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LIFELONG

ED ITOR IAL

Learning

Have you ever thought about the process of learning? How we learn, why we learn what we do, the mechanics of learning? What does learning mean to you? How does it impact you? What opportunities will you have because of what you’ve learned, how will it change you, and who will you become? Lifelong learning embodies a notion of perpetual change and ongoing development. It is as much a discussion of the journey, as it is about the content that we experience along the way. When we are students in grade school, a lot of foundational material is deﬁned for us. We learn reading, writing, and arithmetic, but also socialization, interaction, and how to learn. For us all, this is a period that is critical to our development as individuals. But, have you ever asked yourself, why do we like certain subject matter versus others? Is it the content, the way it is delivered, or by whom? When you think back, who was your best teacher? Have you ever thought about why you feel they were the best? While I was working on my Bachelor of Science degree, I took a history of the English language course as part of my prerequisites. It was one of those side courses you take to boost your GPA for your admittance qualiﬁcations to Dental School. It wasn’t necessarily a course I was seeking out based on my own interest. As such, I went in with little appreciation for the content I was about to learn, or even how this course might change me. What I discovered was a professor who brought

this material to life. His passion, his means of delivery, his ability to convey this information in a way that resonated with me, and this class, has stuck with me. This experience is one that I think about when I am lecturing, or setting up courses for my continuing dental education participants. We all have experiences like that with educators, for good and bad, where it’s important to reflect on the learning process. It’s important because we can learn a lot about ourselves. When learning isn’t prescriptive or forced, how do we like to learn? What are our learning preferences? Do we learn better in big groups, small groups, or on our own? Do we like scheduled, live, interactive, visually stunning, or from a text, or self-reflective? Should the learning be tied to experiential or hands on? These are just a few of the questions we can use to delve into our preferences, and ﬁgure out more effective learning strategies for ourselves. We also need to know our goals and objectives; what and why do we want to learn? It’s important to think about this as a student, but also post-graduation when there is no shortage of lifelong learning and continuing educational offerings to consider. As one reflects on these questions, we can start to look for course offerings that align with our goals and learning styles, to help us realize our potential and passion. Self-actualization is the realization of ones talents and potentialities, which the right education can help you accomplish. OH

JAMES YACYSHYN Dr. James Yacyshyn obtained his Bachelor of Science degree, with honours, from the University of Alberta. He then obtained his Doctorate of Dental Surgery degree, with Distinction, from the University of Alberta. Upon graduation, he went on to pursue and complete a Masters in Applied Science Engineering, from the University of Toronto. Dr. Yacyshyn joined the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, as an Assistant Clinical Professor. He was appointed Director of Continuing Dental Education, and had cross appointments to the Alberta Research Council and Faculty of Medicine.

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CONTENTS

SEPTEMBER 2019

3. Lifelong Learning James Yacyshyn, DDS, Director of Clinical Education, University of Alberta

VOLUME 109 NUMBER 13

6. A Note from The Student Federation Natalie Pollock, President, Federation of Canadian Dentistry Student Association 10. Five Burning Questions for Dental Students and Associates Melanie Langevin, CPA, CMA 14. What’s Next for the Graduating Dentist? Dr. Mark H. E. Lin, BSc, DDS, MSc (Prostho), FRCD(C) 18. A Note From The FCDSA Natalie Pollock, President 21. Seven Lessons to Create Balance for the New Graduate Uche Odiatu, DMD, Masha Bakjshandeh, RDH

28. Road Map to Being Debt Free David Chong Yen, CPA, CA, CFP; Louise Wong, CPA, CA, TEP; Eugene Chu, CPA, CA 34. Mirco-Managed to Mirco-Influencer Irene Iancu, BSc, RDH, CTDP 40. The Shared Responsibility of Infection Prevention and Control Elaine Powell, RDH, RDA, dentalcorp Practice Auditor; Jaime Robertson, RDH, dentalcorp Practice Auditor

EDITORIAL BOARD MEMEBERS

Dr. Carlos Ochoa • Endodontics

Dr. Randy Lang • Co-chairman/ Orthodontics

Dr. Angelos Metaxas • Orthodontics

Dr. Gary Glassman • Endodontics

Dr. Iain Nish • Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery

Dr. Mark Nicolucci • Implantology Dr. Bruce Pynn • Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Dr. Peter Birek • Periodontics Dr. Les Rykiss • Esthetics Dr. Mark Lin • Prosthodontics Dr. Janice Goodman • General Dentistry Dr. Peter Nkansah • Pharmacology/ Anesthesiology Dr. George Freedman • Dental Materials & Technology Dr. Fay Goldstep • Preventive Dentistry/ Healing Dr. David Farkouh • Paediatrics Dr. Marina Polonsky • General Dentistry/ Laser Dentistry @ORALHEALTHGROUP

ORAL HEALTH GROUP

O R A LH E A LT H G R O U P.C O M

CONTRIBUTING CONSULTANTS

Dr. Jordan Soll • Editor/Co-chairman

Dr. Bruno Vendittelli • Orthodontic Dr. James Yacyshyn • Practice Management Expert

Dr. Blake Nicolucci • Implantology Dr. Howard Holmes • Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Dr. Jack Griffin • Esthetics Dr. Reza Nouri • Pediatrics Dr. Ross Anderson • Pediatrics Dr. Carolyn Poon Woo • General Dentistry Dr. Keith Titley • Pediatrics Dr. Robert Lowe • Esthetics Dr. Gary Radz • Esthetics Dr. Mitra Sadrameli • Oral & Maxillofacial Radiology Dr. Bo Kryshtalskyj • Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery Dr. Indra Narang • General Dentistry/Sleep Dentistry Dr. Barry Korzen • Endodontics Dr. Goth Siu • Prosthodontics Dr. Joseph Fava • Prosthodontics Dr. W. Johnston Rowe Jr. • Esthetics

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A NEWCOM Media Inc. Publication

Managing Editor: Jillian Cecchini 416-510-5125 jillian@newcom.ca Digital Content Coordinator: Marley Gieseler 416-510-6777 marley@newcom.ca Art Direction: Beverley Richards Catherine McKenny Carolyn Brimer Circulation: Mary Garufi 416-614-5831 mary@newcom.ca Advertising Services: Karen Samuels 416-510-5190 karens@newcom.ca

Director, Business Development: Tony Burgaretta 416-510-6852 tonyb@newcom.ca Senior Sales Manager: Heather Donnelly 416-614-5804 heather@newcom.ca Account Manager: Holly Power 416-510-6846 holly@newcom.ca Classified Advertising: Karen Shaw 416-510-6770 karen@newcom.ca

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Oral Health, published by Newcom Media Inc., is an independent, Get the complete picture with 3D Clinical Charting, a more monthly professional journal, written and edited for the practicing dentist representation of the dental chart. in Canada, and supervised by an Editorial Boardlifelike of Consultants from both general practice and major specialties of the profession. The editorial your care with Dentrix Smart Image, which connects content consists of clinical articles and abstracts Expand from the world’s finest dental literature and monthly departments.The editorial purpose is to provide your clinical and financial processes into one efficient workflow information on clinical advances in all phases of dentistry. Health the is Improve with comprehensive software tools for charting, and Oral allows patient’s 2D andclinical 3D care images to be accessed not responsible for the quality of graphic images submitted by the authors. treatment planning and progress notes. Run your business as well as you without leaving Dentrix. run your practice with software solutions that focus on increasing profits. The Editorial Board of Oral Health does not necessarily agree with the claims made for any product advertised. Nor should it be construed that the the complete picture with 3D Clinical Charting, Gain additional insight intoGet your practice performance with a more appearance of any product advertisement in Oral Health implies that lifelike representation of the dental chart. the Board either approves or accepts the product. Dentrix Management Reports. Oral Health reserves the right to edit departmental submissions for content Expand your care with Dentrix Smart Image, which connects and length. The contents of this publication may not be reproduced either in your clinical and financial processes into one efficient workflow and allows the patient’s 2D and 3D images to be accessed part or in full without the written consent of the copyright owner. without leaving Dentrix. ISSN 0030-4204 Gain additional insight into your practice performance with Yearly subscription rates: Canada 1 year $64.95 + taxes, Dentrix Management Reports. 2 years $107.95 + taxes (GST/HST #103862405RT0001); U.S. 1 year $70.95; Foreign 1 year $107.95; Single copy Canada & U.S. $10.00; Single copy Foreign $10.00. Printed in Canada. All rights reserved. From time to time we make our subscription list available to select companies and organizations whose product or service may interest you. For more information contact your local Dentrix representative more information contact youratlocal Dentrix representative If you do not wish your contact informationFor to be made available, 844.347.6102 or visit Canada.dentrix.com/dentalgrad please contact us via one of the followingat methods: 844.347.6102 or visit Canada.dentrix.com/dentalgrad Phone: 416-614-5831; Fax: 416-614-8861; E-mail: mary@newcom.ca; Mail to: Privacy Officer, Newcom Media Inc., 5353 Dundas St. W. Suite 400, Toronto, ON M9B 6H8.

Oral Health is published monthly + a special issue. CANADA POST Publications Mail Agreement No. 40063170. Changes of address notices and orders for subscriptions are to be faxed to (416) 614-8861 or mailed to Circulation Department – Oral Health, 5353 Dundas St. W. Suite 400, Toronto, ON M9B 6H8.

