Smilin' Faces

One of my favorite products, Dental Senders, has now moved into the big leagues. Here's the press release:

CHICAGO (July 8, 2009) – These days, many general dentists and their staff spend time marketing their practice, confirming appointments, looking for patient education materials or finding ways to keep their patients coming back. Add to that the duties of completing charts, managing the office and performing dental procedures, and the result is a staff that may be stretched thin. To help its members increase their office efficiency and to add more value to their membership, the Academy of General Dentistry (AGD) today launches a new member benefit, AGD Smile Savers, an automated tool that creates e-newsletters, appointment reminders, surveys and more, allowing dentists more effective communication with patients. Members and other attendees of AGD2009baltimore, the AGD’s Annual Meeting, will get a first glimpse of how the system works during exhibit hall demonstrations.

“We realize that, in the present economy, dentists everywhere are looking for ways to save money and increase patient retention,” says AGD President Paula S. Jones, DDS, FAGD. “We are delighted to give our AGD members more tools that will improve the quality of their practice and the services they provide.”

Dentists, in their role as small business owners, will maximize staff time and increase the level of attention given to their patients – for no cost. AGD members who integrate Smile Savers with their current office software will have the capabilities to communicate frequently and automatically. In addition to the cost savings, there are also time savings associated with this tool. The staff who manually confirms the appointments will save about two hours each day.

“This new benefit provides one turnkey solution to service practices of all sizes,” says AGD Secretary Linda Edgar, DDS, MEd, MAGD, who uses the tool in her practice. “It is now very convenient for patients to receive text messages and e-mail appointment reminders, allowing my staff to focus on other tasks around the office. They also send Happy Birthday messages, which our patients love, and the system allows patients to send comments about their appointments for feedback to the office.”

“We are very excited to launch this service to our members, because patient feedback from the dentists who are using it has been extremely positive,” says Carol Wooden, DDS, MAGD, spokesperson for the AGD. “They love it! We are thrilled to offer AGD members a technology that gets patients excited about coming to our office.”

Gadgets Galore

Ok, I admit it...I LOVE gadgets (and, most dentists I know feel exactly the same way).
Here are the Top 10 Coolest Gadgets of 2009.

DIY

In a perfect world, all dental offices would have over their tech support to a reputable company...like mine, for example :-). However, the real world, many people like to do things themselves, and that's fine. For those folks, they really should have the tools to diagnose and prevent PC problems. Here are 6 free Windows programs to fix and prevent PC problems on your own.

Care and Care Alike

Care Credit continues to make it easier for patients to pay. Here's the latest press release:

COSTA MESA, CALIF., JULY 6, 2009 — In response to practice demand for expanded payment options that give patients longer terms to pay, CareCredit, the nation’s leading patient care financing program, recently added a 24 Month No Interest Payment Plan (if paid within promotion period).

Oral health is important – in any economy. Now more than ever, dental teams are finding it necessary to provide patients with both a treatment plan that helps them achieve their dental goals, as well as help patients fit care comfortably into their financial situation. To help practices help more patients, CareCredit is now offering a 24 Month, No Interest Payment Plan for treatment of $2,500 or more. “This new plan gives patients the best of both worlds,” explained Cindy Hearn, Senior Vice President, CareCredit. “They can take advantage of No Interest financing, which is extremely attractive to patients who, today, may be considering their spending more carefully. In addition, they can now take up to 24 months to pay off their balance.” All CareCredit providers offer at least 3 Months No Interest for every transaction and the new plan is offered to patients at the discretion of the practice.

For over 20 years, CareCredit has been helping patients get the dentistry they need. Today, CareCredit is at work in more than 120,000 practices and is used by over 7 million patients. CareCredit is exclusively selected for their members by most state and national dental associations, including ADA Business ResourcesSM, AGD, AAOMS, and AAP, and is also recommended by leading practice management consultants. For more information on CareCredit, call 1-800-300-3046 ext. 4519 or visit http://www.carecredit.com.

Hole-y Moley

Microsoft today announced a serious hole in their security in IE that can affect many users. You can go to Microsoft's website to learn how to temporarily fix this.

State of Mind

If you've been in the market for a laptop recently, then you've most likely heard of the new types of hard drives that have become popular, SSD (solid-state disk). The problem has been one of cost, as they are typically 5-10 X more costly than regular hard drives. Here's a good review of the differences between the drives and which ones might make the most sense right now.

Virtually There

I'm a big fan of using virtualization for many things, especially when it comes to testing new operating systems. There's a new one called VirtualBox that looks pretty cool, and is currently in beta. Virtualization means that you're running a program in a virtual space...it's not affecting your main computer or operating system or registry in any way.

Sizing Up the Competition

One of the features of Windows 7 that I'm looking forward to is the ability to resize and dock multiple windows on the screen at one time. Can't wait for Windows 7? No worries...there are already tools to do this. Check out PowerResizer, a tool that will change how you work with multiple Windows!

Casting a Wide Net

There are all kinds of applications out there that can analyze your network for speed and security, but most need to be installed and can be difficult to understand. Netalyzr is a free, web-based tool that scans your network and then gives you an easy to understand printout of what's good (green), not so good(orange), or worrisome (red). Very cool app.

Power Users Unite!

If you're like me and like to monkey around with your computers, then you know that the BIOS, the commands built into the motherboard, are a powerful way to tweak your system. Even those of us who do it a lot are still mystified about many of the commands. If you're feeling adventurous, check out the Ultimate BIOS Guide: Every Setting Decrypted and Explained.