When I first implemented layered anterior composites into my practice, I would frequently finish a case and think to myself, “Oh gawd, this looks terrible.” It took me a while before I figured out why my restorations were not turning out like I had planned. As I practiced, I noticed a few common themes with my technique and eventually learned how to correct my mistakes.
In this article, I share the lessons I learned with the hope to save you a lot of time and heartache. I’ve found that layering anterior composites make me happy. And isn’t life just better when your schedule is stacked with the procedures that make you happy?
From choosing the wrong shade to trying to get too fancy, let’s review the most common reasons anterior composites don’t turn out quite right, what happened clinically, and how to fix them. The best part is you don’t have to start over completely.
Did you know that one of the National Tooth Fairy Days just passed on August 22nd? Yeah, there’s actually TWO National Tooth Fairy Days. The other one is on February 28th. No one knows for sure, but it’s believed that the reason for a double dose of the fairy-themed day has something to do with American Dental Association’s recommendation of two cleanings annually.
WHAT IS THE TOOTH FAIRY?
Many of you have grown up with fond memories of losing teeth because of the Tooth Fairy. If you’re unaware of the Tooth Fairy, she or he will visit you in your sleep whenever you lose a baby tooth. As long as you leave the tooth underneath your pillow the tooth fairy will take the tooth, leaving a prize (usually money) in its place! I mean, that sounds pretty awesome. What kid doesn’t like receiving a gift or money for something as simple as putting a lost tooth under their pillow?
In the 1920’s fairies were commonly used for different types of health education. These fairies were created to get kids to do things like eat their vegetables, wash behind their ears and get a good night’s rest. In 1927, Esther Watkins Arnold wrote a play about the Tooth Fairy. Schools began to perform the play the following year and kids have been getting visits from the Tooth Fairy ever since.
A WAY TO INSTILL GOOD ORAL HEALTH HABITS IN CHILDREN
“One in three parents agreed that Tooth Fairy visits are a positive way to instill good oral health habits in their children,” according to a survey conducted by Delta Dental.
About half say that the Tooth Fairy visits are exciting, special and fun for their kids. Emily O’Brien, Director of Strategic Communications for Delta Dental Plans Association, says “The Tooth Fairy tradition invites oral health conversations into households in an exciting and fun way…”
THE RISING COST OF BABY TEETH
The Original Tooth Fairy Poll conducted by Delta Dental has tracked how much the tiny fairy is willing to shell out for a child’s lost baby tooth. The average cost of a tooth was around $1.50 in 2001. The cost in 2021 seems to average around $4.70! That’s more than a 300% increase in 20 years. At this rate, our kids (I mean, the tiny, magical tooth fairy) will be paying around 15 bucks for a single tooth in 2040. Is this Tooth Fairy inflation? Well, not exactly.
The Tooth Fairy pricing poll has typically tracked with the economy’s overall direction and closely matched the trend of Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) index. So in 2040 your children (The Tooth Fairies of their time) might be paying around $15 for each of their kid’s teeth, but they’ll likely be paying a lot more most other things as well.
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If you haven’t heard, ABS has developed several mobile applications to work in conjunction with its dental lab management software suite, Evolution. These applications have recently been updated to our latest version, 13.0.
Among these, EvoDRIVER 13.0 is a silky-smooth mobile app that your local delivery drivers can use to manage the stops along their routes. This app gives them the ability to process deliveries and pickups, view and add notes, get directions to the doctor’s address, and even get signature verification.
Give your drivers the ability to know what stops they should be making in REAL-TIME. They can even get text notifications when pickups are added to their routes and see them updated, automatically, within the EvoDRIVER 13.0 application. New functionality within the app allows your drivers to pull up the doctor’s address in maps for step-by-step directions to the location. Another new feature lets the user tap on the phone number for the account to make a quick call to the doctor for any questions or clarification.
On Tuesday, August 3rd, 2021, Jennette’s Pier of North Carolina posted photos of a fish with human-looking teeth. The Facebook post lead to a barrage of mixed comments from a variety of the platform’s users.
FISHING FOR SHEEPSHEAD
Nathan Martin reeled in the 9-pound fish that almost appears to be wearing dentures. He said that he was out fishing with his twin brother on Monday when he pulled up a “mouth full of teeth.” Martin is a regular at the pier and went out that day in hopes of bagging one. “It’s a very good fight when you’re fighting on the line. it’s a really good catch, and it tastes very good,” he told McClatchy News in a phone interview.
