Occlusal Register

Official Publication of the Kern County Dental Society, a Component of the California & American Dental Associations

President’s Report Kurt Sturz, DDS

March/April 2017

Mission Statement

It is the mission of the Kern County Dental Society to be the recognized source for serving the needs and issues of its members while assist-ing them in their service to the pub-lic.

Vision

KCDS membership is comprised of all dentists who share its core val-ues and Code of Ethics, working together, cooperating in preventing oral disease and providing care for all in need.

Core Values

Integrity ~ Ethics Leadership ~ Inclusiveness Professionalism ~ Service

Education ~ Responsibility All statements of opinion and sup-posed fact are published on the au-thority of the author under whose name they might appear and are not to be regarded as the views of the Kern County Dental Society unless such statement has been adopted by the KCDS Board of Directors. Ac-ceptance of advertising does not imply approval or endorsement by the Kern County Dental Society of products or services advertised herein.

930 Truxtun Ave, Suite 101 Bakersfield CA 93301 Phone: (661) 843-7715 Fax: (661) 843-7717

E-mail: kcds@lightspeed.net Website: www.kerncountyds.org

The Kern County Dental Society

is a proud component of the California Dental Association & the

American Dental Association

As you know, membership in the Kern County Dental Associ-

ation is a tripartite membership. As such, we are all members

of the CDA and the ADA. I would encourage our entire

membership to visit www.cda.org and read about some of

their recent developments. Of particular interest is the re-

cent settlement that CDA achieved in the Delta legal ac-

tion. Additionally, you will find incredibly helpful links to a

myriad of resources available to us all. Finally, I would en-

courage you to visit the CDA Foundation website (there is a

tab at the top of the CDA homepage that will take you

there). Information on the upcoming CDA Care Clinics are

found there, including the link to volunteer. The next CDA

Cares clinic will be April 22-23 in San Mateo. Volunteers are

still needed and are always appreciated. Please consider serv-

ing at this clinic, as it would be excellent preparation for the

fall CDA Cares event that will be hosted here in Bakersfield

at the Kern County Fairgrounds October 6-7. This will be a

Friday and Saturday event. Please mark your calendars.

There are number of local KCDS events coming up very

soon. There will be a new members luncheon on March 21st

at noon at Benjis Basque Restaurant and the first study club

of 2017 on March 29th at 6pm will be held at The Bakersfield

Racquet Club.

Finally, I want to make it known that members are welcome

to attend the KCDS board meetings. Our next meeting is

scheduled for Tuesda,y March 14th. If you have any interest

in attending, please contact Shannon Ford, our Executive Di-

rector. The vitality of our component depends on the partici-

pation of our membership and we would love to see more ac-

tive participation in our society.

Mar / Apr 2017

News & Notes

CDA Presents Anaheim registration opens early

December Reprinted with permission from California Dental

Association

Registration opens the first week of December for

CDA Presents The Art and Science of Dentistry,

which is coming to Anaheim May 4-6, 2017. Den-

tists, dental hygienists and dental students can reg-

ister online for the convention, which will feature

stimulating continuing education, world-renowned

speakers and hundreds of innovative dental prod-

ucts and services, including many newly launched

products.

The CDA Presents team scouts national dental

meetings to create a speaker circuit designed to

keep dentists on the leading edge of dentistry. Be-

sides taking advantage of the many C.E. course of-

ferings and roaming the 135,000-square-foot exhib-

it hall, attendees will enjoy countless opportunities

to network.

Dentists and other attendees can download the

CDA Journal ePub app at cda.org/apps to view the

CDA Presents Program, which includes descrip-

tions of courses, information on featured speakers

and more. The print version of the CDA Presents

Program will be packaged with the January issue of

the Journal of the California Dental Association.

Watch for that issue in mailboxes the first week of

January.

To register or learn more about CDA Presents,

visit cdapresents.com/Anaheim2017. Copyright © 2016

California Dental Association

Mark your calendars for CDA Cares San Mateo

A CDA Cares volunteer dental clinic is scheduled

April 22-23, 2017, at the San Mateo Event Center.

