2014 Summer SKCDS Membership Quarterly

MEMBERSHIP

Quarterly SUMMER 2014

VOL 12 / ISSUE 4

inside...

Top 10 Safety & Health Violations Women in Dentistry Dental Foundation at Work 2201 Sixth Ave. Suite 1210 Seattle, WA 98121-1831 206.448.6620 www.skcds.org

2 l 2014 SKCDS SUMMER QUARTERLY

Seattle-King County Dental Society Membership Quarterly Managing Editor: Ms. Sandra R. Anderson Contributors: Ms. Jennifer L. Freimund Dr. Gary E. Heyamoto Dr. Alan M. Munk Publisher: Bill Newcomer, BNC Printing & Graphics, Vancouver, WA

SUMMER 2014 Volume 12, Issue 4

CONTENTS

President’s Message with Dr. Audrey Tatt .......................................................... 4 Workplace Safety Violations .............................................................................. 5 Ethical Moments ........................................................................................... 6 COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE Dr. Shane Ness, Chair 12th Man Challenge .................................................................................... 7 Dr. Victor Barry Member Benefit: HR Consultation.................................................................... 7 Dr. Daniel Geare Welcome New Members .................................................................................. 9 Dr. Gary Heyamoto Great Gatsby Gala..........................................................................................11 Dr. Molly McIntosh Dr. Christopher Pickel

Caldier Fundraiser...........................................................................................11 Dr. Oleg Shvartsur SKCDF ..........................................................................................................13 Dr. Douglas Walsh Women in Dentistry ........................................................................................ 14 Dr. Judson Werner Heyamoto Cartoon .......................................................................................15 OFFICERS RAM Volunteers Needed...................................................................................18 Dr. Audrey K. Tatt, President Lose Your License .......................................................................................... 19 Dr. Judson A. Werner, President-elect Dr. Patrick E. Taylor, Past President CDE 2014 - 2015 Programs.............................................................................20 Dr. Timothy A. Hess, Treasurer Exposures with Dr. Al Munk ............................................................................. 22 Dr. Elaine B. Lam, Secretary EXECUTIVE COUNCIL THANK YOU TO OUR ADVERTISERS Dr. Ryan M. Fox, Executive Council 2015 Dr. James W. Reid, Executive Council 2015 Max Technologies ........................................................................................... 2 Dr. Joseph A. Schneider, Executive Council 2015 O’Brien Dental Labs, Inc. ................................................................................. 5 Dr. Shane T. Ness, Executive Council 2016 WDIA ........................................................................................................ 6 Dr. Kimberly A. Winton, Executive Council 2016 Dental Connections ........................................................................................8 Dr. Noah Letwin, Executive Council 2017 Dr. Megan L. Mulligan, Executive Council 2017 NORDIC ........................................................................................................ 8 Ms. Jennifer Freimund, Executive Director Home Owners Club .......................................................................................... 9 Pacific Continental Bank ....................................................................................9 Change of Address: To ensure continued receipt of issues, change of Nakanishi ....................................................................................................10 address must be reported to: SKCDS Central Office, 2201 6th Ave., CareCap ..................................................................................................... 12 Suite 1210, Seattle, WA 98121, as soon as possible -AFTCO ......................................................................................................... 13 206.448-6620. Email: skcds@skcds.com Dental Employment Services .......................................................................... 15 The information in this publication is for the exclusive benefit of Seattle- Mobile I.V. Sedation....................................................................................... 15 King County Dental Society members. Neither the Society nor the publisher Sleep Apnea and Facial Pain Center ................................................................. 15 makes any express or implied warranties as to the information herein, Robert L. Horchover Sleep Apnea & Snoring ..................................................... 16 including the contents of any advertising. Opinions in the Quarterly do not necessarily express the official policies of the Seattle-King County Dental Dental Professionals .......................................................................................16 Society, nor the opinions of the editor, unless so stated. Publications of DP Incorporated ........................................................................................... 16 advertising is not an endorsement, qualification, approval or guarantee of Gentle Dental................................................................................................ 19 either advertisers or product.

