It’s that time of year – in the last 10 days I’ve received 2 different yellow pages directories found lying on my doorstep. Yellow pages advertising used to be the primary focus of my marketing budget. About 5 years ago, our practice ran a full page ad in at least 3 different books and a smaller size ad in 2 additional books. Oh, how times have changed!

If you are trying to decide whether to keep or eliminate yellow pages from your marketing budget, here are some suggestions:

Establish a tracking system

Most yellow pages offer (for a fee) a unique phone number they place in your yellow pages ad that will track these calls and forward them to your real phone number. These serves not only identify the volume of calls, but also record them. The yellow pages company provides you an ID and password for their website where you can run reports to find how many calls came in to your office thanks to this ad – and that’s how you can identify the number of potential new patients your yellow pages ad is bringing in.

Listen to the calls

If you already have this phone tracking service from the yellow pages, then go online and listen to each call. You need to know how your secretary is handling these calls. You need to find out how many of these phone calls turn into scheduled new patients.

Determine your ROI

Once you listen to the calls, you can document patient names and find out if these patients actually came in for their appointment. You can check your computer ledger to see what production/collection you received for each patient and compare the total with what you’re spending on this ad. In general, you want to shoot for a return on investment of 5:1.

By using this system, I have eliminated all yellow pages directory advertising except for one book. In fact, I was surprised to see how well this one directory was performing for us! When we decided to renew our ad in this book, we made the assumption that most of the potential new patients using the book were most likely senior citizens – and we targeted our ad to this group directly.

We’re also using the yellow pages to gain feedback on our competitors. When I see a directory that we have dropped completely, I flip immediately to the ‘Dentists’ section to see which dentists in my area are still paying the money to advertise. I find it interesting to see which dentists are still investing in a full page ad when I tracked the book’s performance and I know it didn’t perform. This tells me which dentists are paying attention to their marketing and which are still doing the same thing they used to do in the past.

Do you think the Yellow Pages are still a viable advertising medium?

Is the Yellow Pages still a viable advertising medium, or is it dead? Let us know your thoughts in a comment below.

With the mass success of the Apple iPhone and iPad, a lot of PC users have considered installing Apple Mac computers in their homes and offices. As with most technology, there is a compromise when considering a product that has a smaller user base. Detailed below are a few of the common questions and considerations to evaluate when looking at using the Apple Mac for your practice.

What are some of the pros of the Apple Mac?

The Mac’s sleek and attractive design is the first thing that draws people in. They look great just about anywhere. The operating system is very dependable, and the chances of being infected with a virus are much lower than those with a Windows-based PC.

I thought that Mac’s do not get viruses?

That a myth. Mac’s can and do acquire viruses, but there are significantly fewer viruses out there that infect the Mac. Why? Hackers typically create viruses to attack the masses, and Mac users are not the masses. A major drawback here is that fewer resources are devoted to Mac virus protection, and thus the resolution of new viruses can take much longer than that of a Windows-based PC.

What are my options for Practice Management with a Mac?

MacPractice is widely considered strongest player in the field, but there are additional options that are available, such as MacDentPro. Curve Dental leads the web-based software field and is Mac friendly. Compared with the Windows-based PC, you have fewer options to consider.

hat are my options for Digital Imaging with a Mac?

This is where your options start to dwindle. MacPractice promotes the Suni sensor as their product line of choice. There is also support for ScanX and Planmeca devices. Unfortunately, with the very small user base, most of digital imaging companies are not investing in native support for the Mac. In English, that means if you want the latest and greatest in Digital Imaging you’re limited to the Windows-based PC environment.

Can’t I run Windows on my Mac using Parallels or VMWare?

Yes, you can, but what is the point? Running Windows on the Mac allows you to utilize mainstream Practice Management and sometimes Digital Imaging software, but it takes away all benefits of utilizing a Mac in the first place. Since Windows operates in a separate environment than Mac OSX, it will naturally run more slowly than it would on a comparable PC. In addition, using Windows on the Mac further complicates your network environment and opens the door to all of the consequences of a PC network. Lastly, you will never want to mention to your software provider that you are running Windows on a Mac because they will simply blame everything on an “unsupported configuration.”

What are the differences between PC and Mac hardware?

At one time, the Apple Mac was a completely different device from the PC. Now, they use the same processors, RAM, hard drives, and video chipsets. So when investing in a Mac, you pay more for approximately the same product that you may purchase from Dell or HP.

Are there any other cons with moving to the Mac?

Since the user base is much smaller than that of the Windows-based PC, there is a much smaller support base. You simply have fewer choices for a support partner. Additionally, Apple does not offer same business day on-site hardware replacement and does not guarantee next business day on-site hardware replacement. This can create a bigger obstacle on mission critical equipment like your server. Windows-based PC manufacturer’s like Dell offer these options. Most practices cannot afford to be down for hours, let alone for days.

Is the Mac right for your practice?

Each practice has specific needs that it must evaluate before selecting an IT solution. Both options present both unique benefits and challenges. By assessing the value of each possibility and its integration into your practice, you can better determine which choice will optimize your practice’s efficiency and productivity.

Do you Use Macs or PCs in Your Practice?

Repeat after me:
“I will be better organized.”
“I will figure out how to be more productive.”
“I will get a handle on my debt.”
“I will get the most from my technology.
“I will get training for my team.”

Any of these sound familiar? If they do, do you follow through with these resolutions? Many of you may say, “No,” and that is not uncommon.

Know the Power of Planning

Perhaps the biggest reason our New Year’s resolutions peter out after the first two weeks of January is because we do not make a PLAN to support them. An idea can only take you so far without establishing detailed steps to make it successful. These same concepts translate to the business world, and a major annual strategic planning session is crucial for the success of your practice.

The dental business can also throw us curve balls, and our survival depends on whether we have a well thought-out annual plan — or fly by the seat of our pants. It’s not unlike airline pilots, who always fly with emergency plans in place.

On January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 took off from New York’s LaGuardia airport for Charlotte, N.C. Shortly after takeoff, the plane went through a flock of geese at 3,000 feet, and both engines were knocked out. Captain Chelsey Sullenberger had not landed on water before, yet his training and the emergency plans allowed him to take appropriate actions in an extreme situation and make a safe, successful landing on the Hudson River.

Though many of us have faced crises (economic, professional, or personal), surprisingly few organizations are ready with a plan. Don’t let your dental practice be one of them.

That said, what is your annual plan, and how will you make it a reality? How can you ensure your plan is successful, makes a positive impact on your practice, and offers the highest profit on your bottom line?

The answer: By working with an expert practice management coach. Don’t wait until the New Year. Our coaches are ready to help you PLAN and discuss these questions now. Do this, and allow yourself to enjoy the benefits of a well thought-out plan — even when life just happens.

Take These Steps to Your Success

1. Decide on New Year’s resolutions for your practice.

2. Schedule an appointment with a dental practice expert who can help you make a strategic plan — and ensure it’s a reality in 2012.

3. Schedule a date to meet with this expert before 2012 arrives.
-Discuss your plans for 2012.
– Put this on the calendar before December 31, 2011.
– Count this as your “Team Annual Planning Session.”

4. Assemble a P&L (Profit and Loss) statement of the past 12 months
– Collaborate with a dental expert who is trained to turn your P&L into a management tool for increased profits in 2012

5. Determine with your dental practice expert (consultant/coach) if your overhead stacks up against the true dental industry standards.

6. Project your expenses and goals with the guidance of your practice expert.
– Base these on history, expenses, and potential.

7. Have an annual planning session. Discuss with your team how many working days will be needed to meet your budget needs.
-What services will you provide? (e.g. same-day services, new services, standard of care services, etc.)
-What products can you offer and sell to add value and benefit your patients’ oral and total health?
-With the guidance of your dental practice expert, determine your practice potential and identify your obstacles.
-Brainstorm with your consultant/coach and team to plan how to move beyond these obstacles.
-Finally, develop an action plan.
– This is the step that pulls your plan together and will make your resolutions stick!

Getting Expert Guidance Pays Off

Planning is your ticket to success, but make sure it’s done right. Even the dental practices that do have annual plans often lack a well thought-out strategic plan. Add to that poor execution, and many of these weak plans derail, leading to lost patient appointment time, loss of practice profitability, wasted money, contentious patient issues, and even legal quagmires.

The solution: Have an expert dental consultant guide your annual planning so you leave no stones unturned. Asking for help is the key to creating a profitable year in 2012! Don’t delay. Put this appointment on your calendar today! A ten-step plan will find your practice’s untapped potential and successfully manage your profitability.

The rewards you can reap from New Year’s resolutions don’t occur in a minute. It takes a series of successive milestones as you work toward the change that you seek. This is the reason you need to begin planning today. So, mark your calendar, get set, Go!

How are you preparing your practice for the new year?

Almost all dentists go through a lot of training to be where they are now. But just how successful are they in their chosen career? Every dentist must possess some important quality traits to be TRULY successful.

3 Important Quality Traits Every Dentist Must Possess

1. Integrity

Every good dentist should have a noble purpose and maintain integrity. This ‘two-rolled-into-one’ attribute is the most important character trait every good dentist should possess.

Purpose simply means to have a vision, mission and goal – a plan or mental picture of what you want to do with your career. The more noble and genuine your purpose is, the more known and successful you will be in the long run. Integrity, on the other hand, is the difference that sets one apart from the rest. Integrity denotes doing your job to the best even in the absence of praise or evaluation. Integrity always indicates quality. If you have a noble purpose, coupled with integrity in your work, success is not far off from where you are.

2. Good People Skills

A good dentist should be open to communication and care. Being a dentist requires you to have constant correspondence with your patients. To succeed in this career, the lines of communication between you and your patients should be clear. You have to develop the skill to let your patients know and understand why they need such procedures in a humble, respectful way. Similarly, you must have the same attitude when hearing out your patients’ needs. Doing so will also transmit that trait to your staff and the people you work with.

Aside from this, you should have the caring touch or the passion to serve. Without this, you may be simply treating your patients as a means to get by everyday life, not as a giver of care to them.

3. Punctual

A good dentist should be punctual. Nothing spells more disrespect to your patients than to continually have them wait for you over long periods of time. Being habitually late brings a bad reputation to your name and a negative message to your clients that you do not value their time. If something comes up, communicate. A good quote to remember comes from W. Mathews. He says, “Nothing inspires confidence in a business man sooner than punctuality, nor is there any habit which sooner saps his reputation than that of being always behind time.”

Final Thoughts

Practice all these three character traits and you will most likely never run out of clients. Remember that the best way to promote yourself is not by what you say about yourself, but by what your patients tell their friends about you.

What should we add to this list?

If you have a trait or traits that you would like to add to this list please leave a comment below.

Referral cards sent with newsletters can be an effective way to get dental marketing tools into the homes of existing patients and motivate them to take action. Since most dentists depend heavily on referrals to grow their businesses, nothing is more important to a dental office than making it easy for satisfied customers to refer their friends and family.

Up to 70% of Your Business is From Referrals

As much as 70 percent of a dental office’s business can come from referrals, according to some statistics, but receptionists and cashiers often have too many other tasks on their minds to remember to ask patients to make referrals.

When patients are asked, they often simply brush off a request to refer their friends, never giving it a second thought once they leave the office and return to their busy lives. Even those who are willing to take a card or two often forget about them.

Include Referral Cards in Newsletter

Inserting a professionally designed referral card into an equally well-designed and enticing newsletter can be an effective dental marketing tool for many providers, however.

A good newsletter brings the dental practice to the minds of patients, reminds them of the things they like about the office and the professionals with whom they have established relationships and creates a good feeling about the dental office. When they see a referral card inside the newsletter, they may be willing to pass it on.

Even more importantly, mailing cards in newsletters gets the cards into people’s homes where they can be seen by family members and left around for friends to see. Because these referral cards include complete contact information, they can be passed along without much explanation.

Include Referral Card in E-mail Newsletters Too

While e-mail newsletters may not be quite as effective for distributing referral cards, they can also increase good feelings about a dental office and can be forwarded to others if the text encourages readers to do that. Customized e-mail referral cards can also be used by practices that don’t send print newsletters to help spread the word.

When sent directly to existing patients rather than distributed at the office, referral cards can be an important part of a complete dental advertising plan.

While nothing will cause an unwilling or dissatisfied patient to spread goodwill about a dental practice, referral cards help customers who are so inclined easily provide referral information to their friends and family members who are looking for a new dental service provider.

Has this worked for your practice?

If you’ve included referral cards in your newsletter, what were your results? Do you have any additional tips for maximizing the effectiveness of this tactic? Please share in a comment below.

Is there a foolproof way to achieve your big goals?

For more than two decades I have personally watched practices set big goals and work toward achieving those goals. Some meet and even exceed their goals while others fall short. In closely monitoring and evaluating the reasons practices succeed, seven essential steps to achieving big goals have emerged.

1. Set a BHAG

Every successful dental practice possesses a Big Hairy Audacious Goal, or BHAG. We highly encourage every practice we work with to set a yearly BHAG. It has to be Big because small goals lead only to small results. It has to be Hairy and Audacious – meaning it must be stretch your team enough to motivate, challenge and excite them. In addition to setting the goal, achieving practices make setting the goal itself a special staff occasion established during an annual gathering or short retreat.

2. Clearly Articulate Expectations

The number one failure of practices that do not meet their BHAG is expectations surrounding the goal have not been clearly articulated by the practice leader. When expectations are not clearly communicated, frustration and anger among all parties involved is the inevitable result.

Beyond sharing expectations verbally, the doctor must show staff how to meet those expectations by walking them step-by-step, detail-by-detail through every element connected to the goal. If you want a five-star experience for your patients, your staff must be fully acquainted with what that looks like, feels like, and how to achieve it in your practice.

In setting and achieving a BHAG, realize that higher goals require higher expectations.

3. Visualize

Visualizing the outcome of a BHAG provides motivation to stay focused and tenacious during the journey. A shared reward, like a vacation trip, for achieving your practice BHAG provides a great visualization opportunity for your entire team.

To visualize the reward, we encourage practices to place fun reminders throughout the office, keeping the goal and the reward continually in front of the staff. For example, if you are planning a reward trip to Hawaii, you may have Hawaiian leis, beach pictures, bathing suits, helpful snacks for developing a beach body, and other fun connections to Hawaii.

In the end, beyond the shared adventure of the vacation, the significant long-term benefit to the practice is that the team learns how to set and achieve a goal. They grow to expect success, causing them to look forward with confidence to next year’s bigger and better BHAG.

4. Change Your Words to Reflect Your BHAG

Tony Dungy, the former Super Bowl winning coach, would begin every year by telling his team that he expects to win the Super Bowl during the coming season. He would then use the goal as a standard by which every practice and game would be measured. If it did not rise to the level of Super Bowl Champions, changes would be made.

If your BHAG is to grow to a $1 million, $2 million or $10 million practice, you must begin to use words that reflect that reality. Would a $2 million practice say that? How would a $3 million practice talk about hygiene, power blocks, or patients?

I recall serving a rural practice that began referring to itself as a provider of “World Class Dentistry.” Within five years, people began flying in from all around the country to receive “World Class” treatment. Your practice will reflect the words you use to describe it.

Start talking now as if your BHAG has been achieved. One of two things will happen as you change your words to reflect your BHAG. You will either change your behavior to align with your new words or you will stop saying it and give up on your BHAG.

5. Take Appropriate Action in Line with Your BHAG

If your goal is $2 million and your reward is a trip to Hawaii, your actions should reflect your belief that you will achieve that goal. Have you cleared the week for the trip of hygiene and other appointments? Have your staff members acquired passports and made family preparations? Have you published an itinerary for the trip?

With a BHAG you are either fully-in or not in at all. If your BHAG is big enough, anything less than one-hundred percent will never bring achievement. You cannot say you will make preparations if you get closer to the goal. You must align your actions now and let those actions fuel your drive to the goal.

If you are serious about losing weight and getting fit, try burning your old clothes every time you move down a size. That is an action aligning with a goal.

6. Change Your Habits to Support Your BHAG

You must change your habits to support, not sabotage your goal. Habits become auto-conscious and routine in such a way that we do not have to think about them. Like driving a car, we no longer think about all the details involved in driving, we simply drive. Habits are like a computer operating system; they free us to think and do while our habits run in the background to manage our lives.

Evaluate whether or not your current habits support your new BHAG. Chances are good that you may have to change some personal and practice habits to achieve your BHAG. Although your habits were originally put in place to serve you well, some may currently control you and your practice in unhelpful ways.

How do you change a habit? Here are four steps:

1. Pick only one or two habits to focus on at a time.
2. Choose a supportive habit to replace your existing habit. Habits are not broken, they are replaced with habits of equal or greater strength.
3. Find a reinforcement mechanism. Sometimes the best mechanism is a person rather than a thing. Chances are that your mom taught you habits and became your reinforcement mechanism to establish those habits.
4. Commit to implement your habit 100% of the time every day for ninety days. It takes ninety days to fully own a habit to the point it becomes auto-conscious and routine.

7. Monitor Your BHAG

You will never achieve your BHAG unless it is consistently measured, monitored and analyzed. In the same way that an airline pilot guides a plane, regular measurements and monitoring along the path serve to keep you on course while helping you make necessary adjustments. Course corrections will be needed along the way and you may not know it unless you stay in touch with your progress.

Go Big or Go Home

Just as world-class athletes and professional teams set challenging goals, we encourage our clients to shoot for the moon. If you haven’t established a BHAG for this year, now is the time. If it is too small, make a huge adjustment. Do not settle for small goals and small results.

Have some goal-setting tips?

If you have some tips for goal-setting that you believe helps you to achieve them, let us know in a comment below.

Dentists Are Not Master Marketers

Dentists are not just people who take care of people’s teeth. In the business standpoint, they are also managers, leaders and motivators. But although they have a number of roles to fulfill, dentists need to realize that they are not the best advertisers and marketers. A person can try to learn the ropes but, at the end, it is the experts who will most likely dominate this field. Most of the time, dental ads consist of faces of dentists plastered on walls with write-ups that sing their praises.

Patients Care About Their Own Needs First

But the fact is that patients do not care about you. They do not care about the image that you project. On the other hand, they care about themselves. The reason they choose to have treatments done on them is because they care about themselves. They go to you because they want to feel or look better, not because they think of how wonderful you are. This is why you need to think twice before commissioning an ad with your face all over it.

Your Practice’s Name Is NOT Your Brand

The first lesson that dentists need to know about marketing is branding. You know that you have successfully branded your practice when people recognize it as soon as they hear your practice’s name. The problem with some dentists is that they believe that their name is synonymous to their practice’s brand. But this isn’t the case. Most companies which have effectively branded themselves do not use the owner’s name as the brand name. It’s time for dentists to come up with a good brand name and then use this in their external marketing campaign.

Understanding Your Customers Needs Is Critical

The second lesson that dentists must know is to identify with those individuals who they are advertising their practice to. Because the patients have self-serving reasons for going into our dental clinic, you need to know exactly what their wants and needs are in order to appeal to them better. You can talk about how your practice offers treatments which are minimally invasive and painless in order to appeal to those who may be scared of going to the dentist.

Your Thoughts

What additional “Truths” about dental marketing would you add to the list?

Over 60% of Dentists Experience Embezzlement During Career

You’ve heard the rumors – “Dr. So-and-So was embezzled.” You’ve read the statistics “Over 60% of dentists will experience embezzlement during their career.” So, what do you do to stop it from happening in your office?

My Top Recommendations

1. Use passwords

Dentrix allows you to set up an individual password for each dentist and employee, so use them! Tell your staff scary stories of tales you’ve heard about how sharing passwords can get them fired – what if another team member knows your password and the two of you have a falling out? That person can log into Dentrix using your password and do terrible things – that will be tracked right back to you. Don’t let this happen. Never share a password. Plus, set one month every year where every employee (and dentist) must change their password. Yes, I know it’s a pain in the neck – do it anyway.

2. Assign specific password rights to each employee

You can assign specific rights to each staff person. Look at the list and only assign the rights that the staff person needs. For example, deleting rights in Dentrix are reserved for only the top level secretaries – why would any clinical staff person need to delete anything? This is an easy way to reduce your exposure to problems.

3. Run your adjustments report – and do your research

In Dentrix’s Practice Analysis you can run an adjustment report for any clinical provider. Run this report for all your providers for all amounts for a month – it will show you the patient name and the $$ amount as well as the type of adjustment entered into Dentrix. Start at the top of this report and look into each adjustment – do you offer a 10% senior citizen’s discount? Then go into the ledger for your patients that show up with senior citizens discounts and check the math – is the adjustment for 10%? If it’s for 20%, you should find out why. Were there any large adjustments – over $100? You should know why for each one. Look at the insurance withhold discounts – to check these, get a copy of the patient’s insurance EOB and then make sure their withhold matches the one entered into your computer. Again, this takes a fair amount of time, but what if you did this one month out of each quarter – and you knew that no one was using adjustments as a way to cover their tracks and steal from the practice?

4. Run the audit trail

If you suspect something strange on one of your adjustments, then run the audit trail report in Dentrix. This report is a serious tree-killer because it shows you every transaction made by every staff/dentist in Dentrix at the exact time. It will show you every moved appointment time, every scheduled appointment, every note added. So, see if you can target by date this audit trail report and then you can scan it, not just looking for the strange adjustment, but also in general you can see what your staff is doing on Dentrix throughout the day.

5. Listen when your patients complain

The next time you have a patient that complains saying “I already paid you, so why am I still getting a bill?” Or the patient is upset that the insurance paid more than the original estimate so why isn’t the dentist sending more money back to the patient? Listen carefully to the concern and check the Dentrix ledger for this patient. Does the story the patient tell match the ledger? This is a great way to catch embezzlement – listen to your patients who keep track of their insurance and finances and take the time to contact you when they believe an error has occurred – they may be right.

6. Compare Staff Hours Worked vs Their Schedule in Dentrix

The last way to stop embezzlement is to compare staff hours worked vs. their schedule in Dentrix. Padding hours is an easy way to steal from a practice. You can easily sit down and scan through your Dentrix schedule for your clinical staff to compare when they saw patients and what hours they earned in payroll. Do you have a policy for having a staff person leave early if a patient no shows? Look for this on the schedule – and then check the staff’s timeclock for that day – what time did they actually leave? If they didn’t have a patient for the last hour of the day – what did they do?

Final Thoughts

Don’t let your practice become a victim of embezzling. It’s more than a crime against the dentist. It’s stealing from all the honest, hard-working staff who may have achieved a bonus if the financial goals for the practice were being met. It’s an abuse of trust for everyone in the office. By investing some time and following these recommendations you can make it incredibly difficult for someone to steal from you. Is it worth it?

Your Thoughts

Do you have any additional tips for preventing embezzlement in your practice? Any Dentrix-specific tips? Please post them in a comment below.

The search engine wars are over, the people won!

And it wasn’t an occupy movement parked in Google’s portico or a flash mob sit-in at Microsoft that led to the lay down of arms.

We did it to ourselves.

This continental shift in social local search and corresponding groundswell of opportunity favors the prepared and rewards the diverse.

How does the above average dental practice capitalize on this local search opportunity to increase online visibility?

Location, location, location.

As we covered in the intro post to local search optimization for the dental practice, the foundational elements in need of inspection with regard to properly communicating essential information about the practice are: Google Places, Yahoo Local, Bing Local, and MapQuest.

We should throw AOL in there too, just for semantics – AOL owns MapQuest at the time of writing this article, but it was astutely pointed out last week by a keen observer that AOL should be included. So, foot in mouth disease made an appearance somewhere in San Diego last week…mea culpa.

With the interest of keeping this local search series diatribe informative and educational we’ll KISS (Keep it Simple Stupid).

Because if we get into historical hodgepodge of where your practice info was ever entered online, if it was correct, if you’ve moved in the past few years, if you’ve had any legal issues, if you were a victim of unscrupulous marketing, and much more, you’d really be sick of reading.

We couldn’t possibly cover every contingency with respect to the individual dental practice, but the following tips should hold water whether your practice high and dry or bailing buckets.

Consolidate Don’t Procreate

Trust is a huge factor with regards to how your practice listing is represented. If it’s Google Places or MapQuest, the communication of verifiable practice information is essential.

