#6 Role Call - Who's Who In The Dental Office

06/05/24 • 20 min

There are many team members that make up a dental office. Dr. Mike and Dr. Rusty had quite a few DMs last week asking about the roles certain people in the dental office have (SPOILER: no, we do not call our dental assistants nurses). So, tune in as we talk about who's who in the dental office.

As always, feel free to reach out through our instagram @YourDailyDoseOfDental or through our website http://www.DoseOfDental.com. We would love to hear from you and hope your questions can be featured on our show!

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Ashley 00:00:02Welcome to DM a dentist, your friendly neighborhood podcast, where Doctor Rusty and Doctor Mike are here to make dental care approachable for everyone, because everyone deserves a healthy smile without the fear.

Dr. Mike 00:00:24Well, well, welcome back.

Dr. Rusty 00:00:26Welcome to another episode of DM a dentist.

Dr. Mike 00:00:28I'm Mike.

Dr. Rusty 00:00:28And I'm rusty, and let's talk teeth. So happy that you're here listening just again. So, today's June 2, officially. I love it. I love it. Yeah. Barely, though.

Dr. Mike 00:00:38Summer.

Dr. Rusty 00:00:39Summer. You know, June always typically feels like summer, but in Portland this year, it's a bit wet. Yeah. There's an atmospheric river coming through, which, actually, until I moved to Portland, I didn't even know that was a thing.

Dr. Mike 00:00:49Yeah, but everyone talks about it, so I'm like, okay, here it is.

Dr. Rusty 00:00:52All it is. It's a bunch of rain in June. But another great thing about June is that it's officially pride month, as well. So happy pride to everyone out there.

Dr. Mike 00:01:02Happy pride. Hope you all celebrate, and, yeah, it's great. So, speaking of pride, did you see the Adele snippet online that's going viral?

Dr. Rusty 00:01:10I don't think I've seen this.

Dr. Mike 00:01:12Someone. Dell was talking about work weeks, and someone yelled like, pride sucks. Now, there's context. People think he might have said, work sucks, but Adele heard pride sucks, and she was basically like, no, you don't come to my show and say, pride sucks. You're wrong. And so it was. It's an. It's a funny little video.

Dr. Rusty 00:01:28This was like a heckler at her concert. Okay. Okay.

Dr. Mike 00:01:30So that was kind of cool. But she was talking about her work week, I think. And I think everyone misheard the guy. I don't know. It's hard. It's hard to hear, but it was funny.

Dr. Rusty 00:01:38Well, who knows? I mean, there is definitely a lot of hate against the community that celebrates pride, for sure. So I wouldn't be surprised that we celebrate it. Yeah, definitely should be celebrated. And, you know, I wouldn't be surprised, unfortunately, if there was a heckler that said something negative. So hopefully it wasn't that. But if it was, shame on you, because Pride's definitely shame. Pride definitely should be celebrated. Something that deserves.

Dr. Mike 00:01:58Things need to be celebrated. We've come a long way, so.

Dr. Rusty 00:02:00Yeah, and just, like, you know, we talked about last week, women's rights and women coming a long way. I think, you know, the. The support for the lgbt community has definitely come a long way. Yep. And still has a long, long way to come, for sure. But June is an important time to think about it and celebrate. You know, I know that there's some things coming up in Portland. Although Portland, I found out, waits until July to do, like, their big pride. They do. Yeah. Which maybe it's because of all this rain out there.

Dr. Mike 00:02:25So apparently because of other festivals that are going on, they're like, oh, we're gonna move it. But it's kind of odds, like, the.

Dr. Rusty 00:02:30Road out of festival and stuff. I get it.

Dr. Mike 00:02:33But we'll see what we can get into. Maybe something fun will be going on. No, no, something will be going on. We'll figure out what we want to do. But. So we had a DM that came in, and I love this question because I hear this a lot, where we have a patient sit down, and then the dental assistant leaves the room, and the patient was like, I really like your nurse.

Dr. Rusty 00:02:53Yeah. Yeah.

Dr. Mike 00:02:54So I feel like this question fits the bill. And anonymous wrote, what does the dental nurse do? So that's what we're gonna talk about.

Dr. Rusty 00:03:04Yeah. We're assuming you don't probably mean dental nurse. Maybe you mean, you know, the dental a...

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Dr. Mike 00:00:24Well, well, welcome back.

Dr. Rusty 00:00:26Welcome to another episode of DM a dentist.

Dr. Mike 00:00:28I'm Mike.

Dr. Rusty 00:00:28And I'm rusty, and let's talk teeth. So happy that you're here listening just again. So, today's June 2, officially. I love it. I love it. Yeah. Barely, though.

Dr. Mike 00:00:38Summer.

Dr. Mike 00:00:49Yeah, but everyone talks about it, so I'm like, okay, here it is.

