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Entries from July 2007

Security Super Guide -Review by PC Magazine

July 22nd, 2007 · No Comments

Spyware, adware, viruses and Trojans are lurking online, waiting to infest your computer. All could easily cripple your PC if you’re not careful. Worse yet, hackers could steal important personal information. If that’s not enough to send you hiding under the covers, you also have to find a way to keeps your kids safe online. Scary? You bet. Unmanageable? Not at all. Pull the covers off you head and listen to us. Our super security guide will help you wise up and stay safe.
Security Super Guide – Security Super Guide – Review by PC Magazine [1].
Read the whole article, there is even a complete guide on how to set up a pretty good security system for free.

[1] http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2102486,00.asp

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Tags: Security · Websites & Internet

I Apologise in Advance

July 22nd, 2007 · No Comments

THE ABILITY TO MAKE AND UNDERSTAND PUNS IS THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT.
 Here are the ten first place winners in the International Pun Contest:
 1. A vulture boards an airplane, carrying two dead raccoons. The  stewardess looks at him and says, “I’m sorry, sir, only one carrion  allowed per passenger.”
 2. Two fish swim into a concrete wall. The one turns to the other  and says “Dam!”
 3. Two Eskimos sitting in a kayak were chilly, so they lit a fire in  the craft. Unsurprisingly it sank, proving once again that you can’t  have your kayak and heat it too.
 4. Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says “I’ve lost my electron.” The  other says “Are you sure?” The first replies “Yes, I’m positive.”
 5. Did you hear about the Buddhist who refused Novocain during a  root canal? His goal: transcend dental medication.
 6. A group of chess enthusiasts checked into a hotel and were  standing in the lobby discussing their recent tournament victories.  After about an hour, the manager came out of the office and asked  them to disperse. ”But why?”, they asked, as they moved off. ”Because,” he said,” I can’t stand chess-nuts boasting in an open foyer.”
 7. A woman has twins and gives them up for adoption. One of them  goes to a family in Egypt and is named “Ahmal.” The other goes to a  family in Spain ; they name him “Juan. ” Years later, Juan sends a  picture of himself to his birth mother. Upon receiving the picture,  she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of  Ahmal. Her husband responds, “They’re twins! If you’ve seen Juan,  you’ve seen Ahmal.”
 8. A group of friars were behind on their belfry payments, so they  opened up a small florist shop to raise funds. Since everyone liked  to buy flowers from the men of God, a rival florist across town  thought the competition was unfair. He asked the good fathers to  close down, but they would not. He went back and begged the friars  to close. They ignored him. So, the rival florist hired Hugh  MacTaggart, the roughest and most vicious thug in town to “persuade”  them to close. Hugh beat up the friars and trashed their store,  saying he’d be back if they didn’t close up shop. Terrified, they did so, thereby proving that only Hugh can prevent  florist friars.
 9. Mahatma Gandhi, as you know, walked barefoot most of the time,  which produced an impressive set of calluses on his feet. He also  ate very little, which made him rather frail and, with his odd diet,  he suffered from bad breath. This made him a super calloused fragile  mystic hexed by halitosis.
 10. And finally, there was the person who sent ten different puns to  friends, with the hope that at least one of the puns would make them  laugh. No pun in ten did.
 

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Tags: Just for Fun

Technology on the Rocks 2007

July 21st, 2007 · No Comments

For more photos look here: [1]

[1] http://www.drlarryemmott.com/general/BikePhotos.htm

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Tags: Just for Fun

Thou Shalt Treatment Plan on the Computer

July 21st, 2007 · No Comments

New users to computer technology most often continue to use dead tree (paper) charts while using the computer to schedule and track finances.
As a result every treatment is entered at least twice. That is on paper in “the back” and again in the computer “up front”. The chart is brought up front the front desk person deciphers what was planned next and tries to make an appointment.
When the work is completed she will re-enter the code in order to get fees and take payments.
However if the treatment plan is in the computer the process of making an appointment is much faster and more accurate. Then when the procedure is done a single click completes the treatment, adds the fee, enters the notes and updates the chart.
Starting with an electronic treatment plan will make every other step faster and more accurate. Until you start charting with the electronic chart you will never get the full benefit from your technology investment.

