, your patient. If you do provide sedation, make sure you thoroughly explain the options to the patient so he or she can make an informed decision.

Tools of the Trade
Staying up to date on all your equipment can make a considerable difference in your patients’ well-being. Your drill may perform perfectly up to standards and operates just the way it needs to, but if it is a large, archaic model or has started making louder noises, it may be worth your patients’ comfort to replace a few items. Consider adding some laser technology to your office to help reduce patient discomfort and treatment time. Laser tools are typically less intimidating than some traditional equipment as well.

You probably entered dentistry because you want to help people and make a difference. Patients with dental fears might think you simply enjoy inflicting pain. Clearly this is not the case, but fears are often irrational. Prove it to them, and go from being your patient’s worst enemy to becoming a helpful ally.

Your thoughts

Do you often deal with extremely frightened patients? What techniques have you implemented to overcome these obstacles?

However, a lack of dental insurance doesn’t mean you have to go without much needed dental care. In fact, dentists across the country have recognized this need and have organized free clinics to help the uninsured cope with high dental care costs. Below, I’ve compiled some tips for locating free or low cost dental care in your area.

My plan has paid for itself many times over in just ten months. I saved over $1,000 on cleanings, fillings and wisdom tooth extraction.

Tips for locating free or low cost dental care

• Clinical Trials – The National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research(NIDCR) periodically performs clinical trials targeting specific dental, oral, and craniofacial conditions. Researchers may provide study participants with limited free or low-cost dental treatment for the particular condition they are studying. For a complete listing of NIDCR clinical trials, please visit the clinicaltrials.gov website.




• United Way – The United Way may be able to connect you to low cost or free dental care resources in your community. Call your local chapter for more information.




• Dental Schools – While dental students are still learning their craft, you can take advantage of their low rates. Don’t worry, a skilled instructor will be watching their every move so you’ll be in good hands. For a listing of dental schools around the US, visit the ADA.org website.




• State Dental Associations – Contact your state dental association for recommended free or low cost dental care resources. To contact your state dental association visit the ADA.org website.




• U.S Department of Health & Human Services(HRSA) – The HRSA can help you locate a local federally-funded health center that offers reduced-fee dental care. At these centers you pay what you can afford. To locate a local health center enter your details into the HRSA search engine.




• Medicaid Services – Most states provide limited emergency dental services for people age 21 or over, while some offer comprehensive services. For most individuals under the age of 21, dental services are provided under Medicaid(nidcr.nih.gov). Visit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid website for more information.

Additional Resources to check out

A number of helpful websites maintain listings of available low cost and free dental care clinics around the US. I’ve listed some below for your reference.

• Dentistry from the Heart
• Free Medical Camps
• Free or Low Cost Dentistry Resource Guide

Final Thoughts

If you are in need of free or low cost dental care services I hope you find these resources valuable. If you know of someone with such a need please pass along this post. If you are aware of additional resources that I haven’t listed above, please submit a comment and I’ll add it to the list.

I’d like to start this post with a little exercise. Begin by holding you hand(palm facing you) approximately 3 inches in front of your mouth. Now blow a full breath into your hand. While keeping your hand in place, take a whiff of the air in front of your hand. What do you smell? Hopefully nothing, or better yet, something pleasant. For those of you less than happy with what you’re smelling right now, this post may prove to be particularly prudent. I say that half-jokingly because we all know that anyone at any time can have bad breath. Heck, I’m quite diligent with my oral care routine and I still have bad breath from time to time. That being said, I believe we can all benefit from the advice in this post.

Bad Breath Causes

Before I get to the preventative tips, it’s important to understand where bad breath comes from. Bad breath, or Halitosis as it’s formally known, stems from a variety of common sources. The following are common sources of bad breath:

• Certain food such as garlic, onions, fish, meat, cheese, etc.
• Poor general oral hygiene
• Smoking
• Obesity
• Fasting
• Nasal and sinus infections
• Throat infections
• Faulty dental restorations
• Periodontal disease
• Xerostomia(dry mouth)
• Other underlying health conditions

7 Tips for Preventing Bad Breath

Knowing the causes of bad breath can help us to understand the measures we need to take to prevent it. In no particular order, here is a list of preventative measures you can take starting today to reduce the likelihood that you will have bad breath:

1) Brush & Rinse(with water) After Each Meal – Some of you may think I’m crazy for suggesting this. Sure, you may have to get creative if you don’t want to be seen brushing your teeth at work, but this is one of the best ways to ensure that food particles do not get stuck in the pockets surrounding your teeth.

2) Floss at Least Once Per Day – Flossing is equally important as brushing in my opinion. Just like recommendation number one above, flossing is intended to remove food particles from between the teeth. This will, in turn, create an unfavorable environment for bacteria growth. That’s exactly what we’re after.

