In tough economic times people tend to cut back on things that they feel might be extras,and unfortunately, regular dental care is often thought of as an extra. Because of this, dentists must do as much as possible to attract and retain new patients. The methods described below work extremely well, and work equally for existing practices as well as band new offices.

1. Portable Signs: We have all seen these 4×6 trailer signs; they dot parking lots and ditches in every city in the nation. The reason that these signs are so prolific is because they work. Keep the copy simple: name, phone number, website, and a simple message such as “now accepting new patients”, or highlight a promotion like “tooth whitening only $99.00″. Spend a little more money for one of the nicer signs, and for extra points put the sign somewhere creative – e.g. a toy store for a Pedodontist, in front of a candy store for a general dentist. If you don’t mind a bit of controversy, try placing the sign in front of a competitor’s office.

2. School Tours: I am always amazed at how many dentists ignore this simple method of attracting customers. Elementary schools are always looking for field trips for their students. Offer a free tour of your dental office; show the kids how the equipment works, tell them about what you do, try to relieve any tension they have about seeing the dentist - and make it fun! Most importantly, give each of the kids a gift bag with toothpaste, floss, and of course, a toothbrush with your contact information imprinted on it. Don’t forget a few extra bags for the teachers and chaperons.

This is just a small sampling of ways to attract new clients to your practice. In future posts I will go into some other great ways to get new customers.

Tags: Dental Equipment

ShareThis

Luckily, the solution to this already exists; fiber optic slow speed attachments and motors are available from a wide variety of manufacturers.

If you are currently using an electric handpiece motor for your high speed, fiber optic slow speed attachments will click right onto your existing motor, allowing you to use the light contained in it.

If you prefer an air driven motor, slow speed air motors are also readily available with fiber optic lighting. Some of these motors even feature quick disconnect bases to make lubrication and cleaning easier. Read my earlier article about maintenance of slow speed dental handpieces here.

There is a cost associated with the use of fiber optic slow speeds, as you might imagine. Generic ‘throw-away’ slow speed motors and attachments are very inexpensive, but fiber optic attachments can run upwards of $600, depending on make, chuck style, and other features. The fiber optic motors are also quite expensive when compared to the standard variety. It helps to remember that, when properly maintained, these motors often last more than a decade, so the actual price difference per year of use is quite small.

Finally, to use a fiber optic slow speed you also need to ensure that you have a fiber optic tubing and power supply available in your dental unit. If the dental delivery system has an existing fiber optic power supply, it is usually possible to hook up multiple handpieces to it, but you will almost certainly have to add a fiber optic handpiece tubing. The cost of these tubings has been coming down for the past couple of years, and this is no longer a large investment.

With a little bit of shopping, and some work on the part of your technician, you can improve visibility, and probably improve the quality of your work, with the addition of fiber optic light.

Tags: Dental Handpieces, Dental Equipment

ShareThis

A simple color pattern will ease cleaning, and standardized colors make it easier to get repair parts when you need them. Most designers will tell you to keep the equipment neutral and add color in other places in your office. That’s great advice for creating a clean, sleek, and modern looking dental practice. But, what if you are looking for something a little different?

Forest Dental has a remarkable line of equipment that certainly meets the requirement of different. Their product line starts with 2 standard colors, but expands into 13 custom powder coat colors, 18 designer upholstery selections, and 5 carbon fiber patterns. With a little bit of creativity you can literally create any color scheme you choose.

Why would you want to do this, knowing that there are some downsides to non-standard colors? Well, suppose that you are an auto racing fan and want to build a dental office themed around the Ferrari F1 team; red powder coating, carbon fiber accessories, and black upholstery would meet your needs. Maybe you are a fan of the Detroit Tigers and want the team colors in your office. Or, perhaps you don’t want a themed office at all, but just don’t like beige. All black equipment would look sharp, or you could choose white equipment for that sterile hospital look, or primary colors for a Pedodontist. Another option would be to have a regular office with standard colored equipment, but add one themed or colored room. No matter what color combination you can imagine, you can achieve.

In today’s economy, you might be noticing a slowdown in the number of new patients that are walking into your office. One of the best ways to set yourself apart from your competition is with the look of your practice.

Tags: Dental Equipment

ShareThis

Engineers from W & H, a world leader in handpiece manufacturing, set about trying to find a solution to this problem: Enter the latest innovation from W&H dental handpieces, the TA-97LED and the TA-98LED. These two remarkable handpieces replace the traditional and expensive glass incandescent light bulb with a high powered and long lasting LED light. The LED is built right into the handpiece, and is used with a special handpiece coupler that has electrical contacts on it, rather than a bulb or fiber optic rod. These contacts transfer the power from the tubing to the handpiece.

