Pocket Medical Spanish gives you a Spanish/Englishtranslation guide with 400 visual text and audio pronuncia-tions for key health questions. This improves patient com-munication and allows the user to listen to the phrasesand improve pronunciation or play the audio to communi-cate directly with patients.

Skyscape gives health care providers access to as manyas 600 medical resources in a single mobile app. Drugguides, medical alerts, journal summaries, and clinical text-books from more than 50 publishers are available.

Patients may like Medline Plus Mobile, which offersscientifically based consumer health information from theNational Library of Health. There are more than 800 dis-eases, conditions, and wellness topics summarized foreasy reading, along with the latest in health news, anillustrated medical encyclopedia, and prescription andover-the-counter drug information in easy-to-understandlanguage. This app is also available in Spanish.

Other Apps.—Many opportunities for developing appsspecific to dentistry and dental hygiene remain. Practicemanagement software programs include mobile apps that

10 Dental Abstracts

cover patient registration, health histories, and patient edu-cation programs, among other topics. Programs can be cus-tomized to help patients manage their appointments andtreatment. Evenprofessionalmeetings nowuse apps to assistattendees to find where they need to be, direct them in howbest to get there, and identify opportunities for networking.

Clinical Significance.—Are you using yoursmartphone to its greatest potential? With theapps already out there, it is possible to accessvolumes of information as well as manage dailyinteractions and solve problems. Technology ischanging how we live, and it is important thatdentists are not left behind.

Draper C: Health information in the digital age: Is there an app forthat? Access, pp 28-29, 2011

Reprints not available

Nepotism

Background.—Among controversial practice issues,hiring family members to work in your dental practicemay be the most emotionally charged. Dentists may chooseto hire family members because they know they can trustthem, or the family member may be out of work and inneed of a job, or a myriad of other reasons can apply. Thepros and cons of bringing family members into the dentalpractice were analyzed.

Advantages.—In a practice that has had high turnover,there is increased stress for both the dentist and other staffmembers. Hiring a family member can stabilize the practiceby filling the position quickly with a dependable person.The dentist also knows that family member and has greaterpeace of mind by bringing aboard someone he or she doesnot have to worry about. Often spouses and other familymembers can readily adapt to the other team members,making a mutually comfortable transition. In addition,a family member may be given a level of respect thatstrangers would not receive. Often it can be easier to bringa grown child into the practice than to bring a spouse in.The son or daughter can enter as a dental assistant, dentalhygienist, or front-desk coordinator and have less impacton the overall office culture. Children of dentists often

develop close relationships with other staff members andreceive excellent acceptance and mentoring.

Disadvantages.—When the dentist and staff have beentogether for a long time, having a family member come intothe practice can alter the authority structure. Especially,when the spouse or other relative is placed in the positionof office manager, the management structure can be drasti-cally changed. Often significant turnover occurs in the nextseveral years. Other team members may see the spouse orother relative as biased toward the dentist and unwilling toconsider teammembers’ viewpoints. This can develop evenif the office manager is acting appropriately and there is nobasis for the attitude.

A major problem can develop if the family member doesnot have the skills needed to do the job for which he or shewas hired. Other teammembers quickly see the lack of skill.If one of the other staff was qualified for the position thefamily member filled, resentment and friction can develop.

Suggestions.—When considering hiring a family mem-ber, the dentist should follow the same process as for anyother employee. There should be a detailed job

description, and the family member should have the skillsto fill the position. Also, the family member should undergointerpersonal relations training to help him or her becomepart of the dental office team. Handled properly, hiringa team member can be a positive step for the practice.

Clinical Significance.—Often dentists haveno formal process in place for hiring teammem-bers. They resort to familymembers rather thanmaking sure that they are getting the best per-son for the job. The result can be disruption of

the office’s productivity and culture and addi-tional turnover in employees. The key to suc-cess is to consider whether the person beinghired is the right one for the job in yourpractice.

Levin RP: Nepotism and dental practices. J Am Dent Assoc 142:964-965, 2011

Reprints available from RP Levin, Levin Group, 10 New Plant Ct,Owings Mills, MD 21117; e-mail: rlevin@levingroup.com

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