Oral cancer. These are two words that every dentist hopes that they will never have to say to a patient throughout their entire career. Oral cancer kills one American every hour of every single day. There have even been a number of famous people that have become victims of oral cancer, which include Babe Ruth, Sigmund Freud, Bill Blass, and Jack Klugman. We as dental professionals know that when a lesion is found in the mouth that may be squamous cell carcinoma, there is a 50% to 70% chance that the patient may not live past the next five years.

When you look at other cancer awareness programs, some organizations have done an absolutely outstanding job at creating a very high awareness to all of us for certain types of cancer. Every woman knows how to do a breast cancer self-exam and routinely go for mammograms and everyone over the age of 50 knows that it is time to go for a colonoscopy. These types of self-examinations and screenings have helped to save many lives over the years.

An established self-examination for oral cancer would be a huge help in finding abnormalities or incipient oral cancer lesions early on. This kind of self-examination, much like a breast examination or a skin examination, is easy to do, does not require any special equipment and will help familiarize people with their own mouths. The primary benefit is early detection of any unusual lesions in the patients’ mouth and the secondary benefit would be consumers becoming much more familiar with their mouths which would help stimulate them to receive treatment for oral health issues that they usually ignore.

There is a brand new Website that has been developed for consumers that show people how to do a self-examination for oral cancer. Being that so many American consumers still do not have a regular dentist, there is also a find a dentist section. Dentists who are committed to oral cancer examinations and early detection of oral cancer can sign up to be listed on this web site at www.oralcancerselfexam.com There is an annual fee of $199 to be listed on this site for 12 months, with discounts if the dentist signs up to be listed for multiple years.

By the way, a recent dental patient survey done by the Crown Council revealed that the #1 finding of the survey were patients saying, “Tell us more about oral cancer”. CNN’s Dr. Sanjay Gupta recently did a story on oral cancer. Consumers are ready to get more involved with learning more about their mouths and certainly want to be involved with oral cancer prevention.

I strongly urge all of my attendees of my courses to use some type of oral cancer screening device, whether it is Vizilite Plus or a Velscope. Those that know me know that Vizilite Plus has been the choice in my office for a number of years because of its cost effectiveness, ease of use, and its TBlue stain that comes with this kit. The TBlue staining system that comes with Vizilite Plus is an essential piece of the screening if anything is found and no other system has this. Vizilite Plus will help screen your patients and will help you find suspicious lesions much earlier than you normally would. After that, either a brush biopsy like Oral CDX or a traditional biopsy should be used on the lesion for either histological examination or total removal.

Getting the patients on board to fight this dreaded disease is crucial and well overdue as well as instituting early detection screening into your practice as soon as possible. Patients are looking for dentists who take oral cancer seriously. Let’s all work together because if we as the dental profession don’t take this lead, no one will. It is completely up to us. Show your patients how committed you are to detecting and treating oral cancer. Go to www.oralcancerselfexam.com and sign up to be listed on this Website today!

First, I beg forgiveness of the great Spirit of Hawaii for mangling her (his?) treasured salutation "Aloha!" with an attempt at a cutesy pun like "Endoloha!" But after wrapping up my second co-travel/ridealong with Kay Kusumoto, Ultradent's Hawaii TAM, it is my desire to shout to the towering white clouds racing across the blue skies above Waikiki: "Uhhhhhh looooooow ha!" What a lovely place. What lovely people. Hawaii -- and the dentists, hygienists, staff and professionals that comprise its dental community -- embodies everything Ultradent tries to stand for in the dental profession. Namely, loyalty, friendliness, open-mindedness, zeal, youthful fervor, a love of the craft, and so on.

Kay Kusumoto and I presented a "CE in a box" program at the office of Dr. Ilyk and Dr. Ito in a high-rise in downtown Honolulu. The group consisted mostly older dentists with a lot of experience -- and many of them were still using traditional endo methods like hand filing and lateral condensation. The very next night, we were honored to present our message to a group that was quite the opposite: young dentists, who were ALL using engine-driven endo systems of one kind or another. Both programs were successful in converting some of the attendees to the minimally invasive, anatomically sensitive endodontic methodology presented by Ultradent. But more than that, the two events were instrumental in building bridges of understanding with these kind-hearted, generous, warm friends in the dental community.