FloridaShoreFishing.com
The Sheepshead gets its name from its mouth full of teeth that resemble those of Sheep. This omnivorous species use their unique incisors and molars to crush and eat shellfish. And, believe it or not, these fish aren’t rare. They occur in abundance along the Atlantic coasts of the United States and are one of the most valued food-fishes of North America.
The 9-pounder that Martin reeled in is a good size Sheepshead, although they are know to grow up to 15 or 20 pounds. One reason you may not see a whole lot of people catching these is because of their notorious ability to steal bait off of a hook. That, combined with their black and white stripes, have earned Sheepshead the nickname “Convict Fish.”
MIXED REACTIONS
Some commenters confirmed that the fish is, in fact, very tasty, with one person writing: “Yum! Best tasting fish in the sea! Craving some fish tacos now!!”
Other users chimed in with comments like: “Good eating” and “delish!”
There were some who didn’t find the meal to be too appetizing, saying, “Nah, I’m not that hungry, thanks.”
DENTAL JOKES
As you can imagine, there were no shortage of dental jokes mixed in there. Here is just a sampling of some of the best (or worst) takes regarding the animal’s chompers:
“Is this where dentures come from?”
“That fish has better teeth than me”
“He definitely needs a cleaning! Lol”
“Bad dentist. Must look elsewhere.”
And, “Looks like he ate somebody’s dentures.”
EQUIP YOUR LAB FOR SUCCESS
If you’re looking for a dental lab management software that will help your lab create much more aesthetically-pleasing restorations for your doctors and their patients, take a look at Evolution. If you’d like to learn more about the best dental lab management solution available, feel free to contact us to schedule a free demo for your lab.
Dental laboratories are essential. Thank you for dedicating yourselves to improving the lives of your fellow humans, (and in some cases NOT humans). You provide a service which ultimately enhances an individual’s aesthetic, self-confidence, physical health and overall well-being. The true magnitude of your impact on society could never be measured.
Something that has been studied is the correlation between tooth loss and cognitive impairment. It’s fairly well known, according to studies, that poor oral health increases someone’s chances of suffering from cognitive issues like Alzheimer’s and dementia. Recently, additional research “revealed that the association between tooth loss and cognitive impairment was NOT significant when participants had dentures.”
THE STUDY
Credit: jovanpros.com
New analysis by NYU’s Rory Meyers College of Nursing reaffirms tooth loss could increase a person’s risk for cognitive decline. Additionally, “…with each
tooth lost, the risk for cognitive impairment increases.” The research was published in JAMDA: The Journal of Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine on July 8th, 2021. Another observation from the meta-analysis is that “timely prosthodontic treatment with dentures may reduce the progression of cognitive decline related to tooth loss.”
What I find interesting is that the research suggests that with each tooth lost, the risk of cognitive impairment increases. Analysis by the NYU researchers showed that each additional missing tooth was associated with a 1.4% increased risk of cognitive impairment and a 1.1% increased risk of being diagnosed with dementia. So, basically, the more teeth you’re missing, the more likely you are to suffer from cognitive decline. This is fascinating to me and underscores the correlation between oral health and mental health.
Researchers have offered many possible explanations for the connection between tooth loss and diminished cognitive function. One major reason could be that missing teeth leads to difficulty chewing which might hinder a person’s ability to maintain a healthy diet. The inability to smile naturally could be another reason for increasing cognitive impairment. A positive self-image that a patient receives from a dental prosthetic works to improve their mental health.
Furthermore, a major factor for tooth loss is gum disease, according to a growing body of research. Gum disease is a major factor of tooth loss and contributes to deteriorating oral health. These issues ultimately lead to a compromised physical and mental health.
EFFICIENT SOLUTION
The most effective solution is maintaining oral health. You should also receive timely treatments or dentures if necessary to help reduce your risk of developing any cognitive deficiencies as you get older.
Let us help you, help your dentists. If you are looking for solutions for managing your dentists’ cases more effectively take a look at Evolution from Atlanta Based Systems. Stay on top of your customer service game with automated communications with all of your accounts. Contact us for more information or schedule a free demo to view the best dental lab management software available.