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T HE STU DE N T I SS UE

A Note From

THE FEDERATION OF CANADIAN DENTISTRY STUDENT ASSOCIATION

FCDSA representatives at 2019 AGM in Vancouver, BC. Back row left to right: Paul Phan (UdeM, 2023), David Wu (McGill, 2019), Keyvan Tcherassen (UofT 2019), Matthew Yeung (UBC, 2019), Bilawal Hussain (UofS, 2021), Philippe Martin (Laval, 2019) Middle row left to right: Courtney Aube (Dalhousie, 2020), Camille Gadoury (UdeM, 2022), Laurie Pelletier (Laval 2022), Sarah Hancox (UofM, 2021), Joanna Man (UofT, 2020), Pari Dabas (Western, 2019) Bottom row left to right: Manisha Bansal (UofM, 2020), Austin Chen (UBC, 2020), Natalie Pollock (McGill, 2020), Dain Kim (UofA 2020), Hammad Qasim (UofS, 2020), Jared Crane (Dalhousie, 2021).

NATALIE POLLOCK, PRESIDENT, FCDSA

I clearly remember sitting in the aisle seat of my undergraduate lecture hall, anxiously waiting for my phone to light up with a call. When it did, I’m not sure I caught a single word Dr. Paul Allison (McGill’s former Dean of Dentistry) said beyond ‘we are pleased to inform you’. As the daughter of a general dentist, it felt as though I was being granted the opportunity to fulfill my dental-destiny. What followed was a whirlwind of excitement – moving across the country, exploring a new city, meeting and forming friendships with my new classmates, and finally starting down my career path. My first year of dental school (or should I say medical school) was a dream

come true. As any dental student will tell you however, dental school isn’t always sunshine and lollipops. In the words of one of my clinical demonstrators, ‘dental school can be a difficult place to exist’. The demands and expectations placed on dental students are often prodigious and sometimes utterly overwhelming. Balancing coursework, lab work, patient coordination and attempting to maintain your own health and well being is no small feat. Early mornings preparing for clinic only to be stood up by patients. Late nights in the lab drilling plastic teeth, re-mounting casts, meticulously placing denture teeth. As an

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THE STU D ENT ISSU E Conference Photos from CDSC 2018 in Toronto:

anglophone studying in Montreal, learning French during dental school has also presented unique challenges. After a semester of trying to inform patients that “Je vais baisser la chaise” I learnt that I was in fact telling them “Je vais baiser la chaise” – which incidentally has a very different meaning. It is safe to say that my time in dental school has been humbling. No two people have the same experience in dental school. Everyone faces their stress and challenges differently and needs to develop their own methods to succeed. However, teamwork and collaboration within a cohort can go a long way to decrease stress and facilitate learning. I am grateful to all my classmates who stay in clinic to lend a hand, or to all those who share their lecture notes and study aids so willingly – we will all graduate as better dentists thanks to this. Although these kinds of connections can be built naturally within a class, for a long time there was no opportunity to establish such a sense of community amongst Canadian dental students on a national scale. The Federation of Canadian Dentistry Student Associations (FCDSA) was established in 2012 in part to fill this need. The FCDSA’s vision is to be a forum for a nationally integrated community enhancing the student experi-

ence in the dental profession. Our mission is to connect dentistry students in order to foster the sharing of common interests, challenges, advocate as a unified national student voice for the promotion of accessible, optimal dental education and patient care, and provide an avenue to introduce and involve students in organized dentistry. The FCDSA is still young, especially in contrast to parallel student organizations such as the American Student Dental Society (ASDA) which was established in 1971. The beauty of being such a fresh organization is that we have so much potential to grow and adapt to the needs of our members. The FCDSA is comprised of 2 students representing their respective dental student association from each of the 10 Canadian dental faculties. These representatives are introduced to the realm of organized dentistry through their work on several committees. Since it’s inception, one of the FCDSA’s top priorities has been to organize opportunities for dental students to connect in person – a goal we were able to achieve for the first time in 2018. The inaugural Canadian Dental Student Conference (CDSC) was held in Toronto in January of 2018 and was an even greater success than we could have hoped for. oralhealthgroup.com

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T H E STU DE N T I SS UE

With over 650 students from coast to coast in attendance, CDSC 2018 offered attendees a balance of lectures, workshops, a research competition as well as several networking opportunities. In an environment removed from the stress and hectic schedule of dental school, students were able to engage and become inspired by topics they might not have been exposed to within their regular curricula. It is an opportunity to take a step back and appreciate the bigger picture and begin to question what kind of dental professional they want to be after graduation. Building upon the success of CDSC 2018, we are thrilled to be hosting the second ever CDSC in Vancouver on January 10th-11th 2020. Thanks to the tremendous feedback we received from students and speakers we are proud to have built an improved conference program. Attendees can look forward to a wider selection of lecture topics and hands-on workshops focusing not only on the clinical but also the practice management and business aspect of dentistry. We have also partnered with our friends at CDA Oasis to host a number of panel discussions focused on career path options (e.g. residency, specialty programs, buying a practice, and associateship), as 8

well as a panel discussion on advocacy and dental public health. Other conference events include our second National Research Poster Competition (with prizes to be won!), and networking events including a â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Breakfast with the Specialistsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; and a formal gala. We have even added student-wellness events including a yoga session specially geared towards dental students and a few other fun activities to help attendees de-stress. As the FCDSA continues to mature we look forward to providing more services and opportunities for interaction between dental students across the country. The FCDSA is a non-profit organization run by hard-working volunteers, but the events and services organized by the FCDSA would not be possible without the generous support from our numerous sponsors and of course the CDA. During my time with the FCDSA, I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to interact with many students from the different Canadian dental faculties. I can say with confidence that with the number of intelligent and passionate individuals I have met, the future of the profession is certainly looking bright. OH

W t

A fa to

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THE ST U DENT I SS UE

burning questions for dental students & associates MELANIE LANGEVIN, CPA, CMA

Dental students and associates are a busy bunch. With long hours and a hectic schedule, figuring out your tax filings can slip down your priority list. This group typically asks about five topics: deductions against your income, moving expenses, impact of extra income, reducing taxes on salary and the benefits on incorporation. Let’s look at each of these topics and help you maximize your money.

What deductions am I able to make against my income?

Years of school can lead to large amounts of debt. Cash flow can be hard to come by with the long hours of studying or work. On the money you do earn, many are curious about the deductions you can claim to minimize taxes. A few common expenses students can claim include eligible tuition and exam fees (including international fees), interest on eligible student loans and professional membership

Did you know that MNP offers free personal tax returns for Dental Students and Associates? To see if you qualify for the program, or for more information on how MNP can help you with your taxes, please contact Melanie Langevin, CPA, CMA at 613-691-4226 or melanie.langevin@mnp.ca.

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THE STU D ENT ISSU E

fees. Deductions can also be carried forward to a year where you begin to earn income. Make sure to claim these each year to build up balances that you can deduct after you start earning income. The transition from student to resident or associate means you could start earning employment income that allows for a few more deductions that were not previously available. Some examples are parking, travel to or from separate practices and cell phone expenses. To include these deductions, you need a signed T2200 Declaration of Conditions of Employment form. This can be requested from your employer annually. Review the T2200 form each year as your employer could add or remove expenses. Most associates earn variable income calculated as a percentage of production. This income is classiﬁed as selfemployment income and a wide variety of expenses can be deducted against this. Any expense deemed necessary to earn this income by the taxpayer is generally deductible from these fees. This provides more flexibility to claim expenses incurred that would otherwise not be deductible against employment income. Some common examples include professional dues, continuing education fees, travel and conference expenses, and meals and entertainment expenses.These are common deductions and not an exhaustive list of all deductions available.

If I moved during the year, what am I able to claim and how does this change my tax return?

Starting a new program at university or a new job means you might be packing your bags and heading to a new place. Most dental students and associates end up moving two or more times before settling down in a community. These moves can lead to increased expenses and other changes to personal taxes, especially if a move is between provinces. There are two things to consider if you moved during the year: the deduction for moving expenses and the transfer of tuition credits to a new province. Let’s start with moving expenses. Moving can be an expensive process. To help offset the costs of these expenses, the Income Tax Act allows for the deduction of certain moving expenses. To qualify, the move must be to attend school or for new employment or selfemployment, and the distance must be over 40 kilometres. Moving expenses can be deducted in two different ways: the simpliﬁed method, or the detailed method.

Under the simpliﬁed method, an allowance is provided for the kilometres travelled, the number of meals consumed and the number of nights required for the move. Additional expenses such as moving boxes can also be claimed if you keep the receipts. The detailed method is based on actual expenses. This includes items such as gas, hotel stays, meals eaten, flights, storage, moving boxes or supplies and any other expense deemed necessary for the move. Keep the receipts for all eligible expenses as CRA requests these for almost every claim made. In addition to moving expenses, students who move between provinces can also transfer their tuition credits. Each province has different rules for the calculation of credits. However, all provinces except Quebec match the tuition credits of other provinces when an individual moves. Credits from Quebec are tied to the province, but students get credit in other provinces for the equivalent of the federal credits earned while in Quebec. Credits from provinces other than Quebec cannot be transferred into Quebec and therefore no credit is given for this in the ﬁrst year in the province.