I raise my pineapple in salute of Kay Kusumoto and her clients and friends on the islands of Hawaii. To all of you, I shout a hearty and hale "MAHALO!"

By being so far the only "international blogger", I will take you on my last exciting business trip to Africa. I went to visit our local partner, Divyesh SHAH, in Nairobi/KENYA.

First of all, what a surprise to encounter on a construction road hundreds of Chinese workers. China is investing heavily in Africa: natural resource, iron, gas oil, old car batteries; They provide in return infrastructure/schools/hospitals to the country. This way, more than 5000kms of railroad was build this year.

As Mohammed Tarik was driving full speed his rusty old van to the conference place, we manage to reach there with only 20 minutes delay in spite of a huge traffic jam in the center of the city.

70 Kenyan dentists were expecting the lecturer; me (oops) Pole (sorry) is one of the only word I know in Kenyan! The attendees were so curious, by asking so many questions about our whitening techniques and procedure... they really made my day. I got to learn a lot from those dentists who were so generous in SHARING their experience; Kenyan population suffer a lot from fluorosis due to the high fluoridated water. Enamel Microabrasion techniques with Opalustre was THE main interest!

Gorgeous people who truly have no complex with the color of their teeth: they always wear the banana smile on their face!

It has been such a pleasure to work for Ultradent Products, Inc. and Dr. Dan Fischer for over 12 years.  Not only does the Ultradent family have outstanding Core Values, but most every employee of this fine company has a "passion" for what they do.  The "passion" we all possess comes from the energy created by our leader, Dr. Dan Fischer.

Dr. Fischer is also a very giving man; a real humanitarian.  He definitely shares the wealth with thousands of humans across the world.

I am fortunate to take that passion and knowledge shared by Dr. Fischer into the dental schools to be absorbed by fabulous faculty members and students alike.  Our future dentists are like sponges soaking up all they can to prepare for their future of improving oral health globally.  It is so much fun to see them anticipate the arrival of the Ultradent rep bearing samples of great dental products that they will use on their patients, or even better, the Opalescence they will use to whiten their teeth, or perhaps whiten the smile of a family member.  The dental students and professors always express their appreciation of Dr. Fischer's continued support and generosity.

Not only does Dr. Fischer donate product to promote education, but he also donates to the many dental missions that our dental students and dental professors participate in each year.  Tens of thousands of dollars of preventative and restorative products have been donated to these groups traveling to all parts of the world on humanitarian dental trips.  Just to name a few in my territory...

Humanitarian trip by Dr. Eric Sung and GPR residents from UCLA School of Dentistry to Peru
Dr. Brian Novy and dental students from Loma Linda School of Dentistry dental mission to Nicaragua

Dr. Marc Geissberger, Dr. Noelle Santucci, and 40 other doctors and students from University of the Pacific School of Dentistry to Peru

Dr. James O'Meara and students from Creighton University School of Dentistry go to the Dominican Republic

And the list goes on and on, year after year.  I have never heard a no when I ask if we can donate product to these caring groups of dental professionals.  That is such a great feeling, and I personally say "Thank You" Dr. Fischer.

Just think what this world would be like if more people were like Dr. Fischer.  I have been in dentistry my whole adult life...that's a long time.  I have never witnessed such caring, sharing and giving from one man; a great man, a great dentist, a great father, and a great employer.

Thank you Dr. Fischer for every wonderful thing you do, to help so many in need all across this world of ours!  The dental schools thank you as well.  It just doesn't get any better than this.

Victoria

Remember when email used to be fun?  And the internet was so new and exciting?  I remember when my husband and I first signed up for AOL.  We had this great plan, where we paid a monthly fee and got 3 full hours of internet use PER MONTH!!  I was about the only one in my office that had this service at home, so I felt super cool and advanced.  