3) Brush Your Tongue – The tongue carries approximately 50% of the total bacteria in your mouth. Where there’s bacteria, there’s odor. Whack this bacteria by brushing your tongue with toothpaste for at least 10 strokes. The middle 1/3 of your tongue is most prone to bacteria growth so pay special attention to that area. You may also want to try Dr. Weider’s Original Tung-Gel. This is specifically formulated for cleaning the tongue and removing bacteria.

4) Chew Sugarless Gum – Chewing sugarless gum can increase the flow of saliva and reduce the chances you’ll experience dry mouth-related bad breath. If gum isn’t your thing you can also try sugarless throat lozenges to create the same effect.

5) Drink Plenty of Water – This recommendation follows the same lines as the above suggestion. Drinking plenty of water reduces the occurrence of dry mouth by stimulating saliva production. Stick to water as alcohol and caffeinated drinks can lead to Xerostomia.

6) Swap out Your Toothbrush Every 3-4 Months An old toothbrush is a bacteria-riddled toothbrush. Gross, right? Bad breath or not this is a good tip to remember.

7) Quit Smoking – This is easier said than done, I’m sure. However, smoking caused nicotine and tar(among other nasty chemicals) to build up on the cheek walls, tongue, and teeth surfaces. It comes as no surprise that bad breath is nearly inevitable if you smoke. However, following the above tips can minimize your risk for developing bad breath.

Give us your tips

This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but it covers my top tips for preventing bad breath. Please share any others that you’ve had success with.

10 Tips for Treating Toothaches

1. Take two Aspirin, Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen
Ibuprofin is best since it does a good job of reducing painful inflammation. However, be sure to read the instructions on the bottle for proper usage whichever you choose.

2. Use Antiseptic Rinse Regularly
Using Antiseptic rinse regularly and brushing 2-3 times per day will help to prevent future toothaches, and relieve minor toothaches in the process.

3. Chew a Clove of Garlic Every Morning
If you try this and loved ones suddenly begin avoiding you – don’t blame me.

4. Apply garlic and salt to the tooth
Mash a clove of garlic together with a pinch of rock salt and apply the paste to the site of the toothache. Garlic has allicin, a powerful antibacterial compound. This is thought to help stop the bacteria which cause toothache. (tip courtesty of ehow.com)

5. Put cold compress on side of cheek

6. Numb the affected tooth/teeth with a desensitizing agent
Orajel is perhaps the best known tooth-desensitizing agent. However, this remedy will not eliminate a toothache, just numb the area for temporary relief.

7. Chew on a Piece of Onion
Yes, I know this sounds almost as unpleasant, or perhaps more unpleasant to some of you than chewing on garlic cloves. However, onions are bactericidal, so they can kill off the bacteria causing your toothache.

8. Rinse your mouth with water
This can help to remove any food debris that may be aggravating your toothache.

9. Plug the tooth with gauze or wax
Plugging the affected tooth with gauze or wax can reduce it’s sensitivity to air or debris in your mouth. Again, not a cure, but it will help to reduce painful irritation.

10. Elevate your head
Elevating your head can reduce the pressure to the affected tooth and its surrounding area – thus reducing the pain you’re experiencing.

When to go to the dentist

If none of these remedies effectively eliminate your toothache, then it’s time to visit your dentist. A good rule of thumb is if the toothache is causing you to lose sleep or consume your attention throughout the day it’s time to see your dentist. Don’t assume that your toothache is no big deal and let it worsen. What you have could be a tooth abscess which needs to be treated right away to avoid the infection from spreading.

Your Top Toothache Remedies

How do you relieve your toothaches?

Additional Resources

The Doctors Book of Remedies

Toothache Tails

You may want to reconsider reaching for a soft drink or sugar-laden fruit drink the next time you’re in the mood for a beverage. Other than the high caloric content of such drinks, these drinks can have a profoundly damaging effect on your tooth enamel. The culprits – citric acid and sugar. The average soft drink currently contains approximately 17 grams of sugar. That’s a tad more sugar than is found in 4 sugar cubes! Yuck.

What’s even more alarming as far as I’m concerned is that many soft drinks and fruit drinks contain citric acid. Citric acid is more erosive than hydrochloric and sulfuric acid – that’s battery acid for those of you who didn’t know. If that doesn’t make you want to put the can or bottle down I don’t know what will.

Tea to the Rescue

Luckily there are beverages that you can still enjoy that do not erode your tooth enamel – like water and tea. In fact, brewed tea is the best option when trying to avoid tooth erosion, according to a study in the July/August issue of General Dentistry, the clinical, peer-reviewed journal of the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD).