Dr. Rusty 00:00:52All it is. It's a bunch of rain in June. But another great thing about June is that it's officially pride month, as well. So happy pride to everyone out there.

Dr. Mike 00:01:02Happy pride. Hope you all celebrate, and, yeah, it's great. So, speaking of pride, did you see the Adele snippet online that's going viral?

Dr. Rusty 00:01:10I don't think I've seen this.

Dr. Rusty 00:01:28This was like a heckler at her concert. Okay. Okay.

Dr. Mike 00:01:30So that was kind of cool. But she was talking about her work week, I think. And I think everyone misheard the guy. I don't know. It's hard. It's hard to hear, but it was funny.

Dr. Mike 00:01:58Things need to be celebrated. We've come a long way, so.

Dr. Mike 00:02:25So apparently because of other festivals that are going on, they're like, oh, we're gonna move it. But it's kind of odds, like, the.

Dr. Rusty 00:02:30Road out of festival and stuff. I get it.

Dr. Rusty 00:02:53Yeah. Yeah.

Dr. Mike 00:02:54So I feel like this question fits the bill. And anonymous wrote, what does the dental nurse do? So that's what we're gonna talk about.

Dr. Rusty 00:03:04Yeah. We're assuming you don't probably mean dental nurse. Maybe you mean, you know, the dental a...

Previous Episode

#5 Here's The Kicker - Football, Our First Interview, And Women In Dentistry

Women did not earn the right to vote until 1920. Let that sink in and listen to Dr. Rusty and Dr. Mike discuss a recent speech given by Harrison Butker AND interview their first podcast guest!!!! Dr. Liu talks about her experiences being a woman in a male-dominated field and a little bit about her educational background. So, if you like football, but also care about women's rights, this episode is for you.

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Website: https://doseofdental.com/

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Ashley 00:00:02Welcome to DM a dentist, your friendly neighborhood podcast, where Doctor Rusty and Doctor Mike are here to make dental care approachable for everyone because everyone deserves a healthy smile without the fear.

Dr. Mike 00:00:24Well, well, welcome back.

Dr. Rusty 00:00:26Welcome to another episode of DM a dentist.

Dr. Mike 00:00:28I'm Mike. I'm Rusty, and we're here to chit chat about teeth.

Dr. Rusty 00:00:32We are sorta, sorta. Today is definitely about teeth. It's always about teeth. But on today's segment of what? The filling.

Dr. Mike 00:00:43Oh, we almost slipped up there.

Dr. Rusty 00:00:44I really wanted to say the other one today because today's is, you know, a little weird.

Dr. Mike 00:00:50Yeah, we had a. To say the least, there was a recent commencement speech that we had.

Dr. Rusty 00:00:55Yeah. So I'm sure if you've seen it, if you've watched social media at all, this guy's been getting ripped apart. Harrison. But Kerr, he's the Kansas City chiefs kicker, if you don't know. Regardless, who cares what he does, really? But he gave a commencement speech at, like, a catholic school. Right. And, you know, he's basically getting ripped apart on social media, I think, for good reason, based upon what he said.

Dr. Mike 00:01:21Yeah, let's read in that.

Dr. Rusty 00:01:23Yeah. Just for any of you who haven't heard, Mike, please, please read. Please read what he said.

Dr. Mike 00:01:27This is a direct quote, I think it is. You, the women who have had the most diabolical lies told to you. How many of you are sitting here now about to cross this stage and thinking about all the promotions and titles you're going to get in your career? Some of you may go on to lead successful careers in the world, but I would venture to guess that the majority of you are most excited about your marriage and the children you will bring into this world. Now, for context, this was said at a commencement speech.

Dr. Rusty 00:01:58A commencement speech.

Dr. Mike 00:01:59So women and men are graduating because they chose to pursue education in a career. So it's just. It's odd content.

Dr. Rusty 00:02:09I hate it.

Dr. Mike 00:02:09I hate it.

Dr. Rusty 00:02:10The most diabolical lie at their graduation is that they can get promotions and titles in their career. I mean, that's what they've just spent years working for.

Dr. Mike 00:02:18Right? And we're saying that basically being a mother and having children, basically we're going back to gender roles, is what it feels like, whether he meant it or not. That's just not it. That's not.

Dr. Rusty 00:02:28It seems like you meant it. But anyways, as we said, it's not directly tooth related, but we felt it really important to talk about and highlight. Women in dentistry are becoming more and more common, thankfully. But dentistry has been predominantly a male dominated field for majority of history. Right, Mike?

Dr. Mike 00:02:46Yeah, it has. I mean, even so, looking at this, this lady named Lucy Hobbs Taylor was the first woman to get a dental degree in the US in what year, Rusty?

Dr. Rusty 00:02:571866.

