The Dentist's Network #73

Louis Malcmacher
DDS MAGD
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Make A Dental Meeting Your Next Destination!

I was privileged this year to attend the IDS – The International Dental Show – in Cologne, Germany. This is the biggest dental show in the world with nine floors of dental exhibits representing people and dental companies from all over the world. As this is the show where hundreds of companies release their latest products, I was able to play with and touch all of the latest dental technology. The IDS is both an exhausting and exhilarating experience as you literally see the future of dentistry right in front of your eyes.

Here are a few of the new things I saw at the IDS:

Triodent, the makers of the V3 Ring, the best composite resin matrix system on the market, has introduced TrioTrays, the next generation triple impression tray. Get them if you don’t already have them. They have finally figured out the way to handle the tongue and cheeks so it creates a perfect impression. They can be found at www.triodent.com

Lares Research has the PowerLase AT hard and soft tissue laser which is literally a self contained laser operatory. It has both the hard tissue erbium laser so that you can perform your operative dentistry without anesthesia, and a Nd:YAG laser which is excellent for soft tissue applications. Now that I and many other dentists have become more involved in overall facial esthetics, I learned at the IDS that this PowerLase AT laser also has an esthetic facial component and can do laser hair removal as well as skin resurfacing. Lares Research is also amazing for its 60 day trial with a money back guarantee. That is unheard of among dental laser companies and they have the same policy regarding their excellent handpieces. Lares Research makes some of the lightest and best handpieces on the market today. Check them out at www.laresdental.com

Dentatus was showing off their Atlas narrow diameter implant system, which is an advanced mini-implant system that does not rely on O-rings and metal housings, making it the easiest system to use. That is not me talking – that is many dentists that have made the switch from more complicated mini-implant systems. Sign up for a course or learn more about them at www.dentatus.com

Zila Pharmaceuticals (www.zila.com) was at the IDS showcasing Vizilite Plus, the most popular oral cancer screening system used in dentistry today because of its enhanced sensitivity, ease of use, and cost effectiveness. This is the oral cancer screening system that I talk about every week in my lectures and by far the most popular system out there among dentists.

If you have been to LVI, you know about a laboratory named Aurum Ceramics (www.aurumgroup.com). Aurum Ceramics is one of the best kept secrets in dentistry. They have just released a next generation, no preparation veneer called Cristal Veneers – now you can have LVI type esthetics with a no preparation veneer at a very reasonable cost, while eliminating the bulkiness of other products. This is certainly the next generation of no/minimal preparation porcelain veneers that will take the esthetics to a new level and please both dentists and patients alike.

Here is what else I learned at the IDS - most dental meeting exhibit floors are too boring! At the IDS, many dental companies have built in cafes in their booths that serve coffee, tea and soft drinks all day as well as fresh fruit and even hors d’oeuvres. At about 5 PM the place really starts rocking, with live bands set up in several booths and drinks that are a little more serious than Diet Coke. These companies want to not only have people visit their booths, but also have dental professionals stay longer so that they can talk to them about their latest products.

With nearly every meeting organizer, exhibitor, and dentist complaining that dental tradeshow attendance is declining, we need to look at new opportunities and venues to attract dentists and their teams back to the dental meetings by making their attendance more of a positive experience rather than an obligation. Let’s learn to have fun at our dental meetings again by making the exhibit floors more experiential.

Some quick examples that have worked well here are the live patient treatment arenas on the exhibit floor of The Greater New York Dental Meeting. I recently spoke at the Sacramento District Dental Society Meeting, where they had lunch for the attendees on the exhibit floor and even had a mechanical bull-riding machine. The Oregon Dental Association Annual Meeting where I lectured,had buffet tables and free chair massages on the exhibit floor – the exhibits were mobbed with people and their attendance was up!

I know the Chicago Dental Society, Hinman, Yankee, and California Dental Association meetings have developed new ways to engage dentists and make their meetings more interesting as well. Let’s learn to have fun at these dental meetings and make them a destination that dental professionals will certainly want to come to.

The economy will get better. Dentistry, being a recession resistant industry, has great promise once the economy turns around. Let’s all enjoy that future promise together and support our dental meetings.