Brewed tea is also loaded with natural antioxidants, which are thought to decrease incidence of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes. Specifically, researchers have found that green tea has the most beneficial properties among teas.

Experts also warn that drinking brewed tea will only provide health benefits and limit tooth erosion if you serve it in its pure form. That means, avoid adding milk, lemon, or sugar.

Tips for reducing tooth enamel erosion

• Reduce or eliminate carbonated beverages
• Skip the additives such as sugar, lemon, and milk
• Drink acidic drinks quickly and through a straw
• Acidic drinks should be consumed at meals only to limit the exposure to acid on the teeth
• Chew sugar-free gum to increase saliva flow in your mouth
• Rinse with water to neutralize the acids, and wait an hour before brushing

Your Thoughts

Are you concerned about your beverage choices and their effect on your teeth?

Source: Science Daily

Brushing your teeth is an important part of keeping your mouth healthy, right? Well, it depends.
It’s generally accepted within the dental community that brushing 2-3 times each day is the optimal amount of toothbrushing for reducing plaque, keeping gums healthy, etc. However, more and more dentists across the United States and several other countries are noticing a disturbing trend appropriately known as “over-brushing”.

Signs of Over-Brushing

According to a Huffington Post article, by Suzette Standring, the trend has been present for the past few decades, and is now at an all-time high. Dr. Valdemar Welz, a Boston dentist who has run his own practice for over 30 years, says “Everybody is seeing it in their practice.” The signs of over rushing are not difficult to spot. Dr. Welz says that the 2 most common indicators of over-brushing are: heightened tooth sensitivity and tooth enamel damage.

It’s Not the Toothbrushes’ Fault

You may be wondering what causes the nasty effects produced by over brushing. Well, contrary to what some of you may be thinking, it’s not the toothbrush causing the heightened sensitivity and reduction in tooth enamel. Blame it on the toothpaste. Dentists speculate that the tooth-whitening craze in recent years has spawned a great number of abrasive toothpastes on the market. Dental product companies are engaged in a cutthroat battle for tooth whitening toothpaste supremacy. As a result, some harsh and unsafe products are flooding the market. The effects of harsh toothpaste are compounded by the excessive amount of toothpaste and vigorous brushing habits of the average brusher.

Don’t be a Victim of Over Brushing

Thankfully, avoiding over-brushing is not difficult. A little common sense goes a long way in this case. The first recommendation I have is to heed your dentist’s advice first and foremost. If your dentist recommends you brush 3 times per day, brush 3 times per day. Secondly, do not use excessive amounts of toothpaste. Most dental professionals recommend using only a pea-sized amount of toothpaste with each brushing. That’s all that’s needed to do the trick. Finally, for all you powerbrushers out there, slow down and be gentle(but not too gentle). Too much pressure is never good, but you also want to make sure you’re really brushing the teeth, gums, and tongue adequately.

While it seems counter-intuitive when dentists preach moderation when it comes to brushing your teeth, the disturbing trend of over brushing is very real. The consequences can be a nuisance at best: heightened sensitivity and eroded tooth enamel. Not fun at all – and could potentially lead to further oral problems. So, if you’re experiencing either of these conditions, check with your dentist as soon as possible to rule out more serious oral health problems.

Further Over-Brushing Resources

For further information regarding “over-brushing”, you may want to check out Suzette Standrings article in the Huffington Post, “Too Much Toothpaste Damages Teeth“. CBS5.com also published an informative news segment on “over brushing“. Finally, if you have more questions about brushing, we advise that you ask a professional dentist in Toronto for more information!

Men’s Health Magazine recently published an article highlighting 7 oral health problems when DIY Dentistry may be necessary, and how to remedy them. Those instances are as follows:

• Sensitive Teeth
• Lost Tooth
• Burned Palate
• Burned Tongue
• Jaw Sorness
• Canker Sore
• Chipped or Cracked Tooth

In many of these cases, following up with a dentist is probably a good idea. However, Men’s Health will teach you how to appropriately care for your mouth in each of these common situations.

Visit the DIY Dentistry article in Men’s Health Magazine

• Ask family, friends, neighbors or co-workers for recommendations.
• Ask your family physician or local pharmacist.
• If you’re moving, your current dentist may be able to make a recommendation.
• Call or write your local or state dental society. Your local and state dental societies also may be listed in the telephone directory under “dentists” or “associations.”
• Use ADA.org’s ADA Member Directory to search for dentists in your area.

Questions to Ask Prospective Dentist
Once you have found a dentist you believe you can trust and develop a good relationship with, ask yourself the following questions:

• Is the appointment schedule convenient for you?
• Is the office easy to get to from your home or job?
• Does the office appear to be clean, neat and orderly?
• Does the dentist explain techniques that will help you prevent dental health problems? Is dental health instruction provided?