Are you searching for a flexible way to extract account, product, and technician data from Evolution? With Visual Cut, you have a great option to receive Evolution reports via email, already in an Excel table format, so that you may easily filter and sort each of the columns. You can even create your own custom sorting of the data.
Check out how convenient these automated email reports are in the video below. Integration with Visual Cut takes your Evolution system to a whole new level, providing easy access to up-to-date information on the progress of your laboratory.
These emailed Excel table files can help you cut your data analysis time in half. This frees you up to improve and grow your business successfully. If you would like more information on Evolution and Visual Cut, please contact ABS Support. You may also give us a call at 1-800-476-2097, ext. 1.
The American Dental Association (ADA) is expressing its pleasure that dental practices are “largely exempt” from new OSHA emergency temporary standard (ETS). In a video put out by the ADA president, Dr. Daniel J Klemmendson says the reason for this is “because of dentistry’s proven ability to practice safely through this pandemic.”
In a National News Release published on June 10th, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced it will issue an ETS “to protect healthcare workers from contracting coronavirus.” A week later they filed it with the Office of the Federal Register and the ETS became effective when it was published on June 21st. Please go and read all of the components of the COVID-19 Healthcare ETS for yourself to determine the best course of action for you and your client’s business.
According to the ADA President, this new standard “requires substantial added infection controls in settings like hospitals and nursing homes.” However, since dentists and dental hygienists “took [the ADA’s interim guidance] to heart,” their infection rates were “far lower than other health care professionals.” Dr. Kelmmedson says that this data was provided to OSHA and White House officials, and they listened. That’s why dental practices “can go on providing excellent care to your patients without worrying that additional federal regulations will be burdensome to your practice.”
While communicating the great news that dentistry is largely exempt from OSHA’s new ETS, the ADA President did note that there are “provisions of the new regulation that [do] affect dental practices,” like continuing to screen patients before appointments. He also claims that, “in order to be exempt” you should be able to demonstrate that “you are doing your best to screen out known or suspected COVID positive patients.”
What do you think? Are you worried that any of these new federal regulations will be burdensome to your lab or its dentists? Please leave a comment below and let us know. We love hearing your feedback.
If you are searching for the best dental lab management software, Evolution may be a good fit for you. Please contact ABS for more information, or to schedule a live demo at a time of your convenience.
There is almost no aspect of managing a dental laboratory that is more important than speedy and reliable communications with their dentists. This practice is required to provide patients with the ultimate satisfaction in the products you provide, making it paramount for continued growth in your business.
JDT May 2021
Recently, The Journal of Dental Technology interviewed two dental lab industry experts who shared their experiences on setting “achievable expectations and build[ing] successful relationships through confident communication.” NADL members can read more about it in JDT’s May 2021 article, Communicate with Confidence.
Within the article, the subjects mention many of the well-known independent communication options, such as the, exploding-in-popularity, Zoom meeting and “email, phone, FaceTime, text, IM, live chat, etc.” While all of these options are great (not to mention, irreplaceable), there are even more options.
Some of those other communication options have the ability to be integrated within Atlanta Based Systems’ Evolution dental lab management software. Take our EvoDOCTOR Portal, for example. Your doctors can login to send notes and attach files to cases. They can also request pickups by local drivers and even live-chat with an online employee in your lab.
With ABS and Evolution, internal notifications and automated emails can be set up so that lab employees can be notified when dentists communicate through their portal. These automatic email templates for your dentists can also be triggered to let them know when the lab receives, reschedules or ships a case. The EvoDOCTOR Portal, integrated with your Evolution dental lab management software, could be used as an indispensable communication tool for your laboratory.
ABS Digital Rx Feature
Also, with the new Digital Rx integration, your doctors can upload completed digital prescriptions directly to your lab. All they would need to do is login to their EvoDOCTOR Portal account and click on the link to fill out the prescription online. Once they’ve completed the form and added any notes or images, they would just upload that file to the case.
But wait, there’s more. Effective communications don’t stop with clients and lab administrators. Let’s not forget that there are other positions within the dental lab industry that need to be able to effectively communicate with members of your and your dentists’ teams. Take for instance your local drivers. They would certainly need to be notified if there has been a note added to a pickup request or any changes in deliveries or pickups on their routes. ABS has developed a fully-integrated mobile app solution for that, called EvoDRIVER.