There are lots of variables given the industry; is it a group, is it multi-location, is it corporate, and so on.

As we’re talking about a singular dental practice here, for matters of example, we’re dealing with one location. Don’t let the section header fool you, we’re not going off on some ranting tangent, and we won’t show up at your door later.

The point being stressed is, confirm, consolidate, and control YOUR practice listing.

Don’t worry about falling victim to the impetuous allure of confirming and controlling multiple listings within one environment.

For example, if your practice has 3 listings in Google Places (for one location), all of varying benefits…confirm them all, and then look to consolidate the listings to one primary pimped out profile with all correct info listed and benefits represented.

Multiple listings for one location within one environment is no good, it hurts the trust factor at the very least. And don’t think you’re the first dentist to think if you confirm every listing in your area, you’ll dominate.

You could actually get penalized, and that could hurt your online practice visibility for an indeterminable period.

A Thousand Words

We’re not talking about pedantic digital dental marketing blog scribes; we’re talking about first impressions.

If you were a new patient seeking a dentist online, would you rather visit the website – because that’s what consumers are doing before they call you – of a dentist that communicates a bland message replete with zero pictures, no video, invisible new patient offers, and nothing in the way of digital word of mouth?

Wouldn’t we all choose a dentist that engagingly communicates exactly what the new patient is seeking on their search – professionalism, comfort, and familiarity?

A succinct highly ranked local search profile is professional; it comforts people and transmits the message that you know what you’re doing and you’ll take care of us.

Reading reviews from people that have sat in your chair and experienced dentistry a’ la you, allows us to achieve some level of familiarity with your practice.

Same goes for photos, videos, links to your Facebook page, Twitter, business description, accurate hours of operation, and enticing call to action offers!

The Tips

• Add photos – as many as allowed, you don’t want a clinical pic scraped from a CE forum as your welcome message to people that land on your local search listing.
• Add video if possible – again, as many as you can, doesn’t have to be Scorsese-like.
• Write Engaging Business Descriptions – and don’t be afraid to test different versions.
• Offers or Promotional Messages – calls to action are essential in new patient recruitment.
• Social Links – if applicable, it soon will be.

Here are 10 more basics to follow courtesy of local search oracle – David Mihm:

1. Your physical address matching/listing the city where you’re located.
2. Manually verifying your ownership of the company’s Google Places page.
3. Having proper category associations for your page and citations.
4. Having a large number of “traditional structured citations” for your business (on sites like Internet yellow pages and local place aggregators).
5. Having your address listed on your company website, and make sure that address is crawlable.
6. Having a well-ranked (PR) company website.
7. Having high-quality inbound links to your company website.
8. Having your phone number listed on your company website, and making sure that phone number is crawlable.
9. Having an accurate local area code listed on your Google Places page.
10. Having your city and state listed in the page title for your Google Places landing page.

The items listed above can be treated as a checklist for establishing bare minimums for local search optimization.

You can read the full body of work and 98 ranking factors here – just make sure you read and understand it in its entirety before going out and putting rubber to the road. There are seemingly stupid mistakes to be made that can really negatively impact a listing.

Watch Your Back

In case you haven’t yet had the pleasure of getting cold calls from every marketer from Boston to Bombay promising to get you to the top of Google, or possess the special first-hand experience of having gone through the rip-off mill, social media and local search represent immense marketing opportunity for dental practices.

But there’s probably a bit more opportunity and low hanging fruit dangling in front of the unscrupulous marketing realm. Lots of small business owners don’t know where to start, and some fall victim to the slick words and empty promises.

Do yourself a favor, and rely on common sense when it comes to local search optimization for your dental practice.

Nobody on this planet can guarantee you top search engine placement on the results pages. And nobody can remove negative online reviews – at least legitimately.

The tools are available to do this yourself, and with a little planning and execution it’s certainly possible for you to confirm and begin consolidating your dental practice local search engine listings.

Then you can continue to educate yourself and build the citations and optimization efforts to consistently communicate genuine crawl-friendly easily verifiable info, automatically collect online reviews, and systematically syndicate your dental practice digital word of mouth.

Your Thoughts

If you’ve already dabbled in local seo for your dental practice, what specific issues are the most troublesome?

In the interest of full disclosure, please note that sales generated through these links will produce a small commission for Dental Heroes. These commissions go a long way toward ensuring that Dental Heroes is able to continue providing you with great content.

Top 10 Best-Selling Dental Products by Category

Toothpaste

Colgate Total Whitening Toothpaste

- Colgate Whitening Toothpaste is helps to prevent cavities gingivitis plaque and lasting fresh breath protection.
- It has also been shown to help reduce the formation of plaque and tartar above the gumline.
- Brush twice a day and you’ll know your teeth are cleaner, whiter and your breath will be fresher around the clock.
- Each Colgate Total Formula fights plaque germs for 12 hours and helps prevent: plaque, gingivitis, tartar build-up, cavities and bad breath.

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Mouthwashes

Listerine Antiseptic Mouthwash

- Kills germs that cause bad breath
- 24 hour protection
- The only nationally branded antimicrobial mouthwash to receive the Ada Seal of Acceptance for fighting plaque and gingivitis.
- Has over 100 years of safe use and 50 years of research, making it the most widely used and extensively researched mouthwash the U.s.
- The Ada Council on Scientific Affairs’ Acceptance of Listerine Antiseptic is based on its finding that the product is effective in helping to prevent and reduce gingivitis and plaque above the gumline, when used as directed.

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Flossers

Glide Floss Picks

- Allows you to floss even between teeth in the back of your mouth.
- Patented tension-control design allows floss to surround the tooth surface for cleaning power.
- Silky-smooth texture slides easily between teeth.
- Effectively removes tough plaque between teeth and just below the gum line.
- Gently stimulates gums and helps prevent gingivitis

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Dental Night Guards

Smartguard Night Guard

- Patented Gag Free design with FDA Approved materials
- Patented design has the highest possibility to Reduce TMJ Jaw Pain of any OTC Night Guard available
- Designed by a TMJ Dentist
- Protects the teeth from the affects of teeth grinding. Also reduces clenching and ringing in the ears.
- Reduces Tension headaches 77% out of 82% of headache sufferers

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Powered Toothbrushes For Adults

Philips HX5351 Sonicare Toothbrush

- Soft-grip handle holds charge for up to 2 weeks, ideal for travel
- Rechargeable toothbrush cleans with ultra-high speed bristles
- Removes 80% of coffee and tobacco stains in just 28 days
- Ships in Certified Frustration-Free Packaging
- 2-minute smartimer
- Includes 1 contoured brush head, charger base, and travel case

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Powered Toothbrushes For Kids

Philips Sonicare for Kids Rechargeable Toothbrush

- KidTimer increases brushing time slowly over 90 days, building toward the dentist recommended 2 minutes.
- Kid-friendly power modes provide gentle cleaning that’s right for different ages.
- Age-appropriate brush heads specifically designed to clean and protect teeth at key developmental stages.
- Ergonomic design enables parents and kids to brush together or on their own.
- Interchangeable panels so kids can customize their toothbrush

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Manual Toothbrushes

Colgate 360 Degree Sensitive Toothbrush

- Offers features such as textured tongue cleaner, tapered inter-dental bristles, polishing cups, cleaning tip, soft bristles and a comfort grip
- Contains soft bristles which gently massage your gum-line while giving your teeth a deep cleaning

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Whitestrips

Crest 3D White Whitestrips

- Professional level whitening results that last up to 12 months.
- Advanced Seal technology allows you to talk, drink water and go about your day while you whiten
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- Enamel safe. Same whitening ingredient dentists use
- Give yourself a smile makeover with professional level whitening results at home

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Waterpiks

Waterpik Ultra Water Flosser

- Water jet is clinically proven to be up to 93-percent more effective than flossing
- Advanced control delivers a water pressure of 10 to 90 PSI with 1200 pulses per minute
- Removes debris and bacteria lodged deep between teeth and below the gum-line
- Significant oral health benefit for people who wear braces, have diabetes, and gum disease
- Includes 6 color-coded tips

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Toothbrush Sanitizers

Sunbeam UV Counter Top Unit Sanitizer

- Kills 99% of E Coli, Streptococcus and Salmonella germs
- Sanitizes in just 8 minutes
- Effective UV lamp never needs replacing
- Operates with an AC adapter
- Safe enough for children to use

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One of the many advantages of email newsletters is being able to build your relationship with your customers. Email newsletters also help contribute to your practice’s branding efforts and promote awareness. At the same time, these newsletters are immensely helpful in the improvement of your practice’s customer service, and add value to purchases and registrations. And there are more benefits that one can give out. But just like any other marketing tool, there are a lot of things that can equally go wrong with your email marketing campaign.

Newsletters vs. Promotions

Some marketers do not know the difference between an email newsletter and an email promotion. An email promotion is action-oriented in that they are designed to motivate a person to do something like click a link, sign up, make a purchase or visit your physical store. This can be done with the help of discounts or coupons.

On the other hand, email newsletters may contain a few action-related elements but the real reason for sending these newsletters is to build a long-term relationship with the readers. These newsletters do not ask or motivate patients to do something. However, newsletters help to build trust and credibility so that the reader will be much more willing to take action in the future.

Basically, a promotion tells you to a buy a new desk chair but a newsletter gives out the benefits of having a desk chair.

Publisher-centric

There are a lot of things that can influence subscriber loyalty but the most important factor is content, valuable content at that. The content which you include in your newsletter should not just be useful but also timely and relevant. An effective newsletter should deliver interesting information to the right people at the right time.

There are a lot of newsletters that are filled with so much announcements, staff products, services, etc. These things may fit perfectly fine in your newsletter if your readers are interested in your business the same way that the owner and employees are. But chances are that your readers won’t be.

It is more likely that your readers are interested to know the solutions for industry-related problems and content of that sort. This is why you should integrate such kind of informative content instead if your want to keep your newsletter’s subscribership high and keep readers entertained.

Using the wrong success metrics

Most of the metrics used to judge the success of newsletters are wrong. It can be extremely difficult to calculate a newsletter ROI because newsletter costs are immediate while the benefits are long term. This is why one way to measure revenue is to measure the revenue before and after prospects subscribed to your newsletter.

Your Thoughts

Have you discovered additional e-mail marketing mistakes that you’ve made or seen others make? Please leave them in a comment below.

The holidays are here and when reading this, you will feel inspired to offer holiday gifts for patients to purchase and give their friends and family. What a great way to share the good word about your dental practice and give the gift of optimal oral health! This is also a great way to add another income stream before this year ends.

When I speak about dentistry now, I say things like, “It changes as fast as the speed of light,” or “If you miss that annual meeting, you miss the turn of the century!” Trends change so quickly in the field of dentistry, so let me fill you in on the latest change that can really boost your bottom line:
New ways to think about promoting your practice.”

Holiday Gifts Increase Sales & Promote the Practice

Imagine the ability to reinforce prevention with your patients and market your practice on a regular basis. This is an open opportunity to all of us in the field of dentistry…if we change our old paradigm about self-promotion and sales.

When I think about my early days as a dental professional, I remember when the ADA spoke of the “undignified” practice of advertising. The belief that no practice should stoop to advertising was a solid mass in most minds who stepped foot in a dental office. Never did I hear phrases like, “Dentistry is a business.” Times have changed, however, and in order to financially thrive, we must start thinking in a business mindset. Here are a couple pointers to get you started and get your practice pointed in a profitable direction.

Don’t Be Afraid to Try New Promotional Activities

Successful businesses seek more business, and so should you. Back in the day, it was taboo to solicit referrals. Today, however, we no longer need to feel uncomfortable asking our patients and friends for referrals. There are many ways to do this without feeling awkward or pushy. For example, your auxiliaries and of course the doctor, can simply say to patients upon their checkout, “be sure to tell your friends about us!” Another idea is to develop a referral rewards system. Perhaps you have a stack of business cards in the waiting room that say, “Refer a friend and receive 20% off your next home care products purchase from our office. Have you checked into any of the new patient referral programs? — for example: Loyal Patients, Inc.

That leads me to my next point: selling oral care products. When analyzing the success of your business you must learn where the profit centers lie — and where you can build new profit centers. This is a proactive step in any business. One main profit center today in dentistry is home care products, and lots of dental practices are missing out because of old habits.

I specifically remember a dentist I worked for saying, “I don’t have a pharmacy in my dental office!” Think about it, though: Do we want our patients to go to their local drug store to buy the least expensive toothbrush or the mouth rinse that is on sale this week, when we could have offered them a better product AND contributed to our own bottom line? In the practice I worked where the dentist refused to have a “pharmacy,” I took note that 2/3rds of my patients never did get that prescription for Gel Kam filled at their local pharmacy. (Now that is sold over-the-counter in many areas.)

You’re a Business First

Yes, times have changed, and on top of viewing ourselves more and more as business people, we must foster a preventive patient-centered dental practice, that offers patients more options for maintaining oral health. We want to be certain that patients receive the best procedures, products, and services. We also want to promote an atmosphere where team members are encouraged to grow and build a rewarding career — and that’s a lot easier when the purse strings aren’t so tight.

Recently, a team member of Dental Practice Solutions and I, analyzed the amount of money added to a dental practice’ profits when they have these prevention products available for purchase in the dental office. These can contribute easily to an added $30,000USD annually, to your dental practice. The best part: selling home care products requires a very small upfront investment, and the return is quick and very easily done by everyone on the team participating.

Sample Gift Package

You can get creative, too. For example, group together a Waterpik
™, power toothbrush, toothpaste, mouth rinse, tongue cleaner, and floss. Then, wrap in beautiful packaging, and promote as a gift pack around special holidays. This is just one more opportunity to add that personal touch.

Not only are patients going to be asking for refills on the products they use when they come in for their dental visits, but imagine these same people coming by your office to buy a beautifully wrapped gift for someone they love in the month of November, December and even the day of Love; February 14th. Be sure to put your dental practice’s business card in every packaged gift.

Gift packs are not only a wonderful way to keep your patients healthy but also for them to share the good word and have a reason to return to your office. So now, we’ve made a complete circle back to the topic of referrals. In this case, you can let your oral care gift packages do the referring for you!

We are the oral care experts, so why wouldn’t we want our patients to come to us for the expert advice about the products and care that can help them live a longer and healthier life?

Your Thoughts

Will you offer home care products to your patients during this holiday season? If so, have you done this in the past? What were your results? If not, tell us why in a comment below.

We’ll defer to Wikipedia for the background definition:

Local search is the use of specialized Internet search engines that allow users to submit geographically constrained searches against a structured database of local business listings.

Typical local search queries include not only information about “what” the site visitor is searching for (such as keywords, a business category, or the name of a consumer product) but also “where” information, such as a street address, city name, postal code, or geographic coordinates like latitude and longitude.

A search that references a product or service that is typically consumed locally, such as “restaurant” or “nail salon”, is an implicit local search. (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_search_(Internet))

Now that’s just from the Internet info giant Wikipedia, and it not so succinctly sums up the definition of ‘local search’ for all of us who are used to typing in some keywords and getting answers to our questions. By all means do some more research, but wait ‘til you’re finished reading this article -your practice is worth it.

With regards to dental practice marketing specifically, local search equates to having a highly visible and properly administered digital practice footprint within the localized environments of the Big 3 search engines.

You need to confirm and control your office listings, or else. Maybe ‘or else’ even if you do control your local listings, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.

Where Can We Witness this Local Search Phenomenon?

Basically we’re talking about the local areas of the search engine results pages (SERPS), complete with map listings, website links, special offers, social links, other business info – and more. Formally (and for now) these local sections of the search engines results pages are: Yahoo Local, Bing Local, and Google Places – we can now add MapQuest to the list too. These local areas allow you to communicate practice information in a totally new and highly visible environment.

The search engines are determining where we’re searching from, geographically, and providing relevant results within these local centers prominent on the first page of most search results.

MapQuest is another area to plant your digital practice footprint and solidify your geolocation as it relates to the internet. That’s all we need to discuss for now, we can get into geo sitemaps and schema compliant files when you need something to help you sleep…or drive you batty.

And keep in mind, this localized directive is all in addition to any existing search engine marketing (SEM), optimization (SEO), e-commerce, or website advertising efforts. When people in your area search online for dental products or services, you want to make sure that you are adequately complementing existing practice marketing with an emphasis on local search optimization.

But again, I digress.

The search engines determine the lay of the land, you just need to provide them with the most trustful, resourceful, relevant, and recent content in order to successfully navigate your dental practice digital visibility course.

What’s the Point, Hooks and Lines?

It starts with your location, and your name, address, and phone number (NAP). This foundational elemental practice info needs to be properly communicated within these local search engine environments. Odds are we’d all be very surprised by the amount of unconfirmed and inaccurate local search listings out there right now.
But that’s only a peek inside Pandora’s Box of local search optimization. We’re at a place where information is at our fingertips, no longer do we let our fingers do the walking – unless it’s across the keyboard.

For younger generations, and the majority of us before the next President is up for re-election, we’re searching online from mobile phones, iPad 2s, Xooms, or PlayBooks…you get the point. We’ve even taken word of mouth online and local; patients are using Facebook petitioning family and friends for dentist referrals!
Speaking social and local, have you used Facebook Places or Foursquare yet?

Can you see how both of these ‘social local’ environments can benefit your dental practice?

It all starts with a solid foundation. Confirmed and controlled practice listings within these primary local search engine environments are the foundation of optimizing, and leveraging, local search visibility for your dental practice.

What Now

But what happens when everyone controls and confirms their practice listing, then what? Are you ready to dive in? In Part II of this post, we’ll dive into some juicy local search tips for your dental practice! You won’t want to miss it.

Your Thoughts

Is your practice leveraging the power of local search? How has this impacted your business?

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of DentalHeroes.com.

Both of my parents are dentists and I joined them in practice about five years ago. Growing up in and around the dental practice, I always heard stories about Delta Dental and how they were founded by dentists for dentists in 1954. My parents and their dental friends also spoke about Delta Dental being the gold standard for dental insurance. However, I think dentists’ outlook on Delta is beginning to change. In my opinion, here’s why:

1. On June 15, 2011, Washington Dental Service (also know as Delta Dental of Washington) lowered all of the reimbursement rates for dentists in the state of Washington. The Premier fees were lowered by 15% and the PPO fees were decreased by 5%.

2. In the early part of 2011, Delta Dental of California froze all reimbursement rates at their current levels. Unfortunately, they did not officially announce the freeze until they sent a letter dated August 9, 2011, that stated the freeze was lifted. At our office, we submitted our fees a few days later. The results were bleak. Delta raised two or three of our procedures by $1. The rest of the fees stayed the same.

3. Within the past couple of weeks, news has trickled out from the CDA that Delta is now implementing a policy called contract adhesion. They are requiring all dentists who want to enroll in Delta Premier to also enroll in Delta PPO. As of right now, this is not affecting existing Premier-only contracted dentists. I have a hunch that might change in the future.

4. The latest actions by Delta are effective on November 1, 2011. According to ADA News, “Delta Dental of Idaho is cutting preferred provider organization reimbursement fees to dentist on regional basis by an average of 8 percent.”

Some Perspective

From Delta Dental’s prospective, I understand that they need to offer competitive rates on their policies so companies choose them over a different company. If they don’t, they won’t stay in business. In fact, Delta did state just that in their letter to California member dentists on August 9th. It explained that a majority, if not all of the policies they were selling were the PPO and they were trying to make the premier more competitive by implementing the freeze.

Have a Little Respect

However, it would be nice of Delta to treat their dental providers with respect. I think it alienates a lot of treating dentists when they announce that there was a freeze in their fees at the exact same time they announce that the fees are unfrozen. To follow that up with a fee raise of $1 on 2-3 fees makes their actions awfully suspicious.

I understand the economy is struggling and each dentist can choose to contract or not contract with each insurance company. Each provider needs to do what is best for their own individual practice. Likewise, Delta has that right to do what’s best for its business. Most dentists would say that they are the largest private dental insurer in the country; they are already the most competitive. However, I believe there is an additional reason why Delta is taking additional steps to be more competitive, even if it starts to alienate dentists.

Most dentists do not realize that the Healthcare Reform Act is going to have an affect on the field of dentistry. The law requires all medical insurances to cover dental services for children under the age of 21. I think this is great. It gives children access to dental services, and it is definitely needed. According to the National Institute of Dental and Cranial Research, 51% of 6-11 year olds have or had a cavity in their primary teeth.

From Delta’s point of view, they have a major reason to be concerned. First, they will be losing all of their customers under the age of 21. Delta Dental is one of the few stand-alone dental insurance companies. Most insurance companies have a medical insurance side to their businesses (ex. Aetna, Cigna, and MetLife). Someone from the CDA also mentioned this key point. If you are a medical insurance company and you are already providing dental coverage to the children in a family, wouldn’t you also offer the same dental coverage to the parents? It makes the companies with medical insurance and a dental insurance component more competitive. Delta is then standing on the sidelines losing their customer base.

There are going to be a lot of changes in the dental industry over the next few years. Some people think dentistry will become like medicine and become 100% insurance-based. Others think companies will start dropping medical coverage and dentistry will be primarily fee for service. I think only time will tell.

Your Thoughts

Do you have any thoughts regarding Jonathan’s understanding of Delta’s recent moves? Please leave your thoughts in a comment below.

When you are running a small dental practice, it can be very difficult for you to create awareness about your practice with little or no budget at all. In order for you to grow your practice and gain more patients, you need to factor in new competitors who may have a more aggressive campaign than you, lack of marketing, poor reputation and overall scarceness of resources. All of these things can hinder the growth of your practice and may even lead to the decline in the number of your patients.

As a dentist, being responsible for taking care of the dental health of your patients at the same time having to take care of your practice’s marketing campaign is a no non-sense job. In order to help you out with this daunting task, here are a few inexpensive ways for you to spread awareness regarding your practice.

1. Contribute to Local Homeowner’s Association

Tie up with local homeowners’ associations and offer to write articles or tips to them. These associations often have community bulletins or newsletters which are often running low on material. You can offer to write a couple of articles for them weekly or give talks regarding dental health. You’re not only creating awareness for your practice but you are also building trust and confidence among your prospective patients.

2. Contribute to Local Chamber of Commerce

You can also approach local chambers of commerce and offer to provide education information to the small businesses in your community. You can talk about occupational situations wherein these employees’ dental safety is at stake.

3. Run Inexpensive Local Paper Ads

Try running inexpensive advertisements in your local community paper. You can also offer to write articles or have advertorials, a mix between advertisements and editorials.

4. Befriend Local Realtors

Make friends with the realtors in your community and target new families who are moving into your community. Chances are that these newly transferred families do not have a dentist in their new area yet. You can ask realtors to refer you to these families and individuals when they are in the process of buying a new house. You can provide brochures or business cards for these realtors to give out.

5. Participate in an “Ask Dr. X” Column in Local Paper

Persuade your local newspaper to come up with a “health” section to their website. You can show your support by being available for interviews or questions should any healthcare related queries suddenly come up. You can also provide tips to readers who send in their questions or run a column.

Your Ideas

These ideas are just scratching the surface. Do you have additional low-cost methods of raising awareness for dental practices? Please share in a comment below.

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The following is Part II of yesterday’s post by Debbie Siedel-Bittke titled, “You Decide: Prophylaxis of Periodontal Maintenance.”

Periodontal Maintenance vs. Prophylaxis

The Prophylaxis Appointment (CDT Code D1110 prophylaxis) is only for patients who exhibit healthy gingiva. They have a healthy periodontium. The Prophylaxis (CDT code D1110) definition says “the removal of plaque, calculus, and stains from the tooth structures in the permanent and transitional dentition. It is intended to control local irritational factors.”

The Periodontal Maintenance (CDT Code D4910 periodontal maintenance) is a post-therapeutic procedure used to maintain the healthy results of periodontal therapy, not to prevent disease in healthy patients. The Periodontal Maintenance (CDT code 4910) definition states: “It can only be used “following periodontal therapy and continues at varying intervals … includes removal of the bacterial plaque and calculus from supragingival and subgingival regions, site-specific scaling and root planing where indicated, and polishing the teeth.”

