Access to dental services continues to be an issue for many Americans, with the American Dental Association reporting that 1 in 3 Americans face challenges finding dental care. That’s why Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts’ Dental Blue plan has expanded its national network to include 122,000 dentists at more than 300,000 locations across all 50 states—making … Read more
In 1984, Oral Health, our monthly clinical journal, was 73-years-old and Dental Practice Management was born. DPM was meant to be the source for all things not clinical. Employer concerns, staffing, legal matters, marketing, finance, transitioning, office design were all topics for discussion in DPM. Not long ago, the magazine morphed into Oral Health Office. … Read more
Is this the end of professional corporations? It’s been over a decade since the government allowed non-dentist family members to become shareholders of a dentistry professional corporation (DPC). Just as the government gives, it can also take away. The introduction of new sweeping tax changes is causing frustration among many dentists and essentially reverses many … Read more
You don’t approach a cosmetic case with the intention of creating a smile that looks “okay,” or design a crown to fit “good enough.” Why should you settle for a profit margin that is “okay,” or practice growth that is “good enough?” The answer is that you shouldn’t, and you don’t have to. You can … Read more
Achieving and maintaining peak performance certainly involves a focus on marketing, operational efficiencies and controls and the use of new technologies. Often overlooked or neglected are the many legal relationships, agreements and statutory requirements that have over the years become all the more important in light of the recognition that dental practices are marketable assets. … Read more
When Dr. Lloyd Pedvis decided to open a new practice in a different demographic area from his previous location, his intention was to provide outstanding service by investing in state-of-the-art technologies, and to promote a sense of well-being for new patients by virtue of an inviting and comfortable environment. Because there was to be no … Read more
Live Long and Prosper Aurora Borealis Orthodontics is believed to be the world’s only Star Trek themed orthodontic practice, filled with authentic, screen-used props from all of the television series and motion pictures. Located in downtown Aurora, ON site started out as a bank/ financial institution. The office experience includes Federation, Klingon, and other alien weaponry and … Read more
The idea of this project is to create a dental office that is functional but at the same time, beautiful and relaxing for the patients. In most cases, patients are nervous when they go to the dentist, so we decided to provide a cozy, homey, and welcoming place that feels a lot less scary to … Read more
Question My new dentist gave me 22 X-rays yesterday (bite-wing and full mouth) plus a panoramic. He says he does this to all patients. This seemed ridiculously unnecessary and dangerous. Could you give me info on this? To view the answer, click here for more. It’s a common concern for patients – read another Q&A … Read more
Continuing with our “I just want to be a dentist” series, downtime in the schedule is a burning issue for almost every practice. Addressing the issue of hygiene downtime is a high priority for everyone involved. An acceptable measurable percentage for non-productive time in hygiene is 5-8%. If the hygiene program is appropriately designed, the … Read more
Dentists working for corporate clinics and health insurers are being incentivised to churn through patients and administer so-called “drill and fill” dentistry, according to industry insiders. And some dentists say the situation is leading to unnecessary dental work, or over-servicing. Kyle Mervin, a dentist from the NSW Central Coast, told Background Briefing that five years … Read more
As healthcare professionals, we all want to provide the best possible care for each and every patient we serve. With some patients, this is a walk in the park, but for others, it can be more difficult to give them the care they need while making sure they are comfortable and happy. Patients can have … Read more
Carestream Dental is pleased to announce that Satish Hemachandran has accepted the position of general manager of its practice management software business. In this role, he will be responsible for the overall strategy, resource allocation, operational execution and customer experience for dental practice management solutions (DPMS). “Satish brings a wealth of cloud and software industry … Read more
A Brooklyn dentist used unlicensed people to perform dental work in his office and sent the bills to Medicaid, the New York State Attorney General’s Office alleged Friday. Licensed dentist Joseph Shyknevsky, 46, of Brooklyn, was accused in an indictment of hiring people with no dental license and allowing them to perform dental work on … Read more
“How’s your dog?” “What’s new with the kids?” “Are there any changes in your health history?” These are typical and appropriate questions to ask patients during their recare visit. But there is one question that sometimes isn’t asked that should be the first review when the patient sits in the hygiene chair, and it can … Read more
Online reviews are taking an even more prominent role in how new patients will find your dental practice in 2017. Survey results show that reviews must be positive AND recent to build trust, so it’s essential that your practice has a plan to keep them coming in at a steady pace. The SEO experts at … Read more
Sometimes a new patient may decide to make an exploratory visit to your dental office for an initial consultation. This is more likely to happen when you have a robust online presence through your website and social media, and enjoy high local search engine rankings for major keywords. These efforts could bring over a patient … Read more
Email overload is a common stressor in the modern workplace. If you feel that email is impacting your productivity, the following tips may help: Check email only a few times a day. Turn off e-mail alerts so you don’t have the temptation to read and respond to messages right away. Instead, check your e-mail at designated … Read more
Scoring is all part of our everyday life. We use scores and rankings to make our decisions, for example about where we shop, who we vote for, and what we aim for to improve, based on where we are in this moment in time (the GAP). Running a dental practice is no different and there are … Read more
Hiring the right employee is crucial for any business. In today’s postmodern world you can see turmoil and dramatic changes taking place. These are increasing in diversity, increase in consumerism, globalization, mobility of workers, decline of nuclear family and increased access to information. Boundaries and distinctions have become blurred. Because of these modern practices managing … Read more