Dental & Medical Staffing.................................................................................19 Dental Group................................................................................................. 21 For advertising and publishing details, contact: Mr. Bill Newcomer, BNC Printing & Graphics, 503.318.5916, 360.573.1201, Shikosha Dental Lab.................................................................................... 23 bill@bncprinting.com; www.bncprinting.com Constantine Builders ..................................................................................... 24

2014 SKCDS SUMMER QUARTERLY l 3

The

President’s Message

Dr. Audrey Tatt

The wish of an easy year…

Recently I saw a colleague of mine who congratulated me on my presidency and wished me an easy year. To that I say bring it on! Recent years have included the big WDS decrease in fees and midlevel provider legislation.

Both of these were not good for dentistry or our members. I certainly do not wish for another tough problem but I am looking for a year challenged with engaging our members, growing our Society and improving dentistry in Washington State. How can we do this? WE are part of that. I am asking for help from the membership. This past Saturday the Executive Council of SKCDS met to discuss how we could engage our members. We would like to see each member “give 5.” This is 5 hours that you would either donate your time, come to a membership meeting or new dentist program, help with a committee or task force, come to Dental Action Day in Olympia, or somehow be involved with organized dentistry.

For the first time, SKCDS will be offering all four of our evening membership meetings for 2014-2015 free to our members. These meetings are designed to give you concise updates, a chance to mingle with your colleagues, have a nice dinner and get some continuing education. We are not raising your dues to do this. Under the direction of our excellent executive director Jennifer Freimund and her staff, Sandra and Bree, the Executive Council has been able to grow our non-dues income to be 43% of our income. We want every member to benefit from this. Please come to the membership meetings! Our first meeting is scheduled for September 30th.

How else can you “give 5?” The newly organized Women in Dentistry will participate in the Oral Cancer Foundation Run/Walk on October 11th.

You can raise awareness, socialize and get to exercise at the same time!

This fall, October 23-26, there will be a Remote Area Medical (RAM) event in Seattle at Key Arena. This would be an excellent opportunity to help treat some of the underserved in Seattle. On November 15th the SKCD Foundation will have an auction at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel. When we granted money 4 l 2014 SKCDS SUMMER QUARTERLY

to Swedish Community Specialty Clinic, every dollar we donated resulted in $17 of treatment. Not only will your donations go far, but you will have a fantastic time at the auction.

Some of your fellow members are already ‘‘giving 5.” I am so proud of the work that we are doing at Seattle-King County Dental Society. Recently SKCDS was awarded a $100,000 grant from the Pacific Hospital Preservation and Development Authority (PHPDA) for a low income charity denture program.

This will enable us to fund dentures for low income patients. We are working with the UWSOD students, which means it will also help them with their requirements for graduation! Our first event for the Women in Dentistry was successful and fun. We met at SKCDS headquarters to make hygiene care bags for women at the YWCA and also donated clothing. Our own Dr. Michelle Caldier, who has been on our Executive Council, is running for the Washington State House of Representatives. Good luck, Michelle! It would be great to have a dentist in Olympia!

I know that we are all challenged with limited time and funds. Know that the Dental Society is working on your behalf to make our profession even stronger. Each of our Executive Council members is passionate about dentistry. Come hear what we are doing for you and please give us your feedback. I look forward to seeing you at one of our many events scheduled this year.

Physicians & Dentists Credit Bureau

Our wholly owned company, the Physicians & Dentists Credit Bureau, was at the Pacific Northwest Dental Conference. We hope you stopped by to say hello to them. Pictured here are Jacki Pederson, president & CEO, and Jeannie VanVleet, sales representative. If you would like more information about this company, check out their website at www.physndent.com.

We apologize to Dr. Alecia Nowak. We incorrectly listed her as retired in our Spring issue of the Quarterly. Dr. Nowak still works a few days a week at her practice in Seattle.

She is, in fact, an Active Life Member of the Tripartite.

Top 10 workplace safety and health violations If your business were to be inspected today, would L&I inspectors find any of these common safety and health violations?

Did you know that most of the frequently cited violations involve basic workplace safety and health laws that apply to all employers in the State?

Here are the Top 10 violations cited in 2013: Lack of or deficiencies: • Accident Prevention Program (Construction Industry) • Employer Chemical Hazard Communication • Basic Electrical Rules. Some examples include GFCI, outlets/covers/boxes, clearance,

extension and flexible cords, guarding/grounding, or wet/damp locations.