The Periodontal Maintenance appointment is to be used following Phase I – definitive periodontal therapy and for an indefinite time, determined by the patient’s progress over time to achieve stability and the absence of the signs and symptoms of disease. Periodontal maintenance patients who have poor oral hygiene, smoke, exhibit bone loss and/or excessive bleeding, have not achieved an acceptable level of stability and in addition, have various immune deficiencies such as Rheumatoid Arthritis, Diabetes, Arteriosclerosis, etc., etc. When these patients continue to return for dental hygiene appointments and these disease challenges persist they will need to be referred for a consultation by a periodontist.

What are the specific differences between a periodontal maintenance procedure and. a regular prophylaxis? Periodontal maintenance procedures include a predominance of power scaling with thin inserts to access and debride the depths of periodontal pockets. Think scaling SMART not hard! Your patient may need localized areas of local anesthesia. The goal of this appointment is thorough debridement of pathogens that have repopulated in the sulcus. Periodontal pathogens reside in the sulcus and on the plaque and calculus. Biofilm is always present on the root in the presence of calculus or no calculus. Annually, a comprehensive periodontal exam is mandatory. (Six-point periodontal probing is necessary in order to reassess changes that have occurred in pocket depths.) A pre-procedural rinse and irrigation post-procedural with an appropriate antimicrobial, such as Povidone-iodine or Chlorhexidine, is the Gold Standard. You may need to apply desensitizing agents, such as Colgate’s Pro-Relief™, with a rubber cup if your patient has sensitivity and/or exposed root surfaces. If you have a fluoride varnish you can easily apply this for immediate relief from any root sensitivity. There are numerous choices for today’s sensitive dental hygiene patient. Always polish with low-abrasion pumice and/or pastes if your patient has exposed root surfaces. This is often the case for periodontal patients.

Communicating the difference

One way to explain to patients when they need to understand the difference between Prophy and Periodontal Maintenance is to say this: “Your gums are not healthy and this can also affect your total health. Usually, your dental hygiene appointment is only a preventive therapy but today I will need to treat areas of disease. I am recommending that we do something different today. Today I (fill in the blank with your own plan) will let the patient know if you will do a gross debridement, scale and root plan an area, etc.” Ask the patient if they have any questions and find out if they have objections and why. It is at this point in time you will need to address financial issues.
For some patients the most challenging part is the finances. It is well known that most people will buy what they want. This is when you have effective communication skills that you can overcome the financial barriers to accepting non-surgical periodontal care. Most people will find the money when they understand they will live a longer and healthier life!

When patients still don’t comprehend the importance of optimal oral health in relationship to their total overall health, try to explain that you are not providing appropriate treatment with only a prophylaxis appointment. Patients also need to understand they are not there to get their teeth “cleaned”. Dental hygienists are in the business of preventing disease.

One more way to communicate the importance of more than a prophylaxis is to show the patient radiographs of their teeth, the surrounding bone and/or intraoral photographs of the diseased areas, bleeding staining, plaque, calculus, etc. Show them actual tooth mobility if it exists. A loose tooth is not a pretty sight to see!

Some computerized patient management software programs, stand-alone devices and programs, such as the DENTRIX periodontal chart where you can color code areas with different colors, (Red for BOP, green for mobility, etc.) Dental R.A.T.® and PerioPal®, also produce impressive probing charts. Even giving the patient a hand mirror and showing him/her how his/her gums are bleeding can be a powerful, emotional tool. The main point here is that the independent authority has to be highly visual and vivid to counter the emotional belief that they’re being cheated. Some patients will believe “It’s all about the almighty dollar”, when in reality we are in the business to provide optimal health.

It is becoming more common to have Physicians gather systemic information with lab tests, and dentists are beginning to use lab tests as well. Four outside labs have periodontal tests: two are culturing services – Oral Microbiology Testing Service (OMTS) and Oral Microbiology Testing Lab (OMTL). The other two are DNA tests: OralDNA Labs® and micro-IDent®plus. All four tests can detect pathogens that are associated with periodontal disease. There is also a third-party statistical test, PreViser™ based on clinical findings that estimate the likelihood of periodontal disease. In addition to these outside tests, there are two microbiological tests that can be used chair side. BANA™ is an enzymatic test for periodontal pathogens, and the other is a video microscopy test called BioScan™.Any of these above listed tests can provide the type of important information dental practices and patients may consider prudent.

Final Thoughts

The dental hygienist has two important roles. The first role is to determine which type of periodic preventive care is needed, by each individual patient. It is the role of a healthcare provider to educate and communicate to patients exactly what type of care is appropriate for their overall health. Education is the second role.

We are not talking about the almighty dollar. We are concerned about our patients overall health. When you understand and communicate the difference between health and disease. Prevention and treatment, you are providing optimal care.

Disease means Periodontal Maintenance for life. Prophylaxis means the patient is healthy and there is little plaque, calculus and no bleeding.

Sources
1. www.perio.org September 2003 Issue
2. www.perio.org

All throughout the day, we treat them one by one. Each individual patient is treated in a different way. This is our standard of care. Will you agree with this statement? If you don’t agree, then let’s make a “Red Letter Day”- – today!

What is the difference between a Prophy and a Periodontal Maintenance?

Are you scaling more than twenty minutes during a regular continuing care appointment? If you are then it is probably more than just a Prophy.

Periodontal Maintenance

When a patient completes phase one treatment for non-surgical periodontal therapy, they are now and forever considered a “Periodontal Patient”. If you have Diabetes or high blood pressure, you will always be evaluated by your doctor to prevent progression of the disease. A patient diagnosed with cancer, high blood pressure and/ or Diabetes, doesn’t just get treated and then never see their doctor for regular preventive measures. This is the same protocol for patients diagnosed with Periodontal Disease.

One reason hygienists may choose to eliminate the periodontal maintenance appointment is for financial reasons. In the United States and other countries a billing code is used and more money is charged for the service. In the United States code D4910 (Periodontal Maintenance after scaling and root planing has been completed.) is a much higher fee than the fee for code D1110 (Prophylaxis. This means no disease is present.) The other reason dental professionals do not provide the periodontal maintenance appointment or bill appropriately is that many third-party payers do not cover the periodontal maintenance appointment at frequent intervals. (Example: Less than six months interval.)

When we understand the research regarding periodontal pathogens we will understand how to communicate to our patients “Why” they need to return in most likely twelve weeks. The research, the science, reports that periodontal pathogens will repopulate a healthy and recently scaled sulcus as early as nine to twelve weeks, post maintenance.1 A patient can brush and floss all day long and this may not be enough to remove the periodontal pathogens. These pathogens are what will cause tooth loss in periodontal patients.

Following a 10-year study, researchers found that patients who received regular periodontal maintenance had significantly reduced probing depths and lost fewer teeth than patients who did not have periodontal maintenance procedures. Here are the arguments to use regarding regular twelve week periodontal maintenance for your periodontal patients. This is the information to communicate to patients. It is our role as a healthcare provider to read the research, know the science, and share it with everyone who needs to know.

It still happens each day in many dental hygiene treatment rooms throughout the world. No matter how much time is spent removing plaque and calculus, the office still charges the same fee for what are actually a different procedure and a different diagnosis. The problem that is seen most likely is that the hygienist is not individually assessing patients for periodontal disease. The other problem is that the hygienist will do an assessment but there may be a lot more calculus present than is considered a regular prophylaxis procedure. If it has been awhile and if you live in the United States, look at the CDT Codes and read the description for D1110. No matter where you live, review the billing code description. Exactly what type of plaque and calculus does this billing code refer to? Does the code say this is a procedure for a preventive or a disease state? Read this description and see for yourself that (For example, in the United States) CDT Code D1110 refers to a healthy dentition, small amounts of plaque and calculus. If you are spending more than twenty minutes scaling, then you are not adequately treating this patient. Scaling calculus for more than twenty minutes is not the description of a prophylaxis. In the presence of moderate to heavy calculus you have more than a CDT Code D1110. (The Prophylaxis code for insurance billing purposes in the United States.)

No one wants to spend more money! People will pay for what they want not always what they need. It is our job as a healthcare professional to be an advocate for prevention. We need to share the research and the science behind the disease and how to prevent it, with our patients. We are the experts and we want to be an advocate of optimal oral health for our patients. We have a responsibility to spread the word that without good oral health a person will not have a healthy body.
“Working as a team of healthcare professionals, we can conquer the disease process. Together we can make a difference in our world!

Can you effectively explain to your patients why they need to return for non-surgical periodontal treatment? Do you know what to say when a patient returns with heavy calculus? What do you say when the patient had scaling and root planing last year and returned today with a 6-mm pocket? That pocket was there prior to scaling and root planing a year ago but what do you say when it occurs again at the periodontal maintenance appointment?

Tell Your Patients the Truth

You told your patient about the research and science behind the disease and you also need to tell them that periodontal disease is episodic. The disease process can and will most likely return at some point. This is why your patients need to continue coming back every twelve weeks, (or at frequent and the appropriate intervals.) even if they seem healthy for many years after the scaling and root planing is completed.

As mentioned previously, when a patient has Diabetes or high blood pressure, the doctor will ask the patient to be examined frequently because the disease is likely to return. Today, it is all about prevention. Prevention needs to be your message to the patient. When there is a new area of bleeding upon probing (BOP) or a new 5-mm pocket, now is the time to sit the patient upright in the chair and discuss early intervention. This will most likely mean prevention in the future. In dentistry today, during the twenty first century, we no longer “wait and watch”. Waiting is not the standard of care. What are your “waiting” for?

Look for part II of this post tomorrow…

What to look for in Part II tomorrow

In part II of this post, we’ll learn the difference between Prophylaxis and Periodontal Maintenance. We’ll then discover an effective way of communicating the difference to our patients. We’ll see you tomorrow!

With the recession in full swing, it has become increasingly more difficult for dentists to increase the number of patients which they are serving. But the need for dentists won’t be extinguished just because of the present economic woes. There will still be a need for dentists to fix broken or chipped tooth, do root canals and whiten our pearly whites. It’s just that patients aren’t as willing to opt for dental procedures unless if circumstances really warrant them. And when they do decide to have something done, they are more wary over which dentist they would entrust the job to.

Because of the way that patients have evolved, there is greater need for dentists to impress them. To do this, every dental practice should have a concept of what the ideal patient experience is. Remember that patients are not just after dentists who are the most skilled and the most qualified, although they do consider these factors. However, they’re also after an experience which they are sure to never forget. Here are a few things to be on a lookout for when creating that patient experience.

The Phone

Never ever underestimate the power of the first impression. If you are on a campaign to blow the socks off of your patients’ feet, then it’s always a good thing for you to make a first impression which they will never forget. Most patients reach out to the practice which they are considering by using the phone. So make sure that your front office worker knows exactly what to say when a prospective patient calls. You can hand over a script if necessary. It’s always a good thing to have someone from your staff call up your patient before the initial visit as well just as a form of reminder and a show of your eagerness to cater to them.

The First Visit

After you have managed to get a prospect to visit your clinic through the phone, it’s time for you to put your best foot forward. Try to place yourself in the position of your patient in order for you to come up with an idea of what they want to see or experience when first stepping into your office. Evaluate the physical state of your reception area and front desk. Do you think that you have an inviting enough space? How about your office and your clinic? You’ll be spending a good amount of time with your patient in that part of the office, explaining to them your diagnosis and proposing treatment plans, so make sure that your space doesn’t scare off patients.

The Case Presentation

You’ve met with your patient, found out what’s wrong with them, and now you’re ready to propose to them a treatment plan. Try to build strong rapport with your patient to facilitate an open, comfortable flow of conversation. Make sure to discover the things which your patients value and regard as important. And then present your treatment plan in a manner which would appeal to their sensibilities. Get your patients to make a verbal commitment and then congratulate them on their decision to value their dental health.

Your Tips

We’re of course just scratching the surface here. Do you have some tips you’d like to add? Please leave them in a comment below.

Nevertheless, the people find elective dental procedures like tooth whitening unaffordable, which results in the negligence towards timely treatment. The upcoming trend to visit other countries for treatment has discovered a new term called “Dental Tourism”. Let’s know about the 10 most visited places by the dental patients.

1. Hungary

Hungary is a prime European destination for dental patients. It offers high quality treatment with the world’s best dentists, and state of the art facilities.

2. Turkey

Turkey has emerged as an affordable place to get treatment of your dental problems. Also famous as dental tourism destination, here you can discover the cultural treasure of Turkey whilst getting a dental procedure done.

3. Czech Republic

Get dental care for an affordable price, right at the center of the significant Prague. You can reach here by choosing the low-cost-carrier airlines that are the best option to fly here.

4. Spain

Also famous as one of the cheapest destinations for dental curing, Spain offers best-in-class services in the dental treatment area. The economy of Spain is going through severe deflation and hence you can get your problems treated within your budget.

5. Costa Rica

Costa Rica is renowned for its warm and friendly people. Enjoy the natural beauty of this place while getting treated by the trained and experienced dentists.

6. Philippines

The Philippines with its exotic tropical landscapes, outstanding cost-effective dentistry and renowned hospitality is the right place for dental tourists.

7. Mexico

A best alternative for dental treatments and it is only a short-drive away; along with excellent care they offer the best discounted prices too.

8. Poland

Poland is the most picturesque dental tourism destination in the world. It offers world class dental care services. You can reach there by choosing either air or train route from Western Europe and Scandinavia.

9. Dubai

A city tailored to cater luxuriously to the needs of dental tourists. The luxurious yet highly expertise care of Middle East even helps you to save great amounts.

10. Thailand

Find some of the largest and most up-to-date dental hospitals here. This tropical locale lures thousands of dental tourists to be treated by expert dentists. Clinics involved in dental treatment regularly form partnerships with hotels which offer discounted rates to their patients.

About the author: Rebecca is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on fashion and luxury. Beside this she is nature lover and is reading a book on green homes. She frequently contributes articles on parenthood for her blog parenting clan.

1. Brush twice a day after meals

Teaching yourself and your kids to brush in a proper manner can go a long way to keep teeth in good health. Develop a habit of brushing each part of your teeth at least for a count of ten brush strokes. First start with the outer surfaces of your upper teeth. Then go on to the outer surfaces of your lower teeth. Do the same for the inner surfaces. Finally, brush along the chewing surfaces of your teeth. Remember to brush along the gum line, the place where the gum joins the teeth. Keep your brushes at a 45 degree angle to the gum line with your toothbrush bristles pointing towards the teeth. It takes about two to five minutes to properly brush all your teeth. One simple way of ensuring that you or the kids brush for an adequate amount of time is to make it a habit to do it for the duration of one whole song on your music player.

2. Floss regularly

Our mouths are filled at all times with bacteria that are looking for places where they can deposit themselves and form a colony. One of the places that don’t get addressed by mere brushing is between the teeth. This is also where stuff like jam or peanut butter goes and deposits itself making these nooks and crannies all the more attractive to bacteria. Make sure that you floss on a daily basis to clean out these hard to reach places between your teeth.

3. Use mouthwash

Antibacterial mouthwash can help fight bacterial build up in your mouth to a very large extent. Fluoride based mouthwashes also help in strengthening the teeth. The best time to rinse your mouth with mouthwash is just before going to bed, as it will protect your teeth and mouth all through the night. Make sure you teach the children how to rinse their mouth with mouthwash without swallowing it.

4. Schedule a visit to the dentist

Summers are fun time. You may want to put off a dentist visit till later, but it is better that you schedule a visit now. Any potential damage that can be detected early will be helpful in preserving the lifelong health of your teeth. Cavities or plaque build-up that is left unattended can develop into serious problems. It is recommended that you have a thorough dental checkup once every six months.

Learning about the basics of oral and dental hygiene can help you and the kids to cope with the
indulgences of the summer months without putting your teeth at risk. Avoid snacking, brush after meals, and rinse your mouth with water every time you eat or drink something. Floss regularly, rinse with mouthwash at bedtime, and schedule regular visits with your dentist. Maintaining the health of your teeth is easy if you develop these simple habits of dental hygiene.

About the author: Rebecca is a blogger by profession. She loves writing on topics related to parenting and natural beauty. Beside this she is working on an article on easy weight loss tips.

In Part 1 of Communication Tips You Must Know to Improve Case Acceptance, we talked about the advances in technology and our knowledge of the current evidence-based science, regarding the oral health and systemic health link.

We understand that dental hygienists have a huge impact on communication and patients’ acceptance to a treatment plan. It is crucial to guide patients to have a healthy body and in return, we are adding value to the services we provide and this will in return increase the dental practice profits.

Critical components for patient case acceptance:

1. Rapport: The patient connection.
2. Visuals: Most people are visual learners. Have these ready to use at each appointment.
3. The words we use.
4. The questions we ask . (Open-ended questions.)
5. Review, repetition and closure with the patient.

Case acceptance is critical for clinical results and the success of all dental practices.
Without patients accepting the treatment plan we cannot provide optimal care and your dental business will not survive and thrive. When we communicate with our patients, it is valuable to ask open-ended questions. Without asking open-ended questions, our patients will be answering yes or no to our questions. We can learn a lot more about our patients needs when we ask questions that cannot be answered with just a yes or no.

Time is a big concern during the hygiene appointment and asking open-ended questions will allow us to communicate the important facts quickly. In Part 2 we will give examples of critical communication for patient case acceptance.

Example of an Open-Ended Conversation:

RDH: “Mr. Jones, Can you see the brown line and discoloration around this composite filling?”
Mr. Jones: “Yes, I can see this.”

RDH: “How do you feel about these dark discolored areas on your front tooth?”
Mr. Jones: “I have never noticed this before you mentioned it today. I don’t like my teeth not being white. What does the discolored area mean for my tooth?”

RDH: “This means there are open areas around this filling. I see from your chart, this restoration was preformed about 15 years ago. There are toxins, bacteria or poisons that will creep under the filling and cause destruction of the tooth. Do you see the small amounts of food trapped in this area?”
Mr. Jones: “Yes, I do see the food trapped there.”

RDH: “The bacteria that creep into this area on the tooth can also get into your blood stream and contribute to disease. This can affect your immune system.” Does this make sense to you?”
Mr. Jones: “Yes, that does make sense. I have never thought about it in this way.”

RDH: “What are your thoughts about restoring this tooth, returning it to a healthy status?”
Mr. Jones: “Well, yes, of course I want to be healthy. How can you do this?”

RDH: “Mr. Jones, the first thing I would like to talk about is your discolored tooth in the front of your mouth. I know you have never noticed this before today and with a new restoration, we can remove the bacteria, which causes oral disease and more destruction on your tooth. The bacteria will get into your blood stream if not removed. The way we fix this tooth for you is to very easily remove the darkened, stained enamel from the tooth and replace it with a new tooth colored material. Of course, all the recommendations for treatment I am going to make will be dependent on your budget. I know that the economy has also affected how you are spending money at this time. The doctor will look closely to make sure all the recommendations make sense for you and what is happening in your life at this time.”

This is the time to take out the brochure regarding restorative treatment. (Circle, highlight or underline the areas which pertain to the patient.)

RDH: “What are your thoughts about this treatment recommendation? Does this information make sense?”
Mr. Jones: “Yes, it does make sense. Although money is tight, I still want to have the healthiest mouth and body as possible. I would like to think about ways I can pay to have this treatment completed.”

RDH: “I can have Mary, our financial coordinator, discuss payment options with you. The second area I can help you with is your dry mouth. I noticed that you circled this on your medical history. This is most likely due to the medication you are taking for high blood pressure. Today, I will show you a few products, which will relieve this situation very easily.”
“Is this something that you will use at home?”
Mr. Jones: “Yes, I definitely want to know more about these products today.” “I don’t want to leave without asking Mary about the financial options you can offer.”

RDH: “I will show these products to you after the doctor completes your exam today. The other area I want to address is the bleeding gums and the areas, which measure 5mms. I completed a periodontal screening exam and I want to review my findings with you at this time.” (At this time if you have an electronic chart, put the perio chart up on the monitor and review with the patient. Also, bring out the periodontal brochures and outline, highlight or circle important areas that relate to the patient.)
“Your oral health is related to your overall health. We need to remove the bacteria causing the periodontal disease. You may have heard about gum disease before today. Some of the factors which can contribute to periodontal disease are stress and various systemic diseases such as your high blood pressure. I am recommending that you return for four appointments to scale and root plane these areas. I will place a chemotherapeutic agent called Arestin in the areas, which measure 5mms. This is similar to what you know as Tetracycline. This is a sub-dose of Tetracycline and will work only on the enzymes, which are causing the inflammation, bleeding and disease process. After the four appointments are complete, you will return four – six weeks later to re-evaluate these areas and make certain they are healthy. Usually with this treatment and the use of chemotherapeutics at this early stage, we can halt the progression of periodontal disease. I will also recommend that you return every three months for supportive therapy to prevent further disease. Does this make sense to you?”
Mr. Jones: “I think it does. I have been hit hard from the economy these past two years and it has caused a lot of stress. My daughter is getting married which adds to the financial problems and my stress. Are you telling me that if I don’t have this gum treatment for the periodontal disease, that I can lose my teeth?”

RDH: “Yes, that is correct. Usually this is a slow disease process but without the treatment, scaling and root planing, the disease process is likely to progress. The scaling and root planing will also help establish good health around that tooth before the doctor provides you with a new restoration or filling in that front tooth. The end result with a new filling is very positive once your gums are healthy. The doctor can add a much better restoration when the gums are healthy.” “I know you have your daughters wedding in a few months so maybe you want your smile to be the very best possible for this big event. Before doctor comes in to do the final examination and make the diagnosis, I want to show you some photos of patients with a similar situation as yours. In our computer, I have some photos of patients who had the same type of slight bleeding and redness around their gumline. (Now have photos of patients before and after scaling and root planing on the monitor) They completed the scaling and root planing and as you can see in this photo here, the patient now has gums that are a light coral pink color. How much difference do you see in the patients’ gums from the beginning to the end of treatment? Can you see a difference between these photos? Do you notice something is different?”
Mr. Jones: “Okay, I see, the teeth and gums look a lot better in this photo on the right. I understand what you mean about improving my oral health. That second photo doesn’t have any blood around the gumline. The front teeth on this patient are also much whiter. I have never even noticed this discoloration or bleeding before today. I never noticed those brown areas around that old filling and I definitely didn’t think anything about a little bleeding on my gums every once in awhile.”

RDH: “Our dental assistant Marcie had an old filling completed for the first time about twenty five years ago, before we had these great materials to restore teeth. The filling was redone few times over the past twenty-five years and last year doctor completed a veneer on this tooth. Doctor also whitened her teeth so they would all be much whiter. This is something very similar to what doctor can do for your teeth. Of course, this is only if you decide to have something more permanent completed on that tooth. It is very simple to complete and not much of your tooth will be taken away, contrary to having a crown placed.”
“I wanted to show you what we did to her tooth because we work for an amazing doctor who can make everyone’s teeth look better than ever. I wanted to show you this other type of treatment because it is longer lasting and all your teeth will look much whiter. Dr. Carter takes us to a lot of excellent educational courses and we just learned about a new procedure which can really make your smile look good for your daughters wedding!”
“Mr. Jones, we have talked about many things today. I want to make sure you are comfortable with your care. What questions do you have for me?”
Mr. Jones: The photo of the tooth after she had the veneer placed looks fantastic! I really like how natural it looks. How long will the restoration last?”

RDH: “With proper home care, the veneers can last over twenty-five years.”
I believe that doctor may want to discuss these various treatments with you at another consultation appointment. If you are interested in having all the teeth look great in the front of your mouth, doctor can talk to you about what you want your teeth to look like. We can make another appointment during your lunch hour next week so you don’t have to be so rushed today. You can take your time to decide on the type of treatment you want to make your smile look the very best. We will accomodate you so you don’t lose time from work. Is this something you would like to discuss with doctor further?”
Mr. Jones: “Yes, I think I would like to find out how all my teeth can look better. Let’s make a lunch time appointment for me to discuss this more.”

RDH: “I am looking at the schedule here on the computer and I see that we have a lunch time appointment next Thursday. Does 12:00pm on March 24th work for you?”
Mr. Jones: “Yes, I think that will work for me.”