If I earn extra income, how do I report this on my tax return?

Debt is a shared experience for many dental students and associates. There are options for managing the debt. You can work at a part-time job or rent out a room to help increase cash flow. These sources of income need to be reported on your personal tax return but there are also additional expenses that can be claimed against this income. In the case of a part-time job, your employer provides a tax slip for the income received. This is required to be included on your personal tax return. Deductions from this type of income are limited to only those expenses your employer deems necessary to perform your duties. As such, a signed T2200 Declaration of Conditions of Employment form should be requested and kept on ﬁle for support that the expenses were required. Income earned from renting out space in your residence or through short-term rental sites like Airbnb must be reported. Additionally, household expenses such as portion of utilities, property tax, insurance, and mortgage interest, or in the case of a sublease, rent can be deducted. The percentage to claim is typically calculated as the portion of the square footage that is rented compared to the total square footage of the property. As with any other oralhealthgroup.com

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T H E STU DE N T I SS UE

Your decision to purchase a practice will impact the timing of incorporation. It is almost always beneﬁcial to use a corporation to purchase a practice. Due to reduced corporate tax rates, the use of a corporation will allow the purchaser to pay down debt used to acquire a practice much faster than would be possible without a corporation. against personal income, it is important to keep all invoices and receipts for expenses claimed against rental income in the case of an audit.

How can I reduce taxes on my salary or associate fees to increase cash flow?

Cash flow planning is a very critical process for dental students and associates as attending school usually leads to a large amount of debt. When these students begin to earn either a salary or associate fees, paying down debt is the biggest goal for most students. The best way to manage debt and cash flow is to sit down with a ﬁnancial planner. However, here are a few easy items to consider to increase cash flow. The easiest way to reach this goal is to work more. This doesn’t have to mean working more at your main job. Consider a part-time job, Airbnb rentals, subleasing or working as an associate at multiple practices. As discussed previously, you need to report the revenue from this income, but there are additional deductions available for these expenses. This can limit the taxes payable on this extra income as well. The next option is available only to those who are earning salary income. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) created a form that provides employees with the option of identifying the credits they qualify for and allows their employer to reduce their taxes deducted at the source of income. This is known as the T1213 Request to Reduce Tax Deductions at Source form. Possible deductions include RRSP contributions, childcare, support payments, employment expenses, donations, moving expenses and carry-forward tuition credits. For most dental students and associates, the form is useful for about two years, depending on the tuition credits available and the income they earn annually. If you deplete your credits during the year, you may owe taxes in April. This is generally not an issue if you monitor the credits closely.

Is there any beneﬁt to incorporating and if so when is the best time? As dental students and associates complete their schooling or residency, there are generally two big

milestones. The first is higher income as you enter practice and the second is the consideration of whether incorporation is right for your situation. The second milestone is a big decision and it is important to discuss incorporation with your accountant and financial advisor as this is an individual decision. To start the conversations, here are a few things to keep in mind. The first item to consider is the benefits of incorporation. Due to recent tax changes, the value of incorporation has decreased but there are still several remaining benefits. First, the tax deferral of earning income in a corporation at a lower tax rate allows the individual to save money faster. Second, earning employment income from your corporation allows for the potential to maximize RRSP room personally. This means you can have diversity in investments and the potential for an Principal individual pension Dentist plan through the corporation as you approach retirement age. Third, once you reach age 65, you can split your income with a spouse, leading to reduced personal taxes for both parties. Individual needs vary but, in many cases, all these benefits outweigh the additional costs of maintaining a corporation. Second, you should consider the expected income you would earn in practice compared to the cash flow required to support your lifestyle. The main benefits of incorporation come from the ability to save at taxadvantaged rates. If you need all your income to support Associate Dentist your lifestyle, the benefits of incorporation disappear as your overall tax rate is the same. Third, keep your future needs in mind. Weddings, buying a house or having kids are exciting events but they are typically expensive and happen shortly after starting practice. Corporations are great tools for long-term savings but may not be very beneficial in the short term. If you need excess cash to finance these events soon, consider delaying incorporation. Your decision to purchase a practice will impact the timing of incorporation. It is almost always beneficial to use a corporation to purchase a Dental practice.Hygienist Due to reduced corporate tax rates, the use of a corporation will allow the purchaser to pay down debt used to acquire a practice much faster than would be possible without a corporation. OH

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T HE STU DE N T I SS U E

WHAT’S NEXT

for the Graduating Dentist? MARK H. E. LIN, BSC, DDS, MSC (PROSTHO), FRCD(C)

Dental students who have recently completed their education may find themselves pondering many questions. For example, they may be considering their need to find a stable job. Geographic location may be a particular focus – what setting would encourage a busy career yet also a lifestyle that permits balance? Another possible question may focus on whether they should associate, buy into a partnership, purchase an existing office, or start fresh with a new office. Finances may also cause a great deal of stress. The financial burden of student loans may weigh heavily. Although there are many challenges, questions and opportunities presented to the newly graduated dentist, it is important to always remember that dentistry is in fact a practice. Just because a dentist has completed his or her university degree, the process of learning is lifelong and eternal. Newly graduated dentists may find themselves to be incredibly busy, but it is their responsibility to keep-up with the ever-changing nature of dentistry. Throughout this article, readers will be provided with a variety of ways that may support their awareness of the developments that take place in the dental field. Continuing education activities, also known as CE activities, are beneficial to practicing dentists for many reasons. Specifically, dental courses for CE purposes may allow clinicians to maintain their professional competency requirements and advance their professional careers. The curriculum at most

undergraduate dental programs are intense as they incorporate basic sciences and basic clinical dentistry. This level of intensity may make it challenging to cover all aspects of clinical dentistry in depth. Therefore, continuing educational courses provide dentists with the opportunity to cover specific topics in more detail. As a result, they will gain exposure to various clinical aspects of dentistry that they may be interested in pursuing later in their careers. For example, there are courses that focus on implant dentistry, endodontic, esthetic, periodontics, orthodontics and much more. CE programs that offer hands-on experiences may provide newer dentists with a chance to develop their skills under the eyes of a trained mentor, instructor or specialist. Less experienced dentists must make themselves aware of the various aspects of dentistry practiced. Not only does completing CE courses build on clinician knowledge, it simultaneously expands the treatment options that may be offered to patients. Undoubtedly, with the sizable number of programs offered, newly graduated dentists will be able to find a CE course of interest to them. New clinical techniques and technologies develop constantly, influencing the way that dental procedures are performed. Attending CE courses may cost dentists money (tuition fees) and time away from their practice and family. However, they are incredibly beneficial as they allow dentists to invest in their overall knowledge base.

Dr. Mark H. E. Lin graduated from the University of Detroit Mercy for his dental program. He then completed a one-year General Practice Residency program at the Miami Valley Hospital in Dayton, Ohio. He practiced general dentistry for 13 years and then returned to complete his post-graduate training in the specialty of prosthodontics at the University of Toronto. He maintains a full-time specialty practice as a prosthodontist at Dr. Mark Lin Prosthodontic Centre.

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T H E STU DE N T I SS UE

Thus, dentists should choose CE courses carefully, keeping in mind how the benefits of enrolling in these programs will alleviate their investments of both money and time. A tip is to look for CE in-class programming that incorporates hands-on components or live patient treatment since they offer the best simulation of what dentists can integrate to their actual practice. These programs will contribute to maintaining a dentists’ professionalism and ability to efficiently address patient need. Other influential sources of knowledge may be found on the internet. However, dentists must be cautious when resorting to online sources of knowledge since they may include bias or not be scientifically sound. Sometimes clinicians may use the internet to maintain their knowledge which include, but are not limited to, accessing research articles, journals, webinars and e-learning. A particular benefit to these educational mediums is the fact that many are free of charge and available immediately. On the other hand, be cautious of anything offered for free such as courses on the internet or evening events as they may not be entirely reliable. Additionally, the process of sifting through the countless offered courses and great amounts of online information may be tedious. Newly graduated dentists or less experienced clinicians may not have a lot of spare time to critique multiple research articles and journals to judge their validity. To alleviate this issue, CE course providers or instructors may provide professional literature relevant to their specified needs. Since new findings are presented to clinicians daily, they must responsibly select what they want to integrate into their own practices. Overall, reading about updates to dentistry is an easy way of incorporating lifelong learning into any daily routine. As previously mentioned, webinars and e-learning are also convenient methods of learning for newly graduated dentists. Webinars and other methods of e-learning may be more affordable than CE programs that are offered in-person. However, CE programs attended in person and with live treatments yield the optimal clinical implementation and may aid dentists’ in their learning curves. As a result, newly graduated dentists and less experienced clinicians may be able to ask questions and build on their knowledge through the opportunities offered by these settings. Finally, newly graduated dentists should significantly exercise their relationships with their mentors. Working with individuals who are knowledgeable, experienced and specialize in their areas of practice can be incredibly useful in the construction of a successful career. Seeking 16

