Lexicon Flashcards
learn dental jargon
Active Patients
Patients who have had at least 1 visit (for any treatment or service, with anyone… doctor or RDH) within the last 18 months
Accounts Receivable
“AR” All money owed to the practice including both that owed by patients and outstanding insurance balances
Amalgam
Silver filling
Anterior
front. as in “Anterior Composite” which is a white or tooth-colored filling on one of the front teeth
AACD
The American Academy of cosmetic dentistry is the largest organization in the world dedicated solely to the Art and Science of cosmetic dentistry. There are approximately six or seven thousand. dentists around the world in the academy. In the entire history of the academy, only about 400 dentists have ever achieved accreditation. Accreditation by the AACD is a two-year process which includes performing 5 cases specified by the academy, photo-documenting those cases, and then coming before the board to present them. Accreditation examination also includes an oral defense of those cases as well as written documentation and presentation which is submitted to the board for each case. Achieving accreditation by the AACD is a huge accomplishment for any dentist who wants to perfect and improve and their skills in appearance-related or aesthetic dentistry. Way more doctors fail to achieve accreditation and do not pass the exam than those who succeed. Subsequent to having achieved accreditation in 1990, the first dentist in Massachusetts to have done so, Dr. Orent was asked to serve on the board of accreditation as an examiner and did so for 6 years . Way more doctors fail to achieve accreditation and do not pass the exam than those who succeed. Subsequent to having achieved accreditation in 1990, the first dentist in Massachusetts to have done so, Dr. Orent was asked to serve on the board of accreditation as an examiner and did so for 6 years
Asymptomatic
Doesn’t have any symptoms. The tooth has No pain, bleeding, or fracture. Often an asymptomatic patient thinks everything is “just fine.” A tooth can be asymptomatic and NOT have problems. Or it COULD have problems.
Back Door
Recall retention, i.e., how well they get folks back in for a hygiene visit, cleaning etc. “close the back door” means reduce the loss of patients who don’t return for routine recall
BT Call
breakthrough call (the calls we do with a prospective new member)
BT Call
breakthrough call (same as BSS)
Bu, Cr
build-up and crown.
Buildup and Crown
If a tooth is too badly decayed or broken that a filling would not support it… a build-up is like a super strong core or filling we bond into the broken down shell of the remaining tooth structure after having removed the caries (= decay). The crown (cap) is then placed over the buildup.
Caries
bacterial decay. In layman’s terms, a “cavity.”
CBCT
cone beam computer tomography. a piece of $50,000 to $80,000+ technology that scans and gives 3D computer generated views of all the structures. Bone, teeth, nerves etc. It’s used most often to determine how much bone there is an exactly where is best to place an implant
CE
continuing education courses
Cerec
CAD CAM. Cerec (and Trios, Planmeca et.) is CAD CAM (computer assisted design, computer assisted manufacture) technology to make same day crowns in-office. Instead of an impression, it’s a virtual 3D scanned impression. then the computer runs a milling device and cuts the crown to be cemented same day
Clear Correct
is another brand of clear aligners, e.g. Invisalign (the original clear aligner). we often say to the doctors Invisalign or WHATEVER brand of clear aligners you prefer
Coaches: Scheduling Institute SI
Jay Geier. SI = The Scheduling Institute… the 800 pound gorilla of dental practice consulting and coaching. Owned/run by Jay Geier. Last I heard doing $50,000,000 per year, likley now doing $100,000,000 or more
Coaches: MGE
Very large management consulting group based on Scientology. Some doctors like and benefit from MGE but will tell you they are NOT aligned with the scientology part of it. Others love the whole thing, and some hate it DUE to the scientology.
Scientology
L.Ron Hubbard. Some (e.g. MGE) PM companies use it as a basis for diagnosing what’s wrong with your practice, then point towards problems in your life that are the root cause etc.
Collections
Money received both from patients and insurance. Money deposited in the bank
Comprehensive Exam
Complete and thorough exam usually done for each new patient. Often can be 45 min to an hour. Far more thorough than a 5 or 10 minute recall exam
Cone Beam
CBCT Cone Beam computer tomography. a piece of $50,000 to $80,000+ technology that scans and gives 3D computer generated views of all the structures. Bone, teeth, nerves etc. It’s used most often to determine how much bone there is an exactly where is best to place an implant
Copay
Copayment. it’s the amount a patient pays. E.g. fee $1,000. Insurance PPO requires 30% adjustment (write off). Thus $700 is the “allowable” fee. Perhaps insurance pays $300 of that, and the patients “copay” is $400.
Craze Lines
very tiny little micro-fractures routinely found throughout the enamel. They rarely if ever cause any problems, are not necessarily visible without magnification, are harmless and thus don’t require treatment.
