Dentistry Uncensored with Howard Farran

Dr. Gary Roberts is the 153rd president of the American Dental Association. He is a general dentist from Shreveport, La, who spent 33 years in private practice. He is here today to talk about what is going on at the ADA.   www.ADA.org

The founders of AAFDO realized that with the continuous changes in dentistry, growth in social media, and increased transparency of quality metrics, patients are in search of reputable providers that consistently offer the best quality care. Patients will want to see dentists who demonstrate the ability to maintain compliance in Patient Safety, Quality and use of best practices.   It also became clear to us that with the growth in regulatory agencies and the number of regulations that affect dental practices, dentists have a critical need to know they are meeting all applicable requirements, as well as using the most up to date best practices in all aspects of their dental practice.   As we surveyed the landscape, it was obvious that no single organization, methodology, or resource could meet those mission critical needs for general dentistry. Unlike other healthcare specialties, general dentistry does not have an accrediting entity purposely designed to meet its unique requirements. Thus, AAFDO was born. Motivated by our passion for patient safety and the delivery of high quality care, we gathered a team of experts to create a single, comprehensive resource to which dentists could turn to ensure they meet all applicable regulations, are using best practices, and providing the safest care. In short, we wanted to enable dentists to answer the question, “Am I maintaining compliance in Patient Safety, Quality and use of best practices?”   We also believe that, as in other healthcare specialties, those practices that meet this stringent level of excellence should be “accredited,” and be able to publicize their achievement. Our belief in the value of accreditation is fueled by a deep and compelling enthusiasm for the mission of improving our industry by providing a useful and needed service for dentists and great care for our patients.   www.aafdo.com

Kevin Burniston helps dental professionals across the United States create a better quality of life for themselves and their families. For over a decade, he has studied the business of dentistry and worked to develop innovative and effective strategies to overcome common pitfalls. His training methods have empowered thousands of dentists to reach and exceed their goals. Kevin’s current curriculum has a heavy emphasis on insurance participation and exposing industry wide misconceptions surrounding reimbursement. He coaches patient-facing education techniques to increase treatment acceptance, boost productivity and enhance overall patient health.   www.HenryScheinDental.com

Dr Tatum is widely regarded as one of the world’s most skilled dental implant surgeons and is unmatched in his surgical and conceptual talent. For over 40 years he has been most gracious in giving his time and knowledge to advancing the discipline of implant dentistry to the dental profession. The lives of many patients and dentists have been enriched as a result of Dr. Tatum’s innovative thinking, research and implant techniques that he developed. In 1955, while a student at Emory Dental School, he attended the first program on dental implants to be given in a dental school. Throughout his career Dr Tatum’s goal has been "To bring the compromised dental patient back to normal comfort, function and esthetic dental health". Emory University Dental School 1953-1957 1969 - began the bone expansion concept for the placement of implants 1970 - introduced autogenous bone grafting techniques into Oral Implantology 1974 - developed the Sinus Lift Operation 1974 - began to perform the Inferior Alveolar Nerve lateralization technique 1975 - developed the Sinus Graft Operation 1978 - Designed Sinus Grafting and Bone Expansion instruments 1979 - designed the first 2 stage Titanium Root Form System in the USA and was granted FDA marketing approval in 1981 1982 - Introduced the Vascularised Osteotomy Technique with interpositional bone grafting Presented over 2000 professional presentations worldwide In 2003 Dr Tatum was awarded the Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor by French president Jacques Chirac in recognition of his contributions to the healing sciences.   www.TatumSurgical.com

Since 1989, Stanley M. Bergman has been Chairman of the Board and CEO of Henry Schein, Inc., a Fortune 500™ company and the world's largest provider of health care products and services to office-based dental, animal health, and medical practitioners, with more than 21,000 Team Schein Members and operations or affiliates in 32 countries. Henry Schein is a member of the S&P 500® and Nasdaq 100® indexes. In 2016, the Company's sales reached a record $11.6 billion. Henry Schein has been a Fortune World's Most Admired Company for 16 consecutive years.   Mr. Bergman serves as a board member or advisor for numerous institutions including New York University College of Dentistry; the University of Pennsylvania School of Dental Medicine; the Columbia University Medical Center; University of the People; Hebrew University; Tel Aviv University; the University of the Witwatersrand Fund; The World Economic Forum's Health Care Governors; the Business Council for International Understanding, the Japan Society and the Metropolitan Opera. Mr. Bergman is an honorary member of the American Dental Association and the Alpha Omega Dental Fraternity. Stan is the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor; the CR Magazine Corporate Responsibility Lifetime Achievement Award; the 2017 CEO of the Year award by Chief Executive Magazine; Honorary Doctorates from The University of the Witwatersrand, Hofstra University, A.T. Still University's Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health, Case Western Reserve University and Farmingdale State College (SUNY); and Honorary Fellowship from King's College London - Dental Institute and the International College of Dentists. Stan and Marion Bergman and their family are active supporters of organizations fostering the arts, higher education, cultural diversity and grassroots health care and sustainable entrepreneurial economic development initiatives in the United States, Africa and other developing regions of the world. Mr. Bergman is a graduate of The University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, and is a South African Chartered Accountant and a NYS Certified Public Accountant (CPA).   www.HenrySchein.com

