trends, innovations, and quirks of dentistry
Did you try to access this guide on the American Dental Association website, but have decided that you don’t want to share your email address with them? Instead, use the link below to view the ADA COVID-19 pandemic recovery guide immediately:
https://success.ada.org/~/media/CPS/Files/Open%20Files/ADA_Return_to_Work_Toolkit.pdf
As a bonus, if you’re in Texas, or are just nosy about the current guidelines for dental practices reopening in this state very shortly, here’s that link as well:
We love sharing good information that empowers dental practices to make unbiased decisions, which is why our friends at SoftwarePundit didn’t even have to send us any sort of payment, contactless or otherwise, to get the word out about their dental software review site. This category of solutions should be on the top of your research list right now, for obvious reasons.
by Bruce Hogan
Traditionally, dental practices have been slower to adopt new technology than other medical practices. Most dental professionals can understand why – implementing new technology is a time consuming and tedious process! However, the benefits of overcoming these barriers are often well worth the pain. Do you remember the days before automated appointment reminders? Without software tools, front-office staff were forced to manually call patients before every appointment!
Practices nationwide are increasingly adopting payment processing technology called contactless payments. Contactless payments refer to a variety of ways that patients can pay for treatments digitally, whether it’s paying through a text message or using a mobile wallet like Apple Pay. Patients are no longer forced to pay by mailing a check.
Why are dental practices starting to offer contactless payments? It’s what patients want! A recent study showed that 35% of customers are interested in paying with a text from their phone, but only 4% of small businesses offer this payment option. Additionally, 62% of buyers under the age of 35 would frequently or always pay with a text from their phone if they could. Allowing patients to pay the way they want to is an effective way to increase revenue and patient satisfaction.
Covid-19 is accelerating the need for dental practices to adopt payment technology. With shelter-in-place orders, patients can’t physically come into your office to pay for treatment they have received. Many practices are understaffed or closed right now, and do not have the capability to print and mail statements. Most importantly, when patients do begin returning to practices, contactless payments will allow patients to pay without any direct physical contact with your team.
There are three primary benefits of contactless payments: they lead to improved operational agility during crises like coronavirus, increased revenue, and reduced administrative workload.
Contactless Payments are Particularly Beneficial During Coronavirus
Contactless payments are ideal during Covid-19 because it allows patients to pay for treatments without being physically close to staff. Practices can use contactless payments to collect payments for services they have rendered prior to the shut down. This would be especially beneficial for cash-strapped practices that need an immediate influx of cash.
Additionally, contactless payments could be a part of the operational changes that practices make to increase safety after reopening. Contactless payments allow patients to maintain a safe distance from front-office staff when making payments. It’s congruent with the social distancing behavior that we’ve been practicing since March.
Finally, contactless payments are a valuable tool for practices that offer teledentistry appointments. After appointments are finished, you can immediately send patients a payment request digitally. This makes the payment process much easier and faster for both parties.
When practices offer patients more options to pay, they pay more often
Weave, a patient communication software company, commissioned an independent market research firm to survey a random sample of 380 small business customers and 350 small business owners to understand their behaviors and perceptions regarding payment options. In this study, the research firm found that small businesses that offer more payment options increased revenue by 29%. The study’s conclusion supports a common sense notion that we, as consumers, can all relate to – we are more likely to pay, if we can pay the way that we want to!
Contactless Payments Makes Billing Easier for You
Contactless payment software also reduces a lot of clerical work for dental practices. Traditionally, the collection process involves printing and mailing statements, entering billing information, and managing merchant accounts. Most contactless payment software automates these tasks for you. For example, the billing process using Weave’s text-to-pay feature involves a single text. The patient inputs their own payment information, and the software automatically processes the payment.
There are several types of contactless payments. While they differ slightly, all share the benefit of patients being able to pay remotely.
Send Payment Requests by Text
Practices can use software tools, like Weave, Podium, and Doctible, to send payment requests by text. You simply enter the patient’s phone number, input a treatment amount, and attach a statement. This is much easier than traditional collection methods that involve printing and mailing statements, collecting billing information, and charging each transaction manually! Patients input their own billing information into the text, payments are automatically processed, and the money goes straight into your bank account.
Send Payment Requests by Email
Many software tools allow you to send payment requests by email. The process is similar to sending payment requests by text. You enter the patient’s email address, attach statements, and enter payment amounts. The software takes care of the rest.
