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The Profitable Dentist Fall 2013
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Transcript of The Profitable Dentist Fall 2013
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8/22/2019 The Profitable Dentist Fall 2013
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News & Information to Increase the Profitability of Your Practice
DentistThe Profitable Fall 2013
xcellence in Dentistry
SCIENTIFIC METALS
ONE GIANTLEAP FORREFININGPromoting Dentistry:
Breaking DownThe Barriers
7 Simple Steps for
Dentists to get into
the Best Shape ofTheir Lives
What Every Dentist
Needs to Know About
Disability Insurance
Dramatic Cost Reduction and
Superior Endodontic Results
BIOFILM:Are You Treating It Properly?
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Quatum Leap???
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Attracting Quality New Patients Since 1998!
Your One-Stop Shop for Quality New Patients Since 1998!
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FALL 2013 | I s s u e 2 4 5
CONTACT USPhone: 800-337-8467 or 812-949-9043Fax: 812-949-8535Mail: The Protable Dentist
3211 Grantline Rd, Ste 20New Albany, IN 47150
Email: [email protected]
www.theprotabledentist.com
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
DR. MICHAEL ABERNATHY McKinney, TX
DR. KEITH DoBRACKI Madisn, WI
DR. DAVID HoRNBRooK La Mesa, CA
DR. MARK HYMAN Greensbr, NC
CATHY JAMESoN Davis, oK
DR. BILL KIMBALL Encinitas, CA
DR. RoGER LEVIN Baltimre, MD
DR. ToM oRENT Framingham, MA
DR. STEVE RASNER Bridgetn, NJ
DR. LARRY RoSENTHAL New Yrk, NYDR. RoY SMITH Tyler, TX
DR. BILL STRUPP Clearwater, FL
DR. JoE STEVEN, JR Wichita, KS
The content of this publication may not be reproduced either in part or
full without the written consent of The Protable Dentist.
STAFF
Edto-n-Chef
WILLIAM W. oAKES, DDS
Assocate EdtoCRAIG CALLEN, DDS
Executve Vce Pesdent of Opeatons/Fnance
DELAINE STEWART
Semna Coodnato
JENNIFER JoNES
Font Ofce Coodnato/Maketn Decto
CHRISTY CLAYWELL
Semna Coodnato Assstant
HoLLY SWITZER
Admnstatve Assstant
ASHLEY SCHARLoW
TPD DesneLEAH CoNDER TAYLoR
Taylr & Assciates
8 A Word from Woody
10 Cover Story: Scientic MetalsLeap of Faith
Practice Management
14 Your View Of The Future Bleak or Bright? by Dr. Michael Kesner
16 One Size Doesnt Fit All 50 States5 Areas of Employment Law You Must Get Right by Teresa Thienhaus and Paul Edwards
20 Whats the Purpose of (Web) Marketing? by Colin Receveur
22 Promoting Dentistry: Breaking Down The Barriers by Howie Horrocks & Mark Dilatush
26 Broken Appointments... Fix Them!by Dr. Michael L. Curtis
28 From Your Patients Point of View by Janice Hurley-Trailor
32 7 Simple Steps for Dentists to get into theBest Shape of Their Lives
by Dr. U.P. Odiatu
36 Staging a Successful Associateship Partnership by Dr. Mike Abernathy
38 Overcome Capacity Blockage by Dr. John Meis and Wendy Briggs
40 Its Not Just What You Say, But How You Say It by Dr. Craig Callen
From theEditor
2013 Excellence in Dentistry, Inc., Publisher. Copyright enforced no part of
this publication may be reproduced without written permission. This publication
is designed to provide reliable information in regard to the subject matter covered.
However, it is distributed with the understanding that it does not replace the need for
advice from your personal, competent professional advisors.
4
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
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CLINICAL
6
Advertiser Quick Guide
Protable Thoughts
42 Practice Mergers: A Potential Fast Track to Prots by Dr. Mark Diekmann
44 What Every Dentist Needs to Know About Disability Insurance by Mark Tonoff
Clinical
46 The Second Golden Age of Dentistry:3 Top GP Implant Procedures
by Dr. Brady Frank
48 Dramatic Cost Reduction and Superior Endodontic Resultsby Dr. Barry Musikant
53 BIOFILM: Are You Treating It Properly?by Patricia A. Worcester, RDH, BS
Great Info
55 Puzzle PieceBernie the Detail Guy
56 Products & Services
58 From Our Readers
X-Ray Support, Inc.
X-ray lm and imaging provider .... 2
Dental WebsitesWebsite design ..............................3
MellinDentalBackupOnline.com..............5
WealthInDentistry.comTwo FREEDVDs ............................7
EA Dental LabsDental laboratory ...........................9
Strickland Facelift Dentures
Training program .........................13
SummitPractice management strategies .... 18
StoneybrookDirect mail & custom projects ..... 19
Hygiene DiamondsCertied hygiene coaches ...........21
TPD Best SellersSpecial Offer ................................25
Implant Efciency InstituteOsteoReady .................................27
EID Fall SeminarThe Prot Masters of Dentistry ..30
ParagonDental practice transitions ...........34
New Patients, Inc.Dental marketing .........................35
Scientic MetalsScrap rening ..............................41
Quantum LeapDental consulting ......................... 49
Scheduling InstitutePractice transformation ...............52
EID ProductTurn Your Practice into a
Cash Cow ..................................57
EID ProductAdvanced Billing & Coding .......59
DDS Dental SupplyDental buying group ..... Back Cover
Were here to help!Tell us what topics, issues or
products youd like to know moreabout and well cover those in theupcoming issues of TPD. Email usat [email protected]
and put TPD Topics' in thesubject line.
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A Word From Woody
At Your Home. At Your Ofce.On the Go.
Get The Protable Dentist right on your tablet just email us
[email protected] , put e-magazine in the
subject line and well start sending you the electronic version
of TPD in addition to your valued hard copy. Just download
and read whenever, wherever its convenient for you.
Dont wait, email us today!
Get T
mailem
News& Informationto Increas
etheProf itability ofYour Pract
ice
Dentist
TheProfitable
Fall 2013
xcellence in Dentistry
SCIENTIFICMETALS:
ONEGIANT
LEAP FOR
REFININGPromoting Dentistry:
Breaking Down
TheBarriers
7 SimpleStepsfor
Dentiststoget into
theBestShape of
TheirLives
What Every Dentist
Needsto KnowAbout
Disability Insurance
DramaticCostReductionand
SuperiorEndodonticResults
BIOFILM:
AreYouTreating ItProperly?
Dr. Bill KimballBill Rossi
Shelly Ryan
Dr. Michael Apa
and more industry leaders
to be announced!
Good Morning everyone and welcome to another issue of The Protable Dentist!
This issue is jam-packed with some awesome articles that can really help your
practice IF you implement the ideas/techniques presented.
Also, we encourage you to support our advertisers because without them, we
couldnt publish the magazine or maintain our high circulation.
SAVE THE DATES...
In closing, I want to personally invite you to attend our annual Fall Seminar in
San Diego, California October 4-5, 2013. We are calling it The Prot Masters of Dentistry
seminar and each speaker promises to share their best prot making ideas.
Also, mark your calendars for our 23rd Annual Spring Break seminar in
Sandestin, Florida which will be held April 11-13, 2014.
To register for either event, call 1-800-337-8467 today so that you get the
Early Bird tuition rates.
