Editor’s note: This is the eighth article in a series exploring the business aspects of the dental profession, from starting a practice and marketing to hiring staff and finances.

Dr. Deshpande

A lot of us are thinking of buying a CEREC system in our brand-new office, hoping it make things efficient. We also consider getting the fanciest massage chairs for patients to use. You know what most patients really care about? Being attended to in time and being appreciated and cared for by our staff. Read below to read about two technologies that are already in every office but may not be used to their maximum advantage.

Phones

Did you know that many phone calls get missed by an average dental office? Did you know the most common time patients call to schedule appointments? Do you know what it costs for you as a practice owner to not know the above numbers?

Many practices spend a lot of money on marketing and getting the “right patient” in the door. Most patients will first check your online presence: your website and read your bio, then they check reviews, and finally, they’ll pick up the phone call and make an appointment. What if nobody picks up the phone on the other side? What if the patient leaves a message and does not even have it returned?

Guess what, by the time you figure out what happened, that patient called up another office and has an appointment on Monday.

1. What gets tracked, gets done. Consider having a phone tree — to have phones directed to the right person in your office — so the phone isn’t tied. Insurances, emergencies or billing, are three possible categories in a phone tree. Do you know which category will have the longest call?
2. Invest in a software that allows you to record each phone conversation (check if your state allows it first), transcribe VM’s, and that helps you audit your front office member’s personality. It is so important to have someone cheerful and happy answer new patient calls.
3. Make sure there is someone manning the phone at all times. Like most of our patients, I too, frequently make appointments for my chiropractor, personal physician and dentist during my lunch hour — 12-1 pm, on a weekday!
4. Maybe you couldn’t pick up the phone. Fine. Ensure your scheduler reviews all VM’s at the start of the next day and gives everyone a call back. They should do the same for all no shows, or late cancels too.

Scheduling

1. Ever thought of your perfect day in dentistry? It actually does exist. Every dentist has a different way of doing things, and the great thing about this is that in most scheduling systems you can input your own specifications. I, for example, like to complete root canals, implants or fillings at the beginning of the day, extractions right before lunch, and new patient exams or child prophies at the end of the day. One of my pet peeves is a quadrant filling at the end of the day. Figure out what is your way of doing things and tell your front office how you’d like them to schedule for you. This is your office after all.
2. Many business gurus agree that providers shouldn’t have unnecessary breaks in the day. While I agree with this thinking, it does not have to apply to everyone. Paint your own perfect day and try to make each day amazing.
3. One of the front office managers I used to work with told me that the thing that annoys them the most is inconsistency and lack of instruction from the dentist. “Why don’t they just tell us how they like it? They only complain when it’s not done right.” Every single person in the office wants their dentist to succeed. In order for them to help you, you just need to give them more information.

Can you think of another important aspect of a practice? Team appreciation, bonus structures and outsourcing are other key elements. Join our New Dentist Business Club meetings where we go into detail in all of those. To join, email us at New.Dentist.Business@gmail.com.

Dr. Sampada Deshpande is a general dentist based in San Francisco. A foreign trained dentist from India, Sampada earned her DDS from the University of Washington in 2018 and is a 2020-2021 UW-LEND fellow. Outside of clinical dentistry, she enjoys teaching at the New Dentist Business Club and improving access to technology in healthcare via her involvement in Samsotech. You can reach her directly at @dr.deshpande on Instagram or visit her website www.sampadadeshpandedds.com for more information.

Editor’s note: We know that finding the right practice can be overwhelming and time consuming. That’s why the ADA created ADA Practice Transitions (ADAPT), a service that matches you with practices that fit your practice approach and lifestyle. We provide customized resources to ensure you feel confident in your decisions and an ADA Advisor supports you during each step of the journey. Learn more at ADAPracticeTransitions.com.

During his 20-year general dentistry career, Ryan Henrichsen, DDS, MAGD, saw hundreds of patients who were suffering from issues that had more to do with the structure of their mouths and throats than dental problems. “I was doing a lot of bite splints and guards because the dentists I was practicing with didn’t know how to manage bruxism and temporomandibular joint disorders [TMD],” he recalls. “I really started helping people by just doing what I was taught by the masters I learned from.”

As a partner at Gentling Dental Care in Rochester, Minn., Henrichsen found himself building many mandibular advancement devices, treating TMD and focusing more on the airway component of these conditions. When dental professionals began to take advantage of computed tomography (CT) scanning technologies to assess patients’ airways, “I knew that things were changing big time,” he says.