To help provide oral health care services at no

charge to the large number of expected patients, the

CDA Foundation needs volunteer dentists, includ-

ing oral surgeons, as well as dental hygienists, as-

sistants, dental lab technicians, physicians, nurses

and pharmacists. Additionally, community volun-

teers are needed to help escort patients, translate/

interpret, dispense medication, set up and tear down

the clinic, register patients and volunteers, conduct

exit interviews, enter data and provide oral health

education. The main goal of the clinic is to relieve

pain and eliminate infection by providing cleanings,

fillings, extractions and oral health education to

approximately 2,000 people during the two-day

event. Volunteer registration will open in January.

For more information, visit cdafoundation.org/

sanmateo.

The Taft Dental Hygiene Program is looking for

patients. Particularly those with perio case types 2

& 3 and those with moderate to heavy deposits. The

students are able to perform analog and digital x-

rays. Appointments are approximately 1/2 day, 8 -

12 or 1-5. The fee is $20.00 per patient, no extra

charge for x-rays. The x-rays can be forwarded to

their regular dentist. The program is not trying to

take money out of the dental community but they

do need patients to hone their skills on. Please send

a referral or two their way.

Requirement to submit Assurance of Compli-

ance form Reprinted with permission from California Dental Association

Dental practices that are required to comply with

Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act must com-

plete and submit to the U.S. Department of Health

and Human Services the Assurance of Compliance

form. HHS 690 is a statement that the recipient of

federal financial assistance is in compliance not

only with the ACA’s Section 1557, but with: Title

VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; Section 504 of

the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; Title IX of the Edu-

cation Amendments of 1972; and The Age Discrim-

ination Act of 1975.

The applicant “provides this assurance in considera-

tion of and for the purpose of obtaining federal

grants, loans, contracts, property, discounts or other

federal financial assistance from the U.S. Depart-

ment of Health and Human Services.”

For more details about Section 1557, see the arti-

cles in the September and December 2016 issues of

the CDA Update.

HHS 690 can be downloaded at hhs.gov/sites/

default/files/hhs-690.pdf, then completed and

mailed to the address listed on the form. Alterna-

tively, the form can be completed and submitted

online at https://ocrportal.hhs.gov/ocr/aoc/ Copyright

© 2016 California Dental Association

Mar / Apr 2017

Small Businesses Increasingly Targeted by Cybercriminals Reprinted with permission from California Dental Association

Leadership President

Dr. Kurt Sturz

President-Elect

Dr. Jared Simpson

Secretary-Treasurer

Dr. Marshall Chey

Immediate Past-

President

Dr. Jared Gianquinto

Trustee

Dr. Brenda Buzby

Editor

Dr. Nicole Watson

Board of Directors

Dr. Paul Mallouk

Dr. Maziyar Ghalambor

Dr. Thomas Stewart

Dr. Scott Tangeman

Dr. Robert Reed

Dr. Olena Norris

Dr. Scott Wallace

Dr. Andrew Dreyer

Dr. Brian Danielsson

(Ridgecrest)

Dr. Cameron Hopkins

(Bishop)

Committee Chairs

Access to Care

Dr. Robert Reed

Advocacy

Dr. Scott Wallace

Ethics

Dr. Robert Reed

Leadership

Dr. Jared Simpson

Mass Disaster

Dr. Robert Reed

Membership

Dr. Dana Yeoman

Study Club

Dr. Jared Gianquinto

Peer Review

Dr. Perry Jue

The National Cyber Security Alliance in a recent infographic cites a surprising statis-

tic: 60 percent of small businesses will close within six months of a cyberattack.

That figure becomes more concerning when it is measured against the number of

small businesses that are prepared for a cyberattack. According to research by the

technology company Symantec, 59 percent of small businesses do not have a contin-

gency plan outlining procedures for responding to and reporting data breach losses.

Furthermore, 87 percent do not have a formal written internet security policy for em-

ployees.