EvoSALES Mobile App
What about your sales and customer service staff? In addition to the CRM within the ABS EvoDATA desktop application, we have also created a mobile CRM app called EvoSALES. This application gives your sales people (or customer service staff) the ability to add notes to accounts. There is even the ability to assign messages to specific lab members so they can receive instant notifications with the notes your EvoSALES users put into the system.
We, at Atlanta Based Systems, agree that effective communications are essential to the success of dental laboratories. What’s more? Evolution is capable of automated communications between the lab, its customers and employees. Even better, these automated communications can integrate directly with your dental lab management software. With Evolution, all of your communication needs are covered.
Please contact us if you are interested in learning more.
If your lab has been searching for a solution to the overwhelming amount of paper prescriptions required for you to print and send out to your dentists, look no further. One environmental-friendly option is a digital prescription that you can provide on your website and/or doctor portal. ABS now provides the ability for you to add your own digital prescription template to your Evolution dental lab management software and EvoDOCTOR Web Portal.
This new DIGITAL RX feature gives your doctors and accounts the ability to fill out a prescription, digitally, and submit it directly to your lab from the comfort of their favorite online device.
Once they’ve logged into your lab’s EvoDOCTOR Web Portal to do things like check on the status of their cases, they now will have the ability to select “Create New Lab Prescription.” This will allow the doctor to fill out your lab prescription using different tools for editing. In this demonstration, the doctor is primarily using their stylus on an iPad to complete the prescription.
The doctor will just complete the digital Rx you provide them, including any kind of information they want the lab to know about the case. Along with the ability for your doctors to fill out information about the case, they can also include images and even make annotations on top of those images.
Once all of the information necessary has been entered on the form, the doctor can then save the file. As a saved file, it can then be uploaded to the case by navigating to the case, selecting “upload file” and picking the file to be uploaded.
In addition to internal Evolution alerts, lab members can also be notified via email that a doctor has added a file through the doctor portal. These notifications can include some pertinent information about the case, and even a link to the files so they can be accessed immediately and directly from the email notification.
Also, any EvoDATA User with access to the doctors’ case files will be able to access the newly added file through Case Pictures.
EvoTECH Mobile App
Dental lab technicians would have access to the digital prescription for the case, as well. For instance, through the ABS EvoTOUCH application, technicians could access the case information and click on “case images” to see the file.
Any dental lab technician using our EvoTECH mobile app would even be able to pull up the newly added digital Rx directly on their mobile device. In addition to finding case info, notes and images, lab techs can also view any digital Rx file that the doctor uploads through their portal.
Once your dentists learn of the ability to upload their prescriptions directly through the internet, you may be able to reduce the amount of prescriptions you need to print and distribute. Not to mention, this solution will be faster, easier and more efficient for both you and your clients.
Please contact us if you’re interested in implementing this new feature with your Evolution dental lab management software. Also, don’t forget to like and share the video in this post. Subscribe to the ABS YouTube Channel and hit that notification bell for new video alerts. See ya next time.
Evolution is the latest dental lab management software suite developed by Atlanta Based Systems. ABS has been developing software solutions specifically for Dental Laboratories for well over 40 years. Although our software has changed over the decades, we still have the same goal in mind: Provide dental labs with the most comprehensive, yet user friendly system to help digitally manage their day-to-day operations.
EVODATA
Atlanta Based Systems offers a complete suite of dental lab management applications with Evolution. The main application is EvoDATA, which provides tools for all of your daily operations. This desktop application gives dental lab executives, managers, accountants, order entry operators, customer service, sales and any invoicing/shipping staff all of the information that they need about any case that has came through your lab or any account that has used, or intends to use, your lab as their dental products provider.
EVOTOUCH
ABS also provides multiple tools for your technicians to track and record their work. The ideal technician productivity tracking method is EvoTOUCH, which was created with the original Evolution package.
EvoTOUCH was designed for Touch Screen workstations throughout the lab for convenient access for your technicians. The program will also work on a standard, updated Windows PC. From each workstation, technicians have the ability to clock in and out, view all cases that are ready for them to work on (in priority order), view any details, notes, and images attached to their cases, check cases in when they begin working on them, and check cases out when they are finished with their jobs.
