Broken X-ray Sensors - Why They Break

Broken X-ray Sensors - Why They Break

Digital x-ray sensors, just like any other piece of technology, can become finicky and break with general use.  Things like cable protectors, patient biting, connector wear can all attribute to a xray sensor not functioning correctly.  

For more information about why dental x-ray sensors break, whether or not new sensor cables on Schick x-ray sensors will be more durable and whether or not sensors in general are affordable.

Carestream / Kodak RVG 6100 Sensor

Week 2 - Digital Intra Oral X-Ray Sensors - The Good The Bad And The Ugly - Part 2

Digital Intra Oral X-Ray Sensors

-Good Image Quality - Part 1
-Reliability - Part 2
-Price - Part 3
-Functionality - Part 4

Reviewed Sensors:
-Eva by Dent-X (AFP Imaging)
-SuniRay-Suni Corporation (Orange Dental)
-Dixi 3-Planmeca
-Dexis Platinum-Dexis
-CDR Elite-Schick
-Kodak RVG6100- Kodak (Owned By Carestream Now)

Part 2: Reliability

Reliability seems like a very difficult item to judge. Digital X-Ray companies do not fall under the same systems that govern auto parts or other industrial items where the failure rate is known to a very good accu........ Read the rest of the Week 2 - Digital Xray Sensor Review here!

Week 1 - Digital Intra Oral X-Ray Sensors - The Good The Bad And The Ugly - Part 1

The topic is Digital Intra Oral X-Ray Sensors

-A device with either a CCD or CMOS sensor (just like in your digital camera except bigger) and then a coding or solid filter that converts X-rays to light that the sensor can read. Some medical digital X-Ray uses a specially charged plate that can read the X-ray directly without conversion. I do not believe any company is currently using this technology in dental............. Read the rest of the Week 1 - Digital Intra Oral X-ray Sensors - The Good The Bad And The Ugly - Part 1 article here!

Skip the Robot, Talk to a Person

These days, calling technical support can be a real nightmare for a number of reasons: long hold times, unintelligible outsourced operators, and “Tier 1” technicians who almost inevitably know less about the product in question than you do. But the worst of all tech-support injustices is the automated frustration dispensers that companies sometime employ to put you through a labyrinth of touch-tone menus before you can talk to a real person.

But you don’t have to put up with all of that, thanks to Gethuman.com, which tells you—on a company by company basis—exactly what number to call and what buttons to press to get through to a real, human operator.

Shared via MaximumPC.com

Solar Power = Obsolescence of Toothpaste

New technology allows tooth brush to utilize solar rays to catalyze a powerful chemical reaction that could leave your mouth more clean than using toothpaste! "You see complete destruction of bacterial cells," says Kunio Komiyama, the inventor of the device.

Mechanical University of Saskatchewan dentistry professor emeritus Dr. Kunio Komiyama and his colleague Dr. Gerry Uswak (pictured above) are recruiting 120 teens willing to brush with their prototype solar powered toothbrush. The Shiken Company of Japan are paying researchers to investigate whether the brush does a better job of eliminating plaque and bacteria than a conventional toothbrush.

Dr Komiyama's first model, which was described 15 years ago in the Journal of Clinical Periodontology, contained a titanium dioxide rod in the neck of the brush just below the nylon bristles. When light shines on the wet rod it releases electrons. Those electrons react with acid in the mouth which helps break down plaque....NO TOOTHPASTE REQUIRED!

Dr Komiyama's newest model of the toothbrush, the Soladey-J3X, apparently packs twice the checmical power than the original prototype. There is a solar panel at the base of the Soladey-J3X which transmits electrons to the top of the toothbrush through a lead wire.

I would be interested to see what kind of feeling the toothbrush leaves your mouth with. I love the clean mouth feeling I get after brushing with my traditional paste, how would this toothbrush compare? How would this toothbrush affect bad breathe? These are some of the questions I want answered.

What is your opinion?

Article via Shiken Co. Ltd.

Do You Know Which Of YOUR Programs Are Accessing The Internet?

TCPEye is a nifty little program that is easily downloaded that will show you exactly how many programs on your PC are accessing the Internet. TCPEye also monitors your system and alerts you of any current open TCP/IP and UDP ports on your PC.

Within the TCPEye program you can right click on any process and choose from the following options:

• Resolve Address
• End the Process
• Close the Connection
• Look Up The IP Address's Whois information
• And Much Much More!

TCPEye also allows for sound alerts or balloon notifications whenever a new process begins accessing the Internet keeping you well informed to prevent any unwanted connections.

TCPEye provides a laundry list of information about each open port such as:

• Process Name
• Path Of The Process
• Info About The Process
• Time In With The Process Was Created
• Country That The Process Originates From, Including The Country's Flag
• Color Coding Of Connection States
• Name Of The User That Created The Process

TCPEye also allows you to save the TCP/UDP information to a HTML, XML, or Text file for easy future referencing.

TCPEye is compatible with Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008.

You can download TCPEye via CNet.com

Just Hear It: Free Music, Just Type It

Here's something fun for everyone! Ever had a song stuck in your head? Do you have a song that pumps you up and really gets your day going? For a fantastic, quick, and free way to listen to any tune you like all you've got to do is type it.

Super Computer, Schmuper Computer; Give Me An Old DOS Machine!

Inside Microsoft's Quincy Cloud Farm!

