How A Dental Consultant Can Improve Your Practice

When a dental practice isn’t functioning as desired or it’s taking up an inordinate amount of time to manage, chances are some improvements are in order. Unfortunately, for those working within a practice, spotting what needs to change can be difficult. This is where it can pay to rely on a professional dental consultant to assist.

Dental consultants that are able to authoritatively speak from both the practice and management sides of the coin can bring a wholly unique perspective to an office. When advice from a successful consultant is obtained, dentists often discover these benefits:

Increased patient retention – Customer service should be a top priority of dental office management. When it is not, even the best dentists in the field can see their practices suffer. Improving relations with patients requires not only the right bedside manner, but also an excellent office staff. From cleanings and examinations down to the fillings, everything must flow correctly to impress patients and keep them coming back for more.

Better hourly billing – The key to making the most of a dentist’s time involves being able to increase hourly patient billings. This doesn’t necessarily mean raising prices, but providing better service. When a dental consultant is called upon to help streamline a practice, hourly earnings can go up considerably.

Better staff morale – A well-run office is generally a pleasure to work in. When a dental management consultant helps tweak processes for the better, staff morale can go up. In turn, this can improve customer satisfaction, as well.

Improving a dental practice can be difficult from the inside out. When dental consultants are called upon to assist, however, the right ideas can be brought to the table. Even the best practices can often benefit from the skills and experience a knowledgeable dental consultant brings to the table.

Dentists can Prosper in a Recession with Dental Management Leadership Part 1
Filed under: Written by Dr. Dave... — Written by Dr. Dave Robertson @ 9:19 am

Dentists can Prosper in a Recession with Dental Management Leadership

Part 1

I don’t know about you, but the world wide market melt down has hit my home town pretty hard.

Real estate is dropping, jobs are being cut, and business is off in almost every industry including our office.

Here is what I told our dentists at our meeting last week:

Use your Downtime: If you are a little more slow than usual, use the extra time to talk to your patients. Talking about their lives builds long term relationships which keeps them coming back. You should know some personal information about EVERY patient and have it recorded in their records.

You can (and must) also talk about their dental options. Let’s face it, running over to the hygienist’s chair to do a recall exam in the middle of your bridge prep is not the best time to start discussing the pros and cons of amalgam vs gold or porcelain. But if you have a one hour opening, it sure is. It is amazing how much our patients forget, even about things we talked about last time. So don’t be afraid to bring it up.

And how is the best way to bring it up? Use the intra-oral camera. Personally I think you are crazy if you don’t have one. Showing the patients all the cracks and decay on their teeth immediately catapults their mindset from “yah, yah, blah blah” to “what is that black spot” or “what can be done about that”. There is no point talking about SOLUTIONS to their problems until they understand and believe there are PROBLEMS. But once they do, most people want them solved.

People need a reason to proceed with dental treatment. Sometimes the reason is simply realizing they have a problem which can be solved with the camera just by showing them.

Another place I use the camera is upon removal of their old restorations. Usually it looks awful under them and I like to show them that because it reinforces that they made the right decision about their current treatment which builds confidence in me and also gets them to realize the other old fillings are probably not as perfect as they thought either.

I also show them cracks under the old amalgam that did not show up before we got in there. It is not uncommon for me to show them that it is worse than I thought and to switch to doing a crown instead of a filling, or to finish the filling and bring them back for a crown.

But sometimes they know they have a problem and intend to do something about it some day but there is no immediate urgency. They need another reason.

Dental Management is not about some academic things you read in a book. It is doing what needs to be done right now.

In Part 2, I describe some of the actual things I do to keep busy when demand drops.

Dental Practice Management Should Be A Joy

Dentistry, just like any other patient care field, should be a labor of love and a passion. When dental practice management becomes a burden, everyone involved will suffer. It is possible to turn things around and bring the joy of patient care back into an office. A dental consultant can help.

When the right dental consultant’s advice is called upon, dental office management can benefit greatly for a number of reasons. Some of the things a good dental consultant can help out with that can put joy back into the prospect include:

Focusing specialty – Dentists, like any other medical-related professionals, tend to do better when their jobs are focused on the areas they have a true passion for. A pediatric dentist who finds himself focusing almost solely on adult teeth will not likely be happy. A dental consultant can help dentists focus their efforts and build their practices in the directions they genuinely want to take.

Streamlining work flow – Dental management does demand some business savvy. Dentists, however, are not necessarily born with this. To improve the work flow and make sure dental office management is run properly, a good consultant can help streamline processes for the maximum efficiency.

Increase patient load – Marketing is an area that some dental management professionals fall short on. When there’s a need for new patients, taking the right steps to get the word out about a practice will prove imperative. A dental consultant can offer advice on this front.

Increased earnings – It doesn’t make sense to run a dental office without making a decent income for all parties involved. A dental consultant can show professionals how to increase per hour billings without necessarily raising fees. It often only calls for improving efficiency.

