Cellphone shock: Pennsylvanians Paying More in Fees Than Most

By Steve Bittenbender |

The Center Square

Nov 26, 2019

Pennsylvanians are paying more taxes on their cellphone bill than all but one of their neighbors and significantly more than the national average. That’s

according to a report

by a nonpartisan tax policy research group.

The combined local, state and federal taxes on a resident’s cellphone bill is 25.4 percent. The Washington-based Tax Foundation noted that was the seventh-highest rate in the nation. Excluding the federal 9.1 percent rate, Pennsylvania’s state and local tax is slightly more than 16.3 percent.

A state resident who has a $100 monthly bill from their wireless provider pays more than $304 in taxes per year. The average U.S. resident pays about $260 annually in local, state and federal levies.

“It’s important that people keep an eye on these things because they are well-hidden within people’s phone bills,” said Ulrik Boesen, a senior policy analyst for the foundation.

Two things stand out regarding Pennsylvania’s higher than average costs. First, Boesen said Pennsylvania charges a 5 percent gross receipts tax that’s in addition to the 6 percent sales tax.

Telecommunications is one of five industries on which Pennsylvania levies a gross receipts tax. The others include electric utilities providers, transportation companies, private bankers and managed care organizations.

The other surcharge that Boesen noted was the $1.65 monthly fee for state wireless 9-1-1 service. That represents a tax rate of nearly 4.4 percent. By comparison, Ohio’s charge is just 25 cents per number per month for state and local wireless 9-1-1.

While 9-1-1 is an essential service for residents, Boesen said that doesn’t mean it should have its own tax.

“In general, we don’t like when you have specific taxes for specific services,” he said. “We like it more when you broaden your tax bases to be as broad as possible and as low-rate as possible.”

A year ago, Pennsylvanians were paying a rate of 22.9 percent, but the bulk of that is due to a nearly 2.5 percent increase in the federal surcharge, which provides funding for certain organizations, such as schools and hospitals, in communities with higher than normal costs. The federal tax also can assist low-income residents in those areas.

Among neighboring states, only New York residents paid a higher percentage of taxes, as its 18.7 percent state-and-local rate ranks fourth in the U.S. Maryland was also in the top half of states at 14.7 percent, 14th highest.

West Virginia was 32nd overall at 10.2 percent, New Jersey landed at 38th at 9 percent, and Ohio residents pay 8.5 percent in state and local taxes, which ranked 43rd. Delaware’s rate of 6.6 percent is 49th in the study, which also includes Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia.

D\’IYANU Unwraps African Inspired Holiday Collection

Ready-to-Wear Brand Hosts Pop-up Events for Holiday Collection at Local Showroom

Philadelphia, PA (November 2019)

– Bells are already ringing as the world prepares for another season of joyous memories with loved ones. For Nigerian-born entrepreneur Addie Elabor and her fashion line

D’IYANU

, the holidays are not only a time to be festive but to look and feel the part. With its official release set for today

(Black Friday)

, Elabor and her team present

D\’IYANU’s Holiday Collection.

Inspired by traditional African prints, the D\’IYANU Holiday Collection features dazzling formal wear for men, women, and kids along with special gifts for the entire family to enjoy. Ladies can rock the festive vibes in hues of red, gold, navy, and black with blouses, dresses, and jumpsuits.  Men can flaunt African-inspired prints in dapper blazers with matching dress pants and button-up shirts. Completing the photo-worthy family look are dresses for the girls and shirts for the boys along with the perfect accessories to match –

including sweaters, hoodies, socks, bow ties, pocket squares, and handbags.

Ranging from $15.99-179.99 and available

online

, there’s plenty of pieces to raise a glass to.

Next month D’IYANU will host three pop-up events – opening their Norristown showroom to customers interested in shopping the Holiday Collection. Their beautiful showroom is located on

910 E. Main St

., which offers guests a uniquely intimate personal shopping experience. Meet Elabor and her team of fashion experts/stylists who are onsite to answer your questions about fit, fabric selections, and building your D\’IYANU wardrobe.

December 7th 11AM – 4PM

December 14th 11AM – 4PM

December 21 11AM – 6PM

To register for the pop-up events click

here

. Connect and follow the latest trends with

D’IYANU

on

Facebook,

Twitter

, and

Instagram

. Shop their holiday collection and best sellers on their

website.

For media inquiries and/or interview requests, please contact

tamara@phillyprgirl.com.