After mulling over the idea of opening a stand-alone office that focused exclusively on airway, snoring and TMJ issues for about seven years, Henrichsen opened Respira – Airway, Snoring, & TMJ in January 2021.

Cutting-edge treatment modalities

Before joining Henrichsen in the practice, associate Matt Merfeld, DDS, saw so many crowded and misplaced teeth that he decided to complete a two-year course in orthodontics. When he started working with Henrichsen, he took additional airway training. Merfeld became a Breathe Institute Ambassador and began treating tethered oral tissues (TOT), which contribute to upper airway resistance. He and Henrichsen then took hands-on training for Convergent Dental’s Solea Sleep CO2 laser so they can treat upper airway resistance and obstructive sleep apnea.

Merfeld says that one in ten infants and children are affected by TOT. If the condition isn’t addressed, adults compensate or “maladapt.” “We’re seeing a lot of neck pain and shoulder pain,” Merfeld says. “And just general tension. Those with the condition use the floor of their mouth and their neck muscles to compensate so they can breathe normally. There is this deep connective tissue attaching to the tongue muscles; it’s not just this little frenum that you can see visually.”

The condition can lead to other associated tongue position issues. “For instance, in adults, if the back of the tongue can’t go up to the roof of the mouth, we’re going to see breathing problems,” Merfeld adds. “What’s the airway component of the tongue? It’s not just swallowing and speaking, it’s breathing.”

“We use Solea for soft- and hard-tissue procedures,” Merfeld says. “For surgeries, we use the soft-tissue function, which has a wavelength that vaporizes the tissue. It coagulates the blood cells, but it’s not burning or cauterizing them, so we see much gentler healing.”

We use Solea for soft- and hard-tissue procedures. For surgeries, we use the soft-tissue function, which has a wavelength that vaporizes the tissue. It coagulates the blood cells, but it’s not burning or cauterizing them, so we see much gentler healing.

– MATT MERFELD, DDS

Unlike other lasers, Solea is noncontact. “When you’re applying the beam, the tissue looks like it just starts to disappear,” Merfeld says. “We can do surgeries in infants in about 10 to 15 seconds with minimal to no bleeding. Healing happens rapidly, so within two weeks, the tissues look like we did nothing. It’s very interesting technology. And the benefit for a general dentist is using it for other functions: cutting hard tissues, extracting impacted molars, and prepping teeth. It’s very precise and can focus the beam down to the width of a human hair.”

“The same laser has an attachment we can use as a snoring treatment component,” Henrichsen adds. “It requires no anesthetic and takes 10 minutes or less. We just zap the soft palate tissue and the uvula area, and it shrinks the tissue. The treatment alleviates snoring for about a year to a year and a half.”

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, about 45% of adults snore sometimes and 25% snore regularly. Of the population of people who snore, Henrichsen says that roughly two-thirds have sleep apnea. “So one-third we could treat with the Solea Sleep application,” he explains. “It’s pretty amazing and we’ve had some good results with it.”

Merfeld adds that a benefit of the Solea laser is that it doesn’t have as many settings as other lasers. “It’s operated more like a general handpiece. It has a traditional rheostat, and we control the energy of the beam as we’re cutting. You start off at very low power and bring it up to the energy level you need. Solea is very user-friendly and versatile.”

Switching to the Solea Sleep function requires only changing out a small handpiece. The software identifies what they’re using, what function they need and what the light pattern should be.

Henrichsen offers several devices to treat snoring. The Vivos (or the DNA appliance) is custom designed for patients by a proprietary diagnostic algorithm after measuring and analyzing the oral cavity and airway with cone beam computed tomography.

The practice’s protocol also includes having a myofunctional therapist work with patients, focusing on muscle therapy, tongue position, range of motion and other elements both before and after surgery.

Since the practice opened in January, Minneapolis-area dentists have started referring patients and going to the clinic themselves.

A great deal has been written about patient-centered dental care. Jill Malson, key accounts manager with Patterson Dental, describes it as “the conversations, the conveniences, huddles and decisions the practice makes about equipment purchases, new procedures, protocols and policies … everything that goes into running the business has a true focus on benefiting the patient.” 

The patient schedule is a focal point when creating and managing a patient-centered practice because it allows you to streamline workflow for the benefit of the patient and the practice. If you want to create a strong, productive patient base that understands the urgency and value of their appointment, consider these nine tips when creating your patient-centered schedule.

