Be Our Friend - Louisiana Dental Association

LDAlouisiana dental hygienists’ assoc.Diane O’Connor, R.D.H., B.S.D.H.President, LDHAConnectivity TodayRewind 20 years: “You are getting a cell phonetomorrow,” my husband said after we botharrived to pick up one of our four children from anafter school activity. Duplicating our efforts did notprove to be productive.Yesterday I sent out an email from my computerand immediately received four reply emails fromhygienists, sent from their iPhones. How productivewas that!The American Dental Hygienist Association(ADHA) just had a constituent treasurer presentationcalled Financial Issues – Snapshot for Treasurers.This was done for all treasurers and any officers fromconstituent organizations across the country. Callingin to WebEx and conferencing with members fromacross the country may not have happened withoutFacebook, Twitter or blogging about the need for thatspecific type of program.However, this level of connectivity has its’ prosand cons. Patients are almost always occupied withtheir cell phones when I enter the operatory. Theyare working, playing games or checking Facebook.Patients use the calendar on their cell phones toplan appointments and check the time. There is norest for the weary! During the course of a dentalappointment, patient’s phones buzz with alerts, theFacebook news feed changes and they continueto work while away from the office. Social mediawebsites must be monitored, updated and answered… which is not necessarily productive. Someinformation posted on social media websites also hasthe ability to be damaging to your reputation. Thisis counterproductive seeing as damage control isextremely time consuming.Social media has changed the way we communicateforever. Even with the negative aspects, social mediais essential in today’s world. That being said, join theLDHA on Facebook.I became past president of the LDHA on March12, 2011, and I thank LDA for our connectivity.Together we serve dentistry in Louisiana as thelicensed dental professionals in our state. I especiallywant to thank Dr. Charlie Foy, Dr. Edward Hebert,Ward Blackwell and Annette Droddy for yourkindness and friendship. I will miss the LDA Boardmeetings; you are truly a great group. I will introduceour new president, Tammy Nelson, at the April LDABoard meeting. Au revoir – it has been fun!Botox ® and Dermal Fillersfor every dental practiceLearn hands-on how to easily integrate Botox® and dermal filler therapy into your dentalpractice for treatment of TMJ, bruxism, and smoothing of facial wrinkles to enhance facialesthetics and cosmetic dentistry treatment. This is specifically designed for dentists anddental teams who want to be part of this exciting addition to their dental practice.Courses given by the faculty of the American Academy of Facial Esthetics includingLouis Malcmacher DDS MAGD, Anthony Feck DDS DDOCS, Kristine Krever MD DABFM,Anthony Scarcella MD, Peter Harnois DDS, Gigi Meinecke DDS and others. See theentire faculty at facialesthetics.org. Not all faculty will be at all courses.COURSE DATES: OUR #1 SELLING – BRAND NEW VOLUME 2 NOW AVAILABLE!BOTOX AND DERMAL FILLER THERAPY FOR TOTAL FACIAL ESTHETICSTwo hours of AGD PACE CE credit for each DVD.Sign up before May 1, 2011 and save up to $500 for both days or $150 for asingle day! Call (800) 952-0521 or go to www.commonsensedentistry.comto sign up today! Check our website for more course dates.Attendance in this course will provide AGD PACE Fellowship and Mastershipcontinuing education credits of 8 hours per day and 16 hours for both days.Spring 2011 29