The DMD Check-Up: Cosmetic Care Earns $1,000 per Visit

Most dentists make more than $1,000 for each cosmetic care visit, according to a new survey. That story tops this week’s DMD Check-Up. Also making the list: The story of the dentist who invented cotton candy and a look at economic and oral health disparities in Chicago.

• Cosmetic Care Shines for Dentists (DrBicuspid.com)

More than two-thirds of dentists report making more than $1,000 per cosmetic patient visit. This and other pertinent facts can be found in a new American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry survey of practitioners. Crowns (82%) and Bonding (74%) were the most common procedures.

• Dentist: “Best Job in America” (Dentist’s Money Digest)

This year's best job has “great growth potential, solid work-life balance, high wages and low unemployment.” And it’s all about the dentistry. The nation’s top two rated jobs for 2016 were Orthodontist and Dentist.

• The Dentist Who Created Cotton Candy (Mental_Floss)

An entertaining brief on Dr. William J. Morrison, the Tennessee who made this legendary kid’s sweet treat a reality. His “Electron Candy Machine” hit the market around the turn of the century. Dentists all over owe him dividends.

• Chicago: A City Divided on Dental Care (Medill Reports Chicago)

A clear and chilling report on the sad state of oral health in America’s third most populous city: “Dental education is a pretty big problem,” “There’s a great divide between the city’s affluent and impoverished neighborhoods,” and “The state of Illinois reimburses only a third of the work that dentists do.”

• Federal Opiate Crackdown Has Risks (Boston Herald)

Leading Massachusetts physicians and dentists are concerned that “a new law enforcement crackdown on opiate prescriptions could have a chilling effect on those who help patients manage chronic pain.” Who is “illegally, unlawfully prescribing prescription pain medication that is causing great harm”?

• The 7 Most Important Pages of a Dentist’s Website (DentistryiQ)

Every dental professional must have one today—a website. It’s your digital business card. Here are few worthwhile tips on how practicing dentists can build a useful website. “If you don’t provide the information people are looking for, they’ll find it somewhere else, probably on one of your competitors’ websites.”

• Medicaid Kids’ Dental Care Neglected (The Washington Post)

About 75% of “children covered by Medicaid in four states didn’t receive all required dental care over a recent two-year period,” according to a recent US Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General report. And Obamacare hasn’t helped.

• Mobile Dentistry Aids Elderly in Need (Albuquerque Journal)

Thoughtful story about the humanitarian efforts of some New Mexico dental professionals. Dental Care in Your Home treats hundreds of senior citizens who no longer received dental care because they are homebound due to illness or are in nursing homes. “They can smile more.”