The DMD Top 5 for the Week Ending March 24

1. The DMD Check-Up: Boy, 4, Dies under Dental Anesthesia: A four-year-old boy has died after undergoing anesthesia at a dental practice in Vancouver, Washington. Authorities said they have filed no charges and are not investigating the incident. USA Today asks the somewhat rhetorical question of what would happen if a person didn’t brush their teeth for a year. And our sister publication Contagion® reports on a study that establishes a potential link between dental plaque and infections acquired while on ventilators.

2. The World's Best Airports: Travel in Comfort: Add some comfort to your airplane travel by choosing to fly from or layover at a top-ranked airport. Munich International Airport’s terminal 2 is rated the best airline terminal in the world for 2017. Enjoy diverse dining, including a beer garden, as well as showers, sleep pods and quiet areas for recharging.

3. EPA Rejects Anti-Fluoridation Group's Request, Is Commended by ADA: The Environmental Protection Agency has rejected a group’s petition to ban fluoride from drinking water. The group had claimed that water fluoridation has a negative impact on citizens’ IQ. The EPA said that science does not support the outcome, noting that fluoridation has significantly reduced oral disease and tooth decay in communities with fluoridated water.

4. How to Reduce No-Shows in Your Dental Practice: Maximizing your reappointment, or patient recall system, can have a significant impact on practice productivity and revenue generation. Robert Lipschutz, D.M.D., provides an overview of integrating an effective patient recall system into your dental practice. Having an automated system in place, he says, will save time for your front-office staff, and provide patients with more useful reminders about upcoming appointments.

5. Hinman Dental Meeting: Tips for High-Impact Communication: Lois Banta, CEO and founder of Banta Consulting, provided dentists at the 2017 Hinman Dental Meeting with leadership advice in her continuing education session, “High Impact Communication.” Make patients feel like they are in control of their own destiny, she said. To best communicate with patients, “don’t ask them. Inform them.” A practice must be positive, confident, and factual. Offering verbal and written communication methods is the optimal way to connect with patients.