Posted by: Transform Limiting Beliefs | August 1, 2013

Confessions of a Converted Flosser

flossing

My name is Ina and I floss properly every day. It didn’t used to be that way.

For years, even though I was married to a dentist, I thought of flossing more like a toothpick on a long string. You know, the thing you use only when a raspberry seed gets stuck between your teeth, and not something essential to oral health. Sure my gums bled, whenever I actually did floss, and sure I “knew” that was bad, but I didn’t really get how much I would love flossing once I got into to the actual habit of doing it daily.

Once I became a converted flosser, I focused solely on whether I flossed, and never thought about how I flossed. Hey, I was flossing! I could look my beloved hygienist in the eye and say, yes, I flossed every day. But truth be told, it’s taken me years to get the actual technique down pat.

Now, I am an evangelist for proper flossing. When talking with friends, I can smell the difference in the sweet breath of my flossing friends, and the not so sweet scent of those who aren’t yet converted. In the hopes of bringing into the fold those of you who still aren’t in the habit, here’s what made the difference for me.

1. “Honey” not fear. Unless you live on the planet Xenon, you know you should floss and that not doing so is bad for your gums, your circulatory system, and your social life. But what ultimately converted me was just how deliciously wonderful my mouth feels after flossing. Like my Mom said: “You catch more flies with honey!” so hygienists: tell patients how good flossing everyday feels.

2. Be sure you’re using enough floss. I used to nag my husband about using too much floss. Not anymore! I now understand that you’ve got to have a long enough string of floss to give each tooth its own “piece” of floss real estate. Otherwise, you’re just relocating the “schmutz”, better known as bacteria, from one tooth to another.

3. It’s good that habits are hard to break. In the old days, I never had a flossing routine. Now, it’s every night, without fail, after I brush. My son is a shower flosser. Whatever it takes!

4. Search and destroy all plaque. It’s not enough to just slide floss between your teeth, you’ve got to floss all of the surfaces. Which means you’ve got to lift the floss up and down a couple of times on each surface to be sure you’ve dislodged that pesky plaque from all its hiding places.

5. Every tooth counts, even the ones in the way back. With flossing, it’s easy to play favorites, like only flossing the ones where food gets stuck. But as my husband has been known to say: “Only take care of the teeth you want to keep.”
May the floss be with you!

Ina Pockrass is the co-founder of the Eco-Dentistry Association. You can learn more about her here.

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Posted by: Transform Limiting Beliefs | July 23, 2013

Protecting Your Green Dental Office from Fraud and Embezzlement

You work hard for your money. Strong internal controls can keep it from disappearing unnecessarily.

iStock_000020048082LargeYou trust your employees or you wouldn’t have hired them. That’s what everyone says as they watch a valued staff member being hauled off in handcuffs, “But I trusted them.”

Whether your accounting tasks are done on one PC or you have multiple users working on different screens, it’s critical that you make use of all that QuickBooks offers in terms of internal controls. You’ll also need to establish some common-sense rules. You’ve moved your green practice to the digital world, which makes it easier to have more than one set of eyes on your books.

First Stop: Audit
An audit trail is a very large report that displays every addition, deletion and modification of every transaction. Because of its size, you’ll probably have to use QuickBooks’ filtering tools to zero in on the user and/or date(s) you’re looking for. Go to Reports | Accountant & Taxes | Audit Trail. Click Customize Report | Filters to set up your search.

Your audit trail won’t alert you when someone tries to enter a prohibited area, and it won’t detect changes to lists. Setting up permissions will help (Company | Set Up Users and Passwords | Set Up Users), but you need more than that.

image 1

Figure 1: Be especially careful when granting user access to areas that contain patient, vendor and employee information.

Run the Right Reports
Other QuickBooks features can help prevent fraud. Review these reports regularly:

  • Closing Date Exception. Why were those changes necessary?
  • Voided/Deleted Transactions. Is there supporting documentation? Should you be reviewing these daily?
  • Expenses by Vendor Detail. Look for irregularities, especially multiple payments made to a vendor in a short period of time.
  • Check registers. Use the Balance Sheet for this. Go to Reports | Company & Financial | Balance Sheet Standard and customize the report for the correct period and – if necessary – for specific patients, vendors and/or jobs.

Adhere to Best Practices 
You undoubtedly implement financial best practices in your personal life. If your dental office is large enough that you have multiple accounting employees, you probably can’t be as hands-on as you are at home. But you can still set up internal control procedures.

