We Never Guess, We Look It Up
We Never Guess, We Look It Up
In grade school, buttons saying "We Never Guess, We Look It Up" were popular for a couple of years. They were someone's attempt to move us into the library (oops, resource center now). With the access to the Internet doing this has never been easier. I really can look things up now and I can do so without leaving the comforts of my home office.
One such library-like resource that is available to all of us is THE DENTAL ADVISOR (TDA). This incredible publication has been around for a long time and I have subscribed. Like the CRA or Reality for-profit newsletters, TDA provides product, material and equipment evaluations, comparisons and recommendations that help us make better decisions in the laboratory and clinically. One big difference is that TDA has stepped out of the print limited bounds of newsletter production and offers their basic online subscription free for one year. Great deal I know. The only thing better would be if they paid me to read it.
The mission of THE DENTAL ADVISOR is to provide the dental profession with concise, accurate, objective, evidence-based information on dental products and equipment. THE DENTAL ADVISOR reports objective clinical evaluations, comprehensive long-term clinical performance studies and unbiased laboratory testing in every issue of THE DENTAL ADVISOR and THE DENTAL ADVISOR Online.
They do have a premium subscription (priced similarly to all of their competitors but with a huge archive and report capability). With all of the various materials and equipment decisions we face everyday, this resource is very valuable. Not only do they compare the working characteristic and behavior of similar materials, they also tell you the price per gram or milliliter. This helps us make return on investment decisions at a microscopic level without painstaking measurements or calculations.
JDT Unbound readers and NADL members can sign up for their free basic subscription online at dentaladvisor.com. Use the password NADL2008 and you will get free access to a rolling three month window of THE DENTAL ADVISOR for one year. If you want to view the archived issues back to 2003 or product comparison reports and other special offerings you will have to ante up a very reasonable fee (in fact a 15 percent discount when you use NADL2008 in the promotional code box as well). I guess they are so sure you will enjoy and use their publication they are willing to give it away free for 12 months and bank on the renewal. Pretty bold and confident marketing.
One more step in becoming a resource and not just "the lab." Enjoy the free one-year subscription. Who says you get what you pay for?
