In order to facilitate your choices for your
Continuing Education program, the following is arranged to
assist you in determining which programs are intended primarily
for doctors, which programs are intended primarily for staff and
which ones are intended for both. Because Dr. and Mrs. Psaltis
have such a wide variety of material, they are often
hard-pressed to make recommendations without more knowledge of
the expected audience. As such, the descriptions below will
assist you in determining how to select the courses from the
available presentations to best fit the needs of your overall CE
convention/program.
It is entirely possible to mix and match programs to suit your
needs. Some programs are available in full-day format and each
one can also be presented as a half-day. In every case, the
variations are noted below. While the intention of this list is
not to LIMIT the selections to the specific audiences, the goal
is to help select the programs that are most likely to fill
seats, based on the expected attendees. Dr. and Mrs. Psaltis are
always available to discuss these matters, but strongly
encourage you to look through the listings below in order to
better determine what will serve your conference/meeting best.
Presentations Primarily for Dentists
If the expected audience will consist mostly of
dentists, it has been my experience that the "solid" dental
topics are most appealing. The staff members may not find these
courses to be as interesting as the ones listed below, but can
certainly expect to learn much about pediatric dentistry.
Numbers 1 and 2 are equally in demand and number 2 tends
to draw a reasonable number of staff members.
1. SO LITTLE ROOM, SO MUCH TO SEE (The complete pediatric dental
examination)
Every pediatric dental examination is like a new
patient examination simply because of the dynamics of growth and
development. Furthermore, there is much to
see in the mouths of children other than
caries and loose teeth. This program thoroughly covers all
aspects of the pediatric dental examination including
recognition
of anomolies, growth and development,
symmetry and balance of the dentition and other components that
make examinations on children far from routine. Both
clinical and radiographic photographs illustrate
the areas of discussion.
2. THINK AND WORK LIKE A PEDIATRIC DENTIST
Pediatric dentistry is far more than filling teeth on little
people. It is managing behavior, understanding facial
development, establishing successful treatment plans and
performing the
appropriate procedures.This course will
stimulate your thinking about dental age, sequential care and
management tools for successful care for children in a general
practice. Part of the
vastly different world of pediatrics includes
watching a child grow as each examination with a pediatric
patient is actually a new patient examination. If you have ever
wondered “how pediatric
dentists can handle kids,” you’ll find out
here.
3.BABY STEPS **also very
appropriate for staff
(Infant and Preschool Dental Care for
General Dentists) Emphasis is now being placed on
establishing a dental home for all children upon eruption of the
first tooth or at 12 months of age. It is essential that all
dental care
providers become skilled at the steps
necessary to make these visits successful for both the child and
parents. This course discusses developmental ages,
appropriate guidelines and clinical tips.
4. RESTORE YOUR CONFIDENCE IN ESSENTIAL
PEDIATRIC RESTORATIVE CARE A review of the critical procedures
in pediatric restorative dentistry, including primary pulp
therapy, stainless steel crowns, sealants and local anesthetics.
5. PEDIATRIC PREVENTIVE AND INTERCEPTIVE ORTHODONTICS
This three hour presentation deals with all
aspects of early orthodontic considerations for the child
patient. It is not a comprehensive orthodontic course.
This
lecture enables the audience to be familiar with
all forms of space maintainers and many simple active
appliances. There is also a segment on the diagnosis of early
orthodontic referrals, emphasizing which
components of the patient's growth pattern is most likely to be
helped by early treatment and which ones can wait.
6. A NEW GPS
Whether you are in your first year out of
your training program or just short of retirement, this
presentation is for you. Stimulate your thoughts and activate
practical,
achievable steps to increase your enjoyment
of work and assure that your investment of time, money and
effort will continue to pay off over a lifetime. Drawing upon
the advice of several dental experts (as well
as others from outside), the material will help you establish a
plan to enhance your professional and personal life. Both
realistic and fun, your new GPS will guide
you to the place you’ve always wanted to be.
7. LIVE YOUR DREAMS
(Cures for common practice headaches)
You love your work, but do not share the same
feelings about some of those bothersome aspects of “running a
business.” This lecture explores the most common
non-clinical areas that prevent many dentists from
obtaining complete joy and satisfaction in their workplace.
Specific handouts will aid the attendees in working
toward solutions to these compelling areas of
frustration. Included are conversations about Conditions of
Employment, vision, Team building, effective
communication with patients, controlling personal
financial stresses and other administrative aspects of private
practice.
Presentations Primarily
for Staff
If you wish to have programs that will be
certain to educate and entertain staff members, the
following would be strong choices. Many dentists consider
behavior management, communication skills and
interpersonal relations to be secondary to clinical
skills. Staff does NOT feel that way. Number 1 below is
the most popular and most commonly requested presentation
that Dr. Psaltis gives. Increasing numbers of dentists ARE
coming to this program, although the majority of the
audience remains assistants and hygienists.
1. GETTING PAST "UH-OH," "NO" AND
"HELICOPTERS" **also very appropriate for
doctors
Behavior Management in the Pediatric
Dental Setting
Pediatric dentistry is unique in that each appointment
requires that the dentist must successfully communicate with
both children and parents and manage the behavior of both as
well as
self. In this program, principles of
behavior management are discussed and demonstrated in video
footage showing actual patients in treatment and how to best
handle them. While
dentistry often focuses on the technical
aspects of our work, in this specialty, it is only through
effective handling of patients that our technical work can be
at its best. And the parents?