• Fall Protection • Safety Committee and Safety Meetings • Personal Protective Equipment • Accident Prevention Program (General Industry) • Portable Fire Extinguishers • First-Aid, which might include lack of available first-aid supplies or not having an emergency washing facility if chemicals are used.

• First-Aid Training and Certification You don’t need to go it alone if you think you might have a hazard or violation in your workplace! Call L&I’s Consultation Services for a free and confidential safety and health consultation. L&I’s professional consultants will help you identify and eliminate hazards, prevent injuries and control your workers’ comp costs. If anything serious is discovered, you’ll need to fix it. You won’t be fined for an oversight. Learn more at www.SafetyConsultants.Lni.wa.gov. Find many FREE resources and tools at www.Lni.wa.gov/Safety. Find free workshops on a variety of safety and health topics at www.Workshops.Lni.wa.gov.

This article is reprinted from the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries website, News for Small Business, http://www.lni.wa.gov/News/SmallBusiness/2014-03.asp#story4

2014 SKCDS SUMMER QUARTERLY l 5

PERSPECTIVES: ETHICAL MOMENT

Dr. Rod B. Wentworth, reprinted from JADA, 2011

ETHICAL MOMENT WHAT ARE THE ETHICAL ISSUES I NEED TO CONSIDER WHEN DEVELOPING MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR MY PRACTICE? Q I recently attended a practice management seminar on recruiting and retaining patients. One of the topics discussed was the use of incentives to motivate

patients to make appointments. For new patients, the speaker suggested using a marketing technique in which the practice gives gifts (such as department store cash cards) to patients who receive an initial examination. To motivate patients who are overdue for their regular prophylaxis appointments, the speaker suggested that when telephoning these patients, office staff members should stress links between periodontal disease and systemic disease and use the phrase “periodontal maintenance” when informing patients of the importance of returning for recall appointments. Are there any ethical concerns I should have regarding implementation of these techniques in my practice?

A I think your question may best be explored by dividing it into two parts: one regarding the strategy to attract new patients and the other regarding strategies to encourage existing patients to return for their regular recall visits. In addition to this ethical assessment, it is important for you to check your state’s regulations to determine how they may apply to any marketing plan you decide to implement.

First, consider incentives for new patients. In a private practice setting, your business success may well depend on your ability to attract new patients, and there are many ways to market your professional services. You mention using a cash card to accomplish this. This may or may not be an ethical choice, depending on how you plan to use it.

On the basis of the American Dental Association Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct (ADA Code), we cannot ethically pay for patients. Just as it states in Section 5.F.4, Referral Services, that a dentist is “generally not permitted to make payments to another person or entity for the referral of a patient for professional services,”1 it also is unethical to pay your current patients to refer other patients to your practice. An example of this is a marketing campaign in which you offer a significant gift to existing patients—for example, a $100 cash card—for each patient they refer to you. Another possibility is to hold a contest in which you pay the patient who refers the most patients to your practice each month. In these examples, you have tendered an offer of a gift with value and given the patient making the referral a financial incentive to do so. This also could be considered a rebate, which is prohibited by Section 4.E, Rebates (continued on page 17)

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11/11/13 2:10 PM

Please welcome our new members!

MAY 2014 Dr. Angela Chianglin Dr. Benjamin Dorantes Dr. Erik Feider Dr. Neda Goharkhay Dr. Amy Hua Dr. Satyajeet Sadana

JUNE 2014 Dr. Patricia Benton Dr. Navneet Chahal Dr. Donald Chi Dr. Emily Chu Dr. Yun-Hee Jo Dr. Pawandeep Kaur Dr. Amanda McCauley Dr. Loan Nguyen Dr. Alberta Quaidoo Dr. Victoria Vu Dr. Jennifer Walker Dr. Peter Wong

Members of SKCDS are encouraged to invite non-member dentists who are practicing in King County to join the Dental Society. A quick call to the WSDA Office at 206.448.1914 is all that is needed for them to apply for membership at all three levels: Seattle-King County Dental Society, Washington State Dental Association and the American Dental Association.