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Tags: Administrative

Is That A Hard Drive in Your Pocket?

July 21st, 2007 · No Comments

Is That A Hard Drive in Your Pocket?
You can take it with you after all. External storage is becoming sleek and svelte and insanely portable. We have three pocket hard drives to always keep your files on hand.
By Tony Hoffman Some external hard drives are bulky, hold massive amounts of data, and require their own power supply. Not so the new breed of portable hard drives. They’re pocketable—especially in winter. They draw all their power from your computer’s USB connection. And they hold far more data than a thumb drive. Pocket hard drives? If you have data to transfer, don’t leave home without one
Is That A Hard Drive in Your Pocket? – – Review by PC Magazine [1].

[1] http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2159695,00.asp

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Tags: Hardware · Security

Tech Support

July 21st, 2007 · No Comments

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Tags: Just for Fun

Dental Insurance Observation

July 21st, 2007 · No Comments

I have been enjoying the practice of dentistry for thirty years. During that time there have been three changes in treatment, which I believe are truly revolutionary. That is they weren’t just improvements on the old ways but dramatically changed what we did for our patients, how we did it and the results we were able to achieve.
These three revolutionary treatments are osseointegrated implants, non-surgical periodontal treatments and bonded esthetic restorations. Interestingly none of these revolutionary treatments is covered by dental insurance.
And of course the typical annual benefit limit of $1,000 hasn’t changed in the last thirty years either, but that is another story.

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Tags: Administrative

Using a Diode Laser

July 21st, 2007 · No Comments

I had a very difficult restorative situation the other day. The patient had extensive root decay below a PFM and completely subgingival. In the past this would have been a bloody mess. This time I used my diode laser and it allowed me to treat the patient in a much more effective manner than I would have in the past. With the laser I reduced the gingival crest then created a trough that allowed me access to the decayed root. There was no bleeding and it took no more than a minute.
I first started using a diode laser in 1999 (last century). As I expanded my use of the diode laser I was amazed by the fact that patients never complained of post operative discomfort. Most of the time they said they felt nothing the next day. Occasionally they said their gum felt like it was scratched. The other amazing result was that the tissue healed exactly where I cut it. Contouring gingiva with a laser is like sculpting a model, there was no swelling or shrinkage during healing. As a result I could contour the gingiva, prep the tooth and impress at one appointment.

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Tags: Just for Fun

Mirrors and RAID

July 21st, 2007 · No Comments

Mirrored server hard drives are a great idea in the dental office. A mirrored hard drive also called a RAID array (Random Array of Inexpensive Disks) copies all the essential data instantly to a second hard drive. This gives you great protection against hardware failures.
RAID systems can be set up in five different arrays ranging from RAID 0 to RAID 5. In dentistry we do not need fancy (and expensive) SCSI RAID 5 systems. A simple (and inexpensive) IDE mirror works great.
Two vendors make IDE RAID controllers Arco form Florida www.arcoide.com [1] and Accusys from Taiwan. www.accusysusa.com [2]. An IDE system including two hard drives and installation should cost less than $500.
 

[1] http://www.arcoide.com/
[2] http://www.accusysusa.com/

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Tags: Hardware · Security

ROI Digital Panoramic

July 19th, 2007 · No Comments

The newest digital panoramic x-ray units retail for about $30,000. That’s a lot of money however when you examine the Return on Investment it is a slam dunk.
If your office has 2000 patientsAnd you take a pano every five years then 1/5 of 2000 = 400And if you get just 4 new patients a month Thats 48 more448 panoramic x-rays at $90 ea.=$40,320   in One Year! 
Plus you eliminate the cost of film, developing chemicals and the need for a processor. If you don’t have a digital panoramic x-ray unit….why not?
My favorite is the Kodak 8000, other brands in the same price range are the Gendex, Schick and Suni.

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Tags: Radiography