1. Appoint a dedicated scheduling coordinator

“I can’t express enough how important this position is,” Malson says. When several staff members are scheduling patients, accountability can be lost. With one person overseeing the daily and weekly schedule and then collaborating with the rest of the team, the practice can manage patients more efficiently. The scheduling coordinator will have a bird’s-eye view of the process and can work with the rest of the team to fill openings or understand why a patient wasn’t rescheduled.

In addition, the practice should make it easy for patients to make and confirm their dental appointments. Confirmation phone calls can be difficult for patients to take during the day. Instead, use a text message or email confirmation system that makes it easier for patients to follow through on the confirmation, thus making your patient schedule more reliable. Phone calls should be used when no response is received from the text or email. A dedicated scheduling coordinator will help ensure all the necessary steps are in place to support a solid patient schedule.

2. Use your insurance coordinator wisely

Insurance coordinators manage insurance verification, pretreatment estimates and insurance submission for the practice. Patients who haven’t scheduled larger treatment plans could be waiting to see how insurance is going to cover their procedure. They receive the same pretreatment estimate the practice receives, but they often don’t understand how to read it. Reaching out to help the patient understand the information and to get them scheduled for treatment reminds them that they’re important to the practice and helps them maintain their oral health.

Insurance verification is another area of opportunity. A verification is completed for every patient being seen in the practice and can be a solid way to identify other treatment opportunities for patients on the schedule. Malson uses fluoride treatment for adults as an example: “Most adults have recession, and a professional fluoride treatment provides protection to those exposed areas. Many patients assume it’s not a covered procedure by insurance, thereby passing on this elective fluoride treatment. The insurance coordinator who’s also focused on the patient will identify when treatment is covered and communicate that to the hygienist and patient. It’s a win-win for all involved.”

3. Fill last-minute cancellations effectively

Last-minute cancellations happen in every practice and turning them into a filled chair requires a certain amount of finesse. Don’t be afraid to call your scheduled patients to see if they can come in early. Your message is very important here. Train your team to deliver a patient-centered message so the patient will feel important and top of mind with the doctor, which builds trust and longevity. Malson offers two versions of a call to a patient:

• “Hi, Mrs. Smith. Dr. John has an opening in the schedule today and we want to see if you can come in and get your fillings completed on the lower right side before your cleaning today. Does 2:00 work for you?”
• “Hi, Mrs. Smith. Dr. John was reviewing your chart today and he asked that I reach out to you. Before your cleaning today, he’s able to take care of your fillings on the lower right side so they don’t get any bigger or cause more costly and painful problems. Does it work for you to come in at 2:00 today and see him before your cleaning?”

The first message sounds like you’re filling a hole in the schedule, whereas the second message sounds much more focused on the patient’s oral health.

Malson also recommends looking out into the week to fill a cancellation today. “If you had a 10:00 appointment cancel and it’s currently 8:00, use your schedule as a resource,” Malson explains. “Call the patient scheduled for 10:00 the next day who you know has a flexible schedule to see if they have time to come in today.” The practice is doing the work of filling the open appointments, but the process is patient-led. “Go through the patient charts and look for opportunity gems,” Malson says. “Is anyone behind on their cleaning? Can they come in a little earlier or stay a bit later after their restorative treatment?” Some team members may be hesitant to make calls to reschedule patients, but if you’ve fostered a patient-centered practice using these tools, patients will view the call in a positive light.

4. Be open to same-day dentistry

This is a true game changer for patient satisfaction and productivity. Patients appreciate the offer of convenience. “If a patient presents to you with an issue and you have time in your schedule to perform treatment that day, offer it,” Malson says. Patients have already taken time out of their day to visit your practice and will value the opportunity for same-day dentistry. In the end, they will tell their family and friends about their positive experience and there is nothing more valuable than the referral of a friend or family member.

Reaching out to patients who have not scheduled treatment emphasizes the practice’s concern for their health.

5. Follow up on outstanding treatment

Every practice has a list of patients who haven’t scheduled treatment that was discussed at a prior visit. Patients get busy and often forget to schedule their procedure, especially when the tooth is asymptomatic. The treatment coordinator in the practice should have a structured follow-up system in place to engage patients and ensure they get scheduled. We know decay doesn’t go away on its own and what might require only an occlusal filling now, might involve more costly and extensive treatment in six months. Reaching out to patients who haven’t scheduled treatment – and explaining the importance of making that next appointment – emphasizes the practice’s concern for their health.