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Great Gatsby Gala The November 15th Foundation Gala theme is Great

Gatsby, and we could not be more excited about all the fun that’s in store. Our own Fairmont Olympic private ballroom will be decked to the nines in flapper flair with plenty to partake: gambling, dancing, refreshments and a wide array of tantalizing auction items! Plus a new added amenity – table upgrades!

For just $500 more, you and your guests will receive an additional decadent course, upgraded wine list and a few other surprises. The Gatsby Table is the best way to pamper yourself and your guests! See the picture!

Want to add even more fun to your evening? Consider dressing in costume or 1920’s period attire! Check our Foundation Events pages for links to photos and stores that will give you scores of inspiration. The Foundation Events page also holds a bounty of information about tickets and hotel reservations – feel free to play around! To go directly to the ticket purchasing site, visit skcdf.auctionreg.org. If you have any questions, contact Breanna Adams at 206.448.6620.

Please Join The Executive Council of the Seattle-King County Dental Society (SKCDS) At a fundraiser to benefit the campaign Of Dr. Michelle Caldier

Dr. Caldier is a practicing dentist and former Executive Council member of SKCDS who is running for the State Legislature.

Your financial support will help send Dr. Caldier to Olympia to become a strong voice in support of our profession!

Tuesday, August 26, 2014 6:00 – 7:00pm At SKCDS Offices 2201 Sixth Avenue, Suite 1210 Seattle, WA 98121 If you are unable to attend, please consider donating to Dr. Caldier’s campaign by going to www.michellecaldier.com.

We hope to see you here!

Please RSVP by emailing skcds@skcds.com or by calling 206.448.6620.

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Seattle-King County Dental Foundation At Work We’ve recently shared that your Foundation has awarded $1,142,718 since its founding in 1992. BUT, that figure is an easy number to recite and in some ways, is just the tip of the iceberg. Here’s what we mean: Let’s take the funding that we’ve provided to the dental clinic housed in the Swedish Community Specialty Clinic. That Clinic began operating in Fall 2011 and offered two days of free complex extractions a month. The Clinic now operates between 4.5 and 5 full days a week and accepts, on average, 200 patient referrals a month from the community dental health clinics. These are patients that the community clinics are unable to treat. All of those patients live at or below 200% of the federal poverty level—truly the most vulnerable among us.

Your Foundation has provided $167,276 to the Clinic since its inception. That funding has provided over $2,975,187 in free dental care to over 2,117 patients (as of April 2014). Put another way: for every dollar our Foundation donated to the Clinic, it funded $17.50 worth of donated care. That is a great return on investment by any measure!

There is an additional consideration in regards to this funding. The patients seen by the Clinic would have likely ended up in a hospital emergency room seeking care—one of the most expensive treatment venues. Since most hospital ERs are not equipped to address dental pain, patients would likely be given pain medication, antibiotics and sent on their way. By not addressing the dental issue, the patient often begins a cycle of returning to the ER when the pain returns—compounding the cost of care and putting the patient at risk.

This is the value of the donation you make to your Foundation!

Please mark your calendar and plan to attend the Gala on November 15th so you can support this important work.

See page 11 for details on the Gala.

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Women in Dentistry

Two Hands and Two Hours

Sometimes it can be so easy – and fun – to make a difference! On Saturday, May 3, over 30 women dentists came together at SKCDS to assemble dental hygiene kits, donate clothing and give back to the local community. Two hours on a rainy, spring Saturday morning was all it took to contribute to those in need. Dentists assembled over 300 dental hygiene kits for both children and adults. The hygiene kits were donated to Eastside Baby Corner in Issaquah and the YWCA Dress for Success program. Light brunch was provided, and there was a great deal of socializing while everyone worked. Jackie Smalley, program coordinator from the YWCA, joined our group to talk about what women dentists can offer those less fortunate. Members of SKCDS learned how their contribution of professional clothing, shoes and accessories would be used for helping women make a new start. The YWCA Dress for Success program helps women in transition by providing work appropriate clothing, hygiene supplies and – most important – the encouragement and confidence they need as they enter the workplace. Ms. Smalley also asked the dentists in attendance to contribute a case of dental products to be handed out to YWCA clients over the course of the coming year.

Our members generously committed to provide toothbrushes, toothpaste, mouthwash and floss.

Statistics continue to show that women are 14 l 2014 SKCDS SUMMER QUARTERLY

for camaraderie and social service activities.