One benefit to no longer placing a long glass rod inside the handpiece is the remarkable weight savings. The weight of the TA-97LED is only 40g, compared to 58g for the TA-97LW handpiece. That is a one third weight savings, which is really quite remarkable.

The new technological innovations don’t simply stop with the LED lighting. W&H has also introduced a new 5 port water spray for better cooling of the tooth during cutting. Users of the W&H TA-97LW and TA-98LW will appreciate that Adec has kept the same great cutting power (17w and 20w respectively) that they currently enjoy.

The head sizes are difference between the two handpieces. The TA-97LED is the small head handpiece, producing 17w of power at 59dB, while the TA-98LED is the regular size head producing 20W of power at 57dB. More information can be found by visiting the manufacturer’s website located at www.wh.com

Tags: Dental Handpieces, Dental Equipment

ShareThis

It is also important to ensure that there is a clear vision for the dentist an the assistant at all times while treating the patient. That is why the HVE is important.

The video below demonstrates the advantage of an angle base HVE device and its use.



Tags: Dental Air & Vacuum Systems, Dental Equipment

ShareThis

To combat this, dental equipment manufacturers recommend cleaning your suction lines frequently. I recommend using a dental line cleaner mixed with hot water. Simply fill a quart jar with hot water and cleaner, and then suck the jar empty with the HVE (High Volume Oral Evacuation). Repeat the process with the Saliva Ejector. Move from operatory to operatory, starting with the room furthest from the mechanical room. By the time you have made it to the last operatory, the lines will have been thoroughly cleaned. This should be done at the end of every work day. If you haven’t been cleaning the lines regularly you will probably notice a lot of debris coming out of the lines, but this will gradually subside as the built up material is flushed away.

When choosing a vacuum line cleaner don’t just blindly pick one from a catalog. Dental suction machine manufacturers usually each have their own cleaner that they recommend, and with the recent addition of amalgam separators to most dental offices, the separator companies also have cleaners that they make and/or recommend.

For best results use a cleaner that is compatible with both pieces of equipment, but when faced with contradictory information between the two, choose the cleaner that the amalgam separator company recommends. The reason for this is that the amalgam separator is made out of plastic, and harsh chemicals damage the plastic and cause cracks on the body of the machine. Over time this will lead to leaks and reduced performance.

Ensuring that your suction lines are clean will improve the performance of your vacuum system, reducing costly breakdowns and making your work experience better. For more information, or for cleaner recommendations, talk with your service technician.

Tags: Dental Air & Vacuum Systems, Dental Equipment

ShareThis

The first style of hands-free faucet is readily available from any plumber or home improvement store: sensor style faucets such as you would commonly find in a public washroom. They work well, and can be retrofitted almost anywhere. The only downside to this technology is that they require batteries or an electrical outlet to operate.

The second type of hands-free control is a water relay system. Tapmaster (example shown on left, courtesy Tapmaster) is, in my opinion, the leading brand in this style of faucet control. Tapmaster controls use a foot activated switch, valves, and water pressure to turn the flow of water on and off. They are compatible with any style and make of faucet, and are installed inline with the water supply lines. Tapmaster controls are completely self-contained, and can easily be retrofitted into any style of cabinet, including staff room sinks, bathrooms, or residences.

A third type of hands-free faucet system is the most common in the dental office. Air activated shut-off valves are available from many dental equipment manufacturers, and are often standard equipment on new cabinets. With an air-activated shut off, a remote switch activates two diaphragm valves in the water lines (one for hot, one for cold) to start and stop the flow of water. The faucet is left on at all times, but water only flows when the switch is depressed. Air activated valves are easy to retrofit to existing sinks, but you do need to have an air supply in the cabinet. For most dental cabinets this is not a problem, but it can be an issue on sterilization room sinks or cabinets where air was not previously needed.

One nice benefit of air activated systems is that the activation switch is very small and can be mounted nearly anywhere. Recently, some cabinet manufacturers have been mounting this switch near the latch on the cupboard door. When mounted this way, simply pressing on the door with a knee will activate the water flow. This solution is especially elegant, as there are no outward signs of the switch, and the cabinet kick plate untouched, making clean up easier.

If your sinks and faucets are still controlled by a lever on top of the tap, I would really consider upgrading to a hands-free system. The convenience and reduced risk of cross contamination are great benefits to any medical or dental facility.

Tags: Dental Equipment

ShareThis

Most jurisdictions in North America now require that dental offices capture and treat waste amalgam rather than dumping it into the sewer. A few years ago, when the idea that this might be happening started to float around, there was a lot of resistance from dental offices. Much of this was simply because of a lack of understanding of how the new laws would work, and how it would impact the day to day operations of a dental practice. Now that these regulations have become commonplace it is nice to see that, aside from the added costs, dental offices have been unaffected by the change.