Process Payments with a Desktop Application
For patients more comfortable paying for treatment over the phone, many solutions have desktop applications with a payment-processing tool. Front-office staff can input card information directly into the app, and the tool automatically processes the payment.
Receive Payments Through Mobile Wallets
Many patients prefer paying for treatment using a mobile wallet, like PayPal OneTouch and Apple Pay. Making this payment option available makes the billing process more convenient for your patients.
Here’s a list of steps that we recommend when searching for the right vendor. Typically, the process takes about 1-2 months from initial research to completed software implementation.
Make a list of the vendors in the market that interest you. We recommend Doctible, Podium, and Weave to get your list started.
While doing your research, keep an eye out for the most important qualities in the vendors. This includes price, features, and quality of customer service. SoftwarePundit provides in-depth analysis on many vendors that provide contactless payments. Check them out!
One of the best ways to learn about vendors is to speak with customers who have used the product first hand. Customers will typically speak candidly about what they like and dislike about the product, and give you a clear idea of what you should expect. SoftwarePundit for Dentists is a Facebook group created to serve as a platform for dentists to discuss dental software.
Reach out to each vendor, and begin the sales process. The sales process typically involves a series of steps including:
Finding the right software to implement contactless payments can be a confusing process. Our job at SoftwarePundit is to make this process easier, and help you pick the best software that fits you and your team’s style and needs. Come visit our website if you have any questions about contactless payments in dentistry!
Bruce Hogan is Co-founder & CEO of SoftwarePundit, a technology research firm that provides advice, information, and tools to help businesses thrive. Bruce has experience investing at multi-billion dollar private equity firms, leading teams at venture-backed Internet companies, and launching new businesses.
COVID-19 restrictions limit dental visits to all but emergency care, which means that millions of patients are overdue to have their teeth cleaned.
And because preventive services are not critical in the short term, all dental hygienists affected by the shut down are now out of work. However, the jobs will come back. What’s more concerning is the damage that may be happening in our patients’ mouths without a little extra intervention.
A few years back, do you remember the guidance that hygienists and dentists shared with you whenever we discovered that blue plastic bits were getting stuck under our patients’ gums? That was the dental community banding together here to get the word out, and we were able to convince manufacturers to stop adding plastic to toothpaste.
We’re coming together again in the same place, this time to pack a few personal items into your phone, tablet, computer, or whatever you’re looking at right now. This is the delivery we’re shipping to our patients, to take care of you with our thoughts and our hearts, and to share our best tips to make sure that you’re as healthy as possible at your next dental visit.
You want me to put my toothbrush where?
Care Package Item #1: Brushing your teeth with your other hand for the first minute, then switching hands.
This is all about about getting re-introduced to friction and tapping into novelty to help you learn something about yourself. When you pick up your toothbrush, you normally do so with your dominant hand. Instead (and this is THE KEY) you will grab your toothbrush with your other hand. If you’re a righty, then put your toothbrush in your left hand. Add toothpaste if you’d like and start brushing. Pay attention to how your gums feel when the bristles touch them. Most people don’t realize this, but they avoid touching their gums properly when they brush.
If it hurts to brush with your non-dominant hand, this is a sign that your toothbrush may be too hard, because soft brushes should feel pretty normal at this point. Keep brushing with your other hand, all around, then try to make the bristle contact feel the same when you place the toothbrush back in your dominant hand. It was surprising the first time I did this, because I realized I didn’t brush as well in areas that I thought I did. Even though I’m a hygienist, this helped me uncover weaknesses in my own brushing technique. Just watch out how you spit, because your other hand may now be in your trajectory field and end up all slobbery.
What’s your best flossing hack?
Care Package Item #2: Curved 3D flossers
As products go, this is a very specific one! There’s no substitute for using a string under your gumline, and if you have a tool that angles the string perfectly every time, you’re more likely to floss frequently and effectively. Make sure that your flosser is curved in 3D, not just flat:
With your 3D curved flosser, click the string between each place that your teeth make contact and floss deep under the gum tissue, once for each side, just like this:
I’ve demonstrated this on a front tooth for convenience, but the payoff of using these 3D flossers is when you get to really tight spaces in the back. My favorite brand is the Dentek Complete Clean Back Teeth, but there are others. Just make sure you purchase the curved flossers and not the flat ones.