Dr. Louis Malcmacher is a practicing general dentist in Bay Village, Ohio, an internationally known lecturer, dental consultant and author, and consultant to the Council on Dental Practice of the ADA. Interested in knowing more about how to truly enjoy dentistry? Click here.

Interested in having Dr. Malcmacher speak to your dental society or study club? Click here. To reach Dr. Malcmacher, email him at DrMalcmacher@thedentistsnetwork.net or call 1.800.952.0521.

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Dr. Lorne Lavine
Dental Technology Consultants
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Choosing Computers

According to a recent survey, less than 50% of dentists currently have computers in their operatories. For the office that wishes to move towards the “paperless” or chartless concept that is all the rage right now, computers in the treatment rooms are mandatory. All images that are captured, whether they are intraoral camera pictures, digital camera pictures, or digital x-rays, must be saved for future reference and should also be visible to the patient to assist in co-diagnosis. However, this is simply not feasible without a computer in the operatory. Many practitioners find it difficult to choose the right computer, so the purpose of this article is to review the specifications that should be chosen for an operatory computer. We will focus only on desktop-style computers; the argument of desktop vs. a laptop or Tablet will be left for another article. Also keep in mind that this is being written in June 2009: technology is changing rapidly and may be slightly outdated by the time you read this.

Computer Case Design
Most of us are familiar with the older desktop or upright mini-tower designs. In the operatory however, space is often at a premium and in many cases, a small-form-factor computer makes the most sense. These computers come in multiple designs. Some are very thin and long and look like two laptops stacked on top of each other, such as the Dell Optiplex 760 SFF. Others, like the Shuttle, look more like a toaster. One of the decisions that must be made is the need for regular PCI-E cards. The Shuttle-style computers can usually allow use of one PCI-E and one PCI card, where the thinner models do not.

Processor
Intel recently decided to forgo their nomenclature based on chip speed, and are instead now using a “series” designation. The rationale is that while processor speed is important, the size of the cache and the functionality is also a factor. This can be very confusing as there are now single core chips, Core 2 Duo, Quad Core, etc. Most dental offices will find that a Core 2 Duo processor that is around 2 GHz in speed will provide plenty of power for the practice.

Memory
When discussing memory, there are two types of memory that are occasionally mixed-up: RAM (Random Access Memory) and Hard Drive capacity. The confusion lies in the fact that hard drive sizes are expressed in gigabytes of RAM. Usually when we are talking about memory, we refer to the RAM, the internal memory that loses all information when the computer is turned off. For a dental operatory, we recommend a minimum of 2 GB of RAM. Some digital radiography companies are starting to suggest that dentists use 4 GB of RAM, but we have yet to see any major performance boosts with this extra memory. For the hard drive, 80 GB is more than adequate. In almost all offices, the workstations will not be storing any practice management or image data on their hard drives, and this data will instead be stored on the server, so there’s little reason to pay extra for a 250-500 GB hard drive for an operatory workstation.

Operating System
Windows XP Professional is still the ideal choice for the office environment. It contains many features not found in XP Home, such as the ability to automatically log into certain types of networks, and Remote Desktop, which allows you to log into the computer from home or anywhere else in the world. However, the core of Professional and Home are identical, so any program that runs on Professional should run identically on Home as well. Vista was not well-received and many programs and devices still have issues with it, and considering that Windows 7 should be out by the Holidays, I don’t suggest purchasing Vista for new computers at this time.

Warranty
Ideally, you should purchase a computer with a warranty that is equal to the amount of time that you plan on owning the computer. With the ever-changing nature of technology, most offices will find that three years is the expected life-span of these computers. The computers will still run beyond three years, but will have trouble keeping up with the applications available at that time.

Dentists should take the time to choose computers based on their current and future needs, rather than looking at the cost of the systems as the most important feature.

Lorne Lavine, DMD is the Founder and President of Dental Technology Consultants. Dr. Lavine holds two prestigious certifications, the A+ Certified Technician designation and the Network+ Certified Professional. These designations demonstrate proficiency in computer repair, operating systems, network design and installation. Dental Technology Consultants provides dentists a full range of services relating to the implementation of technology.