The NCSA infographic, bluntly titled “America’s Small Businesses Must Take

Online Security More Seriously,” captures a current trend — cybercriminals are

more frequently targeting small businesses and organizations, which were once con-

sidered a lesser target. Now, cybercriminals exploit small businesses to gain access

to bigger businesses through the distribution chain or payment portals.

Patricia Toth, supervisory computer scientist at the National Institute of Standards

and Technology, a division of the U.S. Department of Commerce, said in a recent

NIST press release that businesses of all sizes are at risk if they conduct business or

store information and data online.

“Many small businesses think that cybersecurity is too expensive or difficult,” said

Toth, who leads outreach efforts to small businesses as part of the agency’s cyberse-

curity and privacy applications group. “In fact, they may have more to lose than a

larger organization because cybersecurity events can be costly and threaten their sur-

vival.”

Toth is also the lead author of NIST’s “Small Business Information Security: The

Fundamentals.” Published in November and available free of charge, the 32-page

guide (plus appendix) is intended for small-business owners who have little to no

experience in cybersecurity.

CDA Practice Analyst Teresa Pichay calls the publication “informative for practice

owners, whether or not they have professional IT advisors.” The guide offers basic

steps small businesses can use to help protect their information systems and takes

users through a simple risk assessment to identify risks and vulnerabilities (see the

article “HIPAA-required risk analysis can prevent malware attacks” on cda.org).

Specifically, the guide explains how to:

Limit employee access to data and information.

Train employees about information security.

Create policy and procedures for information security.

Encrypt data.

Install web and email filters.

Patch or update operating systems and applications.

In addition, the guide provides recommendations on new equipment that might be

required and how to find reputable cybersecurity contractors.

Download the guide, “Small Business Information Security: The Fundamen-

tals” at nist.gov/publications. Also read the CDA article “HIPAA-required risk

analysis can prevent malware attacks” on cda.org.

Copyright © 2016 California Dental Association

Mar / Apr 2017

Dental Benefits 101: Proper Billing, Waiving Co-Payments Reprinted with permission from California Dental Association

Beginning in the new year, this column will host a

semiregular series discussing basic dental benefit is-

sues. The topics covered address questions that CDA

Practice Support receives from dental offices and from

local dental components. This first installment address-

es proper billing for treatment provided by an associate

and waiving of co-payments.

Proper billing

Q: How should a dental practice bill for treatment pro-

vided by an associate?

Not that long ago, almost all dental plans paid accord-

ing to the contract status of the billing provider or own-

er listed on submitted dental claims. When solo practic-

es made up the vast majority of dental practices in the

profession, this payment policy made sense. While the

majority of dental practices are still solo practices, the

larger number of group practices, corporate dental

practices and multipractitioner dental practices has

prompted dental plans to pay based not on who the

owner is and what their contract status is with the plan,

but who rendered care.

For the most part, payment based on the renderer of

care would make little to no difference in terms of the

amount paid to a practice. For example, if both the

practice owner and associates are contracted with ABC

Dental, it is likely they have the same contracted PPO

fee schedule — meaning the associate would be reim-

bursed from the same fee schedule as the owner.

If the associate is not contracted with ABC Dental Plan

but the owner is, treatment provided by the associate

would likely be paid as “out of network.” The reim-

bursement check would be made out to the “billing

provider” (the owner) but paid as out-of-network treat-

ment, even though the owner or billing provider is in

network.

If an owner bills ABC Dental Plan but the treatment

was performed by a noncontracted associate who was

not identified on the submitted claim, this billing would

be in error and potentially fraudulent. Most current

claim forms allow space to identify both the billing

provider and the treating provider/associate. The cor-

rect way to bill all claims submitted to any dental plan

is to list the owner/billing provider and the treating or

rendering provider. The billing provider will receive

the check from the plan, but the claim will be paid ac-

cording to the contract status of the dentist who ren-

dered care.

For more information on billing for an associate, see

the CDA Practice Support resource “Considerations

When Billing for an Associate.”