RDH: “Before you leave today I will schedule the appointments for the scaling and root planing and a six week appointment to re-evaluate the outcome from the scaling and root planing. I will also review those products for your dry mouth. Here is doctor now.” Now the doctor will come into the hygiene room and complete the exam. Doctor will confirm the initial diagnosis and review the discussion between the hygienist and patient.

Recap for Critical Communication

At this point, the hygienist has talked about stress and the affects of this on the patient’s oral health. The hygienist has talked about something pleasant to continue with rapport building and the personal relationship between patient and practitioner. The hygienist has also used various types of visuals. In this scenario, the hygienist used brochures and individualized these by highlighting, underlining and/or circling important aspects. The hygienist also showed some real patient photos on the monitor. During the verbal communication, throughout the case presentation, the hygienist used open-ended questions. When possible, the hygienist engaged the patient in conversation.

The hygienist explained the purpose for good oral health and allowed the patient to choose the level of health they want. The hygienist allowed the patient to decide if they would like to hear other treatment options. This put the patient in charge of their oral health and options for treatment. The patient took responsibility.

During the case presentation, the hygienist suggested and asked the patient if they would like more time to discuss other options with the doctor. These other options were more permanent alternatives to treatment. The hygienist talked about a more complete treatment plan and asked leading questions to discover if this is the type of treatment the patient would be interested in. (RDH: “Is this something you would like to discuss with doctor further?”)

The Next Crucial Step For Patient Case Acceptance

The next step when doctor enters the room for the exam is for the hygienist to provide a verbal synopsis to the doctor about the discovery during the patient-hygiene appointment. The hygienist will begin with something personal about the patient. For example, Mr. Jones has a daughter who will be married in a few months. Then the hygienist will report to doctor what treatment options were discussed and what the patient felt about the treatment options and if Mr. Jones is interested in moving forward with any of the options discussed.

Another Crucial Step for Patient Case Acceptance

The next crucial step is to get closure before any financial arrangements are made. You need to know if the patient is ready to move forward with treatment. This one thing needs to occur before you will have an answer to this next step to discuss the financials. If the patient is not ready to move forward with treatment, discussing financials will become a losing option for your patient schedule.

If you do not proceed with this next step the patient can most likely make an appointment and then cancel. The patient may also follow through with financial arrangements but they will tell you they will call when they are ready to schedule their treatment. This is why it is crucial to have a commitment from the patient to move forward with treatment.

When presenting the treatment plan both doctor and the hygienist need to be on task. Neither of these two people can miss a step. If doctor misses a step, the hygienist needs to give a verbal cue for doctor to return on task and verbally communicate. Same thing occurs if the hygienist misses a step. There needs to be conversation and a buy in from the patient after explanation of the treatment.

Repetition. Repetition. Repetition.

In real estate, they say this phrase “Location. Location. Location.” When we discuss communication with our patients, we need to understand that, many times a patient needs to hear the information two or three times before, they will say “Yes” to a treatment plan.

When the hygienist and entire dental team understand the science behind communication for case acceptance, the hygienist and other members of the team can increase the chances a patient will move forward with their treatment plan.

It is the responsibility of the hygienist to continually review the periodontal, restorative and aesthetic treatments, regarding the structured process within the Science of Communication each time they see the patient. The time for communicating this will not always be as long; however it is still the responsibility of the hygienist to continue communicating as long as the patient says they are still interested in the information. The dental professionals are the experts and need to continually create a desire for patients to move forward with necessary treatment.

Conclusion

It is important to understand the science behind communication. We are all guilty of talking and not communicating.

Key components to understanding how to get a “YES” for patient case acceptance:

- Understand the patient’s personality style.
- The tone and speed or your words
- The words we use
- Stay away from “speaking in code.”
- Use visuals
- Seat patients upright in the chair and face each other eye to eye
- Focus on the patients concerns and not your own agenda

Once the dental team feels more confident explaining the treatment needs to patients, the patients’ confidence in scheduling their treatment will also increase. In order to improve our patient case acceptance we need to improve the patient experience. To improve the patient experience, we must first improve the dentist and team experience. The goal of communication is about changing what we do. Once we have mastered the Science of Communication, the patients will notice the value added to their appointment and the overall improvement of their experience. With the patient experience improving, so will the referral of the patient’s friends, family and colleagues. When we create a great patient experience, the dental practice will benefit with an increase in the bottom line.

Scheduling is a Critical Task

One of the most critical responsibilities an office manager has is to manage the schedule. The dentist wants it to be productive. The hygienists want it to be full. The assistants want it to have enough time to turn over rooms and catch up on cleaning instruments. The secretaries are busy trying to fill the schedule when it has holes and confirm and take care of patients when it’s full.

A properly managed schedule keeps the staff busy and reduces chit-chat time. It also keeps the focus on our patients instead of on ‘what did you do last weekend’ conversations. The schedule dictates our profitability and is a visual reminder of our effectiveness. So, we know it’s important – but how does an office manager successfully manage the schedule?

Determine Dentist’s Ideal Schedule

First, talk with the dentist to find out what his/her idea of the perfect schedule looks like. Every dentist is different. I’ve worked with pediatric dentists who had 4 columns of patients and a team of 4 assistants and EFDAs and he not only ran on time, he was relaxed and happy and always seemed to have plenty of time for everyone in the office. I’ve also worked with general dentists who were very pleased with just one column of patients and wouldn’t trust a well-trained EFDA to touch one of their fillings. The office manager should sit down with the dentist to sketch out on a blank paper what type of schedule he/she wants. When does the dentist feel freshest and therefore want certain types of appointments? How many hygienists is he comfortable checking? Does he need blocks at any time of day? The clearer the goal of a ‘perfect schedule’ is in the dentist’s mind, the better chance you have of achieving it!

Setting Up Calendar & Schedule

Next, set up the calendar and the schedule. These are two entirely separate items. The calendar is for the month – when will the dentist be out for CE or vacation? Are any of the staff going to be out? Who will cover? How will you handle holidays or days that schools are closed? In our practice, we set up our calendar in Excel and give copies to each team to review. We do not pre-book, so we plan 2 months in advance. I expect a minimum of 6 weeks notice for any vacation time to reduce last minute changes and craziness. Once everyone has had a say in the calendar, then my secretary team leader sets our calendar up in Dentrix. We use block scheduling for each of our providers and their teams – which is not exactly what Dentrix intended, but it is a fabulous way to see at a glance which providers are open/closed.

Managing the Schedule

Now, to manage this schedule. The secretary/office manager is responsible to keep the schedule open throughout the day and watch for any changes. Any last minute no shows or cancels mean we need to hop on the phones to try to save the time from being wasted. We set goals for the team to meet hygiene open time goals as well as dentist open time goals – and we track these daily. We set collection goals for each dentist as well. On top of daily schedule management, I look at the schedule weekly. I watch to see if any staffing changes are necessary – if I have a provider that isn’t maintaining a full schedule, then we’ll add notes to ‘fill top down’ and let staff go home early. Since we maintain an entry level cleaning/sterilization person on the assistant team, if schedules are really open, I may give this person the day off – maintaining hours for my more senior staff.

Analyze, Analyze, Analyze

The dentist and office manager should each look at the results of the scheduling each month. Did you hit the production and collection goals? What was the open time vs. goal? If you’re booking too far out (remember no more than a 2 week wait for a new patient), you may need to add some staff to increase capacity. If you’re too empty, perhaps it’s time for some marketing.

Successful Scheduling Requires a Team Effort

Successfully managing a schedule takes a total team approach. The more the staff realize their part in helping the schedule stay accurate and productive, the better your schedule becomes. You’ll have several sets of eyes on the schedule that can catch errors – hopefully with enough notice to fix them! The general sense that everyone is responsible for managing the schedule can become one of the major strengths in your practice. So, how do you feel about your schedule?

As restoring doctors, we know enough about the risk of utilizing fractured anterior teeth for post retained restorations. Examining a past issue of Inside Dentistry, I ran across an article covering “Post and Core Foundations for Esthetic Restorations”. The photos that were included in the story showed a central incisor fractured without a ferrule and the labial down to the gingival sulcus.

Somehow the word “Esthetic Restorations” is supposed to throw you into forgetting the basics. The author states that “there was very little coronal tooth structure remaining – the Flexi-Flange® Prefabricated Post System would be ideal for this clinical situation. A metal post was selected for this due to lack of remaining tooth structure the Flexi-flange helps dissipate occlusal forces to eliminate intraradicular stress fractures. The flange portion of the post countersinks completely into tooth structure to maximize fracture resistance of the root and post by safely dispersing occlusal forces over a broad area.”

How many times do we have to listen to this bologna? Anterior teeth flex under use. The key is how much tooth structure is remaining and what the occlusal status is. The post will do nothing to strengthen to the tooth. If there is only a root stump left then all the force of occlusal loading will be on the post/root interface regardless of design. IT WILL FAIL. My number one clinical reason to place a single tooth implant is because of a recently failed post and crown.

Our goal in dentistry is to serve our patients with a crystal ball that will attempt to predict the future and allow us to make clinical decisions that keep the most teeth for the longest period of time. Our patients trust us. What do we tell them when they just plunked down good money for a root canal, post and crown and it fails a year later? You have to ask yourself: why did the original tooth fracture? Do you think that what you do to a wounded tooth will restore it to a condition that is better than it was before it broke? I think not.

An implant is better than a bad tooth. If there is not enough tooth to support a crown without a post, then don’t put a post in it. The intent of a post is only to support a core if there is missing clinical crown, not to support a crown.

Your Thoughts

Do you agree with Dr. Wilhelm? Let us know in a comment below.

For a limited time, Crest is offering you an opportunity to receive a free sample of Crest 3D White Whitestrips and a free sample of Crest 3D White Vivid Toothpaste.

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All that’s needed to receive your free samples is about 20 seconds of your time. Simply fill out the Crest sample request form, and you’re samples will be on their way.

Below is a brief overview of ten critical numbers every dentist should know, monitor and graph every year. The goal is to see them grow over the course of your career as you measure your overall progress and profitability as a practice.

Know These Numbers

1. Current Market Value of Your Practice.
As a general rule of thumb we recommend using 65% of last year’s collections to set the value.

2. Annual Gross Revenues.

3. Annual Reinvestment in Practice.
How much did you reinvest in your practice last year? This number should always be considered part of your overall practice value.

4. Annual Debt Reduction.
All debt reduction payments should always be considered a form of profitability. For example, if you had $1 million in debt and paid off $100,000 last year and earned a net profit of $200,000, you actually earned $300,000. Debt reduction always increases your net worth.

5. Annual Net Revenues.

6. Current Debt and Liabilities.

7. Annual Charitable Contributions.
As your practice grows through the years, it is important to track what you are giving back.

8. Annual Tax Liability.
You will want to continually measure your tax liability to see if it is increasing or decreasing.

9. Current Cash on Hand.
This number is included in your practice’s value.

10. Current Total Net Worth.
You should analyze this number annually.

What numbers do you track?

What numbers do you find important to track and improve or reduce? What, if anything, would you add to the list?

When people are headed off to see their dentist the trip is often filled with anxiety, whether from anticipated pain or merely the unknown of what is actually the cause of their malady. In order to attract new patients and retain one’s current ones, dentists need to make sure that the physical office environment works in tandem with the overall branding and marketing to convey a soothing and comforting message. Of course, the message and interior also need to project competence so as to instill patients and prospects with confidence.

Strive for Consistent Branding Strategy

This is no easy task. So often dentists hire one firm to design a website for them, another to create a logo, a third to assist with print advertising, and yet another to design their office interior – none of which are ever introduced to one another or encouraged to work together as a team. Successful entrepreneurs however, realize that all of these players need to work together in concert, with a single branding message and mission in mind if they are going to achieve a positive return on investment. The goals of attracting new patients, reducing patient turnover, and increasing referrals will only be achieved if the experience patients have when visiting the website is repeated when calling to make an appointment and reinforced when stepping through the front door for the actual exam. If at any time along this path the experience changes or fails to live up to expectations, the confidence level falls, and the anxiety level rises increasing the risk for a cancelled appointment or a failure to return for future service.

Keep Brand Shapers Involved

Now, this doesn’t mean that one necessarily has to hire a redesign of the website, office, logo, and other advertising materials at the same time. While that might be the ideal scenario, as small business owners we all know that budgets rarely allow for all of these projects to happen at once. What it does mean is that once a branding message has been establishing for the practice, all future players working on aspects of the marketing for the business should be introduced to and expected to collaborate with the marketing team that developed the branding message so that the new pieces will be designed to fit seamlessly into the overall strategy and work to reinforce that which has come before.

I was a dental assistant for 12 years right out of high school and I have maintained an interest in dental workforce issues ever since. After completing my bachelors and masters degrees, I worked in non-profits where I devoted my time to dental workforce issues. I am now working at a dental school and I’m a PhD candidate in the dissertation phase with a topic focused on dental workforce shortages affecting access to care. I’m interested in finding out if experience with dentistry prior to and during dental school affects how a person feels about their dental skills and abilities, and then finding out if these experiences (such as community outreach) influence practice preference. I believe the results of my study will help with dental admissions processes and with dental clinic recruitment and hiring. I’m focusing on dentists who have graduated between 2006 and 2011 to complete a short (10 minute) survey. I’ll share the results of my research with those who are interested.

Thank you, in advance, for your participation!
Mary Fusco, MA, PhD ABD

Start the Survey

Anyone interested in learning more about the research study and taking the survey please go to:

http://bit.ly/qzg6XJ

A more pleasant waiting experience

There’s a cheap and easy way to make your waiting room much more pleasant for your patients. Furnishing your waiting space with current, popular magazines can provide patients a lot of value and make their waiting considerably more pleasant. Current magazines in good condition also reflect well on your practice.

The easiest, cheapest way to keep your waiting room filled with magazines is by using a third party waiting room magazine provider.

Using a reception room subscription service helps you keep things simple by enabling you to pay one bill, and work with one provider, to get all your magazines. One bill, from one company, makes keeping magazines available for your customers much more convenient. At the same time, publishers offer discounts on subscriptions for waiting rooms.

One Company, One Bill

If you go about maintaining each subscription on your own, keeping magazines in your reception room requires remembering when you need to renew each title. Not only that, but when doing it on your own you have to deal with fluctuating prices that make it hard to budget. Using a reception room subscription service means you get one bill that covers all of your titles. This makes budgeting easy, and renewals even easier.

Save Money on Subscriptions

Publishers are willing to charge less for subscriptions they know are going into waiting rooms because every issue in a reception room is seen by many people. These discounted prices can be considerably less than you could get on your own. You could get titles like People Magazine for as much as 71% off the cover price.

The most efficient way to take advantage of this discount is to work with a reception room subscription service that can negotiate reception room rates for all of your subscriptions.

Learn More

If you’d like to know more about working with a waiting room magazine provider, visit http://www.ebscomags.com.

Does your practice have a continuous flow of new patient referrals? Do all team members maximize every opportunity to point new patients to your practice? Are you meeting your monthly new patient referral goals?

While studying business practices for IBM, Frederick Reichheld discovered seven habits of referability that led to IBMs early success. As revealed in his book, The Loyalty Effect: The Hidden Force Behind Growth, Profits, and Lasting Value, Reichheld’s research points to repeatable behaviors which I have found to be directly transferable to every dental practice.

As you review these seven habits, evaluate how well they are represented both in your practice and through your team. Focus intently on your work as the practice leader as well as your entire team’s efforts in referring new patients. You might be surprised to learn how many potential new patients you and your team are leaving outside in the cold.

1. Courtesy

“Please” is still a magic word along with the phrases “Thank You,” “Yes Sir,” “No Maam,” and “Your Welcome.” A courteous practice is a growing practice because moments of courtesy with your patients become stories shared with their friends. “Dr. Smith is so nice…”

2. Being on Time

Ten years ago the goal was to get patients from the waiting area to their room by their scheduled appointment time. For today’s patients, personal schedules are tighter and time is more important. “On time” today means patients are driving away from your practice by their expected completion time.

Being on time is more about managing patient’s expectations than ensuring that you meet every scheduled time. One way to manage patient’s expectations is to pad every treatment by at least fifteen minutes. If a typical prophy requires an hour, share with your patients to expect one hour and fifteen minutes for their treatment. “Mrs. Williams, you should expect to be here from nine to ten-fifteen on Tuesday.”

Meeting or exceeding their time expectations will lead them to share their story with others.

3. Using Names

People love the sound of their own name. Using names creates immediate rapport with patients, shows you care, and lowers trust barriers. Make it a rule that patients are always addressed by their names.

Dental Assistants and Hygienists can greatly help doctors who tend to forget names. Simply implement a practice in which the hygienist or assistant always refers to the patient by name as the doctor enters the room.

In addition to using names, if applicable, your team should address patients using relevant honorifics such as Reverend, Dr., Judge, Professor, etc… In Paragon, we recommend using a 25 to 30 year rule as a guide for when to address patients as “Mr.” or “Mrs.” If the patient is at least 25 to 30 years older than you or other staff members, the patient should always be addressed as “Mr. Smith” or “Mrs. Jones” out of respect.

4. Happiness

Come happy – Stay Happy – Go Home Happy. Over two decades of in-office consulting has taught me that happy people schedule more treatment. In fact I usually recommend that unhappy front desk people be immediately replaced. It is critical for growing practices to establish the necessity of happiness and replace team members who do not meet those expectation.

5. Accepts Compliments

Although we may think it represents humility to deflect or demur when complimented, it is more like rejecting a gift. A compliment is a gift and should be received with a gracious and heartfelt “Thank You.” People love to feel like their gift is well received.

6. Asks for referrals after being complimented

In the same way that a compliment is a gift, it is also a perfect opportunity to ask for referrals. “Ms. Jones, thank you very much. I’d also like to offer you a compliment. We count it a great privilege to serve patients like you. If you have any friends like you, we’d love to have them as patients.”

7. Always asks for referrals

To build a well-oiled referral machine, every team member must be trained and empowered to see opportunities and maximize them. Here are a few quick tips for creating referral situations:

• THE OPENING: “What do you do?” Your team members are often asked in social gatherings what they do for a living. Teaching them a proper response creates referral opportunities.
• THE RESPONSE: “I work for one of the best dentists in Ohio – she’s phenomenal.”
• THE TRANSITION QUESTION: “Where do you go for your dentistry?”
• THE OFFER: Every team member should be empowered to pull out a business card, flip it over and hand-write an offer of $100 off a new patient exam. This hand-written offer provides a personal touch to the invitation.

According to the A.D.A., five out of ten people do not currently see a dentist regularly. In addition, two who currently see a dentist are ready to move on to another dentist. In other words, seven out of ten people are always looking for a dentist. Do not leave them outside in the cold, but open the door.

Now What?

Even if you, as the practice leader, scored sixty out of seventy on the evaluation of each habit, your team may be lagging far behind. Every team member failing to implement these seven habits may represent several potential new patients every month.

Which of these seven habits do you and your staff need to focus on today, this week, this month, this year? What is your specific plan to fully implement these habits throughout your practice?

New habits will bring new patients and new patients will create new profits.

Go for it!

Your Thoughts

How many of the 7 habits of referability do you see in your practice? Which do you need to work on?

Fact: Most Dental Practice Facebook Pages are Boring

In a recent post, you may have read that the having a Facebook page for a dental practice is a definite yes.

Sadly, several of the dental Facebook pages I’ve come across can only be described in two words.

BO-RING.

If you are trying to get your audience (which includes your patients) to be more familiar, interested and engaged with your practice, do you really think they want to see all those clinical photos with retractors and words like “mesio-distal”?

No way.

Turn them off and you may not get a second chance to turn them on.

But, you might ask, why even bother?

What’s in it for you, to either make the time and put in the effort, or pay someone to do it?

1. Social media is mainstream

To begin, social media is mainstream and it’s here to stay. It is fast becoming the primary way people are interacting online today. We all know that word-of-mouth referrals is the best advertising for our practices; so think of social media as its online version.

2. Your practice will be more dynamic

Secondly, a Facebook page adds another dimension to your business persona. To your current patients or to future ones, a website may only offer static content. But with other elements such as a blog, a YouTube page and a Facebook page, your practice becomes a more dynamic entity.

3. Your patients can engage on more personal level

Thirdly, prospective patients researching online may click on your website and view your practice as a business alone. That can be perceived as somewhat impersonal (depending on the quality of your website). Adding a Facebook page can allow you to show your practice’s more personable, and personal, side. This gives you one more area to stand out from every other dentist on your block. Click.

4. Enhances your brand

Fourth and lastly, your page (in combination with other elements) expands your personal branding and, unless it’s changed its formula again, Google likes you a little more. And everyone wants Google to like them.

Now that you have the highlights, what are you waiting for?

I do have one request though.

If you decide to set up a Facebook page, please . . . . no pictures with retractors.

Your Thoughts

Does your dental practice’s Facebook page rock? If so, leave your url in a comment below and tell us why it rocks.

If you have a website for your practice or you are going to set one up soon, check out these important search engine optimization tips below to ensure you are maximizing online traffic.

1. Go Local

Recently Google has been making major changes to the way search results are displayed. They now are including local website listings for major keyword searches where once, they did not show. This means optimizing your website for local keywords can make a huge difference in the amount of traffic you get.

Add your office location in your website’s META tags, in the footer, on the contact and about page and so on. Also include Google map directions on your contact page.

Another easy thing to do is to sign up for Google Places, which will make your website show up for even more local searches. Be sure to ask clients for reviews, because good reviews can make all the difference in whether or not someone decides to call or visit your website for more info.

2. Create Landing Pages

A typical website does not have many pages. Typical pages could include the home page, services page, contact page, about page and so on. If you want more search engine traffic, you are going to need to have more content on your site.

One great way to start is to create a landing page for every service you offer that includes local keywords. For example, if you offer teeth whitening services and your practice is in New York City. You should set up a page for Teeth Whitening in New York City that is optimized for the service keywords and the location keywords.

Be sure to also interlink your pages using descriptive keywords to help with rankings and better indexing of your site. You may also want to link to all these content pages from your main services page.

3. Get Backlinks

I see many dentist websites go up that are optimized for search engines, but not many actively try to attract more backlinks. If you want to rank for keywords such as “dentist, new york” you are going to need backlinks with that anchor text pointing back to your website. It’s as simple as that.

Submit your website to directories, guest post, write great content, create white papers, network with people and websites in your industry and do anything else you can to attract backlinks.

4. Get Social

Search engine rankings are now being affected by social votes on sites such as Twitter and Facebook. This means it will be very important for you to have accounts and pages on these sites so that you can attract more votes for your business.

Stay active on your profiles, add widgets and badges to your site and if you have a blog, install a social bookmarking plugin to make it easier for people to share your content.

5. Start a Blog

Search engines love fresh content and people love great articles. When you start a blog try to publish posts that will actually help bring in potential customers. Examples of posts could be “5 ways to pick the right dentist” or even a post using local keywords, offering a promo code or incentives to come visit your dentist office.

The more often you post and the better your posts, the more traffic and new clients you will potentially get. Keep these tips in mind, put them to use and you will be on your way to having a steady stream of new clients.

Your Tips

Do you have additional SEO tips that have succeeded in boosting your website/page rankings? Please share them in a comment below.

One of the questions asked often is: “I already have a Profile page on Facebook, do I really need a Facebook Business Page?”

That’s sort of like the question (in dentistry) “Do I really need to floss?” You know the answer ….Only the teeth you want to keep!!
Originally, Facebook was only for making connections, not for business, hence Profile pages. It was a profile of you, your personal information, likes and dislikes.

Then businesses begin to see the power Facebook held and started creating Profile pages for their businesses (which is actually against Facebook rules). So in true Facebook fashion…Facebook started making changes (imagine that!) and created the Business page portion of Facebook. Profile pages are very limited as to what can and can’t be done as far as a business is concerned. The most noticeable being viewers have to wait to be confirmed after sending a “friend request”.

Profile Page VS Business Page

To see how the two differ let’s look at PROFILE -vs- BUSINESS this way:

Your PROFILE page is really a personal page (and not to be used as a business per FB). It’s like your home. If someone comes to your door at home, they knock on your door and have to wait to be let in.