Another thing I recall around that time was that my friends were very concerned for me because I was buying Christmas gifts “online” and giving these cyber-strangers my credit card number.  And come to think of it, there weren’t even that many companies that sold products online back then.

Well, that was the ‘90s.  In 2008, we are still really having fun on the internet—some of us too much—but when it comes to email, especially work-related, we’re not as excited to open up that mail box anymore!

The email problem really started getting to me about 7 years ago.  I am the type of person who always has a cluttered desk - stacks of papers here and there, file folders on the floor—I won’t even tell you about my car.  Anyway, I soon realized that I now had an unorganized disaster on my computer, and it was driving me insane!!  I not only had an unkempt physical life, I now had the added burden of an overwhelming mess on my laptop.   If you don’t think this adds stress to your life, think again.

At some point, I knew I had to do something to straighten out the situation, so I went to the library and started reading a few books on email management and etiquette.  Most of the concepts were so simple I couldn’t believe I didn’t think of them myself.

I highly recommend a book I just read last year, entitled, The Hamster Revolution, by Song, Halsey, and Burress.  I have shared several tips from this book with my Ultradent coworkers, and think many businesses would benefit by implementing some of these concepts.  The main emphasis is managing your email, before it manages YOU!

Here are a few quick tips that I started using right away:

1.       Strengthen the subject line.  Always make it clear.  That helps others find the message later if they file it away.  Don’t say “hi” in the subject—even just to a friend.

2.       For super short emails, just write it all in the subject line, then end with EOM (End of Message)*

*Blackberry users will love you for this, I’m sure!

3.       In the subject line, you can also end the title with NRN (No Reply Needed)  That’s for messages that you don’t need any response to from your audience.  Saves a LOT of company time.

4.       Don’t use the Reply-to-All button, unless absolutely necessary.  Reply to the sender only.

Whether you are an Ultradent employee, or just trying to organize your personal correspondence, take action now to manage your email.  You will save yourself and your company hours of unnecessary time wasted on the computer if you just get a system into place.  Not only that--you'll feel just like you do right after you clean the garage or basement.

Happy Organizing!

As a  continuation to Becky’s last post about sorting email, I often find myself struggling when choosing the right book at the library…
So many times I buy novels that I never finish.
They all end up taking dust until the day I dare to give them attention… never most of the time!

I recently learnt from a friend the 4 easy steps to choose a book:
1. read the cover of the book.
2. read the back cover of the book, you will often find quotes there from other readers.
3. read the table of contents or index. The structure of the book shall be a good guidance.
4. read randomly half a page in the middle of the book. Feel the flow/the writing style of the author… That should really help on your decision making.


Those steps can really save you time and money. 

Of course, this comes in addition to recommendation from colleagues/friends.
The last management book that I read and would advise to you: “The E myth revisited” by Michael GERBER.
It provides lots of practical information on the do’s and don’ts about your business organization… Basic principles about systems that are essentials to success. It applies extremly well to Ultradent.

Happy reading folks!

It is so exciting to see how Ultradent’s mission to “improve oral health globally” really does stretch to all areas of the globe. I am so appreciative of the opportunities Ultradent has given me to experience interactions with wonderful, caring and sharing people around the world.

In January and February I was in South Africa for 2 ½ weeks. While there, I had the opportunity to visit two universities and talk with approximately 75 fifth year students and 30 hygienists. I was in six different regions and had numerous meetings with about 200 dentists, mostly in small groups of 15 – 25. We had some excellent interaction with some very kind and interested dentists.

I just returned from the Ukraine and Azerbaijan in March; it is always nice to hear the sincere and loving thoughts our distributors have for our founder, Dr. Dan Fischer. Our distributor in Azerbaijan was proud to show me that his screensaver features a picture of himself with Dr. Fischer taken in Italy during a past conference. While I visited there, I was able to spend about six hours training the sales reps and on the second day, we had two discussion groups with dentists for about 3 ½ hours each. Our distributor from Azerbaijan will also be coming to Utah in April with a group of 18 dentists for our Russian Key Educators Conference.