Regards,
FALLSEMINA
R
October4-5,2013 SanD
iego,California
The Prot Mastersof Dentistry
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COVER STORY
Flying in the face of industry
practice, Scientic Metals
launches a bold strategy of direct
rening with no sales reps and no
personal ofce visits for dental
scrap. Why does such a bold
move work so well for dentists?
SCIENTIFIC
METALS
LEAP OFFAITH
C
onsider that if you could simply
melt down the contents of
your scrap jar and put the gold
straight into your safe, you would, right?After all, why pay a renery, let alone a
salesperson?
Traditionally, your two options
were usually either to sell your scrap
for cash or have a local renery rep
pick it up at the ofce. However, cash
offers are usually very conservative
in order to account for uncertainty,
while the second option may have left
you wondering how much of the pie
you were left with after everyone
involved in the transaction got
their cut.
Scientic Metals offers
dental professionals a more
efcient solution. They have no
sales reps or middlemen and cut
overhead to the bone, leaving the
lions share for you. The Protabl
Dentistspoke with Dave
Weinberg of Scientic Metals to
get a peek into the status of the
rening industry and how they ar
redening rening as we know it
For years, the scrap renin
business was dominated by
either guys stopping by the
ofce weighing and paying or
by local renery reps stopping
by to pick up the scrap to have
it shipped for processing.
Scientic Metals does neither
Why?
D. Weinberg: We heard from
dentists around the country who
questioned the amount of money
they were receiving for their
scrap. They felt that with in-ofc
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Wow. Thats a big r isk you guys
took. While everyone is clamoring to
get their foot in the dentists door, you
were clamoring to get your feet out ofthe door.
D. Weinberg: Ha. Thats an
interesting way of putting it, but yes, we
wanted to do everything we could to
radically alter the way scrap payments
were returned. And I think we did.
Is it just labor costs that you have
tried to cut in order to stay lean?
D. Weinberg. No. Not at all. Its a
philosophy that permeates every part
of our company. Everything we do is
centered on cost savings, which means
we do not send out scrap collection jars
across the country, nor do we send out
brochures to every dentist in the country.
We also dont attend very many trade
shows. All of this is for one reason and
one reason only lower costs for us
translate into great scrap returns for our
customers.
You mentioned that others in
the industry scoffed when they
heard you would not be offering in-
ofce, personal pickups. But how
did the dental world respond to this
approach?
D. Weinberg: The strategy has
been an overwhelming success. Dentists
will take higher payouts and give up
a physical ofce pickup by a renery
rep any day of the week. I think WoodyOakes nailed it when he wrote in one
of his articles many dental products
demand and justify a reliable and
knowledgeable sales rep for technical
and customer support, etc. many
pieces of equipment and software
immediately come to mind. But dental
scrap rening is not one of these.
Oh, plus I dont think dentists really
care whether a rep picks it up or a FedEx
driver picks it up. One could arguethat the FedEx driver is actually more
convenient and less intrusive on the
days activities.
Dont you guys sometimes get
tempted to get some reps on the road
to spread your message?
D. Weinberg: Yes. But thats the
discipline. First of all, our message is
no reps. So hiring reps to spread the
Everything we do is centered
on cutting costs to the bonein order to deliver the best
and most accurate scrap
returns to our customers. That
means no reps, not sending
out jars and brochures to
every dentist and not being a
fixture at every dental show
across the country. After all,
the precious metals belong to
our customers , not to us.
Dave Weinberg
cash payments, they were leaving money
on the table by selling for cash to a
middleman or that too many hands were
in the scrap cookie jar meaning toomany people were getting a cut of the
value leaving the dentist with less than
a stellar return. As a result, we made
a strategic and philosophical decision
many years ago to completely revamp
our business model to address this. We
felt if we could considerably lower our
costs somehow, we could then begin to
deliver a scrap return that no one could
match. And so we took a big risk and did
what other rening companies laughed
at. We decided to go with a direct
rening approach without ANY sales
reps, commissioned or salary based.
I hear you have a name for this new
strategy. Can you share that with us?
D. Weinberg: We refer to this
model as the Amazon.com of the rening
industry. Why are books and TVs cheaper
on Amazon than in the big box stores?
Simple, Amazon has less overhead and
can therefore have better prices. The
same applies to rening less overhead
equals better prices, which in the rening
world means higher scrap returns.
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We felt that if we could
considerably lower our costs
somehow, we could then begin
to deliver a scrap return that
no one could match. And thats
exactly what we did
David Weinberg
In many cases, the benefits of a sales rep warrant higher costs.
However, the evidence here strongly suggests this is not the case
when it comes to dental scrap refining.
Dr. William Woody Oakes
ContactInformation:
Phone:1-888-949-0008
Website:www.scientifcmetals.com
Preliminary testing usingX-Ray Fluorescence Spectrometer
3 Tips To A Better Return1) Do not sell your scrap for cash. It
has been reported that dentists may be
receiving as little as 30-50% of their scrap
value as a result of the deeply discounted
in-ofce cash spot transactions. It is nearly
impossible to accurately determine the
precious metal content with just a visual
inspection. As someone pointed out very
humorously, For door-to-door scrap
buyers to tell you precisely the preciousmetal content of your scrap, theyd need
a furnace and renery in their briefcase.
2) Study the business model of
prospective rening companies. How
many people are getting a cut of your
scrap return? Does the rening company
have to pay out commissions to anyone
from your scrap return prot or are you
getting to bypass that step? Is the rening
company having to pay a nders fee or
split to 3rd party reps who broker the
deal? For any batch of scrap larger than
just a few crowns, direct shipping to the
rening company with the most economica
business model may prove benecial to
your bottom line.
3) Dont be lazy. Choosing a company
to send your precious metal scrap to is aserious choice and should not be taken
lightly. You should conduct your due
diligence and not just hand over your
precious metal scrap to the company
whose jar is sent most often to the ofce
or whichever company knocks on your
door most frequently. Go with who you
colleagues have had success with and ask
questions.
message of no reps would be kind of
interesting (chuckle comes across the
room). But in all seriousness, hiring reps
means adding costs and overheard
which means undermining our overall
objective of cutting costs to the bone to
deliver the exact percentage return we
say each and every time.
Are there any drawbacks from the
companys point of view of not having
any sales reps on the road?
D Weinberg: Not constantly
being in the dentists or assistants
ear means we have to rely on other
avenues to communicate our philosophy.
And of course, not being physically
present in areas means we are going
to understandably sacrice quantity
(number of customers). But we are more
than happy to give up quantity and, in
return, have each and every customer
feeling that they received an accurate
and reliable scrap return.
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Practice Management
Your View Of The Future
Bleak or Bright?by Dr. Michael Kesner
Does the future of dentistry look bleak or bright to you?
Do you see great opportunities, or great problems?
Things are changing in the world of dentistry. If you
are not changing the way you practice as the world changes,
then I believe your future is bleak. If you are making the right
changes to your practice, then I believe this is one of the
brightest times in dentistry ever!
The only thing certain about the future is that there will be
change. Just look at what we are seeing in dentistry now.
Insurance companies are dictating and controlling your fees
in ways they didnt 10 years ago. Low UCRs and fee schedules
are controlling what you can charge your patients. PPOs and
DMOs are on the rise as companies cut employee costs.
The annual maximum insurance reimbursement has
continued to remain basically the same for the last 30+ years,
which buys less and less dentistry each year.
