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The Economy and Your Practice
By Rick Willeford, MBA, CPA/CFP IMPACT OF DROP IN COLLECTIONS ON PROFIT For example, assume you (once upon a time…) could increase your collections 12% due to fee increase, better management, etc. Assume your overhead for variable expenses (supplies and lab fees) runs about 15% of collections. That means the net collection increase after additional lab and supplies is about 10%. Further, assume your profit margin before the increase was 30%. Adding the net 10% to that gives you a new profit margin of 40%—or a 25% profit increase vs. a 12% increase in gross collections! That was great when collections were rising. Unfortunately, it works the same way
No Pain, No Gain?
By Gary Severance, DDS and Jodie Adams, MBA Obviously, the economic meltdown of 2008 has not been a lot of fun for any of us, but as we progress through a new year we can choose to just deal with it or consider ways to grow through the pain and then gain. Hopefully, many of us will choose to find ways to build stronger practices by looking inwardly and outwardly for ways to grow and prosper. How can you strengthen your office team, increase patient loyalty, and ultimately create an enhanced working environment to meet and exceed your own personal and professional goals in 2009? Consider the opportunities
Supporting the Business Side of Dentistry
By Jim Philhower, Director–North America Dental Sales Leadership & Development Henry Schein, Inc. In addition, being able to address technical service issues and knowing what the costs and availability of rental/loaner equipment were also important. I attended branch sales meetings, as well as state and national conventions to stay informed. Taking the doctor and hygiene order were both a priority, along with helping to control both inventory and the cost of dental supplies. Interestingly, and unfortunately, in those 27 years (and maybe the past 50) not much of that mindset has changed. Sure, back then new technology was considered fiber-optic handpieces, today it is digital radiography, CAD/CAM technology, and Cone
Live and Learn on Your Time
Today, few will disagree that we live in a complex digital world. Technology is developed, implemented, and obsolete in the blink of an eye. Many of these technologies are developed with the objective of making existing technology more efficient and in turn, our lives more productive. One of these new technologies that's changing the way we live and learn is podcasting. A "Podcast" or "Podcasting" is a popular multimedia format that allows digital audio and video files to be shared via the Internet for playback on either a personal computer or personal media player like the Apple iPod. > Whether you want to learn about the benefits of
Reorganize Your Practice
By Louis Malcmacher, DDS There is no question now that the recession has hit our economy, and has hit it hard. Many dentists are reporting a slowdown in their schedules with patients putting off treatment longer; cancellations are up. Note that I said many dentists are, but not all dentists are reporting this. Some dentists are actually reporting that their numbers are up and their practices are increasing. So why are some dentists doing better in the recession, some dentists doing the same as before, and some dentists worse and even much worse? As I meet hundreds of dentists every single week wherever I lecture, the answer always
Digital vs. Traditional X-ray: No Contest!
By John P. Marconnit, DDS I usually ignore contest entries, but I’m glad that I filled one out that day. I had already forgotten about it when, 10 months later while pheasant hunting, I got a phone call from my assistant: “You’re not going to believe this…” We had won a digital X-ray system from DEXIS®—a prize that would change so many aspects of our office life into winning situations. At the time, our front office was already computerized, and I had begun to research various systems to add to our equipment. My good fortune at winning the new digital system gave me the kick that I needed
The Benefits of Incorporating Dental Implants Into Your Practice
Incorporating dental implants into your practice is such a strategy. I’m not suggesting that all general dentists need to be surgically placing dental implants, but they should be at least referring them out to a specialist. Among recent advancements in dentistry, especially over the past couple of decades, implant dentistry presents the most dramatic gain for both your practice and your patients. Patients deserve the treatment that will benefit them the most, and so does your practice. With implants, patients gain from both esthetic and health perspectives, and your practice from a financial perspective. It is my belief that all edentulous patients should be evaluated for dental implants, and
Finding Panoramic Heaven: Our Move From Film To Digital
By Dr. Michael Novak, DDS Between the two, there was a lot of inconsistency in the end result. The pans were often either too light or too dark, and needed to be retaken. My team works hard to keep on time, but this machine reeked havoc with our schedule. In 2005, our Sullivan-Schein representative was helping us with choices for operatory upgrades and knew that we were intending to add computers. He recommended a solution to our pan dilemma, and also suggested we move to intraoral digital X-ray as well as upgrade our X-ray heads. We decided to go forward because of his advice. We don’t regret that
Going “Green” in Your Dental Office