Waste amalgam management is a simple process. An amalgam separator is installed in the dental office vacuum line to capture the vast majority of the waste. Typically, the amalgam separator is installed before the main suction line filter, so that all waste runs through the special filter on the amalgam separator. What this means is that the amalgam separator filter fills up rather quickly, since all waste product runs through it.

Unfortunately, if the separator is installed after the filter, there is a risk that some amalgam would be captured by the suction filter and be disposed of down the garbage or dumped into a sink. Interestingly, there is no regulation that I am aware of that specifies the order that the filter and separator must be installed. This could be limited to my knowledge, so it is best to follow the recommendations of your local service technician.

The separator that I have found (based purely on my experience) to be the most trouble free is the Solmetex HG5. This filter system uses disposable cartridges that last from six months to a year. With no moving parts, there is very little to go wrong with the equipment, which means that the chance of a breakdown caused by this equipment is quite small. Learn more about the HG5 at http://www.solmetex.com/2_dental/hg5.html.

Tags: dental amalgamators, Dental Equipment

ShareThis

That isn’t to say that there have been no changes in camera technology over the past 20 years. Today, cameras are lighter and more portable than ever before. Technology has really focused on how the images are stored and accessed. Once, bulky video printers were used to capture the image and then print a 4×6 photograph of the picture on the screen. Today, images are stored in a computer, archived in dental imaging software.

Let’s start by clearing up a misconception about digital imaging: any intra-oral camera, no matter how old, can be hooked up to a computer and used to store images digitally. How? All cameras have a video output on them. This video output can be fed into a computer simply by installing a $100 video capture card in the computer. The imaging software can be set to use this card as a source, and your old Acucam is now ready for the 21st century.

New cameras can make this process a whole lot easier. In addition to the video output, today’s cameras often feature USB or Firewire ports to pair them with a computer. With a USB connection, you can simply plug the camera into an already existing port on the computer and you are hooked up. Using the USB connection, the imaging software is configured in exactly the same way as you would configure the capture card. However, if you were using a capture card in a multiple operatory practice, each operatory would need to have the capture card installed in order to use the camera.

One potential downside to the USB/Firewire option is that a driver needs to be installed on the computer to allow the machine to recognize the camera. This doesn’t cost money, as the driver is included with the camera, but does add an extra level of complexity. Computers don’t always do what they are told, and driver errors can shut your camera down until you have someone come to fix it.

My favorite camera on the market today is the Gendex Acucam Concept IV FWT (shown on the right). Featuring a fast Firewire connection, the camera installs easily and the camera drivers are stable. This means reduced downtime for the dentist, and fewer service calls for the technician. In addition, the camera uses a docking station technology, in which a dock is installed in each room. The benefit of this is that the bulky dock stays put while only the small flexible camera is moved from room to room. Simplicity is always the best option.

Tags: Intra Oral Cameras, Dental Equipment

ShareThis

Surprisingly, the answer is yes. Many of you reading this will have noticed that there is a trend towards beige colored dental equipment in the marketplace. This isn’t simply a thoughtless manufacturing decision or decorating trend, although it does have its roots in aesthetics. It is actually a directed and thoughtful change to keep your office looking great, longer.

Dental Handpieces, a/w syringe, and suction tubings used to be almost universally gray or black. However, what happens over time is that as tubings are wiped with disinfectant they discolor and begin to look really bad. Through some experimentation, dental equipment manufacturers found that beige tubing (which will still discolor eventually) has a much less dramatic color shift, and therefore looks better longer.

Similarly, many older dental chairs had bases that were black. Dental equipment manufacturers found that powder from latex gloves would often cover the bases of the chairs and cause them to look dirty. Even when wiped, streaks would often be left behind, leaving patients with the impression that the office was unclean. The new beige colors are much closer to the color of the powder, and again, while it doesn’t solve the problem, it makes the problem less noticeable. This inspires confidence in your patients who have no reason to believe that your office is anything but clean and sanitary.

Offices with older equipment, or those that are buying used equipment, can also take advantage of this research. As your service person replaces damaged tubings in your office, instruct them to use beige tubings. With the exception of fiber optic handpiece tubings, most delivery system hoses are very inexpensive to replace. This is a low cost way to update your office.

In addition, many dentists will have older equipment repainted to freshen the look of the office without spending large sums of money. If you are doing this, or thinking of doing this, why not have the equipment repainted a neutral beige color? Not only will the equipment look more modern, it will appear cleaner.

It is true that color trends come and go in dental offices. Wood grain cabinets were standard equipment in the 1970s, and were rarely used in the 1990s. Now, wood grain is back in full force. However, I believe that the trend towards beige equipment is one that will stick around; the color is neutral and matches nearly any design scheme, and there are proven benefits in the equipment appearing cleaner. Beige is here to stay.

Tags: Dental Instruments, dental chairs and stools, Dental Equipment

ShareThis