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    1. Front Office

    Thoughts from the open sea: I text, you text, but do we text in the dental practice?

    March 16, 2012
    DAD Editor Kevin Henry talks about texting in the dental office and gives you a quick look at what’s coming up in Dental Assisting Digest.

    By Kevin Henry
    Editor, DAD

    I’m a texter. I text way, way too much, I admit. When your 14-year-old daughter thinks you text a lot, you know you text a lot. It’s funny how texting has become a very easy way for me to keep in touch with my daughter and my mom (I promised I wouldn’t mention her age). My dad, of course, wouldn’t text if his life depended on it. “Just pick up the phone and talk,” he always says. Of course, he’s always the guy who thought the Internet was just a fad.

    I was interested to see what you’d say about your texting habits in the practice, as well as how cellphones have changed the way your patients behave when they walk through your doors. I appreciate all of you who answered our survey this month, and you can see what you (and your colleagues) said about cell phones and texting in the practice by clicking here.

    As you read this, I’m lucky enough to be on a dental team appreciation Caribbean cruise with Linda Miles, Dr. Rhonda Savage, and many dental teams from around the United States. Both Linda and Dr. Savage are huge advocates for dental assistants, and I’m lucky to have them both as authors and true friends. Linda has her latest article in this month’s DAD so be sure to check it out, and Dr. Savage has written several articles that can help the front office and clinical dental assistant, including this one dealing with low-cost ways to increase new patients in the practice.

    On the cruise, I’m lucky enough to be able to speak to dental assistants about what’s going on in their practices and hear their concerns and joys about their jobs. Talking with you and hearing your thoughts is truly one of the best parts of my job. While at sea, I’m also going to be shooting videos with Linda, Dr. Savage, and other people for future installments of DAD. Keep an eye out for them, beginning in the April issue.

    If you’re going to be in Louisiana for the New Orleans Dental Conference from April 12-14, I’ll be there speaking at the Louisiana Dental Assistants Association roundtables on “hot topics in dental assisting.” We’ll be talking about salaries, respect, and anything else that seems to be important to those in attendance. I hope I’ll see you in the Big Easy.

    Read on, this is your e-newsletter ...