Large group practices are the fastest growing segment of
dental practice today. This trend will continue to increase while
the number of traditional solo practices will continue to decline.
Heres why.
Most dental students are graduating with $200K to $300K
in school loans, so most cannot afford to go into
private practice. In fact, it is estimated that
only 20% of graduating dentists aspire
to own a solo practice.
Around 50% of dental
graduates are now female.When I graduated from dental
school in 1984 less than 10%
of the class was female.
Historically most women
do not go into private solo
practice.
The nancial pressures
on our patients from a fragile
economy provide less and
less discretionary income to
pay for your services. Many dentists feel like they have all these
wonderful services to offer, but it seems like no one can afford it.
However, dental expenditures nationally continue to rise
at a rate of 6.2% a year. Dentistry is a $105 billion per year
industry that is expected to increase to $170 billion by 2020.
If your practice revenue is either at or declining but the
statistics show dental spending is up, then what does that
mean for your practice?
My practice has grown more in the last 7 years than the
22 years prior to that. We made the Inc. 5000 list in 2012 and
2013 as one of the fastest growing businesses in the nation.
Why is this when the economy is so bad? Because I
have continued to change the way I practice the business of
dentistry as our world changes.
Let me explain.
You can either adapt your practice to the new environment
and prot from it, or remain the same and die a slow death.
Many businesses either dont see the changes happening,
or they stick their head in the sand. They will often watch their
business decline for years, while hoping things will go back to
the way they used to be. Blockbuster Video stores are a good
example of this type of behavior. They waited too late to
change and were forced to close their doors.
Here is an example of this principle in
dentistry.
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I started a scratch practice when I got out of dental school
in 1984. Our state dental board had just recently changed
the rules and said it was OK for dentists to advertise. For
years after this rule change many dentists still considered it
unprofessional to advertise.
The only advertising that dentists would do back thenwas to get a bold listing in the Yellow Pages. Even that was
frowned upon by some.
The rst thing I did when I opened my practice in 1984
was to start sending direct mail advertising. I was the only
dentist in my area doing this, which didnt help my reputation
among my colleagues. I decided that I could either be
accepted by my peers and starve or rufe some feathers
and be successful. I chose the latter.
I know this sounds funny 29 years later when most
dentists are advertising, but in 1984 direct mail advertising for
a dentist was ear th-shattering.What earth-shattering things are you resisting in your
practice today that will be commonplace in 10 years? Will you
take advantage of the opportunities in dentistry today or let
them pass you by?
As a traditional private practice, how are you going to
compete with the growing group dental practices? What if you
formed a small group practice or is that an ear th-shattering
thing for you?
What changes are you going to make in this new
economic and dental insurance environment? Are you going
to nd a way to be protable with the declining insurance
reimbursement? Or, are you going to put your head in the sand
and hope that this changing insurance market wont impact
your practice?
What may be earth-shattering to you today will be normal
in a few years. It is highly improbable that you can remain the
same and continue to grow your practice. You must change or
be left behind.
Change is always uncomfortable. We must get to the point
where not changing is more uncomfortable than changing.
Here are some of the changes that I see as necessary forpractices to be successful today?
1 One is to incorporate systems in your practice thatincrease efciency and quality. By being more efcientyou can do more dentistry in a shorter period of time
while maintaining quality and increasing protability.
In every other industry when efciency is increased
the quality is also increased. Why is it that dentists
often believe that decreasing treatment time through
efciency causes quality to decline?
2 Another change to make is to know how to market ina way that appeals to regular people and not dentists.Marketing has to answer this question for the reader
Whats in it for me? Things that dentists believe
distinguish their practice from others, like friendly staff,
lots of CE, latest technology, being gentle, etc., is an
expectation to the reader, not an exception.
3 Develop a team driven practice. When you delegate therunning of your practice to your team, your stress goesdown. A team-driven practice also increases success
because the team is motivated and incentivized to
inspire patients to want the dental treatment you
recommend.
4 Create the capacity in your practice to be consumerfriendly. We live in a demanding society. People wantit done now because they are busy and impatient.
Why not do the dentistry today, instead of making an
appointment in a week or two?
If your team isnt running the practice for you and you
are not efcient with your time, then same-day-dentistry
is impossible to pull off. You must spend some money to
increase your capacity in treatment rooms, staff and efciency.
This will pay for itself many, many, many times over.
The future of dentistry is very bright if you make the
right changes.
Dr. Mike Kesner is a practicing dentist and author of Multi-Million-
Dollar Dental Practice. He is founder and CEO of Quantum LeapSuccess in Dentistry, a consulting company that helps dentists build the
practices of their dreams in 24 months or less Guaranteed! Dr. Kesner
speaks nationally on topics related to master ing the business of
dentistry. You may contact Dr. Kesner at 480-282-8989 or drkesner@
QLSuccess.com. His website is: www.QLSuccess.com.
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Practice Management
16 F A L L 2 0 1 3
One Size Doesnt Fit All5 Areas of Employment Law You Must Get Rightby Teresa Thienhaus and Paul Edwards
In the HR community, we have a saying: For every one ofce policy, there are 50+ laws
that apply.
What that means is, that there are often both federal AND state laws that apply to any
particular policy or situation, and the state-specic rules vary from state to state in strictness
and coverage. Where the two differ, the one that treats the employee best is the one that controls.
As an employer, it is your responsibility to get these rules right as they apply to you and your
employees. Having even one policy in place that doesnt meet the prevailing laws requirements
can lead to liabilities for you and your practice. In particular, there are ve fundamental areas
that can create problems if not properly understood and applied.
50States
speyeder@isto
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Paydays and Paychecks
The laws on how often employeesare paid vary from state to state. Most
require that nonexempt employees be
paid twice per month, within a few days
after the pay period ends. Some states
only require you to pay once per month.
If you are or have purchased an existing
practice, dont assume that the former
owner has been paying the employees
properly, or that your payroll company
is paying employees in accordance with
state and federal laws. Visit your states
labor department website to learn more
about your states requirements.
In addition, many states also have
laws governing the types of deductions
that can be taken from an employees
paycheck (beyond taxes and the like).
For example, some states dont allow
you to deduct for uniforms and medical
examinations, or tools and equipment.
Federal law also prohibits deductions for
breakage or loss. There are restrictions
in some states that dont allow you todeduct for amounts owed to you by the
employee, such as payroll advances
or dental treatment. A big no-no is to
hold a nal paycheck in return for the
payment of a debt or return of property.
Vacation
There are no laws that require
private employers to provide paid
vacation. Most state courts have ruled
that vacation must be paid only if its
promised to the employees. However,
if you have a policy or practice of
giving time off, you must stick to your
promises. If you are buying an existing
practice, familiarize yourself with the
handbook and the way vacation leave
has been handled in the past. You dont
have to continue what a prior practice
has done; rather, you should look into
your state rules instead of relying on
the existing handbook. Be aware that
almost all states treat paid vacation as
a wage, meaning that once its accrued
or earned, it must be paid out when
employment has ended. However, many
states do allow you to set a policy where
employees forfeit unused vacation after
a reasonable amount of time, commonly
called a use it or lose it policy.
You can track vacation either by
calendar year or by the employees
anniversary date of hire. Always have
the employees earn and accrue their
leave on a certain schedule. They earnvacation days along with their pay, either
per hour worked, per pay period, per
month, etc.
Think of vacation as time off that you
put into an employees leave basket.
