CDA Essentials 2016 • Volume 3 • Issue 8

10 | Volume 3 Issue 7 CDA at W ork • Not every outcome can be studied using randomized clinical trials (which can show direct evidence), especially chronic diseases (like periodontitis) that take years to develop. This is just one of the reasons there may not be strong direct evidence proving that flossing can prevent dental decay and gum disease. • It’s also important to consider that the harms of flossing are minimal to none and the cost is very low. a References 1.SälzerS,SlotDE,VanderWeijdenFA,DörferCE.Efficacyof inter-dentalmechanicalplaquecontrol inmanaginggingivitis:ameta-review. JClinPeriodontol. 2015Apr;42Suppl16:S92-105. 2.SambunjakD,NickersonJW,PoklepovicT,JohnsonTM, ImaiP,TugwellP,WorthingtonHV.Flossing forthemanagementofperiodontaldiseasesanddentalcaries inadults. TheCochrane Library. 2011.DOI:10.1002/14651858.CD008829.pub2 MESSAGES FOR OUR PATIENTS Based on the research we do have, flossing is an effective, inexpensive and safe method for cleaning the hidden, hard-to-reach, parts of your teeth. ❙� Set realistic goals. Clean all surfaces of your teeth daily, but don’t feel too guilty if you miss once in a while. The goal of a clean mouth is more important than how you reach that goal. ❙� Do your best with your brushing, flossing and other measures to clean all surfaces of your teeth and gums. ❙� Seek your dentist’s and dental hygienists’ advice and discuss with them any oral health news items that you come across in the media. They will give you the best personalized advice for your oral health. If your dental practice still uses a modem to transmit dental claims, you will need to transition to the Internet by next year to send dental benefit claims. As of September 30, 2017 , Alberta Blue Cross and TELUS Health will stop supporting modem transmissions for dental benefit claims. “To send claims to Alberta Blue Cross and the insurance carriers on the TELUS networks, dental offices should transition to Internet claims transmissions well before this September 2017 deadline,” says Geoff Valentine, CDA manager of health informatics services. “Your software vendor can advise you on the steps involved in making this change.” The CDA ITRANS Claims Service transmits dental benefit claims to all CDAnet insurance carriers except Alberta Blue Cross. The communication software called CCDWS (Common Communication Driver Web Services) also uses the Internet to send claims, but sends only to insurance carriers on the TELUS networks and Alberta Blue Cross. In both cases, the CDA Digital ID ensures that your claims are sent securely on the Internet. a TELUS Health and Alberta Blue Cross to end support of modems for claims transmissions For more information, contact the CDAnet Help Desk at 1-866-788-1212 or visit cdanet.ca