Your BUSINESS page is just that….your Business. When someone comes to your place of business, they walk right in (during business hours of course). They don’t have to wait to be “confirmed”. Remember we live in an age of ‘instant gratification’! With that said, think about people interested in doing business with you having to wait outside until you let them in (PROFILE: waiting for you to confirm their ‘friend request’). That could sometimes take days. By that time, you may confirm them, but they may have already found someone else to do business with. You’ve lost a potential client or patient.

With a BUSINESS page on Facebook, your visitors walk right in as soon as they “Like” you. The “Like” is just opening your door. No waiting for you to approve them. Come to think of it, when did you ever have to wait to be approved before you could enter a store or business to shop or receive services?

We also talk about branding and how important it is to brand our business. In fact we spend a lot of time…writing posts, uploading pictures, creating videos, posting our bios, responding to viewers…branding our business…to get viewers and potential clients and patients to come to our Facebook page….only to have them….wait while you approve/confirm their friend request!

That’s like finally getting a new prospect to call your office….only to be put on endless hold…and hope they are still on the line when you get back to them!
Why would you want to make a prospective new client or patient wait to see all you have available to them when they don’t have too?? You’ve spent and invested too much time in getting that prospect to your Facebook site to make them wait!

Then if you’ve seen the light and are thinking….”OK, If I create a Business page, will I lose all the people I’ve connected with on my Profile page?” Absolutely not! You still are connected to them, can market to them, and will point them to your business page. If you’re comfortable with creating Facebook pages, you can create your own business page (connected to your profile page) or outsource it to a social media specialist.

Bottom Line

So in answer to the original question: “…..Do I really need a Facebook Business page?” Answer: “Only if you’re in business!”
The point is, when you’re in business, you always want to put your best business foot forward. So unlock your doors and be “Open to the public”. Create your Facebook Business page and let your new prospects… walk right in!

Your Thoughts

Do you have a Facebook Business Page for your practice? If so, how has it impacted your practice?

When was the last time you reviewed the cleaning and sterilization procedures for your office? How confident are you that your staff are following the correct steps to keep you and your patients safe as well as meet the required regulations? A great way to get on track is by working with the OSHA Onsite Consultation Program.

The OSHA Onsite program is free

The OSHA Onsite program is free – and completely separate from the enforcement arm of OSHA, so you are not in danger of receiving penalties or punishments. The way it works is that you contact the office and request that an OSHA Consultant visit your practice. Next, talk with the consultant that is assigned to your case and let him know a little about your practice, what you would like him to evaluate and what questions you have. In my experience, these consultants are friendly and helpful, so you can feel safe to ask questions and get the coaching you need. If you use nitrous in your practice, you can ask the consultant to bring the equipment needed to test your evacuation system. You also can ask the consultant to test your x-rays. These are not normally part of the consultation process and the consultant will need to request the equipment (the nitrous testing equipment costs over 6 figures and is shared between several consultants) in advance so they can provide these additional (free) services to you.

To prepare for your OSHA Onsite visit, you will want to have a copy of your bloodborne pathogen and hazardous communications plans, you will want to update your staff (and dentist) hepatitis series documentation, update your MSDS forms and make sure your cleaning bottles are clearly labeled. A visit to the OSHA web page for dentistry to review the regulations is a good idea.

Tips For Meeting With OSHA Consultant

Plan to spend 15-30 minutes with the consultant when he arrives to welcome and thank him for making the trip, to show him around the practice and get him focused on what you would like accomplished during the visit. The consultant will need a table where he can review the documentation discussed above and space to work on his report. Assign your best dental assistant or EFDA to show the OSHA consultant around the office, reviewing the cleaning and sterilization routine and introducing the consultant to the staff. The consultant will probably spend up to a few hours to evaluate your processes, check your documentation and make notes for his final report. It’s best to again plan 30 minutes at the end of this visit so the dentist and the consultant can discuss any concerns or recommendations. This is also a great time for the dentist to ask questions and get solid answers from a reputable professional.

In less than 2 weeks, you should receive the final report from your OSHA consultant. It will let you know if any serious or ‘other than serious’ hazards were identified and include recommendations to bring them up to standard. It also includes forms to submit to the consultant to let them know you have rectified these problems.

Focus on Improvement

This OSHA Onsite Consultation Program is a great way to set the standards for your staff. From beginning to end, your staff is involved with preparing for the visit, meeting the consultant and participating in the evaluation and then with reviewing the report and working to correct any concerns. Your staff should create a checklist based on this experience so they could perform their own evaluation – and be ready for the next time you decide to invite OSHA for a visit.

A Marketing Opportunity

This program is also a great opportunity for marketing your practice. Patients today want to know that they are safe when in your hands – why not tell them you invited OSHA to come in? In fact, this might make a very nice newspaper article – to let the entire town know that you are looking out for everyone’s safety (patients & staff). If you’re kind to your consultant, he may allow you take a photo – and this is a great post on your Facebook page about the visit & how you believe in making sure your practice is as safe as possible.

How to Learn More

If you would like some help to improve your cleaning and sterilization procedures or to learn more about my experiences with the OSHA Onsite Consultation Program, just call me!

Root Form Dental Implants

Root form dental implants are the most common, also known as ‘Endosteal’ or ‘Endosseous’ implants. This type of implant is ideal for patients with a wide, deep and healthy jawbone. Their shape resembles the natural tooth root. However, if there is not enough bone to place these implants a bone graft is a possible solution.

These dental implants can be placed using conventional dental implant surgery where the gum is raised to expose the bone for implant placement, or using a guided surgery technique.

Plate form dental implants

Plate form implants are long and flat, they are used when the jaw is very narrow and bone grafting is not appropriate. These implants are placed using conventional surgery – usually in two stages with a gap between procedures for healing.

Subperiosteal Dental Implants

A subperiosteal implant is custom made and placed beneath the gums on top of the bone, used if there is not enough bone for a root form or plate form implant. It is designed to suit the individual jaw of the patient.

Subperiosteal implants are not usually recommended as they have a higher failure rate than other types and cost more.

As this implant is made to suit the patient’s individual anatomy, it is designed and produced using three-dimensional models of the jaws – either made from a CT scan or a dental impression of the patient’s jaws.

Mini dental implants

Mini dental implants are as their name suggests – ‘mini’ versions of root form implants. Originally created to as temporary implants, they are now often used as a permanent implant solution, especially for smaller teeth. Mini implants can be used if there is not enough bone for normal implants and a bone graft is not appropriate.

The mini implant is a very cost-effective solution. Although it does not easily fuse with the bone, they are a durable, long lasting solution for many patients. Mini implants can also be used to support dentures.

Zygomatic Dental Implants

When there is not enough bone for ordinary implants, zygomatic implants can be used in the upper jaw. This is a very specialist procedure and is not available in all dental practices.

Zygomatic implants significantly longer than ordinary dental implants and ‘anchor’ to the cheekbone, or zygomatic arch. They can be used as an alternative to complex bone grafting and make it possible to carry out surgery a single stage.

A CT scan is required to assess the amount of bone in the upper jaw to allow your dentist to plan implant placement without carrying out invasive surgery.

Usually, two zygomatic implants are placed as well as 2-4 root form dental implants. When there is even less bone, four zygomatic implants are used. Guided surgery can sometimes be used to assist accurate placement.

Guided surgery

Guided surgery can also be used to place dental implants. This involves computer-aided surgical planning based on CT scans of your jaw. The surgery is performed using a surgical drill guide to position the implants in the jaw. It is possible for this to be a single stage procedure and some patients undergo the surgery and tooth restoration in a single day i.e. they leave with a finished set of teeth.

There are few things in life that give us more confidence than a dazzling smile. Having a great grin boosts our morale, making us feel positive, and drawing others to us as we show off our smile. However, many people have stayed away from traditional dentistry techniques, concerned about the length of time it may take to heal after cosmetic dental work, or the pain involved with getting treatment.

Now, all this is a thing of the past, as medical advancements and dentistry have fused techniques to come up with a revolutionary new way of encouraging prompt recovery from dental work. PGRF is transforming more than just smiles – it’s the application of a cutting-edge methodology for using the body’s own capacity to heal, accelerating the recovery process dramatically.

What is PGRF?

PGRF (or Pancreatic Growth Hormone Releasing Factor) is a new technique for use in surgery. It is designed to promote the body’s own natural healing hormones, transforming the recovery of patients undergoing procedures by encouraging the body to enhance its own potential for healing. Known as ‘autologous engineering’, it is being taken up by leading dental practitioners as the benefits of the technology are becoming widespread. The technology uses growth factors to improve the regenerative capabilities of the patient, applying the technique at the site of surgery to greatly enhance the recovery time and alleviate discomfort normally associated with dental work.

PGRF was developed by the Biotechnology Institute and launched as a radical new facial rejuvenation technique. It works by plasma-rich growth factors being taken from the patient prior to surgery being performed, and then modified and reapplied to encourage the natural healing process to take place. Non-invasive, comfortable and safe, PGRF has transformed traditional dentistry.

Who benefits from this new technology?

PGRF is suitable for anyone who undergoes oral surgery. It supports the body to use your own natural healing processes, enhancing the recovery by reducing the time taken to heal completely – giving you a head start to getting the beautiful smile you’ve always wanted. The technique has already been used by celebrities and professional sportspeople including Rafael Nadal and Tiger Woods, enabling them to reduce their recovery time and get back out there at the peak of their performance. The National Football League, Major League Baseball, and the World Anti-Doping Agency have all hailed PGRF as a revolutionary new treatment for recovery from surgery. The technique is ideal for maxilla-facial surgery, dental implants, and other oral procedures.

By enhancing the smoothness, thickness, health and hydration of the patient’s skin through a natural process, PGRF is an outstanding new technique to benefit people undergoing cosmetic dentistry and oral surgery, by promoting the skill of the body to heal and alleviate discomfort.

More Information

If you’d like more information, check out this PRGF article from the Dental & Implant Clinic.

Your Thoughts

Are you utilizing PRGF in your practice? Do you have tips for other dentists looking to incorporate this technique into their practice? Please share in a comment below.

You know exactly how to fashion a retainer to hold teeth in place, but retaining your customers is a whole different story.

They come, they go, they switch practices, and what can you do about it other than just doing the best job you can when they’re in the chair?

A whole lot, actually. When it comes to coaxing reluctant patients back into your office, email marketing can ease the pain.

How Email Is Designed to Bring Customers Back

Email’s recurrent nature makes it perfect for increasing retention. Sending emails on a consistent basis builds a good rapport with your patients, and eventually, a relationship of trust.

And let’s face it. Your patients make themselves pretty vulnerable to you and your sharp, shiny dental pick. Trust and a good rapport are vitally crucial to getting them comfortable with coming back again and again.

Let’s talk about how to use email to build that trust and rapport.

Four Ways to Leverage That Potential

1. Follow up with first-timers

New patients are doubly apprehensive – they have the usual worry about discomfort, plus the anxiety of a first-time experience. Get them comfortable from the moment they book their first appointment by sending them a follow up series.

Introduce yourself and your staff, include personal anecdotes, explain any quirks in how you work. (Use sunglasses to keep the overhead light out of their eyes? Tell them – they can look forward to it!)

Is there anything they’ll need to know when they show up? How early should they arrive? Where should they park? The more helpful details you can provide, the more they’ll appreciate you reaching out.

2. Pop up periodically

Once you’ve got your patients’ anxiety under control, you have to deal with their, ah…selective memories. After all, who can remember that March is the month they get their teeth cleaned?

There are two ways to address this little issue:

1. If you’ve got your CRM integrated with an email service, send a triggered email to each patient when it’s time to schedule their next cleaning, based on the date of their last appointment.

2. If not, schedule a broadcast to show up every few months. Decide on a frequency that’s often enough to keep you in patients’ minds, but not so often that they get overwhelmed and unsubscribe.

3. And fill them with valuable content

You don’t just want to remind your patients to go to any dentist; you want them to come to you, specifically. You can earn their loyalty by filling your emails with content they’ll find truly helpful, whether it’s entertaining or educational.

Your patients will appreciate the effort you’ve put in, which will come in handy when that toothache kicks up.

Ideas of fun or educational content you can send:
• Fun facts about teeth
• A History of Toothcare timeline
• A look at toothcare across the globe
• Effective flossing techniques
• Insights into the flouride debate

4. Later on, get more personal

Over time, your patients are going to expect you to know them better. If they can tell they’re still getting a generic email along with the rest of your patients, they may actually feel alienated by your messages. Fortunately, email services usually offer the option to split your subscribers into segments. That way, you can send each patient information based on their own oral health interests, increasing their appreciation.

By reaching out with email in these ways, you can be not only a dental hero, but a patient retention superstar.

Free E-mail Marketing Guide from AWeber

Email marketing is cheap compared to other marketing methods and as easy as you need it to be (just use an email template and send as many emails as you want). If you want the basics of how to get started and set up and the ball rolling, download this free guide. Then put these ideas in place and watch your practice grow!

It’s safe to say that all qualified dentists are experts. There’s no arguing that. However, the difference between a successful dental practice and one which is barely thriving is how these dental professionals are recognized as authority by their patients and the rest of the community. One important aspect about dental marketing is how to turn an expert into an authority.

Know Your Strengths

What are you good at? This is one question which you need to answer and don’t be modest with your response. Consult your CV or ask your closest friends. Try to think of two or three of your strengths and your areas of expertise. In order for your transformation to begin, you need to know exactly what you can bring to the table should individuals choose your services.

Actively & Consistently Build Your Brand

Brand your practice with the help of your specialization. The best way for you to attract patients is to set your practice apart from the others. This is where specialization will come in. Start building your practice’s brand by telling potential clients that you specialize in and are a recognized authority on an area of expertise you’re particularly good at.

Now that you’ve accomplished those two requisites, it’s time to start your transformation.

Share Your Expertise with Patients & Community

Talk. The only way for you to become an authority is to share your expertise. This means you need to give speeches. Participate in community events and share your specialized knowledge. In order for your speech to be more understandable to people who aren’t familiar with dental jargons, you can present your speech in a problem/solution format.

Teach or Donate Time to Local Dental Schools

Teach. You do not have to handle a class but make you can participate in a once-in-a-while community college class where you can share your knowledge to students. Those who prove to be good resource persons usually receive more invitations which can lead to more public exposure.

The Author: Tracy Bikhaus

So, what’s the book about? Here’s what Tracy had to say:

Super Blake Books are a series of children’s picture books that follow Super Blake through a variety of adventures and show kids how they can be a hero in everyday life. Our Mission at Super Blake Books is to engage young readers and provide them with fun and educational stories. The first book in the series is titled “Super Blake and the Cavity Monster”. Blake becomes a superhero by making good choices and helping others. He defeats the Cavity Monster and his evil sidekicks: Ginger Vitis and Sir Plaque by brushing and flossing.

How to Learn More

To learn more about the book, please visit the Super Blake Books website. While you’re there, don’t forget to print out the free coloring pages and stickers for your little ones.

How to Enter

Entering to win a copy of “Super Blake and the Cavity Monster” is easy. Simply like both the Dental Heroes‘ and Super Blake Books‘ Facebook pages to enter. Entries must be submitted by 11:59PM on Friday, August 26th to be eligible.

Good luck!

Today’s society is extremely litigious. Lawsuits are filed every day over seemingly unimportant things, and many of them are indeed spurious. A defendant must still pay to defend a groundless lawsuit, however, and the cost can be enough to bankrupt even the most prosperous. Dentists belong to a handful of professions that are extremely prone to lawsuits. If an unhappy patient decides a cavity was not filled correctly or that he or she experienced too much pain, a lawsuit may be the result.

A dentist malpractice insurance policy will protect a dentist from all lawsuits that allege professional negligence. A dentist who is covered by a policy will not have to pay to defend a lawsuit; nor will he or she have to pay any damages that may be awarded if the plaintiff should happen to be victorious. The only out-of-pocket expenses the dentist will have to pay are the cost of the policy and the deductible.

Many different companies offer dental malpractice insurance, and the policies vary widely in coverage and price. Both claims-made and occurrence policies are available. A claims-made policy will cover any claim made during the time the dentist was covered by the policy. An occurrence policy will cover claims whenever they are reported as long as the incident leading to the claim happened during the policy period. Claims-made policies are more common and tend to be less expensive. Dentists can also purchase prior acts coverage, which will provide coverage for acts which occurred before the policy went into effect.

The cost of a policy varies widely depending on geographic location, how many years of experience the policyholder has, the selected deductible, the coverage limits the policyholder chooses and prior claims history. Students and new graduates usually pay lower rates, as many companies will give large discounts for the first few years in order to get their business. A lower deductible and a higher coverage limit will increase premiums. Dentists who have had to file claims in the past will also have to pay more for coverage.

A dentist in the middle of his or her career can expect to pay a few thousand dollars a year for a dental malpractice policy with more than a million dollars of coverage. The price is a bargain compared to the cost of defending a lawsuit and paying for claims. All dentists should purchase a policy to protect themselves and their loved ones.

Sponsored Post:
This is a sponsored post. Dental Heroes was compensated for publishing this post. Please note that we do not accept sponsored posts without properly vetting advertisers and only consider those that are highly relevant to the dental professional.

One of the biggest challenges facing our industry is a lack of education when it comes to selling. By nature, dentists are analytical, and we typically haven’t been in a position where we needed to sell our services. But you may want to consider a strategy to sell bigger cases. The biggest point to remember is that most patients require a fair amount of education.

Unless you have killer marketing, your new patients have probably been referred to you by recommendation but really don’t know what you can do for them. The more people know or understand about their condition, the better positioned they are to buy. The only limiting factor will be their budget, and you usually will not know what it is. When people make major purchases they generally have a good idea of what they are buying and how much it will cost. This means they are qualified to make their purchase. To qualify your patient you need to pre-screen them.

The Qualification Process

Qualification begins with your marketing. This starts with printed material provided in your website, newsletters, reception and treatment rooms. Next there is the dialog that always occurs in the form of discussions or stories you and your staff tell your patients. Lastly there is the discussion on the phone with the patient as they schedule the consultation. Your staffer in charge of this duty needs to spend time creating rapport, educating and throwing hints of possible fees. As you can see, this staffer has an important role and needs to have a vast understanding of the problems, procedures and fees. Don’t leave this to the first person to answer the phone. Train someone for this role. Have your receptionist refer the call to this key person.

Managing Expectations

Qualification even continues when the patient presents for their consultation. Take the patient into your consultation room and begin with some active listening. Engage them with questions that help you get a grip on the history of their concern and what they might already know about potential treatment options. If you know approximately what the fee might be, then throw out some hints that help frame the patient’s expectation. Use comparisons such as ‘it can cost as much as a new car or room full of furniture’ or anything else you think the patient may relate to. The key is that when you are ready to give the patient the actual fee they should not be shocked or surprised.

Practice Makes Perfect

This is a delicate process that needs to be nurtured and practiced. The patient may tell you early on that they know it will be expensive even before they know what the treatment will be. You can respond by agreeing and framing by giving an example. Always leave the patient with some options to suit their budget. Allow them to bow out gracefully. Don’t avoid discussion of cost. The more often you bring it into the discussion the less sensitive the patient will be when they hear the actual fee. Any major concerns that you hear from the patient will clue you into the level of qualification that the patient has. For instance, when they frequently mention dental insurance you know that they will be dependent upon it. This may actually disqualify the patient. Any disqualification is permission for you to throw out some estimated fees to check their reaction. Ask them if this will pose a problem. If it does, then you can quickly shift gears to a different plan and re-qualify them.

The Bottom Line

Qualification is the key to ensuring your marketing efforts continue to be cost-effective by generating long-term, happy customers.

Your Thoughts

How do you qualify your patients. Give some specific examples if you can in a comment below.

Social media is here and whether you are utilizing social media in your practice/business or not, your employees are! It would be great if you could depend on posts being all positive and upbeat, but we know that’s not reality.

You know Social Media and implications it can presents to the practice/business . You know the importance of having some type of Social Media Policy in place for your practice/business, but… what areas need to be addressed?

The top 9 areas to address in your Social Media Policy:

1. Policy Statement: This is a generalized statement about participating in social media. Tie it in with your Office Manual and Personal Conduct. Also address/acknowledge what’s done on their time is their business, however certain activities at work or outside work that could affect job performance, theirs or another employee, or the practice/business interests are a proper focus for a practice/business policy.

2. Definitions: Reference the Social Media Channels and Social Media Networks you are referring to in your policy. Ex. Blogs, micro-blogs, social networks, social bookmarking, sharing platforms, etc. Also reference how these might be address. Ex. Internet, mobile, text, email, etc. Also reference the Social Media Account Ex. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Blogs, and any other Social Media Channel.

3. Objectives: Establish and include guidelines that employees adhere to and why you are initiating the Social Media Policy.

4. Guiding Principals: Address how you expect employees to use social media at work and outside work. Who can “speak” on behalf of the practice/business. What can and cannot be discussed while at work or on their own time. Assure online activities don’t interfere with job requirements or commitment to patients/clients.

5. Respectfulness: Interaction online at work or on their time, always careful of what’s posted. Ex. Don’t say/post anything you wouldn’t want seen on the front page of the local newspaper or your Grandmother to read!

6. Disclosure and Transparency: Social media is all about trust and building relationships. Be aware of what you are posting, be honest, and disclose your true identity. Transparency and Authenticity (open and genuine ) are the two key elements in Social Media.

7. Privacy: Address you, the Employers, right to privacy and Employees right to privacy. As such employers and employees have the right to keep personal opinions, thoughts, beliefs, and emotions private and employees are prohibited from violating another employee or their employers right to privacy.

8. Confidentiality: Effectively managing and protecting confidential information is critical. Failure to manage and protect confidential information correctly and what that could result in. ALSO Employees can disagree but external blogs or other online social media channels are not to be used to air employee disagreements. **Note: Again, be careful of what’s posted. It’s going to be on the social networks for a long time. If in doubt, don’t post it!

9. Penalties: Failure to Comply with these Social Media Policies may result in: List what could happen if an employee does not comply. They could include: Warnings, No longer have access to certain information, Disciplinary action, up to and including termination, even Civil or criminal penalties as provided by law (depending on the situation).

Once printed, make copies for each employee. Then have a staff meeting introducing and going over the social media policies of the office. Then have each employee sign that they understand and have received a copy.

This is not an all inclusive list nor do all of these have to be addressed. Your practice/business will determine how involved you need to be with your social media policy.
However, whether your practice/business is actually using social media should not be the determining factor for whether or not you need a social media policy. The fact that your employees ARE using social media makes having your social media policies in place…critical!

If you have your social media policies in place, what area’s did you address not listed here?

***NOTE: This is not meant to be legal advice and I am not an attorney.

Your Thoughts

What, if anything, would you add to Livvie’s list? Have you experienced any negative effects as a result of failing to address any of these areas?

Inspire Sense of Want or Need

Although businesses are trying to veer away from the idea of appealing to the emotions of their target market, the fact still remains that an ad campaign which strikes the heartstrings of prospective customers really do work. Creativity may be important but it is only secondary. Effective ads are those which inspire a sense of want or need within those in the target audience. Being able to do just this will make any ad campaign extremely convincing securing businesses of ROI. But moreover, being able to launch such kind of campaign will not just help with the sales but also with establishing your brand.

Be Consistent

The trickiest part of advertising is that the job is never done. After you launch a successful campaign that does not mean that you and the rest of the company or organization can call it day. When customers and potential customers are exposed to the same marketing strategy and ad for an extended period of time, they will begin to lose interest in the entire campaign and the ad’s effectiveness will slowly wane. That is exactly the reason why corporations feel the need to reinvent themselves again and again. This is to continue to exact and retain brand loyalty.

Choose Campaign Strategy Wisely

So how can businesses create a good ad campaign? There are three methods of doing so – single benefit, characterization and narrative. All of these strategies have the potential of working as long as they are used appropriately. The single benefit methodology links a product or service with one advantage that consumers cannot find from its rivals. For instance, a dental clinic which offers spa services along with the standard dental procedures can include this fact in their ad campaign. Characterization centers on a person who talks about how he or she found the product or service extremely helpful. Finally, narrative method involves the evolution of a story starting from the problem to its resolution. Regardless of what strategy a business decides to utilize, it is important for target customers to relate to the campaign. For instance, the dental clinic in the example above might play off their busy patients’ desires to relax while have important dental procedures done on them at the same time.