If your policy says, After one full year
of employment, each full time employee
begins to accrue four days of vacation
per year, you dont have to immediately
dump the four days into the basket as
soon as the employee has reached oneyear. Instead, the employee can accrue it
over time. If the employee quits or is red
without using any vacation days, and
youre in a state that requires you to pay
vacation at termination, you would only
be required to pay the unused vacation
accrued up to their last day (as long as
this is clear in your policy).
Sick Leave
In the private sector, requiring
employers to provide paid sick leave
is becoming more common. The cities
of San Francisco, New York City, and
Portland, Oregon have laws mandating
employers give a certain amount of paid
sick leave. Still, for most employers, its
your choice whether to allow paid or
unpaid time off for sickness or personal
reasons. If you dont offer paid sick
leave, you should designate how many
unpaid days off per year are acceptable.
If you do offer paid leave, your policies
must be clear as to how its earned
and whether they forfeit the leave if
its not used. Most states dont require
you to pay out unused sick leave upon
termination.
Medical Leave of Absence/Maternity
Leave
For the past twenty years,
employers of more than 50 employees
have been required to provide at leasttwelve weeks of unpaid leave per year
under the Family Medical Leave Act
(FMLA). Many states have their own
version of the FMLA that, in some cases,
apply to employers with less than 50
employees.
If youre a small practice, even
though the federal and state laws may
not apply, be aware that the Pregnancy
Discrimination Act requires all employers
of 15 persons or more to treat maternityleave the same as other short-term
disability leave. Other employee
protections may apply to even smaller
businesses. To lessen your risk, you
should offer your employees a cer tain
amount of short-term leave with an
extension at your discretion. Typically,
in a smaller practice, employers will
allow four to eight weeks of medical or
maternity leave, with an additional 30
days at the discretion of management.
Once you set a standard, you mustapply it consistently for similarly
situated employees. Since pregnancy
discrimination lawsuits lead the pack
in EEOC complaints and litigation, its
critical to have a properly written policy.
Breaks and Meal Periods
Despite the common misconception,
there are no federal wage and hour laws
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that require employers to provide breaks
and meal periods.
However, some states do have
laws requiring a certain amount of timefor break periods at regular intervals,
or an unpaid meal period of 30 minutes
for a shift of at least ve hours. In the
absence of state laws, its typical to allow
employees to take brief, paid breaks of no
more than 10 minutes. Such breaks are
paid due to the Federal Labor Standards
Act (FLSA), which states a 10-minutes-
or-less break is not enough time for an
employee to be completely relieved of all
work away from the work site. Therefore,
it must always be paid. If employees take
a mid-day meal period of 30 minutes or
more, this is an unpaid break, as this
is generally considered enough time to
leave the premises. As a general rule,
employees may not be required to clock
out for breaks of 20 minutes or less.
In Summary
As you can see, the laws that apply
to you as an employer are involved and
complex. But with the right employerstool kit at your disposal, you will lessen
your risk and improve your ability to
run your business. Weve created a
guide entitled Employment Law 101:
Essentials for Employers. If youre
a new employer, this information is
critical. If youre a seasoned veteran,
this information is still incredibly useful,
as weve found that many long-term
employers often have misconceptions as
to what they can and cannot do when it
comes to their employees.
The guide is free for readers of The
Protable Dentistfor a limited time.
Please visit www.cedrsolutions.com/
PD101 to download your copy.
Teresa Thienhaus, J.D. is an HR
Solution Center Advisor at CEDR Solutions
(www.cedrsolutions.com), which provides
individually customized employee handbooks
and HR solutions to dental ofces of allsizes across the United States. She has
over 10 years experience in personnel and
employment law and received her J.D. from
the University of Cincinnati.
Paul Edwards is the CEO and Co-
Founder of CEDR. He has over 20 years
experience as a manager and owner and
special izes in helping denta l ofces solve
employee issues. He is a featured writer for
The Protable Dentist, Dental Town, AADOM,
and Dental Economics magazines. To reach
Teresa or Paul, please email CEDR Solutions
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8/22/2019 The Profitable Dentist Fall 2013
19/60DP
Stoneybrook manages the entire process and has proven many timesthat they really care about us and our results. And we DO get results ! Wehave more than doubled our New Patient numbers every month. We get NewPatients from Stoneybrook pretty much every day, and on many occasions,more than one a day. Their service has enhanced our practice so much.
Before using Stoneybrook and The SchedulingInstitute, we were averaging 10 to 12 New Patients permonth. Now, with Stoneybrook, we average 4 to 5 timethat number every single month. Weve been usingStoneybrook since February 2009 and they are the sour
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Practice Management
Whats the Purpose of(web) Marketing?by Colin Receveur
Fact: Your dental website is a tool used to attract the
patients that YOU want.
We talk to many dental ofces that have a #1 Google
ranking, a beautiful mobile website, and done everything right,
but their phone still isnt ringing
My Advice: Dont look for Magic Bullets.
Instead, concentrate on:
1. The specic result you want to achieve.
2. How you can improve the lives of your targeted
prospective patients.
3. What specic action you want to motivate your targeted
prospective patients to take.
Getting people to visit your website
wont make you money.
Increasing the sheer number of people who visit you
online can not be expected to increase your bottom line.
The purpose of dental web marketing shouldnt be
to drive trafc to your website. It should be to get the
prospective patient to DO something that is likely to result in
you making money, such as:
Download our FREEbook: How To Smile With
Condence and Eat The Foods You Love
How does that become profitable for
a dentist?
1. It builds an opt-in list of your prospective patients.
2. While providing genuine value, the free book includes
subtle, irresistible offers & upsells to your paid dental
services.
3. Within the book is another offer of something valuable
for free something that brings the prospective patient
closer and closer to becoming a paying patient.
4. Educating your prospects sets you up as the Expert or
Celebrity Dentist in your marketing area. You wrote the
book on that.
Check out the services we offer is NOT a good enough
call to action. On the other hand, Download your coupon for a
$1 Initial Exam & X-rays might well be a compelling incentive.
Successful advertising solves the consumers problems.
Most dental websites fail because theyre all about the dentist
and what the dentist wants to sell (crowns, bridges, veneers, etc.).
Make your prospective patient aware of how and where their
problems can be solved. Tell them the rst step to take toward
improving their lives as a result of solving those problems.
Colin Receveur is a nationally recognized speaker, author
and internet marketing expert. He has been pioneering the way
dentists market themselves online since founding SmartBox
Web Marketing over a decade ago. Colin is the author
of 3 best selling books: The Dentists Strategy Guide
to Video Marketing, How to Stay In Front of Your
Patients Until They Are Ready to Buy, and Web 3.0:
What Every Dentist Must Know to Thrive in the New
Economy. For more visit www.smartboxweb.com.
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Tired of Roadblocks
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For more information visitwww.TheTeamTrainingInstitute.com
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If you feel your practice has hit a roadblock,youre probably right! As consultants, weobserve dentists who easily produce $200K permonth, while others struggle to produce only20% of that.
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John J. Meis, DDS, FAGD, DIC
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Practice Management
Promoting Dentistry:Breaking Down The Barriersby Howie Horrocks & Mark Dilatush
Dentistrys Seemingly EndlessQuest, To Get In Its Own Way
Whenever we write or speak
on this topic, we typically get boos,
sneers, rolled eyes and various
forms of head shakes. Thats ok. We
understand. Certainly, if someone
came into our business and pointed
out how we were getting in our own
way we would likely have the same
initial reaction.