local specialists or mentors can often provide guidance and insights for new dentists. Having a trusted colleague may provide less experienced dentists with an informed second opinion or wisdom gained from lessons learned in the trenches. Finding a colleague to confide in early on in a dentist’s career may provide him/her with a certain amount of comfort and support. Knowledge is an incredibly valuable resource for those who are ready to listen and learn. Thus, having a mentor to emulate and work alongside may allow less experienced dentists to access incredibly useful solutions, tips, and information. Without a mentor, dentists may not develop the skills and knowledge they may acquire with a mentor, until later in their careers. Furthermore, without a mentor the development of these skills and knowledge may result from mistakes or errors that negatively impact their career or painfully affect patients. Having a mentor may help dentists to avoid mistakes that do not need to transpire. Furthermore, mentorships may expose less experienced dentists to a broader network of professionals. Making use of these connections may allow newer clinicians more opportunities for learning. Formal mentorships are incredibly important to expanding one’s professional education. If these relationships are not fostered through the university environment, less experienced clinicians may consider mentorship opportunities upon graduation with local colleagues or specialists. Dentists may also be able to participate in study clubs which are organized groups of dental health professionals who work with a mentor. The requirements for dentists, both general and specialized, are specific to their licencing practice. However, there are guidelines outlining the necessary hours that dentists must spend on continuing their education each year or cycle. Going beyond these requirements is beneficial not only to dentists themselves but also to their patients and clinical practice. Clinicians may also generate CE points by attending dental conferences such as the Annual Spring Meeting (ASM) in Ontario, pacific dental conferences in Vancouver, JDIQ in Quebec and many others. Although newly graduated dentists may have a lot on their minds as they make the transition into daily clinical practice, they must remain invested in continuing education. The knowledge developed through continuing education will impact every dentist’s professional career and will undeniably improve patient care. To conclude, participating in quality continuing education programs will yield high rates of return for all newly graduated dentists and will benefit them for the remainder of their careers. OH

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T HE STU DENT I SS U E

Navigating

Career Options in the Complex World of Dentistry

GUY AMINI, PRESIDENT, DENTALCORP

Now more than ever, dentists, like all new professionals, are prioritizing work-life balance and overall well-being. This is having a profound impact on their ambitions and career choices. Unfortunately, with unprecedented debt loads burdening most dental grads, there is overwhelming pressure to start working (and earning income) as soon as they become licensed. The desire for balance and the pressure to work makes choosing the right career path all the more important. Navigating that choice successfully starts with a better understanding of the state of the dental industry today and how it’s evolving.

Competitive and complex Dentistry in Canada is highly competitive and fragmented. Over the last ten years, there has been extraordinary growth in the number of dentists in Canada being driven by: • Dental schools graduating more dentists each year; • Foreign-trained dentists flooding the Canadian market; and • Lifestyle changes, leading to dentists choosing to retire increasingly later in life. The increase in dentists has led to a shortage of the number of dental practices avail-

As President of dentalcorp, Guy supports the company’s Chief Executive Officer in overseeing the company’s day-to-day operations, with a strong focus on stakeholder relations. Guy further leads the company’s Legal & Compliance, Corporate Communications, and People teams. Guy has a robust background in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and strategic commercial transactions. He holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Toronto, Faculty of Law and an Honours Bachelor of Business Administration from Wilfrid Laurier University. 18

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THE STU D ENT ISSU E

able for purchase, driving the cost to acquire up and making it viable only to well-resourced dentists or those willing to take on significant financial risk. Patients—like all consumers—are also becoming more demanding and sophisticated. These patients value convenience more than ever, expect excellent service and are more than willing to look elsewhere if their needs aren’t met. Given the growth of dentists, it will be easy for them to find a new dentist to meet their needs. Finally, practices are becoming increasingly complicated to operate. Today’s dentists need to be well-versed in all aspects of running a high-regulated services business, which isn’t what they went to school for. To be successful in today’s landscape, dentists need to be experts in: n HR Management: recruiting, retaining and developing team members of all levels and disciplines; n Financial Literacy: accounting, accounts payable and payroll; n Sales and Marketing: reaching, engaging and converting prospects into life-long patients; and n Risk and Compliance: navigating the industry’s highly complex and demanding regulatory bodies.

Industry effects These factors have combined to create a fiercely competitive and complicated environment in which dentists need additional support to be successful. Dental Service Organizations (DSOs), like dentalcorp, have developed as a vehicle to provide the strategic support and operational efficiencies that dentists now need. A byproduct of the emergence of DSOs is the creation of a new career path and growth opportunities that have never been available to dentists. As you approach graduation, you have many considerations to take into account when choosing which path makes sense for you. Navigating the choice between traditional and emerging careers paths starts with thinking

about why you chose dentistry in the first place and how you want to practice going forward.

Traditional practice options Ownership You have complete autonomy over everything you do, but you face tremendous personal, financial and legal risk while being tasked with managing a very complicated business. In the current market, maintaining an innovative practice with up-to-date technology can be the best competitive advantage but requires significant ongoing investment. Associateship You have the freedom to choose when and where you work, without significant financial outlay and therefore face little personal risk. As an Associate, however, there is no leadership or management path or responsibilities. Your earning potential is also tied to the direction of the practice principal and a small business. A new career path Dental Service Organizations (DSOs) offer an increasingly appealing career path for graduates, as they can provide the advantages of both ownership and associateship, along with additional benefits. If this is a career path you are exploring, it is important to select an established organization that aligns with your core values and prides itself on clinical excellence. A strategic DSO should also be home to highly successful practices, providing you with many advantages, including: • Access to an established, stable and growing patient base • Structured mentorship and training to complement your clinical education • Freedom to choose when and where you work, with the opportunity to fill your schedule at multiple practices that share similar processes and infrastructure • Access to leading-edge technology to stay ahead of the curve • Career paths with the benefits of practice ownership, without the financial risk As you start your journey as a dentist, I encourage you to explore all your options, ask questions and own your future in this rapidly growing and exciting industry. OH oralhealthgroup.com

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SEVEN LESSONS to Create Balance for the New Graduate The new dental hygiene graduate is filled with enthusiasm and the promise of the future but their path can be full of landmines if they do not have life balance. This article was designed to provide support for a busy new professional and equally exciting personal life. The new graduate may be saddled with heavy debt and feel the pressure to have an aggressive repayment scheme which demands five to six day work weeks. This challenges the ambitious hygienist physically and emotionally. Private practice scheduling, working with other health care team members, getting proficient with new technology and paperless offices add new demands. Staying current with CE hours and a portfolio will keep them hopping. Hygienists receive an average of two professional journals per month. They

get emails from their associations, notifications from Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, notes from our accountant, messages from co-workers and texts from our significant other. In a recent study, researchers found that in any three months, the average professional sees approximately 2.4 million printed words. Faxes fly into your office demanding immediate acknowledgement about new prophylactic premedication recommendations from the patient’s doctors office; emails marked urgent cry for attention. To top it off, a voicemail message on your cell phone reminds you to pick up the kids after work today! While the evolving world brings with it immense promise and opportunity, it also generates a huge amount of tension and stress as you attempt to cope with your new career

UCHE ODIATU, DMD;

MAHSA BAKHSHANDEH, RDH

Uche Odiatu, DMD, is a Toronto area dentist and a professional member of the American College of Sports Medicine. He lectures throughout North America on total patient health. Mahsa Bakhshandeh, RDH, graduated from Durham College and has been in private practice for nine years. She enjoys travelling and exploring the world, its many cultures, and their variety of wonderful cuisines.

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T H E STU DE N T I SS UE

and the new technology that defines it. Now more than ever hygienists are searching for simple, effective ways to balance their lives with a greater sense of simplicity and more satisfaction. It is part of the growing consciousness that dental professionals wish to harmonize career excellence with personal fulfillment. Can an old dog be taught new tricks? We are well aware of how old we are. We see the lines in our faces in the mirror in the morning, the greying hair at the temples, the whites of the eyes no longer bright, and the sagging skin. One theory of aging is the build up of oxidative stress. And it takes place everywhere: the brain, the muscles, the cardiovascular system and the immune system. The body is less able to deal with oxidative stress as we age. Scientists theorize that older cells enjoy a lower threshold of molecular stress of over-excitability, free radicals and energy metabolism. With less clean up, damage accumulates and chronic inflammation begins. An entire cascade of low-level destruction takes place. And the last thing you need is outside stress. So how do we find a good balance? It’s much more than just having a to-do list and getting to work on time. One expert said, “balance is bogus.” Your overall health teeter-totters on how well you manage the stresses in your life. The keen link between stress hormones erupting from combined psychological and physical stresses has been reported to boost the risk of immunological, cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. So the fallout of poor stress management techniques can be disastrous! Here are seven simple lessons for bringing balance to your daily life and enhancing your performance and overall effectiveness at work:

Make a doctor’s appointment – A visit to your healthcare practitioner to assess the current state of your health is a great starting point. The condition of your body is your report card for how you have been living. In a complete physical, your doctor can check your cholesterol level, blood triglycerides, blood pressure, and body 22

mass index. In my book, The Miracle of Health,1 I noted that awareness precedes all change. Simply knowing that you have drifted off course can inspire you to make midcourse corrections. “The more connected you are to the outer world the less connected you are to your inner world” ~ JON KABIT-ZINN PHD AUTHOR OF WHEREVER YOU GO THERE YOU ARE: MINDFULNESS MEDITATION IN EVERYDAY LIFE

Take a daily technology break – Most dental hygienists are women. If they are mothers this adds other important “to dos” on their daily list. The challenge is when they come home from the office and have a “second shift”, as defined by sociologist Arlie Hochschild PhD.2 Many women are carrying the weight of the new time crunch; nanny or no nanny, housekeeper or no housekeeper. Sure there are examples of men sharing childcare duties and domestic chores, but in 2019, professional women still shoulder many of these duties or at minimum, manage the delegation of these duties to hired help. Regular renewal is vital to being productive. Have you ever noticed during the Indy 500, that the drivers of those expensive formula racecars make pit stops to change their tires, get gas and do maintenance? Like the racecar, your body needs a daily performance check. A short 10-minute walk will allow you to get away from the clinic and breathe in fresh air for your 100 billion brain cells. At LD Pankey Insitute in Florida, they teach that the health care provider of today must live by example or the message of health is not authentic. You must take care of yourself first if you are a caregiver. Remember the flight attendant’s announcement during your last flight that, in the event of an emergency, you must place you own oxygen mask on first, before helping others? If you think sacrificing your own basic needs will allow you to save your child’s life, you are mistaken. You both will perish, as the lack of oxygen will overcome you before you can attend to your little one.