6. Use your short call list

Most practices have a list of patients who’ve told the front desk team that they’d like to be called if an earlier appointment becomes available. But how often do practices actually use the list? When patients have expressly asked to be called but aren’t, they may wonder if you truly use the list. Malson says the list has many names based on your practice management software and recommends using it as a resource for filling canceled appointments. Patients will appreciate that you paid attention to their request and reached out.

7. Pay attention to your new patient retention rate

Malson emphasizes that practices should be attentive to the retention rate of all patients, but that new patients are especially critical because they haven’t yet built a relationship with the care team that leads to loyalty. Patients who’ve been with the practice for several years have already experienced your care and expertise. New patients who’ve seen you only once or twice will need time to achieve the same level of trust and loyalty, so pay close attention to them.

8. Understand the impact of appointment time

Every practice manager should spend some time walking through the office and listening to what’s happening in the operatories and consultation rooms. Are doctors and clinical staff making the best use of patient time? Can another clinical team member cover some of what the doctor is covering, so the doctor is freed up to see additional patients? Ask questions, spark conversation and talk about the movement within the schedule to ensure your schedule flows efficiently and productively.

Properly managing appointment lengths is a bit of a balancing act. With each patient appointment, you want to allow enough time to ensure the patient doesn’t feel rushed, yet not too much time that could potentially be wasted instead of scheduled for another patient. The smallest tweaks can make a difference. Even a five-minute time savings across five or six patients can provide opportunity for another procedure to be completed. More appointment availability for patients, more production for the practice. Malson, who has previously managed general dental, periodontal and oral surgery groups, has helped practices streamline their patient appointments to increase productivity and the number of patients seen each day while also ensuring each patient still received quality time and care.

9. Introduce new procedures and invest in technology

Patients trust you and your practice. Providing additional treatment options via new pieces of technology and procedures opens the door for patients to acquire more of their needed treatment in your practice. Not making those investments may mean patients are referred out for services they require. When Malson worked in oral surgery, she brought in same-day implant placement, digital impressions and All-on-4 procedures for patients in need of more extensive implant-retained treatment. This meant patients benefited from fewer visits and additional treatment opportunities in the practice they’d grown to trust.

– – –

This article originally appeared in Advantage by Patterson Dental.

• T-Bone
• September 27, 2020

For the past 5 years I have sworn off removable services in my office unless they involved dental implants.  About 2 years ago I took that a step further and swore off implant retained overdentures as well.

The truth is that we weren’t doing removable often enough to develop good systems to make it profitable.  Furthermore, the headaches of multiple appointments, adjustments, patient expectations, etc made it not enjoyable.

I have been down this road with many procedures in my career – where I decide I don’t want to do them anymore.  Each time technological advancements come around that transform the ease and predictability of said procedure.

Dentures Have Gone Digital (at the lab)

Unless you have been hiding under a rock, you have read numerous articles and case studies of how dentures have gone digital.

I first read about digital dentures from Avadent in the early 2010s.  At that time it was the laboratory design that was digital.  Honestly, I didn’t give it much thought because it required proprietary steps and seemed like more work on the dentist side of things.

More recently we have seen Dentsply Sirona (and many others) provide the ability to milland print dentures.  We even show you how to print denture bases and teeth in our 3D printing course in your office.

Truthfully, this advancement alone doesn’t excite me.  It doesn’t solve the in practice challenges of dentures – reducing visits, reducing lab adjustments, and less chairtime.

Dentures Go Digital (in the dental practice)

Sooooo..  what makes me even consider adding dentures back to our services list?  The fact, that it’s now reasonable to take digitize the clinical side of denture fabrication.  With advancements in intra-oral scanners and digital smile design – it’s now easier and more predictable and less visits with much better dentist-lab communication.

Case Example

A patient with existing dentures comes back to our office for new dentures.  She has an upper complete and a 2 implant lower overdenture.  In this past this would necessitate either duplicating the existing dentures (a complete pain), starting from new tissue level impressions, or using existing as trays and having lab return them same day and have the patient go without her teeth (both of which are hard to coordinate).

Instead we are able to take a double sided digital impression of the upper and lower denture while in occlusion.  This begins the transfer and communication to the laboratory.

Next I am able to utilize Smile Design (done using Powerpoint in this case) to outline the aesthetic changes we would like to make.

