Premier Two Striper Diamond Promo

In honor of Premier Dental’s 100th Anniversary, we are teaming up with them on a Two Striper Diamond promotion. These are some very aggressive deals not seen before and will likely not be seen again for some time.

20 + 10 Free    -     10 + 3 Free     -     5+1 Free

Download the free Premier Two Striper Diamond chart, pick your favorite diamonds and start enjoying the savings! At least download the diamond chart…it’s great for reference.

To place an order, call 800-482-5539 x 107

This promo is good May 1 – June 30, 2013

Volo Disinfecting Wipes…Special Promotion

When You Need to Disinfect…Go Big!

Sized to fit your hand, and the job perfectly.

19% larger than other wipes..
6″ x 8″ vs 6″ x 6.75″

If you haven’t tried Sultan Healthacare’s Volo Disinfecting wipes, now is your chance and we have a special promotion just for you…Buy 4, Get 1 Free!*

# SUDV90100  $11.25 tub of 150 wipes

To take advantage of this special offer, call 800-482-5539 x107

Offer valid April 22-May 17, 2013  Limit one offer per office.

Tips & Tricks for CDA 2013

It’s that time of year again where we all make the pilgrimage to Anaheim for the California Dental Association’s Spring Session. Pre-registration numbers look pretty good, so that means lots of people mulling around the convention center and surrounding areas. This will be my 21st CDA and I thought I would share a few tips to make the CDA a bit more enjoyable.

• Get there early! This is Southern California and traffic can be bad especially on Thursday and Friday. Allow extra time to get to Anaheim and find parking. Look for signs that direct you to the parking areas. The parking lot on Convention Way and Harbor is just a short walk away and less congested.

• If you are staying at a local hotel, consider walking or see if the hotel has a shuttle to the convention center.  Save a few bucks on parking and get some exercise at the same time.
• Arrive early as some of the courses fill up fast or some become standing room only.
• Lunch options…if you don’t want to eat at the convention center, you can take a short walk off the property and there are plenty of places to eat that are less crowded and more affordable.
• As for dinner…there are many places that are a short drive or walk away. Here are a few sites that will give you some ideas.   Anaheim Restaurants  *   Anaheim Garden Walk  or Yelp
• Make reservations….NOW!!! With so many people in town for the CDA, these restaurants fill up quickly.
• Wear comfortable shoes…walking to the center, classes and the convention floor in uncomfortable shoes makes for a miserable day.
• Visit the convention floor…please remember that the exhibitors spend a lot of time, effort and money to have booths at the CDA. Walk the convention floor and see what they have to offer. Without the exhibitors…there is no convention.
• Download the CDA Presents Mobile App for Ios and Android
• Be sure to follow us on twitter @valleydental     #cdaANA is the official hashtag for the CDA
• Stop by booth #1386 and say hello!

I hope that these tips will help make your CDA less stressful, fun and productive.

2013 CDA Big Book of Savings…now available!

We have just released our CDA/2nd Quarter Big Book of Savings in pdf format for FREE download. This year’s book is packed with some great savings and specials from our manufacturer partners. Some of the specials are only good at the CDA, but many run through June 30, 2013.  Don’t miss the special coupons on the back cover!

In the Know….Now Available

The first issue of our quarterly informational magazine, In the Know is now available for free download. As always, this issue is packed with some great information.

• Oral Inflammation: The Tipping Point of Healthcare
• Improving Patient Comfort
• Attracting that All-Important Patient with Whitening
• and much more.

Enough about you….let’s talk about.me

Recently, I saw on a friend’s twitter profile, a link to his about.me account. Since I had never heard of about.me, I decided to follow the link and see what it was all about. About.me is a personalized website, think of it as a digital calling card. Their tag line is “About.me is the best way for people to find your content and learn about you.”  So I decided to give it a whirl…it was really easy to set up a free account and get started. I uploaded a background image and added some information about….you guessed it…ME! You can add links to your Twitter site, Facebook, Flickr, WordPress blog, etc. My about.me page can be found here

They even offer to make you 50 business cards based on your about.me page for free (you just pay a nominal shipping charge). As I started to think about it more, it is a great central point of contact for your friends or business associates. I have even started using my about.me address in my signature of my email and twitter profiles. I am going to imprint my about.me address and QR code on stickers and add them to the back of my business cards and on any literature or flyers I had out while out in the territory. I think it can be useful for salespeople when making “cold calls” on dental offices, where you just have a few moments to introduce yourself and your products to the prospective clients. With your about.me information on your card, the doctor and staff can learn more about the salesperson and company later, at their leisure.

As for dentists, I think it can be a great way for patients to get to know the doctor a bit better. They can see what hobbies and interests the doctor has and any other personal information they want to share. They can also have “Patient Referral Cards” with their about.me information that current patients can share with their friends that are quite possibly looking for a dentist.  Take a few moments and check out about.me and if you sign up and start using it, please leave a comment below with your about.me address, I would like to see how you will use it.