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THE STU D ENT ISSU E

Turn off the TV & go to bed! – Did you know the

average North American has 35 hours of screen time a week? Did you know that when you are watching television, your metabolism actually slows down even more than when you are just sitting there? Besides making you fat, too much TV viewing steals time right from underneath you. At the end of your life, if you knew you had just 60 minutes left on this earth, would you choose to watch a rerun of Friends? It is not just TV but sleep researchers have shown that any screen time before bed disrupts your brain’s ability to gear down and reach deep sleep. The pineal gland makes less of the immune boosting melatonin if blue light from cell phones, laptops, TV or even bright lights (LED style) reaches your retina in the few hours before bed time. Having a tech holiday before bed supports deeper rejuvenating sleep. And you can do other activities that will support optimal well-being like: talking about your dreams and goals with your signiﬁcant other, reading non-ﬁction, taking a warm bath or journaling.3 Doing something mindless to reset your brain before sleep? If you watch NEWS, NEWS, NEWS, and witness the tragedy, sadness and horror from 210 countries around the world, your sympathetic nervous system stays on heightened alert. This is not relaxing; it delays your rejuvenating sleep and disturbs the subsequent sleep cycles.4 Any hope of healing, repair or replenishing goes out the window. To top it off, every other commercial tempts you into making poor food choices! “People make bad choices when they are mad, scared or stressed.” WALT DISNEY MOVIE, FROZEN© 2014

Did you know that watching two hours of television a day adds up to a whopping ﬁve and a half years of watching television? Sure there are other ways to relieve tension. Eighty-ﬁve per cent of people do not choose exercise or meditation to relieve tension. Most people’s tension

relieving habits are down right dangerous, i.e. Smoking is the top personal health hazard and is linked to 400,000 deaths annually, or 4 million Americans, every decade in America. It is a key factor in 40 per cent of all deaths from stroke and heart disease. Want a drink to take the edge off your day? Or a nightcap? Did you know exceeding safe levels (one drink a day for women and two for men) has been linked to liver disease, heart disease, some cancers, and diabetes? A drink before bed also decreases sleep quality by boosting snoring, disrupts REM sleep and lowers the time spent in stage 4 sleep (where your body makes 80 per cent of your growth hormone).

Eat consciously - Poor digestion affects 50 per cent

of the population. Overeating and choosing poor foods adds to the stress of daily living. In North America, we have some of the best medical and health technology in the world, but for the ﬁrst time in history, there are one billion people suffering from diseases caused by over-eating while another billion people are suffering from malnutrition. The only fuel for restoration and repair of these cells is the food we choose to eat. Your body has to work harder to make cells from fast food or junk food. You see stress summates. Maybe you’re facing a challenge with expanded duties with CEREC at your new ofﬁce, or your teenager stayed out past their curfew, and your in-laws are staying at your place this weekend. On top of that, you missed breakfast and ended up buying a shake, large fries and a double “bypass burger” on the way home. Each one of these is pushing your autonomic nervous system to the limit. Mindfully choosing your food and selecting only the best possible choices for your diet will give you boundless energy. Energy is the currency of life. It’s enthusiasm and passion: to end the day the same way you started; to stay awake during your long professional development seminars; to be able to give your patients outstanding treatment and still have the energy to enjoy a full social life.

continued on page 26

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Mentorship & growth opportunities for recent graduates across the country â&#x20AC;&#x201D;

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Ongoing access to high quality and innovative continuing education is incredibly important when establishing a successful career. Associates in the dentalcorp network have access to all DC Institute courses at a 75% discount. To experience a DC Institute course ahead of graduation, contact info@dcinstitute.ca

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T H E STU DE N T I SS UE

Move it or lose it – On an organ or even cellular

level, exercise has a very profound influence. American College of Sports Medicine journal articles have shown that fit people show significantly lower cortisol responses to stressful challenges than their unfit counterparts. Fit people on average have lower state anxiety levels than their untrained colleagues – they stay cool like Clint Eastwood under pressure. The investigators speculated that fit people generally appraise acute stressors as less threatening than untrained colleagues.5 Can you see how a busy dental hygienist could benefit from a regular exercise habit as she is managing a patient with a large tongue, tight lower lip and a gagger and you are running behind because an extra patient was squeezed into the schedule? Recent studies have shown that the muscles of the body act like an organ when they are moving in harmony. This movement can help process emotion. It is also important to have a complete exercise program. The National Strength and Conditioning Association recommends a strength, aerobic and a flexibility component to enjoy overall ergonomic health. Every hygienist needs to have smooth working 350 joints and 600 muscles.

Michael Kutner

Many people love jogging and yoga but very few people engage in resistance training. So this leads us to our sixth recommendation.

Throw some iron around –Fifteen per cent of

the U.S. population have reported frequent anxiety symptoms that can last up to four weeks. It is quite normal for people to be anxious right before speaking to a group of people, before asking a bank manager for a line of credit, but prolonged it can interfere with sleep, digestion, and your sense of joy and aliveness. You wouldn’t normally think lifting weight would be a tool to get rid of anxiety. But studies from the American College of Sports Medicine show a single bout of resistance training can signiﬁcantly reduce anxiety levels and promote overall psychological well-being.6 And the great thing about this one time intervention is that it doesn’t have to be intense to work. Even a moderate intensity resistance training workout has beneﬁts. The American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine say adults ought to do exercises that maintain and enhance muscular endurance and strength at least two times a week.

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THE STU D ENT ISSU E

Take a breath – We breathe differently for every one of our emotions. Whether we are happy, sad, angry, frustrated, jealous – each state has its own breathing pattern. Feeling stressed alters the breathing pattern as the body prepares for fight or flight. All other normal healthy bodily processes go on hold or get disrupted: from disease fighting and mobilizing white blood cells to preparing the body for conception. It had evolutionary advantage when we fought for our lives 1000’s of years ago, but in 2019 it is maladaptive. No movement can be harmonious and functional if a healthy breathing pattern is not in place.7 With this information, can you see how poor stress management strategies supports dysfunction and possibly disease? Yoga practitioners and meditators have reported for years that one of the easiest ways to alter your physiological state is to take a conscious breath. Becoming mindful of the way you are inhaling and exhaling is an easy way to bring awareness to how our thoughts and emotions influence our physiology. The average adult takes 12 to 15 breaths a minute or 20,000 breaths a day. Very few people take a single conscious breath in any given day. With simply placing your attention on the three to five breaths a day you can start consciously altering your physiology and

manage stressful situations much easier. University studies have shown that mindful breathing and subsequent brain wave coherence achieved through meditation boosts psychomotor vigilance.8 Enjoying better decision-making would be a great adjunct for any busy dental professional. Life management begins with self-management. It takes balance to be a compassionate healthcare provider, an effective leader, to enjoy optimal physical health and harmonious personal relationships. So, go breathe deeply, create beautiful restorations and live a magniﬁcent life! OH 1. Odiatu U. The Miracle of Health © 2009 John Wiley 2. Hochschild A. The Second Shift © 1997 Penguin Books 3. O’Brien M MD., The Healing Power of Sleep © Biomed 4. Stevenson Shawn. Sleep Smarter. Rodale © 2016 5. Heather HE, Aerobic Fitness Cortisol Responses to Concurrent Challenges. American College of Sports Medicine April 2012 6. Bibeau et al. “Effects of Acute Resistance Training of Different Intensities and Rest Periods on Anxiety and Affect” J Strength & Cond Res 24(8) 2184-2191 2010 7. Lewitt K. Relation of faulty respiration to posture with clinical applications. J Am Osteopath Assoc 79: 525-529 1980. 8. Takeuchi L. How to Get Smarter One Breath at a Time. TIME Magazine 2006.

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THE ST U DE N T I SS UE

Road Map to Being

DEBTFREE

$ $

DAVID CHONG YEN

Graduating from dental school can be bittersweet. You’ve climbed the mountain that is dental school and at the summit you ﬁnd a taller mountain of debt and an avalanche of interest and bills to come. That’s the harsh reality for many dental school graduates. Overcoming this challenge isn’t impossible and can be made easier with a little bit of guidance. Here is our road map to being debt-free.

Step 1: Know the ins and outs of debt

LOUISE WONG

EUGENE CHU

Many graduates don’t know the details of their debts outside of the fact that they have a lot of it. Knowledge is power and understanding your student loans will allow you to tackle it much more effectively.