About D’IYANU

The tough, competitive, and nerve-wrecking fashion industry didn’t stop Addie from following her heart and launching

D’IYANU

January of 2014. Iyanu translates to

“miracle” or “wonderful”

in the Nigerian Yoruba language, and D’ means “of” or “from” in French. With the combination of her Yoruba and French background, the name

D’IYANU,

“of something wonderful” was established to remind everyone they are uniquely made and to dress like it. Addie also made it her purpose to help build schools and clinics for underdeveloped communities in Nigeria and other African countries. Since the start of

D’IYANU

, the fashion brand has donated over $20,000 to causes that support African communities, Boys and Girls Club of Philadelphia, and The Women’s Safe House.

Beware of Certain Toys, Some are Dangeous

By Steve Bittenbender |

The Center Square

Nov 2019

With Black Friday just about here, Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale held a news conference with a public interest group and a public health expert to highlight the findings in this year’s Trouble in Toyland report.

Now in its 34th year, the study released by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG) points out dangers that may be lurking behind some popular toys and gadgets for children this holiday season. Since the first report, more than 150 recalls or other administrative actions have been taken against toys deemed to be unsafe.

The concern today isn’t just about choking hazards, although officials said that still remains an issue with items like deflated balloons and board game pieces. To determine if a toy or toy piece, like a wheel, can cause choking, experts said parents should take the piece and try to fit it through an empty toilet paper roll. If the item passes through the cylinder, it can lead to choking.

Emma Horst-Martz, a PennPIRG associate, said some toys expose children to harmful chemicals or elements. Others, such as toy police car she demonstrated, can produce sounds that are too loud for young kids’ ears.

“Sometimes that toy gun or action figure isn’t just annoying,” said Horst-Martz. “If it’s too loud, it can actually be harmful to a child’s developing hearing.”

In some instances, parents can take steps to reduce the noise impact by either taking out the batteries in a toy or placing tape over the speaker to muffle the sound.

However, DePasquale, who said he championed regulatory efforts as a state lawmaker, said it shouldn’t come down to parents or gift-givers trying to determine if something’s safe. And he also warned consumers that just because a toy is on a store shelf or available in an online store, that doesn’t mean it\’s not the subject of a recall notice.

Information about toys that have been recalled is available at

consumertips.uspirg.org

.

“While I do think a lot of these consumer warnings and public interest outreach are important, I also think that the stores and the companies should do a better job of making sure these toys aren’t available in the first place,” he said. “When something is recalled, I believe they should be off the shelves and not available for resale.”

Some safety issues have been withdrawn. For example, standards regarding toy magnets were repealed three years ago. As a result, toys like construction or sculpture sets, which can contain small pieces, can cause harm if small child swallows one or more magnetic pieces. In some cases, the magnets can settle in a child’s digestive system and pinch vital organs to the point of blood loss.

According to the report, doctors in an Oregon hospital removed 54 small magnets from four children in a one-month time frame.

Data from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reveals that toy injuries led to more than 250,000 emergency room visits in 2017. Amy Bollinger, who serves as the program manager for the Penn State Children’s Hospital pediatric trauma and injury prevention program, said her hospital sees such injuries on a weekly basis.

“We have a real responsibility to talk about what we can do as adults and caregivers to keep kids safe,” Bollinger said. “Because toy injuries are preventable.”

The 2019 report is available at

toysafetytips.org

.

published here with permission

Letters to the Editor: The Speed Kills Myth is Alive & Well in Pennsylvania

Sadly, the speed kills myth is alive and well in P

ennsylvania

. A real 25-state analysis was done of NHTSA data, which showed that 1.6% of crashes are caused by excessive speed. Barely above zero, then.

Nowhere does anyone ever put into a bill that speed limits must be posted at the 85th percentile free-flowing traffic speed. This is so that the ticket industry can thrive. Set the limits too low, ticket barely above them, get municipal radar and speed cameras, then watch the money flow in.

Since this is

still

not enough, the state now wants more LIDAR and moving radar

.

Y

ou can expect more crashes, safe drivers cited, and lots of erroneous tickets

with poor policies

.

T

he mentioned devices

flopped elsewhere and will here. The state wants money, whether from red-light cameras, speed cameras, stop-arm cameras, or municipal radar. Multiple media outlets stated that after red-light cameras were installed in Philadelphia, crashes went up, yet people still say they went down. Be careful who you listen to with traffic issues.

Maximum safety on roads occurs when we have speed limits posted to the 85th percentile free-flowing traffic speed, yellow traffic lights set to actual approach speeds with realistic perception and reaction times, and stop signs only where needed.