By Nancy Higgins, Interior Design Group Sullivan-Schein DO GREEN DESIGN AND SUSTAINABLE DESIGN MEAN THE SAME THING? Although the two terms are often used interchangeably, there can be a subtle difference (e.g., green products specified for a sustainable project). Green Design often implies an interest in design that protects people’s health and well-being (e.g., indoor air quality enhancement, use of “natural” products, safer environments for people with allergies, asthma, or MCS). Sustainable Design often implies an interest in design that protects the global environment and the world’s ecosystems for future generations (e.g., alternative energy sources, rain forest protection, resource depletion). The terms Green Architecture, Environmentally Responsible Design, and Environmentally Conscious Design
The Unbooked Operatory and Section 179
By Jim Philhower, Director of North American Dental Sales Leadership & Development Dr. Charles Blair has written and lectured about the “unbooked operatory” for many years. Every dentist realizes that it is easier and less expensive to plumb and run all utilities for current and future operatories when they are building or remodeling an office. The problem arises in the future, when the practice has grown and there is now potential for clinical usage in those plumbed but unequipped operatories that have been used for storing supplies or inactive files. > Most dentists look at equipping the operatory as a cost as opposed to a means > to decrease stress,
Laser Caries Detection: For Children Of All Ages
By Winifred J. Booker, DDS Less than a decade ago, the diagnostic means for detecting decay consisted of the visual exam, probing with an explorer, or squinting to evaluate a film X-ray. Now, our new investigative tools include dynamic technologies such as digital imaging, trans-illumination, and laser caries detection. Both pediatric dentists and general dentists do all they can to care for young patients in a nonthreatening and, above all, painless way. When confronted with a traditional explorer, the pediatric patient often feels threatened, causing the child to become uncooperative and resulting in a premature end to the visit. Further, it has been demonstrated that the traditional dental explorer
Steps to Selling a Dental Practice
By Eugene W. Heller, DDS Henry Schein Professional Practice Transitions’ can help to complete this anticipated dental practice transition. What follows is a partial list of the steps involved. 1. Meet with the Seller/Owner to determine their ideal dental practice transition (sales) plan and assist in identifying the most likely type of transition and candidate. 2. If a full or partial sale is involved, gather the necessary tax returns, and other documents and discuss documentation and missing or unclear information with the Seller/Owner’s accountant. 3. Conduct the necessary financial analysis and appraisal calculations. 4. Discuss the appraised value, determine the asking price, and list the dental practice for sale or associate-ship available.
With DRCdental.com everything just clicks
Designed for everyone on your dental team, the Dental Resource Center offers the most comprehensive library of Web-based, accredited continuing education modules ever assembled. The Continuing Education Units (CEU) cover new technologies and innovations and best practices in the field of dentistry. In addition, DRC keeps you updated on current dental guidelines, including OSHA, HIPPA, American Heart Association recommendations, and adverse drug interactions that are relevant to dentistry. There has never been a resource that offers so much in one location, and it’s available 24 hours a day, seven days a week through the convenience of the Internet. DRC BENEFITS: In your busy office, time equals money. The Dental Resource
Can I Afford To "Go Digital"?
By Sally McKenzie, CMC, CEO, The McKenzie Company But one of the most important reasons, from a practicemanagement point-of-view, lies in improved cash flow and return on investment. I’d like to compare the two technologies as far as their impact on your practice’s finances is concerned. First, as every dentist who’s ever taken a film X-ray can tell you, there are significant out-of-pocket costs associated with film. As long as your practice remains film-based, you’re going to be paying for film, chemicals, developer equipment service and maintenance, and mounts. Those costs amount to about $.50 per X-ray, according to the ADA. In a practice that averages 50 X-ray images
THE INTELLIGENT PRACTICE
The fundamental differences relate to a commitment, or lack of commitment, to four core principles, which are the cornerstones of The Intelligent Practice: Standard of Care, Standard of Business, Standard of Teamwork, Standard of Leadership Having analyzed thousands of dental practice statistics from every state in the county, I can easily say that the Standard of Care principle is the principle most often compromised. At first glance this may seem hard to believe, but once you recognize the poor decisions that erode this principle, you can understand how make more intelligent choices that will support your Standard of Care. It is essential for every business owner to lay the
Pompeii Dentistry...The Perfect Merger of Old-World Charm and Modern High
Patients are immediately swept into the office’s well-defined theme. Classical columns adorn the reception area. Its mosaic-and-tile countertop sets the pace for the many authentic details that follow. The marble and porcelain floor tiles are cool and inviting, and flow smoothly into the hallways of the facility. Roughtextured, color-washed plaster walls in warm golden and verdant tones echo the style of the excavated buildings of the Roman era, and are found throughout the reception area, hallways, and operatories. The office’s wall décor exhibits the classical approach, with fresco-like art, sconce vases, and the Greek key border set midway up the walls. Barrel-vaulted hallway ceilings have been painted in dark
Patient Communication: The Right Information, Right When You Need It