Image

Figure 2: Debit? Credit? Reverse the transaction? No one should be making General Journal entries but your head accounting manager.

For example, if your practice has grown to the point where you’re removed from the daily workflow – good for you – but you may still want to have approval rights for some procedures, like bank balance adjustments, refunds and credits, printed checks (you should still be signing them), timesheets and expense reports.

It goes without saying that you should password-protect your dental office QuickBooks file and change the password regularly, even – and especially – if you’re the entire accounting department.

Reinforce the rules

Image

Figure 3: Anyone in your practice who has access to accounting data should have a background check.

Know who your employees are (consider running background checks) and never have only one person managing all of your bookkeeping work. Have one person cut the checks, and someone else, such as an outside bookkeeper, reconcile the bank account and make sure the checks match what it says in the QuickBooks file.

Make sure that your entire dental team understand the definition and consequences of fraud. Let them know about the steps being taken to prevent it, but do some unannounced auditing on your own. Include a session on fraud in new staff orientation and get current staff up to speed at a regular team meeting. Make it easy to report fraud anonymously, with no fear of repercussions.

This all may seem like a lot of work, but small businesses have the highest rate of fraud in the country.  One of our clients had an employee that stole over $150,000 from them over a year before she was caught and they were still obligated to pay the IRS the payroll taxes!

If you have questions on this subject, or anything else Accounting or QuickBooks related, give Sum of All Numbers a call or email. We’re here to be your partner to grow your green practice profitably and safely!

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Posted by: Transform Limiting Beliefs | July 16, 2013

Green CE is Great CE!

AADOMinsertion2The team that learns together thrives together. Staying abreast of the latest information and technology in dentistry takes time, but we’ve made it easy.

We’ve recorded 10.5 credit hours of live continuing education courses from the industry’s groundbreaking 2013 Green Dentistry Conference. Yippee!

At your next team meeting, why not share these think-outside-the-box courses and get your team inspired about practicing people and planet friendly dentistry?  It’s the cost-effective way to get your whole office up-to-date on the latest topics in green dentistry:

Individual courses are available for only $30 each, or you can purchase the full package of webinars (10.5 CE units) for only $199 (a $40 savings!). If you’re an EDA member, you’ll receive an additional 15% discount when you purchase the full package: only $169 for 10.5 CE units!

When it comes to green dentistry CE, we’ve got you covered! If you’d like to know more or have questions about becoming a member of the EDA, contact us at info@ecodentistry.org and find out how being a part of dentistry’s green future can set your practice up for success.

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Posted by: Transform Limiting Beliefs | July 9, 2013

Digital Recare: Why Postcards Damage More Than Just the Environment

 If your approach to patient recare has consisted of the Postcard Method, it might be the culprit in the Case of Disappearing Patients. 

 smileremidner1The success rate of sending postcards is only about 9.6% and continually decreasing, while the price tag for your practice continues to get higher.  People are increasingly sensitive to the environmental impact of snail-mail solicitation. The digital method illustrates that a practice is environmentally responsible, and technologically up to speed. As opposed to the mass-mailed postcard, an email or text message appears to have a personal touch, making it less likely to be disregarded.  Using technology for recare is more effective, more efficient, more environmentally responsible and less expensive.

Below are the three consecutive steps to a successful GREEN recare plan, all of which are done more effectively without the use of a postcard.

Engage

Technology offers us simple tools for relationship building. Regular, unobtrusive contact makes patients feel communicated with instead of solicited to. Create monthly e-newsletters, invite them to your social media pages, and send automated birthday messages. It’s important to show that you’re thinking of them if you want them to think of you even when their mouths are healthy.

Educate

Education is an excellent method of non-solicitous engagement. When you send newsletters digitally, you have unlimited options for including articles and expert advice to grab their attention. By using email contact lists, you are able to send patient-relevant information to increase the impact; if you are using a patient engagement platform, find out if it offers the use of its analytic tools to send newsletters to criteria-specific groups more easily and accurately.

Invite

With the relationship established, approaching patients for recare is seen as a helpful reminder instead of an attempt at generating business. Send a subtle email reminding them of the importance of 6-month checkup with an appointment scheduling button/link, or set up automated reminder text messages.

By digitally engaging, educating, and then inviting them for recare appointments, you’ll subtly form long-lasting relationships with your patients. Not only will they come to you with even the smallest complaint, but you’ll add “routine checkups” to the healthy patient’s hygiene repertoire.

This is a guest blog post from Smile Reminder — to find out more about their services and offerings or to find out how they can support your high-tech, green office click here. 

