Dear Hygiene Insider,
There are a lot of questions, myths, and misconceptions about what it is really like to work inside a group practice. As I have traveled around the U.S. speaking to dentists and dental teams, I've heard plenty of praise and condemnation about being a part of a dental service organization (DSO). Some of it is based on truth, and some is based on hearsay.
With that in mind, we wanted to get a real, firsthand account of what it's like to work inside a DSO. We want to really find out the good and bad of being inside a group practice. Today, we are launching a series of articles in which we talk to various team members who work inside a group practice and let them tell us what they like about working for a DSO -- and what could be better.
I recently had the chance to talk to Steven JC Dunn, a registered dental hygienist who works for Aspen Dental in Owasso, OK (just outside of Tulsa). It was an enlightening and honest interview with some candid thoughts on the DSO world. You can read about it in the Insider Exclusive.
Also in the Hygiene Community, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' National Institutes of Health has awarded a five-year, $2.2 million grant to a scientist at the University of Rhode Island to study oral bacteria. Matthew Ramsey, PhD, and a team of researchers will investigate the relationship among the 20 to 30 most encountered species of bacteria in the supragingival plaque. Read more about their research and its new funding.
Have you ever wondered which cities in the U.S. have the highest rates of "excesses and vices" such as smoking and drinking? Have you ever wondered how those excesses and vices might factor into periodontal disease? Our colleagues at WalletHub listed the U.S. cities at the opposite ends of the spectrum in the smoking and drinking categories. Read about their findings.
Finally, Dr. Roger P. Levin has some ideas on how dental practices can reinforce the reasons that patients shouldn't skip their hygiene appointments. It's been one of our most popular articles in recent days.
As the days tick away in this year and decade, we wish you nothing but the best as 2019 comes to a close and 2020 draws near. Thank you for being a Hygiene Insider!