Anytime I travel for these training sessions, I make everyone place the Treswhite in their mouths while I talk about our whitening product line. I have been having them leave it in their mouths for about 1 to 1 ½ hours! Out of the 12 salespeople, 10 had some whitening results during their first use -- FANTASTIC results! I made them commit to me that they all would continue to whiten only their upper arches for the next five or so days and then not whiten their lower arches for at least one year. They were ecstatic! In fact, during the break, one of the salespeople was down in their dental depot showing a dentist the difference between upper and lower arches -- after only 1 hour of treatment! You could see the excitement on his face. Many of the dentists had similar results.

In these tough economic times, I have been encouraging the salespeople to highlight the Treswhite to their dentist customers as an inexpensive alternative to custom trays. This allows patients an affordable option with some profit for the dentist, whereas otherwise the patients may walk away due to costs.

I will again leave this Sunday for a crazy trip to Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Croatia, Serbia and Zagreb. The main topics I want to share with the salespeople are:

• Product benefits in view of economy
• - Tips on how to communicate the benefits of buying premium products as opposed to cheap competitors
• - Demonstration techniques to help new customers feel comfortable trying our products

As a long time chairside assistant, it was my sworn duty to do the best job I could to help increase patient retention and office productivity. With today's technology changing, well on a daily basis, it is our duty as dental professionals to stay on top of new improvements and changes.

As a advocate of continuing education for the entire dental team, I wish to thank the state dental associations that are starting to provide CE specific to each member of the team.  Because I am a dental assistant and a product educator, I find that when dental assistants are handing chemistry to a doctor to place in a patient's mouth, the dental assistant should know the proper placement technique and handling issues associated with that specific chemistry.

I'm a hybrid layer freak.  As I say when doing lectures and educating our future dentists..."The hybrid layer can make or break your practice".  We are all so "rushed" and seem to take it (the hybrid layer) for granted.  Now is the time to slow down and apply your products according to the manufacturer's recommendations.  It is also the time to sit down and discuss the instructions and storage recommendations with every member of the team that might come in contact with that said product.  We must also stop assuming that all products are created equal, so please take time to read the instructions.

You can also pat yourself on the back if you go to regular continuing education programs...and doctors, if it has to do with a clinical procedure, take your dental assistant along with you.

I just returned from speaking at the Connecticut State Dental Association meeting.  Kudos to CSDA for having such nice auxiliary track programs, and thank you doctors for attending my adhesive program.  I might not have a DDS, or a DMD, but I do have tons of experience and I work for Ultradent...a education and research based company. I read, read, read and use the World Wide Web to find out just about anything on all different types of products.

If you have questions or concerns because a product doesn't seem to be working right for you, you can always go to the company website and look up FAQ's...frequently asked questions.

Increased productivity, happier patients with long lasting dentistry, and better educated team members are only a click away.  Webinars and Podcasts are also available...inexpensive and easy.

I would also appreciate the support of dentists across the country by asking htem to send their chairside assistants to CE.  I will be lecturing on May 31st in Loma Linda, CA...Secrets to Successful Dental Assisting.  The FNDC in Orlando in June is offering a wide variety of programs for team members as well.  I am fortunate to do 2 days on adhesive dentistry and 1 day on whitening.  In July I will also be at the PNDC in Seattle, Washington.  Great things are happening and you can be part of it!

I would like to thank Ultradent and Dr. Dan Fischer for being such a great mentor and educator in my life for the past 13 years, and I would love to thank all the state associations that are starting to promote excellence in education as well.

Be the sponge...soak up as much knowledge as you can.  Your practice will be happy, as well as your pocketbook.

Happy Education!

Victoria

Last week I traveled to India with Jim (Intl Sales Director) and Girish (Indian Country Manager).

Jim, myself, Girish and his family.