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Posted by: Transform Limiting Beliefs | July 1, 2013

Top Tips for a Greener 4th of July

green 4th

Independence Day is pretty special holiday. It falls during the beautiful summer month of July, when spending time outdoors with food, family and friends is most enjoyable. It’s the perfect time to get away for a weekend adventure, host an outdoor party and get some R & R.  Make this 4th of July just a little greener. No one likes a planet pooper!

  1. Ditch the plastic party gear: Just say no to petroleum-based, landfill-bound plastic cups, bottles, plates and utensils and serve your guests like a gracious green host—using real plates, silverware and glassware. Can’t bear the thought of washing all those dishes? Check out some great biodegradable and compostable picnic options. And instead of plastic water bottles to keep everyone hydrated, opt for a large water dispenser!
  2. Light up the sky the eco-way: Fireworks aren’t exactly planet-friendly (think acid rain & other nasty toxic residues), but thankfully there are some alternatives that sparkle just as bright! Take a look at these beautiful sky orbs, which are made from biodegradable and environmentally sound materials!
  3. Opt for local beers & organic wine: Nothing says summer BBQ like an ice cold beer, so why not find a brew that doesn’t have to travel a thousand miles (or overseas) before it can quench your thirst? Check your local markets for sip-worthy suds made locally. Consider bringing in a keg (as long as you stick with the real glassware mentioned in tip #1), you’ll save the energy it would take to recycle all those empty bottles and cans. Not a beer drinker? Try an organic wine made with organic grapes that aren’t sprayed with pesticides (they have a brighter flavor and fewer sulfites!).
  4. Lighten up the barbecue: If you’re like 80% of Americans, you’re firing up the coals on the biggest barbecue day of the year. Keep in mind there’s no such thing as a truly green grill (natural gas burns clean, but it’s still a fossil fuel; electric grills are the least polluting, but are powered by electricity that likely comes from burning coal), but you can opt for greener fare! Load up on local, organic and season fruits and veggies & go lightly on the meat (or choose a sustainable and humanely raised option)!
  5. Don’t forget to recycle & compost: In the U.S., we send over 96 billion pounds of food a year to our local landfills (!!!), which accounts for the largest human related source of methane (the greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide). Make sure you have recycling and compost bins that are easy to spot and clearly labeled for guests. If you’re unsure about recycling specific materials in your area, check out Earth911 to find local recycling centers for party waste.

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Posted by: Transform Limiting Beliefs | June 25, 2013

Did you know you can earn GreenDOC™ bonus points?

SmileStudio204When my staff and I first sat down to discuss our “green” initiatives after beginning the GreenDOC™ process, we were surprised to find we already had several in place that didn’t fit any existing categories listed in the program. As it turned out, we were able to earn bonus points (the most any office has achieved yet!) for these initiatives in the “Innovation” portion of the GreenDOC™ program.

Here are a few of our “innovative” eco-friendly practices that you can try in your own practice:

  • Because of the deleterious effects of refined sugar (not only on oral health but on overall health), we have eliminated refined sugar, as well as most artificial sweeteners, at our hot beverage station in the reception room.  Instead, we offer local honey, stevia, and xylitol. We also offer green teas and herbal teas as alternatives to coffee and black tea.
  • When we dispose of unused or expired chemicals (replacing them, of course, with eco-friendly options!), I dispose of them at our municipality’s monthly hazardous waste drop off.
  • We’ve switched to rechargeable batteries for our “mice” and camera flashes, etc.  When we dispose of non-rechargeable batteries, we package them separately for pick up by our weekly recycling service.  Our recycling service will also pick up computers and electronics.
  • We turn in our used ink and toner cartridges to Staples or Office Depot for store credit.  Our recycling service will also pick them up.
  • Because I recently left a large, multi-office group practice and built out the space adjoining my husband’s dental office, he and I save resources by sharing a break room (we stagger our lunch hours), dental lab, staff and patient toilets, private office and bathroom, parking lot, as well as compressor and vacuum system.
  • And did I mention I drive a Prius?  And that my husband and I carpool to and from work as often as possible?

