the profitable dentist fall 2013

8/22/2019 The Profitable Dentist Fall 2013

1/60

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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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

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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

[email protected]

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

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Implant Efciency InstituteOsteoReady .................................27

EID Fall SeminarThe Prot Masters of Dentistry ..30

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DDS Dental SupplyDental buying group ..... Back Cover

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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

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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


11/608 0 0 - 3 3 7 - 8 4 6 7 T h e P r o f i t a b l e D e n t i s t . c o m

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.


12/6012 F A L L 2 0 1 3

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.


14/6014 F A L L 2 0 1 3

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.



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.


16/6016 F A L L 2 0 1 3

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



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


18/6018 F A L L 2 0 1 3

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

at [email protected].


19/60DP

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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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20/6020 F A L L 2 0 1 3

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.


21/60

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22/6022 F A L L 2 0 1 3

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

22 F A L L 2 0 1 3



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

8 0 0 - 3 3 7 - 8 4 6 7 T h e P r o f i t a b l e D e n t i s t . c o m


24/6024 F A L L 2 0 1 3

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

[email protected].

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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26/6026 F A L L 2 0 1 3

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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28/6028 F A L L 2 0 1 3

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



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.

[email protected]


30/60

Hilton San Diego Mission ValleySan Diego, California

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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

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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

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Date: _________

Doctors Name: ______________________________

Email Address: _______________________________

Address: ____________________________________

City: ___________________________ State:_______

Zip: ___________ Phone: _____________________

Fax: _____________________FAX FOrM TO 812-949-8535

Or CAll 800-337-8467 TO rEgiST

Doctor $777 Staff/Spouse $297Student $97

r Visa r MC r Amex r Discover r Che

CC# _________________________ Exp. Date: __

Amount: _____________________ Code: TP

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

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Excellence in Dentistry is an ADA CERP provider.


32/6032 F A L L 2 0 1 3

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



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


34/6034 F A L L 2 0 1 3

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.

[email protected]


35/60


36/6036 F A L L 2 0 1 3

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

the profitable dentist fall 2013

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