What we are going to ask you todo as you read this, is to be conscious
of your initial reaction but then be
honest, logical and realistic once the
initial shock to your ego wears off.
Sometimes it is really good to get
an outside perspective. We all work
so closely within our own operations
that many times it is difcult to see the
forest through the trees. Specically,
in this article, we are going to talk
about barriers.
Barriers =Anything you do (or do
not do) that stops the consumer from
choosing you.
There are literally hundreds of
barriers. We dont have space here
to list them all. So we will discuss
the barriers that we see as the most
common. We work directly with
hundreds of dental ofces and have
spoken or communicated electronically
with thousands of dental ofces. During
that interaction, the most popular
barriers come into focus.
Children
We understand. They squirm. The
parents have to be in the treatment
room (or really want to be). Many times,
the parents are more stressed outand unreasonable than their children!
For many of you, treating children is
likely not the highlight of your day. We
get it. But, if mom is the gatekeeper
among consumers, their children (and
the way they react in your practice)
are the keys to building a very healthy,
younger, higher-end family practice.
Promoting that children love coming to
your practice is an extremely powerful
promotion tool. By not seeing children
and not promoting that you do seechildren, you are basically saying the
following to the gatekeeper (mom).
1. You will have to select a different
provider to see your children
2. You will have to have a different
dental practice to learn and get
used to
3. You will have to manage another
relationship with a different dentist,
a different assistant, a different
hygienist and a different business
administrator
4. You will have to remember their
ofce days/hours, their payment
policies, whether they accept
your insurance or not, their phone
number, etc.
Todays mom is busier than ever.
She knows, before she ever calls your
ofce for the rst time, that she is
looking for a practice that can treat
her whole family. For some moms
it is a conscious criteria within their
selection process. For other moms it is
subconscious. But for all moms it exists.
Want to add a boost to your current
promotion? In your advertising, tell mom
that her whole family is welcome in your
practice.
Strict New Patient Protocols
We see this one constantly. We
dont know who started it. Likely, it was
a dentist selling something to other
dentists. Here is the scenario: New
patient calls, just moved to the area
and asks specically for a cleaning. The
business administrator immediately goes
into a (supposed) value-building script of
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how you cannot clean her teeth until she
has a full set of x-rays, a comprehensive
examination, full mouth probing and a
sit down conversation with the dentist.
By the way, this rst visit will consume
an hour-and-a-half. Then, after that visit,
the doctor will have her back into the
practice to go over everything she mightneed (another hour) and at that time,
we might be able to schedule your
cleaning (in the future).
Huh?
The consumer is now thinking...
Hmmm, my old dentist just cleaned my
teeth! These guys sound way too fancy
for me, or, These guys are trying to sell
me more than a cleaning, or OMG 3
hours over two visits and my teeth still
arent going to be cleaned?
Click.
We understand there are some odd
states with odd state board regulations.
We get it. But you cant clean her teeth
on the rst visit? You cant do a limited
exam and clean her teeth, then have her
back in for a comprehensive exam? We
are not attorneys, nor pretend to be, but
we seriously doubt that the intent of a
state board regulation is/was to stop the
masses from getting their teeth cleaned.
We are open 9am to 4pm Monday
through Thursday
If you polled 1 million females on
earth, and asked them to give you the
least convenient hours within theirlifestyle, the answer would be 9am to
4pm Monday through Thursday.
Dont believe us? Go look at
your own schedule! If you have hours
outside of 9am to 4pm Monday through
Thursday, those hours are booked out
the farthest in your schedule. If you see
patients from 11am to noon and 1pm to
2pm those hours are likely booked out
quite far as well.
Your own schedule is telling you thatthe local consumer market is demanding
more convenience from your practice.
You just happened to nd the consumers
that are willing to put up with you being
inconvenient.
Many of you can take the same
operational hours (30 per week) and
simply start and end earlier one day,
then open later and end later on
another day. Promote that you have
convenient early morning AND early
evening appointments available for
new patients and pre-block those
days/times for your newest patients. If
you are in or near a business district,
promoting that you have convenient
lunchtime hours is also benecial.Convenience is tied for second
among what matters most to dental
consumers. Within the category of
convenience, hours of operation is #1.
It even trumps distance (travel time
to and from the dentist). That means
mom is willing to drive further to nd a
dental practice with convenient hours
(for her).
We understand you may have
the threat of staff mutiny on yourhands if you even bring up the subject
of altering your operational hours.
But the truth is the truth. Dental
consumers demand convenience.
Avoiding the cost question or
promoting primarily base on price
These are two extremes. Some
dentists completely ignore the cost of
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dentistry within their promotion, fearing
it will scare potential new patients away.
Other dentists, lead with some kind
of price incentive, build big starbursts
in their designs to highlight how
inexpensive they are and even promote
in media (like ValPak to use an example)
that is really nothing more than an
envelope lled with nothing but deals.
Well, the dentists who say nothing
about price arent promoting as
effectively as they could.
The dentists who are promoting
primarily on price are alienating half
of the dental market instantly (half the
females in the world would never choose
a healthcare provider based on price).
Two extremes neither works well
consistently.
Price (or the perception of price)
is the #1 consumer concern when
they initially learn about any dentist.
Avoid (like the plague) either extreme.
Part of the reason (we believe anyway)
that dentists use extremes rather than
communicating down the middle (so to
speak) is because they dont know what
to say. OK. We can help with that.
1. If you participate with any
insurance plans, put them in
your promotion.
2. If you do not participate with
insurance plans, communicate
that you process all of their
necessary insurance paperwork
for them.
3. If you have technology that saves
them time and money (Cad/Cam,
Diagnodent, Lasers, etc.) tell
them that they will save them
money.
4. If you offer CareCredit or another
alternative tell them.
Avoiding price communication
(or building the proper perception of
your pricing) is not the answer. Neither
is being all about price, where the
dominant visual or audio image is some
kind of a deal. Both are bad. Addressing
price properly is good.
Howie Horrocks is the Founder and
CEO of New Patients, Inc., the marketing rm
exclusively for dentists. He can be reached at
Mark Dilatush is the President of New
Patients, Inc. He can be reached at markd@
newpatientsinc.com.
For more information about New
Patients, Inc., call: 866-336-8237 or on the
web at www.newpatientsinc.com.
24 F A L L 2 0 1 3
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Practice Management
Broken Appointments... Fix Them!by Dr. Michael L. Curtis
Do your patients break appointments? Cancellations &
no-shows may be the largest single expense in dentistry! Why
do we get them and what can we do about them? We hear that
fear, cost or time are the problems but the real issue is that
people too often dont see their dental needs as a priority.
Some Tips:
1. Ask, Dont Tell: Passive learning is when we tell
patients what treatment they need. Active learning is when
people discover their problems themselves. The difference in
follow-through can be profound! For example, lets say you
nd a fractured lling (recurrent decay, etc.) with no symptoms.
You can tell the patient about it, or you can project an image
with your camera or digital x-ray and show the problem.
Great communicators ask rather than tell. John, tell
me, what you see? Then direct people to consider the
implications of waiting.
2. A Cavity Is An Infection: Making reference to the
latest research paints you on the cutting-edge, and can
add credibility to your recommendations: John, a cavity
is a bacterial infection. The latest research has shown that
as dental infections progress, oxygen gets depleted. This
allows more dangerous organisms that may be resistant
to antibiotics to take over. The longer you wait, the faster the
problem worsens and the harder it is to eradicate.
