Curve Hero- new software with your server on the web

Curve Dental has introduced a web based Practice Management system that is run over the Internet with a simple web browser interface.

As web-based dental software Curve Hero offers advantages over traditional client/server applications with respect to implementation costs, convenience and data security. Because the software only requires a browser and an Internet connection, expensive investments in hardware, servers and IT services are not required. The convenience of the web allows the practice to access patient data from any location at any time, which is more flexible to varying lifestyle preferences. With patient data stored off-site at redundant and secure data centers, the practice is not threatened by theft, natural disaster or local hardware failure, greatly simplifying business continuity and disaster planning.


For more info call 888-910-4376 or visit http://www.curvedental.com/

Droid again

New app for Droid (Blogaway) that apparently allows me to put up a quick blog post. Let's see.......

Another Caries Detection System?

It started with DiagNodent. Then Midwest Caries ID. We have just seen the introduction of Spectra from Air Techniques. We are about to get SoproLife from Acteon. The Canary System from Canada was announced and Lantis Laser has been talking about Optical Coherence Tomography to be arriving any day. Now from Great Britain is CarieScan, which has an LED screen that gives a numerical as well as colored lights to indicate caries. Information can be gotten at www.cariescan.com . I will try and make some sense of all of this soon.

Google to Introduce URL Shortener

Many people use free services like www.tinyurl.com or www.bit.ly in order to compress long url's for use in forwarding, twitter, facebook and the like. Google will be putting their own version up soon. Here is the url
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/introducing-googles-own-url-shortener/15482/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SearchEngineJournal+%28Search+Engine+Journal%29

or in tiny url: http://tinyurl.com/googleshorten

or bit.ly http://bit.ly/googleshorten

It will be called : http://goo.gl/ and is only available right now for "google products".

Droid Gets an Update

On December 11, the Droid received an "Over The Air" update. This changed the front screen with the lock/unlock as well as sound on/off slidebar. It would still be better if all you had to do was click or touch on but it is a bit better. Also noticeable are improvements to the camera. Supposedly the battery usage is improved- I will see about that- I barely get a day out of the battery if I am using it with emails, phone calls, checking twitter, facebook and the like- isn't that what it is supposed to be used for??? I did buy an extra battery and extra travel charger.



There are also a lot of new "apps" although many are pretty bad- there are reviews available right on the Droid "Marketplace" with no holds barred. I have found the horizontal on-screen keyboard to be accurate and actually better than the pull out keyboard. The auto-correction and intelligent word guessing is great, and it learns your common words as you continue to use it and speed up your typing. If there were an option for no keyboard which would make this thinner and lighter I would go for it.



The voice recognition for searching has been very accurate and very helpful if you are driving and want to call someone in your contact list or need directions to the nearest fast food place- just ask it. I guess I am keeping it.

Edgar Garrison will be missed

My good friend and dental icon, Edgar Garrison passed away November 29. When Edgar was at his Garrison Dental Solutions booth or anywhere at a dental meting, he always had a big grin and a large hello to all he knew and those he did not. His sons Tom and John as well as any staff members always carry this attitude which helped in building their successful businesses. I always made it a point to find him no matter how busy I was at a meeting. My staff had the pleasure of meeting him at the ADA San Antonio and still talk about this "charming" man. He will be missed. Some of his life's details are here:

http://www.garrisondental.com/news/elg_112909.cfm

Oral Cancer Might Be Detected In Saliva Test For CD44

Researchers at Univeristy of Miami have found that patients with oral cancer carry a protein called CD44. They have found a method to find its prescence in saliva. At this point more study is of course necessary.
http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/14/3/735.abstract
and
http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/ymhn/article/PIIS0194599801078731/abstract

GNY products- Acteon SoproLife

There were a few new products but Acteon launched its new caries detection system, SoproLife. (Light Induced Fluorescence Evaluator ). Unfortunately the paperwork for approvals for sale ( 510K) did not come in time for the meeting although it is due any day. Thus they could not actually sell this product but could show it. I was lucky enough to get a good look at the IDS in March and have been in touch with the developers in France and have been helping in assessing this product and giving some clinical input. Here is their website with some basic information. I will publish some of my own clinical photos when it is appropriate.

http://www.soprolife.com/

Greater New York Meeting- Part 1

The meeting was a success for the GNY staff but I am not sure the exhibitors were the beneficiaries. There were a number of classes right on the exhibit floor in "fishbowls" that were packed. There was a larger live operatory and an smaller one which also was packed- the large one seemed to have 200 or so seats. I watched a patient receiving some mini implants- the procedure was of course projected on the big screen. There were a myriad of courses that were very well attended- I had a chance to go into a number of rooms as I was helping the Yankee meeting people with some scouting. Thus, the exhibit floor seemed a bit sparser than usual.

From an education standpoint, this is a great step- above and beyond the typical classroom teaching. The big meetings have started to get a little stale and repetitive. Plus online CE has allowed many dentists and dental professionals to get their training ( and credits) from home. The economy for sure has kept spending down a bit and limited expensive travel related expenses. Of course as this year comes to a close, there are tax advantages to make those large purchases right now. In my next post I will go over some of the details of products and people who caught my eye.