Waiving of co-payments

Q: May a dental practice forgive, or not collect, a co-

payment from a patient?

If a dental plan identifies a patient portion for the cost

of a covered dental procedure, most dental plans re-

quire the collection of those patient co-payments. Not

collecting the co-payment is a violation of the contract

the dentist has with the patient’s dental plan.

This question often comes up when a neighboring den-

tal office “forgives” or doesn’t collect patient co-

payments, and the inquiring office wants to know if

this is legal or whether the office itself can forgive co-

payments. Not collecting patient co-payments is often

used as a promotion to attract new patients to a prac-

tice. Again, if a dental office is forgiving co-payments

as a matter of policy or promotion, that dentist is vio-

lating the contracts she or he has with dental plans.

Unlike health insurance, which after a patient’s deduct-

ible may pay for almost all care provided to an enrol-

lee, dental plans are designed with specific patient co-

payments built in. Dental plans require co-payments

because plans calculate premiums based on the overall

cost of procedures. If these fees include a co-payment,

and the dentist fails to collect the co-payment, it chang-

es the economics of coverage and the cost of care pro-

vided through the dental benefit plan.

If a plan determines that a dental practice does not reg-

ularly collect co-payments from its enrollees, at the

very least the plan will ask the dentist to start collecting

those co-payments. Beyond this, such a finding could

result in an audit of a number of the plan’s patient

treatments in the practice. Continued on page 5

Mar / Apr 2017

Continued from page 4

Many dental offices wish to provide a discount to pa-

tients, either across the board or to select patients. For-

giving co-payments is usually considered the easiest

way to grant patients a discount. However, forgiving co

-payments, besides being a violation of the dentist’s

contracts with dental plans, may also be considered

fraud. An example of this is when a dentist bills a pro-

cedure to the patient’s dental plan for $400, with $200

paid by the plan and the other $200 being the co-

payment responsibility of the patient. The plan assumes

that the dental office is collecting the patient’s portion.

If the office does not collect and it is the practice’s pol-

icy not to collect the co-payment, the plan could say

that the actual fee for the treatment is $200, not the

$400 indicated on the claim, because the dentist never

planned to actually collect the patient’s portion. The

practice should have billed the plan $200, reflecting the

discounted or forgiven patient portion.

This example shows how forgiving co-payments is

considered fraud. The proper way to apply discounts is

to discount both the patient’s co-pay and the plan’s

portion. This can be accomplished by applying the total

discount to the submitted fee on the claim. If the dentist

wants to provide a discount by reducing the fee from

$400 to $200, the dentist should claim to the plan a

submitted fee of $200. The dental plan pays its portion

from the reduced submitted fee and the patient experi-

ences a discount with a lower co-pay of $100 instead of

the full co-payment of $200 on a $400 allowance.

While the dental office isn’t passing on the full dis-

count they’d like to the patient, the patient’s co-

payment amount is discounted, but so is the amount

that is the responsibility of the plan.

By passing on a discount to the plan and the patient, the

situation of fraud is avoided.

The potential for forgiving of patient co-payments to

constitute fraudulent billing is recognized in Section

7.A.2 of the CDA Code of Ethics, which states: "A

dentist who accepts a third-party payment under a co-

payment plan as payment in full, without disclosing to

the third-party payer that the patient’s payment portion

will not be collected, may be engaged in overbilling.

The essence of this ethical impropriety is deception and

misrepresentation; an overbilling dentist makes it ap-

pear to the third-party payer that the charge to the pa-

tient for the services rendered is higher than it actually

is."

Another downside of not collecting patient co-

payments is that patients come to expect it. A dentist

who does not collect co-payments is torpedoing the

dentist who purchases the practice in the future. Pa-

tients come to the new dentist expecting there will be

no co-payments. The new dentist explains to patients

that the previous owner did not collect required co-

payments, but that this was a violation of the dentist’s

contract with the patients’ plans. The patients probably

won’t care about this legalistic explanation, and even

though the new owner is doing the correct thing, he or

she is getting off on the wrong foot with inherited pa-

tients.

