John Flucke, DDS

I was talking to my Group Editorial Director Kevin Henry the other day and he happened to mention that we are now closing in on the halfway point of 2014. Think about that for a minute, I’ll wait…

As a profession, we are charged with a very important mission - we need to provide the best possible care to our patients while doing it in an environment that ensures their safety.

Dr. John Flucke takes a look at what the dental industry can expect in 2014.

I flat out cannot believe that another year has melted away that quickly. It feels like when I woke up this morning, it was Memorial Day!

Are you taking technology for granted? Here’s a break down of technology that can help improve your practice and why you should be using it if you’re not already.

We’ve seen a lot of changes in the way we provide treatment since the mid-1990s or so. While there were some advances in dentistry before that time, I truly believe the pure amount of changes we have seen in the last 10-20 years in our profession may well be more than there ever were before that time.

We’ve seen a steady evolution of computing and computer usage in our offices with major upgrades/changes since the year 2000. We’ve moved from computers strictly in the business office to computers in the treatment areas.

Planning to attend a dental trade show this year? These planning tips can help you get the most out of your time, and help ensure you reach your new technology goals in 2013.

  From Alice in Wonderland: Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here? The Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to. Alice: I don’t much care where. The Cat: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go.

If there is one thing we all need to really improve, it’s our communication skills. Not just in dentistry, but everywhere. However, because this is a magazine devoted to dentistry, I’ll keep my discussion to our beloved profession.

Dental Products Report Technology Editor Dr. John Flucke is lucky enough to try numerous products out in his operatories. Here are five he put to work in 2012 that left a lasting impression on him and have the potential to help just about any dental practice.

SciCan's Statim G4 line features internet connectivity that keeps dental staff updated throughout the instrument sterilization process.

Going digital doesn’t mean you have to convert every paper chart in your office. Here’s why finding a place to store them in your office makes more sense and leads to less stress.

The second part of the Tech Census offers insight from DPR Technology Editor Dr. John Flucke on the five technology categories covered. This section focuses on digital radiography technology.

So you want to get your office going digital? Maybe you want to integrate digital radiography (only 50% of offices are currently digital) or maybe you want to finally go to the totally digital record and at long last get rid of all those charts.

If you’ve read my dental columns over the years, you know I’m incredibly finicky about computer backups. A digital office is absolutely dependent on a consistent and repeatable backup schedule. I cannot stress that fact enough. The saying among geeks like myself is, “The failure rate of hard drives is always 100%.”

I’ve had some good times in dentistry, and in addition to the good times, I’ve also learned a lot. Of course I’ve learned a lot about dentistry, I mean a license to practice is really just a license to continue to learn, but I’ve also learned a lot about my patients and how to make things better for them.

DPR Technology Editor Dr. John Flucke uses Google Voice to simplify communications both inside and outside of the dental office.

As dentists and hygienists, we’re blessed to be in such a wonderful profession. Dentistry has an amazing track record of innovation that has improved the lives of our patients in amazing ways. The best part is we continue to innovate and find ways to make our treatment easier, more predictable, and longer lasting. Those are great benefits to our patients.

Did you know Christopher Columbus didn’t really prove the Earth was round? It was actually the ancient Greeks in about 6 B.C. This is such a common misconception, that in 1945 the “Myth of the Flat Earth” was listed in a pamphlet produced by the Historical Association of Britain as being the No. 2 most common error in history.

I think if you asked 100 dentists to make a list of their biggest problems and concerns they have for their practices, “staffing” and “scheduling” would be ranked pretty close to the top. Finding and keeping good employees has traditionally been difficult in dentistry and the current economic conditions have created problems from a scheduling standpoint for many offices.

We’ve continued to see the evolution of the dental handpiece in the last few years. First it was the arrival of ProDrive and the turbine replacement system that uses a triangular chuck and a triangular bur shank to increase efficiency of the cut as well as the quality of the marginal preparation.

As the push for digital patient records continues, more and more offices are embracing the concept of truly chartless technology. Once the infrastructure is in place, moving forward into chartless is easy, but some offices are concerned about the availability of radiographs that are still stored in their older analog charts. Although it isn’t necessary to convert all of your old paper records to digital charts, in some instances the doctor prefers having access to that information.

As doctors we are responsible for a myriad of things. Our professional lives are frequently divided between providing the best care possible, continuing education, staff management, facilities management, payroll, and don’t forget managing our practices as a business.

I absolutely love dentistry! It’s such a privilege to be able to help patients. I’m currently at a stage where patients I saw as children are bringing their children to see me. I consider the trust those people show in me to be one of the best things about working so hard to make sure people feel I’m providing the very best care.

In case your missed it, this adhesive dentistry thing is starting to catch on. Of course I’m kidding, but when was the last time you heard “bonding doesn’t work?” Adhesive dentistry has pretty much become the gold standard these days with many of us not even sure of the last time we placed a restoration that wasn’t bonded into place. However, like everything else in dentistry, attention to detail is paramount in the recipe to ensure the longevity of bonded restorations.

DPR Technology Editor Dr. John Flucke is lucky enough to try numerous products out in his operatories. Here are five he put to work in 2011 that left a lasting impression on him and have the potential to help just about any practice.

One of the major situations we face in performing treatment to the best of our ability is gathering data. Let’s face it, getting as much information together as possible before you start treatment just makes things easier and more predictable.