Putting the joy back into dental management is not an impossible task. When the right dental consultants are relied upon for advice, dental professionals can enjoy professional success in every regard.

Tips For Improving Dental Management

Dentists go to school to learn how to treat patients, beautify smiles and handle emergencies. Oftentimes, they are lacking in the business management department. Unfortunately, making an office work as it should requires some skill in dental management. When the lead dentists have a few secrets up their sleeves, they can do the work they love and ensure business success at the same time.

There are a number of things about dental office management that should not be swept under the carpet for a lack of knowledge. When dentists put smart tips to work for them, they can enjoy a well-run practice, increased income and peace of mind.

So, what do dentists need to know to enjoy practice and business success both? Try incorporating some of these tips:

Stay on top of key hires – Dental office management does not rely on the dentists alone. Key positions include assistants, hygienists, office managers and clerical help. When a dentist is backed by a team of skilled professionals, a practice can and generally will function better.

Make sure necessary equipment is always in place – It is imperative to have the necessary equipment in place to serve patients in an effective and timely manner. When a good support team is put in place, this should always be the case.

Market for success – Truly successful dental management demands a steady stream of patients. When per hour billing charges are high and so is patient satisfaction, a practice will thrive. To keep patients coming through the door, dentists must market themselves and their abilities. Don’t skimp on these costs.

Rely on skilled consultants – Sometimes it is very wise to rely on dental consultants to help take a practice to the next level. The best dental consultants can offer advice for improving everything from patient care to business practices.

Enjoying success with dental management requires customer satisfaction, retention and professionalism. Taking the right steps can make this happen.

Dental Practice Management for Veterans

Everyone always puts so much emphasis on the starting of the business – the entrepreneurial work that is behind getting a company off the ground. This does involve a tremendous amount of work, to be sure; making sure that everything is as it should be and that the business is set up to receive its customers and make a splash right out of the gate. It is enormously time-consuming and certainly a waste of money to have to go back around and fix something that should have been right from the start and so businesses of all kinds invest their resources into making sure the foundation of the business is strong so that – once opened – it will flourish accordingly.

This does not mean, however, that businesses that have been open and operational for many years should not – from time to time – closely examine their operations to make sure that they are employing all of the latest resources available to them, that they are continuing to serve their customers and clients in a manner that speaks to the reputation that the business has built, and that the product or service is something of which is still high quality. Businesses that rest on their laurels – no matter how accomplished they are – will find that things can change right under their noses if they are not invested in day to day quality control.

Dental practices – like any other business – are set up to serve a particular purpose and if they continue to give their patients high quality care and employ professional, efficient dental practice management they can expect to enjoy many years of success. But just because a dental practice has been open for many years does not mean it’s not vulnerable to important components falling through the cracks.

Year to year, all dental practices – regardless of their time in operation – should closely scrutinize their own dental management from the perspective of a patient. Stay on top of quality control and you will also stay in control of the success of your practice.

Dental Management First Aid Part 2

In my last blog I wrote about staff and the need to stay lean during a downturn such as this.

The next issue, is what is the focus of the staff you have kept? Do they have any sense of urgency regarding bookings, reactivation and filling the holes in your schedule?

It is time to make this priority clear. If you are still totally booked, maybe you can sail through this recession unscathed. But if holes are developing in your day, that means your staff has more time on their hands and that time needs to be spent finding all the people you have seen who have slipped through the cracks. I would set a goal for a certain number of contacts or bookings PER DAY.

No one likes to lay down the law. But this is your dental practice. YOU are in charge and you are the one paying the overhead whether the chairs are full or not. We all want to be Mr. (or Mrs.) Nice Guy, but letting them chat while you suffer is a non starter. You are paying them and you have a right to expect a full day’s work. This has nothing to do with nice. You can worry about nice later when they buckle down and create a record month.

Most of us have gotten a little complacent because we could afford to. Don’t sacrifice your dental practice, your lifestyle or your retirement by being ‘nice’ when you should be a leader.

Dental Practice Management for Pediatric Dentists, Part II

In the last post we talked about the importance of dental practice teams working efficiently in order to best serve the entirety of the practice. The fact of the matter is that dentists are there to serve their patients and they must be able to do so in a manner that meets their patients’ needs; the reality is that in typical communities around the country there are many options for dental patients and, in accordance with whatever dental insurance they may have, patients can choose to see the dentist that makes them feel most comfortable and offers them the best all-around service.

This is especially true of pediatric dental practices that specialize in treating children typically nine years old and under. Such practices must be mindful of the special needs of their patients, as well as having the capacity to handle the billing needs and concerns of the child’s parents. Some pediatric dental practices, finding themselves in a position of losing patients or seeing their practice plateau may call in the services of a dental consultant to help them find their way to a more successful place.

