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Archives for August 2011

RDH Editor Extraordinaire: Mark Hartley

August 31, 2011 By Eva Watson 1 Comment

by Eva Watson

There are people that claim they are advocates of stuff; they partake in advocate-y types of things without much credence to back up their statements. Then again, there are those who are dedicated to the continuing awesomeness of support to an idea; a cause; or a spectacular organization of professionals.

Dental hygienists are pretty much the awesomeness I was referring to. Kneel when you approach.

I’m proud to introduce Mark Hartley, editor of RDH Magazine and overall good guy, to the DentalBuzz audience.

Mark took some time to answer questions while he was busy attending RDH/Under One Roof.

DB: How did you become the editor of RDH Mag?

MH: I was basically a flunky for RDH throughout most of the 1980s and early 1990s. Did proofreading, subbed in for editors when they were on vacation or on the road. In 1995, PennWell acquired RDH and asked me to help with the transition. I must have done all right, because the company asked me to stay on as the editor. So I have been the editor since 1995.

DB: A flunky- I love it. How have your opinions evolved regarding the dental hygiene industry over the course of sixteen years with RDH Magazine?

MH: I think I recognized that hygienists such as Irene Woodall, Regina Dreyer, Trisha O’Hehir, etc., were part of a second generation of leaders, guiding the profession to where it is today. But I don’t think I had a full appreciation of it until I became the editor. I have always encouraged hygienists to express themselves as writers, and I think the magazine fortunately has witnessed that during the past 16 years.

There have been some terrific writers over the past 16 years. If I may so, you’re a proud member of the current generation. On another front, manufacturers have always supported the ADHA and RDH magazines throughout the years. But I think we have actually observed them being actively engaged with the profession. RDH Under One Roof is one example of it. Another example is the career growths of dental hygienists who embarked on second careers with corporations. They used to be just “professional educators,” sent out to the state hygiene meetings to do seminars. But all of the major dental corporations now have dental hygienists in key positions, and they are profoundly influencing the relationship between manufacturers and dental hygienists.

DB: RDH Magazine is an outstanding vehicle for hygienists to stamp vital opinions in. Have you seen an increase in dentist support for the publication during the years? Or is the current consensus from dentists the ever-present, “Dental hygiene?  It’s not rocket science.  Any schmuck can clean teeth.”?

MH: We did a survey last April where 103 dental hygienists commented on the politics of the relationship between the two professions. Interestingly, 57% said their boss would vote in favor of dental hygiene to enhance patient care if a state board asked the hygienist’s employer to cast the deciding vote. We also asked who was the most supportive person in a dental office. “Dentists” was the largest response at 38%. That, of course, is not a majority. But the next highest percentage was “no one” at 21%, followed by 17% who indicated a front office person was the most supportive. So, hygienists are naturally, very offended by derogatory attitudes on the political level. On a personal career level, it’s a different story.

DB: You know what would be great? A national game of ‘Capture the Flag’ between RDHs and dentists. Only the youngest, fittest, and newly-licensed hygienists hungry for jobs would represent our side while the dentist team would have the most burnt-out, crotchety, old-men with a penchant for thirty-minute prophylaxes screaming, “Off sides! Those hygienists are off sides!” when, all along, the dentists just got frustrated because they know the RDHs were much better at capturing their flag.  I would definitely watch that game.

MH: Well, I’d hate to see myself as a cheerleader. I think the spectators would be thoroughly depressed with that image. On the other hand, we recently did a rate-uniform-scrubs survey; it was sort of a Project Runway voting on dental uniforms. One person wrote in to say she would like to see me in one of those scrub tops. I guess I could bite the bullet for the home team.

DB: Yeah, baby!  Just please let the scrub top be of a solid color. The unsettling vision of you sporting a Betty-Boop printed scrub top is not quite the lasting impression the fans need to see.  Know what I mean?

MH: Absolutely. Even the three dogs who own me would howl mournfully, long into the night.

 

It takes an exceptional person to admit their limitations in the arena of dental scrub top fashion. There are only so many horrific prints our eyes can handle.

Filed Under: Anecdotes, Interviews Tagged With: dental hygienists, Interviews, RDH Magazine

HandPiece, Love and KaVo Happiness

August 26, 2011 By Trish Walraven 2 Comments

Forty-something years ago the US had a revolution that twisted the Mad Men-tality of societal standards. The shadow is all that’s left now: the 60’s are just another commodity that’s most visible in ‘tween fashions and feelgoody Volkswagen campaigns.