For more information on the right and wrong way to

offer a patient a discount, see the CDA Practice Sup-

port resource “The Right Way to Offer a Patient Dis-

count,” available at cda.org/practicesupport.

Copyright © 2016 California Dental Association

Dental Benefits 101: Proper Billing, Waiving Co-Payments Reprinted with permission from California Dental Association

HAYES HANDPIECE REPAIR

David and Judy (800) 900-1507 or (661) 589-9703

Free Pickup & Delivery 8415 Rolling Bay Drive Bakersfield, CA 93312

Email: hayes113@hotmail.com

www.hayeshandpiece.com

Mar / Apr 2017

CDA Cares is coming to Bakersfield Oc-

tober 6-7, 2017, and will be held at the

Kern County Fairgrounds.

KCDS is going to need volunteers and

more importantly, donations. Not only do

we need monetary donations, we are going

to need towels, porta-potties, pvc pipe and

food, lots of food, etc...

If you have a patient or are friends with

those in a position to help, please talk to

them about the wonderful event that CDA

Cares is. Ask them if you could give their

contact information to Shannon at KCDS

who will then pass it on to Michelle Rivas

at the CDA Foundation. Michelle will then

contact them regarding sponsorship and/or

their donation.

Please help make CDA Cares - Bakersfield

a great success!! We cannot achieve suc-

cess without everyone’s help.

Mark Your Calendars for CDA Cares - Bakersfield October 6-7, 2017

Mar / Apr 2017

The California Supreme Court on Dec. 22 issued an

important decision in a case (Augustus v. ABM) involv-

ing the security guard industry. Two issues were in

question: Must an employee be relieved of all duty for

a paid 10-minute rest period and, if an employee is “on

call” during a rest period, does it count as a lawful

break?

The answer is yes and no. In its simplest form, the rul-

ing stated that “… state law prohibits on-duty and on-

call rest periods. During required rest periods, employ-

ers must relieve their employees of all duties and relin-

quish any control over how employees spend their

break time.” What this means for employers of dental

practices is that meal and rest break policies must be

reviewed and updated to be in compliance with this

decision.

Similar to meal periods, employees must now be re-

lieved of all duties for the two 10-minute paid breaks to

be lawful. Employees should not be allowed to take

rest breaks at their desks or in work areas where the

employee could potentially be interrupted and employ-

ers are no longer able to have policies that restrict em-

ployees from leaving the premises during rest periods.

Employees are entitled to one rest break for workdays

3.5 – 6 hours in length and two rest breaks for work-

days that are 6 – 8 hours in length. No rest breaks are

required for a workday that ends prior to 3.5 hours.

Current meal and rest break penalties still apply. Em-

ployees who are not provided an uninterrupted rest

break or are not able to take meal breaks are entitled to

an additional one hour of pay for each incident (up to

two in a single day). The additional time should be pro-

vided to the employee on the next regularly scheduled

payroll date.

Five things to consider when reviewing employee

rest break policies

Employers should ensure the rest break policy does not

restrict or require an employee to stay on the premises

or remain available to answer business operations ques-

tions, patient questions or calls. However, if an em-

ployee leaves the premises and returns late, disciplinary

action can still apply.

The policy should state that the employee should not

remain in the work area or take a break in an area

where interruptions could potentially occur. In many

instances of smaller practices, this could pose a chal-

lenge. Ideally, a best practice is to incorporate rest

breaks for all employees into the practice schedule each

day and discuss during the morning huddle “coverage”

among team members.

Management staff and other employees should be

trained to refrain from interrupting an employee while

he or she is on break. Of course, as interruptions can

occur from time to time, the court noted that breaks can

be rescheduled, or an employer can pay the penalty.

However, this should be the exception, not the rule.

Policies should also state that employees should report

to their supervisors the inability to take an interrupted

break or when unable to take a break at all.

Rest period policies should include that breaks are free

from duty and that scheduled breaks must be taken by

each non-exempt employee.

