Are real consultants being sabotaged?
• Thank you for the newsletters. I enjoy the information I receive in them as well as the magazines. I am a BSDH online student, and I am not sure which route I want to pursue once I graduate (2007). Could you give me some information on quality consulting firms that I might intern with, or do I just ask one of my dental reps? Linda in Georgia
• Hi there. Great piece on "phony" hygiene consultants. I just read something, too, that was written by someone claiming to be a hygiene consultant. WE know who the real ones are, don't we? The e-newsletter is really getting hot, hot, hot. I liked this issue a lot.
• Dear Kristine, thanks for the article titled "Are real consultants being sabotaged?" I am a dental hygienist with high standards/expectations of my peers and myself. I am working on becoming a consultant, although I admit that I am not ready yet. However, according to your article, it appears that I am on the right track! Your article helps me to validate that I am taking the right steps to earn success. Rachelle
Oral cancer feedback from clinical readers
• Dear RDH eVillage, I use Vizilite in our office and it is great. With the right verbiage, you can really get patients to use it. The code we use is D0431, and some insurance companies are covering it. I believe one of the companies covering it is Cigna and one of the Delta Dental plans is covering it as well. Hope this helps. Sonia Patel, LDH
• Hello, my name is Rafael. The insurance code is 00431. Not all insurance companies are paying for it. You can bill it out with that code, but you charge the patient and send it to the insurance company to see if it will pay. Also, to answer your question on how effective it is — it is very effective. We started using it about four to six months ago and we have found four Stage Twos. They say that the product is 99.1 percent accurate. Hope that information can help you.
• Code 0431 can be charged out for Vizilite. It's a terrific tool for hygienists to use for pre-detection. You can even take an intraoral image to attach for an oral surgeon to look at, or for the insurance company. Coverage varies depending on the plan. Fees charged are relative to the area. Call our offices if you need assistance in implementing this valuable tool into your daily practice. Mary Scott-Yakas, Director of Consulting, Transitions Group North America, 800-345-5157, ext. 406
• We offer Vizilite screenings to all of our patients. We advise them about the cost and that it is not covered by insurance, but that we recommend it for early detection. With growing numbers of oral cancers found today, it is really important to utilize any screening tools we have available. With our female patients, we discuss the process as being similar to an annual exam, especially with the HPV now being associated with cancers in current research data. CH RDH