The Economy of the Tooth-fairy

For those of you that are tooth fairy fans, I thought you might find this information interesting.  Guess what, the tooth fairy left an estimated 255 million dollars underneath pillows in 2013.  A recent survey, “The Original Tooth Fairy Poll,” has found that tooth fairies' average gift amount has hit a record high, averaging $4.36 per tooth in 2014.  That is up 25% from $2.50 in 2013.  Obviously reflecting a change in our economy.  The poll surveyed 1000 parents and found that in 40% of homes the tooth fairy was more generous if it was the first tooth that had been lost, leaving an average of $5.74 for the first tooth, a 27% increase from 2013.  The survey reported that in US homes the tooth fairy visited 81% of homes with children who lost a tooth, and that in 88% of those homes, cash was left for children either by itself or in combination with other gifts.  Kids who received gifts most often got a toothbrush, toothpaste or dental floss.  As for the reasons behind determining how much is left for each child, 44% of parents reported it was the amount of spare cash they had on hand while 39% based the amount on the child’s age.  By the way, not to be too political but if you feel that your government may be coming too intrusive, you might be interested to know that if your child comes in to our office or any other dental office with a permanent tooth eruption problem in which we have to remove a baby tooth, in order for us to give your child their baby tooth for the tooth fairy, Congress had to pass a specific law allowing us to give your child the extracted tooth, as the new EPA requirements no longer allow medical care providers to give their patient's bio-hazard materials that have been removed (gall stones, etc.) and this includes baby teeth.  Fortunately Congress in their “wisdom” is allowing us to give the child back their baby teeth.  If you want more information about poll results you can go to http://www.theoriginaltoothfairypoll.com and get more information.

                                  

The Vaccinate Debate

Wide spread use of vaccinations of our children, and more recently adults, has been a “hot topic” on the news lately with the spread of a measles outbreak from my old hang-out, Disneyland.  Obviously Disney has nothing to do with the outbreak.  The park is only a place where lots of kids hang-out, some without the vaccine for measles and others who are contagious with the measles virus.  Vaccines for deadly diseases have been used extensively since Dr. Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine in 1952 and Albert Sabin licensed the oral vaccine.  As a child we all got the sugar cubes with the polio vaccine on it thus eventually eradicating the deadly disease with only 223 cases worldwide in 2012.  My mother was a registered nurse and when one of the other kids in my neighborhood got the measles, mumps, chicken pox, etc, she made sure that we went down to their house to play with him so that we would get exposed, and thus be immunized as an adult.  With that as my history I find the news coverage regarding the measles outbreak to be interesting.  The 170 kids in California with the measles outbreak would have been matched on my block alone in the 50s with all the moms exposing their kids when “Johnny” got the measles.  Today there is definitely controversy with the possible side effects of vaccines (including Autism) possibly caused by a mercury based preservative called Thinerosal that has been removed from all vaccines since the late 1990s. There are many studies that show that these concerns regarding side effects were always unfounded, yet the rumors persist.  There are also religious and moral obligations to the very nature of vaccinations.  To comment on that aspect is well beyond my pay grade.  However I will say that if you are making a choice for your child, remember that you may have to deal with the consequences as a parent if your child is the one that gets the disease if he or she is not vaccinated.  Please carefully consider the risks, benefits and alternative treatments (RBAs) closely before making your decision to vaccinate or not to vaccinate your child.

Like Us On Facebook

Social media seems to be taking over the world today including dentistry.  Just look at our office.  We have changed our name in part due to the influence of social media.  We see it every day here with our Facebook check-in gifts and other Facebook contests, our posts on Instagram and our new website. We see patients using their mobile devices constantly while waiting for x-rays, examinations, even to the point where they are playing internet games while they are having dental work done.  But the one app I have the most fun with is the selfies that patients take when they are undergoing treatment.  One that comes to mind specifically occurred the other day and it was the oldest patient that we have ever had take a selfie to post on Facebook for her great granddaughter. She is 85 years young and was not sure how to operate her  iPhone so I had Autumn help her take the photo and post it for her great granddaughter on her Facebook account.  It was a riot and so much fun.  By the way did you know that Facebook founder and CEO Zukerman’s father is a dentist in Long Island and that he lectures nationally on the influence of social media in dentistry.  But that is a story for another blog.

That's My Job!

Just in case you all missed it U S News and World report recently did their annual review of the best occupations in the United States this year, 2015, and the #1 job is dentistry.  Yes, that’s my job!  U.S. News and World report says dentistry offers “a comfortable salary, low unemployment rate and agreeable work/life balance.”  Dentists also topped the publication for this best healthcare occupations.  In fact Dr. Richard Balachovic, President Chief Executive Officer of the American Dental Education Association, is quoted as saying, “today’s students want it all and dentistry really does deliver that.  What other profession allows you to care for patients, make a good living and work as part of a team and have flexibility.”  Dr. Gerard Kugel, editor and chief of Inside Dentistry, says, “I agree that dentists do more than just treat teeth.  We diagnose dental and medical issues and if we do our jobs correctly we improve the quality of life for our patients.  It is a career that is rewarding both financially and personally.”   US News says that the flexible work schedule and low unemployment rate of dentistry also helps propel them to the top spot of the top 100 jobs in the U.S., which includes business, creative, construction, healthcare, social services and technology professions.  They listed the 4 following reasons for choosing dentists as #1: a low unemployment rate, a decent work/life balance, good salary and they predicted employment growth of nearly 16% between 2012 and 2022 with more than 23,000 new openings.  In short can there really be a better job than #1?  I don’t think so.  That is why I remain a dentist and am loving every minute of it for the last almost 40 years.  If you know anyone that is interested in getting into my profession, I would be more than happy to talk to them.  Just give me a call so I can help steer them in the right direction.      