Whoa, what should I do about blood or braces?
Care Package Item # 3: Soft Toothpicks
If you’re bleeding when you brush or floss, or can’t clean effectively with either of those items because of metalwork in your mouth, you’ve got to dig deeper. Remember, the stuff you’re trying to clean off of your teeth isn’t necessarily food; instead it grew there like a layer of pond scum, so you need to disrupt it as often as you clean your armpits.
Try gently poking deep into the areas that tend to bleed easily, like the gum pockets you’ve been told you have (that’s mine up there), or create some friction up in the gumline next to an orthodontic bracket or retainer wire. As long as you don’t feel any pain, you should be able to sweep away the germs that contribute to tooth loss with interdental cleaners like the Gum brand Soft Pick.
No toothpaste? Are you kidding?
Care Package Item #4: Brushing without toothpaste first
Hear me out – I am addicted to the feeling of mouth freshness. This is what the detergent industry has turned me into, a little mint whore. However, the foamy nature of toothpaste tends to obscure exactly what it is that I’m brushing, so periodically, I’ll spend the first 30 seconds of my brushing ritual without toothpaste. After that, it’s like an exciting reward, a delayed gratification of sorts. Hey, when you have to stay isolated from the rest of society for a while, the little joys start adding up.
Will overeating contribute to cavities?
Care Package Item #5: Swishing with water all day
A side effect of sheltering in place is boredom eating, which means excess carbohydrates fermenting in our mouths leading to a rapid increase in dental decay. To combat this, each time you eat, be sure to swish with a mouthful of water immediately afterwards. This will help you rinse away excess particles and acid. Remember – dentists are discouraged from filling cavities at the moment – they are more likely to be put in a position to pull an otherwise good tooth to get you out of immediate pain and danger of having a life-threatening dental abscess.
We’ve shared this article with you because we’re worried! Priorities are going to change in the coming months, and our careers are built on the foundation that patients should be able to keep their teeth for a lifetime with minimal professional care. Stay healthy, friends, and we look forward to seeing you back in the office as soon as possible.
Trish Walraven, RDH BS is a dental hygienist in the Dallas/Fort Worth area who is sad for so many of her colleagues that have lost their livelihoods. She would like to inspire her fellow hygienists and dentists to feel brave enough to share their concerns and best home care ideas so that we can begin the work of reconnection.
Ever since you were a kid, you’ve known this: there’s a comfort that settles through you right before getting dental x-rays. You notice when the heavy shield gets draped over your shoulders and tummy that it’s a bit easier to relax, to open your mouth and let the dental professional twist things in your mouth at weird angles.
That comfort is called Deep Touch Pressure. It’s what swaddled babies feel with a tightly-wrapped blanket, what dogs experience when they wear a Thundershirt, and what up until recently has been known as a soothing technique primarily for kids and adults who are on the autism spectrum.
When Deep Touch Pressure is applied over a wide area, it switches the body from running its sympathetic nervous system to its parasympathetic nervous system. Deep touch pressure gives a sense that it’s okay to leave the “flight or fight” mode and settle into a “rest and digest” mode instead.
The sympathetic nervous system engages when you anticipate anything that is challenging, scary, or painful, while the parasympathetic nervous system is responsible for releasing feel-good endorphins, relaxing muscles, and creating a sense of peace and calm.
To review, then, this person has their Sympathetic Nervous System fully engaged:
Next, look at this little puppy enjoying its Parasympathetic Nervous System response:
No rhetorical questions here. You know you could just be the puppy forever.
There are stories like this one from Dr. Spindel’s blog that tell of patients wanting to keep the lead vest on for their entire appointment as a sort of security blanket. Only unlike her, once the x-rays are taken, most of us are nakedly shocked back into anxious uncertainty with the removal of the deep touch pressure feeling.
Um, hello?
You know exactly where this is going, right?
Pretty much every retail and online shop sells Deep Touch Pressure products now. This therapy is found in the form of weighted blankets which are much more comfortable and heavier than lead shields so yay!
If you’re a patient who gets a little anxious going to the dentist and you already have a weighted blanket that you shelled out $200 for when they first became available, try bringing the blanket to your next appointment to see if it helps.
