Where Is Our Front Desk Staff?

OUR LONELY FRONT DESK

 

Our hygienists and assistants have been very lonely since Thursday morning when Doctor Robinson, Jennifer W., and Mike left for Florida. Don't worry- they promised to come back! They are there to take courses about administrative tasks, team building, and other responsibilities related to working at the front desk. We look forward to hearing about and implementing what they learn!

It's So Easy Being Green

As some of you may know, our office is working on becoming GreenDOC certified through the Eco Dentistry Association. Having a positive impact on our environment is very important to our office, and we are continually finding ways to reduce waste or find greener products.

For example, we reduce waste in the following ways:

• Stainless steel suction tips that can be sterilized instead of plastic disposable ones
• Reusable cloth sterilization pouches
• Headrest covers and bibs that we wash and sanitize on site
• Electronic "paperwork" to reduce paper waste
• Electronic insurance filing to reduce mailing

We are green by reducing our use of toxic chemicals:

• We clean our dental lines using naturally-occurring enzymes
• We have digital x-rays so we have no need for toxic developers
• We use "green" sanitizing wipes

We encourage our patients to be green dentally in these ways:

• Turn off the water while brushing your teeth
• Provide us with your email address so we can email you appointment reminders and statements
• Make appointments for your family on the same day to save gas
• Use Preserve recycled toothbrushes

Thanks for helping us take care of our planet!

What's Going On In the Office: August

We wanted to provide an update about what's going on in the office this coming fall! One of our hygienists, Lynn, will no longer be working on Fridays, but will extend her hours to be here Monday through Thursdays. We will continue to be open on Fridays from 8-2. The new schedule for our hygienists is below, so you can schedule with whomever you prefer:

Monday: Lynn and Jennifer L.
Tuesday: Lynn and Jennifer L.
Wednesday: Lynn and Judy
Thursday: Lynn and Judy
Friday: Jennifer L.

As you may have noticed, we have a new face at the front desk: Mike joined us in March and can assist you in scheduling as well as checking in and out for your appointments.

Many of you may be surprised to know that some insurance plans renew in July, so now can be a good time to get started on any procedures you have been putting off! Call to speak with Jennifer W., who can answer any questions you may have about your policy. We have openings in our schedule to accommodate your needs, whether cleanings or necessary dental work.

And last but not least, we are currently installing a fourth room which will be for hygiene. It is still under construction, but is looking good already!

Our Latest Technological Advances

As we mentioned in our last blog post, the office now has an E4D digital impression scanner! The office staff are currently being trained in its use and will soon be using it to take your crown impressions. Goodbye, goopy impression material!

Our learning materials

The scanner

We also have a new HYDRIM dental instrument washer! This may not excite patients very much, but our staff sure loves this hand-off system of washing instruments before sterilizing, and it saves time!

Our HYDRIM

We have replaced the lights in our operatories with LED lights, the most energy efficient lighting currently available. They contain no mercury or toxins, emit no UV rays or heat, and save energy.

LED light

We are very proud that our office stays current with the latest technology, while remaining true to our green mission. Be sure to come in and check out all our latest advancements soon!

Digital Impressions

This post is for anyone who is getting or planning on getting any crowns (caps) or bridges done in the future.

Our office recently purchased the E4D digital impression scanner. This allows us to scan your teeth digitally and send the information electronically to the lab to make your crowns or bridges.

The biggest benefit for you, our patients, is no more goop in your mouth! We also invested in a scanner that, unlike many other brands, does not require a powder to be used in the mouth. Just a quick scan with a small wand and you are on your way! The other benefit is that, with a digital impression, the laboratory is usually able to make the crown or bridge even more accurately. This means that when you come back to get your final crown or bridge, you spend less time in the chair having it adjusted.

The digital impression is automatically saved in the hard drive, so that it can never be lost or damaged if we ever want to look back.

There are also environmental benefits: less material will be used and disposed of, less trays will need to be cleaned and sterilized or thrown out. There are also less fumes produced due to transportation. With traditional impressions, either a courier or FedEx has to come pick up the impressions, deliver them to the lab, and then pick up the dental prosthesis and deliver it to us. Now there is only a one-way trip: the laboratory to us!

So if you have been putting of any work due to hating the gagging feeling of all that goopy material in your mouth, please know that is a thing of the past!

Green Dentistry Conference

On May 3rd and 4th of this year, 4 members of our office went to the first annual Green Dentistry Conference at the Sundance Resort in Provo, Utah. The event was sponsored by the Eco Dentistry Association. Dr. Robinson, Mike from Patient Services, and two of our hygienists; Judy and Lynn, had a great time!

The office is already doing quite a bit to preserve our environment. We use far less disposable products than the average dental office, opting for washable bibs and headrest covers as well as stainless steel suction tips that can be sterilized instead of the plastic, one-time use variety. However, we were reminded of other ways to go green such as emailing statements  and appointment reminders instead of sending the paper version and making sure all our light bulbs are compact florescent or LEDs.

Our next big step will be getting certified as a green dental office by the Eco Dentistry Association. We will provide documentation to them, showing that our carpets are made of recycle material, the walls were painted with low VOC paint, etc. This may take some time, but we are always up for a challenge!

When not learning about going green, the foursome went hiking, shopping, and general exploring.

Dr. Robinson, Lynn, and Judy learning!

Mike and Dr. Robinson

Lynn, Mike, and Judy taking a breather from hiking

Judy, Lynn, and Dr. Robinson enjoying the water

The beautiful mountains of Utah

Our Office is Entering The Electronic Age

As a dental office existing in this electronic age, we have decided we ought to jump on board! We would like to provide our patients with the benefits associated with keeping up-to-date on dental health news, as well as the goings-on of our office.

We are working hard to reduce our paper consumption by becoming as digital as possible. This means we will be collecting your email address in order to email confirmations, send statements, and an office newsletter. This furthers our green endeavors by continuing to reduce paper consumption.

We are also spreading the word about our office and keeping current patients involved via the following
forms of social media:

• This blog: LindaRobinsonDental.blogspot.com

• Facebook: Facebook.com/LindaRobinsonDental

• Our website: LindaRobinsonDental.com

• Twitter: @DrLindaRobinson

Please check us out in all our digital forms and, of course, in person!