Dr. Mike 00:02:59So, like, it feels like a long time ago, but it's not if you think about generations. 1866. Like, my grandmother, great grandmother, were born in the early nineties. Like, we're not that far removed.

Dr. Rusty 00:03:09Right, right.

Dr. Mike 00:03:10So, yeah. And then there's a couple more we want to highlight.

Dr. Rusty 00:03:12Yeah. Sarah Kraut was the first us navy dentist.

Dr. Mike 00:03:16What year was that?

Dr. Rusty 00:03:171944.

Dr. Mike 00:03:19So that is relatively recent. I mean, some of our parents were born.

Dr. Rusty 00:03:22Yeah, World War two.

Dr. Mike 00:03:24Yeah, that's not...

Next Episode

#7 Who's Who in the Dental Office? Part 1 - The Business Team Talks Dental Insurance

Last week we talked about the various positions that make up a dental office. There were quite a few followup questions asking us to expand on some of the job descriptions. So, we decided to start a series of “who’s who in the dental office”. This will be a 3 part series and we are starting off strong with the business team. This week Bonnie Kost is joining us and talking about all things related to dental insurance. She explains the difference between medical insurance and dental insurance, dives into some insurance nuances to look out for when choosing a dental plan, and gives you some tips to help you maximize your benefits. You don’t want to miss this episode!

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Website: https://doseofdental.com/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@dmadentist

Ashley 00:00:02 Welcome to DM, a dentist, your friendly neighborhood podcast, where doctor Rusty and doctor Mike are here to make dental care approachable for everyone because everyone deserves a healthy smile without the fear.

Dr. Mike 00:00:24 Alrighty, so I have Bonnie with us today. Say hello, Bonnie.

Bonnie 00:00:28 Hello. Well, hello, everyone.

Dr. Mike 00:00:29 This is Bonnie. She’s been working in dental for how long now?

Bonnie 00:00:33 About ten years now. I started in the back.

Dr. Mike 00:00:36 Start in the back.

Bonnie 00:00:37 We talked about that last week.

Dr. Mike 00:00:38 So what is back?

Bonnie 00:00:40 Back office is being a dental assistant, being a hygienist, being a dentist. So front office does everything up front. So we push the paper and do all of the insurance and scheduling, and back does everything else for us.

Dr. Mike 00:00:58 So, yeah. Like clinical versus business team.

Bonnie 00:01:01 Yes, absolutely.

Dr. Mike 00:01:02 So, yeah, Bonnie’s been doing this for a while, so we had her on the show. I know we talked about last week, what are the different roles in the dental office? And this week we decided, why not talk to someone who does it for a living?

Bonnie 00:01:13 I do do it for a living. I am technically a finance coordinator, which is a fancy way of saying, I tell you how much everything’s gonna cost.

Dr. Mike 00:01:22 So you would say you are well versed in the insurances, eh?

Bonnie 00:01:27 I have so much knowledge of insurance that sometimes it hurts. There are thousands of different plans out there, and our goal is always to know as much as we possibly can in order for our patients to get the most out of their benefits.

Dr. Mike 00:01:43 And it’s hard. Cause it’s always. You were saying earlier, it’s always a moving scale, right?

Bonnie 00:01:47 Yes. Sometimes it does feel like we’re on a little bit of quicksand. Like, say anything is an absolute, and it changes every January. So every January, we have a big push to rediscover every dental plan that we have coming into our offices.

Dr. Mike 00:02:09 That’s wild. So they change a lot.

Bonnie 00:02:10 They change quite a bit, actually. And I will call it frustrating, but it’s also, you know, that is just how our country is ran with dental insurance currently.

Dr. Mike 00:02:23 And the bad thing is I will do things in the back and, like, treatment plan all these things and get all excited, and then I’m like, oh, it’s probably covered. Who knows?

Bonnie 00:02:32 And it’s not.

Dr. Mike 00:02:34 So I’m the one that gets Bonnie in trouble, but he does quite a bit. Hey, we’re very good friends, so I’m allowed to do that.

Bonnie 00:02:39 Yes, absolutely.

Dr. Mike 00:02:41 Okay, Bonnie, let’s dive in. So the one thing that gets me into hot water as the dentist is I don’t know much about dental insurance. That’s why Bonnie’s here.

Bonnie 00:02:48 Yep.

Dr. Mike 00:02:49 And I think it’s good. I don’t like, I’m here to give the clinical side of things not necessarily be dictated by corporate America.

Bonnie 00:02:56 Thank you. Yep. And I do, I do actually prefer it that way. When I am looking for an office to work at, I, while it’s nice for the doctor to acknowledge costs of things, I think their job is to plan the best smile for you and whatever that looks like. And we can always come up with alternatives, but the dentist should not be even considering cost because it changes how they do things. And we want what’s best for eac...