Here the lab can take this information and transfer it to the denture design software.  In this case 3Shape Dental Studio was used.  The overlay is used to ‘set’ the denture teeth at the new position to allow more tooth to show at rest and at smile.

The final denture design was completed in the software.  The lower teeth were intruded to not create excessive overbite.

From this design the laboratory is able to print try in dentures to test fit, bite, and tooth aesthetics.  I chose not to have any pink added, but this is an option if you like.

I’d like to remind you this will be the patients second visit!

The printed try in dentures are quickly and easily relined with wash impression material for fabrication of the final prosthetic.

While this isn’t ‘completely digital’ it is significantly more predictable and easier than the traditional denture method.  Moreover, much of this process can be delegated to a team member!

This is literally my first denture case I have done in nearly 3 years.  I never thought I would even consider it again.  I’ve got a few more coming up where I am going to push my limits (increasing vertical and more significant tooth position changes) with minimal visits.

The Sales Pitch

I’ve already mentioned our 3D Printing Course earlier if you are looking to add printing to your practice.

If you are ready to do more complex cases more predictably within the confines of a busy general practice, then I encourage you to look into our Business programs here at 3D Dentists.

B1 – Foundational Case Acceptance.  In this 1 day program we teach you and your team our 4 step framework for increasing case acceptance.  It’s the exact way we do it in my own dental practice.

B2 – Case Planning & Sequencing.  This is a new 2 day hands-on workshop, we teach dentists how to properly case plan advanced and emotional dental cases.  We utilize virtual implant planning, smile design software, and step by step case planning & sequencing worksheets to keep cases organized.  The end result is an increase in case acceptance by patients and better organization for team members.

We look forward to seeing you at our programs so we can help grow your dental practice!

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Oftentimes, our work takes precedence over everything else in our lives. Our desire to succeed professionally can push us to set aside our own well-being. Creating a harmonious work-life balance can be challenging but it is essential to improve our physical, emotional and mental well-being. Here are six things you can start doing right now to achieve a better work-life balance.

1. Set an intention for the day

By setting an intention, you are creating a plan of how you want your day to go. When we lack intention, we often feel overwhelmed and out of control. An intention will help you take back control and set yourself up for success by making time for what really matters.

2. Incorporate exercise into your day

Too often, the first to go when our calendars fill up is exercise. Exercise not only reduces stress but improves our mood and work performance. Fit exercise into your busy weekly schedule in the same manner of the often-used airplane oxygen mask example. We need to prioritize exercise so that we can benefit from the decrease in stress and the increase in self-efficacy it provides. Don’t have an hour to lift weights or attend a workout class? Start with a brisk walk around the block. Every little bit counts!

3. Change your self-talk 

Our patterns of self-talk can all too often be negative. We focus on preconceived ideas that we’re “not good enough,” “always a failure” or “can’t do anything right.” On the other hand, positive self-talk switches our narrative to ideas like “I can do better next time” or “I choose to learn from my mistakes and not be held back by them.” It’s about showing yourself some self-compassion and understanding who you are and what you’ve been through.  

4. Take time to disconnect

When you are available all the time, your workday never ends. You need time to shut off your phone and unplug. Give yourself a chance to separate from work – whether it’s taking a 5-minute breather outside the office, practicing yoga or just learning to say no. Embrace every moment of calm that you can throughout the day.

5. Give yourself some grace

It’s time we redefine what perfection means to us and strive for excellence, not perfection. It’s important to remember that you can’t be everything to everyone. Give yourself the grace to “be enough” and not “perfect.” This small mental shift can be a small change that makes a big difference.

6. Save energy by using the right software

Having the right software can not only save you time throughout the day, but also eliminate unwanted stress. If your current software systems make you feel more stressed and it’s challenging to accomplish daily tasks, it might be time to consider implementing a new software.

Determining the right software for your dental practice can be a big decision. Let us help you chart the best course for your unique practice with a free, 15-minute Revolve Software Suite consultation.

Your work-life balance should make you feel like you are paying enough attention to all the important aspects of your life. When you feel the scale of attention is tipped too far in one direction, that is when changes need to be made. The idea of finding balance is to allow us to find the point in-between our work and personal life that ensures both are flourishing. We hope these tips help you on the path to achieving a better work-life balance.

• T-Bone
• December 8, 2020

by Dr. Brian McGue

“Doc, I can still feel my tooth,” she said. 

