Week in Review: Excessive hair growth in gums | Interview questions you forget to ask | Cybersecurity tips

Dear DrBicuspid Member,

With Valentine's Day in the rearview mirror, another opportunity is coming up soon to tell certain people in your life just how much they mean to you. Yes, I'm talking about Dental Assistants Recognition Week (DARW), set for March 1-7. I'll be speaking to some amazing assistants this week at the Chicago Midwinter Meeting, and I know they have these dates on their calendar, so I wanted to make sure you had these dates in your mind as well.

Your assistants don't need much to make DARW a success, I promise. Flowers, gift cards, lunch, and/or simple words of appreciation go so far with your assistants. Consider this your public service announcement for the weekend.

Now, back to the big articles that highlighted our site this past week.

Big news came out of Italy where a woman there has the first known case of excessive hair growth in the gums. This marks the sixth documented case of gingival hirsutism in the world. This case, which involved a 25-year-old woman with numerous eyelash-like hairs growing out of her maxillary and mandibular gums, was unique because all other known cases were reported in men.

Back in the states, my dear friend Rachel Wall, RDH, has spent considerable time working with dental practices to make sure their hygiene departments run at maximum efficiency. However, part of ensuring success in your hygiene department comes from hiring the right person for that role.

This week, Rachel wrote two articles for DrBicuspid.com. The first gives you questions that dentists often forget to ask hygienists during the interview process. The second is directed toward hygienists and offers them questions they should be asking dentists during their interview. I think you'll find both articles helpful for your next hygiene interview.

Ready to talk about a hot topic? Let's discuss keeping your computers and records safe. Christine Alfano has some solid advice to share with you to ensure that your cybersecurity knowledge is current and your business is safe.

Finally, I wanted to make sure you saw our exclusive chat with the new head of Walmart Health's dentistry division. I was honored that he chose DrBicuspid.com to share his message of where Walmart is heading with its affiliated dental practices, and I think you'll find it a very interesting read.

I hope to see you in Chicago this week. The Midwinter Meeting is one of the highlights of the year for me, personally and professionally. Our editorial team will be reporting back what we see from the Windy City, so keep checking DrBicuspid.com for the latest information.