3. Graphic Analogies: If it ts your style, torment your
patients a bit with graphic images they cant help but remember:
John, bugs are crawling right though that crack. When they
creep under your lling, they eat away at your tooth, gum and jaw
bone like termites. Their waste is toxic, causes foul mouth odor
and the infection can enter your blood stream.
4. Say Nothing: One of the most effective
communication tools is silence. Give patients time to
assimilate information. Count to 10. Make the silence
deafening until they implore: How soon can you x it?!
5. Mid-Treatment Photos: Consider mid-treatment
photos to your before & after albums. The image of dark, ugly
decay we see every day can be quite motivating.
6. Someone Like Them: Think of a real patient and
discuss a disaster that occurred due to their inaction: John,
you remind me of Marty. He had a time-bomb like yours. He let
it go and he swelled up and ruined his vacation in Cancun.
7. Delegate To Staff: Assign as much of this presentation
to your team, as possible. Why?
Patients commonly trust a disinterested third party with
no obvious nancial gain.
Many patients feel more open about asking questions or
expressing concerns to staff members.
It is more effective for you to conrm problems and
solutions than to present the care yourself.
8. How to Build Better Rapport: These communication
skills are not about manipulating or coercing people into
treatment. If you want to follow the Golden Rule and help
others, your people skills are often more important than
clinical abilities and they can be learned. Contact my ofce
and ask about one of my books if youre interested in specic
tips, scripts and narratives.
9. Monitor Your Phone: Do you know how your frontdesk is handling people on the phone? Most large companies
monitor and record phone calls and so can we:
Contact your IT or phone company to inquire how to
record calls with your phone system.
Dentists do not have time to review all calls, so consider
listening to inbound calls over 2 minutes, where more
information is exchanged and more staff errors may occur.
10. Put It In Writing: How often do patients seem eager
for treatment in the ofce, only to have it fade later? Help your
front desk reinforce your case presentations when patientsattempt to cancel. Our Awesome Appointment Card takes
only seconds to ll-out and prompts your team on what to say
when patients call to break appointments. See our Financing
& Collections guide for 29 ways it can transform your practice.
Dr. Michael Curtis practices in Connecticut and is the author
of the 100s of Pearls books on Anesthesia, Endodontics,
Collections & Case Acceptance; each with over 400 pearls in 80
categories. For questions or to order, visit www.100sofPearls.com or
call 800-427-2830.
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Practice Management
by Janice Hurley-Trailor
From Your
Weve all heard the statement that says: if we want
to really understand someones situation, we
need to walk a mile in their shoes or moccasins or
sneakers, right? I think we can use this philosophy and apply
it to our patients everyday experiences in the dental practice.The suggestion is to take a look from the patients viewpoint
and see what they see from their perspective. Look high and
low. Look all around.
LOOKING UP
On the high side, when your patient is tipped back in their
chair and they are looking up, what do they see?
Before the light is shining in their eyes what are they
looking at?
Old posters of cartoon characters?
Leaky ceiling tiles?
Twirling teeth on a mobile?
Chipping ceiling paint?
Old television screens?
I have been in dental practices that have inadvertently
treated their patients to those eyesores listed above. I think
its easy to forget about whats on a ceiling. In fact my parents
once bought a home with hideous wall paper on the ceiling
of their newly purchased kitchen. Neither of my parents liked
it and had plans to replace it right away. Year after year as
I returned home to visit my parents, I would ask about their
plans to replace the kitchen wallpaper until my Mom answered
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on one visit by saying, you know I just dont notice it
anymore. I am afraid that scenario sometimes happens in
our hygiene treatment rooms. We either forget about what
our patients are looking at when they are looking up at our
ceilings or we dont notice those items that need repair orreplacement.
Another area that needs consideration is what our
patients see when they are receiving treatment and they look
up. Please double check:
The cleanliness of your own glasses or loops
The cleanliness of the overhead light
The cleanliness of the protective glasses you hand
your patients (no scratches please)
LOOKING DOWN
Finding cleaning staff to properly clean and maintain the
physical properties of your dental practice can be a challenge
I know. Many times when its time to cut practice overhead
we look at reducing what is spent on cleaning services. There
is certainly no guarantee that spending more gets you more
but... sometimes it does. Either way, its important to keep
your eyes open from the patients perspective and oftentimes
it is the base of your chairs that get missed in the cleaning
process.
LOOKING AROUND
How would you describe the overall esthetics of your
treatment room? Do you have equipment that stands out as
being dated?
Do you have dental chairs or x-ray heads that creak and
groan when you move them?
Patients are looking down and around and sometimes
they take notice of things we take for granted. They look at the
oors and the carpet the cabinets and the equipment. Please
take a look at your treatment room with the eyes of a rst time
patient who is noticing their environment with keen alertness.
Janice Hurley-Trailor is known as Dentistrys Image Expert
for Optimal Presence and Impact. She has more than 25 years
experience as a dental consultant helping professionals use the tools
they have to gain higher treatment acceptance and attract quality
patients. Janice is an international author and speaker. To contact
Janice, cal l 480-219-2210, email [email protected] or
visit her website at www.JaniceHurleyTrailor.com.
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Hilton San Diego Mission ValleySan Diego, California
Georgia
Youre Invited To Attend...
The Prot Masters
Of DentistryOctober 4-5, 2013
After multiple visits to Excellence in Dentistry, I am still excited to get rejuvenated with enthusiasm. Ive
racticed dentistry over 30 years and attended much continuing education and you still come up with newdeas and motivations to keep me in dentistry. -Dr. Mark Messer, Bridge City, TX
EIDs Seminars are a huge value for your
money. There are so many great speakers
vendors in an awesome setting.
- Dr. Dan Finn, Perry,
Quick,easyregistration
byphone,faxoronline!
REGISTERbeforeAUGUST31usingCODETPD
andoneteammemberattendsFREE!
EZPAYMENTPLAN!
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Dr. Brady FrankMaking Implants The#1 Prot Center In YourPractice
Dr. Frank will explore therapid expansion of threespecic implant procedures
among GPs in the United States, Canada andEurope. Heres just some of what Brady willcover:
The No-Drill Implant Procedure, the
1-Drill Implant Procedure and the 3-in-1Implant Procedure The top ve minimally invasive, no suture
implant approaches Detailed nancial information including
an explanation of why the typical GPsoverhead can go down as much as 20%
Objective: This course is designed to teach
doctors who currently place implants to be
more efcient and it encourages doctors who
dont place implants to get started and take
their dentistry to a higher level.
Bertha Triche, RDHDigging For Diamonds
Mining Prots FromPreventative Services
Bertha Triche is a registeredhygienist with over 32 yearsexperience in dentistry. Sheis a practicing hygienist and
is currently coaching and training for HygieneDiamonds, with Wendy Briggs, RDH, and TheTeam Training Institute. She will discuss:
The preventive role of the dentalhygienist
New research regarding the value ofprevention
Using CAMBRA, risk assessmenteffectively in dentistry
Building value for hygiene servicesitsnot just a cleaning
3 simple preventive diamonds that canmake a huge difference
How to have patients say yes evenwhen insurance doesnt cover it
Tracking and monitoring, vital statisticscritical for protable hygiene
Objective: To help hygienists understandwhat they can do more effectively in their
preventive role that can help improve
productivity and patient service overnight.