We hadn’t done anything yet. We had placed a mandibular block 10 minutes earlier. She was on 50% nitrous oxide. My assistant had just pulp tested the tooth with cold and the patient hadn’t been able to feel anything with that tooth or any of the teeth in the lower right mandibular quadrant. The patient needed a badly decayed #30 extracted.  I was still in the middle of putting my gloves on.

“Doc, I can still feel something…” she continued but this time her voice had a hint of panic in her voice. I stopped putting on my gloves, leaned back on a treatment cabinet and looked at the patient. That’s when I noticed all the clues that weren’t there at the emergency exam appointment a few days earlier. When I saw this patient at the emergency appointment she was having some pain with #30 but seemed fairly calm. She knew she needed to have #30 extracted and wanted to get the procedure done before Thanksgiving which was about 10 days away. We had scheduled her for the extraction and placed her on antibiotics.

Today was a different story. The first red flag/clue was when she came back to the operatory with her boyfriend. An adult patient who cannot sit for a dental procedure without a support person is outside the norm. The second red flag was her body language. Her whole body was tense. She was gripping the chair arms. She was sweating even though we keep our treatment rooms somewhat cool.  The final clue was her reaction to her perceived level of numbness. Whether she was completely anesthetized wasn’t the point. Her perception of her level of numbness was causing her to slide into the pain-anxiety loop.

The pain-anxiety loop is well known in psychology. It’s a simple concept. We, as dentists, inherently know this phenomenon. It was first enunciated by a physician, W.W. Schottstraedt, in his 1960 book The Pyschophysiologic Approach to Medical Practice: “Pain is a source of anxiety, anxiety is a factor that increases pain, and increased pain incites further anxiety.” In a nutshell, pain and anxiety are circularly related.

The patient in the chair was following this theory exactly. She was anxious which caused her to have a heightened response to pain and that pain was making her increasingly more anxious. At this point we had a decision to make:  either add more anesthetic, maybe with an intraosseous injection, and hope we achieve profound anesthesia or remove her anxiety by rescheduling her and using oral conscious sedation. Because of her increasingly higher level of anxiety we opted for the later.  We backed the patient off of the nitrous, sat her up and explained that we were going to reschedule her for sedation which we felt would make sure she was numb when we took the tooth out.  The patient was very appreciative. 

We immediately did the pre-operative sedation appointment protocol of hooking the patient up to the monitors for at least five minutes, reviewing her medical history and medications, going over informed consents and pre- and post- operative instructions, and dispensing the sedation medications in child-proof containers. Because the patient was not taking any medications, was young and had high anxiety we used the maximum dosages for our Stay In The Box dosing protocols for the pre-procedure anxiety medications for night before the procedure and the day-of procedure sedation medications.  

Three days later we saw the patient. The patient was well sedated but conscious and able to communicate with us. We easily anesthetized the tooth and the extraction was straightforward. The patient did not react at all to the anesthetic placement or the extraction.

Later that evening I called the patient to see how she was doing and how she felt things went today from her perspective. The patient had no memory of having been in the office or of the extraction and was very happy. 

I feel a lot of times the so-called “hot tooth” can be managed better with sedation. Once the pain-anxiety circular path can be interrupted many of those hard to anesthetize teeth or patients can be managed easily. Without question a sedated patient numbs deeper with less anesthetic. Sometimes it pays to simply not push the procedure but take a step back and reschedule the patient with oral conscious sedation.

This post was originally published on the Podium Blog.

Just as consumers look to online reviews to decide where they’ll go for dinner or purchase a new product, they also look to online reviews and ratings to select their healthcare providers.

In a Podium-sponsored virtual session at Becker’s Hospital Review 11th Annual Meeting, Bryan Oram, AVP of Strategic Healthcare Sales at Podium, discussed the influence of online reviews for prospective patients and described what healthcare organizations can do to improve their online ratings.

Here are the four key takeaways from Bryan’s session:

1. Online reviews are influencing how patients search for care.

“Consumers are looking at what other consumers are saying,” said Bryan. And it’s that third-party validation that influences 88% of consumers’ healthcare provider selection. Over 30% of patients say online reviews play a big role in choosing their care while over 50% say they’re willing to travel farther and pay more in order to patronize a practice with higher reviews.” Online reviews are quickly becoming the first stop for consumers as they search for care.

2. Consumers are looking beyond the five-star rating.

While high average star ratings are still the baseline for consumer trust, patients often look beyond just the five-star rating. The number of reviews, the recency of the reviews, and the location of the business also affect whether a patient considers a healthcare provider, as well as the order in which third-party sites, like Google, display the practice. Higher ranked search results garner more of the clicks, no matter the industry.