The women present felt they had enough opportunities for CDE and education. What they want is more opportunity to connect personally and professionally while giving back to the larger community. With this in mind, we planned an event that would meet both wishes. The attendees ranged from senior practitioners with years of experience to UW School of Dentistry students. Eight students participated. There were even two infants who came with their mothers!

Based on the great response to this event, SKCDS will be planning future activities for the women in our Society.

for Change!

The Women in Dentistry Task Force spearheaded the fastest growing sub-group of dentists. We the multigenerational event. The Task Force members are certainly seeing this in King County. At the include Drs. Audrey Tatt, Stephanie Su, Connie same time, women are one of the most likely Brester, Miki Suetsugu and Kim Winton. If you groups to drop their membership, primarily are interested in participating on the Task Force, due to family obligations. If this trend persists, attending an event or if you just have questions, we will see a significant decrease in overall please feel free to contact Sandra Anderson, membership numbers for women. In August director of member services at sandra@skcsds.com 2013 we assembled a Task Force to discuss this or 206.448.6620. problem. We wanted to hear first-hand about what would entice women dentists to stay active in organized dentistry. We heard there was a desire

Pictured here: Dr. Deirde Yen and Dr. Audrey Tatt

Women in Dentistry Event by the numbers 300 Dental hygiene kits assembled

30 Women in attendance 11 Bags and boxes of clothing donated 8 Dental students participating

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            ♦           

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(PERSPECTIVES ETHICAL MOMENT continued from page 6)

and Split Fees.1

Foy2 noted, dentists have an ethical obligation to include an evidence-based approach when making treatment recommendations. The overriding principle is veracity; as stated in Section 5, Principle of Veracity (“truthfulness”), “[t]he dentist has a duty to communicate truthfully.”

On the basis of current scientific evidence, it may be acceptable to inform patients that heart and periodontal diseases have a number of factors in common and that a significant amount of research is ongoing to better define the relationship between them. On the other hand, if you were to tell all of your patients that they would be at risk of experiencing a heart attack if they did not return for their recommended recall visits, you would be treading on unethical ground in view of the ADA Code, Section 5.A.2, Unsubstantiated Representations: “A dentist who represents that dental treatment or diagnostic techniques recommended or performed by the dentist has the capacity to diagnose, cure or alleviate diseases, infections or other conditions, when such representations are not based upon accepted scientific knowledge or research, is acting unethically.”1

However, this likely would not apply to an unsolicited cash card that you send along with a thank-you note to an existing patient who, on his or her own accord, recommends a neighbor to you.

In this case, the patient did not solicit the gift and, particularly if it is nominal in value, the cash card likely would be considered a gesture of thanks, with no unethical overtones. Likewise, items that you may dispense gratuitously such as oral hygiene aids and toothbrushes typically would not be considered an ethical problem, because they are adjuncts to your care. If you are considering offering some form of cash card to prospective patients for an initial visit, you should take into account the ethical implications as they relate to Advisory Opinion 5.B.1, Waiver of Copayment, which states that “[a] dentist who accepts a third party payment under a copayment plan as payment in full without disclosing to the third party that the patient’s payment portion will not be collected is engaged in overbilling. The essence of this ethical impropriety is deception and misrepresentation; an overbilling dentist makes it appear to the third Conversely, ignoring or withholding accepted party that the charge to the patient for services scientific knowledge or research findings in your rendered is higher than it actually is.”1 discussions with a patient when making treatment decisions also may have ethical implications.

