Patti DiGangi, RDH, BS

Follow these best practices to create a more efficient and profitable office.

Consider pop-up dentistry stations to connect with customers of all ages

Though unintentional, the prescribing patterns of dentists can contribute to allergic reactions and antibiotic overuse.

Using this code can enhance your patient care as well as boost your practice's bottom line.

Clearing the fog of confusion surrounding this vital code.

Here are five important facts you need to know about the new code.

For all of the history of Current Dental Terminology (CDT) coding, there have been no truly accurate codes that can be used for the treatment this patient needs. In 2017, that story will change. Yet, we must guard against misuse of this new code and not miss the disease present

For all of the history of Current Dental Terminology (CDT) coding, there have been no truly accurate codes that can be used for the treatment this patient needs. In 2017, that story will change. Yet, we must guard against misuse of this new code and not miss the disease present

"It isn’t difficult, but it takes team cooperation, new thinking, and practice." That's the mantra from author Patti DiGangi in this article.

This article is an excerpt from the eBook "DentalCodeology: What Every Dentist Needs to Know about Medicare NOW" by Patti DiGangi, Christine Taxin, and Jan Palmer.

With November upon us, it is once again time for what has become our annual review of the additions, changes and deletions in CDT benefit coding. Changes in CDT 2016 came under the two general categories: Stand-alone changes and interrelated changes.

With November upon us, it is once again time for what has become our annual review of the additions, changes and deletions in CDT benefit coding. Changes in CDT 2016 came under the two general categories: Stand-alone changes and interrelated changes.

One of the big mysteries of dental hygiene practice is how some hygienists are highly paid and some are not. Even people from the same class with the same grades have a per-hour discrepancy that defies logic.

Stories on all types of media question whether victims of sexual harassment, rape, bullying, poverty and more are at least partially to blame for their circumstances. How often do oral health professionals do the same-blame the victim for new or continuing conditions?

Most businesses today, including dental practices, are run using a factory assembly line-model.

Have patients ever said they missed an appointment because you didn’t remind them?

Millennials in almost any arena except dental hygiene know entry level is a bachelor's degree. Many dental hygienists have an associate’s degree but have paid for a baccalaureate in time, energy and cold, hard cash. The only people who don’t know it are recent grads, non-dental people and registered dental hygienists that just ignore this cold, hard fact.

Since 1991, people have had questions about alternating codes D4910 with D1110 for follow-up of periodontal care.

Most of the dentists are confused about their Medicare status. They ask each other what options are the best to pursue with no one understanding the ramifications of their choices. 

Over the years, the idea of bleeding on probing has been a tightly held tenant in dental hygiene education and in practice. New studies on treatment benefits measure both bleeding and the decrease of bleeding on probing sites. Does anyone even know what that means?

Once again, April has arrived with thoughts of spring, flowers and a new beginnings change perceptions and outlooks. Did you think, hey, it’s also Oral Cancer Awareness month?

- "Aging is a risk factor for oral cancer" - "Everyone needs to floss" - "Restorative dentistry restores oral health" What is the truth and current science behind these statements? The automatic answer has a high likelihood of being dated, incorrect or incomplete. The public and many of us believe what happens in clinical dental hygiene practice is based on science. Yet, is it?

Dental hygienists are arguably an officious bunch. They love their rules; they trot them out like prize ponies, showing everyone that they know the score and were taught well. But U.S. dental hygienists have a secret. They are thugs, and they don’t even know it.

In 2008, the American Dental Educators Association (ADEA) formed a committee charged with assembling a glossary of terms for dental educators. Their labors were published in July 2010 Dental Clinics of North Americas. They found this necessary because the teaching of dentistry had changed in light of CAMBRA-Caries Management by Risk Assessment. 

Mass media face tight restrictions on time and space. There are limited minutes to deliver the message in a fast-changing, ever-more complex world, and the tendency can be to oversimplify.

Millennials are more conscious than ever of how food affects their health.

Millennials need to feel as if their treatment is important and that they are on the right track; this means being inquisitive. Is there anything in the practice of dental hygiene that should be exempt from questioning and examination? 

Millennials balk at doing things the way we’ve always done it because they want freedom of choice in everything. They may not balk at the assignment itself but instead may challenge the methodology. A Modern Millennial Hygienist questions the same old way of charting and diagnosing periodontal disease. A Modern Millennial Hygienist knows that symptoms-disease-dysfunction does not make sense with science.