In the meantime, we ignore issues like distracted drivers, pedestrians, and bicyclists.

Please contact your state representative, state senator, and the governor to oppose the above in Pennsylvania and demand best-practice engineering. Tickets should also be only points, no fines or surcharges.

James Sikorski Jr.

PA Advocate National Motorists Association

D\’IYANU Unwraps African Inspired Holiday Collection

Ready-to-Wear Brand Hosts Pop-up Events for Holiday Collection at Local Showroom

Philadelphia, PA (November 2019)

– Bells are already ringing as the world prepares for another season of joyous memories with loved ones. For Nigerian-born entrepreneur Addie Elabor and her fashion line

D’IYANU

, the holidays are not only a time to be festive but to look and feel the part. With its official release set for today

(Black Friday)

, Elabor and her team present

D\’IYANU’s Holiday Collection.

Inspired by traditional African prints, the D\’IYANU Holiday Collection features dazzling formal wear for men, women, and kids along with special gifts for the entire family to enjoy. Ladies can rock the festive vibes in hues of red, gold, navy, and black with blouses, dresses, and jumpsuits.  Men can flaunt African-inspired prints in dapper blazers with matching dress pants and button-up shirts. Completing the photo-worthy family look are dresses for the girls and shirts for the boys along with the perfect accessories to match –

including sweaters, hoodies, socks, bow ties, pocket squares, and handbags.

Ranging from $15.99-179.99 and available

online

, there’s plenty of pieces to raise a glass to.

Next month D’IYANU will host three pop-up events – opening their Norristown showroom to customers interested in shopping the Holiday Collection. Their beautiful showroom is located on

910 E. Main St

., which offers guests a uniquely intimate personal shopping experience. Meet Elabor and her team of fashion experts/stylists who are onsite to answer your questions about fit, fabric selections, and building your D\’IYANU wardrobe.

December 7th 11AM – 4PM

December 14th 11AM – 4PM

December 21 11AM – 6PM

To register for the pop-up events click

here

. Connect and follow the latest trends with

D’IYANU

on

Facebook,

Twitter

, and

Instagram

. Shop their holiday collection and best sellers on their

website.

For media inquiries and/or interview requests, please contact

tamara@phillyprgirl.com.

About D’IYANU

The tough, competitive, and nerve-wrecking fashion industry didn’t stop Addie from following her heart and launching

D’IYANU

January of 2014. Iyanu translates to

“miracle” or “wonderful”

in the Nigerian Yoruba language, and D’ means “of” or “from” in French. With the combination of her Yoruba and French background, the name

D’IYANU,

“of something wonderful” was established to remind everyone they are uniquely made and to dress like it. Addie also made it her purpose to help build schools and clinics for underdeveloped communities in Nigeria and other African countries. Since the start of

D’IYANU

, the fashion brand has donated over $20,000 to causes that support African communities, Boys and Girls Club of Philadelphia, and The Women’s Safe House.

A Guide to Preparing Your Home for the Holidays

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(Nov. 29, 2019)–The festive season is rocketing into view and, as all grown-ups know at this time of year, that means more work, more guests, more mouths to feed and more joy and laughter to nurture. The festive period is full of fun for your close and extended family, and visiting friends, but it’s also a time during which your home will be sheltering more heads than usual – and as such, it’s an important time to be prepared for. In this handy guide, you’ll learn how to best prepare your home for the holiday season in order to make your Christmas as wonderful and carefree as possible.

Seating Arrangements

Your first task is undoubtedly simply to understand how so many more people arriving in your home will find places to sit, talk, socialize, make merry, and – most importantly – eat. If you’re unable to find enough chairs for all the guests you’re expecting, you may wish to hire some more from a local furniture warehouse, or else buy some second-hand from local furniture stores. Meanwhile, make sure you know how to cater to everyone who visits. You may wish to invest in some

elegant furniture

for your new arrivals – in order to provide seats, beds, couches and tables for everyone who’ll be attending your home this Christmas.

Cleaning and Tidying

With a host of guests due to arrive in your home, there is the usual cleaning and tidying to undertake in order for you to present the home interior that you want to promote to your friends, family, and guests. Go around your home

fastidiously to clean each and every corner

– and be especially careful to hide or secure some of your more precious belongings: Christmas is a time of indulgence, and those who’ve had a little too much cherry may find themselves breaking items that you’ve left out.

