EWU Dental Hygiene Class of 2009

Las Vegas, Baby!

2009-12-30T11:42:00.001-08:00

Anyone interesting in going to Vegas this June?
We can get together, get our CE's and HAVE A BLAST!

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

2009-12-27T07:34:00.000-08:00

Happy holidays, everyone!
I hope this season finds you happy and healthy :)
~Windie

Christmas Get-Together

2009-12-08T06:25:00.000-08:00

In case you didn't hear:
We are getting together this Saturday, 6:30, at the Olive Garden.
Bring an ornament to swap!
I can't wait to see you! ~Windie

Liability Insurance

2009-11-29T12:15:00.000-08:00

FYI: Liability insurance is the same as Malpractice insurance.

Summary (from Windie): We are covered for liability insurance by the dentist. "Because the dentist is the owner of the practice, he/she is held liable for the acts of the employee while the employee is carrying out the business of the employer."

From: Dimensions in Dental Hygiene
http://www.dimensionsofdentalhygiene.com/ddhright.aspx?id=414

Professional Liability Insurance

Professional liability insurance is intended to cover the insured in the case of liability from professional services. Most dental hygienists are employed in a private practice setting where the dentist is the owner of the practice. Because the dentist is the owner of the practice, he/she is held liable for the acts of the employee while the employee is carrying out the business of the employer. This doctrine is known as respondent superior. Even though all of this is true, there are several reasons why dental hygienists need their own policy.

First, the purpose of the insurance policy is to protect the dental hygienist’s personal and professional assets. The cost of most policies is very little (usually less than $100 a year) and they offer ample monetary coverage in the event of a lawsuit. Second, the employer’s policy represents the dental hygienist only if the dentist is named in the lawsuit.3 If both employer and dental hygienist are named in the suit and the employer’s name is later dropped, the insurance policy may not cover the dental hygienist. Third, each policy has limits for amounts of coverage. If the limits are met by covering the employer, the dental hygienist may be left to cover all additional expenses incurred (attorney fees, court costs).3 Fourth, hygienists need a policy of their own to provide for independent legal representation if needed. There are situations where complaints have been filed against dental hygienists to the state or regional Board of Dentistry. In these situations, dental hygienists need their own attorney.

Types of Insurance

Two types of professional liability insurance exist. The occurrence policy protects the professional against claims occurring during the policy period, regardless of when the claim is presented to the insurance company. In addition, this protection exists whether or not the policy is still in force at the time the claim is made. With this policy, there is no need to purchase additional insurance coverage to cover past acts when changing insurance carriers, retiring from practice, etc.4 The more common type of liability insurance policy is the claims made policy. This policy covers the dental hygienist against malpractice allegations that arise from dental treatments rendered and reported while the policy is in force. If a claim is brought after the policy has terminated, there is no protection. Extended reporting endorsement or “tail coverage” may be purchased to provide coverage after a claims made policy has been terminated.5 When purchasing a policy, be sure to evaluate the wording regarding exclusions (situations that will not be covered), coverage in the case of a Board of Dentistry complaint, and availability of “tail coverage” after you leave your practice.

Dental hygienists must maintain the highest professional standards of care when treating their patients. The standard of care must be met or exceeded in every instance.

Scheduling

2009-10-31T09:50:00.001-07:00

Okay, so I had an interview yesterday here in Colorado and it was kind of odd. It changed my perceptions on a few things...

First off, they are a PPO. I cringed immediately. He's retired military and has only had a private office for 7 years. They started from scratch and this was a good way to get clientele. Turns out though that PPO insurance has been pretty economy proof for them. Of course, some people have lost their jobs and insurance, but overall they have stayed in really great shape because of their set up. Huh.

Second off, they told me I have 45 minutes for my recare clients. My eyes got really big at this point. No hygiene assistant either. She explained that I finish up all of my work and then start on the next client in the next chair. My first client then gets a dental exam and a final fairwell from the dentist, he walks them out and gets to talk to them for a minute. Uh, ya, I suppose that in an office where you "have an hour" you really only have 50 minutes... So, it doesn't change how much time I have for clients all that much because that time usually includes a dental exam. It's like a weird one-person modified version of accelerated hygiene....but it's not really that accelerated. I was put off at first, but once she explained it to me I thought it was really smart!

I asked how long her last hygienists stayed to get a feel for how they liked it. Their first hygienist worked for 5 years until she retired and their second hygienist was there for 2 years and is now going to be a stay at home mom until her kids are older. So clearly, it was fine. She said that their hygiene schedule never gets behind because you are never sitting there waiting around for the dentist to come by. I hate waiting. So we'll see how it goes! I have a second interview this week and if I get the job, I'll let you know how I like it. Never heard of a schedule like that before!!

ADHA transition

2009-09-04T13:07:00.000-07:00

I'm sure we've all received the ADHA e-mails urging us to convert our membership from 'student' to professional. If you're like me, you've been pretty much ignoring them! Tori and I were talking today, and she was telling me that if you convert your membership before the end of the year, it will save you $300. If you have a license number, do it now!
Have a great day!
~Windie

Hilarious Video

2009-09-03T22:40:00.000-07:00

Girls! I laughed SO hard when I saw this. It gets better every time, and especially appreciated as hygienists. Have a good laugh :) Love, Rachel

Communicating with the dentist

2009-09-03T08:38:00.000-07:00

So I have been working at a few different offices down here in Texas and as we all know hygienist cannot do LA. I was at this one office and I was doing scaling and root planing and the man had just had some restorative done so I asked the dentist if she did a bimandibular block. She said "yeah he is all numb." I didn't even get one tooth done and he was jumping out of the chair, so needless to say I brought the dentist back in and asked her to give him some more. She was just basically doing infills on the mandible and only penetrating like 3mm. I asked her if she ever does IA's she looked at me confused and said "not very often."

So my thing is how can I get her to do IA's so that my client will actually be numb for treatment. I don't know if she knew what an IA was. Anyways I don't want to come across as a know it all, but I also want my client to be comfortable.

Any suggestions for a way to bring this up with her.

Sophie

Welcome to our blog!

2009-08-24T08:31:00.001-07:00

Sophie had a fantastic idea to start a class blog! Blogging is easy and fun. If you have questions or problems, please contact Windie :)

Please share your stories with us! This is a great place to post pictures and stories. Since we no longer need to attach files, it may be easier to use than the Google Group.