Here are the primary types of debt you may have after graduation: 1 Government student loans 2 Bank loan/line of credit 3 Credit card debt Government student loans – Student debt

is made up of a federal portion (70%) and a provincial portion (30%), which have varying terms. The most important information to ﬁnd out is 1) What is the interest rate? and 2) When do I have to make payments? For the federal portion of your student loans, effective November 1, 2019 the interest rate being charged is prime (currently 3.95%). For the provincial portion, the interest rate varies

This article was prepared by David Chong Yen*, CPA, CA, CFP, Louise Wong*, CPA, CA, TEP and Eugene Chu, CPA, CA of DCY Professional Corporation Chartered Professional Accountants who are tax specialists* and have been advising dentists for decades. Additional information can be obtained by phone (416) 510-8888, fax (416) 510-2699, or e-mail david@dcy.ca/louise@dcy.ca/eugene@dcy.ca. Visit our website at www.dcy.ca. This article is intended to present tax saving and planning ideas, and is not intended to replace professional advice.

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with some provinces even providing interest-free loans. With regards to the timing of repayment, both the federal government and all the provinces give you a 6-month grace period (after your graduation) before you start repaying, but not all the provinces give you an interest-free period. In Ontario, you don’t have to repay your student loans for 6 months, but they will still charge interest during this time. For provinces that provide interest-free loans, you still need to repay the loan on time as a condition to keeping your interest-free status. The chart below summarizes the key loan terms and conditions for provinces and territories.

loans and government loans. First, there’s no grace period for interest on bank loans, interest is charged from the very ﬁrst day you borrow the money even while you are in school. Second, you don’t get a tax break on interest on the bank loans like you do with government loans. Finally, bank loans may have a “revolving” feature. This means that if you repay $10,000 on Monday, but decide you want to buy a car on Tuesday, you can take out that $10,000 that you just repaid. This feature can help minimize your interest as demonstrated in the below example. Cash in bank account

$50,000

Bank loan/line of credit Canadian banks generally provide student loans at prime interest rate. There are three differences between bank

Line of credit balance

$150,000

$100,000

- $100,000

Issuer

Interest rate (floating)

Scenario #1

Net worth Interest per year

Interest Rate (fixed)

Federal (before Nov 1st, 2019 Federal (Nov 1st, 2019 and after) Alberta British Columbia Manitoba New Brunswick Newfoundland and Labrador

Prime + 2.5% Prime Prime 0% 0% Prime + 2.5% 0%

Prime +5% Prime + 2% Prime + 2% 0% 0% Prime +5% 0%

North West Territories

0% if conditions met Prime minus 1% if conditions not met

Nova Scotia Nunavut

0% 0% if conditions met

Prime minus 1% if conditions not met Prime + 1% 0% Prime + 0.5% Prime Prime + 2.5%

Prime minus 1% if conditions not met Prime + 1% 0% Prime +0.5% Prime + 2.5% Prime + 5%

Ontario Prince Edward Island Quebec Saskatchewan Yukon

Scenario #2 $0

$5,925

Repayment Grace Period

$3,950

Interest-Free period

6 months None 6 months 6 months 6 months 6 months 6 months NA 6 months NA 6 months None N/A – Non NA repayable grants provided instead of loans 6 months 6 months

6 months Forgiven if conditions met 6 months

6 months 12 months 6 months 6 months 6 months

None NA None None none

6 months

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T H E STU DE N T I SS UE Using the revolving feature to minimize interest The individual in both scenarios have the same net worth. The person in scenario 1 can show they have money in their bank accounts, but it’s coming at the cost of extra interest. On $50,000 at prime this would amount to almost $2000 a year in interest. In scenario 2, the individual is taking advantage of the revolving feature by reducing their loans to save interest. Even though they have no cash, if they need money in an emergency, they could always dip into their line of credit.

Credit card debt is the worst kind of debt to have. If there’s one type of debt to avoid, it’s this one. There’s a reason credit cards provide so many incentives to entice you. Credit card debt Credit card debt is the worst kind of debt to have. If there’s one type of debt to avoid, it’s this one. There’s a reason credit cards provide so many incentives to entice you. The welcome rewards, points, cash back and low monthly minimums sound great but come at a cost if you are not disciplined. At 20% or more in interest, this is the debt you want to avoid at all costs. Using the revolving feature of your bank loans can help you pay off your credit cards in full every month.

Step 2: Prioritize your debts Not every debt is the same, focus on those that are most costly ﬁrst. Our recommended priorities are as follows: 1 Credit card debt – Pay off each month in full, even if it means borrowing to do so 2 Bank loans/line of credit – As the interest here doesn’t provide any tax relief and in general is the same or higher than government loans, this should be next on the list 30

3 Government student loans – With the reduction of interest rate on the federal portion to prime effective November 1st, these loans charge the same rate or less than bank loans/lines of credit and provide some tax relief on the interest paid. Hence, these should be considered last on the list.

Step 3: Maximize your income Debt is not going to take care of itself without income. Consider the following when looking for an associate position: 1 Rural versus urban: Widening your geographical scope will make it easier to ﬁnd a good associate position to hone your clinical skills and make money. Higher rents, higher operating costs and increased competition in urban areas means reduced working days/hours, less patients booked and fewer opportunities to provide more complex clinical procedures. 2 Collections policies: Many associates are paid based on collections, not billings. A practice that doesn’t collect co-payments, provides large discounts, can’t collect their receivables or uses a fee guide from many years past, means your take home pay gets proportionately smaller. 3 New versus established practices: New practices seeking associates often promote the opportunity to run your own practice and gain ﬁrst hand experience on how to grow a business. For new dental graduates this means having to build up the patient base, less pay and less clinical exposure. You can’t expect to pay back your debts if you are not seeing very many patients. Look for an established practice with a healthy patient base so that you can further develop your clinical skills, receive mentorship and earn decent money.

Step 4: Invest in yourself The best time to take continuing education courses is shortly after graduation. You may not want to step back into the classroom so soon, but losing a day of income now is small compared to losing a day of income when you are established. Adding these new tools to your tool box now also helps while you associate and gain more hands on experience which will let you pay off student loans much faster. If you are clinically ready and conﬁdent, then look to buy your own practice. It’s possibly the fastest way to maximize your income and repay your debts. This will

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T H E STU DE N T I SS UE mean more debt, but it’s good debt to have as the value and risk it brings may out weigh the costs.

Step 5: Network Success doesn’t happen without help. Build your social network which will enhance your ﬁnancial success. Developing a rapport with classmates, dental suppliers, labs, accountants, lawyers, insurance professionals and bankers will be needed to enhance your personal and professional success.

Step 6: Delay gratiﬁcation The temptation to spend is everywhere. While you were in dental school, your friends and family were earning money, buying houses, cars, travelling the world and posting it all on social media. Now that you have graduated, it’s time to “catch up.” Trying to keep up with the Joneses is made even more difﬁcult when the Joneses are now other more established dentists. When you go to study clubs, conferences and courses, you may see luxury cars lining the parking lot. Temptation is great to spend money on things which drop in value. This is when you start running someone else’s race.

HERE ARE SOME TIPS TO AVOID OVERSPENDING: w Automate your debt repayment: If your goal is to pay

off your debts in 4 years and you have $200,000 in debt, you know you need to repay at least $4,167 in principal each month. Setup a preauthorized payment each month from your chequing account to pay off your loans. You can’t spend money that’s not in your account.

w Set aside money for taxes: Most associates don’t have taxes withheld from their pay cheques. It’s easy to assume that the $15,000 cheque you just deposited is all yours since it has your name on it. Instead imagine it was written out to you and CRA, then setup a separate savings account to transfer 1/3 of your pay cheque. In other words, have two piggy banks, one for you and one for CRA. When tax time comes, you’ll be happy to have this separate piggy bank ready. 32

w Track your expenses: The problem with budgets are that once you get off track, it’s easy to give up on your budget. Instead we ask that you keep track of your expenses. Start with the amount that’s in your bank account right now and add to it income you receive and subtract expenses you paid. At the end of the month the account balance should match your bank statement. There’s no pass or fail, it’s just an accurate account of what you made and what you spent. This will serve as a reminder of where you may have overspent on some things and hopefully help you scale back. Any improvement no matter how small is always a good thing. w Don’t view rent as a waste of money: The fear of missing out is a real concern in the housing market. Many people view paying rent as flushing money down the drain when you could be building up equity. This view doesn’t take into account the real costs of home ownership. Mortgage interest, land transfer tax, property taxes, maintenance, insurance and condo fees should be viewed in the same light as rent. These are all costs of home ownership that are “wasted”. Most homeowners only look at what they paid and what they sold their house for which embellishes the actual profits because it doesn’t take into account all the fees and costs paid during the time they owned the house. More importantly, they look past the biggest cost which is opportunity cost. What other investments did I give up to own this house? For dentists, their best investment will likely be a dental practice. If you had $1 million dollars to buy a dental practice that generates you $200,000 a year or a house that saves you from paying $36,000 in rent, which would you choose? Don’t let the house become an anchor preventing you for seizing other opportunities. Look to get your practice first, establish yourself, then buy a house. There may only be a handful of dental practices near your house, but there are likely hundreds of homes near your practice. w Transportation is a need, cars are a want: The first

car you buy should be about transportation ﬁrst. It’s to get you from point A to point B safely and reliably. Your next car after you’ve paid off your debts can be more in line with what you want. Paying off debt isn’t easy, but its not impossible either. It will take discipline and focus, but a little sacriﬁce today means a much better tomorrow. OH

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THE ST U DE N T I SS UE

Managed

MICROIRENE IANCU BSC, RDH, CTDP

Influencer

MICRO-

Instagram is the place to go to ﬁnd beautifully curated feeds, thoughtfully created captions and systematically planned hashtags. It’s the place we lose hours to, deep diving into people’s accounts and getting to the abyss of their pages. Creeping, exploring and sometimes wishing real life looked a fraction of how it does on our mobile devices. Is it reality? Or is it created this way to make you want to be an “influencer”? What does that term mean? Ironically, that word has been used since the mid-1600s, though of course back then it wasn’t a job title. Recently, the term has become a dream job for some aspiring to have a speciﬁc career track in mind and if done successfully, it can be just that.