The Kitchen

Hands-down the most important room in the house during the festive period, the kitchen will require some work before your guests begin to arrive. You need to make sure that everything’s clean, and that you have enough plates, knives, forks and cooking accessories for some of the feasts you have planned. It goes without saying that you should also check the food in your fridge, and stock up on meat, dairy and beverages to keep you ravenous and excited guests happy throughout the duration of their stay.

Festive Touches

With all the preparation out of the way in terms of seating, sleeping and cleaning, it’s time to add the flourishes that can make your home sparkle and gleam with the

red-and-green festive feel of Christmas

. Whether that means hanging stockings and mistletoe, heaving a Christmas tree into the main room, or adding little cutlets of ivy and holly to your mantelpiece, this is the final stage to decorating your home in the anticipation of a festive frolic with all your closest loved ones this festive period. Decorate in order to luxuriate in a truly Christmas-themed interior this holiday season.

Prepare your home for the festive season with the four tips outlined above – guaranteeing all of your guests a merry, wonderful time!

images courtesy of unsplash

Cancer linked with a more than doubled risk of dying from stroke

Credit: Getty Images utah778

Newswise — People living with or beyond cancer are more likely to die from stroke than the general public, according to new Penn State research, and certain types of cancer may boost the risk

even more.

Researchers at

Penn State College of Medicine

found that compared to the general population, people who have or have had cancer are more than twice as likely to die of a stroke, and the risk increases with time. Additionally, cancers of the breast, prostate or colorectum were the type most commonly associated with fatal stroke.

Nicholas Zaorsky

, assistant professor in radiation oncology and public health sciences, said the

results

– recently published in Nature Communications – may help physicians identify patients at risk for fatal strokes.

“Previous research has shown that most cancer patients aren’t going to die of their cancer, they’re going to die of something else,” Zaorsky said. “A stroke is one possibility. Our findings suggest that patients may benefit from a screening program to help prevent some of these early deaths from stroke, as well as help identify which patients we could target with those preventative efforts.”

According to the researchers, cancer is the leading cause of death in the United States, with stroke being the fifth leading cause. But while institutions like the American Heart Association and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network provide separate guidelines for stroke prevention and advice for people beyond cancer treatment, there is little guidance for preventing strokes in people who have or have had cancer.

Zaorsky, a member of the

Penn State Cancer Institute

, said he and the other researchers were interested in identifying those at the highest risk of stroke to help future prevention efforts.

The researchers used data gathered from the National Cancer Institute’s Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program. SEER includes data about cancer incidence, survival, treatment and age and year of diagnosis, and covers 28 percent of the U.S. population.

For the current study, the researchers used SEER data on more than 7.2 million patients who had been diagnosed with invasive cancer – cancer that has spread beyond the tissue in which it originally developed – between 1992 and 2015.

The researchers found that out of 7,529,481 cancer patients, 80,513 died of a stroke. Males and females had equal chances of dying from a stroke, but those diagnosed with cancer at a younger age had a higher chance of a fatal stroke.

Additionally, they found that among those diagnosed with cancer before they turned 40, most strokes occurred in people treated for brain tumors and lymphomas. In patients diagnosed with cancer above the age of 40, fatal strokes were most commonly associated with cancer of the prostate, breast and colorectum.

Zaorsky said one explanation for the increased risk could be that many people who are diagnosed with cancer are in a “prothrombotic” state, which means they are more likely to form a blood clot.

“That blood clot may then go to the lungs and cause a pulmonary embolism, for example, or cause a stroke if it goes to the brain,” Zaorsky said. “In general, it’s an underlying theme and risk factor for a lot of cancer patients. And because certain cancers like those of the prostate, breast and colorectum are some of the most common cancers, that could also help explain that high association.”

Brad Zacharia

, assistant professor of neurosurgery, said another explanation may stem from the effects of certain types of cancer treatment.

“We can speculate that a subset of cancer patients are receiving chemotherapy or radiation treatments that may have a direct effect on the blood vessels to the brain and could increase stroke risk,” Zacharia said. “This may be particularly true in patients with brain cancer.”

The researchers added that future studies could help pinpoint mechanisms and further establish the relationship between cancer and strokes.

Ying Zhang, Penn State; Leila T. Tchelebi, Penn State; Heath B. Mackley, Penn State; and Vernon M. Chinchilli, Penn State, also participated in this work.