For the remainder of the list please visit the ADA Website.

Some of these questions can’t be answered before visiting the prospective dentist for a check-up, Consider it a trial run, then answer the questions. If your answers are not satisfactory to you, keep looking for another dentist until they are satisfactory. Remember that your dentist is your partner in helping to maintain great oral health, so choose wisely.

So what criteria do we use to evaluate our products? The criteria are really too numerous to list here. However, Webmd.com has put together a dental care product selection guide that we use to evaluate products in the marketplace.

Take a minute to review this guide and not only will you get a sense for our product recommendation quality, but you’ll also become a smarter shopper in the process.

Before I get to that, it is important to note that the most foods contain some amount of sugar – even fruits and vegetables. Nobody is suggestion that fruits and vegetable should be eliminated from your diet because they contain important vitamins and nutrients that your body needs. What we are concerned with here are foods and drinks that are chock full of sugar and have no nutritional value to us whatsoever. This would include soft drinks, sweetened fruit drinks, and non-nutritious snacks.

So what do such foods and drinks do to our teeth over time that is so bad? Well, according to the ADA, “When bacteria (plaque) come into contact with sugar in the mouth, acid is produced, which attacks the teeth for 20 minutes or more. This can eventually result in tooth decay.” Tooth decay is a very ugly condition that not only puts your oral health in jeopardy, but your overall health as well. So, it is best to avoid it at all costs.

How can you minimize your risk of tooth decay? The ADA suggests the following:

* Maintain a healthy diet.
* Make sure water is readily available.
* Limit the number of between-meal snacks. When you must snack, choose nutritious foods that are low in sugar.
* Brush thoroughly twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste that has the American Dental Association’s Seal of Acceptance.
* Floss or use another kind of interdental cleaner daily to remove plaque (a thin film of bacteria) from under the gums and between teeth.
* Schedule regular dental visits for checkups and cleanings.
* Keep a food diary for a week. Record every item you eat and drink, including hard candies or chewing gum that contains sugar. Compare the diary to the food Pyramid recommendations.

If you can not follow all of these guidelines right away, start with one and work your way up. When you are following all of these guidelines you may greatly reduce your risk of tooth decay!

Mrs. Davenports’ suggestions may seem like common sense to you and I, but we often fail to think about the importance of good oral hygiene around the Halloween Holiday.

So what does Davenport suggest we do to prevent tooth decay on Halloween?

1) Don’t allow your kids to overeat candy, and in particular the extra sugary pieces
2) Ensure that your children are brushing 3 times daily
4) Encourage flossing to extract candy that is stuck between your childs’ teeth
3) See that your kids are using an “age-appropriate” fluoride mouthwash prior to bedtime
5) Avoid “sticky” candy like carmel corn and taffy alltogether as the sugar becomes harder for saliva to wash away
6) Give your kids sugar-free gum to encourage less consumption of sugary candy

Paying extra attention to your child’s oral hygiene and exercising moderation will greatly decrease your childs’ chances of developing tooth decay this Halloween.

To read the original article written by Tammy Davenport, please visit her informative dental care mini-site at About.com Dentistry

Why?

Several reasons. Acidic drink and food consumption, genetics, and environmental influences all affect the rate at which it becomes necessary for an individual to brush his/her teeth.

However, the American Dental Association officially recommends that individuals brush twice daily. They do not, however, specify the best times of the day to brush. Generally, it is recommended to brush after breakfast, and before bed. However, I personally make it a habit of adding a brushing after lunch as well.

So, why brush anyway? Brushing is very important to maintaining good oral health because it effectively removes plaque buildup which causes plaque and can lead to tooth decay. I assure you, avoiding tooth decay is worth the effort required to brush 2-3 times/day. (Google “Tooth Decay” – you’ll see what I mean)

In summary, if you brush 2-3 times per day you are probably fine. However, if you already brush with this frequency and still notice an inordinate amount of plaque buildup, contact your dentist, because this could be the sign of a more serious oral or medical problem.

I found a great resource online if you’re interested in learning more about how to brush properly, and the reasons for brushing in the first place, check out DentalGentleCare.com

Dental anxiety is manifested in a number of different ways. For example, some people fear the sound of dental instruments, while others are fearful of the way dental instruments feel in their mouth. Some people are even afraid of the dentists themselves.

While this may seem like a foreign issue to some, for the significant number of folks whom actively have dental anxiety, this problem is very real. Thankfully, we’ve found a wonderful online resource that offers advice, supportive dentists, support forums, and self-help guides to calm your fears.

If you think you have a dental phobia, take some time to browse DentalFearCentral.org, and put your mind at ease the next time you visit the dentist.