CDA Practice Support has updated its Sample Meal

and Rest Break Policy to reflect the new changes. It is

available at cda.org/practicesupport.

Employers should incorporate the changes into their

practice employee manuals, provide the updated policy

to their employees and discuss the changes and expec-

tations. Additionally, they should obtain a signature

from each employee acknowledging that they have

read and understand the new policy moving forward.

Visit cda.org/practicesupport for the updated “Sam-

ple Meal and Rest Break Policy” as well as a “Practice

Policy Revision Employee Acknowledgment Tem-

plate.” Read the court’s opinion on Augustus v. ABM at

courts.ca.gov/opinions/documents/S224853.PDF.

Copyright © 2016 California Dental Association

Supreme Court Decision on Employee Rest Periods Affects Dental Practices Reprinted with permission from California Dental Association

Mar / Apr 2017

The ordered closure in mid-December of a children’s

dental clinic in Southern California reminds dental

practices of the importance of cleaning and maintaining

dental unit water lines for the safety of patients.

Health officials ordered the Anaheim clinic to close

after discovering mycobacteria in the clinic’s water

system for the second time in three months. Officials

tested the clinic’s water in September after an infection

outbreak was traced to the clinic. The Orange County

Register reports that as of Dec. 16 at least 57 children

had been hospitalized — some with severe complica-

tions — for confirmed or probable mycobacterial infec-

tions after receiving pulpotomies at the clinic between

March 1 and Aug. 11.

Once the source of the infection outbreak was estab-

lished, officials ordered the clinic to stop using office

water for patient procedures. Ultimately, the clinic

closed and installed a new water system and reopened

after the new system’s water was tested and found to

meet ADA standards. Now, less than a month after

opening, the clinic is closed again.

Everyday actions for every patient

The Orange County Health Care Agency and the Cen-

ters for Disease Control are investigating to determine

the source of the latest samples of mycobacteria. Un-

less or until additional recommendations are revealed

in their report, CDA urges dentists to ensure they are

following the Dental Board of California’s current re-

quirements along with CDC recommendations. These

include:

At the beginning of each workday, dental unit lines

and devices should be purged with air or flushed

with water for at least two minutes prior to attach-

ing handpieces, scalers, air water syringe tips or

other devices. The dental unit lines and devices

should be flushed between each patient for a mini-

mum of 20 seconds.

Review procedures for maintaining dental unit wa-

ter quality at ≤500 cfu/mL heterotrophic water bac-

teria.

Consult with the manufacturer of the dental unit for

appropriate water maintenance methods and recom-

mendations for monitoring dental water quality.

These safety procedures are designed to prevent the

dangerous buildup of biofilm in the equipment water

lines. “Essentially, the first thing you should do when

you walk into your operatory is run your water lines,”

CDA Practice Analyst Teresa Pichay says. CDA rec-

ommends that dental practices test their water unit

quality if they have not recently done so.

CDC links past outbreak to pulpotomies

The infection outbreak in Southern California is not the

first to be traced to a dental clinic. In Georgia in Sep-

tember 2015, cases of mycobacterial infection in hospi-

tals were traced to a dental practice that had performed

pulpotomies. A CDC report confirmed that the practice

had “used tap water for pulpotomies without water

quality monitoring or bleaching of waterlines at the end

of each day, as recommended in the manufacturer

guidelines.” All water samples from all of the prac-

tice’s dental stations had bacterial counts above the

CDC’s recommended ≤500 (CFU)/mL.

The report closed with recommendations for preventing

risks associated with waterlines, including use of point-

of-use filters and eliminating “dead ends in plumbing,

where stagnant water can enable biofilm formation.”

Mycobacterial infections can be severe and difficult to

treat. The children hospitalized during the outbreak last

fall experienced complications ranging from long hos-

pital stays for administration of intravenous antibiotics

to surgery, including for jaw reconstruction.

No infections tied to procedures received after the Ana-

heim clinic reopened in November have been con-

firmed as of this writing.

CDA will keep members informed of any new infor-

mation about water quality and water line maintenance

via cda.org and the CDA Update.