Dental consultants will visit a practice and address those concerns that may be hindering that practice from realizing its full potential. Some of the areas that dental consultants may address in this regard include:

* Dental management and front of office staff. The people that man the front desk, as well as those that handle billing and insurance inquiries, are essentially the face of the practice before the dentist is even seen. They must be able to work efficiently, treat patients and their families respectfully, and essentially offer a warm welcome to those who enter. Remember, the patients in this case are kids and very often nervous kids at that; those who greet them are supremely important.

* Equipment. All equipment in such a practice should be designed to best serve a small child. Pediatric dental practice management staff should be sure that supplies are well stocked and are child friendly.

* Physical space. Pediatric dental practices do what they can to make their patients more comfortable; everything from providing a play area to mounting televisions in the examination rooms. If a dentist has not gone all out to make his office a friendly, fun place to visit for a child, then chances are the practice may be falling short.

Dental Practice Management for Pediatric Dentists, Part I

Taking a child to the dentist for the first time can easily go either way; it could be a great experience that sets the tone for future successful visits or it can be a traumatic experience that forever colors the way a child looks at a trip for a teeth cleaning. The latter is often more inclined to happen if the dental practice is not set up appropriately to handle children and their special needs. Taking a child – especially one as young as three – to a dentist that typically sees adults can be an overwhelming experience for a child and a frustrating one for the dentist. Pediatric dentists, however, are outfitted to serve this younger clientele and will most often have the physical space that is meant to pacify and please their patients. Parents are surely more inclined – if their dental insurance allows them the opportunity – to start their kids off with a pediatric dentist before they transition to a family practice; often pediatric dentists have a ceiling age of 7-9 for their patients.

Just as seamless dental practice management is important for any family or specialty practice, it is just as important for a pediatric dental practice. Dental management teams in such a practice must be adept at handling not only their small patients but also the adults who accompany them in a manner that speaks to the practice’s level of professionalism and commitment to quality care.

To this end, should a dental practice find their dental management team to be lacking in efficiency – something that is unacceptable in this competitive market where patients have their choice of practices to visit – they may turn to a professional dental consultant to give them the tools they need to improve the practice and help them better serve their patients.

In the next post we’ll look at some of the areas of concentration that dental consultants may address when dealing with a pediatric dental practice.

Dental Management for Patient Recruitment and Retention

Part of any business is the recruitment – the actual pursuit – of new business; as well as the steps the company takes to retain that business once they secure it. This pertains to any business including that of a dental practice where the “new business” refers to the patients who come to the practice for their dental maintenance. While some towns used to have one dentist that was essentially the only choice for a community, today towns and cities have a variety of choices for patients looking for particular care that falls within their insurance company or out-of-pocket affordability.

The point is, there is a lot of competition – even for dental practices – and the successful practices that are able to retain and even grow their patient base are able to do so by staying vigilant. Dental management teams are the force behind this success and should be chosen accordingly. Any practice that is currently operational with less than effective dental management should seriously consider a change in regime; and perhaps the expertise of a dental consultant who can lead the way towards better days.

Effective dental management handles all of the front of house components of a practice including patient administrative needs, the scheduling of appointments, and the billing of insurance companies; as well as the management of the supportive components of a practice including the ordering of supplies and the ensuring that the dental office is clean and up to speed in terms of equipment and so forth.

In terms of patient care, however, it is up to the dental management team to have a handle on the overall feeling of their clientele – as to how they are being treated, the level of care that they are receiving, and the likelihood that they will recommend the practice. In short, effective dental office management acts as a liaison between the practice and the community.

Dental Consultants in Competitive Market, Part II

In the last post we talked about the competitive nature of business; how businesses of all kinds are always competing for the patronage of clients and customers. For dental practices, their success or failure is built upon their ability to attract new patients and offer them a level of service and care that propels them to stick with the practice over the years.

It used to be that people would have one dentist their entire lives – as children, young adults, and then as parents themselves who would bring their own children to see their dentist. Today, however, people move around much more; it is rare for someone to live in the town in which they grew up for the entirety of their lives. This means that dental practices grow and change accordingly and it is up to the practice to stay committed to offering top-notch care and service.

As we discussed, one of the ways in which dental practices can rest assured that they are doing the right thing by their patients is by bringing in a dental consultant that can give them the straight scoop on what is happening within their business. A dental consultant will look at everything from the care the patient receives within the practice, to the cleanliness of the facility and the efficiency of the dental management.

Count on a dental consultant to be brutally honest in terms of what could stand to be improved upon within the practice. They are not employees of the practice and can therefore stand to give their unbiased and completely upfront opinion. This is what dental practices pay for; a chance to be a fly on the wall and really know where their practice stands in the eyes of their own patients.

With this kind of insight, dental practices will be more apt to make the changes that will be necessary to support their continued growth and success.

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