Interested in having Dr. Lavine speak to your dental society or study club? Click here. Dr. Lavine can be reached at drlavine@thedentistsnetwork.net.

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Bruce Bryen, CPA.
Managing Partner
The Snyder Group, LLC
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Debt Forgiveness and Its Ramifications

With all the financial problems in today’s economy, many dentists are smart enough to attempt settlement negotiations with their lenders and other creditors. There are many steps needed to reduce a debt and have the creditor accept a lesser payment than is owed. Thousands of dollars can be saved by speaking up during a difficult time and requesting a meeting to resolve a liability at an amount less than that on an invoice.

Why Would a Creditor Accept a Lesser Payment?
The threat of litigation is a reason that creditors may accept less than an amount owed. If a creditor has ever had a debtor balk at paying a bill, and has had litigation experience, the ability to settle could occur. Those who have not gone through a prosecution leading to a trial, have no idea what takes place. A lawsuit is time consuming, expensive, and creates a tremendous loss of production on the creditor’s side as well as the debtor’s. A settlement of a debt that occurs quickly will save money, time and aggravation for the creditor and debtor. The legal fees incurred in attempting to collect a debt may outweigh the amount owed. Another reason for a settlement to take place without litigation is the amount of time that passes while the dispute is unresolved and no funds are being received on the creditor’s behalf. The ability for a debtor to delay a payment and to dispute the charge without the necessity of going to court can cause the creditor such a long delay, that a lower payment in satisfaction of a bill would be justified from a cash flow stand point. The fact that a long time customer would continue buying and paying the creditor under new payment terms would also be a point for the creditor to consider.

How Does One Begin Negotiating a Lower Payment?
One of the most important concepts in debt negotiations is the concept of honesty with the creditor. Once credibility is lost, by promising something that is not delivered, the ability to settle at a lower than outstanding balance is probably lost. If the creditor thinks that the truth is not being presented, why would the vendor, bank, or other type of creditor believe anything else the debtor might say? Don’t promise that the “check is in the mail.” The truth that it probably isn’t will severely hurt the negotiations as they continue. If the truth is told, negotiations have an excellent chance of taking place with the resolution of issues and no reduction in credit rating or standing with the creditor. This will help immensely when the economy improves and cash flow is better. Don’t ignore the obligation and think it will go away. Try to keep discussions ongoing so that no outsiders, such as an attorney for the cre ditor or a credit bureau reporting agency, enter the scene if at all possible. Once that happens, your time, costs and aggravation go up because your creditor’s costs would have just increased significantly.

Settlement has occurred. What are the consequences?
After a difficult period of negotiations, good news may on your doorstep. The settlement looks like it will occur. What are some of the consequences of the debt reduction? An example may be that if $200,000 was owed to a creditor and the creditor has agreed to accept $100,000, there has been a forgiveness of debt of $100,000. That is the good news. The battle is almost over. There is another provision to consider. What are the income tax consequences of the forgiveness of the $100,000 obligation? The IRS considers the debt forgiveness to be income to the debtor. It is termed “forgiveness of debt income.” What does that mean? It typically results in the imposition of tax at the rate the taxpayer would pay on all of his or her income for the year of the forgiveness. Using the state of New Jersey as an example, and if the taxpayer’s rate was 6% for the state and 30% for the federal government, the tax would be 36% ( 30% federal plus 6% state) times the amount of the forgiveness of $100,000, or a total tax of $36,000.

In today’s economy, many creditors are expecting your call.

Bruce Bryen, CPA has successfully assisted dentists with their personal and financial matters for more than thirty years. As a partner in The Snyder Group, he delivers creative and prudent financial strategies to help dentists build and protect wealth at every stage of their careers. His extensive expertise includes financing, debt restructuring, retirement planning and tax advising to help dentists keep more of what they earn. Bruce is also experienced in providing litigation support services and has testified on numerous occasions as an expert witness.

If you would like additional help or are interested in having Bruce Bryen speak to your dental society or study club, he can be reached at bruce@thedentistsnetwork.net or at 1-800-988-5674.

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