5 Ways Hygienists Can Secure a Solid Financial Retirement

Thank you to James Jolley for his amazing information tailored just for us hygienists! 

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We have similar problems.  Getting people to do what is necessary today so they can enjoy their tomorrows.  For you as a hygienist it is getting your patients to keep up on their oral hygiene so that they will have a beautiful smile for years to come.  For me it is helping my clients to set enough aside so they can enjoy their retirement years without having to worry about finances.
On that note, planning for retirement is similar to flossing.  People put it off until it’s too late.  Unless you win the lotto saving up enough money for retirement takes time and effort.  Retirement planning shouldn’t be stressful and should definitely never lead to bruxism.  Consider the following as you prepare for retirement.

Contribute to your 401k
Most offices don’t offer a 401(k) plan and if you are lucky enough to be in one of those offices be sure that you are contributing money to it even if it’s only a minimal amount.  Some offices/companies will even match their hygienist’s contributions. If that’s the case for you then it may be in your best interest to max out the employer match as long as you can afford it.  That matched money may also grow by compounding throughout your career.   Overall a good rule of thumb is to contribute 10-12% of your income to your retirement account annually depending on your financial circumstances.  

Don’t have a 401(k) at your office?
If you are self-employed you may want to consider setting up a SEP IRA.  A SEP IRA is similar to a 401(k) for the self-employed but without the administration costs however other account fees may apply.  Employers can contribute up to the lesser of 25% of your compensation or $54,000.

 
Determine how much you will need
According to USNews hygienists on average make just over $70,000 annually.  Let’s say you want to continue that lifestyle and would like $70,000 annually in retirement.  According to Investopedia, if you were ready to retire at 65 you would need roughly $1 million to last you until you were 95 assuming a 4% withdrawal rate, favorable portfolio performance and the current payout for Social Security income.  Why 95?  As you have seen in your profession, technology around health care is prolonging people’s lives.  I know you love your patients but who wants to go back to work when they hit 80? The last thing you want to do is outlive your money.  Plan now so you can enjoy your golden years.  

For most American workers (hygienists included) saving $1 million is no easy feat.  Determine your retirement goals and then with a financial advisor or use an online retirement calculator to see how much you will need to meet your retirement goals.  If you are below where you should be, then budget a way to add more to your retirement account.  If you have saved too much, you may want to consider pulling back your contributions and take that extra trip you have wanted to go on.

When to start saving
If you are one of the 33% of American workers who have no savings set aside for retirement it’s not too late.  Start out by opening an IRA with a few hundred dollars.  Set up an automatic withdrawal from your bank account to make sure you are putting money aside.   You may even want to step-up the amount every few months until you max out the contribution amounts.  The max contributions for a traditional IRA and Roth IRA are $5,500 or $6,500 for those over the age of 50.  This amount is in addition to any amount you are adding to a 401(k). Don’t put it off any longer than you have to, because you will miss out on the compounding effect of having your retirement account invested.

Take advantage of tax breaks through an IRA
Planning for retirement also helps you keep a little bit more of your hard earned cash.  If you are looking for a tax break consider adding to a traditional IRA.  Roth IRA’s are also an option but don’t provide a tax break, however the money that comes out at retirement can potentially come out tax free assuming certain provisions are met.   Speak with your tax/financial advisor to see which type of IRA would work best for your situation.

Annual review
Just as your patients are encouraged to get routine checkups so should your retirement plan.   Retirement plans aren’t a set it and forget it process.  Your goals will change throughout your life.  To avoid a malocclusion of sorts, make sure that you are updating your retirement plan with those changes.  You should be reviewing your retirement plan at least once a year to make sure you are still on track and make adjustments as necessary.

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James Jolley is a Financial Advisor for Wells Fargo Advisors in Salt Lake City, Utah providing retirement planning for medical professionals.  He can be reached at 800.662.3733 or by email at james.jolley@wellsfargoadvisors.com.  

Wells Fargo Advisors is not a tax or legal advisor.

Traditional IRA distributions are taxed as ordinary income. Qualified Roth IRA distributions are not subject to state and local taxation in most states. Qualified Roth IRA distributions are also federally tax-free provided a Roth account has been open for at least five years and the owner has reached age 59 ½ or meet other requirements. Both may be subject to a 10% Federal tax penalty if distributions are taken prior to age 59½.

The opinions expressed here reflect the judgment of the author as of the date of the report and are subject to change without notice. The material has been prepared or is distributed solely for information purposes and is not a solicitation or an offer to buy any security or instrument or to participate in any trading strategy. Additional information is available upon request.

CAR-0617-05553

The Dental Hygiene Scoop- 5 Cool Things You May Have Missed This Month

Here is the scoop on all things dental hygiene that you may have missed.
 

1. Check out THIS new chart about tasks that hygienists are allowed to perform in each state.

I think I need to move to Colorado.