Final Thoughts

Advertising campaigns might help but sometimes they are not enough to seal the deal. Complement ads with marketing and sales promotions to really entice your existing and potential customers to make a purchase.

Communication may not seem that important to a dentist whose work day is filled with countless appointments, but it is a big deal for patients. The difference between having a loyal patient and losing said patient may rest on good communication.

Although the first factors that a patient may consider when choosing a dentist is their competence and cost of services, the secondary aspect that they consider is the overall experience of working with that dentist. Naturally, all dentists who have established a stable practice are considered competent enough. At the same time, competition among dentists has been quite rigid so their price ranges may not differ substantially. So what tips the scale is often the dentist’s ability to establish rapport with his or her patients which comes with good communication skills.

There are so many opportunities for a dentist to start communicating with a patient and one must take advantage of all these chances.

Before the Visit

If you think about it, the first time that a dentist will be able to talk to a patient is way before the patient even steps into the dental clinic or even meets the dentist face-to-face. Dentists communicate to potential patients with the help of their marketing efforts. For this reason, marketing efforts should be designed so that patients feel that the dentist isn’t just reaching out to them because they are seen as customers but because the dentist really intends to take good care of their teeth.

Taking Records

The next time that the dentist communicates with the patient is when he or she actually steps into the dental clinic and the front office personnel goes on to take his records. As an extension of the dentist, front office personnel should know the rationale for why they must collect specific information from their patients. Not only will patients feel a lot better about answering questions when they know why the information is relevant to their treatment but they’ll also develop confidence in the clinic.

Examination

The dentist will finally see the patient face-to-face while doing exams. Most of the time, dentists talk in code because then it’s easier for the assistant to chart the results down. But you also have the patient inside the room and it’s crucial that he or she knows the current state of his or her teeth. So make sure to use language that the patient will understand. At the same time, if you find something distressing after the patient’s exam, make sure to inject a bit of emotion in your conversation using phrases like “I’m concerned” or “I’m afraid”. This will make your patient understand the severity of the problem and feel more comfortable at the same time. Lastly, take pictures and show them to the patient so that he or she knows exactly what you’re referring to with the help of images.

Your Thoughts

Please share your patient communications tips in a comment below.

In my last post, A Well-Trained Dental Manager is Priceless I discussed the importance of providing a training program for your dental office manager. In this post, I’ll discuss my specific approach for doing just that.

My Approach to Training

Dr. Charles Smith, founder of HealthPark Dentistry, and I have used this training program over the past 15 years to take a bright, positive, new hire secretary and develop them into a knowledgeable, confident dental office manager. This training program is structured into levels of achievement: level 1 – Basics of the dental secretary position, level 2 – Working confidently as a dental secretary, level 3 – Move to Treatment Coordinator, level 4/5 – Team Leader role, level 6/7 – Marketing & Business Management. There are 2 sides to each level – the professional track and the general track. The professional track contains tasks specifically related to dental secretary work, for example, how to deal with dental insurance or handle a financial arrangement. The general track includes tasks regarding coaching on handling conflict, overall computer skills that everyone must know or books to read and apply the concepts. Each level contains about 25 tasks – some tasks must be completed in the office and others should be done on the office manager’s personal time.

Once a new secretary is hired, the dentist can offer this career development opportunity. In exchange for her investing 2-3 hours/week of her personal time (far less than attending a community college class) the dentist will invest time to meet with her as she completes the required tasks. In these meetings, the dentist and secretary will review the tasks she has completed, clarify any questions and confirm they are meeting the dentist’s standards. When a level is completed – and the secretary has now proven responsible for a significant amount of new tasks and is already accomplishing them – then she receives a raise. She then starts to work on her next level.

Benefits to this approach

- The dentist knows exactly what the office manager is doing and has been trained to do.
- The dentist spends time working with staff who are developing their career and contributing to the practice, rather than to the people who are causing trouble in the practice.
- The office manager knows exactly what is required to achieve a pay increase.
- The practice improves because the OM is focused on accomplishing the goals that benefit the office.
- The dentist feels confident that he is giving raises that have truly been earned.
- The OM gets used to learning from and meeting with the dentist in order to improve the practice – this sets a precedent for a long term professional relationship.

Let’s Look at an Example Application

To give an example of how the training works for a specific task, let’s take a look at Level 1 Task #18 – Understands & Uses the Telephone Professionally. This task starts with the concept that the telephone is a tool that can be used in a professional manner that will increase the new patient lifeblood in a practice and therefore although many people take telephone skills for granted, it is key to slow down and think about how we use a telephone as a dental secretary. It also describes phone etiquette including phrases to use and not to use. It also includes a section on the practice philosophy – how we handle emergencies, what the scheduling options are for new patients, how we want vendors handled, etc. It even includes a couple sample conversations to read how to handle a ‘dental shopper’ who asks for the price of a cap and what to say to a patient calling to cancel their appointment at the last minute. This task ends with 52 telephone questions that the secretary must write what they would say (not what they would do).

To complete this task, the secretary reads through all the task material (20 pages) on her personal time. She spends about ½ hour in the office with a more senior staff person to discuss the practice philosophy. (I recommend that the dentist review this section first to customize the material to his practice style and approach.) Then, back at home, she write down her answers to the telephone questions. If there is a senior secretary in the practice, this person can review her answers and meet to discuss which ones she got wrong and how the dentist prefers these calls handled. Otherwise, this would involve a meeting with the dentist. Again, at home, she would re-write any wrong answers and then have a final meeting with either the senior secretary or dentist to finalize that this task is completed.

Jay Gaier of The Scheduling Institute has created an entire consulting organization around the concept of using the telephone as a professional tool. His courses and coaching cost in the $10k range depending on the personalization of coaching you prefer. His brilliant marketing approach for dentists is to simply call your office pretending to be a potential new patient – and then he records your secretary handling this call. He then mails you a CD so you can hear your secretary and the pretend patient – and you can hear for yourself the telephone skills your secretary possesses. By requiring that all new hire secretaries must complete the task on Understands and Uses the Telephone Professionally, before they start answering the phone – you are raising your chances that new and existing patients will be handled correctly right from the start.

Using this one example, you can see how this training program would work. The secretary will be reading and working on her tasks and when she has 6-8 tasks she feels are ready to be ‘signed off’ by the dentist, she requests a meeting. Generally this training meeting would last ½ hour and can take place during a cancellation or hole in the schedule. By the end of this meeting, the secretary will have completed some tasks to the satisfaction of the dentist and perhaps be re-working a few tasks as well. The dentist should document this training meeting in the secretary’s employee file – keeping track of the tasks completed and still to accomplish. This becomes a record of the career development for this employee. Eventually as the secretary completes level 1 and a raise is given, this also is documented in the employee file.

Your Thoughts

What do you think about the training program Jill and Dr. Smith have developed?

What if your office manager had the ability to help you manage your practice? Imagine that she could confidently and correctly handle the variety of business decisions that occur throughout your practice – from handling upset patients to making financial arrangements, to running the practice’s marketing budget and even helping negotiate new technology purchases? On top of saving you time so you can be focusing on your clinical care, what if you had an intelligent, well-trained office manager who could implement your ideas and help you to accomplish your goals – moving forward to create the practice you want to have, but never seem to have enough time to make the necessary changes?

Invest in Training

All this and more is what you can gain for your practice when you invest in training your dental office manager. Most of the office managers I know feel that they want to do their very best for their dentist. They see the many demands on the dentist and appreciate their job – but they don’t know what to do. They don’t know how to get the training they need so they can be a real asset to their dentist. We have a perfect opportunity – a dentist that could really use some business management help and an office manager that is enthusiastic to step up.

Now, all we need is the training!

Benefits of Investing in a Training Program

There are many benefits to investing in a training plan for your office manager:

- The dentist knows exactly what the office manager is doing and has been trained to do.

-The dentist spends time working with staff who are developing their career and contributing to the practice, rather than to the people who are causing trouble in the practice.

-The office manager knows exactly what is required in her job.

- The practice improves because the OM is focused on accomplishing the goals that benefit the office.
The dentist feels confident that he is managing his staff well.

-The OM gets used to learning from and meeting with the dentist in order to improve the practice – this sets a precedent for a long term professional relationship.

Thanks to the dentist investing his time in training – the secretary is now receiving positive reinforcement to develop her skills. She is motivated and enthusiastic about the opportunity to really help the practice. She sees firsthand that the dentist is responsible for setting the philosophy and standards for the practice in enough detail so that she can carry out the tasks. The dentist appreciates the personal time invested in learning to improve the practice – and he receives positive feedback for taking his time to clarify his expectations and guidelines in the practice. Now, we have accomplished the opposite of a ‘vicious circle’ – perhaps we could call it a “happy spiral”?

Start With the Basics

The training program should start with the basics and advance to tasks on hiring other staff, managing marketing programs, tracking statistics, etc. As the secretary and dentist continue to work together – the office manager is transforming into a real business manager. She eventually will bring ideas and programs to the meetings that the dentist never considered. She will begin to read dental journals and participate in online forums and learn about dentistry outside the walls of the practice. That will lead to even more new ideas and opportunities – and if the dentist likes the new idea the office manager presents, he already has the person in place to implement! This also takes the stress off the dentist as he feels he has another intelligent, caring person who he can bounce ideas off of and together they can start to become partners that share the burden of running the practice.

As dentistry changes, we need business professionals in practices that can successfully manage the office. These office managers play a major role in reducing overhead, evaluating dental insurance plans and managing the fast-changing world of marketing. The office manager position becomes full of variety and challenge – and makes a difference in the lives of not just the dentist and staff, but also the patients and the community. A successful dental practice serves a vital role in the community – and the well-trained dental office manager is at the heart of this practice.

What’s Next?

In part II, Jill will discuss her approach to dental office manager training and provide helpful tips for implementing a dental office manager training program within your practice.

Your Thoughts

Do you have an office manager? Does your company offer office manger training? What benefits of having a dental office manger are you seeing in your practice?

The Dismissal w/Dignity Agreement

This is an agreement between an employer and employee that spells out a “healthy” arrangement to assist both parties in parting ways. It is truly a humane and respectful way to treat an outgoing employee and also resolves many issues that will often cause employer angst when it comes to having to dismiss a team member. It is truly a win/win for both parties and sends a poignant message to existing team members and patients alike.

Create Open & Honest environment for Meeting

It’s about meeting with the employee in question and sharing your feelings regarding the termination of their employment and honestly verbalizing your feelings openly and honestly and you can both be victorious is the separation process. You will find that every fear that is referenced in the article entitled Uncovering the Myths of “Fallout” from Dental Employee Dismissal can be put to rest with this approach. As with everything else, be totally prepared to sit down with the employee in question and have all of your ducks in a row including a prepared document to spell out the agreement.

Tell Employee What’s In It For Them

Let them know that you appreciate the fact that they have been trying to meet their mark and that you respect the effort they have tried to put forth, but that it is probably best for both of you to move on. Always start with “what’s in it for them” since you will find you get all of their attention when you focus on the pluses for them right from the get-go this is the best place to start. I can promise you that they will not argue the point and be most compliant. Let them know that you will NOT send them out in the cold, but rather give them time off (within reason) to pursue other job opportunities. You will also respect their position and make sure to let the existing team and patients know that this was a mutual decision to separate and move on to better both of you.

Propose a Tradeoff

What you will offer them is the opportunity to go out and take face to face interviews and possible Skill Assessment Days (working interviews) that will be designated based on tenure within your practice, this time frame is for you to determine. They will be paid for this time away from the practice to pursue other opportunities in exchange to help you to integrate their replacement. They will agree to help to coach them in, share their job descriptions and make the transition a smooth one. It will be the employer to decide if the changeover takes 2, 3 or 4 weeks to complete based on length of employment from the current employee. This process sends a wonderful message to your team since you are giving the outgoing employee every opportunity to find new employment and also gives them the comfort to say good-bye to patients they know. They will also be much more cooperative when it comes to helping with the crossover from the old employee to the new.

This has proven to be a very humane way to make the shift and it sends a wonderful message to incoming, outgoing, current employees and patients alike. Of course there are support materials to assist in the process to safeguard proper communication with the protocol.

Your Thoughts

Do you employ similar tactics when dismissing an employee in your practice? Would this approach work with your employees?

First off, I must state at the onset of this article that any employee that has participated in any illegal activities such as embezzlement or theft, or has contributed to wrong-doings that will clearly be detrimental to you or your practice must be immediately dismissed.

Fear of Fallout is Normal

The following protocol is one that would apply to situations where you (and most probably your team as well) were aware that a particular team member is just not appropriate for your practice and yet you hold onto them for fear of “fallout”. You continue to observe behavior affirming that she/he is not a fit for your practice, yet reluctantly accommodate it and stress over it, even lose sleep over it, but turn the other cheek and just plod on day after day.

After a while many of you will actually show your frustrations to the team member in question, other team members, your spouse and family, and sometimes even your patients. How healthy is this for you and even for the employee in question as well? Do you think they are not aware of this? Many employees will hang on, dealing with their own fears and concerns and interestingly have their own unhealthy reasons to stay.

Often Fear is the Result of Misconceptions

Fallout myths are common fears and misconceptions that many dentists ruminate about so often that they steer away from dismissal to avoid their perceived challenges. The fear of moving the process forward is the result of many preconceived outcomes that many employers try to avoid:

• “If I let Suzie go, the other team members will be so upset that they will “leave in sympathy”.
• “I can’t do that to Suzie knowing she will be sent out in the cold with no job”.
• Patients will leave my practice if Suzie isn’t here.
• “Maybe Suzie is the best out there and once I search for her replacement I will find no one any better”.
• “No one really knows what Suzie does except for Suzie, so how can I let her go”?

You will know it’s time when you have followed proper procedures to assist the employee with additional coaching and training as necessary and they just don’t seem to be able or willing to come around. You have spoken with them and documented these warnings and conversations along with their signature recording the fact that these areas have been properly addressed, and yet they never did meet the requirements necessary to keep them.

Dismissal With Dignity

When you know you have clearly attempted to do all you could, it is time for everyone to move on and time to engage in an Employer/Employee Dismissal Co-agreement or what I call “Dismissal with Dignity”.

Stay Tuned for Part II

Stay tuned for part II tomorrow to learn more about exactly how you can dismiss an employee with dignity.

Mark Wilhelm, DMD MSD

There are many cosmetic dentists who believe that diagnosing a patient must begin with a close examination of test results and x-rays.

It Starts with “Hello”

With over 20 years of experience to call upon, I beg to differ. While many situations will require clinical research, you might be surprised at how much it’s possible to tell from your first “Hello” with a patient.

Simple Case Study

I recently had a patient visit me to get a second opinion. She was 63 years old and had a lot of dentistry already completed. She had an issue with her front teeth. At a previous provider she was told that she needed a full-mouth reconstruction and went into the details as to what was proposed. After listening I asked her these five basic questions regarding function:

1. Are you able to chew bagels or other tough foods?
2. Are you able to chew gum?
3. Do you sleep restfully?
4. Do you feel as though you have one bite when you close (or more than one place to bite)?
5. Have you noticed any wear, flattening or changes in your teeth in the last five years?

These weren’t trick questions but rather basic ones that could give me any evidence of functional concerns or breakdown. From the five questions I asked her and from what I could see from my position in the consult room, my opinion was that she did not need a lot of dentistry.

Now note that I had not even moved from my seat and already had a good idea of what, if any, problems she had. She brought copies of x-rays and I did eventually get a clinical look at her teeth, but the bottom line is that I did not need an articulator or the study casts that she brought with her. How could I do this? It’s simple. She was 63 years old and told me that she was able to chew and eat just fine, did not have any pain and did not exhibit any appreciable clinical wear on her teeth. This all meant that her chewing system was working fine. It didn’t need fixing! Next I was able to address her needs with her front teeth. Simple treatment for a trusting patient.

This diagnosis began at hello and concluded with an investigation. After she agreed to proceed, I could use the study casts to do the diagnostic wax-up and coordinate it with facial measurements to plan the treatment and the provisional restorations. But my determination that her occlusion was functioning acceptably meant that I did not need to change her bite.

Take a different patient referred by his family dentist because he had a problem with his front teeth. He was also in his sixties and he thought that he just needed to have some crowns on his front teeth and he would be on his way. Well, at our first “hello” I determined that his occlusion was not functioning acceptably and after asking some questions and looking at his mouth I confirmed this. His problem with his front teeth developed because he had a problem in his occlusion with his back teeth. He did need a full-mouth reconstruction, or close to it.

Please note that these are significant conclusions confidently made without an articulator or study casts or anything other than experience and careful observation. Treatment, on the other hand, requires instrumentation and the knowledge that goes with using it. Knowing when to use what will mean the difference between success and failure, and will potentially save you from doing a lot of unnecessary dentistry and still possibly succumbing to failure.

Your Thoughts

What do you think? Can you reliably make an initial diagnosis pre-examination as Dr. Wilhelm suggests?

The attitude and overall feeling of a client can be greatly influenced by the attitude and enthusiasm shown by a dentist or member of the dental team. These qualities are contagious and can lead to much more enjoyable dental experience. After all, there aren’t too many people who really look forward to or feel passionate about a visit to their dentist!

Enthusiasm is Contagious

However, if when they do visit they are met by an enthusiastic team, lead by a dentist who shows passion and pride in what they do, it is more than likely they will be swept along and adopt the very same levels of enthusiasm.

In our practice we feel that the solution is to not bombard all of our clients by telling them constantly how passionate we are, but to demonstrate it each and every day so that it is obvious and almost a pre-requisite for those that visit our website or call into our practice. This is achieved by building a team that cares about the services they offer, a team that is genuine in how they feel about their work and a team that takes pride in helping each and every client. Many clients tell us that this is something that they feel from the moment they first walk in.

Don’t Try to Fake It

Above all, we know that our clients are not stupid and are capable of seeing through any false actions or any of our team pretending to be something that they are not. We speak to all clients using natural language and let our passion for what we do come through naturally – we know that this is something that is impossible to fake.
If passion and enthusiasm is there, it will be impossible for others to not notice it and pick up on it. It will come through in how clients are treated, how the whole team cares for the needs of each and every client and most of all, when they talk about your business. If it isn’t there, it won’t matter how many times you or your team say otherwise, it can’t be faked.

Evaluate Your Passion Level

Now is the time to evaluate your passion and enthusiasm, as well as your teams for the services you provide and for what you do. Go through the pain of asking what your clients think, this will provide actionable feedback you can use to ensure that they next time they visit, they will be leaving feeling as enthusiastic about your business as you and your team are!

If you already have a good practice, going to the next level is challenging. Delightful, but challenging. Why? Because you wouldn’t have a good practice if you weren’t doing a lot of things right. So, give yourself permission to pat yourself on the back for work well done. “That which is rewarded is repeated,” according to Dr. Michael LeBoeuf. And then, take a hard look at what you can do better.

Take the time to Analyze

Take a look—a hard, honest look at each and every one of your systems and ask yourself, “What are we doing well?” Do more of that! Then ask yourself the really difficult question, “How can we do this better?” That’s the most important question for dental practices today! Certainly, the time to sit back on your laurels is not now!

Take your good practices and make them great. One of the most dangerous things you can do is become complacent. As we come out from under tumultuous economic times, now, more than ever, we need to focus on constant improvement.

Take into consideration both the pros and the cons of issues that are impacting the industry today. Take a good hard look at your practice and make supreme effort to go back to the basics—the things that put you where you are now—and be diligent about making each aspect of your practice even better.

For example: No matter how well you think you customer service may be in your practice, I would suggest that it could be even better. As a team, review the internal promotion/customer service protocols you are performing that add to the health and well-being of your practice and which enhance your patient’s experience with you. Then, together, decide on three new things that you can add to your customer service protocols. Set your goals for these protocols and then design a plan of action for each of the three new protocols/services. Next, put the plans into action. Continually review the results to assure their effectiveness and success. Then, add to the services—on a regular and continual basis. Do this with each of your systems.

The 25 Management Systems

There are 25 management systems in your practice. Those systems are:

1. Attitude and Expectations / Mission Statement / Goal Setting
2. Communication Skills
3. Scheduling / Broken Appointments / Filling Voids
4. Morning Huddles / Team Meetings
5. Patient Financing
6. Insurance System
7. Full Use of Computers
8. Overhead Control / Fee Analysis
9. Payables
10. Monitors
11. Accounts Receivable Control / Statements / Collection
12. New Patient Experience
13. Treatment Planning
14. Consultations / Case Presentations
15. Patient Education
16. Clinical Efficiency
17. Charting System
18. Hygiene Retention
19. Periodontal Program
20. Marketing / Practice Building
21. Telephone Skills
22. Sterilization / Infection Control
23. Inventory Control
24. Follow Up on Treatment Diagnosed and Left Untreated
25. Intra Oral Camera System

We have never been in a practice where these systems are as good as they can be! Without question, we’ve been in some excellent practices where many things are working very well, but we’ve not seen perfection to date! If you improve each of the 25 systems by 1%, that will make a 25% difference for you – a positive difference. Taking a highly productive practice and making a positive 25% difference is very significant!

On the other hand, if you do not feel that any of your systems are as clean, or smooth flowing, as they should be, then you have a lot of work to do, but you also have a tremendous opportunity. Growth for you will be boundless!

Step back. Humble yourself. Look at your practice with wide-open eyes. Commit to making every aspect of it better. Not only will you be more productive, but you will also be more profitable, and you will obtain control of the stress that is caused by systems that are not working succinctly.

Try This Exercise

Refine each of your management systems. Find ways to make each system a bit better. This may be a good time to have your practice evaluated by a management professional. A third-party set of eyes is effective when determining where your practice can be improved. Coaches are appropriate for everyone who is interested in continuous improvement.

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Running a successful dental practice can be sophisticated at best and frustrating at worst. The constant dilemma of a dentist is how to have new patients and keep old ones. Naturally, patients would flock to a good dental clinic. By good, the clinic should have a warm and friendly atmosphere, not make patients unreasonably wait and value patient relationships. Although it might seem difficult to work on these three points, there are six simple things that a dentist can do to address these key issues.

Warm Greetings

Patients love to feel welcomed. Having someone artistically write a greeting on an office whiteboard with the patient’s first name is an easy way to make a patient feel special.

Introducing the Staff

It is important that the patients get to know the staff a bit. If they are to see and talk to them whenever they are visiting the dentist, then it is only proper for the staff and the patients to bond a bit. This can easily be accomplished by putting up personal pictures of the staff, and even of the dentist, on an office corkboard. This works as a great conversation piece.

Warm Environment

The dentist and the staff should always send positive vibes to the patient and work towards achieving a warm environment during every visit. Friendly body language will help in this department. Smiling and being interested when patients talk will always do the trick. To highlight the necessity of following this tip, patients who feel uncomfortable with a hygienist or the dentist himself will most likely not schedule a second appointment.

Listen

Patients go to the dentist because they are hurting or uncomfortable. It is necessary for dentists and the staff to listen to them intently when they talk about what’s wrong or else they will get the feeling that the dentist does not care about their pain. An easy way to look interested when listening is to establish eye contact.

Be On Time

Everybody is busy. For that reason, most patients will be ticked if their dentist makes them wait up to an hour. The only way to avoid this situation is to be on time. Go to the dental clinic early and avoid long lunches.

Keep in Touch

There are times when a patient won’t book appointments for months, or even years, at a time. Either they do not have serious dental concerns or maybe they are contemplating the idea of switching dentists. To prevent the latter from happening, always keep in touch with your patients. You can do this by sending newsletters whether in print or by email or if by sending out small gifts.

Your Thoughts

What would you add to this list?

Deb Roberge

I have frequently been asked by dentists to provide them with an ad I’ve used for a clinical dental assistant position or for a hygienist or business administrator. When I’m asked I always respond with “I have many I have constructed over the years, but they were not for your practice, with your specific dynamics, practice culture, or practice style.” It is a known fact that no two practices are alike, so how can we possibly expect that generic verbiage will work for different practice requirements?