EVOTECH+
EvoTECH + is a stand-alone desktop application geared toward Technicians that allows limited access to production data. They will be able to access: Time Clock, Case Inquiry, Bar Code, Case Images, Case Files, CRM My Activities and Work Ticket Viewer. This application combines a scaled-down version of EvoDATA (Evolution’s “main” application for case lookup, management, etc.) and the EvoBARCODE application. It’s ideal for giving those technicians powerful tools, combined within a single application, for self- and team-management of current casework PLUS the ability to “complete” their steps for cases using the built-in bar coding feature.
EVOTECH (MOBILE APP)
EvoTECH Mobile app can be used in conjunction with Evolution to help your lab maintain tight controls on production. Not only that, but technicians can also clock in and out of work using these devices (only when they are on the labs premises, of course) and view any images or PDF documents that have been attached to their cases.
Another HUGE feature of the EvoTECH mobile app is it’s ability to use the device’s camera as a bar code scanner. So, not only can your techs complete cases, they can complete them quickly, easily, and accurately by scanning a bar code if you choose to have one printed on your work tickets.
EVOBARCODE
EvoBARCODE is the most traditional method of production tracking in a dental laboratory that would be using a scan “wand” to scan a bar code that is on a work ticket, which is passed along with the case. By using ABS Evolution‘s EvoBARCODE application running on a Windows PC, your technicians can complete their particular steps for a case by using a bar code-scanning peripheral. But, even without bar code scanning hardware, this app can be used with a keypad or mouse for completing steps on cases. It can also be used as a time clock for technicians to clock in and out of production.
In addition to case management, billing and technician productivity, ABS also provides other modules for doctors, managers, customer service reps and drivers.
EVODOCTOR PORTAL
The EvoDOCTOR Portal, interfaces with your database and was designed to provide Doctors with a Concierge level of service, saving Doctors time and improving communications between the dentist’s office and lab employees. It provides ability for the doctors to enter a case remotely, verify case status, check on account balance, view detailed invoices, schedule pickups, add case notes, and upload images and attachments.
EVOMGR (TABLET APP)
EvoMGR is designed for lab/department managers to use on a tablet. It is intended to be the dental lab Production Manager’s right-hand man – a digital production management assistant to help the user see REAL-TIME employee productivity. If you want to have a happy, informed, and organized dental lab manager, this is the tool for them. It will give them the ability to find out priceless information about any case in production anywhere in the lab. All you need is ABS’ Evolution with the ABS Manager App, an iPad or Android tablet, and a wi-fi connection to your lab’s computer network.
EVOSALES (MOBILE APP)
The EvoSALES mobile application is the perfect tool for salespeople on the road visiting dentists and needing to relay information back to the lab. Since the app communicates directly with your Evolution software and updates data automatically, it essentially becomes a huge time-saver and business generator. The EvoSALES mobile application is designed to run on any Android or iOS device by your sales people, or anyone else given access, so they can view account information from anywhere. It also gives users the ability to update account information and create new notes/activities that can be assigned to any Evolution User at the lab. This way the Evolution User or targeted lab staff member can receive notifications about the account or case in REAL TIME once the account information or activity has been updated!
EVODRIVER (MOBILE APP)
The EvoDRIVER Mobile Application allows your dental lab’s delivery drivers to view and enter delivery detail for cases as they pick up and deliver them. Drivers will be able to see the list of cases to be delivered for the route the driver is responsible. They will have the ability to check off the cases when they are delivered or picked up and that information will be reported back to the lab in REAL-TIME.
Whether you are a small dental lab, or a large one, ABS provides the premier dental lab management software that’s got all of your employees covered and connected. Drop us a line today!
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In this article, I share the lessons I learned with the hope to save you a lot of time and heartache. I’ve found that layering anterior composites make me happy. And isn’t life just better when your schedule is stacked with the procedures that make you happy?
(usually money) in its place! I mean, that sounds pretty awesome. What kid doesn’t like receiving a gift or money for something as simple as putting a lost tooth under their pillow?
View doctors for today’s deliveries/pickups
The American Dental Association (ADA) is expressing its pleasure that dental practices are “largely exempt” from new OSHA emergency temporary standard (ETS). In 
