Regulatory Compliance in the Dental Office
Dentists in the private sector, as well as their academic counterparts, must comply with a variety of federal, state, and local regulations. The scope of this regulation ranges from specifying…
Dentists in the private sector, as well as their academic counterparts, must comply with a variety of federal, state, and local regulations. The scope of this regulation ranges from specifying…
This article outlines Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) guidelines for maintaining a safe dental practice workplace and covers requirements, such as education and protection for dental health care personnel….
Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996, all dental offices are required to formulate policies and procedures to ensure and secure patient privacy of health information….
Office-based surgery has become a vital component of the practice of oral and maxillofacial surgeons and periodontists. It has enabled these specialties to provide needed service to patients in an…
The risk of infectious disease transmission is an inherent part of dental practice. Fortunately, such risks can be greatly reduced through modern infection control practices. Such practices include the use…
Patient care and management can present a significant source of stress for the practicing dentist. This article presents the various facets and underpinnings of stress, followed by an overview of…
Modern dental offices must be equipped to initiate prompt emergency care should the sudden need arise. With the elderly population in dental practices increasing, these emergencies will undoubtedly occur. This…
Malpractice litigation is part of everyday clinical practice and is an area of which all dentists need to be aware. With proper forethought and planning, this vexing issue can be…
There are a myriad of insurance products available for the dentist and his dental practice. Care must be taken to ensure that all risks have been reviewed and the appropriate…
This review highlights some of the more important employee relation aspects involved in starting, establishing, or expanding an existing dental practice. Despite a competitive compensation package, staff-related conflicts can sometimes…
The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of understanding various numeric and alpha-numeric codes for accurately billing dental and medically related services to private pay or third-party…
Bookkeeping practices in dental offices may be relatively simple, but care must be taken to prevent employee theft. Well-chosen accounting software and routine office practices may facilitate smooth operations. Systems…
Private dental practice can be achieved through either outright ownership or an associateship in conjunction with senior dentists; the decision depends on personal and professional objectives and goals. Once a…
This article reviews trends in the dental marketplace. Marketing is an essential element of dentistry. Communicating treatment options with patients is one aspect of marketing. Treatment planning helps patients understand…
Credentialing is the administrative process for validating the qualifications of licensed professionals and appraising their background. It is used by hospitals and other health care facilities, educational institutions, and insurance…
CT and cone-beam CT technology provides clinicians with new methods to view patient anatomy exceeding conventional two-dimensional radiology. Interactive software applications allow for improved interpretation of the CT scan data….
It is clear that the dental profession has entered a new age of radiographic diagnostic imaging. A number of examples have shown that being able to visualize oral and maxillofacial…
Cone-beam CT (CBCT) is useful for many maxillofacial applications, such as implant site imaging and diagnosis and treatment planning for orthodontics and craniofacial surgery. Dentoalveolar applications, such as carious lesion…
Radiographic images have always been an important part of orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning. We have been limited by the two-dimensional nature of these radiographs as we pursue tooth movement…
Computer-aided dental implant planning increases the predictability of replacing missing teeth in partially and fully edentulous cases. This article describes how Nobel Biocare’s Procera surgical planning software converts a patient’s…