6 Great Tips

Here are some suggestions to “personalize” your advertising to narrow your field and attract the best qualified candidates for your practice:

Communicate Practice Standard of Care/Specific Style of Practice

1. Give as much information up front regarding your particular practice standard of care and your specific style of practice.

Examples:
- “Our hygienists treat our patients for a minimum of one hour.”
- “Our clinical team is encouraged to handle all hands-on treatment that is permitted by the board in our state.”

Never List Perks

2. Never list “perks” or any extras. You will find that the majority of the responses to your ad are more interested in what they are going to “get” rather than what your practice is all about or what they are willing to contribute.

Never Mention Salary

3. Never mention salary offerings. You should have a salary “range” in mind, but never determine what the individual will be eligible for until you see them in action.

Communicate Welcoming Attitude

4. Whenever possible, make mention of the fact that the team will be “welcoming” a new incoming team member. Often job candidates are reluctant to respond to an ad thinking that the team will NOT accept the new incoming employee. Making mention of the fact that they will be welcomed makes a huge difference.

Create the Ad with Your Team

5. Try to create the ad with the entire team whenever possible, having them participate in the process really helps them to feel a part of things and be more likely to help with the integration of the new team member.

Always Utilize Skill Assessments

6. Never hire without a Skill Assessment Day(s). What is a Skill Assessment? It is a structured well disciplined way of evaluating a perspective hire. Guidelines on this process to be discussed in future articles.

Please get into the habit of hiring slowly and dismissing rapidly! The longer you take to evaluate the new incoming team members and slowly integrate them (properly) into your practice, the better off you will be.

So please take the time to craft an ad that is specifically designed for your practice, culture and goals and follow it up with a well structured hiring protocol. Taking your time and paying attention on the front end will assure you of hiring the right person, slowly guiding them into the group with a purpose and making sure you continue to appreciate having them on board will give you great long-term paybacks!

Your Tips

Do you have additional tips for advertising an open position within your practice? What has worked especially well for you in the past?

9 Reasons You Need Digital Case Presentation

1. Increase in patient trust. Seeing the photographs and detailed information in language the patient can understand gives the patient reason to trust you.

2. 83% of human learning takes place visually. In order to effectively educate your patients, get your message across and help them see the benefits of treatment, digital case presentation answers this strong need for visual learning and understanding.

3. Build a greater rapport with the patient. The patient will feel more connected to you because it will be evident you listened to his or her needs.

4. Eliminate buyer remorse. Patients will show the presentation to other influencers who will support the decision made.

5. Increase in new patient flow. Because patients are sharing the presentation with friends and families, more people will become aware of you and ask for your name.

6. Show the patient what he/she could look like with cosmetic dentistry. This helps the patient to visualize how their overall appearance will improve.

7. Increase in case acceptance. Patients become enthusiastic when shown ph9 Reaotos and information that they can grasp. The result from the increased trust and rapport results in increased case acceptance.

8. Motivate the team. Teams like to be challenged and add to their skill set. This is an opportunity to spread their wings beyond their everyday duties. The result is an energized team which results in energized case presentation.

9. Help the patient to “sell” the dentistry to the spouse when the spouse cannot be present at the consultation. It is always ideal to have the spouse, or any other decision maker, present at the presentation of findings. However, this is not always possible. The digital case presentation recreates the consultation as best as possible, making it easier for them to understand the treatment plan.

Your Thoughts

How do you incorporate digital products into case presentation in your practice? What has converted the best?

Mydent International Supports Autism Speaks

HAUPPAUGE, NY: April 12, 2011 — Mydent International is pleased to announce its ongoing support of Autism Speaks, the nation’s largest and most effective autism science and advocacy organization. Autism Speaks is dedicated to funding global biomedical research into the causes, prevention, treatments and cure for autism.

With autism rates estimated as high as 1 in 91 children, Mydent feels compelled to take action. As a result, a portion of the profits from every DEFEND product sold will
go to Autism Speaks, with a $10,000 minimum annual commitment. Gary Mahr, Mydent’s Director of Operations, said: “As the parent of an autistic child, it is particularly gratifying to me that Mydent has chosen to support an outstanding organization such as Autism Speaks. It’s nice to know that a percentage of what we do every day is going to help improve the lives of people like my daughter.”

Mydent is proud to play a small part in helping Autism Speaks to change the future for all who struggle with autism spectrum disorders. We urge you to learn more at www.autismspeaks.org.

Mydent International is dedicated to fully maintaining its brand promise: “To provide the healthcare professional with the highest quality infection control products,
disposables, preventatives and impression material systems at affordable prices, supported by superior service and 100% Customer Satisfaction.” DEFEND. Works Better. Lasts Longer. Costs Less. For more information on Mydent International and the DEFEND brand of products, call 800-275-0020, or visit www.defend.com.

Enter the Dental Heroes/Mydent Giveaway

defend

To enter to win these great products, simply follow @dentalheroes on Twitter and “like” Mydent on Facebook. When you’ve done both, let me know in a comment under this post. A winner will be picked at random on Friday, May 20, 2011. The announcement will be posted right here on DentalHeroes.com. Stay tuned, and good luck!

To win a free year’s supply along with a $200 gift card, you simply need to “Like” Aquafresh on Facebook. Additionally, for each friend who registers, you’ll be granted an additional chance to win.

Aquafresh will also be giving away six weekly prizes of all three varieties of Aquafresh iso-active toothpaste as well.

Like Aquafresh Now

Once upon a time, dental care consisted of little more than a bottle of whiskey and a strong man holding a pair of pliers. Modern people enjoy much more effective (and less painful) dental services. In the near future, new technology will likely change the types of services that you receive, perhaps even before you get your next filling.

Regional Dental Labs Take Prominence

Newer technology makes it easier for dental labs to afford the equipment that they need to create bridges, crowns and implants. Even as recent as the early 2000s, most dentists had to make impressions of their patients’ teeth, send them to a lab, and wait for the lab to make the products needed. Bridges, crowns, and implants were usually made by hand and it could take weeks. Meanwhile, the patient suffered with missing and broken teeth.

Half a decade later, many dentists found that they no longer had to wait for weeks to get their dental implants back from national laboratories. Instead, they could use smaller labs located closer to them. Regional laboratories can work more quickly than large facilities. They can also provide better services to dentists. As regional dental labs take prominence over national and international facilities, patients can get their crowns and replacement teeth faster.

Less Expensive, More Accurate Equipment

Regional labs will become increasingly popular because dental equipment continues to become less expensive and more accurate. Engineers have already made machines that can make perfect recreations of teeth. Instead of making these items by hand, technicians just need to operate the machine. This makes it faster and easier for labs to create dental prostheses.

In fact, dental equipment could become so inexpensive that dentist offices choose to purchase their own laboratories. This will make the process even faster. Since dentists will no longer have to outsource the work to other labs, in the long run, this advancement could also mean lower dental care costs for patients that need prostheses.

Smaller Labs with 3D Technology

Computer-assisted equipment made to create dental prostheses were first introduced in 1980. At the time, though, they had serious limitations that made them difficult to use. Thankfully, during the early 2000s, technological advances made it easier for dental technicians to use computers with 3D rendering software to make prostheses in small labs. Instead of relying on an entire lab full of experts, the dentist can hire a single lab technician or dental assistant to make the dental prostheses for her patients. That’s great news for patients dreading weeks of toothless living.

No one knows exactly what the future holds for dentistry. Perhaps someone will develop a way to prevent pain without causing side effects such as loss of consciousness and hours of numbness. One thing is certain, though, the upcoming advancements in dental technology will make it easier for dentists to treat their patients within shorter periods of time.

They could even help patients avoid pain and high dental care costs in the future; a luxury hoped for by most anyone who has suffered through a root canal.

See the big picture

As a healthcare provider, it can be difficult at times to see beyond the clinical care you are giving and gain perspective on the big picture – the overall patient experience. And sometimes you may wonder, why does it even matter? You provide impeccable dental care, right? What more does a patient need in their dental experience? Today, the answer is, much more.

Focus on Customer Service

You cannot deny the fact that you are a small business owner and with this comes competition. If you want to be the dentist of choice in your community or for your target audience, you MUST step up and make customer service a primary focus in your practice. Excellent clinical care is absolutely necessary for you to succeed – and excellent customer service is absolutely necessary for you to thrive.

Where do you begin?

Begin at the beginning: With the telephone. How you answer the phone, gather information and, in a nutshell, how you speak to your prospective patients can and will make all the difference in their decision to schedule – or not to schedule – an appointment with you.

Develop the New Patient Experience

The new patient experience. Take the time necessary to develop this, to enhance this and ultimately, to perfect this in your practice. If you take your new patients through a phenomenal first-time visit – they will return, they will say yes to treatment, and they will refer! What more could you ask for!

Treat every visit like it’s the first visit

Treat your patient family with the same attentiveness each time they visit. And, each time they visit, ask for referrals. With every great experience comes a great story they will want to share with a friend or family member. Remember, the little extra steps you take will build a relationship that can last a lifetime – or at least a career-time!

More information about developing outstanding customer service

Visit www.jamesonmanagement.com/orange to request Orange Papers on popular practice management topics by Jameson experts.

Your Thoughts

How does your practice provide exceptional customer service?

1. Is the domain name of your website (ie. hawleylanedental.com) registered in your name or the name of your web services professional/agency?

Why? I have seen several cases where a web site creator used their own name instead of the client in the domain registration. This means that the the intellectual property (ie. domain name) does not legally belong to the client. One of my clients lost his domain name (and a lot of business) to an unscrupulous website designer who used it for, lets say, nothing to do with dentistry. Use a service such as http://www.whois.net/ to check your registration information. Extra points if you have also registered the .net, .info, .org, .biz versions of your domain to protect them.

2. Are my procedures contained in one page or does each procedure have its own page?

Search engines associate themes with individual pages of a website. Combine that with the fact that people search for specific services and are usually not interested in other services. For example, if someone searches for ‘implant dentist stratford ct’ the search engine will give precedence to pages optimized for keywords relating to ‘implant dentistry’ in that locality. Also a page dedicated to your implant services gives you the opportunity to inform, educate and persuade the reader that you are the ideal dentist for that specific procedure. You don’t want to make them search your site for a paragraph about your expertise in implant dentistry.

3. Is the traffic to my site measured?

The business mantra ‘You can’t manage what you don’t measure’ is especially true on the web because you can find a lot of actionable information about your online presence. Such as the number of visitors who arrive at your site but leave immediately (‘bounce rate’), the ‘keywords’ that are driving traffic to your site, the number of visitors who come from different sources such as search engines and social media, the geographic locations of your website visitors, the most popular (and unpopular) pages. This information is vital because it allows you to evaluate the success of your marketing campaigns and identify what is working and what is not.

4. What words do people use in search engines to arrive at my website?

If your site is ranking for ‘romanian poker casino ringtone viagra’ you know something is wrong. You probably want to strike a balance between brand keywords (dentist or business name), local keywords (‘dentists in stratford ct’) and more generic keywords (e.g. ‘dentures cost without insurance’). For competitive online marketing you should really do keyword research to quantify the specific keywords and synonyms that generate conversions (ie. contacts that turn into clients) and then see how many visits your website generates for those keywords.

5. How many contacts and leads does my website generate each month?

If you can measure this you can also estimate the value of ranking in search engines, whether or not you should try paid advertising (eg. google adwords). Remember someone who sees your website might decide to call rather than email or use your contact form so be sure ask your callers how they found you. At the very least you should know the total revenue generated by your website, the lifetime value of your clients and the cost-per-aquisition of the clients that come from your online marketing.

6. Have you registered my website and company in the ‘Local’ listings of search engines and social media?

Dentistry is essentially a local service and search engines such as Google, Yahoo, Bing all have listing services (free) to help highlight local providers to local searchers. Getting properly listed in these services is fairly straightforward and can result in really powerful exposure for your business, but it is competitive in most markets. Also worth checking out Facebook Places.

7. Have you checked for technical errors in Google and Bing Webmaster Services?

You want to know that everything is humming along nicely. These (free) services show diagnostics of your site including broken links, page load speed, sites that link to your site, duplicate content issues. There are several other settings and configurations on offer here that will help hone your website targeting. Google Webmaster, Bing Webmaster.

8. Is my site ranking high in search engines for the words and phrases used by people looking for dental services?

This is a big topic but there are two things to bear in mind. Rank for profitable keywords, not just the keywords popularly used in search engines related to dentistry. Use keyword research to identify which keywords to rank for then use a ranking tool or a manual check to see how you are faring. Also, observe keyword driven traffic trends in Google Analytics to monitor performance.

9. Is my content 100% original or copied from other websites?

Put yourself in the shoes of the people visiting your site. Would you contact a dentist if you felt the website content was stale, generic and impersonal. Probably not, particularly if the person searching the web for a dentist finds a competitor’s website that contains informative, persuasive, easy-to-read copy that imbues personality and expertise. Copy-editing is an important and frequently overlooked factor in online marketing. Check the originality of your copy here: http://www.copyscape.com/

10. What is causing my competitor’s websites to rank higher than mine for commonly used words and phrases?

There are tens if not hundreds of signals that search engines take into account for their ranking algorithm. Number of pages, level of SEO optimized content, site architecture, age, but most important of all is the number of quality of links pointing to a site. This is not an intuitive concept but a good starting point is to use open site explorer (free) to compare the link profile of your site with that of your competitors. In short you will not rank without links from other sites pointing to your site. For more competitive towns and regions your site will not be competitive unless you have quality links of the same (or better) quality and quantity as your competitors pointing to your website.

With advances in technology and our knowledge of the current evidence-based science, regarding the oral health and systemic health link, there is a wide diversity of services we can now offer.

One of the significant changes within the business of dentistry is the dental hygienists impact on communication and case acceptance. The dental hygiene department needs to have an integral part in affecting case acceptance. This is one area of the dental business where the team members will contribute to a large part of the total dental practice production and profits.

For many years, oral hygiene and patient education has been an important role as a dental auxiliary. As dental professional’s we spend hours educating ourselves about the best methodologies to educate and teach our patients about improving their home care and oral health.

The science of communication and creating a structure for patient case acceptance is crucial to guide patients towards a healthy body and increasing the dental practice profits. The communication skills need to be defined and refined in order to enhance your patient communication, increase patient case acceptance and add to the total production of your dental business.

Patient Connection Is Key

The patient connection is the first step. As a healthcare professional, you feel passionate about what you do and over seventy percent of all patient case acceptance should come from your passion for the profession and your compassion for the patients.

Utilize Visuals Properly

Visuals are similar to having a third eye. Many of your patients are visual learners. Visuals do not need to take extra time but if thought out, they can be effectively and efficiently utilized during all dental visits. Sit down during a team meeting, discuss and write down the available visuals your dental team can currently use. Pre-determine the logistics of how to use your current visuals, which ones to use, which visuals you would like to implement and how you can have them available to expedite the appointment time.

Case Acceptance Tips

1. Before the patient enters the rooms have the appropriate visual set up. For example if the patient has pending treatment, have the latest digital photo of that tooth up on your computer screen for patient to see when they enter the room.

2. Always have the intra oral camera ready for a tour of the patients’ mouth.

3. As you complete your visual exam, provide the patient a tour of their mouth. This includes restorative, aesthetics, oral and soft tissue lesions and periodontal findings. Show these areas to your patient on the computer monitor in front of them.

4. Use pamphlets and brochures when possible. This will give third party documentation of your clinical findings.

5. Individualize the pamphlet. Highlight paragraphs that pertain to their condition. Outline with a pen certain areas and/or circle specific sentences of importance. You may also want to write notes on the sides of the paragraphs inside the brochure.

6. If you have a video or Casey System have this playing as you are documenting in the chart or doing something else and the patient remains sitting in the chair.

7. Be open to showing patients similar type of work the doctor or a colleague has completed in your mouth. Put it up on the monitor as an example. If you have before and after photos to place on the monitor, have these up and ready to discuss and show the patient. Combine the brochure and your visuals on the monitor.

8. The dental team is the very best testimonial that you can use to provide the patients’ trust in the doctor’s work.

9. The co-diagnosis with hygienist and doctor will be a verbal review of what the patient just saw on the computer monitor in the hygiene room.

10. There has probably been a lot of new information communicated to the patient and comprehension is about 30% of what was just presented. Review your findings a second time while doctor is in the room. Review with doctor what you have reviewed with the patient and review again the specific areas in the brochure, which you have highlighted, outlined or circled.

11. Verbally confirm with the patient that they understand what you have just presented and that they understand the value of completing treatment.

12. At the last transfer of the patient to the treatment coordinator, give a short synopsis about what was provided to the patient today. Hand the brochure or pamphlets to the treatment coordinator instead of the patient. Now the treatment coordinator can use the brochure, which you have personalized to review the case and then the financial aspects of the patient treatment plan for final case acceptance.

13. The final part of this patient visit will be the treatment coordinator handing the patient their personalized brochure or pamphlet as well as their treatment plan and the payment options.

The goal of every successful dental practice is to provide the very highest level of patient care. Spending time with patients and utilizing visuals will provide patients the best opportunity to understand “Why” this treatment plan will best support their overall dental health, systemic health, self-confidence and overall well-being.

If you are still asking “Why” communication and case acceptance are so important, remember that case acceptance is critical for clinical results and the success of all dental practices.

Part II Preview

In part 2 we will discuss the various important questions to ask patients, what type of communication needs to occur between the doctor and hygienist during the examination and how to close the treatment plan before financial arrangements are made.

It is very important that the hygienist thoroughly understands their responsibility to review restorative and aesthetic needs through a structured process of communication each time they see a patient.

Many times a patient needs to hear the information two or three times before they will say “Yes” to a treatment plan. When the hygienist and entire dental team understands the science behind communication for case acceptance, the hygienist and other members of the team can increase the chances a patient will move forward with their treatment plan.

As the dental team feels more confident explaining the treatment needs to patients, the patients’ confidence in scheduling their treatment will also increase.

Your Tips

How do you utilize visuals to increase case acceptance in your practice? Do you agree or disagree with some of the tips outlined above? Why?

This is a quick post to get you thinking about your marketing efforts. Ask yourself these three questions to determine your readiness to launch a successful marketing campaign:

1. How is your phone being answered?

Once your marketing is effective, people will call to schedule appointments. Will they be as impressed with the verbal skills and competence of your employees as your marketing’s tone of professionalism?

2. What does your schedule look like?

Jameson coaches help teams all over the world schedule their days for maximum productivity and profitability. Is your schedule ready to run smoothly as you see an influx of accepted treatment and new patients?

3. Where do you really want to go?

If you have a clear vision and detailed goals for the direction of your practice, your marketing’s messages will be succinct and targeted so you get an efficient line of progress toward your goals. Looking for more cosmetic? Rather stay focused on family care? Know these answers BEFORE you begin crafting a single element of your external marketing!

Claim Process

The 3-step process to claim your free handpiece is as follows:

Step 1) Purchase three 500-count boxes of Denticator Prophy Angles (contact your authorized dental dealer to do so)

Step 2) Select the handpiece of your choice: Wild Thing Green, Classic Silver and Prophy Pink.

Step 3) Send your invoice to Denticator for your FREE ProphyPal!

Detailed Instructions

To receive your FREE ProphyPal, send a copy of your authorized Dental Dealer invoice to Denticator, Attn: D-Q111-PPAL, PO Box 7924, Algonquin, IL 60102 or FAX (847) 458-0063. Please indicate color of ProphyPal on invoice. If no color is given, a ProphyPal will be chosen for you. Limit of 2 ProphyPals per office. Offer only valid 2/1/11 through 3/15/11.Request(s) must be received by 3/31/11. Please allow 6-8 weeks for free goods. Qualifying purchases must be on one invoice. Not valid in conjunction with any other offer(s).Questions on free goods? Please call (866) 753-4392 or email denticatorfulfillment@ydnt.com. Free goods offer subject to change.

For some people, going to the dentist is a traumatic experience; the fear of dental work is very common. However, proper dental health is important and failure to maintain good dental habits could lead to serious complications. These range from cosmetic issues like the appearance of your teeth to much more serious problems including tooth-loss and cancer. Clearly, you don’t need an online biology degree to know the basics of dental care, it is a well-known fact proper brushing, using mouthwash, flossing and avoiding sugar are essential for clean teeth and healthy gums. Unfortunately, studies have confirmed that a person’s genetics have an effect on the overall healthiness of their teeth, so even people who execute perfect dental hygiene could find themselves at risk.

Genetics play a major role in every part of your life, and your mouth is no different. Everything from the alignment of your teeth to their strength can be linked to genetics. Thus, the likelihood and severity of tooth decay is tied to the makeup of your teeth. For instance, one of the most common afflictions involving dental health is a cavity, what dentists look for when you get your regular cleaning. However, some people who brush every day seem to be prone to cavities while others, even some who may practice poor oral hygiene, seem to hardly ever get cavities. The reasons for this disparity are numerous, but one of the key factors is a person’s genetic makeup.

Studies have indicated that a range of genetic factors can play a role in cavity development. Cavities are mainly caused by bacterial or food acids, and everything from the composition of your saliva to the shape of your teeth can increase or decrease the risk of developing cavities. Some people may have elements in their saliva that help neutralize those acids, making them less likely to develop cavities regardless of their brushing habits. Additionally, people with more grooves in their teeth, or teeth that are poorly aligned, are at greater risk as acids can easily sneak in to those grooves and crevices. Because it is harder to remove the acids from these places, they often stay there longer and dissolve more of the tooth.

Studies have also indicated that genetics play a major role in periodontal disease, the most common forms of which are gingivitis and periodontitis. Aside from the obvious environmental factors, studies have shown that people with a family history of these diseases are prone to developing them. Additionally, the ability to recover from gingivitis and other periodontal diseases is also tied to genetic factors. Healing is tied to the immune system, and people who have received a weakened immune system from their parents have a more difficult time recovering from these conditions. This means that not only is your likelihood to get a periodontal disease associated with genetic factors, but your ability to heal from that disease is as well.

You could even take things a step further and link behavioral habits to genetics, such as diet and metabolism. Studies have shown that genetic factors play an important role in what foods you are prone to eat, and the way in which those foods are digested and used by the body. As such, your heredity may cause you to be more prone to eat foods that are harmful to your teeth. This is a double-edged sword when it comes to managing dental health.

Most people are raised to brush their teeth and floss every day. While these habits are clearly important when it comes to dental health, genetic factors have to be considered. Genetics determine how strong your teeth are, the makeup of your saliva and your eating habits, all of which have an impact on your teeth and mouth. Given all of the evidence, it is essential that genetic factors be considered when evaluating your dental health.

It is a new year. The goals are set and you are ready to run the marathon and win the grand prize. The prize is an increase in practice profits, happy patients and a stellar team. Nevertheless, wait! There seems to be a bump in the road. Someone is asking for some important information. One question that needs to be answered is: How many periodontal patient appointments did your dental practice see in 2010?

How easily can you access this information? I speak to many offices that have no idea of their numbers. They do not know the number of periodontal patients they see each month. Did you know that recently the American Academy of Periodontology reported that periodontal disease in Northern America was underestimated by about 50%? Well, if no one keeps track of his or her monthly statistics then how would you know where you stand? Are you one of these statistics and are you guilty of underestimating who has periodontal disease in your dental practice?

When was the last time you looked at the numbers? Let’s just talk about your dental hygiene numbers. Here is the first question and a place to begin: “How many periodontal patients did you see in 2010?” This is only a starting point for looking over the numbers in your dental practice. Dental Professionals have a legal and ethical responsibility to assess and diagnose periodontal disease. This means that annually every patient seen in the dental office needs a periodontal screening exam completed. This is a legal document recorded in the patients’ chart.

Early Intervention Means Prevention

It still happens in the majority of dental hygiene departments. The dental hygiene department used to be thought of as a loss leader. This is not true. The dental hygiene department can produce at least 40% of the total production if your systems are in place. Look at the patient charts (You can view the patient periodontal charts easily if you have electronic charts.) and see what patients have 4mm pocket depths. Of these patients with 4mm pockets, what was the diagnosis for periodontal disease? Did these patients also have recession and mobility? Does the patient have Rheumatoid Arthritis or Diabetes? Look at the American Academy of Periodontology and review the classifications for periodontal disease. Many times dental hygiene patients have 5mm pockets and early intervention (scaling, root planing, chemotherapeutics, laser treatment, etc.) has not been diagnosed to treat these areas of disease and prevent further destruction.

