The GPS Approach to Living a More Rewarding Life, By Eric Chatterley, D.D.S. From the Spring 2024 Journal of the Colorado Dental Association In the journey of life, finding direction and purpose is crucial for a meaningful and rewarding existence. Just as a GPS (global positioning system) guides us physically on our journey throughout the world, we can adopt an …
Safeguarding Your Dental Practice: The Importance of Monitoring and Tracking Financial Statements
Safeguarding Your Dental Practice: The Importance of Monitoring and Tracking Financial Statements By Larry Chatterley, From the Spring 2024 Journal of the Colorado Dental Association Did you know that, on average, dental practices lose approximately 9% of their production revenue due to uncollected revenues? This alarming statistic highlights the crucial importance of diligently monitoring and tracking financial statements and other …
Honoring a Legacy of Service
Honoring a Legacy of Service By Becky O’Guin, CDA Director of Communications From the Spring 2024 Journal of the Colorado Dental Association Defined not only by herself, but by her coworkers and colleagues, Sharyn Markus’ 48-year career at the Colorado Springs Dental Society (CSDS) has been a true labor of love and a tale of epic proportions, but alas retirement …
Mom’s Meatloaf
Mom’s Meatloaf By Carrie Mauterer, D.D.S., CDA Editor From the Spring 2024 Journal of the Colorado Dental Association I want to remind you of the most leaned upon, but rarely acknowledged, ADA resource: ADA Council on Scientific Affairs. It is a member benefit we all use on the daily, but we never really give them knuckles or a high five. …
ADA Releases Comprehensive Medicare and Dentistry Overview
If you take Medicare or want to provide service to Medicare patients, the ADA has released a comprehensive overview of what dentists need to know. This comprehensive overview goes over Parts A, B, C, and D and shows how Medicare has recently changed its coverage of routine dental services in the ADA’s “The Basics of Medicare”. The overview also answers …
Oral Screening Bill for Elementary Students Awaits Governor’s Signature
Senate Bill 142 (SB 142) was overwhelmingly approved by the legislature in the final days of the 2024 Colorado legislative session. It is waiting for the governor’s signature to become law. The CDA created this legislation as an initial step in a broader plan to incorporate dental screenings in schools as a “norm” in Colorado—much like they are already for …
Access to Care/Workforce Expansion: Dentist/Hygienist Compact Signed by Governor
With Gov. Polis signing SB24-10 late May 17, Colorado became the eighth state to join the Dentist and Dental Hygienist Compact (leg.colorado.gov/bills/sb24-010). The CDA strongly supported this legislation that seeks to provide licensees with opportunities to practice in other participating states, which increases mobility for individuals who are relocating, improves public safety and promotes workforce development by reducing unnecessary licensure …
Legislation to Counter Harmful Ballot Measures Awaits Governor’s Signature
The Problem The Colorado Trial Lawyers Association introduced a series of ballot initiatives earlier this year that would completely eliminate the cap on non-economic damages, essentially meaning that if a healthcare provider (including a dentist) were to get sued by a patient, there would be no limit on how much could be collected in a successful judgement for things like …
Gov. Polis Signs State Budget: CDA Secures Substantial Medicaid Rate Hike for 28 Dental Codes
Gov. Polis signed the fiscal year 2024/2025 state budget, which will go into effect on July 1, 2024. Among several important budget inclusions was over $78 million dedicated to meaningful reimbursement rate increases for Medicaid dental providers. This increase resulted from 18 months of work by the CDA Medicaid Task Force initially chaired by Dr. Carol Morrow in 2022/2023 and …
Program Seeks to Enrich Diversity in Dentistry
The Colorado Welcome Back: Oral Health program at Spring Institute supports internationally trained dental professionals to navigate licensure or alternative pathways as they reclaim their careers in Colorado. The cohort-based program includes support through 1-1 career coaching, licensure navigation, exam preparation (INBDE and TOEFL), employability skills training, and networking opportunities to 6 internationally trained dentists per year. The program seeks to enrich the diversity of Colorado’s oral …