3. Responding to online reviews can impact a patient’s perspective.

As prospective patients review online reviews, they also pay attention to service recovery—whether or not a business responds to a negative review and the message that’s conveyed in that response. The how and what of those messages influence consumer opinion. In fact, “56% of patients say that a practice’s response to reviews has changed their perspective on the practice,” said Bryan. If your practice isn’t reviewing and responding to reviews for your business, consumers are taking note.

4. Healthcare organizations need a review collection strategy.

Disgruntled patients are more likely to post reviews online compared to patients that have a positive experience. If your practice is waiting for more patients to write reviews organically, without getting asked, you likely won’t see the results you want.

A review strategy, especially one that uses post-visit text messages to ask patients to leave a review, increases the number of reviews, the recency of those reviews, and the average rating (especially because happy patients are the ones leaving reviews). Include a link to the review site in your text to patients post-visit. It makes it quick and easy for them to visit the review site directly from their mobile device. “When prompted, those who have had a good experience are likely to leave a review, especially if you remove a lot of the barriers,” said Bryan.

To learn more and listen to the entire session, click here.

Get better dental reviews with Podium

Watch a Demo and get started with Podium to see how our cloud-based platform can help your practice take its online reputation to the next level. Podium’s efficient, mobile process can help your practice collect 15x the reviews that traditional platforms produce, which in turn will improve local SEO and ultimately boost revenues.

Originally Featured in New Dentist Blog.

Something feels oddly familiar.

Sitting in my neighborhood coffee shop with my laptop open, staring at a course syllabus as it ominously lays out what my life will look like for the next several months. Coffee, flash cards, and wild Friday nights are in my future. And if I’m lucky, I’ll get the pleasure of writing a research paper or two while I’m at it. I can only hope as I start my endo residency.

Dr. Vaughn

I haven’t “studied” in six years. I haven’t even thought about studying. It’s been so long since I’ve studied that I’m not even sure I still know how to do it effectively. But still here I am, a student once more, and residency promises to be very much one of those sink or swim scenarios.

Luckily, I haven’t forgotten everything that I learned in dental school. There’s a few lessons I’m bringing with me this time that I’ve picked up along the way. Maybe you’ve heard these a few times before. Maybe you haven’t. But I think all of us, from brand new dental students to those who’ve been out a while, could use a refresher.  Here’s four important lessons that I learned in dental school and in my years practicing as a general dentist.

1. Get your money’s worth.

Every day you walk into your dental school, it’s like showing up to an 8-hour CE course for which you have paid top dollar. It’s tempting to coast. Many of us are guilty of trying to get through our programs by putting as little effort in as possible.

“D stands for Degree,” right?

But what I’ve learned is that dental school is filled with opportunities to learn more than the bare minimum. Some of the most impressive people in our profession work in dental education. And what I’ve found out is that many of the expensive, top-notch CE courses you take as a practicing dentist are taught by, you guessed it, dental school faculty. Take advantage of your environment. You’ve already paid for it.

2. Listen well

Having been a part-time faculty a few times myself, I’ve found one of the most desirable qualities in a student is the ability to listen well. Are you teachable? Can you take constructive criticism? Are you willing to own that “student” mentality?

Will you agree with all of your attendings? No.

Do you have to agree? Of course not.

But no one ever starts a sentence hoping that you’ll finish it for them. Not every teacher is waiting for your perfectly crafted rebuttal of why you did what you did. Oftentimes, listening is the most powerful tool we have. You will find that this translates well out in practice. Make an effort to actively listen to what your patients have to say, and you’ll have a group of raving fans who trust you wholeheartedly.

3. Hand skills rarely matter

Look through the Google reviews of any dental office in your community and you know what you won’t see? Any mention whatsoever about the occlusal composite staining of the Class I secondary grooves. No 5-Star review on the distoincisal angle of your biomimetically placed resin composite. Not even a single word about that buttery smooth crown margin that you spent an extra 15 minutes polishing for your Instagram photo.

Of course, our hand skills do actually matter (to a degree). But my point is that to the patient, what is often more important (and rarely taught in dental school) are the soft skills required to be a successful practitioner. If I could go back to dental school, I’d spend much more time honing that skill set. Because if you can effectively communicate with your patients, and if you can make a great first impression and win their trust, dentistry becomes a lot easier and a lot more enjoyable.