And for those dental professionals reading this, you might consider getting a few weighted blankets for your office. You can find them as low as $50 each but current pricing hovers around $75 these days. Here’s an inexpensive fifteen-pounder seen in the local warehouse store this weekend:
Need something a little more rugged? These weighted blankets from DentaCalm are available in different sizes, can be wiped clean, and come in two colors:
Even people who have been going to the dentist forever get nervous sometimes, like it wells up from some organic “gonna get you” place in our primitive perimeter warning system. Deep touch pressure helps to inhibit dental anxiety. Except for the anxiety within the dentists when slinking into a dental chair to get their teeth cleaned when there’s an opening in the schedule. Their stress comes from the fear that they’re about to be exposed as a fraud by their hygienist if the dentist’s gums bleed even one little speck during their preventive care. Sorry, the weighted blanket is simply not going to make up for not flossing.
Instead of shaming dentists for their questionable home care, then, let’s all get the word out that weighted blankets are more than a fad, or that they’re used as merely an excuse to stay in bed longer in the morning.
Worried about the stigma or mood-altering effects of using laughing gas (nitrous oxide)? Weighted blankets create a similar sense of well-being without masks, drugs, or that loopy feeling. Many practices have already discovered the benefits of weighted blankets, and feature this amenity on their websites as one of the ways they make dental visits easier.
Please share this link with your dental professionals, your patients, and your friends. And as always, DentalBuzz does not use affiliate links or accept ad payments, so feel free to browse the resources list and share your experiences with weighted blankets (or any good deals you discover!) in the comments below.
Resources and further reading:
Can I please wear the heavy vest: https://lspindelnycdds.blogspot.com/2019/05/can-i-please-wear-heavy-vest.html
The Allure of the Weighted Blanket: https://www.brainfacts.org/Thinking-Sensing-and-Behaving/Sleep/2018/The-Allure-of-the-Weighted-Blanket-112918
Penn Medicine: More than just a fad: https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/health-and-wellness/2019/february/weighted-blankets
HippoHug: https://hippohug.ca/2018/12/12/anxious-at-the-dentists-office-try-a-weighted-blanket/
TruHugs Research Blog: https://blog.truhugs.com/deep-pressure-stimulation-used-during-various-dental-procedures-to-curb-anxiety-symptoms/
DentaCalm: https:/dentacalm.com
Sommerfly Wipe-Clean Relaxer: https://www.sommerfly.com/collections/wipe-clean-collection/
This morning I threw my toothbrush into the toilet. That’s where it belongs, apparently, since I can’t seem to do the right thing to keep germs off of it.
See, a few years ago there was a big news story about the aerosols that are created with every toilet flush. I call this phenomenon “Fecal Fallout.” Let me explain: if a toothbrush is stored in the open air near a toilet, the debris from the bowl can be carried into the air and then sprinkled down onto anything within a six foot radius in a plume of doom. As a result, we may find ourselves brushing with the e.coli germs from feces if we’re not keeping our toothbrushes covered.
So if we’ve been keeping them covered, that’s not good either? Covering causes yet ANOTHER PROBLEM:
The growth that you see in this and the following image was accelerated by a few days, but this is really what happens! If we close in the moisture on our toothbrushes, we might as well invite a whole slimy rainforest to grow in there. It’s not just our toothbrushes that are being over-helicoptered. Mouthguards also tend to grow things on them if left unattended:
Nope. No way. I welcome the Demons Of TMJ Disturbance to visit me and make me dream about my teeth falling out all night. Sad that I’d rather grind myself down to gummy nubs than to have to clean that nightguard off and sleep in it again.
When someone tries to gross us out with a problem, there’s a reason behind it, because there must be an answer, a solution to the horrible thing that we want to prevent. What I like is that this solution happens to be quite economical and user-friendly.
No. Not that economical. You’re going back to the whole idea of “things that should be in the toilet.” But at least you’re thinking dry.
As a dental hygienist, at times I’ve been merely satisfied with knowing my patients are using a toothbrush, but lately I’ve decided to acknowledge that they can be vectors for pathogens to invade our bodies if not managed properly. What’s excessive though, is how there are all these UV blue-light sanitizers on the market and other expensive gadgets you really don’t need to keep your toothbrush healthy. Along that path, I discovered the one thing that actually makes a lot of sense:
These covers both wick away moisture from your toothbrush and provide a physical barrier between your bristles and anything you don’t want them to touch, like your family’s other toothbrushes, bathroom cleaning chemicals, or stray hairs. I will never put my toothbrush in another plastic case now that I know about Toothbrush Shields.