They are the entertainment and promotional
program, not the “problem” that most people believe.
2.EATING AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT (Presented
by Mary Ellen) Of course it does. Learn what
happens when you eat. The power of food is amazing. It can
turn on or off your genetic heritage. Food impacts the quality
and activity of your biome,
which is a foundation for your immunity
system and much more. You feed your brain. You are
experiencing the effects of your food whether or not your
recognize them. It's wonderful
to eat for power, pleasure and purpose. Use
up-to-date nutrition information to create strategies to add
quality to your quantity of life. Eating is not a burden, in
fact, the joys and
unintended consequences might surprise and
delight you.
3. BRAIN DRAIN? OR BRAIN GAIN! (Presented by Mary
Ellen) Are you optimizing your
brainpower? The choices you make every day create your path of
your brain's healthful longevity - or not. You can use brain
science and epigenetic information
to make smarter, more effective
lifestyle and food choices. We will examine the impact of
thoughts, intentions, food selections, physical activity and
environment on your brain health
and ultimately on your entire life.
4. HEALTH BY THE NUMBERS (Presented by Mary Ellen) Bring your willing to look at
your health-related numbers that go past your height and
weight. How many vegetables you really need? How much is
enough fiber? Let's dive into our biome.
We can count sugars, sleep quality
and other daily activities that add up every day for your
overall well-being. It is important to know where you are in
order to move ahead. Utilize current
nutrition information to create
accountability, design personal strategies and dispel myths. 5. PROBLEM PATIENTS? NO PROBLEM! (Presented
by Mary Ellen and Greg Psaltis) **also very
appropriate for doctors
Most of us love our work, but don’t always
like the people who receive it. Dealing with patients (and
staff) can sometimes be the most difficult part of our day. As
professionals, we learn much about
technical skills, but very little about what will keep
patients coming to your office—excellent communications. Learn
to identify
hidden agendas, why patients behave in
different ways and the shortcut clues to dealing effectively
with them. These skills will enhance your communication when
presenting treatment plans, scheduling and
teaching oral hygiene techniques. Audience participation
exercises and role plays by the speakers demonstrate the
techniques during the program so that
application of the information can be immediate. Are patients
really the problem or is it our understanding of them?
Presentations for Dentists
and Staff (or spouses)
If your meeting is one that entire Teams attend together (with
the doctor) or if you are considering topics with broader
appeal, all of the following are very suitable for these
cases. Number 1 below may be the best overall program
for a general audience because it provides considerable
clinical information (such as how to do stainless steel
crowns, primary pulp therapy, local anesthesia and sealants)
while still covering a very broad range of topics that are of
immediate interest to any offices where children are treated.
1. BUT AREN'T THEY JUST BABY TEETH? Six hour format: You’ve heard
these words before and can’t help thinking to yourself, “Oh
no, another ignorant parent.” Parents who pose this question
(and
others) are not really ignorant—they are often
working from old beliefs or their own experiences. The ability
to answer these common questions insures a
greater understanding of the pediatric dental
issues at hand and creates a positive relationship through
effective communications. This program is based on
questions routinely heard from parents of
pediatric dental patients and covers a broad spectrum of
topics. Included are primary anterior trauma, treatment
planning, “rotten teeth,” timing of initial
examinations and more. The scientific basis and the rationales
for treatment is a significant part of the lecture.
Practitioners
who treat children will benefit from this
engaging course. Three hour format:, as many of the
24 questions that time permits are answered. For some
meetings, the presentation is separated into two
three-hour
presentations. In this case, the second
half, which is a continuation of the material, is entitled, CAN'T
WE JUST PULL THEM
2.EATING AS IF YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT (Presented
by Mary Ellen) Of course it does. Learn what
happens when you eat. The power of food is amazing. It can
turn on or off your genetic heritage. Food impacts the quality
and activity of your biome,
which is a foundation for your immunity
system and much more. You feed your brain. You are
experiencing the effects of your food whether or not your
recognize them. It's wonderful
to eat for power, pleasure and purpose. Use
up-to-date nutrition information to create strategies to add
quality to your quantity of life. Eating is not a burden, in
fact, the joys and
unintended consequences might surprise and
delight you.
3. I WAS ON THE INTERNET LAST NIGHT We
all
have had the experience of patients (or parents of patients)
coming in to our practices and questioning our treatment
recommendations because of their new-found knowledge
they
obtained from the internet. In this
course, we will explore why this is happening so frequently,
what ramifications it can have on your practice and how to
deal with it. Specific issues,
such as primary pulp medicaments,
fluoride and sealant materials will be discussed with the
controversies surrounding them. Tools for dealing with this
increasing phenomenon will help
practitioners to communicate more
effectively when faced with demands from patients.
4. HEART WORK ISN'T HARD WORK Perhaps you’ve read or heard
about health care professionals who have traveled to
foreign countries to provide humanitarian treatment to the
disadvantaged. How in the world can they do
that, you wonder. In this
program, learn about several existing programs that would
allow you to participate immediately. These programs range
from caring for patients in your own office to
established programs both within
the United States as well as internationally. Included is
also detailed information about how Dr. Psaltis created
two programs in Mexico, one of which is now
providing comprehensive care to
more than 500 children each year in Los Cabos. Legalities,
logistics and the rich rewards will be discussed with
visual support of photographs and videos of
the programs in action. This is a
program that will touch your heart and possibly have you
taking your dreams of helping others to the next step