Continuing Ed. and Staff Bonding

In January we went to the Yankee Dental Conference in Boston. Let me just say that it was pretty much amazing. We took classes ranging from Identifying Oral Cancer to Periodontal Maintenance and the staff had an opportunity to spend more time together outside of the office. The picture above is of us hanging out in the hotel.

Last month we went to an Invisalign continuing education seminar and we loved it! (Not only because of the seminar, but also because of the yummy lunch with Dr. Joe after)! Invisalign is something we all believe in because a couple team members tried it everyone got to witness the results. One of our employee’s daughters is just finishing her Invisalign treatment and I can hardly wait to see her. I will put pictures up when she comes in.

We just started doing Invisalign Teen too. When I was reading the Invisalign Teen materials, it made me wish that I was still a teenager who needed braces. They are so cool! Basically, they are like regular Invisalign, but better since they have a fading blue dot hidden on them so teens know when to change the aligners. Invisalign also replaces up to six aligners for free (just in case Johnny leaves his in the locker room at an away basketball game.) Since they are removable and affordable, what’s not to love?

Meet the Team!

Our staff is a great bunch! Everyone has unique personalities that make every day interesting.

• Cami has been here the longest and has a great rapport with her patients. I often hear her laughing with them and joking around while in the treatment room.
  
• Patty has been here the second longest and has a great memory. It seems like she remembers small details about people and what they told her during the last visit. Although she is older than me, her memory is much sharper!
  
• Laureen cracks me up every time I see her. Her sense of humor and quick wit keep the office light and fun. She also has really cool green glasses that I always want to wear. I realized recently (through a blonde joke at our morning huddle) that Laureen has blonde roots. She doesn’t let that side show very often, though!
  
• Claudia is our newest hygienist and I am pretty sure she knows everyone in Amherst and Bedford. She frequently shows me articles in the paper that mention people she knows and it is never “oh, I just met them…” it seems she has known many people for many years.
  
• Ann is our office manager and has the ability to remain calm under any situation. Although I have never (officially) seen her under extreme circumstances, I have observed her enough to know she doesn’t freak out easily. She also has travelled extensively and is planning to go to Germany and Italy next month - how fun is that?
  
• Kerry is our Treatment Coordinator and has a way of explaining dental care unlike anyone I’ve seen. She can take a complex procedure and break it down to normal human jargon. She also has the uncanny ability to remember people. It seems that many in our office have a good memory…or maybe mine is just lacking?
  
• Jessica is one of Dr. Cariello’s Assistants and is positive and upbeat all the time. I have never heard her say a negative word and she takes her responsibility seriously. Jessica isn’t immune to fun, however. As our youngest employee, she keeps us up to date on what’s cool.
  
• Donna is Dr. Cariello’s other assistant and reminds me of the energizer bunny. Her contagious positive energy and ability to speak 5,745 words per minute help me stay on my toes! She is also transparent with patients and keeps the office cheerful and lighthearted.
  
• Dr. Joe is one of the most balanced guys I’ve ever seen. Even though he is a doctor, small business owner, husband, son, and father of five, he still finds time to invest in people and communities around him…and excels at all of it. Dr. Cariello is the only guy in the practice and therefore we use him as the handyman, tech support, phone and internet connection specialist, electrician, and mover of heavy things. (I am sure the rest of us could figure out the techie stuff, but why bother when he already knows it?) Kerry and I joke around and say that Dr. Joe is a nerd (just today I saw him reading a book about computer guided implantology. Who reads that for fun? I think I will stick to Oprah’s book club.) The funny thing is that even though he is super smart, he doesn’t make everyone else around him feel uneducated so our staff and his patients feel comfortable around him.

And then there is me. My name is Jennifer and I am the business coordinator. I absolutely love my job and the people I work with. Just like the entire staff here, I am pretty relaxed but take dentistry and oral health seriously.