2. Want to know how much to ask for in that next raise? Read THIS, from Modern Hygienist about the latest hourly rates for hygienists.

3. Learn more HERE about a new way to treat caries with silver diamine fluoride.

I think it is a miracle product!!!!

4. HERE as a unique article from RDH magazine about bed bugs in the office.

How is that even possible, bed bugs, YUCK!

5. Read THIS hilarious story of a dentist who changed his last name to "Better" so that he could keep the name of his practice, “Better Dental.”

I am considering changing my name to Shelley Best. So I can someday call my practice Best Dental Hygiene. HA

How To Calculate Nitrous Oxide Adminsitered

Well, if I forgot how to calculate nitrous, then I am sure many hygienists out there did too. I just don't do it often enough as I work in a clinic where we don't have it. Our latest video is on how to calculate the amount of nitrous given to a patient. We also have a quick reference guide for free in our store if you're not the best with math. 

Coming soon is another video on how to deliver nitrous. 

2017 Student Essay Contest

It's summer! That means it is time for our annual Student Essay Contest! The article can be as long or as short as you'd like, but having new and fresh ideas to find patients will be a huge help to your fellow hygienists in training!

To enter:

1. Email your article submission to hygieneedge@gmail.com with tips and tricks to find patients for other dental hygiene students. If you are selected, we would love a headshot to post with your article. 

2. Submissions should be received no later that Monday, August 21.

3. One 1 winner will be picked through a vote from a panel of amazing hygienists.

4. Don't forgot to tell your friends! Email us with any other questions (hygieneedge@gmail.com).

June Favorites Round Up

This new scrub top is so cute.

Are you a student studying for boards or thinking of studying for boards? Check out this website to an amazing study program started by an even more amazing dental hygienist.

This new interproximal cleaning aid looks promising.

Prehistory dentistry. Pretty cool.

This upcoming webinar from ADHA about teledentristry looks interesting.

Has anyone tried these dental products? What did you think?

We are signing up for the International Journal of Evidenced Based Practice for the Dental Hygienist to stay up to date on the latest research.

New research on the correlation between periodontitis and breast cancer.

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Our monthly round ups highlight some of our favorite articles, products, new research or even message board threads from that month. If you have a favorite that we missed, let us know below! We'd love to learn from it.

Clinical Board Probing Secret

When talking game plans with students about clinical boards, I remind them to take the largest probe depth line-angle to line-angle on the buccal and lingual surfaces. When I do this, I feel like I am revealing some big secret because all too often during the exam I find that students go to the straight lingual/buccal and take a single measurement and call it good. Check out our latest video on what I mean by line-angle to line-angle HERE.  Then go get those accurate probe depths!

Ultrasonic Water Trick

Tired of making a mess of your floor with the Ultrasonic inserts? We have 2 little tricks that may help!

Should You Be Charging For Oral Hygiene Instruction?

Two questions often asked about the D1330 Oral Hygiene Instruction (OHI) code are:

1. Should I bill for OHI and

2. Should I charge for OHI

There is a big difference in those two questions. 

Let me address the should I BILL for OHI first. If you performed Oral Hygiene Instruction on your patient then yes you should bill it because we should always bill for the codes that we perform to prevent fraud and malpractice.

Should I CHARGE is up for debate. I would recommend having a meeting with your office to discuss if you will charge a fee.  If it is decided that you won't charge for OHI then you can BILL the fee as $0. There is value in the patient seeing that the service was performed even if you didn’t charge a fee. If you decide yes, then set up a protocol for doing so when you BILL for OHI.

 If you are going to charge you may have to beef up your OHI by doing the following:

make a diagnosis, inform the patient of that diagnosis, disclose (watch our video), get a biofilm index (watch our video), get a baseline of current habits, tell-show-do any habits you want to add to the regimen and then provide good documentation.

 For example if the patient is diagnosed with localized biofilm induced marginal gingivitis, you must inform the patient of your findings, use a disclosing agent to show the patient where they have are missing, demonstrate the bass brushing technique then document what you did. 

 Delivering OHI may take about 10-15 mins of time. If you are taking that time, then charge for that valuable service. We shouldn’t base our treatment on what insurance covers, but depending on the carrier, OHI could be covered 1 time per year. What is your experine with the OHI D1330 code?

Nu Bird Suctioning Mirror Winner

Thank you to everyone for entering our latest giveaway, and to NuBird for the suctioning mirror!

Keep an eye on Hygiene Edge for other amazing giveaways and videos coming soon!

Want a Nu Bird Suctioning Mirror? Win it!

Wow. Some products come along that you dream about . The Nu Bird suction is one of those awesome instruments that is a big dental hygiene time saver . It is a 2-in-1 mirror and suction. Check it out in our video to see it in action.

Enter To Win One!

 Let us know one of your best time saving tips by commenting below. The winner will be announced here on Hygiene Edge next week.