I’m excited that we have recently implemented a few others initiatives since we completed our GreenDOC™ Gold certification:

  • We recycle oral care products through Terracycle. While we encourage patients to bring their travel toothbrush to their orthodontic appointments, many forget.  We provide (as do most orthodontists) pre-pasted disposable toothbrushes at our tooth brushing station.  Though they are xylitol sweetened, I’ve never found any that are made of recycled plastic or are biodegradable.  But now we recycle them!  We also accept and encourage patients to bring their discarded toothbrushes, spent toothpaste tubes, and empty floss containers from home so we can recycle these as well.
  • We now have reusable shopping bags imprinted with our logo to send home the Waterpik toothbrush, flosser and other oral care products we provide when patients get their braces.
  • At debanding, we give patients a BPA-free water bottle filled with xylitol-sweetened gum and candies.  These bags and bottles are now available for other promos and campaigns in our office as well.

What new or different green practices can you share when you get certified as a GreenDOC™ practice?

Dr. Marie Farrar is an EDA member and GreenDOC™ Gold Certified Orthodontist located in Chattanooga, TN

Visit her practice website here. 

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Posted by: Transform Limiting Beliefs | June 19, 2013

6 Ways to Make a Child’s Dental Visit Fear-Free

smiling babyGreen living parents understand the importance of keeping kids healthy, which of course includes good oral health.   But how do you keep your child from experiencing the anxiety that can be associated with dental visits?

Fear not!  Here are our top tips for keeping the “fear monster” at bay:

  1. It’s sunny in here. That’s right.  For children, their parents are like the weather: if you’re sunny, they’re sunny.  So keep your conversations and “vibe” around dental visits positive.  According to a recent Spanish study, a father’s feelings about the dentist are particularly impactful, so keep smiling Dads!
  2. Try a “Starter Visit”. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends the first dental visit before the first birthday, so consider bringing your infant to your routine teeth cleaning.  Have the child rest comfortably on you while the hygienist does her or his work, and the place won’t be unfamiliar when it’s the child’s turn.
  3. Watch your words.  As every parent knows, kids are perfect mimics so avoid using words like “shot” or “hurt” when talking about the dentist. Dentists who are good with kids know this too, and use phrases like “Mr. Freezy” for the numbing agent.
  4. Break them in easy.  Parents should be brushing a child’s teeth as soon as the first one pokes through.  Making daily teeth brushing a game and getting the little one used to someone poking around in their mouth will make them more at ease in the dental chair.
  5. Provide security.  If your child has a favorite toy or blanket, bring that with you to their dental visits.  The comfort of a familiar item is a great counter-balance to the unfamiliar sounds and smells.
  6. Choose your dentist wisely.  It’s important to select a dentist who shares the parent’s values and medical approach.  Search on-line networks, like the Eco-Dentistry Association, for dentists that are committed to toxics-free dentistry and who welcome a parent’s questions.

Having your child comfortable with dental visits sets them up for a life-time of good oral health, and that’s enough to make everyone smile!

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Posted by: Transform Limiting Beliefs | June 12, 2013

Summertime Tips for a Healthy Smile

Ahhh…..

71fb0086d4618bd81b5cc9750337ad83The sweet months of summer are finally here. For many people this means more time spent having fun with family and friends outdoors, enjoying longer days and warmer nights, weekend adventures and tons of sunshine.  And while summer often brings with it a sense of happiness and freedom, it’s important not to forget one of your most important duties: taking care of your oral health!

Keep your smile as bright as the summer sun with these 5 simple tips:

  1. Wear a mouth guard. The warm summer months are a great time to get outdoors and be more active, but play it safe! Getting rough and rowdy during contact sports and other physical activity increases your risk of a tooth-cracking-tumble. Ask your dentist to make you a BPA-free custom mouth guard that you can pack in your bag and save yourself from an emergency dental visit, which we can assure you isn’t any fun!
  2. Pack the essentials. You might be going on vacation, but don’t think that means you can take a vacation from proper oral hygiene. It might be hard to give your pearly whites the attention they deserve when you’re on the road, but make it easy for yourself by bringing your hygiene routine with you! Pack a recycled content or bamboo toothbrush (bonus for bringing a spare) along with a travel case that allows for proper ventilation and other portable products like small tubes of natural toothpaste, floss, mouth rinse etc.
  3.  Headed to the pool? Keep your mouth shut. It turns out that pool water that’s too acidic (meaning the pH balance is below 7) can erode tooth enamel very quickly. Properly balanced pools should register between 7.2 and 7.8, so unless you’re able to test the water, it’s best to keep that mouth closed while you’re splashing around!
  4. Eat for health. Between barbecues and other outdoor gatherings, summertime eating can often be synonymous with sticky, sugary foods and drinks. If you’re going to indulge, make sure to keep a glass of water nearby so you can rinse your mouth after meals or sips. Better yet, take advantage of summer’s bounty and nosh on oral-health promoting foods that are rich in vitamin C and calcium! Think berries, leafy greens and other crunchy fruits and veggies like apples and celery!
  5. Protect your lips. Even if you remember to smother your body and face in sunscreen, you might forget about your lips! Your lips are more susceptible to burning than most of your body, so it’s important to give them the care they need and protect them from the sun’s harmful rays.  Look for an organic lip balm with an SPF of at least 15 and pucker up! Here’s a list from the Environmental Working Group for some non-toxic options.