There’s probably a few Free Love dustbunnies that have survived by clumping together at Jimmy Buffett concerts (did all the Deadheads join the Parrotheads? are they all now DeadParrotHeads?). Anything else is marketing, which brings us to this Time Life Music parody video from KaVo. It’s not particularly inventive, but it has enough good characters and pretend song titles from the era to keep the average dental professional engaged. Oh, and you can sign up to try any KaVo handpiece for free:

 

 

Sorry that you can’t get those three minutes of your life back, but you have to admit that the gal singing “Take Another Little Piece of My Tooth” showed real talent and made most of it worthwhile. Also, patients shouldn’t be used as props. This one just stares at the dentist the whole time he’s talking…

Now go try a handpiece and show KaVo that their creative department really is doing its job so their employees will get more money and maybe the next video they make will be one that you DO share with everyone.

 

Filed Under: Instruments, Marketing, Products Tagged With: dental drills, dental handpieces, dental parodies, dental videos, KaVo

Chuck Norris implants

August 15, 2011 By Trish Walraven 2 Comments

Just in case you missed the rash of Chuck Norris facts that Chuck Norris himself loves to cheese about on the talk show circuit, here’s a quick cluster of ’em written by periodontist and private surgical tutor Anthony Reganato, DDS, MS.

•••••••••••••••••••••••

To me, a “Chuck Norris” implant is not one that is threaded into place with a handpiece.  A “Chuck Norris” implant actually spins the patient around and around until the implant is sitting exactly where it wants to sit…

A “Chuck Norris” implant does not require an osteotomy, anesthesia, flap, or even a patient to be seated in the mouth.

A” Chuck Norris” implant can be immediately placed after roundhouse kicking the bombed-out tooth right out of the mouth.

A” Chuck Norris” implant does not have threads…the outer coating is merely shaking in its boots just knowing that a can of whoop-ass may be unleashed at any time…

A “Chuck Norris” implant provides its own sedation to the patient…no need for drugs or tubes…also provides its own pre-med.

A “Chuck Norris” implant needs only one to be placed for an entire full mouth reconstruction.

A “Chuck Norris” implant can be placed via extra-oral approach and still end up in the ideal prosthetic position.

A “Chuck Norris” implant drives itself to the dental office in a 1965 ‘Vette everyday until it’s finally used…

A “Chuck Norris” implant is prosthetically compatible with every system except Zimmer… “Chuck Norris” implant just don’t play that.

A “Chuck Norris” implant can be inserted upside down and still work just fine.

A “Chuck Norris” implant can cure cancer.

•••••••••••••••••••••••

Now that your ruggedness has been piqued, you’ll want to YouTune here into Anthony’s Reganato Lecture Series and tap, tap deeply into your own inner spring of surgical ChuckNorrisdom.

 

 

So what have you seen “Chuck Norris” implants do? How have they helped your patients?

Filed Under: Anecdotes, Fun, Humor, Operative Dentistry Tagged With: Chuck Norris facts, dental implants, periodontist

Quizno’s creatures need ortho treatment

August 4, 2011 By Trish Walraven Leave a Comment

by Trish Walraven

It’s a shame that these commercials, first broadcast during the 2004 Superbowl, were upstaged by Janet Jackson’s “stardom” during the halftime show that day. I thought that it was utterly brilliant marketing, even better than the commercials that went totally silent and you’d have to peek your head around the corner to see why your TV turned off. I mean, this campaign is the epitome of the proof that marketers will do whatever it takes to get your attention.

So if you agree with me that these were the silliest, funnest commercials of the time, especially because secretly you found yourself doing a subconscious ortho workup on the pre-adolescent mess of a dentition, then you now get your chance to revisit them here.


Our little freaky bowler hat hobgoblin is acting shy about showing his jacked-up smile at first. Open please, and bite your back teeth together.


Or just sing for us, okay?




Yes, you have a pepper bar, and you’re cute in a “I can’t unsee that” kind of way. But did you have to go all Sistine Chapel on us?
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Fun, Humor, Marketing Tagged With: linkedin, orthodontics, Spongmonkeys, YouTube

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DentalBuzz explores rising trends in dentistry with its own slant. The speed at which new products and ideas enter the dental field can often outpace our ability to understand just exactly the direction in which we are heading. But somehow, by being a little less serious about dentistry and dental care, we might get closer to making sense of it all.

So yeah, a tongue-in-cheek pun would fit really nicely here, but that would be in bad taste. Never mind, it just happened anyways. Stop reading sidebars already and click on some content instead.

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