Of recent, influencers are shifting away from the term “influencer” as it has become something of an empty term, and often people fail to even understand why the person is famous after all. Within two years, I’ve managed to grow over four accounts to a following of just over 32 thousand followers from all over the world. However, just to put it into perspective, I don’t feel like I’m an “influencer” compared to the Kois’s and Spear’s of the dental world. I like to think I’m an RDH with a cool and unique story to share and I choose to share that story on Instagram. So, you ask, how does one become an “influencer”? Is it something you work towards or does it just happen?

Irene Iancu has worked in various specialties including Paedo, Perio, General Practice and Orthodontics. Her goal in her current holistic practice is prevention and maintaining an optimal mind, mouth and body. Irene connects the systemic effects of oral conditions to her clients, while making a change for overall health and wellness. As a Peer and Quality Assurance Mentor contracted by the CDHO, a Clinical and Theoretical Dental Hygiene instructor at Oxford College, and a practicing dental hygienist in Toronto; Irene shares her passion for education with us today in the hopes we can change the lives of our clients and their loved ones. 34

| oralhealth

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THE STU D ENT ISSU E

You’ve graduated and now it’s your turn! Few dental students have much time for the work required to gain a large social media following organically, and some have planted the influencer seed and are slowly awaiting their launch into full blown professional influencerdom. That’s a good place to start. Here are six elements to consider when launching or rebranding your social media platform to help you grow into the influencer you aspire to be: Branding Your branding is a direct representation of the content you create and share which is why it is extremely important to figure out what your brand is, what you’re trying to say in your posting and how that translates to your followers. You should always be proud of who you are and the content you share. This will build credibility to your brand and the social channels you promote them to. Stay on brand as much as you can. People tend to follow accounts that are predictable, so if you’re branding yourself as toothpaste expert, stick to that as much as you can. Friday night photos at the local bar might be a tad off brand. Consider having a separate personal account for less professional posting. Working with companies that support posts often look to a page branding as well, future sponsors like to feel confident in the person AND the brand built on the platform.

Demographic Know your people and speak to those people. I’m guilty of forgetting this at times. I forget who my demographic is and I post something that personally I like, but then soon realize when engagement is low that my followers are here to see dental related things, not videos of my dog learning to sit for the ﬁrst time. Instagram proﬁles give you some great audience analytics which is a good place to start. Locations your followers are from, the age range and gender help you curate content to focus to those demographics. There are great online resources that are free that help creators make strategic choices for their posts. Neil Patel, a popular media and marketing blogger created a series of charts identifying how men and women perceive colours. “Blue is the most popular color for both men and women, brown being the most unpopular among men and orange among women”.

Molar of the story: Know your demographic and test which colours work for them. Use your post engagement as the metrics. More likes could mean they prefer a colour and use apps like Lightroom with custom presets to edit photos so they all have similar colour tones on your feed.

This is the same photo but ﬁltered with two different presets. At a quick glance, which of these two do you think are the most appealing to you? Which would you “like” if it came up on your feed? The cleaner looking image with popping red and purple was a winner on my page. Over 14 days, this video gained 98k views. I doubt the darker image would have been as successful. oralhealthgroup.com

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THE STU D ENT ISSU E

To avoid the flood of posts, use the Instagram story feature to tell the story of your day, and engage with your viewers by sending them personalized messages and videos. Keep your feed for the main message or takeaway for the day.

Content There are two main ways inﬂuencers create content for a page: bulk shooting and story telling. Bulk shooting means that you might set aside time during the week to take a wide variety of photos and videos, edit them and preplan how you will release the content to your page. Social media platforms and tools that are helpful are aplenty. UNUM is a free app with a paid extension that allows posters to view their feed in a grid, preplanning photos so that when combined, it appeals to the aesthetic of the page. Aside from the grid, which gives prospective followers a glimpse into the page, it also means you need to create the content before you actually post it. Before you go ahead and load your photos, ask yourself these three questions: 1 What are we trying to achieve with this post? (Goals, Objectives, Targets) 2 How do you measure the success of this social content? (Likes, Views, Shares, Comments) 3 What stories do you want to share and is this relevant to your audience? This will help you build your content and stay true to your branding. Story telling is a day-by-day content release. It becomes difﬁcult to story tell and stay on brand at times. I tend to use story telling in my Instagram story and use bulk shooting for my main feed. With time and experience, you can become great at story telling in the main feed as you use apps to help create and edit on the fly.

Consistency Simple rule of thumb for how often to post: post often but not too often. Instagram has some great features built into the app. “Activity and Audience” in the “insights” tab at the top of your app gives you a window of time your followers are online and have the highest engagement rates. Using this is a great way to know when to post based on the day of the week your followers are online and engaging with your account. It calculates based on your followers when they are online and what time is best for posting. If you want a more detailed metric of these times, there are great apps

like WhenToPost that can send you a notiﬁcation 15-30 minutes before your ideal time. A couple of unwritten rules to remember: 1 Only post 1-2 times per day on your feed 2 Don’t flood your followers with back-to-back posts To avoid the flood of posts, use the Instagram story feature to tell the story of your day, and engage with your viewers by sending them personalized messages and videos. Keep your feed for the main message or takeaway for the day.

Target Prospective followers need to find you just as much as you need to find them. Use hashtags strategically to find new followers and give them a place to find you. By targeting your hashtags to speak to the post, you’ll give them an easy way to find your profile and the specific content they are searching for. If you’re branding your account as a product specialist in various toothpastes, for example, consider using #Toothpaste #oralhealth #Oralhealthproducts as a constant in your posts. Instagram restricts 30 hashtags in the main post, so make them really focus on the content you’re sharing. You can use online hashtag generators like AllHASHTAG.com to help you search the most used hashtags in your category. Copy them to your phone as a custom keyboard entry to avoid having to memorize and type them all out every time you make a post. Users will also follow a specific hashtag if they want to see content created on that messaging. If you’re consistently posting content that fits within that messaging, use the same hashtag often so you pop up in that discovery feed every time. The more users are exposed to those posts, the more likely you’ll get new followers from those hashtags. Women and men interact differently on social media, which naturally reflects how they use social media. Knowing the percentage of followers specific to gender can significantly help in the content you create. Women often connect with people, prefer visual platforms, relate to personal issues, use more emoticons and prefer portrait photos. Men look for information, prefer text platforms and forums, read more words and prefer full body imagery. oralhealthgroup.com

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T H E STU DE N T I SS U E Caption Spell check and autocorrect aren’t always friends. I’ve posted in the past intending to write a dental term and because “Mesial Line Angle” isn’t really a term, my iPhone corrected it to “Media line and go”, which made no sense in my post on how to insert an instrument. Moments later a flood of comments came in asking for clarification. Take a few moments to re-read your text before pressing POST. Your captions should be short and sweet. According to Hootsuite, “1 billion people use Instagram every month”. However, the average person spends 3.2 seconds on a post. If you’re using the maximum characters on a post, which is 2,200 characters (about 300 words on average), you might be missing the target or goal for the post if you’re leaving that messaging to the very end. Create your caption to speak to the audience within three seconds and the chances of you getting a “like” increases significantly. Your post will also only show the first three sentences in the discovery feed, so get those important words in right away by telling the audience what they will see in that post.

