DentalBuzz – a jolt of current…

Actually, William Shatner has nothing to do with dentistry. And that’s a good thing.

The familiarity with Priceline’s marketing is a good place to start, though. Mix in a few thousand medical and dental professionals who are willing to try a similar technique to improve their new patient flow and you’ve got a website called PriceDoc.

For an average of about $50 per month for a spot on the PriceDoc website, you can give percentage discounts, allow patients to negotiate for prices, or simply state your fee for specific procedures. Like a porcelain crown. Can you imagine someone on the internet seeing that your crown fee is less than the other dentist down the street, and then coming to you instead, and paying cash?

Or if you put the shoe on the other foot, have you tried shopping for that gall bladder surgery that you’ve been needing for a while?

PriceDoc went national about six months ago, and has yet to post any impressive procedure price wars between healthcare providers. There’s also no way to know if a dentist is as good as they say they are on their advertisement, so it’s difficult to predict whether or not this type of marketing will appeal to those dentists who value quality care over production quotas. Currently the only requirement for setting up a provider account is a credit card.

It’s a great idea in concept, especially for patients without insurance and dentists that prefer consumer-driven care instead of insurance-dictated treatment. If enough healers are ready to take a leap of faith, PriceDoc may become a force that changes healthcare forever.

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There’s nothing worse in the fashion world than being stuck in an outdated trend. Five years ago you would have thought that all the reception rooms of dental offices were filled to capacity because of all the patients demanding that their teeth reflect the times with grills of gold teeth.

But that’s not the case today.

The economy has since tanked and the price of gold is higher than ever (currently over $1,100 per ounce). The only one glinting a smile of 14 karats these days is Lady Gaga, and she safely skirts the hip-hop genre by going all Team Edward with vampire fangs.

So when dental gold is out (literally), you can impress your patients with a small token of your appreciation. Take out their gold crowns, inlays, bridges, and then give it to the patient along with a postage-paid envelope.

What’s cool about this deal is where the envelope goes. Not to some shady “Cash4Gold” operation. It goes to a reputable company that will pay your patients back a fair price.

And here comes the best part: Garfield Refining Company is so generous, they’ll give you ten percent for the referral. Don’t be afraid to let your patients know that you’re getting a kickback. They’ll just be happy that you’re not keeping all the dental gold for yourself.

So click this Garfield box on the left to enroll in the Patient Bling Program and get a few envelopes for your office. Nevermind that they still call it the Scrap Program; they just haven’t seen this review yet.

You also might want to look through Dental Products Report’s list of gold refining companies. And in case you were wondering, this is not a paid advertisement. Garfield Refining simply has a great idea that spreads goodwill and makes money for everyone.

The idea of dozens of dentists lined up, hoping to have their bowls filled with a ladle of delicious….CLEAR PLASTIC IMPRESSIONS….is weird. “NO INVISALIGN FOR YOU!” screamed the white-coats at Align Technology. Dentists completing less than 10 cases per year were suspended from their accounts, and sent away, bowls empty, furious with the scare-tactic attempt to boost sales and case acceptance.

Until yesterday. Instead of getting your soup in a bowl at the counter,  you complainers will be able to get it in a to-go container, from the “Concession Stand”:

Align Technology Eliminates Annual Case Requirement for Invisalign(R) Providers

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Apr 22, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) — Align Technology, Inc. (Nasdaq:ALGN) today announced a strategic change to the Invisalign proficiency program the Company launched last June to help ensure Invisalign providers build a baseline of Invisalign product experience and knowledge through minimum annual case and continuing education (CE) goals. Effective immediately, doctors will no longer be required to start a minimum of ten shipped cases per year to maintain their active provider status. Doctors are still required to complete a minimum of ten Invisalign continuing education (CE) hours per year.

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Just so we have this straight: lasers are okay, but needles? Not so much. Texas is a bit behind the times regarding local anesthesia. But the great news is that their state board just recently issued a statement that affirms the legality of laser use by formally trained hygienists for treating periodontal disease that is not responding to traditional therapy.  Here it is in the Board’s own words:

Texas State Board of Dental Examiners’ Position Statement on the Use of Lasers by Dental Hygienists

The Texas State Board of Dental Examiners is aware that lasers can be used to replace or supplement traditional dental instruments such as handpieces, scalpels, curing lights, and the explorer.

It is the position of the Board that licensed dental hygienists may use lasers that are not capable of cutting or removing hard tissue, soft tissue, or tooth structure to perform clinical tasks that are otherwise within the hygienist’s scope of practice. Dental hygienists must perform intraoral procedures involving a laser under the general supervision of a licensed dentist.**

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Are you tired of getting gleeked on while you’re treating a patient? Did you ever want to fight back with something other than the air/water syringe?

For those not clear with the term, this 30 second video is a great example of a controlled gleek:

Fortunately for dental professionals, gleek saliva is essentially sterile when it sprays straight out of the submandibular gland. That doesn’t mean you should shoot back at your patients though – heavens no! we would never suggest such a thing – when they gleek onto your loupes while you’re fighting their tongue with a mouth mirror.

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