Archives

Archive for August, 2005

ADA plans relief effort for Hurricane Katrina victims

( General )

ADA plans relief effort for Hurricane Katrina victims

ADA plans relief effort for Hurricane Katrina victims Disaster grants, loans available from ADA Foundation; contributions sought for relief fund By Stacie Crozier

You can help the victims of Hurricane Katrina — dentist colleagues and their families and private citizens alike — by supporting the ADA/ADA Foundation response to [...]

blink

( General )

I just finished reading an interesting and compelling book called blink
The author is Malcolm Gladwell, his previous book which I also enjoyed was “The Tipping Point”. Blink is not about dentistry or technology. It is about thinking.

The Ultimate USB Key

( General and Hardware )

From PC Magazine. What a great idea for travelers or dental specialists who want to show cases at a colleagues office.

USB thumb drives have shown themselves to be a superior alternative to other portable media such as diskettes and writable optical discs. They’re smaller and can hold tons of data, and most current operating systems [...]

Patterson Meet the Leaders

( General )

The Patterson meeting in St Paul with dental technology leaders from across the nation was very nice and worthwhile. First off I have to compliment Patterson on great hospitality and a wonderful dinner.
Interesting bits of news
Patterson has extended its exclusive marketing agreement with Schick to 2007. According to the Patterson reps 53% of the sensors sold [...]

Care Credit Works

A recent independent study found that dental offices using Care Credit had significant improvement in key practice numbers. Here are some of the most important findings.

Production increase              with Care Credit 25.3% without Care Credit 4.1%
Accounts receivable decrease      with Care Credit 37.7% without Care Credit 3.8%

Other interesting findings

21% increase in the dollar amount per procedures completed
98% [...]

Simplified Digital Photography

( Cameras )

From Dental Blogs Here:
Simplified Digital Photography Course Handouts

Simplified Digital Photography Course Handouts Now Available!August 23rd, 2005 | Posted by Tony Soileau I now have my handouts for both the marketing and the digital photography courses available online. They are available for everyone. I am displaying them here but for printing it would be easier [...]

Cosmetic Imaging

( Cameras )

Never underestimate the power of photography and cosmetic imaging
    
Before                  After
My favorite imaging program is ImageFx here

Three Reports

Pending TreatmentManagement consultants tell us we all have fortunes in our filing cabinets. That is treatment we have diagnosed that patients have yet to schedule. Ask the computer to make a list of all treatment that has been diagnosed but has not been completed, then check the electronic appointment book to make sure the patient [...]

Patterson

( General )

I will be traveling to Minnesota today to meet with the High Tech group at Patterson. They are calling the event, “Connecting with Digital Leaders”. I will report back any new and exciting developments.

Mountain Blogging

( General )

Sedona: The 2006 Technology on the Rocks dates have been set: June 22–24

ZDNet’s Business Buying Guide: Servers

Servers for your businessBy Christopher Null
Need help choosing a new server? Here’s how to pick the right model for your office–whatever your needs and budget.

Any machine can ostensibly work as a server, but performance counts far more here than it does for any desktop or notebook PC. After all, if your server is under [...]

Who says the English have Ugly Teeth?

( General )

The survey of 1,000 people in Britain asked a range of teeth-related questions. Almost half the men polled said they would have teeth- whitening treatment compared with 35% of women. Good teeth and a nice smile came second in the list of what females look for in men, after eyes. For men a good body [...]

More on High-Tech High-Touch

( General )

From the Business Leader September 2004 - The High-Tech High-Touch Paradox

The High-Tech High-Touch Paradoxby Tom Stevens
The more we embrace technology, the more we need to embrace human interaction.
Despite plenty of detractors, technology is overwhelmingly embraced as a means to make work easier and more productive, and help us live happier, healthier, and more full?filed lives. Much [...]

DICOM

Do you know what DICOM stands for? Look here: for the official site. However if you start surfing the site you will need an engineering degree to really understand it. ……BORING
However it is important that a dentist understand what Dicom is and how it applies to dentistry. Dicom, stands for, digital communication in medicine. It is an [...]

Top-performing PDAs - ZDNet: Reviews

ZDNet lists their top five performing PDAs. I always find these reviews useful, however this one has a curious twist. The first four listed run on the Windows mobile OS and only the Tungsten uses the more popular Palm OS. Also the windows based PDAs cost $400 and up the Palm is closer to $200. [...]

Raised Access Flooring

In general business settings the growth of advanced technology and communication systems has led to the development of innovative systems to integrate technology into the workplace. One of these is a raised access flooring system.  These systems such as Nexus from Hayworth (www.smednet.com/products) raise the entire floor about four inches leaving a space below to [...]

Core Concept # 3 High Tech - High Touch

( General )

For over ten years I have been working with dentists, and more importantly in my own office, to use technology well and develop an effective high tech dental office. From that experience I have developed four core concepts which can help guide dentists in the development of a high tech dental office.

Change
Digital Nervous System
High Tech – High Touch
End [...]

Choosing a Hardware Vendor

Choosing a hardware vendor is one of the most important decisions a dentist will make in the development of a high tech office. A bad choice could mean constant problems, lost productivity, wasted time, extra expenses and general frustration. A good choice could mean a seamless, trouble free, invisible integration of technology into the office.
The [...]

What is Cone Beam CT?

From Clear Scan

ConeBeam X-ray imaging designed for head and neck applications 360 degree rotational scan around patient’s head in just 10 seconds. It provides 2D and 3D digital images from any view or angle desired
What is Cone Beam Technology?
Simply stated, ConeBeam refers to using cone-shaped X-rays to capture a volume of images (similar to multislice [...]

Dentforms and the Paperless Office

( General and Hardware )

It is now possible to create truly paperless forms with a system called Dentforms from Paperless Technologies. (www.gopaperlessnow.com) The patient is handed a tablet PC. The health history and other forms are loaded on the tablet with the patient’s name already in place. The name was transferred from the appointment book program to the tablet [...]