Bisphenol dos and don'ts; reversing the referral crisis

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

So much of what dentists do on a daily basis involves working with the public, often to ease their fears. This is certainly the case with general health scares that cause concern among your patients.

The latest anxiety-inducer is bisphenol A, a common ingredient in dental sealants and composite resins. Recent news reports warn that it might cause cancer, and this has many patients wanting to know if the materials you're putting in their mouths are safe. How best to respond? Find out what the experts recommend.

Successful referrals can also require treating patients with a little extra TLC. A recent study found that nearly 50% of specialist referrals are not followed through on by patients, especially those between the ages of 18 and 49. This means lost revenues for both specialists and referring dentists. But improving referral rates can be as simple as improving communication.

In other news, a storm is brewing in New York between the New York County Dental Society and the New York State Dental Association. The former says the latter is trying to abolish it, and the state legislature recently passed a bill giving the association the power to do so. What's the beef?

As the face of dentistry changes, schools around the U.S. are struggling to figure out how best to prepare their students. They're finding that what they want to teach doesn't always match what their students want to study. Part II of our series "The changing face of dentistry" explores what dental schools are doing to meet the demands of their evolving student bodies.

With the never-ending quest to improve caries detection, next-generation imaging technologies continue to intrigue us. In part II of our Imaging Community series "Beyond x-rays," we look at quantitative light fluorescence, which uses the inherent optical properties of teeth to detect and monitor demineralization. It sounds good, but will it ever become a practical diagnostic tool? Here's what we found out.

Imaging is certainly a hot topic in our Forums as well. Member "gbangadds" is asking for tips and tricks when using his recently purchased Dentrix and Dexis DR systems, and "Matt Brink" demonstrates how to use V3 rings to successfully seal a deep proximal box.

And speaking of images, you can now embed a signature photo or graphic in your DrBicuspid Forums member profile. Just go to forums.drbicuspid.com and click on "Forum Options" at the upper right. Scroll down to "My Signature Photo" and click on "Upload my picture." Once the window pops up, click "Browse" to find the image you want, click "OK," and there you go!

We're also always on the lookout for new case studies from our members as well, so fee free to post away!