Newsbites

The Orthodontic Community Reaches Out to Hurricane Victims

The AAO Links Up Orthodontists, Patients, and Staff

Since Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast and New Orleans, the AAO Web site (www.braces.com) has served as a communications hub for a wide range of people affected by the storm. The site features sections where displaced orthodontists can list their contact information, where staff members can find offices that are offering work, and where displaced patients can find treatment.

TDOT Provides Dental Care

On September 20, the ADA/ Henry Schein mobile dental unit, Tomorrow’s Dental Office Today (TDOT), arrived at the devastated town of Waveland, Miss, to treat the oral-health care needs of Gulf Coast residents in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

“Tomorrow’s Dental Office Today has been used in community outreach before, typically in conjunction with major dental meetings where we can demonstrate to dentists the value of this technology to their practices,” says Stanley M. Bergman, Henry Schein chairman and CEO. “In these extraordinary circumstances, we are happy to see the capabilities of TDOT put to such worthwhile use.”

TDOT supplemented relief efforts through October 9 at Caroline 1, the North Carolina State Medical Assistance Team Base in Waveland. It helped more than 300 critical care and emergency patients per day.

  TDOT was en route to the ADA annual session in Philadelphia and made a 900-mile detour to the Gulf Coast after the Mississippi Department of Health accepted the offer of resources to help care for patients in the hurricane-affected regions.

KaVo Dental and Gendex Give Cash and a Discount

Danaher, KaVo Dental’s and Gendex’s parent corporation, made a significant cash contribution to the Red Cross and matched all employee donations to help those affected by Hurricane Katrina.

“It is only through everyone’s willingness to be proactive and offer generous support to the relief efforts,” says John Franz, president of North American Sales for KaVo Dental. “KaVo Dental and Gendex are committed to aid dental professionals to get back on their feet. This is the largest natural disaster in American history and will require tremendous resources to help everyone.”

In addition to the cash contribution, KaVo Dental and Gendex are offering a 15% discount off retail prices on all KaVo and Gendex products to any affected dental office or laboratory in the Gulf region. The discount cannot be combined with any other KaVo or Gendex discount.

TopXtreme Offers Help Online

topXtreme, a practice-management software and imaging company, has set up a link on the company’s Web site that provides assistance to victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

“I was really impressed with how quickly our customers responded and how they chose to offer things we didn’t think of, like their homes or orthodontic supplies,” says Mark Sanchez, DDS, topXtreme’s founder and president. “They were really quick and generous—within hours, they were responding back.”

The hurricane relief Web site, www.iwanttops.com/katrina, provides

Sirona Offers a Donation and a Discount

Sirona Dental Systems is collecting money to donate to the American Red Cross disaster relief fund and to support the families of two Sirona employees affected by Hurricane Katrina.

“The American Red Cross is a tremendous contributor to the Katrina relief efforts,” says Michael Augins, president of Sirona Dental Systems. “Sirona supports their mission and is committed to doing what we can to help in extraordinary circumstances such as these. Additionally, we want to do what we can to ease the burden on our employees who were significantly affected by the storm.”

Sirona will offer 10% off of all Sirona equipment to any dentist or dental laboratory that is replacing equipment damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Sirona will also organize and coordinate donations from employees and will match those donations up to $10,000. It will also match donations of up to $100 per employee who wishes to support any other nonprofit organization that is helping storm victims.

“For dental professionals who are affected by this disaster, the immediate outlay of funds to replace or refurbish a practice or laboratory following such a devastation can be overwhelming,” says Augins. “We want to help ease that burden so that all affected members of the dental community can get back on their feet and return to productivity as quickly as possible.”

The Sirona relief discount applies to purchases made before December 31, 2005.