10 Things to Remember About Handpiece Maintenance – Free Download

The fine folks at KaVo Dental have put out a great piece (pdf) called “10 Things to Remember About Handpiece Maintenance” and is available as a free download. We suggest that you download it and keep it in your sterilization area for your staff to reference.  As always, if you have any questions regarding handpiece maintenance or repair, please give us a call at 800-482-5539 x 107 and we can answer any questions you may have.

Quala, Equipment and New Products for the New Year

As we start off 2013, we wanted to highlight our Quala brand of products, along with some new products that caught our attention that we feel you should know about. As always, it’s never too early to start thinking about equipment purchases, whether it be upgrading your existing office or adding a new component such as digital radiography. Our knowledgeable staff is here to help answer any questions you might have.

1-800-482-5539 x 107

Click here to download our First Quarter Flyer.

Closeouts and Overstock

Here are some of the items that we are overstocked on or that we are closing out. Take a look, there are some great bargains here. To place an order, call 800-482-5539 x 107

Medicom #8282 Blue Bibs (2 ply paper + 1 ply poly)    $   14.99

Tidi #8103 Blue Bibs (3 Ply Paper only)   $   12.99 

Tidi #7479 Tidisaurus Bibs (250)   $   19.99

Medflex (First Medica) Jackets (pkg 10)   $   24.99  was $55.00     2 or more $ 19.99 ea

Colors / Sizes available:  Teal XXL,  Blue XL,  Teal XL,  Teal Med,  Lt Blue Med,  Lt. Blue Sm,  Pink Sm

Crosstex Labcoat Blue Large (10)    $   19.99

Intermed/Vista Disposable Syringe Tip Covers (250)    $   14.99  was $35.05

Septodont Ultra Saftey Plus XL (100)   $  19.99
Single Use Sterile Injectable device with protective sheath and handle

27 Ga, 27 Ga Long, 30 Ga Short

Parkell Smart Temp A2 Cartridge  $   39.99

Limited Quantities, While Supplies Last, All sales Final

Coming Soon: Instruments

What You Need to Know About the Medical Device Tax

As part of the Affordable Healthcare Act (Obamacare) that was signed in 2010, the Medical Device Excise Tax will take effect on January 1, 2013.  The 2.3% excise tax will be collected and reported by the manufacturers of the devices. The word “device” is misleading as to what items will actually qualify for the tax.

The provisions of the excise tax on medical devices rely almost entirely on the definition of medical devices provided by Section 201(h) of the Federal Food, Drug, & Cosmetic Act to determine which devices are taxable. The tax will apply to devices that are intended for human use and will include dental instruments, dental equipment, and research-use-only devices.

After doing some research on the matter, it seems that just about everything that you use in your dental office, will fall under this tax…burs, composites, impression material, bonding agents, etc…you get the point.

We have been getting letters from just about every dental manufacturer over the last few weeks stating that they will be instituting a 2.3% price increase on January 1, 2013 to cover the excise tax. Many have also informed us of their annual price increase as well, in some cases we are looking at increases of 4-7%.

While there isn’t much you can do to avoid paying the tax via price increases, you can be pro-active over the next 6 weeks. Here are a few ideas…

1. If you are planning to upgrade your existing equipment, add digital sensors, etc., consider getting it put into service before December 31, 2012. Not only will you avoid the 2.3% tax, you will be able to take advantage of Section 179′s increased allowances for 2012.

To take advantage of this deduction, your Section 179 Qualified Financing and your equipment must be in place on or before December 31, 2012.

2012 Deduction Limit = $139,000
Section 179 Deduction limit after adjustment for inflation has increased to $139,000 (maximum allowance would have been only $25,000 prior to the new legislation).

2012 Limit on Capital Purchases = $560,000
Section 179 Threshold for total of equipment & software that can be purchased has increased to $560,000 (threshold would have been only $200,000 prior to the new legislation).

Courtesy of http://www.section179.org/

2. Stock up on your dental supplies before the end of the year. You will not only save paying the tax, but you will get those items at 2012 prices. That is a 4-7% savings…you wont make that on your money sitting in the bank. We are suggesting 3-6 months worth, depending on your finances and storage space.

We suggest you consult  your tax professional regarding Section 179.

This week, leading executives from a broad coalition of medical technology companies, physician groups, venture capital firms and leading associations submitted a letter to Senate leadership urging policymakers to repeal the onerous medical device tax that threatens U.S. jobs, medical innovation and patient care.

Here are some good resources on the Medical Device Tax

Dental Industry: Prepare for New Medical Device Excise Tax in 2013

IRS: Medical Device Excise Tax: Frequently Asked Questions

Obamacare details coming soon for device tax, hospital payments, requirements for exchanges

Medical Device Manufacturers Association