Simply put, if you discount a fee to a patient, As for the speaker’s recommendation that, after then you must disclose the discount to any third- informing patients of potential oralsystemic links, party payer involved. To illustrate, let us say you you stress the need for the patient to return for decide to offer a $100 merchant cash card for “periodontal maintenance,” it is important to a new-patient examination, radiographs and a keep in mind section 5.A, Representation of Care, prophylaxis. In effect, you have discounted one which warns us not to represent treatment in a or more of the procedures and may be obligated “false or misleading manner.”1 Remember that to inform the third-party payer of the discount. “periodontal maintenance” is a specific procedure defined by the Code on Dental Procedures and The second issue concerns marketing strategies to Nomenclature3 and is reserved for continuing motivate your current patients to return for their periodontal care of patients who have undergone scheduled prophylaxis appointments. Because periodontal therapy; dentists can use this code much of the practice of dentistry involves educating ethically only for such patients. Periodontal patients, you will want to inform and remind them maintenance is not appropriate for patients who regularly of the need to maintain their scheduled are to receive a routine cleaning or prophylaxis. appointment sequence. Concerning research into Directing staff members to tell patients to return links between oral health and systemic health, for periodontal maintenance would not be ethical not only is this a hot topic within our profession, unless you limit this practice to patients who have but also it is a popular news item of which many been treated with scaling and root planing or of our patients are well aware. However, this is surgery for periodontal disease. Marketing is an a complex topic that involves various diseases important part of all business interactions with the and systemic conditions and the extent to which public. In our profession, we provide care based they are associated with oral conditions. Levels on the trust our patients place in us. They expect of evidence vary dramatically, and the science us to be truthful and put their health ahead of our is changing as more is learned. As Lantz and

bottom line. As long as we market our services in an honest manner that maintains that trust, we will continue to meet our professional responsibility.

Rod B. Wentworth, DDS, practices general dentistry in Bellevue, WA, and is chair of the American Dental Association Council on Ethics, Bylaws and Judicial Affairs. Ethical Moment is prepared by individual members of the American Dental Association Council on Ethics, Bylaws and Judicial Affairs (CEBJA), in cooperation with The Journal of the American Dental Association. Its purpose is to promote awareness of the American Dental Association Principles of Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct. Readers are invited to submit questions to CEBJA at 211 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611, e-mail “ethics@ada.org”.

The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the American Dental Association Council on Ethics, Bylaws and Judicial Affairs or official policy of the ADA. Address reprint requests to the American Dental Association Council on Ethics, Bylaws and Judicial Affairs, 211 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611.

Rod B. Wentworth Ethical Moment. JADA 2011; 142(8):966-967 Copyright © 2011 American Dental Association.

All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission.

1. American Dental Association. American Dental Association principles of ethics and code of professional conduct, with official advisory opinions revised to January 2010. “www.ada. org/sections/about/pdfs/ada_code.pdf”.

Accessed June 13, 2011.

2. Lantz M, Foy P. What is the ethical course of action when a third-party payer denies coverage for a treatment I recommend simply because the treatment is not one of the plan’s “evidence based best practices”? JADA 2010;141(8):1025-1026.

3. American Dental Association. The ADA Practical Guide to Dental Procedure Codes.

Chicago: American Dental Association; 2010:31

2014 SKCDS SUMMER QUARTERLY l 17

RAM: VOLUNTEERS NEEDED The Seattle Center is partnering with the Remote Area Medical (RAM) to offer four days of free dental treatment from Thursday, October 23rd to Sunday, October 26th at Key Arena. We are looking for volunteer dentists, oral surgeons, endodontists, dental assistants, hygienists and EFDAs. SKCDS, WSDA, WAGD and the UW School of Dentistry have all signed on to help with this event which will reach the most vulnerable among us. Won’t you help us with this community wide event?

• Equipment, tools, supplies, meals, snacks and parking will all be provided. All you need to do is come and contribute your expertise, skills and compassion. We are looking for volunteers to work one day or as many as all four days. Full day participation is strongly encouraged to maintain operational efficiency. Depending on the role, a full day may last from 6 AM to 6 PM. • Local dentists will manage and direct all parts of the dental clinic. We will be focusing on gross debridement, restorative, extractions and select endodontics.

• You can volunteer and work with your team. Residents are welcome.

• Clinic volunteers are not obligated for follow up care. Free malpractice insurance and volunteer CDE are available.

If you are interested, you can register at RAMvolunteers.org.

There is also more information available at skcds.org.

18 l 2014 SKCDS SUMMER QUARTERLY

The system for license renewal is broken, and DQAC should take the lead with the legislature to get it fixed. If not, then our grassroots legislative network should take over the goal. Insurance companies make enough profit off our hard feel sorry for the poor insurance companies who work in improving patients’ oral health. use good dentists’ bad luck as a profit center. They don’t deserve to be further enriched by Of course the dentist is still required to pay the circumstances beyond their and our control. overhead during the license lapse period including --Victor J. Barry DDS is a general dentist the myriad of taxes including payroll, property and practicing in Seattle and a past president of SKCDS. B&O. Perhaps if we submitted a bill that stipulates these taxes be in force only when the license is, DENTAL & MEDICAL the lawmakers would pity themselves.

