Dear DrBicuspid Member,
Faced with mounting support for an unsupervised midlevel provider (MLP) model at both the state and national levels, the Washington State Dental Association is taking matters into its own hands by proposing an alternative: the advanced function dental auxiliary (AFDA).
Last month the WSDA House of Delegates voted to support a resolution that will allow the association to move forward with legislation to create the AFDA model, which differs in significant ways from other MLP models proposed in previous legislation that the WSDA helped to defeat. Click here to read more.
Meanwhile, Henry Schein's acquisition of Exan -- makers of the axiUm practice management and electronic record program used at many dental schools -- opens up a number of interesting possibilities for the dental software industry, according to informatics specialist Dr. Titus Schleyer.
Will the latest advances in Dentrix make their way into the Exan product line? Will the diagnostic codes, standardized medical history forms, risk assessment, and quality assurance innovations being developed at many dental schools make their way into commercial packages and thus into clinical practice? Dr. Schleyer shares his thoughts on these and other aspects of the Schein/Exan deal in this latest Second Opinion piece.
Finally, a new study in Implant Dentistry warns dental professionals that the titanium used in implants becomes significantly less effective at bonding to bone when it is as little as 4 weeks old. Given that there are currently no regulations for the manufacture, distribution, or storage of these titanium products, the study authors suggest it might be time to develop some. Read more.