As we were going around the country to visit several of our dealers, Jim and I discovered some unbelievable facts and stories about India.

In Mumbai, We met with the Jehangir’s brothers. top notch dental professional who have been promoting Ultradent for over 20 years. They told us about an interesting religion. They are Zoroastrians (Parsis), a religion which started in Persia. They are famous for being highly ethical and excellent business person: and they confirmed it. When the first Parsis ancestors came from Persia to India several centuries ago, the Indian governor didn’t let them in. “India territory has no space for your community” and so he showed a jar full of milk to illustrate the saturation of population. The Parsis leader pour some sugar in the jar and replied “our community will sweeten and enrich the Indian culture just like this sugar in your milk”. and so they live in harmony since that time with the other ethnics in Gujarat. I love the picture!

One particular detail about their religion is that they believe that a corpse is a host for decay. Consequently, death shall be followed by the "safe" disposal of the dead in a manner such that a corpse does not pollute the "good" creation. On of the ritual still practice in India is to deposit the corpse in the "Towers of Silence" and so exposed to the sun and to birds of prey...

As each day brought some new stunning discovery, we learnt next about the “aghori sadhus”; they are a small sect of people who still practice cannibalism eating meat rotten dead and meditating on human corpse... Thanks God, Girish didn’t introduce us to them!

Animals are everywhere; from gigantic bats to sacred cows in the middle of the road. As we were navigating on our rickshaw in the middle of the chaos, we even discovered that hand cart needed a plate registration to be able to circulate! Unbelievable but true India.

The most extraordinary story was definitely this one:

Did you know that some Indian have lived for 65 years without having any food or drink during their entire life, only surviving with a few leaves and sun rays... Want to know learn more? visit that link

Giri, as his mother likes to call him, is a sweet loving person, who always strive to get things done the right way. He has showed so much enthusiasm and passion for his job. In less than a year, he already achieved so much for our business development in India. I am proud and blessed to work with such an humble and yet ambitious human being. Always going the extra mile with a large smile on his face. Thank you Girish for all you do and good luck with the newborn!

I am lucky to work with amazing, quality and caring people around the globe.
Chantell in South Africa is one of them.
I like to call her Maya the bee - humble, low profile and ever so dedicated and hard working when it comes time to roll up the sleeves.

I recently received this message from Chantell and I want to share with you (with her permission).

“Hi Nicolas,
I am so excited, I just had to share this with you now.
We have a University in the Limpopo province, where we have been very involved. Last year I did a lecture there for 5th year students, and we went back in May (this year) for another lecture on tooth whitening but we decided to do it in a different way. They have a large amount of fluorosis patients in the area. We asked for 2 patients as volunteers. They came in on a specific day and we started off by taking impressions of the patients. Then, we did a demo on the UltraVac Vacuum Former - the casting, blocking out, making bleaching trays. We made bleaching trays for our volunteers. Then we went and gave the lecture on the different options of whitening, including Opalustre. We told the students that it will take some time to see results, fluorosis & tetracycline are more difficult to treat. Then we took the patients to the dental clinic, where we started our procedure.

We used a Rubber Dam & Opalustre procedure, followed by Opalescence Boost. We established that there was no sensitivity at this point.  Then, we used Opalescence Quick 45%, placed it in the trays for the patients and they waited for 2 hours. In the meantime, we answered questions.  I must admit, some of the students were very skeptical because they could not see a big difference after the Boost. We gave the volunteer patients Opalescence 20% and UltraEz, explained exactly how to use it and they left.

Today, we returned to follow-up on the patients and WOW - see for yourself. I have photo’s here of one patient. This is after using 4 syringes of 20% at home. They are going to continue for another 2 weeks, and we will see them again. I will send more photos when we have the end results.

The patients are so happy, this lady in the pictures is 20 years old, she said it has "changed her life”.

Thank you Chantell.
And thank you to all our gorgeous distributors around the world who are sharing and spreading our values.

The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty * Winston Churchill