About Penn State College of Medicine

Located on the campus of

Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center

in Hershey, Pa.,

Penn State College of Medicine

boasts a portfolio of nearly $100 million in funded research. Projects range from development of artificial organs and advanced diagnostics to groundbreaking cancer treatments and understanding the fundamental causes of disease. Enrolling its first students in 1967, the College of Medicine has more than 1,700 students and trainees in medicine, nursing, the health professions and biomedical research on its two campuses.

Avoid Holiday Shopping Scams

Don’t Fall Victim to Online Schemes

‘Tis the season for holiday gifting, and many shoppers will go online this time of year to find the best deals on popular items. But the sellers you buy from may not be what they seem.

According to the FBI’s

Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3)

, thousands of people become victims of holiday scams every year. Scammers can rob you of hard-earned money, personal information, and, at the very least, a festive mood. The two most prevalent of these holiday scams are non-delivery and non-payment crimes.

In a non-delivery scam, a buyer pays for goods or services they find online, but those items are never received. Conversely, a non-payment scam involves goods or services being shipped, but the seller is never paid. In 2018 alone, the IC3 estimates that non-delivery and non-payment scams together affected more than 65,000 victims, causing almost $184 million in losses.

Similar scams to beware of this time of year are auction fraud, where a product is misrepresented on an auction site, and gift card fraud, when a seller asks you to pay with a pre-paid card.

The IC3 receives a large volume of complaints in the early months of the year, suggesting a correlation with the previous holiday season’s shopping scams.

Always be wary of deals that seem too good to be true.

Do your part to avoid becoming a victim. These simple tips from the IC3 can help you look out for scammers during the holiday season or any other time of year:

Always get a tracking number for items purchased online so you can make sure they have been shipped and can follow the delivery process.

Be wary of sellers who post an auction or advertisement as if they reside in the U.S., then respond to questions by stating they are out of the country on business, family emergency, or similar reasons.

Avoid sellers who post an auction or advertisement under one name but ask that payment be sent to someone else.

Consider canceling your purchase if a seller requests funds be wired directly to them via a money transfer company, pre-paid card, or bank-to-bank wire transfer. Money sent in these ways is virtually impossible to recover, with no recourse for the victim. Always remember that anyone who asks you to use one of these forms of payment might be a scammer. A credit card is generally the safest way to pay for an online purchase.

Avoid sellers who act as authorized dealers or factory representatives of popular items in countries where there would be no such dealers.

Verify the legitimacy of a buyer or seller before moving forward with a purchase. If you’re using an online marketplace or auction website, check their feedback rating. Be wary of buyers and sellers with mostly unfavorable feedback ratings or no ratings at all.

Avoid buyers who request their purchase be shipped using a certain method to avoid customs or taxes inside another country.

Be suspect of any credit card purchases where the address of the cardholder does not match the shipping address. Always receive the cardholder’s authorization before shipping any products.

Always be wary of deals that seem too good to be true.

If you do become the victim of a holiday scam, contact your bank immediately. You should also inform your local law enforcement agency, and file a complaint with the IC3 at

ic3.gov

.

Resources

FBI, This Week: Holiday Scams

Action Wellness Honors Three “Friends For Life”

Action Wellness to be Presented with Pioneer Award by Center for AIDS Research at UPENN

PHILADELPHIA, PA (NOVEMBER 2019)

– Every year, Action Wellness observes

World AIDS Day

in partnership with

AmeriHealth Caritas

. On December 1, as a part of their annual campaign

“Action Heroes Wear Red”

, friends and supporters are asked to wear red, or a red ribbon, on this day to raise awareness for World AIDS Day. This day is an opportunity for people to unite in the fight against HIV and to commemorate those who have died from AIDS-related illness. In 2017, according to the CDC, there were 1.8-million new cases of HIV in the United States. Action Wellness refuses to let this disease take over, and is dedicated to raising awareness in the fight against HIV and AIDS.

Since 1991, Action Wellness has recognized individuals who have made a very real difference in the lives of people living with HIV and other chronic illnesses by giving them their highest honor: the

Friend for Life Award

. On December 4, Action Wellness is hosting the Friends for Life Awards event at

Yards Brewing Company

. The award ceremony is set to honor NBC10’s Vai Sikahema, Yard’s Brewery’s Tom Kehoe and London Grill Owner Terry Burch McNally.

Vai Sikaehma has done an outstanding job in raising awareness for those affected by HIV through his work on

NBC10

and

Telemundo62

.