Most dental practices have a single file server, what if you needed a little more beef than just one meesly file server? Just imagine ordering your first Quincy Cloud Farm. You send your server specs over to Microsoft and in a few short weeks (maybe less) a massive tractor trailer with a crane arrives at your practice.

First, the crane lifts off a humungo freighter style container, loaded with ohhhh around 2,000 servers, and gently places it next to your building. Than the crane slowly moves back to the 30 foot open bed trailer and lifts off another unit about half as thick as your server container but just as long, plops that on the top of your server container and voila! You now have a massive super computer capable of computing all of your dental technology needs at light speed.

Ok, maybe it's all a dream...but the 2,000 server filled freighter container really does exist....I swear! Check it all out at Data Center Knowledge's website.

Lab Coats, Clean Rooms, Robotic Arms: Oh My!

If your anything like me than you probably have a whole slew of electronics; digital cameras, cell phone, laptop, camcorder, etc. With each of these devices you generally use a memory card to capture all of your memories, documents, and media. Ever wonder how those memory cards are made?

Massive clean rooms more clean than a hospital operating room, scientists in lab coats and dust masks, blazing fast and precise robotics laying solid gold wire and soldering terminals all done at mesmerizing speeds. We're talking sci-fi type stuff!

Wanna see?

The guys over at Lexar, leading global provider of memory products for digital media, hooked us up with a behind the scenes video of how their memory cards are made. Enjoy! :)

Too Much: Too Few: What To Do

With all of the different blogs, forums, websites, twitters, facebooks, and everything else on the internet. Sometimes it can be tough keeping up on your favorite writers or your favorite companys and the deals that they might be advertising. Ever wonder how the technologically advanced are able to follow, tweet, blog, and post so many different interesting things without skipping a beat?

There are many different programs that you can use to keep current with all of the information you need to ingest on the daily.

RSS feed is one of my favorites. RSS will feed all of your favorite blogs to your cell phone or computer in a quick and simple format for easy reading.

Check out this list of 45 Different Services, Sites, and Apps to Help You Read Your Favorite Sites

Local IT Person: To Use Or Not To Use

With the Electronic Records Mandate being enforced soon most dental practices need to start putting together a plan on how to go paperless. In my experience there are the dental practices that go with a local IT person, and than there are the practices that go with a specialized dental technology integrator.

At a very minimum you should at least consider using a dental technology integration company that specializes in practice management software, image management, intra oral cameras, and digital radiography, in conjunction with your local IT person........... Read the rest of the Local IT Person: To Use or Not To Use article here!

Dental Practice Closed Due To Movie Copyright Infringement

Do you offer movies to your patients?

If you said yes to this simple question than your dental practice could be on the front page of a national newspaper under this heading. One of the biggest misconceptions throughout dental is that it is OK to show movies and TV shows to patients during treatment. You may think it is OK for your office to be showing movies to patients but what happens when a patient comes into your office that works or knows someone that works in the movie industry or is a member of the FBI? Or what if an investigator is doing copyright infringement investigations at local businesses in your town? You can say good bye to your dental practice!

Federal copyright law specifically states:

"The Federal Copyright Act(Title 17 of the U.S. Code) governs how copyrighted materials, such as movies, may be used. Neither the rental nor the purchase of a movie carries with it the right to show the movie publicly outside the home, unless the site where the movie is used is properly licensed for public exhibition.

Ownership of the movie and the right to use it publicly are two separate issues. The copyright holder retains exclusive public performance rights.”

This means that although you may have paid for that movie you’re showing in your dental practice, it in no way gives you the rights to be publicly showing said movie in your dental practice.

You may be thinking, “What do I care, what are the chances that the movie industry is going to take me to court for violating copyright laws?” Publicly showing movies in your dental practice directly violates copyright laws and all it takes is a simple phone call for an FBI investigator to be knocking at your door. Copyright infringement investigations are a lot more common than you may think, especially during this “digital age” we currently live in where nearly everything can be shared via the internet.

The Motion Picture Association of America takes copyright infringement extremely serious and with good reason; after all, it’s their livelihood. People that work in the movie industry rely on royalties from their movies being shown to put food on the table and to provide for their families. Showing movies in your dental practice without the proper copyright licenses is the same as someone practicing dentistry without ever going to dental school and becoming a licensed dentist. It just isn’t ethical.

“The Motion Picture Association of America and its member companies are dedicated to stopping film and video piracy in all its forms, including unauthorized public performances, illegal downloading, etc. The motion picture companies can go to court to ensure their copyrights are not violated.

To avoid embarrassing publicity and fines, it is important to comply with U.S. Copyright Law when using movies publicly. If you are uncertain about your responsibilities under copyright law, consult your legal copyright compliance advisor or attorney.”

Smile Cinema enables your dental practice to show movies to your patients while fully complying with movie copyright laws. Smile Cinema works directly with the Motion Picture Licensing Corporation to provide dental practices with valid public viewing licenses to bring dental practices into full compliance with copyright law.

The Smile Cinema package is extremely affordable and will bring you in full compliance with the law allowing you to include your latest “Movie Menu” in direct advertisement mailers to your patients. Just think how much of a buzz you’ll create when all of your patients are talking about all of the feature films and television series that your office offers.

Visit Smile Cinema for more information!

No more complaints about drills and screams, ease your patients mind by offering their favorite movies!

Purchase Now!