2/3 The Experienced Dentist Pocketbook — A Three Part Series At a certain point in time, you feel that you have had enough of owning a clinic. At that point in your life you will have new values, wants and needs. If you want to retire right away, I hope you have taken advantage of … Read more
Congratulations on choosing one of the most transformative career paths. Indeed, you must have sacrificed a lot to complete a training program in dentistry. So, you’re here now and have chosen to take the private practice route. Another great move deserving of praise! The independence and flexibility that comes with private dental practice are commendable. … Read more
As a practicing dental hygienist, I focused on the delivery of patient-centred care, avoided the financial and operational aspects of a dental practice, and had no need for business acumen. Over time working in dental clinics, my interests and horizons expanded, and I became more and more fascinated by the economic underpinnings of an oral … Read more
Location, location, location. Every dentist knows the site of their practice is one of the most important considerations when opening to the public. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a rural area, a city or a metropolis, where you are and what you’re near can massively impact the success of your practice. Considering you already … Read more
Dentistry is a special and exciting career for people interested in medicine, oral health, and helping others. Although becoming a dentist requires many years of education, our challenging yet rewarding field can make the effort well worth it. The Learning Curve for graduates transitioning into private practice is steep; and very rewarding for those who … Read more
July is here, and Canadians everywhere are trying to squeeze the most out of our abbreviated summer. Hopefully, we’ve all set aside time to reconnect with family and friends and to recharge our internal batteries. For many of us, the summer lull is also a time to step back and reflect on the big picture … Read more
The task of opening a new dental office can be formidable. There are so many considerations: Is there adequate usable area for my needs? What dental equipment will best suit my practice? What are the health and safety requirements and Building Code regulations that I need to respect? How can I create a positive experience … Read more
Picture working in this environment: Your entire team, led by the office manager, has conspired against you. At lunch time, there is never a chair at the table for you. Sometimes, the lunch you have prepared has been thrown out and you are left hungry for the rest of the day! When team social events … Read more
What’s a frequent request you try to stray dental clients away from? The first step in looking at any dental office layout is examining the flow and ergonomics of a given unit. It is important during this first step to identify what each practice needs in order to best accommodate their patients and staff. To … Read more
In the past, we had product-centric companies and then they shifted to being customer-centric, now today the most successful companies are moving towards being purpose-centric. This means that all aspects of the business, whether it’s marketing, service, R&D, sales, IT, etc., all reflect the company’s purpose. To me, everything revolves around identifying your purpose and … Read more
Maybe you don’t pay overtime because you let your staff take a day off when they need it, or maybe your staff doesn’t get a proper lunch break most days, but once in a while they can take an extra long lunch or leave early. It’s nice to think that this kind of flexibility is … Read more
Now that one month of the year is behind us, I hope you are on your way to making any of the necessary changes to your practice that you feel will help improve your patient care and financial performance in 2019. One of the obstacles you may be facing in making these changes is that … Read more
Increased attention has been given to employee engagement and retention in recent years. Many practice leaders are now making it a top-priority, investing more time and resources into assessing and subsequently improving engagement among team members. And for good reason. It has long been suggested that engaged employees are more productive within—and loyal to—their organizations. … Read more
Over the last several decades, dental offices have incrementally replaced components of their manual practice management systems with computer-based paperless systems. This means that one-write billing systems, ledger cards, written insurance forms and paper appointment books have, thankfully, become relics of the past in most offices. The final barrier to becoming fully paperless is the … Read more
The one true statement that can be said about working at the front desk of a dental office is that no two days are alike. Regardless of how organized you think you are, how detailed your to-do list is or how amazing you feel ready to take on the day when you walk in, things … Read more
When asked to write the editorial for the January issue of Oral Health Office, I wondered what direction to take. There’s so much going on in dentistry, so many changes one could talk about, so many challenges, and yet, opportunity. Whether it’s growth in the services provided, the efficiency in the provision of those services, … Read more
The most important task your office will ever undertake is the hiring of great team members to join you in growing your practice and serving your patients. Hiring new team members is an exciting opportunity but it also often comes with big challenges; especially if you are wanting to attract the A-Players everyone wants. Finding … Read more
When you look around your office, tell me what you see. We all know that first impressions matter and creating a positive patient experience can start with the first impressions created by visual cues from our surroundings. So it is important to take the challenging step of seeing the impression your office creates not only … Read more
Many markets across Canada are experiencing a serious shortage in qualified team members across all positions. Whether you are looking for a dental assistant, hygienist or admin team member, gone are the days of having multiple candidates to choose from. For many offices, the result of this shortage has been higher wages (the laws of … Read more