Micah Dickerson is a Director of Product Management with Web.com responsible for its award-winning Lighthouse line of patient communication software for dentists, having previously managed key areas of AutoCAD and AutoCAD for Mac at Autodesk. Through his work with Web.com, he studies the overall dental patient experience and looks for ways that technology can improve upon it. He’s been working in the software world for more than 17 years, and has a background in architecture, web technologies, market research and visual design. Micah is a graduate of the University of California with additional education in graphic design and architecture.   Lighthouse 360 was designed specifically to help dentists eliminate hours of manual work (16 hours per week on average) by automating daily patient interactions and office routines such as appointment reminders and patient reviews. With the new Fill-in feature, Lighthouse 360 addresses what has been cited in DentistryIQ and the Hartford Business Journal as a potential $30,000 per year loss for most dental practices.   The Fill-in feature detects last-minute cancellations in a dentist’s schedule and automatically reaches out to patients most likely to want the vacated appointment – such as those who are overdue for their checkups or have requested a more immediate appointment time. Once a patient has confirmed interest, the dentist simply approves the new appointment. Fill-in is available at no additional cost to existing and new Lighthouse 360 clients.   Lighthouse 360 has been recognized by The Townie Choice Awards, one of the most prominent peer recognitions in dentistry and organized by Dentaltown Magazine. The software is also a Dental Product Shopper (DPS) Evaluators’ Choice.   About Lighthouse 360 Lighthouse 360 – a Web.com brand since 2016 – automates dentists’ daily consumer interactions and office routines such as appointment reminders, leading to improved operational efficiency and business results. Lighthouse 360 features include phone, text, email and postcard appointment automation, reactivation letters, family messages, patient reviews, seamless practice management integration, all-day data synchronization and more. The automated messaging capabilities have helped customers increase production by an average of 30 percent, and its features designed to boost practice efficiency, on average, save dental practices 16 hours per week and eliminate seven hours of weekly phone time for the front desk.  Lighthouse 360 serves dentists throughout the United States and Canada. Lighthouse 360 scored a 4.9/5.0 from current clients who were asked by Dental Product Shopper to rate and comment on their experience with the product. Further, 80 percent of clients say using Lighthouse 360 has increased the overall happiness of their staff.   About Web.com Web.com Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: WEB) is a global provider of a full range of Internet services to small businesses to help them compete and succeed online. Web.com meets the needs of small businesses anywhere along their lifecycle with affordable, subscription-based solutions including domains, hosting, website design and management, search engine optimization, online marketing campaigns, local sales leads, social media, mobile products and ecommerce solutions.   www.lh360.com

Howard sat down for an epic discussion over lunch with Angus Pryor, Dr. David Moffet, Jayne Bandy, Trevor Martin, Dr. Kinnar Shah, and Dr. Angie Papas-Ginis in Sydney, Australia.

Having obtained a Royal Australia Air Force (RAAF) Undergraduate Scholarship for his final 2 years of UQ Dental School, Dr Holmes (Daryl) commenced his career as a Dental Officer in the RAAF in Adelaide, Sth Australia, in 1988, then was fortunate enough to work, not only in Australia, but in the United Kingdom, until August, 1991.    Daryl started Private Practice (in a Partnership) in 1991 in the small towns of Ayr and Home Hill, Nth Qld, near Townsville, before establishing Townsville Family Dental in 1999 with 3 practices throughout Townsville.  After many Practice acquisitions & mergers, Townsville Family Dental became 1300SMILES in 2004 before being listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in March, 2005 with over 20 Dentists, across 6 practices in Townsville and 1 in Cairns.  Today 1300SMILES has a total of 26 practices, over 100 Dentists & 300+ staff, all along the eastern /southern coasts of Qld, NSW, & Adelaide, Sth Aust.   In 2010 Daryl & 1300SMILES became involved in YWAM Medical Ships, something he is still heavily involved in today, donating his time and expertise to voluntarily provide much-needed dental care, training and mentoring of many Papua New Guinea dentists and healthcare workers, in remote areas/villages of PNG.    Daryl was recently Awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his involvement and efforts with YWAM Medical Ships delivering dental care & training in PNG.   www.ywamships.org.au www.1300smiles.com.au

Dental Members Australia, was founded in 2011 by local Brisbane dentist, Dr. Safa Souzani. He was frustrated that his patients who needed the most dental work couldn't actually start treatment because of the up-front costs.   DMA created a cloud platform to enable patients to pay for treatment in weekly or fortnightly payments. 'DMA Dental Vouchers'. This voucher system combined with Capped-Fee Pricing is the first of its kind in Australia. Dental Members partnered with 1300Smiles and now also owns its own dental clinics.

Howard sat down with Paulette Smith, Managing Director of Professional Teeth Whitening and Dental Hygiene, to discuss teeth whitening, dental hygiene in Australia and more.   www.pearlywhitesprofessional.com.au