Staffing, Inc. Every year on their birthday, every dentist is at risk for this subsection of Murphy’s Law. Just like other deadlines in our lives, circumstances can NOW PLACING conspire against us to interfere with our compliance.

Dentists, Hygienists, Dental Assistants, (Checked you driver’s license lately?) I know one and Dental Front Office colleague who delegated her license renewal to a staff person who left it on the bottom of the in-box.

Dental & Medical Another was trapped in Europe past his deadline by Staffing, Inc. a volcano in Iceland. A couple of years ago I never is a placement agency focusing on the received my renewal notice in the mail, so I went online and found out that DQAC had given me a Pacific Northwest since 1983, Dental & new office address 20 miles to the south. I was Medical Staffing regularly fills dentistry jobs fortunate to get it in just under the wire. Dentists and health care jobs for dental practices and are human, too (despite how Hollywood portrays medical practices – whether permanent, us). We lose our keys, misplace our cellphones, temporary or on an emergency basis. To meet forget our mom’s birthday, fail to check the blind spot before changing lanes, and don’t immediately the needs of these offices for top professionals, notice our spouse’s subtle new hair color (sorry). we also seek qualified candidates for jobs in And one year out of ten or so our renewal check dentistry and jobs in health care. may be late getting to the Department of Health.

Does a $5,000 fine and the potential charge of practicing dentistry without a license really fit the www.dentalmedicalstaffinginc.com crime?

Dental Insurance Companies Would Like You to Lose Your License

Well, almost. If you break the law, i.e., the Dental Practice Act, you can lose your license.

Two examples: If you are guilty of malpractice over many years, it can take many more months or years for you to lose your license. But if you miss the deadline on your annual license renewal, you can lose your license just one minute past midnight. During that minute the legal process of indictment, defense, trial, conviction, and appeal all takes place. Is that due process? If you are unaware for a few days that your annual payment didn’t arrive in Olympia on time, the insurance claims for the patients whom you treated in the interim are null and void. Then the insurance companies can legally keep those claims dollars and block you from collecting from the patient. It’s a de facto fine that’s as unfair as it is illogical. It’s like having to send a huge check to GM if you got a ticket in your Corvette.

The Dental Quality Assurance Commission (DQAC) recently did a review of their records for the last 5 years that showed 475 dentists in this State failed to renew on time. If we conservatively estimate that each dentist suffered a $5,000 denial of claims dollars, which adds up to $2,375,000. Not insignificant. It’s time to take the “dead” out of deadlines.

In the last two sessions the WSDA has introduced legislation in Olympia that would create a reasonable grace period so dentists can’t be caught inadvertently in this bureaucratic debit net. And SKCDS is introducing it again at the House of Delegates in September. The problem is getting enough legislators to care. They don’t seem to feel sorry for dentists who miss their birthday due date. So I can only assume they

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2014-2015 Membership Meeting/CDE Lineup The roster for our 2014-2015 Membership Meetings and CDE programs is full of familiar, famous faces! Be sure to thank the SKCDS Program Committee. As a member benefit, all evening programs this season will be completely free!

On Tuesday, September 30th, Dr. Ward Smalley will present on Distraction Osteogenesis, a topic sure to appeal to both general dentists and specialists.

On Friday, October 3rd, join us at Emerald Downs for Dr. Keith Phillips’ “All-on-Four” all-day course, cosponsored with the University of Washington School of Dentistry and Pierce County Dental Society.

Due to the success of last year’s class, on Friday, October 17th, SKCDS will be joining forces once again with Bank of America to cosponsor an all-day round table class focusing on Practice Transitions.

Dr. Ward Smalley

Dr. Jose-Luis Ruiz

Dr. Chris Pickel will be presenting new initiatives on Tuesday, January 13th, 2015.

We are excited to announce a two-part course from acclaimed speaker Dr. Jose-Luis Ruiz, cosponsored by the Snohomish County Dental Society and the University of WA Dental School. Topics will include “Occlusion Simplifed” and “Dentistry as a Beautiful Art.” This will be held February 27th, in Lynnwood.