See the CDA Practice Support resource “Surface

Disinfectants and Waterline Cleaners” at cda.org/

practicesupport.

Cleaning and Maintaining Dental Water Lines for Infection Control Reprinted with permission from California Dental Association

Mar / Apr 2017

The Environmental Protection Agency’s anticipat-

ed rule requiring that dental practices install amal-

gam separators and implement best practices to

control the discharge of mercury and other metals

entering the waste stream has been delayed follow-

ing the Trump administration’s freeze on all pro-

posed or pending federal regulations. The freeze is

intended to allow the administration time for exec-

utive review of the regulations. Once the freeze is

lifted, requirements of the new rule will take effect

30 days after publication in the Federal Register,

which was previously scheduled for Jan. 24.

Under the proposed EPA rule, as reported on

cda.org and in the CDA Update, most dental prac-

tices must install amalgam separators that are com-

pliant with either the American National Standards

Institute (ANSI) American National Standard/

American Dental Association Specification 108 for

Amalgam Separators (2009) with Technical Ad-

dendum (2011) or the International Organization

for Standardization (ISO) 11143 Standard (2008)

or subsequent versions as long as that version re-

quires amalgam separators to achieve at least a 95

percent removal efficiency.

CDA recognizes that dental amalgam is a safe and

cost-effective restorative material. As environmen-

tal stewards, dentists are encouraged to adhere to

best practices for the recycling and disposal of

amalgam to reduce dental office waste. The use of

dental amalgam separators is recommended to as-

sist in this effort.

Additionally, in anticipation of this ruling, CDA

has been working on behalf of its members to

identify resources that make complying with the

future mandate easier and more affordable.

CDA has secured the PureLife ECO II amalgam

separator as the newest CDA Endorsed Program.

An exceptional dental supplier and longtime CDA

partner, PureLife balances patient health, planet-

friendly choices and exceptional savings for the

best total value.

CDA has negotiated with PureLife to offer this

quality amalgam separator at a member-exclusive

price. The ECO II is an ISO 11143-certified amal-

gam separator that retails for $499. CDA members

will pay only $99 per unit with a discounted one-

year replacement cartridge and disposal service

agreement ($249).

CDA Practice Support Is developing a new Q&A

resource to help dentists understand their obliga-

tions under the ruling and will make the resource

available to dentists if and when the rule is pub-

lished. CDA will keep members informed about

developments on cda.org and in the CDA Update.

Presidential Order Freezes Amalgam Separator Rule Reprinted with permission from California Dental Association

Mar / Apr 2017

DO

YOU

NEED

HELP

?

Help is one step away... Alcohol and drug addiction can touch any of us.

The CDA Well Being Committee is an organization

of dental professionals who can give confidential

assistance to members of the profession, their

spouses and staff members. Anyone needing

information and/or help may contact:

Northern CA Regional Well-Being Committee Assist individuals in Alpine/Mono Counties 530.310.2395, Curtis Vixie, DDS Southern CA Regional Well-Being Committee Assist individuals in Inyo/Kern Counties 818.437.3204, William Slavin, DDS or 714.814.7732, Diane White, DDS or call the Kern County Dental Society Office at

661.843.7715.

The CDA

Well-Being Program A Service to the Dental Community

All 2016 HIPAA Breaches Must Be Reported to HHS Reprinted with permission from California Dental Association

HIPAA-covered entities that experienced a

breach of protected health information in 2016

are required to notify the secretary of the U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services, re-

gardless of the size of the breach.

An entity’s reporting obligations will depend on

whether the breach incident affected fewer than

500 individuals or 500 or more individuals. In

short:

If the breach affected fewer than 500 individ-

uals, the covered entity may (1) report the in-

cident within 60 days after discovery of the

breach or (2) log the incident and then report

the breach within the first 60 days of the fol-

lowing year. All breaches must be reported no

later than March 2, 2017.

If the breach affected 500 or more individu-

als, the covered entity must report the incident

“without unreasonable delay” and no later

than 60 days after discovery of the breach.