  

The Reasoning Behind Staff Trips.

One of the discussions that our hygienist always seem to be having with our patients when I walk into to their treatment rooms for examination is about our last or next trip.  A frequently asked question from the patient is “how do I get a job here.”  Well first of all it is not that easy.  The hygienist who is cleaning their teeth would be one of our 5 hygienists that have been here for over 30 years, 25 years, 18 years, 15 years and 10 years.  That is relevant as the average career span of an auxiliary in a dental office in our area is 3 to 5 years.  And in fact, the average hygienist only works as a Registered Dental Hygienist for 5 to 7 years before changing careers.  So waiting for a turnover in our office is not a way to get a job.  That is the reason that I pay for the trips.  It is all about stability and camaraderie between our staff members.  It started in 1984 with our first trip to Hawaii for the Hawaii State Dental Society meeting in Honolulu Oahu.  I purchased the typical 5 day $399 per person package with hotel and air fare.  The 7 of us went and had a great time.  But the one thing that the staff asked is on the next trip could they bring spouses?  I thought about it for awhile and decided we would do what we could to make it happen.  In planning the future trips obviously we had to keep in mind that all of our staff have different financial constraints so I have always striven to make the trips either all inclusive vacations or condos in resort areas so there would not be any extra financial burden for the staff.  84 trips have come and gone over the last 31 years and all have been great successes.  This year our spring adventure was an all inclusive Great America trip and a day long private tour of Levi Stadium.  This was an alumni trip with four retired staff members and their families joining us which made for our largest group of 73 people.  The 4^th of July trip is to Heavenly Valley's The Ridge over Lake Tahoe and our winter retreat is a Princess cruise with balcony rooms for couples and inside cabins for families.  While some may say this is an extravagance, I cannot disagree more!  The trips allow the staff and their families to come together outside the office and form bonds that last for years and it makes for a much better working environment.  For proof, the next time you come here just look around at talk to our staff about how they feel about their work.  After all, don’t you want to have medical care providers happy with their jobs.  Doesn’t it work out better for you? Isn’t it worth it?  I think so!

                                  

"Is Dr. Gjerde still here?"

It is becoming a regular topic with patients as to why I have not retired yet.   After all, I am turning 65 years old this year and lots of my peers have already gone to the greener pastures of leisure and retirement.   The question reminds me of a discussion that I had with a patient years ago.  We were discussing a recent trip my wife and I had made to Los Angeles to visit her parents and brother and so I could attend the California Dental Association meeting in Anaheim (by the way, have you ever wondered why the Anaheim Convention Center is directly across the street from Disneyland).  Since Disney’s California Adventure had just opened along with the Disney Grand California Hotel we decided to stay there.  It worked because I am such a Disneyaholic and then we could commute to my in-laws' house in Downey.  Our conversation was about what I was doing while Karen visited with her parents and that question has stuck with me for years.  She said, “I certainly hope that since you were at Disneyland you left out time to have fun.” my response was, “you don’t understand the Dental Society meeting is fun.”  Interestingly enough, it still is just as exciting and as much fun as it was when I was in dental school at UCLA in the early 70's and my wife and I were newlyweds.  Now the kids are gone, and it is just Karen and I along with our 5 dogs; Pudge, Bell, Crush, Tucker and Bolt, and two horses (a topic for a later blog).  While I love my family I also love my work as it has been a huge part of my life for over 40 years.  Thus I just can’t leave my huge family of 4,000 current patients and 15 staff members.  I will obviously be here for quite a while.

In Memory of Mickie Baker.

I am here to tell you a little story about Boulevard Family Dentistry.  It's a question that I am often asked about and that is our large clock in the window of the front of the building.  I view it as our Elk Grove version of the "Back to the Future" clock tower.  Our building was built in 1974 by one of our patients and a builder.  He called our building his "little bit of Paris in Elk Grove” due to the masonry roof and the brick façade that he placed on the building.  The building went through a couple of different owners, all of which were my landlords, until the building was sold to Mickie Baker.  Mickie Baker traveled extensively worldwide and loved to bring back items of interest.  One day when she was in Belgium, she fell in love with a little clock shop that made hand crafted clocks.  She had them fabricate a custom window clock for her “little bit of Paris” and she hung it up in  the window on her side of the building, which is currently the hygiene side of the office.  Before she passed away in 2000, she rented us the entire office space and had me place the clock on our side of the building.   She made me promise that I would always maintain her beloved clock.  After I purchased the building I made it my goal to  grant her last wish.  Despite the fact that we have remodeled the building to update to current American Disabilities Act standards, and we lost the French masonry roof and the brick work across the front, I have kept my promise to Mickie as you can see whenever you drive by.  The clock is still there keeping accurate time for whomever passes by, maybe Michael J Fox in the Delorean.