Tuesday, April 21st marks the annual Officer Installation and Recognition event, where we will honor both Life and New Members. The evening will also include a special presentation from Dr. Cheryl Townsend, SKCDS member and author of The Aging Gracefully Pathway.

Dr. Keith Phillips

Dr. Cheryl Townsend

Dr. Chris Pickel

Dr. John Kois

Our last CDE on Friday, May 8th will be a UWSOD/AGD cosponsored grand finale with world-renowned speaker Dr. John Kois.

All evening programs begin at 6:00 PM. All daylong programs begin at 8:00 AM. You can register online at skcds.org shortly or by calling our office at 206.448.6620. Registration prices vary by class.

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Escape

By Al Munk DDS Sometimes I just need to escape. Unfortunately at the office, escape is difficult at best. I heard once of a dentist who left in the middle of a busy afternoon.

Where’s the Doc they asked? Nobody knew. He just left. I later heard he really left, that is, he left the country and didn’t come back. I’d really like to meet this guy sometime and hear the whole story. We all have those days when we would just like to go hide in the toilet.

My kids are both over 30 now, an age when they should be long gone from our lives except for the occasional visit to fix my computer. Unfortunately the economy of Seattle and their lack of parental respect has thrown them back into our lives in ways I could not have imagined when I was pushing them on the swing just a few years (decades?) ago. My daughter has shown the least respect for my golden years by audaciously moving back in with us. This has happened a few times in the last ten years so I should be used to it by now. But this time she brought with her a baby and the father of said baby. The baby is a cute little thing and I must say it is a joy to bounce her on my knee in fine grandpa fashion. But along with this joy comes the inevitable conflict between my wife and my daughter.

EXPOSURES

You see, they are quite similar—both ornery, stubborn women who despite sharing chromosomes, seem hell bent on killing each other. It is a crime and injustice that at this point of life, they reside under the same roof. Unfortunately that is my roof as well. It would be fine if the bloody battles only involved those women, but somehow I always get drawn into the fray. This is the ultimate no-win situation. Side with my daughter and my wife kills me, side with my wife and I get visual daggers from my daughter for a week.

Thus my need to escape. Out of necessity, I am getting quite good at this skill.

I slink off when the going gets tough and leave the Amazons to their jousting. I care not to take a skewer through the heart at this stage of my life. Where can one go, you ask, to escape such rigors? To the mall. I am ordinarily not much of a shopper. I still am not, but I find the mall surprisingly calm after the carnage taking place at the feminine fatwa. I stroll through the promenade, occasionally popping into a storefront—can I help you sir, the clerk asks?—you know not how much you already have, I want to reply. There is food and coffee

22 l 2014 SKCDS SUMMER QUARTERLY

at the mall, enough to sustain a pilgrim indefinitely. Being of a certain advanced age, I chronologically missed the mall experience so cherished and enjoyed by the younger set.

Perhaps this is my time to take in this odd multistore extravaganza in all its glory. I walk, I gaze, I eat, I drink it all in, glad to be temporarily off the battlefield.

There are even movies at the mall. I have spent more than one Saturday afternoon at the movies. This is definitely a re-living of my youth at the Columbia Theatre, watching Tarzan movies and eating Milk Duds. There was always petrified gum stuck under the theatre seats, as hard as stone. A sci-fi serial was part of that movie experience with special effects you could have staged in your bedroom. I am not particular about the quality of these “escape” movie experiences. In fact, I rather delight in randomly picking a title, while I am in line buying a ticket (senior discount, of course). This sometimes makes for some odd encounters. Recently I chose a movie, while in line, that had a catchy title. I found my way to the back row as is my custom—no one can kick your seat in this location—only to discover the theatre contained 400 12 year old girls and me. This was one of those teenage warrior movies it turns out, adored by the junior high set. I was odd man out in more ways than one. It was also clear that I would have to learn to rapidly text on my cell phone to blend in as that seemed to be the principal activity, before, during and after the movie.

I trust your escape plans are better than mine. That’s all for now from Ballard.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or official policy of the Seattle-King County Dental Society.

2014 SKCDS SUMMER QUARTERLY l 23

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