Dr. Michael Apa &Dr. Brian ChadroffTreatment DecisionsFor InterdisciplinaryChallenges In The
Aesthetic Zone
Understand the conceptof beauty and howfacial aesthetic designaffects tooth preparation,function and gingivalmargin placement for theperiodontal/restorative team
Learn to diagnose, treatment planand execute complex interdisciplinaryaesthetic cases
To understand the biologic rationale foraesthetic crown lengthening and learncurrent concepts in regeneration, rootcoverage and site development
Learn how to predictably treatmentplan immediate vs. delayed implantplacement, abutment selection andprovisionalization techniques forimplants in the aesthetic zone
Objective: After this course, attendees will
learn how to produce excellent aestheticresults with a step-by-step protocol.
Dr. Woody Oakes &Sasha Burau, MBAWork Smart, Buy Smart,
Achieve 55% Overhead AndBoost Prots How to set a 50% overhead
budget (target overhead) Cost per day analysis Doctor time, per day, per
minute How to buy dental
equipment at up to 50%
off retail How to save 15%+ on all
your dental supplies The amazing website for the best price
on everything How to triple the capacity of your
dental ofce without adding additionaloperatories
EXIT STRATEGIES how to sell yourpractice for more than its worth
A $156 (new, made in USA) intra-oral camera
Objectives: Attendees will learn how to manage
the nances of their practice and their lifestyle.
Shelly RyanHow To Increase ProtsBy Reducing Cancelledand Failed Appointments
Shelly is a practicemanagement coachwith Advanced PracticeManagement in Minnesota
a state ravaged with HMOs, PPOs andcorporate dentistry. Her mission at this eventis to teach you and your team how to STOP
cancelled or failed dental appointments! Why do more patients cancelhygiene appointments than operativeappointments?
Every practice faces downtime in theschedule. How much is normal? (Areyou expecting too much or too little fromyour staff?)
Do we charge a fee for missedappointments? Know the benets anddangers
Top 4 excuses patients use to fail andhow to deal with them
Verbiage stopping repeat offenders What about auto conrmation systems?
Do they work? How do they compare?
The entire Dental Team will know how theyeach can measurably reduce cancellationsand failures thus increasing yearly production.
Objective: Youll leave with helpful scripts you
can use the very next week.
Dr. Bill Kimball7 Magic Prot CentersMost Practices Are Missing
Dr. Bill Kimball, of KimballConsulting, is a Californiabased dental consultant whohas gained a nationwidereputation for increasing the
prots of every practice he works with. At thisevent Bill will share:
7 of the prot centers that he has seenmissing in most dental practices.
Systems that can be implementedMonday to grow your practice NOW!
o Bonus Systemo Internal Marketingo Case Presentationo Financial Arrangements
Objective: This course is designed to help
practices increase their production, lowertheir overhead and thus create a nancially
stable practice based on clin ical excellence.
www.theprotabledentist.com/Sem
Payment terms: yu c c ccu w b ch
up .
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VideotaPing Consent: i hb c uhz h
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Date: _________
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Email Address: _______________________________
Address: ____________________________________
City: ___________________________ State:_______
Zip: ___________ Phone: _____________________
Fax: _____________________FAX FOrM TO 812-949-8535
Or CAll 800-337-8467 TO rEgiST
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Signature: ________________________________
Please include doctors/team member names anjob titles on separate sheet and fax with this for
rEgiSTEr TODAY!
Or rEgiSTEr ONliNE NOW...
EID designates this activity for 10 CE CREDITS
ada CerP vc f h ac d ac
pf f qu pv f cu
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Excellence in Dentistry is an ADA CERP provider.
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Practice Management
7 Simple Steps
for Dentists to get intothe Best Shape
of Their Livesby Dr. U.P. Odiatu and NSCA Certied Personal Trainer
Over 65% of North Americans are overweight or
obese and diseases related to inactivity and
overeating are on the rise. At the rate we are
growing, researchers from Johns Hopkins have estimated
that over 92% of North Americans will be overweight by 2030.
Something has to give soon.
Other than looking a little bit better in your Facebookpicture prole, why else should we get a little leaner? There
are numerous articles in major medical journals pointing
to excess body mass as a culprit in supporting chronic
inammation. In turn chronic inammation plays a key role in
many serious systemic illnesses.
Dr. Walter Willet from Harvard School of Public Health
reported that the number one way to reduce chronic
inammation in the body was to reduce excess body fat. So
here we are. What to do about this common dilemma?
The problem is not a lack of information. Libraries,bookstores and the Internet are overowing with exercise
and nutrition advice. It can be overwhelming for the average
dentist when they Google nutrition and come up with
161 million results. Or Google tness and nd 494 million
resources! Combine the plethora of information with lack of
time and energy from a busy practice and you can guess the
outcome an expanding waistline!
There are some simple action steps that will have a
signicant impact on your health and vitality. Many dentists
sabotage their success with an all-or-nothing attitude. This
intense approach is ne if youre a Spanish Conquistador
landing your ships on the shores of the Yucatan. But for the
45-year-old general practice doc, an all or nothing approach
could leave you with a bad back, plantar fasciitis, acid reux
and disappointing long-term results.
I love the quote by Confucious, The journey of one
thousand miles begins with a single step. This insight doesntmean launching out on Saturday morning for a four hour ride
on a $3,000 racing bike, 10 Power Bars and cycling tights.
Some entry level prep is needed. For example: a complete
physical by a physician; a graduated periodized cycling
program by a cer tied trainer, a nutritional assessment, etc.
I enjoy having a long term vision for my health. It isnt
a wild and woolly race to an unknown nish line. It entails
making mindful decisions each meal, enjoying playing with my
young children and a regular complete exercise program.
We have found that taking one simple step in the rightdirection can lead to a whole new existence. Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr. said: Take the rst step in faith. You dont have to
see the whole staircase, just take the rst step.
De-junk Your House Eating is one of the
most intimate things we do with our environment.
The food we select to eat literally becomes our
skin, our muscle and our hair follicles. It must
be chosen with reverence and a mindfulness
betting of the magnicence of the human body.
Not a carcass youre pulling from operatory to
molodec@bigstockphoto
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operatory. What does De-Junk Your House involve? Purge
your house of high glycemic junk food and treats. If the high
fat snacks and treats are not around, they are less likely to
whisper your name in the night! Author of Mindless Eating, Brian
Wansink, PH.D., reported that eliminating junk food from the
home will prevent absent minded overeating. Did you know that
100 extra calories per day (e.g., medium size cookie) can add
up to 10 pounds in one year? As a leader in the dental ofce,
why not walk the talk on the home front too?
Count Your Steps Walking is one
of the easiest, safest and most benecial
forms of exercise. Dr. Andrew Weil, author of
Healthy Aging, recommends walking as the
number one exercise that can be maintained
for a lifetime and the whole family can
participate. Purchase a pedometer (keeps
track of the number of steps you take) and
aim to increase the number of steps you
take each day. A long term goal of 10,000 steps per day will
put you in the elite group of walkers. A Stanford University 20
year study with 4,384 people showed that walking just once a
week would cut your risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease
in half. Okay, what are you waiting for?
Eat Slowly - Look closely at the food
that you are about to order off the menu
or put in your shopping cart. Honestly
ask yourself if it will add to your health
or subtract from it. Your body is very
intuitive, if you listen, you will choose food
for function. Food for Function is a way of
eating whereby you seriously look at how
each food item is going to help your wellness plan or hinder it.