HIPAA defines a breach as “the unauthorized use

or disclosure of protected health information.”

Protected health information, or PHI, is individu-

ally identifiable information, such as name, birth

date or demographic data relating to an individu-

al’s past, present or future physical or mental

health or condition; medical treatment or diagno-

sis by a health care professional; or payment for

health care.

All breach notifications to HHS must be made

through the department’s online portal at ocrpor-

tal.hhs.gov/ocr/breach/wizard_breach.jsf.

For HIPAA resources, including “HIPAA Safe-

guards” and a compliance implementation check-

list, visit cda.org/practicesupport.

Copyright © 2016 California Dental Association

Don’t forget to set your clock

ahead one hour before you go to

bed on March 11th, 2017.

Mar / Apr 2017

Ads Office for Lease: Attractive free standing

building with illuminated sign, fully furnished,

w/w/o equipment, located on Stockdale Hwy

with high traffic flow and visibility; 5 plumbed

operatories, 4 fully equipped, 1800 sq. ft.. Call

(661) 742-4594 or (661) 619-5789 for more

information.

Boat for Sale: Ranger 198 VX bass boat, 200

hp Mercury Optimax motor, dual consoles, dual

fishfinders, console model with GPS, three

bank battery charger, custom cover for boat and

motor. Ranger Trail trailer with fold away

tongue. Boat in excellent condition. $25,000.

Call Dr. Bill Powell, Sr. at (661) 832-9155.

For Sale: 1. Mechanical instrument sharpener;

2.Orthodontic cabinet and supplies; 3. H-Wave/

TENS therapy machine; 4. Articulators; and 5.

Misc. Call Dr. Wil Flickinger at (661) 872-

7575.

Office for rent or lease 1,000 sq. ft., 4 remod-

eled, plumbed operatories. Across from Bakers-

field College. Major foot traffic for long-

established office. $1,150 per month. Call (661)

871-0780.

Are you looking for a dentist to work part-

time a few days a week? One of our newest

members is looking to work on Tuesday, Thurs-

day and Saturday. Please contact

kcds@lightspeed.net for contact information.

Wanted: Used, broken or unwanted dental

hand instruments for a project I am working

on. Any scalers or operative instruments will

do. I will gladly pick them up and bring you

donuts!

Email me:ehershkowitz@taftcollege.edu.

Calendar

March

14 Board of Directors Meeting, 5:30 pm

20 New Member Luncheon

24 CE Course: Soft Tissue Concepts for the

General Dentist with Dr. Gordon Fraser

29 Study Club #1

April

4 Board of Directors Meeting, 5:30 pm

8 CPR/BLS Course #1

20 Girls Night Out Wikki Wine Bar, 6:00 pm

22-23 CDA Cares—San Mateo

28 CE Course: Quarterbacking Difficult Restor-

ative Cases in Tumultuous Financial Times

with Dr. Marc Geissberger

Dentist Named Best Job for 2017 Reprinted with permission from California Dental Association

Once again, U.S. News & World Report has

ranked dentist the best job in the U.S. for offer-

ing a “comfortable salary, low unemployment

rate and agreeable work-life balance.” The pro-

fession also held the top spot in the publication’s

best job rankings for 2015 and the second spot in

its 2016 rankings, behind orthodontist.

Health care professions dominate the top 10,

with nurse practitioner and physician assistant

securing the second and third best jobs, while

orthodontist ranks fifth and oral and maxillofa-

cial surgeon ranks ninth.

To produce its annual best job rankings, U.S.

News first looks at U.S. Bureau of Labor Statis-

tics data to select jobs with the greatest hiring

demand and then assesses how well those jobs

meet a mix of employment concerns. Jobs re-

ceive scores in seven areas — from employment

rate to 10-year growth volume to work-life bal-

ance to job prospects. Each job then receives an

overall weighted score.

See the complete rankings at mon-

ey.usnews.com/careers/best-jobs/rankings/

the-100-best-jobs.© 2016 California Dental Association

Mar / Apr 2017