Keeping the patient and dentist on the same page is critical. Patient education continues to develop, and intraoral cameras combined with flat-panel monitors help create integrated communication systems that make chair-side patient communication effortless. As the importance of patient communication and education rises, so does the need for technology that facilitates these interactions in an efficient manner. Advanced intraoral cameras are one of the dental devices that help facilitate this flow of information. Using an intraoral camera allows patients to better recognize their specific dental needs by seeing what the dentist sees and understanding the diagnosis. Visually educating patients about their specific concerns then allows the practitioner to inform and
New Comparability Retirement Plan for the Professional
They want to make significant tax-deductible contributions for their own benefit, which will reduce their current income tax bill and serve as a nest egg for their future. At the same time, they are not interested in maintaining a plan if the staff costs are too great. This goal of making significant contributions for owners and other key employees, while keeping staff costs under control, is not easily achieved under the Internal Revenue Code. The Code generally requires that a tax-qualified retirement plan not discriminate in favor of highly compensated employees. This article discusses how the dental practice owner's goal can often be achieved, in whole or in
Complete Digital Imaging Solutions For Your Office
By Claudio, M. Levato, DDS DIGITAL RADIOGRAPHIC TECHNOLOGY There are currently 2 different concepts of photon detection for direct digital image acquisition, the use of a solid-state image receptor or the use of a storage phosphor system. Many people think that Direct Digital Radiographic Technology means that you see an X-ray image immediately on a monitor, in fact the term direct digital refers to the direct acquisition of the image onto a receptor, like a CCD or a PSP device. Whereas the term Indirect Digital Radiographic Technology means that you take an existing X-ray film and convert it to digital after it has already been exposed and developed. DIRECT SENSOR
HAVE WHEELS, WILL TRAVEL
By Karen Fox SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CALIF. Proving that its futuristic mobile dental office is more than bells and whistles, Sullivan-Schein donated the Tomorrow’s Dental Office Today unit for use in an access program here from May 18 to 19, 2008 It gets better: Dr. Denise Habjan leans in to comfort an unhappy 5-year-old Valentin Ramirez for dental treatment in one of Tomorrow’s Dental Office Today’s two operatories. Dr. Habjan said Valentin “probably will need all of his teeth restored.” Just steps from the playground of San Juan Elementary School—and a stone’s throw from the historic Mission San Juan Capistrano—a group of Orange County Dental Society volunteers performed comprehensive dental care
Teaching Your Office Walls to Talk to Your Patients...And Dramatically Increasing Productivity
By Dr. Mark Tholen ARE THESE QUESTIONS A MYSTERY FOR THE AGES? Not really. They can be answered with a single word: congruency. If the office environment is congruent and consistent with the level of care proposed to the patient, the acceptance rate of treatment plans will dramatically increase. The corollary to this self-evident truth is that as the office environment is (proportionately) enhanced, the average revenue earned per procedure and per hour will increase proportionately. Allow me to make the case that your office will speak to your patients loudly…and your only choice is what the office will say. FIRST IMPRESSIONS COUNT The importance of the appearance of the greeting
Increasing Use of Nitrous Oxide by Dental Hygienists
BACKGROUND ON ADMINISTRATION BY DENTAL HYGIENISTS Most of those states allow this expanded duty to be performed after extensive coursework by the licensee and under direct supervision of the dentist. Prior to the actual pain control courses, dental hygiene students complete anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, biochemistry, and pathology, plus cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR), and emergency medical management. Pain control itself is part of regular dental hygiene curriculum at schools accredited by the American Dental Association's Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA). SEDATION DISCUSSION FOR DENTAL PRACTICE The sedation that is recommended for most dental procedures is at a minimal level of less than 50% (based on the new American Society of Anesthesiologist’s Guidelines). This
The Digital Imaging Hub
By Cynthia K. Brattesani, DDS I also remember the disappointment of pulling out a mount only to find that the film of #19 fell out or was sent to insurance and never returned. Or there’s the photo I needed, but it was damaged. The only good thing you could say about this system is that, assuming they were filed away correctly, at least all the X-rays and photos were in one place. Then I decided to “go digital.” With each step, I feel I’ve truly benefited from my digital conversion. However, there came a time when I had too many software programs housing my images. I had a
Deep in the “Heart of Texas Community Health Center”
The Heart of Texas Community Health Center’s Family Practice Center is part of a facility with multipurpose capabilities. In addition to offering oral healthcare to children, it acts as a teaching environment for residents, and has the potential to expand to include increased educational programs. The south Waco area has been enriched by the expanded services within the Center, and the community’s underserved will benefit by receiving oral health treatments that will improve their quality of life in general—and give them smiles that improve their confidence and chances for success.