It takes about 20 minutes for the stomach to signal the
brain that it is full. It is easy to overeat when you polish off
the entire meal in less than 10 minutes! The top world recordholders at international eating competitions can eat up to 83
hot dogs in 12 minutes. Lets leave the speed eating to the
professionals and chew your food until its liquid and allow
your stomach and intestines to provide you
with more nutritional bang for each bite.
Wet Your Whistle - Water is an
extremely important nutrient. W.H. Auden
once said, Thousands have lived without
love, not one without water. Water is
a key factor in all our bodys metabolic
processes. Aim to drink at least six to eight glasses of water
every day. It is natures true elixir! It detoxies, re-hydrates,
refuels and rejuvenates. Start by adding one extra glass this
week. Increase the next week and you will soon notice that
your breath is fresher, your body feels less sluggish, and your
skin more supple. I have emails from past attendees at my
seminars reporting weight loss up to 20-30 pounds stemming
from a renewed commitment to drinking water. Lets toast
to H20.
Sleep Tight - In a long term study
from Case Western Reserve University in
Cleveland, Ohio - of 68,000 middle-aged
women, researchers found that women who
slept only 5 hours per night were 32 percent
more likely to gain a signicant amount of
weight compared to those who slept at
least 7 hours per night. Inadequate sleep
also increases your arterial aging and your risk of heart attack
according to doctors Roizen and Oz in their bestseller, You:
The Owners Manual. Try adding to your sleep time by getting
to bed 10 minutes earlier this week. Your waistline will shrink
and guess what? You will be more alert for your treatment
planning and crown preps. The Canadian Medical Journal
reported that people who are sleep deprived and only get six
hours or less of sleep a night operate similar to someone at a.05 alcohol level the next day.
Muscle Up Without exercise, after
age thirty, you will lose up to 1% of your
muscle mass annually. This means if you
dont do any form of resistance training
between ages 30-75 you will lose about
45% of your muscle mass. This translates
into an inevitable physical decline and
loss of independence. You can enjoy the
benets of resistance training in as little as two 30-minute
workouts per week. My advice? Hire yourself a trainer and getsome introductory sessions. Also read some entertaining, yet
informative, tness magazines like Mens Health and Oxygen
Magazine.
Exercise Your Mind Harvard professor
and author of SPARK, Dr. John Ratey,
reported a direct correlation between
cardiovascular exercise and brain function.
Students in a morning tness program scored
better in science, math and language arts.
Forget about the term: Dumb Jock! Experts
bigstockphoto.com images
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recommend that you elevate your
heart rate to about 80 percent
of your age-adjusted maximum
(to calculate your age-adjustedmaximum: 220 age) for about 20
minutes three times per week to
experience benets for your brain,
heart and lungs.
Taking action on any one of
these seven simple steps will help
your family unit toward better health
and well-being. You will feel great
knowing you are taking charge of
an important aspect of your health.
The obesity epidemic is not going to respond to just the federal
government throwing money at it. Families must step up and
take some responsibility. As oral health care providers, why not
us? Since dentists and hygienists spend proportionately more
time with their patients than the average medical doctor, lets
show our leadership in the wellness realm.
I rmly believe we can inspire patients and their families
to enjoy a higher standard of health. It all starts with a
conversation. First with oneself. Then your team and then your
patients. Theres an American Indian
quote that says in every seed lays
the promise of 1,000 forests. Lets
plant some seeds. All the best inyour personal wellness quest.
Dr. Uche Odiatu, BA, DMD is the
co-author of Fit for the LOVE of It
and The Miracle of Health. He is a
professional member of the American
College of Sports Medicine and a
board member of the Holistic Allied
Professional Association. This life long
athlete is an NSCA certied personal
trainer and maintains a dental practice is
Toronto. With his infectious energy and
keen insights he has been an invited guest on over 330 TV (including
ABCs 20/20, City TV, CTV Canada AM) and radio shows. www.
FitSDentist.com.
References: Wansink, Brian. Mindless Eating. New York: Random House, 2006.
Weil, Andrew. Healthy Aging. New York: Random House, 2005.
Roizen, MF, and Oz, MC. You The Owners Manual. New York: Harper Collins, 2005.
Ratey, John. Spark New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2008.
Call 866.898.1867 or email us at [email protected]
and request your free copy today.
PLANNOW
WORRYLATER
Selling your Dental Practice Now?In 2 years? 5 years? or 10 years?
Contact PARAGON todayfor your free Dental PracticeTransition Guide. Thispractical guide will help youavoid common practicetransition mistakes and can
add tens to hundreds ofthousands of dollars to yourretirement fund!
In vyseed
lay hpmi
a 1000
forests.
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Practice Management
Surviving your rst associate/
potential partner is fraught withhundreds of twists and turns. One
of the easiest ways to avoid these pitfalls
that lead to failed associateships 93% of
the time, is to begin with the end in mind.
I am actually writing this article as a way
to discuss what I see in many ofces,
but to mainly help an Endo practice
that is struggling with a new doctor
as an employee hired with the goal of
having him buy in. Guess what? Its not
working well. Both doctors are looking
at each other as if they are from different
planets. Kind of like that book about
males and females: Men are from Mars,
Women are from Venus. So lets create
a list of the most common problems
and xes so that we can smoothly move
toward a successful transition.
1. Timing is everything. Finances,
new patient load, great systems, and a
strategic plan and vision are paramount
to a successful transition. Dentistsspend more time planning their vacation
than they do strategizing a transition.
Everything matters, and anything you
forget will create a very predictable
ripple effect in your plans. This strategy
for practice growth must follow the
READY, aim, re process. Cowboys
that shoot from the hip will die every
time. More than any other business
strategy in dentistry, transitions demand
that everything be in order. These follow
the benchmarks of a Super General
Dental Practice. I will just list them here
for your reference.
a. 50-75 new patients a month and
the ability to double that at will
b. $20,000-25,000 of production
per employee per month (at least
$15.000-20,000 at the lowest)
c. Recall of at least 70%
d. A wide range of services meeting
the demand of the demographic of
your area
e. An overhead being no greater than
65% (ideal would be 50-60-%)
2. Beginning with the end in mind.
What will this practice look like if
everything could work out right:
overhead, production, new patients,
hours, types of patients, services, duties,
etc. You should take the time to create
a word-picture of exactly how you hope
this will turn out. In a perfect world, what
would this look like? Write it down. You
will get what you deserve, not what you
expect. This is a time in your practice
where you have to be intentional about
modeling and staging for a particular
result. You need to know what that result
looks like.
3. Clear Expectations. Not cloudy, not
grey and not uctuating. Crystal clear. If
you cant write down your expectations,how will anyone else know what you
expect? Its always surprising to me that
the senior doctor, as well as the new
hire, have never sat down and discussed
and recorded how they both expect this
to go. Generally you have two people
who are clueless about what is required
and what to expect. Kind of like two
ticks and no dog. Is it any surprise that
this will end in failure? One thing to
keep in mind is that new doctors dont
decrease stress and problems theymultiply them. In fact most, if not all,
of your systems, which may work ne
for you, will be woefully inadequate for
the new transition. Heres a short list of
things you both should consider before
continuing:
a. Stafng
b. Responsibilities
c. Clinical setups
d. Hours
e. Pay
f. Philosophy
g. Treatment planning
h. An organizational chart for
communication
i. What the long-term relationship
will look like
j. A time