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Fun Features for Workers

Simple Tips to Impress every Office!

CPR  Information

Don't Know where to go to renew your CPR??? 

(Minnesota Board of Dentistry accepts American Heart Association and American Red Cross CPR)

American Heart Association: 

https://www.heart.org

Contact Info: 
1-800-AHA-USA-1
1-800-242-8721
Hours
Monday - Friday: 7AM - 9PM CST 
Saturday: 9AM - 5PM CST
Closed on Sundays

American Red Cross: 

https://www.redcross.org/take-a-class

Contact Info:
Training and Certification

  • Customer Service #: 
    (888) 341-6380

     

     

  • Monday to Friday 7:30am-10:00pm ET

     

     

  • Saturday 7:30am-8:00pm ET

     

     

  • Email: support@redcrosstraining.org

Apollonia offer CPR Certification and other professional course offerings: 
www.apolloniapd.com 

Other options to renew your CPR: 

         --> Offers 1:1=$75 or group classes 20 or over= $65 per person. She also does in  home party atmosphere. With days, evening and weekend classes available. She meets you at a convent location or a at home session/party. 
         --> She is flexible, convenient, offers a good price and her classes are easy/fun & quick! 
         --> You can also contact Nicole on her FB page at TEACHYOUCPR

  • Ruth Ehalt City of Lakes CPR (612) 877-0050
    --> Offers 1:1=$80 with Book Included. (1 Hour Long) Group classes=$60 per person. Minimum 5-6 people. Pay for book which is $15, could just get 2 books for a smaller group & have people share. The book is to look at & review. (2-2.5 Hours Long)  At a great price.  Relaxed, Sweet.  Located in Uptown, Minneapolis.

  • John & Nicole: #612-516-4452- 1:1 = $80. Group over 10 = $70/person. 
     --> Feedback: John met at a coffee shop, did a quick overview, highlighted important items + some mannequin stuff. Quick n easy. Located in Elk River.

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We all have our "go-to" instruments

 

You know.  Those ones that we will arm wrestle for, hold as a prized procession, and beg the office manager to "get a few more of ".

Oh yah, the instrument you hide away in the back corner cupboard of your room so no one else can have them.

Well, before you put in your next 5 page petition on why you need new instruments, check these "rockstars" out!

1. Perio Files

  • Excellent for furcations, distals of last molars, narrow lower anterior areas, and so much more!

  • It can be aggressive, so be cautious when first using it.

  • Requires a special sharpening file, but just might become your next best friend.

2. Nevi2 - Posterior Scaler

  • Super thin.

  • Great for interproximal spaces.

  • Try it in hard-to-reach posterior areas!

3. Cavitron!

  • Try sitting at 12 o'clock to keep ONE position longer and less fussing with the rheostat.

  • Don't forget to check the insert with a Tip Replacement Guide. They do wear down and become less effective.

  • Also great for easy patients, children, braces, elderly, and flushing out heavy plaque.

4. Montana Jack Scaler


Improves on a standard H6-7 Scaler with the following features:

  • Thinner blades for superior interproximal access

  • Contoured 25 degrees for improved posterior adaption.

Perio File.jpeg
Nevi 2.jpeg
Cavitron.jpeg
Montana Jack Scaler.png

5 Reasons You Deserve Good Instruments

Did you know that most dental hygiene scalers and curettes last on average 6-12 months before needing to be replaced?  Some instruments made from emerging high-tech metals can last on average 15-18 months, but in general any scaler or curette should be replaced once 20% of the width or length of the blade has been removed.  

Hearing the hygienist sharpening away on the sharpening stone may make the dentist or office manager in charge of the budget cringe, and not just because of the nails-on-the-chalkboard sound!  They may see dollar signs flying out the window, knowing that soon they'll be asked by the hygienist for a cassette full of new instruments, no small thing when you consider a single scaler can run from $30 to $50!  However, keeping instruments in good, sharp working order is important because dull instruments:

  • Make calculus removal more difficult, requiring more strokes and thereby contributing to longer patient appointments

  • Interfere with effective instrumentation manipulation, creating the possibility of soft tissue damage

  • Decrease the comfort level of both the patient and the operator by having to work harder to remove dental deposits

  • Unnecessarily increase the hygienist's amount, duration, and pressure of working strokes, thus contributing to repetitive wrist injuries and conditions

  • Slip over tooth surfaces and calculus more easily, often leaving undetected burnished calculus, which then becomes even more difficult to remove and further encourages biofilm proliferation


If you find that you're at the point where you are needing to freshen up your hygiene instruments kits, a good thing to be aware of is the recycling program that many dental instrument companies offer.  We will include the link to three popular instrument companies that offer a recycle-12-get-1-free program.  For every 12 scalers, curettes or ultrasonic inserts that you turn in (any manufacturer), you receive 1 new scaler or curette from the list they provide, free of charge.  The following websites will walk you through the process of how to package old instruments and claim free goods.

PDT Earthcare   https://www.pdtdental.com/earthcare/
American Eagle Recycle to Receive http://am-eagle.com/recycling
Hu-Friedy Envirodent   https://www.hu-friedy.com/environdent

(Thanks to RDH magazine for some of the above statistics)

Written by:  PHS temp hygienist, MICHELLE OTTOSEN

I wish you knew this about me...

Dentists wish we understood this:

  • Mentally, my focus is required in a lot of different places: exams, difficult procedures, and office needs.

  • Having things ready for me is really helpful: X-rays open, follow up calls made, patient educated and prepped.

Office Managers wish we understood this:

  • Balancing all the different office dynamics is very challenging. They all add up and I need to keep things from "crashing".

  • I work very hard to balance the needs of our workers and keep the office profitable.

Front Desk Staff wish we understood this:

  • Patients checking in can be VERY chatty. We love our patients, but this makes it difficult to get my work done.

  • I spend a lot of time auditing charts and making sure treatment plans are input correctly.

Assistants wish we understood this:

  • It is stressful when procedures take longer than expected, we're behind schedule, and the next patient gets upset at me. 

  • Working with nervous and flinching patients, trying not to get my fingers bit off, an unexpected emergency patient, and no extra open exam rooms.

Hygienists wish we understood this

  • I am Hands-On with my patients from start to finish, every appointment, back to back. This makes it difficult to get other jobs around the office done.

  • There are A LOT of tasks that need to be completed at each appointment. Sometimes it’s really challenging to get it all done, and done WELL!

We hope this gave you a better understanding and appreciation for your dental team.
So go ahead and give someone a compliment, a high five, or a "Thanks".

CHALLENGE: At your next office meeting have each team member share this: "What do you wish we better understood about the job you do?"

Continuing Education

 

CE Requirments Information:

     Click on Word Doc ---->

CE Core Subjects: 

      Click on Word Doc---->

CE Options: 

*UofM Website

*Crest

*Mayo Clinic

*Jensen & Jensen. Sign up for mailers. #651-770-2831

*Annual Star of the North held every year in April

*Dental Care: https://www.dentalcare.com/en-us/search?keywords=Osha

*OSHA CE Course: Looking for an OSHA Training Class online, check this link out. It counts for 4 CE Credits. 

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