She said: “OMG!”, he said: “Yeah” Academics from John Hopkins University analyzed the language of Twitter users and found that women use more emoticons and put increased emphasis on punctuation, included ellipses, repeated exclamations (!!!) and puzzled punctuation (?!). The expressions “OMG” and “lol” are

| oralhealth

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also predominantly used by females, while the affirmation “yeah” is more strongly associated with men. Captions created to be gender specific are an important factor. Women tend to use more gender specific pronouns (e.g. “you”, “me”), use of non-standard spelling of words (e.g. “Nooooooo waaaay”), and more hesitant words (“hmmmm”, “umm”). Creating a social media account that speaks to your audience isn’t easy. It takes time, thought and strategy. Being unique is hard to do starting off at this stage in the social media game, as accounts that appeared early back in 2014/2015 have had a head start learning how to engage with followers and grow their accounts. By following some of the previously mentioned strategies, you may find it a little easier to navigate the rough waters of social media and fight against the Instagram algorithm that is working against us – not for us. Instagram is making it very difficult for new accounts to grow, so putting a strategy in place will help you stay ahead of the ever-changing platform matrix. Build online relationships with followers and other accounts around the same target, by sharing each other’s content (always giving credit) and help one another grow. This is a great modality to incorporate into your plan. Practice organic promotion and spread positivity; there is enough negativity in the world that we don’t need to promote it on social media. If you see good content out there – praise it, give credit and be gracious when positivity comes your way. Create a community of like-minded people and try an F-2-F approach. Avoid using bots and paid companies for growth; often those services can backfire and really interfere with engagement. Not to mention, you risk getting locked out of your account or banned by Instagram. Slow and steady often wins the race with social media growth. Always be yourself, have fun and be professional. After all, we are healthcare providers and need to maintain a high level of professionalism in all aspects of our lives. OH 1. https://neilpatel.com/blog/gender-and-color/ 2. https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/socialmedia-strategy/creating-social-media-content-strategy-plan/ 3. https://www.socialmediatoday.com/social-networks/genderspecific-behaviors-social-media-and-what-they-mean-onlinecommunications 4. https://blog.hootsuite. com/instagram-statistics/

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THE ST U DE N T I SS U E

The Shared Responsibility of

INFECTION Prevention CONTROL and

BY ELAINE POWELL, RDH, RDA, dentalcorp Practice Auditor;

JAIME ROBERTSON, RDH, dentalcorp Practice Auditor 40

Imagine you or a family member received a letter from your dentist indicating that, due to an oversight on the practice’s part, you should be tested for bloodborne diseases, such as HIV or Hepatitis C. Now, imagine if the letter was from a practice you owned or worked in. In July 2017, Public Health Ontario closed the ﬁrst dental practice in Ontario due to an Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) lapse. Dental ofﬁces had not yet faced this kind of IPAC audit, and the regulatory bodies were caught off guard as well. The Royal College of Dental Surgeons of

Ontario (RCDSO) and the College of Dental Hygienists of Ontario (CDHO) were alerted to the fact that regulated health professionals had been involved in the delivery of instruments that may not have been reprocessed effectively. Subsequently, patients were sent letters notifying them that they should be tested for speciﬁc bloodborne pathogens. The media was abuzz with print and television clips discussing the risk of dental visits, and the stress and fear the letters caused patients and their families. What have we learned from this example?

Elaine and Jaime are registered dental hygienists who work closely together as practice auditors on dentalcorp’s Compliance team. Together they bring over 60 years of oral health care experience in clinical, regulatory, and educational capacities. They are passionate about infection prevention control and assisting practices in providing safe and effective patient care.

| oralhealth

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THE STU D ENT ISSU E

That failing to be IPAC compliant can have grave consequences, tarnishing both your practice’s reputation and your ﬁnances.

Who is responsible for the reprocessing of instruments and ensuring IPAC standards are being implemented? The answer is that everyone is responsible. We must hold ourselves accountable to a higher standard for risk management. It begins when the appointment is confirmed by administrative personnel and extends to the delivery of clinical interventions by the dentist, dental hygienist and dental assistant. This means that when you take a position in an office, be it an associate or principal dentist, you are responsible for the delivery of properly sterilized instruments. Whether a dental assistant or registered dental hygienist was responsible for reprocessing has no bearing on the dentist’s ultimate accountability. While you may put your faith in your staff, you must also ensure that the instruments that end up on your tray are fit for use. Dentists should be active participants in the office’s IPAC program. They should understand the full life-cycle of their instruments and ensure that the appropriate processes and safeguards have been put in place. Some questions you may want to ask are: • Has the office reduced its IPAC program to writing? • When was the last time staff were updated on IPAC requirements? • Do we process instruments according to the provincial standards or guidelines? • How many autoclaves are there in the clinic and are the sterilized packages labelled and logged? • How often do staff receive training in IPAC best-practices? When we look at this from a risk management standpoint, we know that the dentist will be the first to face legal action, but this may also extend to dental hygienists, dental assistants, denturists and any staff in the reprocessing area. From an employer standpoint, the education in IPAC must be provided and logged to ensure that all staff in the dental office receive regular education and are aware

Infection prevention

is a coordinated team effort in each practice. This requires excellent communication among all the people employed within the clinic. of all policies required to meet the standards and guidelines in each province.

The role of the regulatory bodies Regulatory bodies are continuously reviewing IPAC guidelines and implementing new standards of practice or guidelines to meet the changes. If the regulatory body chooses to make the document a standard, then disciplinary action could occur in the event a complaint was launched.

A team effort Infection prevention and control is no longer a process that is left to one individual to complete; rather, it’s a coordinated team effort in each practice. This requires excellent communication among all the people employed within the clinic. It can be hard work to customize a comprehensive IPAC manual specific to the practice, but it must be done. The adequacy of the IPAC program must be confirmed and verified by each dentist practicing in that location. The principal dentist has a special obligation to instill the right culture of safety and accountability for all team members. Developing—and subsequently revising—the IPAC manual provides team members the opportunity to identify their role within the practice and to have a stake in its success. OH oralhealthgroup.com

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52%

of patients stay with their dentist because of location

ral Health is thrilled to hightlight some key findings from our Data Driven Dentistry series – part two! After the success of our ﬁrst comprehensive survey and the interesting results that came from it, we decided to embark on surveying the next logical group: patients. Our goal with this collected data from Canadian patients was simple – to stimulate dialogue. The results that we have been sharing throughout the year have analyzed the data from both surveys to help our readers gain perspective on the expectations of patients, which will help draw conclusions on what a successful practice entails. The stats on these pages are a glimpse into what we have elaborated on within the pages of Oral Health. Be sure follow us on social media and visit our webpage that features exclusive web articles, infographics and videos. Oral Health wants you to be involved! Please send your feedback directly to our managing editor, Jillian Cecchini, at jillian@newcom.ca.

of patients are comfortable when their dentist makes a specialist referral

43%

of patients say their insurance coverage is very important in accepting a treatment

39%

of patients are not aware of any new dental technologies

OVER

33%

of patients have been with their current dentist for 10+ years

OVER

3/ 4

OVER

1/ 3

of patients consider location the most important factor when choosing a dentist

NEARLY

3/ 4

patients first contact a dental office over the phone

of patients choose cleanliness as most affecting their first impression of an office

| oralhealth

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81%

of patients would use referrals when looking for a new dentist

of patients consider dentists to be part of their overall health care team

50%

of patients consider friendliness/tone of voice important in choosing a practice ABOUT

of patients are very concerned about infection control and sterilization processes

90% NEARLY

of patients would look for a new dentist because of fees

2/ 3

of patients agree availability of educational materials in reception would influence acceptance of treatments

LESS THAN

Nearly 90% of patients have or would recommend their current dentist to friends and family

1/ 3

OVER

ABOUT

1/ 4

of patients consider parking availability important when choosing a dentist

OVER

1/ 4

1/ 5

of patients want to be contacted by text or through an app from their dentist

of patients do not follow their dentist on social media

of patients have dental insurance

In late October and early November, 2018, Bramm Research, a third-party independent research consulting firm, conducted an online survey on behalf of Oral Health. The study was conducted in English Canada, amongst a national sample of 1,000 men and women, 18 years of age and older, who had been to a dentist at least once in the past 24 months. All participants in the survey had a minimum annual household income of $40,000. Based on a sample of 1,000, the margin of error is +/- 3.2%. This means that if 50% of the respondents said that they had referred a dentist to a friend, we can say that the true value amongst the entire population in Canada will be between 53.2% and 46.8% at the 95% level of confidence.

Data Driven Dentistry is sponsored by:

oralhealthgroup.com

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36% 13%

of patients consider staff friendliness the most important factor in the first impression of a practice

of patients agree the dental team is the most important factor in choosing a dentist

36%

of patients prefer to be contacted by phone

of patients consider the dental team an influencing factor when choosing a dentist

54%

of patients consider it important to get a prompt response when calling a practice

63%

of patients say availability of educational materials at the front desk influences their treatment acceptance

50%

of patients agree front desk staff knowledge is a factor when choosing a practice

Friendliness and tone of voice:

2nd

most important factor for patients when being contacted by phone

30%

of patients would look for a new office because of dissatisfaction with a dentist or their team

Data Driven Dentistry is sponsored by:

| oralhealth

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22%

11%

of dentists agree patients find their practice on social media

of patients search for dentists on social media

14%

11%

of patients follow their dentist on social media

of patients first contact a dental office online

Patients follow their dentists on:

24.5%

of dentists wants continuing education courses on effective

marketing

Facebook

Twitter

34%

20.7% of dentists consider marketing a massive day-to-day operational challenge

Instagram

Data Driven Dentistry is sponsored by:

oralhealthgroup.com

OH_13th issue 2019_sept13.indd 45

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30.4%

41%

14%

63%

of dentists say patients find them through online reviews

of patients have written an online review for their dental practice

of patients say they would search for a new dentist online

of patients havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t, but would consider, writing an online review for their dental practice

81%

Top 5 ranked factors in choosing a dentist

of patients say they would search for a new dentist through word-of-mouth

Location

Referral

87%

of patients have referred a dentist to friends or family

Price

Team

Data Driven Dentistry is sponsored by:

Service offered

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• Intelligent and efficient curing to 4mm in just 3 seconds with low heat development

2019-09-17 4:27 PM

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