Inspiration from Alabama

 

It’s a great day to celebrate your team success and while you’re at it, celebrate with this dedicated team in Florence, Alabama.

Take a moment to look at the chart below and appreciate the win win!

This team has increased the number of patients who are receiving necessary periodontal care and they have reaped not only the financial rewards, but the satisfaction of knowing that they are saving lives, every day!

Congratulations to the amazing team at Wilson Dental! All of us at Inspired Hygiene are thrilled with your success and we know, this is only the beginning!

If you’d like to learn more about the potential of your hygiene department, request a complimentary Discovery Session.

Critical Thinking with Difficult Patients

 

We have all been there a time or two with that difficult patient! They seem compliant, you have done everything that you can think of from a clinical treatment standpoint, yet they still appear unhealthy due to the amount of bleeding they exhibit during their recent hygiene visit. NOW WHAT?

Watch my short video on a case study we reviewed during our IH Master’s workshop last week. We collaborated to help one such frustrated hygienist use her critical thinking skills to help uncover possible ‘outside the mouth’ reasons for the continued bleeding issue.

If you’d like to learn more about the potential of your hygiene department, request a complimentary Discovery Session.

Should Periodontists bill periodic exams? Is it sinurance fraud if they don’t?

 

Recently, we’ve started working with Periodontists helping them look at how they can take their hygiene departments and the care they deliver to the next level.  Often this involves tightening up documentation, diagnosing recurrent disease and improving communication with the referring General Dentist.

One trend I’ve noticed is that Periodontists often don’t bill out exams regularly with current patients, even if the Doctor performs a periodic exam. The rationale behind this is usually an effort to preserve the two periodic exam benefits for when the patient visits their general dentist.

Recently, I did a Facebook Live discussing this topic and several very well respected dental consultants and insurance experts chimed in. I think you’ll want to see what they have to say.

Click the image below to view the video and see the comments.

What’s your TMAO level?

 

Turns out there’s a new blood test that measures levels of Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), which is an amine oxide generated from choline, betaine, and L-carnitine by gut microbial metabolism.

TMAO, which should be ≤ 6.2, can powerfully predict future risk of heart attack, stroke, and death in patients who appear otherwise healthy, according to the Cleveland Clinic.  For patients with periodontal disease, elevated TMAO levels could increase their risk for heart attack and stroke even further.

L-carnitine is found in red meat and supplements, choline is found in eggs, poultry, seafood and dairy. You may be surprised to learn that choline and/or L-carnitine are also found in energy drinks and weight loss products.

I dropped my TMAO level in about a month by eliminating L-carnitine as a treatment for leg cramps. Have your TMAO level checked and read the labels on your energy drinks and weight loss products.  Ask your patients if they have habits that might increase TMAO levels.

Click this link for a quick read to learn more.