Amanda Hill RDH, BSDH has been a dental hygienist for over 26 years. When she took her annual infection control training in 2017, the speaker covered waterlines. She never knew that she had to do more than flush her waterlines. No one else in her dental office knew that they were supposed to do more. Her practice failed their first water test, badly. So Amanda dug in and got them to pass their water testing. Then she started offering to help other dental offices. In this episode, Amanda shares her expertise and we have a deep discussion about waterline testing.  Outline of This Episo ..read more

Have you heard of the federally implemented “No Surprises Act?” Were you aware that it applies to dentists? The No Surprises Act protects uninsured and self-pay patients from receiving surprise medical bills. So what does that mean for your practice? Find out in this episode of Talking with the Toothcop!  How the “No Surprises Act” applies to dentists As of 1/1/2022, you need to provide patients an estimate of anticipated charges for dental services, i.e. “Good Faith Estimates” or GFEs. They must be provided upon request or upon scheduling an appointment—well in advance of the t ..read more

Everyone needs a compliance program tailored to the needs of their practice. Justin Withrow jumps in when a compliance program is absent and things go horribly wrong. Perhaps a client was employing an individual that's excluded from participation in the Federal Healthcare Program that should have been caught.  There is a multitude of things that could happen that could have been prevented by a compliance program. In this episode of Talking with the Toothcop, we dissect the importance of exclusion monitoring, the basics of the false claims act, self-disclosure protocol, and much more. The ..read more

Everyone needs a compliance program tailored to the needs of their practice. Justin Withrow jumps in when a compliance program is absent and things go horribly wrong. Perhaps a client was employing an individual that's excluded from participation in the Federal Healthcare Program that should have been caught.  There is a multitude of things that could happen that could have been prevented by a compliance program. In this episode of Talking with the Toothcop, we dissect the importance of exclusion monitoring, the basics of the false claims act, self-disclosure protocol, and much more. The ..read more

When you’re in the midst of a busy day in your dental office, the details are the things that you typically let slide, right? But in the dental business, it’s the details that keep you on track and it’s the details that protect your office from huge fines and your Doctor from losing her licenses. This episode highlights some of the things I’ve seen recently that I think all dental office workers need to have top-of-mind. If you don’t take these things seriously, you’re going to have issues eventually. Online training or in-person training? Which do you need? Every dental office is going to be ..read more

During the 4th Quarter of 2021 we saw a lot of enforcement activity, from the agencies that are announcing their fraud enforcement efforts to insurance companies that are initiating audits, etc. So whatever you’re involved with (Medicare, Medicaid, Indian Health Services, etc.), be sure you have an audit process in place that includes good records on the steps you’ve taken. You need to be able to prove your compliance should an audit or investigation comes your way. Narcotics charges against a Michigan Dentist, and lesson for all of us A Michigan Dentist was busted recently on narcotics charge ..read more

I started the Talking with the Toothcop podcast in December 2017. Andrea has been with me since early 2019. We love doing this podcast together. Sadly, it’s time for us to hit the pause button. We will be back—I promise! But we have a lot on our plates right now and it makes sense to pull back temporarily. If this podcast has been rewarding and educational for you professionally, take some time and go back to listen to our episode archive!  Outline of This Episode [0:22] What’s happening in our lives! [4:18] Check out ProEdge Dental [7:01] Sharing some bittersweet news [9:07] L ..read more

I work with dental offices and do a lot of dental inspections/consults. I help people identify what they need to do differently. We talk through OSHA, HIPAA, infection control, radiology, medications, state board compliance, etc. But I get really excited about infection control and sterilization. That’s my stage—my moment to shine. In this episode of Talking with the Toothcop, we’re going to talk about instrument processing and cleaning procedures. Find out what you could be doing wrong and what to do instead! Outline of This Episode [0:49] Time to redo the 75 Hard Challenge! [6:00] Chec ..read more

It’s September! And it’s officially Dental Infection Control Awareness Month! We get you’re probably sick and tired of hearing about COVID and infection control. So guess what? Andrea and I will cover infection control without mentioning COVID, other than right now...We’ll cover getting a point-person in place and written policies and procedures. Check it out!  Outline of This Episode [0:20] Dental Infection Control Awareness Month! [1:20] Check out ProEdge Dental at https://proedgedental.com/toothcop!  [3:02] Every office needs a point-person [6:17] Make sure you have written ..read more

Did you know that September is National Preparedness Month? So in this episode of Talking with the Toothcop, we share some quick tips your practice can follow to be prepared—for whatever may come. We also share a few ways you can take advantage of “Slowtember” and prep for the year to come.  Outline of This Episode [0:22] Quick tips for emergency preparedness [6:00] Take advantage of Slowtember [11:57] Check out Compliance Bootcamp [12:45] Shoutout to some podcast listeners! Quick tips for emergency preparedness What are some easy things you can do to prepare your practice for emergenci ..read more