Month: August 2013

Today’s video is the first in a four-part series called “The Four Pronged Approach”.  In keeping with the theme of our Mastermind call for this month, “Your Mouth – Your Body – Your Health” which focuses on wellness, in this first Video on Prong One, I discuss treating periodontal disease from the INSIDE OUT.

This Four Pronged Approach was developed by me as a treatment-planning tool to assist Dental Hygienists and Dentists in developing a personalized, customized treatment plan for each patient.  You can access the entire article and a visual aid for your own use chair-side. You can also find the links on our Facebook page.

Using this Four Pronged Approach guarantees you will be creating a treatment plan that is in the best interest of the patient; designed to give the best treatment outcomes and promote disease remission.

Treating periodontal disease from the INSIDE OUT is not something we typically focus on and in some cases something we may not feel entirely confident in presenting.  Take a look at the partial list below of things that patients should consider doing for themselves from the INSIDE OUT during the active phase of periodontal treatment as well as long-term disease remission:

• Periostat, 20mg doxycycline taken 2x per day for a minimum of 3 months
• High quality dietary supplement designed to increase blood serum antioxidants
• Consume a diet high in leafy greens, brightly colored fruits and vegetables in their raw form whenever possible – these foods not only increases the blood serum antioxidant levels, they also increase Total Antioxidant Capacity in the saliva
• Drinking lots of water
• Tobacco cessation/Decrease use during therapy
• Eliminate or reduce alcohol consumption
• Get at least 7 hours of sleep each night – sleep is required for the body to heal

Stay Inspired,
Kim

One comment on “Straight talk about the prophylaxis; myths and realities”

If you remember Kim Miller’s call about the 4-Prong Approach (it’s in our extensive Mastermind library) then you’ll remember that one of the prongs was ‘Inside Out’.

This means that as you’re developing a treatment plan, you must address how a patient’s immune system (inside) is going to respond to the treatment you’re recommending. One piece of the puzzle I know I haven’t done a good job of discussing is nutrition, diet and even a patient’s weight. Sure I talk to them about soda intake if they have decay but how about perio patients?

And if you think it’s hard to talk to a patient about his/her breath, how about talking to them about their weight? Tough topic…right?

Well, according to extensive research and our Hygiene Profits Mastermind special guest Dr. Uche Odiatu, visceral fat plays a HUGE role in your patient’s risk for cancer and how their immune system will respond to the treatment you just recommended.

If you’ve wondered how to bring in the conversation about nutrition and wellness into your dental practice, you DO NOT want to miss this call. Dr. Uche is a fun, dynamic speaker and he’s going to give some practical, real-life ways you can begin to have more of these conversations with your patients and by the way, create a thriving practice and better clinical outcomes.

Scroll down for details on the upcoming call. We’d love to have you join us!

“Your Mouth – Your Body – Your Health”
with special guest Dr. Uche Odiatu

We know to talk to our patients about the diabetes-perio link but have you ever talked to someone about how diet and nutrition or even their sleep patterns effect healing?

It’s no secret that emerging research catapults inflammation into the ring as a key player in many systemic and oral diseases. Lifestyle factors have a direct effect on your clinical outcomes and how your patients respond to inflammation.

Stop the deadly cascade with healthy lifestyle solutions guaranteed to change your patient’s health destiny. This fact filled & inspirational presentation gives you the practical knowledge and words to start talking about the critical pieces of the inflammatory puzzle that we often ignore. On this call, Dr. Odiatu will share:

• The 3 critical pieces of our patients’ immune response that we often ignore
• How deep visceral fat acts like and organ causing havoc on the body & mouth
• A practical 2-minute script you can use today to start educating and motivating your patients to wellness

Date: Thursday, August 15

Time: 1:00pm Eastern
CE credits are provided by Inspired Hygiene.

Inspired Hygiene is designated as an Approved PACE Program Provider by the Academy of General Dentistry. The formal continuing dental education programs of this program provider are accepted by the AGD for Fellowship, Mastership and membership maintenance credit. Approval does not imply acceptance by a state or provincial board of dentistry or AGD endorsement.

The current term of approval extends from 6/1/2010 to 5/31/2014.

If you’re not already a member of our Mastermind group, the first 2 months are FREE.  Click here to sign up.

Stay Inspired,
Rachel

I’ve known for a long time that in a group practice, it’s critical for all the dentists to have generally the same treatment philosophy, and to express this philosophy to the team. Knowing this – and making it a reality are two different things.

I’ve heard story after story from hygienists revealing how they struggle with juggling two (or more) distinctly different treatment philosophies within the same practice and trying to reconcile this when they are preparing their patients for the doctor’s diagnosis. With Dr. “A”, they see a cracked filling and know that the doc will want to watch it. With Dr. “B”, they know she’ll want to restore the tooth and possibly recommend a crown because of how much tooth structure is involved.

In the hygienist’s defense, it’s tough straddling that line.

And then you have the issue of Father-Son, Brother-Sister, Husband-Wife dynamics. One hygienist in my Co-Diagnosis program recently said that she’s in a practice where the son has joined his father. Dr. “Father” watches things and is very conservative. Dr. “Son” is a bit more proactive but is afraid to tell his patients what he really believes because they’ll think he’s trying to sell them something.

I heard about another situation with a Husband-Wife team that was far more complex. I mean, how do you tell one dentist that you feel his/her spouse is doing inferior work? Talk about sitting on a land mine! Whoever has the nerve to bring that up … will either be a hero or hitting the pavement!

Now, I know it’s easier said than done, and MUCH easier for me to write this than to actually have “the talk” – but Docs … I’m speaking to you. Please, please, please do yourselves, your partners and associates, your team, your practice and your patients a favor and have these conversations. I have facilitated these conversations many times and the involved parties are always glad they did it.

In fact, many times the team perceives the doctors to have very different philosophies, when in fact there are only subtle differences that can be easily reconciled.

Here are your action steps:

1) Ask your team. Allow them to be honest and safe. “Do you feel there are differences between the doctors’ treatment philosophy?” and “What do you see as the major difference?”

2) Set aside an hour on your calendar, sit down with all doctors and a few cases and really get down to the nitty gritty. Again, let it be a safe environment for learning. No right or wrong, just come to a consensus on how you diagnose and what treatment you recommend. Be very specific. When do you recommend a crown versus a filling, etc?

3) Once you decide what you believe, bring your team together again and teach them your common treatment philosophy.

4) Live it! Keep each other accountable and allow your team to keep you accountable to your philosophy.

Have fun!

Stay Inspired,
Rachel