This product is so obvious that I’m surprised I’m just now finding out about it. I want to get the word out why wicking sleeves should be as universal to our lives as something like plastic baggies. This particular wicking sleeve is designed for your toothbrush, and here are the reasons why I am endorsing the Toothbrush Shield:
Part of that last bullet point is how I found out about this product. In the United States, 97% of dental hygienists are women. Other than kindergarten teachers (see the 2018 Labor Statistics here), the rest of the professions aren’t even close to having this extreme gender skew. So a short time ago I was at a conference exclusively for the dental hygiene profession – for all these women, essentially – where I was given a few samples of the Toothbrush Shield. Mind you, I was carrying a trade show bag heavy with familiar toothpastes, flossers, mouthwashes, and brushes from all the dental hygiene exhibitors. But this one product stood out, especially since I’d never seen anything like it before.
That’s where the “woman-owned” part comes in. While the person who invented the Toothbrush Shield is not a dental hygienist by profession, she has the insight to realize where her biggest advocates are poised, and most importantly, who they are, and what drives them.
I’d like to introduce her to you. She is Susan Klinsport, an entrepreneur with a background ripe for solving the problem of germs and wet toothbrushes that she encountered in her personal life. Her experience working with engineering companies gained her the access to materials testing, scientific consultations, and manufacturing, and has resulted not only in the Toothbrush Shield, but she has also designed the larger version as a Mouthguard Shield.
I didn’t snag any of these Mouthguard Shields at the conference, so I asked for some images from Susan herself. I know, right? She’s like totally my best friend now. That’s because after the show was over, I was like “Hey,” and she was like “What” and I emailed her to ask about her story and everything. And she was really cool about it so here we are, on DentalBuzz, getting the word out about a simple, effective product that will protect yours and your patients’ toothbrushes by keeping them covered every day, and that takes the place of plastic cases and rolled up toilet paper when traveling.
So where can you get Toothbrush Shields? Probably just down the street! You’ll find them in stock at CVS, Walmart, and Rite-Aid. Or if they’re not on your local pharmacy shelves, you can purchase online from many retailers, including the IntellidentProducts.com website that will take you to the Walgreens retail page where a box is on sale for $2.28 currently. Good deal! Even if they’re privately labeled, they are still the same product, as you can see below:
Patients undergoing cancer therapy are especially vulnerable to secondary infections, so oncology clinics and individuals are able to purchase Toothbrush Shields in bulk here on the website at SideEffectsSupport.com, the world’s leading resource for minimizing oral effects of cancer treatment. The shields are also included as part of the Oral Cancer Rescue Kit as pioneered by Jill Meyer-Lippert, RDH of SideEffectsSupport.com and Jennifer Brown, RDH, BS of CARTI Cancer Center in Arkansas.
Aetna has gotten the message as well. The insurance company is currently including the Toothbrush Shields in their oral hygiene care packages as part of their Rush to Brush program, thanks to the efforts of Susan Klinsport and Dian Baker, PhD RN. This program is designed to decrease patients’ risks of acquiring infections during hospital stays.
There is also a great news story featuring Susan and the Toothbrush Shield that I wanted to share here:
I’m now using the Toothbrush Shields over my manual toothbrush as well as my electric ones. Why so many brushes? It’s because I’m currently going back and forth, comparing my previously shelved Philips Sonicare with the new Braun OralB that I received for free from the same conference, but that’s a story for a future article. All have been easier to remember to re-cover, and I’m looking forward to traveling with them now instead of closed-in plastic caps that I have to keep up with.
As for the toothbrush I threw in the toilet? It’s got a new job: scrubbing the dark grime out of the washing machine.
Trish Walraven RDH, BS has been curating DentalBuzz.com since 2008 as a casual place for dental professionals and their patients to explore dentistry in ways that make their lives better. This does not include firm toothbrushes, which is probably an equal factor for tossing that one that ended up in her laundry room.
Disclosure and copyright: Other than the samples, I did not receive any other form of compensation for this article. Feel free to share this information on your dental blogs, social media pages, or any habitats where patients and colleagues tend to dwell.
Resources and further reading:
https://www.allure.com/story/toothrbush-germs-bacteria
https://www.onhealth.com/content/1/toothbrush_germs_facts
https://www.guardiandirect.com/resources/articles/shocking-facts-about-your-toothbrush