This week on A Tale of Two Hygienists TIPisode we are joined by Steve Pardue to talk to us about dispensing products from your office and he explains why this is the most beneficial option for the patient, and your office. Steve also lets us know about an alternative to dispensing in your office though Healthwarehouse.com!
Episode Highlights
- 3 Options for dental medication distribution
- Custom prescriptions for patients
- Elevate Oral Care partnering with Healthwarehouse.com
Quotes
“Most oral medication is a pill, a one size fits all”
“The tube or bottle sizes are not documented”
“How do you think the compliance will be if the patient needs to return to the pharmacy 4-5 timed for refills?”
“Provide or prescribe something, if you are going to do it, know what they will get, and know what they get is the right thing”
“Save your patients the pharmacy trips and waiting in line, especially with COVID-19”
Links
Elevate Oral Care FluoriMax 5000 Products: http://www.elevateoralcare.com/products/FluoriMax5000
Elevate Oral Care Website: http://www.elevateoralcare.com
Elevate Oral Care Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/elevateoralcare
Elevate Oral Care Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elevate_oral_care/
More TIPisodes: https://www.ataleoftwohygienists.com/tipisodes/
AToTH Website: https://www.ataleoftwohygienists.com
This TIPisode has been transcribed for your viewing pleasure:
Michelle Strange: A Tale of Two Hygienists presents this week’s TIPisode: quick and easy tips to keep you up to date and presented by the experts in the profession. Now, get ready for your unofficial TIPisode, this week brought to you by Elevate Oral Care.
Steve Pardue: Hello, all. Steve Pardue from Elevate Oral Care here again to continue a topic we began two months ago. We discussed the benefits of providing 5,000 parts per million fluoride toothpaste or dentifrice products to moderate- and high-risk caries patients in our last TIPisode. Not only did we dive into the current ADA recommended use of these products, but also the importance of knowing what your patients are going to receive and the methods in which they can receive them.
The three current options are not prescribing a product, which is unfortunately what many dental offices do, writing a prescription and sending patients to a pharmacy to get the brands they may or may not have in stock of sodium fluoride toothpastes, or dispensing a product you trust to them from your practice.
We know that the ADA recommends patients at elevated caries risk to use an at-home product such as a 1.1 percent sodium fluoride toothpaste, so the first option really isn’t a good option going forward.
The pharmacies are a traditional route for providing medications, but for specialized dental medication like 5,000 parts per million fluoride, the pharmacy supply product may not meet your expectations.
The third option is dispensing products from your practice, which provides the patients exactly what you intended them to use.
As dental professionals, you have access to various high-quality brands and product options of 1.1 percent of sodium fluoride products that you won’t find in traditional pharmacy outlets. Most dental companies that you see at shows or that call on your office don’t provide products to pharmacies. This poses an unseen issue in prescribing products and expecting the pharmacy to deliver what you intended to treat the patient.
Most oral medication is a pill, a one size fits all. You recommend a pill, recommend a quantity plus refills, and that’s all. With 5,000 parts per million fluoride products, you have different size tubes from 1.8 ounces up to 4 ounces, each lasting a different amount of time. When the pharmacy gets a prescription for 5,000 parts per million fluoride product, the tube or bottle sizes aren’t documented like pills are, changing the refill amount based on what they have in stock, and you’ll have no idea of this change or the quantity.
A 1.8-ounce tube refilled once will only last just over two months when used twice daily as ADA recommended, but a 3.4-ounce tube refilled once will last six months. So how far apart are your patient recall appointments? Don’t you want patients to have therapy the whole time? How do you think compliance will be if patients have to return to the pharmacy four or five times to keep therapy going between visits, each time with a new copay or a new fee?
Most pharmacies carry one of three brands: Cypress, Rising Pharmaceuticals, or Colgate products. Each of these manufacturers makes a 1.8-ounce or 2-ounce tube product, some with and some without abrasives. Colgate also makes several products in 3.4-ounce packages. When your office writes a prescription, do you include the package size? The abrasive content so the patient doesn’t have to brush twice or wear a tray holding the 5,000 parts per million fluoride gel?
Through your office, the brands of 1.1 percent sodium fluoride products are much more plentiful. There are products by 3M Dental, DenMat, Colgate, Philips, us here at Elevate Oral Care, and many others including generic distributor brands.
Each of these products is going to be effective, but they also have unique attributes that your patient might benefit from or want to avoid. These include the addition of xylitol, calcium, phosphate sources, higher or lower abrasive levels, additives to reduce sensitivity, foaming versus non- or low-foaming formulas, and various flavor options. With these options, you get to choose exactly what your patients get based on their needs, and you have the comfort knowing that they’ll have it.
In short, the ADA recommends that you provide care for your at-risk patients at home as well as in your offices. So provide or prescribe something. If you’re going to do it, know what they will get, and know what they get is the right thing. Dispensing is the best way to do this. But, if you don’t want to dispense, find a product or a pharmacy where you know the patient gets exactly what they need. But we know that’s not always convenient for the patient.
At Elevate Oral Care, we’re teaming up with healthwarehouse.com to provide our 5,000 parts per million fluoride products so they can be shipped directly to your patient’s homes. Call us or set up a staff meeting to learn how easy it is to get started using the healthwarehouse.com pharmacy and ensure these patients get either FluoriMax 5000 or Just Right 5000 every time. We’ll provide everything you need including electronic prescription forms or even how to fill them out through your e-prescription software.
Save your patients the pharmacy trips and skip waiting in line, especially during COVID-19 containment. Provide them the brands and sizes that are made to fit your recall cycle and at prices that can save your patients $25 each 6 months on average. You can simplify things for your patients, save them time, and save them money, so why wouldn’t you?
Michelle Strange: Thanks for listening to another TIPisode, and thank you to Elevate Oral Care for sponsoring this week’s episode. You can find out more about their great products at elevateoralcare.com.
And don’t forget to hit the “subscribe” button in your podcast app, follow us on Facebook or Instagram, and head over to our website, ataleoftwohygienists.com, to sign up for our newsletter. We always appreciate ratings and reviews. Thanks for listening to your unofficial dental hygiene podcast.
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