Tom Kehoe, Owner of

Yards Brew

ing Company

, has been supporting Action Wellness for years by creating Action IPA.  Every year the sales of Action IPA benefit Dining Out For Life. Dining Out For Life is Philadelphia’s largest dining fundraiser in which participating restaurants donate 33% of your food bill back to local HIV/AIDS service organization.

Terry Burch McNally has been supporting Action Wellness since the first year of Dining Out For Life. Fairmount’s London Grill (which is now closed) has been one of the few restaurants that have been with Dining Out For Life for the last thirty years.

Through their work, their vision, and their philanthropy, these three individuals have made a very real difference in the lives of people living with HIV and other chronic illnesses.

Finishing out the week on December 6, Action Wellness Executive Director Kevin Burns will be accepting an award on behalf of the organization. It is the Pioneer Award from the

Community Advisory Board of the Center for AIDS Research

at the University of Pennsylvania. The award is part of the Red Ribbon Awards Ceremony which is held each year in commemoration of World AIDS Day, and recognizes the tireless efforts of our local heroes in policy, research, community, faith, youth leadership and more. The Penn CFAR CAB has developed partnerships with several programs from the School District of Philadelphia showcasing the work of youth around the city and creating the space to continue the work of HIV activism and education.

For media inquiries and/or interview requests, please contact

Molly@PhillyPRGirl.com

.

About Action Wellness:

Action Wellness is one of Pennsylvania’s largest AIDS service organizations. It is committed to helping people living with HIV and other chronic illnesses. Its services include: medical case management, a range of health screenings including HIV testing, treatment as prevention, prevention education, supportive housing, and volunteer services. Services are provided at five Action Wellness locations and at more than 30 host sites throughout the city of Philadelphia and in Delaware County. Action Wellness currently serves over 4,000 clients annually through the efforts of 400 dedicated volunteers and over 100 professional staff working together to sustain and enhance the quality of life for the diverse community it serves.

About World AIDS Day:

World AIDS Day

was founded in 1988 and is the first ever globally recognized health day.  There are an estimated 30,000 people living with HIV in Philadelphia and an estimated 37.9 million people living with HIV globally. Despite the virus only being identified in 1984, more than 3 million people have died of HIV or AIDS, making it one of the most destructive pandemics in history.

5 Pieces of Essential Equipment for a New Dental Surgery

(Gloucestercitynews.net)(Nov. 29, 2019)–A surgeon is only as good as their tools, and this also goes for a dentist. When opening, upgrading or launching a new dental surgery, it’s vital that you first have all the supplies you need to provide excellent care for your patients.

Your skill and technique might be top of the class from all your training and qualifications, but if you don’t have the necessary tools to make use of those skills, they will all go to waste.

Before you open your new dental surgery to the public, make sure you have these essential instruments and pieces of equipment at hand.

X-Ray Equipment

Some dental treatments require an insight that you cannot get by eye, which is why you need to

invest in X-ray equipment

. Digital X-rays are much more efficient and less harmful than traditional X-rays; there is a lot less radiation which makes it safer for both the dentist and the patient. What’s more, instead of waiting for X-ray images to develop, you can access them immediately on a computer.

Sterilization Equipment

Maintaining sterile equipment and a sterile environment is vital for good quality care and for the health of your patients. If your equipment isn’t sterile, it can pass on contagious germs and infect multiple patients. There are multiple types of sterilization equipment that you will need throughout the office, including but not limited to:

Dental instrument washers & dryers

Dental sterilizers

Sterilization is essential; even if your other equipment and instruments are of excellent quality. If they aren’t sterile, you won’t be providing excellent care.

Curing Light Units

For treatments like veneers, specialized instruments and equipment are required for the procedures. If you plan to offer cosmetic teeth treatments, you will need a wide range of instruments specifically used for these types of treatments.

One of these instruments is a dental curing light

that will become essential for any procedure that involves materials that need curing by light.

Dental Operatory Lights

To be able to see all the way into patients’ mouths, you will need a strong dental operatory light. When you have a good view of the patient, you can provide more accurate and tailored care for the current condition of their teeth and their mouth.

Cabinets

While cabinets aren’t directly correlated to patient care, they are correlated to how well you perform as a dentist. Organization is key when you have a lot of instruments and equipment in the office. Having cabinets will allow you to organize and store all the essential equipment you need so that you can access it with ease when you are treating a patient.

Reaching for an instrument and knowing exactly where it is, looks much more professional than taking a long time to look for it and wasting the patient’s time.

Whether you are starting a new dental office from scratch or updating one that’s already running, it is important to remember the essentials before anything else.

image courtesy of unsplash.com