We just got back from a great meeting in Daytona Beach Florida. It was at the Shores Spa and Resort with the rooms overlooking the ocean and the pool and hot tub. There are big sand pits with adarandak chairs and huge gorgeous fire pits glowing all night. What a beautiful view off your private balcony, but above all of that was the most incredible group of movers and shakers in the dental industry!
The dream team of this meeting: Beth Thompson, Patti DiGangi and Shirley Gutkowski (Career Fusion). They have put together dental professionals that would like to follow their own dreams and make things happen, maybe speaking, writing, consulting, whatever the dream. Talk about a positive meeting and an incredible learning experience! I have to admit I was a little concerned about it being a Kumbyah weekend, not my comfort zone:) Here we were showing off our periodontal foot pedal when these gals were showing me their dreams and desires! No Kumbyah stuff, all very fun and yet very professional!!! Watch out because when you get a bunch of caring, thoughtful, lovely, giving people together they will make things- good things happen!
We just got back from the Greater New York dental conference and I was reminded that I hadn’t updated my blog. It was a very busy meeting, they said there were 59,000 dentists there, plus staff, wow!! It was so nice to see so many software companies that have finally got perio charting in their practice management software suites. The major practice management software companies have had perio charting included but it had amazed me how many didn’t have any perio modules. Those that already have perio charting like Dentrix, EagleSoft, SoftDent, PracticeWorks, Panda Perio etc, the Dental R.A.T. just plugs in and runs. I was so excited that Easy Dental finally got their perio chart and the Dental R.A.T. runs it perfectly too. There are several that have or currently are upgrading their perio modules to run easier with the Dental R.A.T.; like XLDent, MacPractice and The Complete Exam. Its just so nice to have others concentrating on helping us hygienists perio chart easier! We aren’t left alone to fend for ourselves 
I saw there is now even a perio probe that has a light so its easier for us to see the readings!! How nice! With all the advances in perio charting there is no excuse not doing it and it comes back to us in the long run because it all helps the patient understand their conditions and then they accept our proposed perio treatment.
One of the biggest complaints we hear from hygienists is that they can’t get anyone in to help perio chart. I’m amazed at every meeting we go to how many hygienists aren’t able to update their periodontal chart because noone can come in and help, so it slips by. The hygienists know it is the biggest lawsuit and that is what is so frustrating, it needs to get done!
We hear some of the funniest stories that take even more time for the hygienist. They will record the periodontal readings into a tape recorder and then at the end of the day stay for an extra hour to enter the data into the perio chart! Some have even gone so far as having the patients friend or anyone that is available in the waiting room come in and enter the periodontal readings, HIPAA doesn’t like that route 
That is why we created the Dental R.A.T., to help the hygienists!
We are so excited that the hygienists are really liking it and finding it so handy to help them periodontal charting! Some are even nicknaming their Dental R.A.T.’s (Violet or Blackie).
And now it is finally available thru Patterson Dental and Henry Schein! And definitely check out our calendar and come see us at a dental conference!!
Great Dental Hygiene meeting as usual!! We had a great time in Vegas at the RDH UOR meeting! It’s not just your average Dental Convention, it’s a definite education and a lot of fun!
So by now you know that I invented the Dental R.A.T.; but I wanted to blog about a couple other hygienists that have been working really hard to get where they are too! These gals have invented pretty cool products too and I want to help get the word out for them also!
The first inventor I met this year is Laura Morgan, RDH who invented the Platypus Flosser. It’s the coolest flosser for braces, very innovative! Her website is PlatyPus, check it out!! It is going to help sooo many kids and adults!! So simple and yet effective!! I hope soon our patients can find them in places like Walmart and Walgreens!
Then I got to meet Marie Wickman-Dykes, RDH who invented Mirror Gear. It’s a simple cover that protects your mirrors on your tray so they don’t get scratched while going thru the ultrasonic or autoclave. Remember how we used to wrap them in a two by two, this is even better and cool colors!! Her website is Mirror Gear USA, check them out! These will be on every tray soon!! And what a sweetheart, she is due to have a baby any day now and was such a trooper at the Dental Conventions!
And then I got to meet Ann Arrington, RDH who invented the Blue Boa. It’s the coolest suction tubing that helps while using the ultrasonic or projet or sealants! It give the hygienist two hands while working! I love the simple solutions!! Her website is the blue boa, check it out too!
And I can’t forget Vonda Manley, RDH; I was so lucky that I got to share the cover of Modern Hygiene magazine with Vonda! She invented the Edge Ease for making x-rays more comfortable, even digital x-rays! Check out her website at Strong Dental Products. I shared my first RDH UOR booth with Vonda. Since then her company has been acquired by Crosstex! Congrats!!
I know there are so many more that I didn’t mention; I just love innovative hygienists and I’ve been so blessed to get to know a few so I thought I’d share.
We were just sending out a new Dental R.A.T. newsletter about periodontal lawsuits and making sure documentation is getting done. I was so impressed that searching for “periodontal disease” has gotten so much better. Just one year ago I did a search and all I got was attorneys advertising about how if you hadn’t been perio charted in the last year, we may have a lawsuit! Page after page of attorneys trying to grab our patients for lawsuits.
This year when I did the same search, I actually got explanations and definitions of periodontal disease from ADA, Perio.org and actual dentists trying to educate their patients. Way to go:)
www.perio.org/consumer/2a.html
www.ada.org/public/topics/periodontal_diseases.asp
www.nidcr.nih.gov/OralHealth/…/PeriodontalGumDisease/