Crown
Cap over the tooth for support. Could be white (porcelain or other materials), could Gold
Cusp
Cusp is one of 2 chewing points on a bicuspid (premolar) or 4 points on a molar
DA, CDA, EFDA
DA - dental assistant, CDA - certified dental assistant , EFDA - expanded functions dental assistant - all have different certifications based on state laws
Dawson, Pankey
Two deceased dentists each of whom built 2 of the worlds most respected reconstruction and occlusion continuing education programs/institutes.
Dentin
is the inner yellowish substance under the enamel. it is MUCH softer than the enamel.
Diagnodent
one of many technologies that uses a diode laser to look below the enamel surface and a few mm into the tooth (dentin) to determine whether or not caries (dental cavity) has penetrated through the enamel and into the dentin… thus needs to be drilled out and a filling placed
Diagnodent, Canary, SoPro
see above (Diagnodent)
Differential Diagnosis
It is the act of using either technology, tests, symptoms etc. in order to decide WHICH of 2 or more conditions or disease states your patient is presenting with.
Downgrade
the insurance company chooses not to pay based upon the actual service provided, but instead, suggests that a cheaper alternative could have been done and thus they pay based on that alternative… worse, they may require that the dentist writes off the difference thus not allowing them to bill the patient for the difference)
DSO
Dental Service Organization. E.g. Heartland, Aspen, etc… this is “corporate dentistry.” These guys buy up small practices and create a chain of corporate offices which often require the doctors to hit quotas e.g. you must do 15 crowns and 12 root canals etc… These guys operate at super high efficiency and volume, and make the corp a lot of money… but pretty much burn out the docs and team, and patient care may suffer as a result. They get a LOT of the young doctors just out of school, because a doc just out of school can have 1/2 to 3/4 million in loans
EC
Enrollment coach (sales person)
Endo
Endo - short for endodontic therapy or often called “ root canal” - treating (i.e. removing) the nerve of the tooth in order to save the tooth. They remove the nerve and blood vessels then seal up the canal. Usually a GP then places a crown on the tooth for support. GPs often do most of their own endo.
Endodontist
A Dentist who continued education to specialize in Endodontics
Enrollment Coach
Same as EC same as Sales person
EOB
Explanation of Benefits. Its a report that accompanies the insurance payment for a patient’s treatment. If in-network, it will show how much the dentist is required to write-off due to the PPO network contract. It may also indicate denial of a claim, or downgrading (the insurance company chooses not to pay based upon the actual service provided, but instead, suggests that a cheaper alternative (they say) could have been done and thus they pay based on that alternative… worse, they may require that the dentist writes off the difference thus not allowing them to bill the patient for the difference)
Explorer Stick, Tugback
an “Explorer” is the dental pick, or hook-shaped metal instrument the doctor or RDH jams into the biting surface of a natural tooth to see if there is decay. If it pulls right out of the deep groove of the biting surface with ZERO resistance, then the doctor thinks there’s no cavity. If the doctor or RDH senses “tugback” (resistence when pulling the exporer off the groove, then they have diagnosed a cavity. Problem is, Journal of Caries Research shows that 76% of the time a doctor or RDH assumes there’s no cavity due to the absence of explorer tugback, they have missed caries (decay)
False Positives
a false positive is when the reading on the diagnodent for a particular groove in a tooth, indicates decay… the doctor opens up the tooth with the drill… and it turns out that there is NO DECAY! It was a false positive
FFS
Fee-for-service. i.e. they are not in-network with any PPOs (or any other type of discounted rate contracted insurance). They charge and get their full fees
Composite
a toothcolored filling or “white filling” often referred to as resin (high-tech plastic) - they are one in the same
Resin
a tooth colored filling or “ white filling” often referred to as composite - they are one in the same
Amalgam
a metal looking filling ( silver in color )
Pit, fissure and groove
these are the tiny crevices usually in the biting surfaces of molars and premolars, but can have pits on the lingual (tongue side) of the upper anterior (front)
Florida Probe
Software that allows for voice-controlled Perio charting (hygienist can speak the pocket readings and it charts automatically)
Front Door
New patient flow
FUP
Followup
GLQ
Golden Line of Questions. These are the specific questions and T-Off questions we ask during Uncover to get us to the truth of the pain and emotional consequences as quickly as possible
GP
General Practitioner or General Dentist. NOTE: we ONLY work with GPs and Prosthodontists (if the doctor on the call is any other specialty, ask if he has GPs working for him. If not, let him know we can only help General Dentists, then wish him well and politely end the call.
Gram Negative Anaerobic Bacteria
it’s the type of bacteria that lives DEEP in the periodontal (gum) pockets around the neck of the tooth. They hide down there because “anerobic” means they DIE in the presence of oxygen