One of America's leading practice-management gurus discusses how to motivate your team members.

The handpiece is your constant workhorse, and in many ways can affect your restorative outcomes. A good craftsman does not always need the best tools, but a quality handpiece can help increase the advantage.

Dr. Jale Özdemir offers original research regarding the cytotoxic impacts of calcium hydroxide and tricalcium phosphate, which are used in endodontics, as examined in VERO cell cultures (African Green Monkey Kidney Cell). Morphology changes, rounding and grouping of cells, have been taken into account during toxicity assessment.

General practitioners can become as skilled as specialists in placing dental implants and should consider placing simple implants for their patients. So why do so few general dentists place implants?

Dr. Fred Quarnstrom says: “It is my opinion that the ultimate injection starts with the inhalation of a mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen followed by the use of a TENS and vibration signals. With the rapid induction technique, the patient is relaxed in less than a minute; add a TENS device and a vibration injection device for another 15 seconds and you have the ultimate in pain control for dental injections.”

Bottled water has rapidly become very popular, and it is an upgrade from the many artificially sweetened drinks that have flooded the market. But is bottled water a great improvement over tap water?

Dr. Richard Mounce discusses six clinical cases illustrating the differences that simple adherence to the principles of endodontic therapy can make vs. their being ignored. When employed, these principles can optimize endodontic clinical success when viewed as an option to implants.

The consumption of carbonated beverages has increased dramatically over recent years. Even though all dentitions are susceptible to demineralization caused by acidulated carbonic beverages, this case study shows that the presence of saliva as a buffering agent may reduce the deleterious effect of these beverages.

Aug. 4, 2009, marked the date the Food and Drug Administration released its long-awaited regulation on dental amalgam. The 116-page Final Rule will take effect Nov. 4, 2009, formally classifying the encapsulated amalgam into Class II, reclassifying dental mercury into Class II, and designating special controls to accompany the classification changes.

Understanding the difference between prophy and periodontal maintenance and applying these procedures properly will enhance the care we provide for our patients. Failure to do so can prevent optimal treatment outcomes and reduce the longevity of favorable results.

A review of the statistics regarding daily rates and earned commissions by dental hygienists.

When was the last time you walked in the front door of your office, looked at the paperwork your team is handing out, sat in a dental chair, and generally looked at things from your clients' perspective?