A new American website called End Cavities is actively promoting prevention of dental decay in children. This website is organized by the Children’s Dental Health Project and it is well done and very worthwhile. My guess is that End Cavities responds to the growing coverage of children’s dental care by Medicaid. Again, another very worthwhile … Read more
Three news items crossed my desk in the past month. All seem to point to a future for dentistry which features more specialization around managing the cause of poor oral health. One news item was a video interview with a number of dental opinion leaders in Minnesota, about the emerging role of dental therapists. Dental … Read more
4 ways to enhance patient satisfaction…… Patient communication is more likely to succeed when there are more positive interactions than negative interactions. Luckily, we as humans have a unique ability to turn negative thoughts and emotions into positive ones. Here are a few more ways to hit the magic ratio and positively enhance patient satisfaction … Read more
Most independent dental practitioners have their own practice websites, and chances are that you are one of them. Some dentists have installed customized software programs for more effective communication and data storage. Web based solutions and technologies have also evolved rapidly in recent years to provide improved storage, backup and access of data in comparison … Read more
The March 3, 2016 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine has a provocative article called “Uber’s message for healthcare”. The thrust of this article is summarized below by the Kaiser Foundation: “Unreliable service, inconvenience, uncomfortable surroundings, and high prices make customers unhappy, and given the opportunity, they will go elsewhere. Uber, Silicon Valley’s … Read more
Discover the power of the right words……. The vocabulary you use plays a powerful role in whether your patients choose to accept the treatment they need. In Transitions Group’s experience with coaching hundreds of dental practices across North America, we have found these key phrases to be very valuable: We now know … Latest research … Read more
A new report shows that more user-pay has little influence on comparison shopping for medical care. Even with “skin in the game” via high-deductible health plans, Americans did not normally seek out cheaper medical services.Instead, they simply avoided shopping for medical care altogether, and in many cases, failed to get preventive care. Canadian insurers and … Read more
One silent issue in the dental industry is affordability. Surgical care is so expensive that it has restricted dental visits over the past few years and, in turn, driven down dental incomes by more than 20% since the start of the Great Recession (2008). Over the Holidays, there were more reports about this affordability problem … Read more
The number of new cases of diabetes in the US declined to 1.4 million in 2014 from 1.7 million in 2008, according to a report from the CDC. The report stated that an improvement in healthy eating habits, a decline in the amount of soda drank since the late 1990s and a decrease in the … Read more
The visual aspects of your dental website potentially holds a greater influence on a new visitor to your site. It is not just about grabbing the attention or arousing the curiosity of a visitor. It is more about impacting their thought processes favorably and getting them to take desirable action. Directing Attention The average online … Read more
A new review of dental studies found that traditional risk factors for caries in adults are wanting in terms of accuracy. The best conventional predictors are recent experience with this disease and salivary concentrations of Streptococcus mutans; but even these, when used singularly are not robust. Because major payers of dental services are starting to … Read more
Help patients say “yes” to the treatment they need…. How would it be if all our patients accepted our treatment recommendations without having to be pressured, without stress or rejection? Why do dental patients reject appropriate treatment? 85% of case acceptance is related to our social skills and ability to relate to people, 15% is … Read more
YouTube has emerged as a clear winner by far among various social networks, particularly when it comes to driving targeted traffic to your website and helping consumers make buying decisions. If you have any new dental product, technology or procedure to introduce to your audiences, YouTube videos may be the most effective way to … Read more
A new study reports that nearly half of falls by older folks are caused by an infection. Falls are one of the leading cause of death for those over 75 years of age, due to complications arising from a fracture. So what kind of infections are involved? 44% were urinary tract infections, 39% were bloodstream … Read more
Could it happen in your practice? A common topic for our speakers is what dentists misunderstand about embezzlement. Here is our list: MYTH #1 — Embezzlers only steal cash, and it is difficult for thieves to monetize other forms of payment. FACT — It is simple for a thief to turn a check, credit card … Read more
Two reports crossed my desk recently, which raised some possible serious concerns about how we go about delivering dental care. First, a report suggests that anaesthetics are linked to permanent tooth failure in younger patients. The study authors concluded that it is possible for local anesthetics to inhibit pulp cell growth for still-developing permanent teeth. … Read more