Many times patients with moderate to heavy calculus and 4mm pockets are requested to come back for a prophy in 6 months. When a patient has several areas where 4mm’s are measured, bleeding on probing, systemic health conditions or illness (even the flu) and/or moderate to heavy calculus, it is time to sit the patient upright in the chair and talk “oral health/systemic health”. This is the time to discuss the cause of periodontal disease, early intervention, prevention, home-care and re-evaluation – sooner than later. We no longer “wait and watch” when there is an oral disease condition. Today – in 2011, we discuss early intervention and prevention.

All Systems Are A Go

It is a valuable service to add the periodontal screening exam to each patient. This needs to be completed annually on every patient. This includes measurement of all areas, which include but may not be limited to pocket depth, bleeding on probing, (BOP) furcation involvement, mucogingival involvement, mobility, recession and suppuration. Also noted are various disease conditions and systemic diseases. These all play a role in the classification of periodontal disease and the extent of treatment necessary.

When you begin to implement just this one service in the hygiene department, you will not only improve the value of the hygiene appointment but the practice profits will increase. This is because you now begin to diagnose patients who have early signs of periodontal disease and recommend non-surgical treatment – sooner than later. Not only will you be treatment planning for scaling, root planing, chemotherapeutic use and laser therapy, but home care products and same services will also increase. Now you are talking about adding value to patient services and increasing the practice profits! You can add to your practice profits without adding more appointments to the current schedule. It is all about planning your day before the patient walks in the door of your dental office.
When all practice management systems are in place, your net-profits will be maximized!

Profit Centers Raise Production

When you diagnose periodontal disease, you also recommend home care products to create a healthy mouth. The products you recommend such as power toothbrushes, toothpastes and oral rinses, need to be available for patients to buy and begin using that same day when they leave your office. You need to have these products available for patients to buy in your office. When the patient is seated in your chair, you can show patients exactly how to use these products effectively. You are the expert, you know exactly what the patient needs and now you can show them how to use that new product, while they are in the office.

Many periodontal patients have areas of sensitive roots and/or areas of root (cervical) decay, which requires a fluoride varnish treatment approximately every 90 days. These same day services are provided at the time of the hygiene appointment. This is just one example of adding valuable and time saving services (“same day services”) to patients. It is another way to increase profits in the dental practice. By the way – patients who have root (cervical) decay need to be using fluoride or Xylitol products at home – daily. These are just a few more products you need to have in the office and available for patients to purchase and use at home immediately.

When you have a well organized dental practice the dental hygiene department can be a huge profit center within a dental practice. Inside the dental hygiene department are other areas of profitability. Some examples of these are: home care and esthetic products along with same-day services.

Implementing special systems in the dental hygiene department is when it will produce 40% of the total office production.

Time-Saving Tips

The past 2-3 years have been unstable economically and more often than not dental offices are cutting back dental hygiene appointment times. This is not something considered a strategic business plan to increase profits. There are various other strategies to increase profits in difficult economic times.

Always take time for team meetings. The morning huddle is a great time to organize your dream day. The hygiene team members come with what their needs are. This includes a list of what patients will need an exam, x-rays and even a periodontal screening exam. If you don’t have a hygiene assistant this is the time to organize who can be there in the hygiene room to document the periodontal exam, assist with x-rays and the doctors assistants will write down when to have doctor move to the hygiene room for an exam. Meetings are a time to streamline systems and organizational skills in the dental practice.
Each month office policies should be discussed. Examples of the types of policies are to write down what types of patients need a 20, 40, 50, or 60-minute hygiene appointment. In addition, you will want to sit down as a team and discuss what services you should add to your mix of services. There are many types of services, which can be added to same day services and in the hygiene room. This saves many patients an extra appointment to your office and increases daily production from the hygiene room.

Action Items

• How many prophy patients were seen?
• How many root planing patients were seen?
• How many periodontal maintenance appointments?
• How many chemotherapeutic sites were administered?
• How much production came from the hygiene room?
• Etc., etc.

List all new products you believe are valuable to patients and the practice:
• Write a number next to each product and list the highest priority at #1
• Examples of new products are ViziLite® Plus, WAND STA, Caries Risk Assessment, Saliva pH assessment, etc.
• Oral Hygiene Products: Oral Rinses, Cosmetic Toothpastes, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) free Products, Xylitol, Power toothbrushes, Oral Irrigator, etc.

Final Thoughts

There is no need to feel overwhelmed. Be patient with yourself when you are learning and implementing something new. Write down your “to do list”. Schedule a time to discuss your options and action steps with the entire team. This is only one reason why you want to have a 2-hour team meeting on your schedule every month. It is how you plan that creates your dream day and success in your dental business. If you fail to plan your day and especially if you fail to plan for 2011, you have planned to fail. Creating a plan is the first step to success.

There are dental experts who are here to guide you to find increased dental practice production, increased net-profits, streamline the systems in your practice and add value to your current patient services. You do not have to run the marathon alone. Call upon a partner to help you win the marathon and experience the rewards you deserve.

For patients, the fear of having you poke at their teeth with a drill isn’t the only thing keeping them away.

In 2009, a Harris Interactive/HealthDay poll found that more than 50 percent of uninsured and 30 percent of insured Americans skipped necessary dental visits due to financial burdens. That same year, the American Dental Association said more than 50 percent of general practice dentists lost money and patients.

Some patients are asking you for ways to take a bite out of dental costs. Others might be headed to local dental schools, dental vacations or missing appointments to cut dental care from their budgets.

And some savvy patients have gone online, finding solutions to keep up with their dental care through DentalPlans.com. Like a Groupon, luring patrons and keeping tables filled for restaurant managers, the online discount dental plan resource is keeping dentists busy with patients.

Brush Up On Discount Dental Plans

The free, dentist-friendly solution provides plan listings and locations for potential patients to access online, as well as marketing tools to retain, reactivate and reach those who are out-of-resources for out-of-pocket dental costs.

Dentists also use discount dental plans to increase their online and offline exposure through free customizable web banners, postcards and brochures to promote their practice and plans.

With nearly half of all Americans without any dental benefits, dentists offer discount dental plans as an affordable alternative to insurance to help patients keep up with appointments.

Members and visitors of DentalPlans.com have access to more than 30 of the leading regional and national discount dental plans, from industry leaders such as Aetna and Careington, at more than 100,000 participating dentist listings in combined networks nationwide.

While some practices are coming up with ways to reduce those “dental chair nightmares” their patients have (Wall Street Journal article), discount dental plans have become one simple way to help with financial fears.

Refer A Patient

If you’re a dentist looking to help your patients save money and keep up with appointments, refer them to use coupon code DPP10 for 10 percent off a discount dental plan that they purchase through DentalPlans.com.

Many dental practitioners today have started to realize that, in order to build a stronger connection to their patients, social media platforms may now be the place to be. More dentists and medical groups are now reaching out beyond the doors of their practice to connect with patients in the world of social networking.

Social Media Increasingly Popular With Dentists

A growing number of dentists are using Twitter and Facebook to connect with patients and distribute coupons, special offers or giveaways, and promote events. By incorporating a prominent Facebook “Like” button on their home page, dental practices are able to market themselves as a community of people who engage and interact with common interests. Now that Facebook has exceeded Google as the largest visited online portal, a non-presence or non-active presence on these social sites is definitely a missed opportunity.

Practical Ways Dentist Can Engage With Social Media

New Image Dental is a practice that specializes in dental implants in San Diego. New Image Dental features their Facebook page prominently on their web site, where regular updates are posted on the practice’s busy schedule: health seminars, promotional events for special dental services, and local charity efforts that the clinic sponsors. Blended with patient reviews, before-and-after pictures, slide shows, discount alerts, and a variety of articles to help patients learn about and improve their dental hygiene, it’s a thriving network that engages via social connections and “Word-of-Mouth” marketing. Being present in social media has helped New Image Dental bring in more patients each month, as well as strengthened their ties to local “fans” on Facebook and “followers” on Twitter and they can deliver timely, relevant news to their subscribers, while continuing to build their network and their reach online.

Social media may seem like an unlikely marketing tool for dental practices, but it’s the community feeling and connection to local people that can make this technique so effective. Dentists are now able to be (virtually) at the forefront of the community where most people now spend their time online.

Your Thoughts

Are you engaging your patients via social media channels? Do you have tips for those just beginning to engage with their patients via Social Media?

New Patients

New patients are also a crucial part of every successful and profitable dental practice. What does it cost for you to schedule a new patient in your dental practice? What is a new patient worth to your dental practice? There is a normal attrition of new patients annually. This can mean that 10-15% or your patients move or decide to go somewhere else due to finances, loss of insurance plans or other unknown reasons. What are you currently doing to keep the patients continually entering through the front door of your dental office?

Patient Retention

It costs the office less money to add value at the time patients are in the office. This is the easiest and most cost effective way to market your dental practice. You will find you can easily increase referrals by word-of-mouth. Why do patients choose your office over another? Think of your heart, how it beats and the fact that your blood has a constant, steady flow. This is the same constant beat and flow of patients you want to have coming into the front door of your dental practice. The patient flow should never stop. Patients need your dental office just as they need their heart to beat and the blood to constantly flow through their body. You will find when patients value the services that you provide for them they are most likely to accept your recommendations. They are more likely to pay for treatment before and when services are rendered. When patients understand the value that your dental practice brings to them, they contribute to the success of your dental practice. When you communicate the importance of good oral health and its relationship to their overall health they will take action. These are your patients who will be the main source of referrals and they are most likely to be on time for their dental appointments.

The dental hygienist (Including the dental hygiene team – hygiene assistants, if you have them) is the one auxiliary on your team who sees patients at least twice a year. Sometimes, it is recommended that a patient return to see the hygienist three to four times a year. The continuing preventive care appointments are where patients have a chance to establish an intimate relationship with the entire dental office. This is how the hygienist (And the hygiene team) play a key role in building and maintaining the active patient base. This is where patients build life-long relationships.

Keeping the Pulse

The dental hygienist is the dental practice preventive specialist. Dental hygienists are the primary oral health educators in the office. It is very important that not only the dental hygienist but also the entire team consistently educate patients about the importance of good oral health, and how it contributes to the overall health of the body. This is communicated in everything to do with the office: everything written; brochures, the website, plaques on walls, and verbally communicated on a consistent basis.

The practices who communicate this important scientific knowledge are the offices that keep patients coming in their front door. In other words, they retain their active patient base and new patients constantly call to schedule appointments throughout the lifetime of the dental practice. These are the people who understand and feel how much you really care about them.

It is important that patients understand the oral health/systemic health relationship because this is where patients become highly motivated to be involved in and take ownership of their disease and overall health. How many patients have told you they don’t want to live a healthy and longer life?!

A new study recently reported by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the American Academy of Periodontology (AAP) suggests the prevalence of periodontal disease in US (Northern American) adults has been underestimated by up to 50%. The underestimate was attributed to data from partial – rather than full-mouth periodontal exams used in recent National Health Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES).*

Scheduling Preventive Care

Ninety percent of all hygiene appointments need to be prescheduled. It is helpful for the hygienist (Or auxiliary who just treated the patient and understands the patients’ disease process, etc.) to be the one in charge of scheduling the patients next hygiene appointment. If the office has a hygiene assistant, this person will be scheduling and dismissing the hygiene patients. When the hygiene team is fully engaged in scheduling you will find that patient compliance improves and they are most likely to have a positive attitude towards preventive care appointments. There is symmetry in the communication process when scheduling and communication are a team effort. This is when the hygiene patient flow is most likely to constantly occur. It helps patients continue their schedule for preventive care and not lose track of their routine appointments.

Scheduling for the next hygiene appointment is most effective when scheduled in the hygiene room prior to the dismissal of the patient.

Accountability

Everyone on the team needs to be held accountable. At monthly team meetings, the person who is responsible for hygiene scheduling, will give a report of cancellations, openings in the hygiene schedule and how many patients have not scheduled their necessary hygiene appointments. These patients need to be followed up on with a phone call as soon as possible. The phone call is the first step to contacting a patient for a dental appointment. An email, letter or postcard is too passive to begin contact with a patient who needs an appointment or some form of follow-up.

With computers and electronic charts, audits can be a more effective process. Chart audits and patient follow up needs to be an ongoing system in the office – daily. Everyone on the team has an important role and someone from the hygiene team needs to be designated as the scheduling coordinator. This is the one team member who will not only report on these statistics (At monthly team meetings.) but will be responsible and accountable for a daily hygiene schedule that is booked solid. When discussing the scheduling effectiveness at the team meetings, everyone needs to be able to give suggestions about what can be changed if the schedule and patient retention is not successful or challenges occur. Everyone on the dental team can be a part of all problem-solving solutions when challenges occur.

Putting it all together

Each month on the same day and same week of each month, schedule a two-hour team meeting. This should always begin with the entire team together and can include breakout sessions for each of the various departments of the dental team. Examples of these breakout sessions can include Dental Assistant training to provide improved and effective digital x-rays. Front Office: Phone communication skills and the Dental Hygiene team can learn new local anesthesia techniques for example the “Gow-Gates” injection or use of the CCLAD local anesthesia device.

Always allow an open pathway to communication for the entire team. This is just one way, which creates mutual respect and admiration. A positive and open pathway to communication will be reflected by an increase in productivity and net-profits. A happy team will lead to healthy patients and long-term success of the dental business.

Final Thoughts

Create a new and clear path moving in a direction to future successes. There are numerous high-performance systems and strategies to implement and only a few of these are listed above. These are only a few strategies that will generate positive results to improve quality of life and patient care, create higher productivity, increase net-profits and reduce stress. Every successful leader has a mentor who can lead them down a clear path and hold them accountable for their goals. This is how your vision becomes success in your life professionally as well as personally.

* Reference: Eke Pl, Thornton-Evans Go, Wei L, et al. Accuracy of the NHANES periodontal examination protocols. J Dent Res 2010 Nov; 89(11): 1208-1213.

Your Thoughts

Are you effectively utilizing your Hygiene Department? What challenges have you faced while trying to drive your practice’s profitability with your Hygiene Department?

But what about businesses with little to no foot traffic? Places where people go maybe once or twice a year? Like your local dentist for example. How (and why) would you get someone to check in multiple times at a place like a dentist’s office? If you are brushing and flossing like you are supposed to, you are probably only visiting the dentist’s chair a couple of times a year, right?

Try SCVNGR

SCVNGR (Pronounced “Scavenger”) is a game very similar to Foursquare but geared specifically for places like a dentist’s office that want to get in on the social media marketing boom. Playing SCVNGR is simple; you go places, complete challenges along the way and then earn points to unlock real world rewards. Opposed to simple check-ins, challenges engage customers on an entirely new level and provide a way for businesses to get their name out through fun activities related to their location.

If you’re the owner of a business where check-ins are more infrequent or maybe even non-existent, then SCVNGR treks may be a great social media option for you. On treks, players visit multiple locations and complete challenges along the way, therefore earning points towards a free reward. An important aspect of SCVNGR is that treks are not limited to the physical location of a business.

How Dentists Can Use SCVNGR

This is where the dentist’s office comes into play. A trek can be set up with any kind of teeth-related or dental hygiene theme in mind, like “The Top Places in Los Angeles to Keep You Smiling”. All you have to do is incorporate the name of the dental business into the questions and challenges along the trek. Now you’ve gotten your name out there and the customer is thinking about your business without ever stepping inside the door!

SCVNGR is proving to be an invaluable marketing opportunity for businesses that have, until now, been unable to utilize location-based services. SCVNGR is more fun and engaging for customers than other location-based tools and is also more business-friendly because it allows customers and business owners, alike, to add content and customize the challenges. No business size or type is left behind with SCVNGR since all businesses can benefit from SCVNGR’s services.

So, download the free app for your iPhone (preview) or Android phone and start trekking with SCVNGR!

Your Thoughts

Are you currently using SCVNGR to reward your customers? Please share your tips and overall experiences with us in a comment below. Thanks!

One area of the dental practice that can drive referrals and is the second highest profit center of your dental practice is the hygiene department. The hygiene department should produce over 30% of the total office production. All systems must be in place for this productivity and profitability to occur.

The hygiene team has a key role in supporting the practice by adding value to the patient appointment. This occurs through communication and education of the dental hygiene patient. The hygiene team; hygienists and hygiene assistants, are the people who will make recommendations to the doctor, educate patients about home care and the advancements in dentistry. These are the team members who educate patients about procedures and products available to improve their overall general health.

Hygiene Team Rapport

Patients see the hygienist and interact with the hygiene team on a regular- routine basis. This is a perfect opportunity for patients to spend quality time during their dental hygiene appointment and we can easily add value to their services. During the hygiene appointment, when the hygiene team effectively communicates the value of the hygiene appointment, a positive rapport will be developed between members of the dental hygiene team and the patients. The end-result is that patients will want to continue a long-term relationship with the dental practice. When the hygiene team is providing optimal care, there will be improved case-acceptance, increased productivity and profitability for the dental practice.

Providing Optimal Care

1. Value-ad dental hygiene appointments
2. Customized patient schedule
3. Communicate oral health and systemic relationship (Educate)
4. Provide home-care products
5. Implement same day services (Whitening impressions, fluoride varnish, night guard impressions, etc.)

Words can paint a thousand pictures. Too many dental offices still use words such as “cleaning” and “recall” when communicating with patients about the dental hygiene appointment. What words do you currently use when speaking to patients about their dental hygiene appointment? The words you use to describe or speak about dental treatment will either add value or devalue their appointment and treatment. Prophylaxis isn’t the only service that dental hygienists provide in today’s’ world of dentistry. The hygiene appointment is more than a “cleaning”. The hygiene appointment includes many types of services which may include a blood pressure screening, smile analysis, periodontal screening exam, oral cancer screening, salivary pH, biofilm assessment, xerostomia, caries risk assessment (CAMBRA), scaling and root planing, nitrous oxide sedation, limited restorative dentistry, polishing, antimicrobial treatments, impressions, radiographs, etc. The dental hygiene appointment should always include patient education and post operative instructions when necessary.

Change Your Vocabulary

At your next team meeting, agree to change the vocabulary you will use with patients. Write down a list of the words that you plan to use when communicating with your patients. Add a list of these words for your team-training manual. This helps everyone can refer to this information as necessary and new employees are trained with current vocabulary words your dental practice uses. Notice how your patients will now begin speaking the same language.

Years ago, the dental hygiene appointment was an “all-for-one-and-one-for-all” type of appointment. Today’s successful dental hygiene appointment provides customized, specific appointment times for the specific treatment needs of each patient. When the dental practice utilizes a customized schedule for patient, treatment, the practice profits will increase and the patients receive optimal care.

Customize Your Appointment Schedule

Customize your appointment schedule by using 10-minute units. The practice can now comfortably accommodate: 10-minute post-op care, periodic oral hygiene assessments with fluoride treatments, delivery of whitening trays, 20- minute appointments for impressions or CAMBRA protocols, 30-minute preventive care appointments (adults, with missing teeth and little to no stain, children under 10 yrs of age with no calculus, etc.); 40-minute appointments (patients with excellent oral health, little calculus, no stain and no x-rays or exam); 50-minute appointments (preventive care patients with more calculus or a lot of stain. Patients that need x-rays and exams); and 60-minute appointments (scaling and root planning and more difficult periodontal maintenance appointments which also include x-rays and exam. (Those patients who need antimicrobial therapy.) The same type of schedule is customized for the dentist with regard to restorative, cosmetic, implant, oral surgery and endodontic procedures. It only a suggested prototype to set up for your dental hygiene department. Each professional will most likely need to be consulted to make certain they feel comfortable with these appointment time limitations.

Adding value to the dental hygiene appointment will not only inspire patients to continue returning for dental appointments in your dental practice but will allow you to provide optimal care. This systematic process is critical for the dental practice’ future productivity and profitability. It also means you keep the patients coming through the front door of your dental practice. This is how dental practice growth occurs. Using the appropriate vocabulary with patients as well as putting these words into scripts will build value for each appointment throughout the entire patient experience. Case acceptance improves with this one system in place.

Educate Your Patients

We know for many decades now, that periodontal disease is at epidemic levels. According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, approximately 80% of the population has gingival or periodontal disease.1 Most patients are unaware of periodontal disease due to it’s’ often painless nature. This is one of various diseases that will be detected and patients still decline your diagnosis. Why does this happen? The answer is because patients don’t feel pain. They may experience bleeding gums but this has been occurring for numerous years and they now consider this “normal“ for their mouth.

The solution to this challenge is to educate patients about the science, which corresponds to good oral health improving their overall health. Explain and give patients the scientific literature (explain the research) so they understand the importance of good oral health. The hygiene team is responsible for educating patients about their oral health and its relationship to overall health. When patients understand that untreated periodontal disease can have a negative affect on their overall health, they will now be interested in the information and more likely to schedule their necessary treatment. Periodontal assessment, combined with education, will provide patients the necessary information to improve their overall health. CAMBRA (Caries Management by Risk Assessment) is the same type of strategy. We know how to prevent decay. Current CAMBRA research identifies how to assess for a patients risk for decay. The focus is now on preventing decay not about treating the disease.

Provide Home Care Products

Continued and improved oral health starts with the patient at home. There are various products patients can use to improve their oral health. Some of these include oral irrigators, power toothbrushes, Xylitol mints and gum, fluoride gels, non-alcohol-natural oral rinses and toothpastes, etc., etc. Providing these home care products will provide patients added value by your dental practice because you will educate them how to use the product while they are in the office. When you dispense the appropriate products in the dental office, you provide patients with a resource for information and a specific place to go for immediate use of the product replacement of these when necessary. We want our patients to come to us and understand that we are the dental experts. Patients should not be going to the local drug store and ask a sales person what toothpaste, mouth rinse or oral irrigator, etc., is best to buy. We are their health care provider and we are the expert who understands what is best for their specific oral health condition. When our patients leave the dental office with their home care products, they are most likely to immediately begin follow through with their home care regimen.

When you have home care products easily available for your patients, you will notice patients not only appreciate your knowledge about how to improve their oral health, but they are happy that you made it convenient for them to purchase. When patients leave the office with the appropriate home care products, they will be more likely to use the recommended product. This is just one of the ways we can assist patients to improve their overall health.

Provide Same-Day Services

Once you have a customized patient appointment schedule, you can strategize (also discuss in the daily team huddle) to offer same-day services. One example of this is found through patients completeing the smile analysis. Because you have a questionnaire to discover what areas of the oral cavity are important to your patient, you can make some easy recommendations, which may take only a few extra minutes to

create a positive appearance and/or experience for your patient. If you understand that your patient wants whiter teeth at the beginning of the appointment, after doctor examines the patient, someone from the office (either a dental assistant or a hygiene assistant) can take the impressions and schedule the patient to return to pick up whitening trays, the gel and the homecare instructions. This saves time for the patient returning foranother appointment to take impressions and another appointment for delivery of the whitening appliance and solution.

Same day services are also helpful for patients who are categorized as moderate to extremely high risk for caries. These patients will quite possibly receive a salivary pH or biofilm assessment, review of home care and a fluoride varnish treatment. These services can very easily be administered the same day the patient is in the chair for their hygiene appointment. These are just two examples of same-day services.

These services save time for patients returning for an additional appointment and add to the daily production of the dental hygiene department. These same-day services can very simply add another $50,000.00 + US dollars to the dental practice annually.

Final Thoughts

The hygiene team is a vital part of all successful dental practices. The dental hygiene department is one of the critical components for every successful dental practice. When you implement these suggestions, the hygiene team will develop strong relationships with patients. The patients will believe in and value your team and the dental practice. When you communicate the awareness of prevention, add products to improve health and offer time saving, same-day services, you will improve the level of patient care. Once the patients understand this, you will reap the benefits by receiving new-patient referrals, increase productivity and profitability.

Your thoughts

How is your Hygiene Department adding value for your practice?

Reference: 1. http://www.adha.org/media/facts/total_health.htm Accessed on Jan. 15, 2011.