DMC Dental

December 21, 2009 01:28 PM Pacific Daylight Time

PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--While politicians and pundits continue to arm wrestle the minutiae of health reform, more and more Americans are stepping up to take charge of their own health. The key weapon in their arsenal: information.

“Studies are beginning to establish a connection between oral infection and other serious health conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, and preterm, low birth-weight babies”

Many people are embracing the connection between oral health and overall health.

That’s why Dentists Management Corporation (DMC) today announced the launch of the Dental Optimizer, a free online application connected to Microsoft HealthVault, which is designed to help patients:

● understand what they can do to prevent dental disease.

● learn the latest about what treatments are the most effective.

● enjoy less time in the dentist’s chair, or lower out-of pocket costs.

Microsoft HealthVault, a personal health record platform, allows people to gather, store and share their health data to better manage their overall health and wellness.

The application features easy-to-use, interactive tools such as risk assessment quizzes and a treatment cost calculator. Patients can also create an online oral health profile that allows them to get personalized, science-based suggestions for how to better manage their oral health conditions.

“Studies are beginning to establish a connection between oral infection and other serious health conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, and preterm, low birth-weight babies,” says Dr. William Ten Pas, DMD, former president of the American Dental Association and a senior executive at ODS, the Oregon-based parent company of DMC. “When you maintain a healthy mouth, you can help keep the rest of your body healthy, too.”

“We designed HealthVault to help people improve their health by enabling them to digitally store information and share it with healthcare professionals and third-parties,” said David Cerino, general manager, Microsoft Health Solutions Group. “With this partnership, we extend our HealthVault community to include a tool that allows people to better manage their oral health, an important aspect of overall wellness.”

Dentists Management Corporation is the first solution provider to partner with Microsoft HealthVault, specifically focusing on oral health. Built on the HealthVault platform, Dental Optimizer allows patients to store information about their oral health and share it with caregivers. “We hope that providing patients a means to easily share their information with both dentists and physicians, will lead to more coordinated and effective care,” said Rachel Picado, director of informatics at ODS and one of the tool’s creators. “Dental health is integral to a patient’s overall well-being.”

Consumers can learn more about Dental Optimizer at www.dentalotpimizer.com

About Dentists Management Corporation:

DMC, a subsidiary of ODS, is located in Milwaukie, Oregon, and supports hundreds of dental providers nationwide. Since 1982, DMC has been manufacturing DAISY, its full service practice management software product. DMC also provides complete computer and networking solutions tailored to dental offices, offering dentists guidance and expertise on issues such as data storage and security. DMC continues to strengthen its reputation as an industry leader by providing exemplary, single-source customer service and effective solutions for today’s modern dental practice.

About Microsoft Health Vault:

Microsoft HealthVault is a personal health application platform designed to put consumers in control of their health information. HealthVault provides a privacy- and security-enhanced foundation on which a broad ecosystem of providers can build innovative health and wellness solutions such as personal health records, disease management, fitness, weight loss and other Web applications. HealthVault can be used to collect and store health information that would otherwise reside in disparate systems and transfer the information between a variety of providers’ health services and systems. It enables the reuse and free flow of interoperable and transportable personal health information. For more information, visit www.HealthVault.com.

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