4. Don’t sleep on business and finance.

From my very first day in dental school, I was told that we wouldn’t learn a single thing about how to run a business, but oddly enough it was essential to our success as a dentist. After hearing that, do you think I made a single effort to learn about business and finance as a dental student? (See lesson #1. Hint: I did not)

Like so many of us, I chose the path of least resistance. I didn’t even look at my student loans until six months after finishing my GPR. I didn’t read a single article on practice management until two years into practice.

What a huge mistake. Such a huge mistake in fact, that now I spend much of my time talking to dental students about how to manage their student debt and avoid common mistakes that are made every single day. Mistakes that can set your career back years, and could ultimately affect the decisions you’re able to make for you and your family.

So don’t do what I did. Don’t do what so many of us in this profession continue to do. Start early. Take control of your student loans. Spend time learning about how they work, how to save and budget, and even how to invest.

Tap into the vast list of resources on practice management and how to run a business. Books, podcasts, blogs, and even YouTube. Ask your part-time faculty how they run their private practices. Take advantage of the ADA Success program and have an experienced dentist come to your school and talk about these topics (I’d be more than happy to visit and tell you everything I know).

Dental school was honestly some of the best years of my life. And although it was very difficult and challenging at times, the memories will last me a lifetime. I want to wish all future dentists the best of luck in this new school year. Cherish these moments and always make an effort to take advantage of the opportunities in front of you. Cheers!

Dr. Joe Vaughn is a general dentist who graduated from the University of Alabama and currently practices in Seattle, Washington. He works both as an associate in a private practice as well as in a public health clinic. Dr. Vaughn currently serves in roles with both the Seattle King County Dental Society and the Washington State Dental Association. He is passionate about organized dentistry, writing, and talking with other dentists about the many issues we are facing in our profession today. He welcomes any and all of your questions/comments and can be reached at jkvaughn44@gmail.com.

 By American Association Of Dental Office Management

When your team hears that it’s time to start the morning huddle, do they drag their feet, moan and groan, or come to huddle ready to start the day? Are they on their cell phones or eating breakfast?

Morning huddles are the time for you to shine as a dental office manager.

You bring the energy.

You motivate the team to get excited about the day, discuss ways to boost production, and avoid any potential roadblocks in the schedule.

Make the huddle fun but informative and productive for your team.

As the team leader, you should come in with a positive attitude and set the mood for the day.

Here are three important aspects to having a great morning huddle:

Huddle format

The huddle needs to start at the same time every morning and should last about 15-20 minutes.

The huddle should be brief and on point.

Team members should come to the huddle with a copy of the schedule and a pen so they can take notes.

It’s important to not have any distractions such as cell phones, breakfast, or chatting amongst themselves. Everyone needs to be focused and ready for the day.

The team needs to see this as an important part of their morning so that the day runs smoothly.

Leader of the huddle

There are a few ways to facilitate the huddle.

There can be one team member (usually the office manager) running the meeting every day or the team can take turns running the huddle.

The facilitator needs to start the meeting on time, make sure the discussions pertain to the schedule, and discuss any insurance questions or same-day treatment opportunities.

Give the team an opportunity to talk about how yesterday went and how today looks.

What worked and what didn’t?

Let the team give their input as to how to make the day run smoother. This gives the team an appreciation of how important they are and how their input matters.

Huddle agenda

An agenda helps keep the meeting on track so as not to miss any opportunities for patient care.

It helps if you have an outline for the huddle.

Discuss opportunities for same-day treatment and if there are family members who need recare appointments.

The team needs to come to the meeting prepared by looking at the schedule prior to the start of the meeting. This helps with personal accountability and gives them an opportunity to discuss any concerns they may have.

Be ready to listen to any concerns and recommendations.

By having a morning huddle, you will change how your day goes.

Sure, there will be hiccups in the schedule, but by everyone being on the same page the team will know how to handle them.

The morning huddle takes some practice but by having one every day, you and your team will get better and your production will increase.

When we all work together for the same outcome, our day will run much smoother.

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Meet the Author

Audrey Clements, FAADOM, is the office manager at Yulee Family Dentistry… This text opens a new tab to the practice’s website… in NE Florida.

She has been in the dental field for over 30 years, beginning her career as a dental assistant and gradually working her way up to the role of office manager.

She is currently the vice president of her local AADOM Chapter… This text opens a new tab to the NE Florida chapter website….