And remember: get out there and enjoy this beautiful time of year!

Happy summer!

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Posted by: Transform Limiting Beliefs | June 5, 2013

Spare the Air & the Water: Forget the “Glut”

JANE: Shot July 8Few things trigger dental fear like that “dental office smell”.  What causes it?  In many cases it is the pungent odor of glutaraldehyde, a commonly used cold sterilizing solution.

The “glut” has a dark side. It is a known irritant to the skin, eyes and respiratory systems, and its use should be confined to large, well-ventilated rooms, or those with exhaust fans.  Protective clothing including full-coverage gown, splash-proof goggles, and butyl rubber gloves, should always be worn.

Environmentally, solutions between 2-5% must be chemically deactivated before they are poured down the drain.  Remember that our drains end up in our local wastewater treatment facilities that process waste before discharging it to rivers, lakes and oceans.  If glutaraldehyde is not deactivated, its bacteria destroying properties disrupt the bacterial soup that allows our treatment facilities to properly break down waste.

Our experience is that all dental offices can successfully eliminate glutaraldehyde.  Here are some tips:

  1. Take a critical look at what you have been cold sterilizing.  If items are intended to be single use disposables, then they shouldn’t be sterilized and reused.  Seek out reusable alternatives.
  2. Some items doctors believed needed to be cold sterilized can actually be steam autoclaved.  One of our member doctors discovered that the “bite sticks” she uses with her panoramic x-ray unit can safely be autoclaved.
  3. If any items remain that require cold sterilization, consider an environmentally safe hydrogen peroxide based alternative, like the one from Sci-Can.

Eliminating this toxic chemical from our dental offices is a win for everyone:  your office will have a more welcoming smell for patients, your dental team’s health will be safe-guarded, and our environment will protected.  Ditch the “glut” today!

Resources:

http://naples.cc.sunysb.edu/Admin/HRSForms.nsf/pub/EHSD0095/$FILE/EHSD0095.pdf

http://www.sustainablehospitals.org/HTMLSrc/IP_Glutcontrol.html#table1

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Posted by: Transform Limiting Beliefs | May 24, 2013

A Memorial Day for the Planet?

By EDA Co-Founder, Ina Pockrass

602921_10151354861118503_867640718_nWhen an international group of 500+ scientists joins together and goes public with warnings of an environmental “tipping point”, it seems like we should at least hear them out.  Calling upon policymakers worldwide and every one of us to take action, the scientists set out five issues we need to resolve asap.  Fasten your seat belt, each one of these is a “biggee”!

  1. Climate Disruption:  Surprise, surprise, our climate is changing more rapidly than even the so called “alarmists” of yesterday predicted.  You don’t have to tell the folks digging out from a tornado in Moore, Oklahoma, or the survivors of recent floods in Southern China that the weather is getting weirder and weirder by the day.  And it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to tell us that the burning of carbon-based fuels is overloading our atmosphere with carbon.
  2. Extinction: Not since the cataclysmic confluence of environmental forces that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs has our planet suffered more loss of species, that’s plural species. Remember, extinction is forever.
  3. Restoration of Eco-Systems: We need to stop paving over paradise.  Already, more than 40% of the Earth’s ice-free land has been altered by humans.
  4. Pollution:  We need to stop ignoring the fact that all of our waste needs to go somewhere and there is no extraterrestrial dumping ground available. We’ve got to get serious about conserving, re-using, yes recycling, but more importantly rethinking how our waste stream is created and managed.
  5. Population Growth:  We’ve got more than 7 billion people living on Earth now, and 5 billion of them already have a cell phone.  Every person has basic human needs that our planet must provide: food, shelter, medical care.  Scientists tell us there will be more than 9.5 billion people living by 2050 and we’ve got to quickly figure out how to attend to their needs without adding to the Earth’s burden.

This is a call to action, not a call to put our heads in the sand or under our pillows.  Scary, yes.  Paralyzing, no.  In the words of our good friend Kevin Henry from Dental Economics:  “No-one can do everything but everyone can do something.”

What are you doing?

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