The hygienist’s tell me doctor keeps them waiting. Some hygienists tell me that doctor chit-chats for what seems like 20 minutes. They tell me “doctor wants to talk about my patient’s personal life and I don’t have time for this.”

The doctor tells me that when they get to the hygiene room there has been no conversation about the patient’s teeth. They say that when they arrive to do the hygiene exam there is no conversation –nada. They tell me their hygienist says nothing when they enter to complete the exam. Some doctors, who have never met the patient, don’t even get a proper introduction to the patient. BTW: Doctor should at least say a brief “Hello” to all new patients before any services begin. AND… doctor will be known as THE EXPERT and very well respected if he or she can let the new patient know they are making an individual diagnosis for a specific type of x-rays before hygiene treatment begins. This makes new patients really feel like they are King or Queen, like they are a VIP. This is only one-way to gain Raving Fans for the life of the dental practice! Continue reading to learn the 3 steps to create efficient and profitable doctor/hygiene exams.

Step 1 is to create a strategic plan for the exam.

Break up every routine prophylaxis and periodontal maintenance appointment into three areas. These three areas (Shown in the photo above) are: 1) data collection 2) case presentation and 3) the hygiene treatment and doctor exam.

Step 2 is discovery and explanation.

Before the data collection, decide what you must know to treat your patient at the highest level of care. Much of your information needs to be pre-determined prior to the patient’s arrival.

Every hygienist should take time at the very beginning of their day – before the morning team huddle (usually about 10-15 minutes prior to the morning team huddle a chart audit should be completed by the hygienist), to review all patient charts, patient routing slips, previous x-rays, previous chart notes, etc. It is important to understand each patient’s current oral health/systemic health status, past dental and medical history, etc., before the patient arrives.

When the hygienist reviews each hygiene patients chart they will check to see if the patient needs to complete a new health history (It works best if you anticipate the need for a new health history prior to the patient’s arrival). The hygienist needs to be aware of patient’s medications; including herbs, vitamins, and even OTC medications that the patient is currently taking.

Once the patient is seated in the chair spend a few minutes (no longer than 5 minutes) reviewing the patients up-to-date medical history, asking if the patient is taking any new medications. Other important questions to ask are if they have had any recent hospitalizations, surgeries, etc., etc. All providers need to ask these medical history questions prior to beginning any treatment. Always review the chart before the patient has arrived for their appointment and understand if they have previously diagnosed treatment that is still unscheduled.

Are there other family members who are overdue for a hygiene appointment? The routing slip (if set up properly in your computer software) can provide valuable patient and family information. This is valuable patient and family information for the hygienist to report on at the morning team huddle. Also the hygienist will report on any outstanding treatment that needs to be scheduled at the morning team huddle (email our office for a morning huddle protocol you can use).

Once the patient has arrived for their appointment you will inquire if they have a chief complaint. Take blood pressure annually, and record in the patient’s chart. Refer patients to their physician if they appear to have a blood pressure that is not within normal limits. You will be saving a few lives when you discover patients who have need to see their physician and have their blood pressure checked by their physician. Many patients return to future hygiene appointments now taking blood pressure medication that would have gone undiagnosed if a dental professional did not stop to check this. This is a great way to be a hero in your patients mind!

Ask all patients: “Do you ever experience a dry mouth?” (Indicates they are at high risk for caries or at least need a rinse for dry mouth, etc.) Ask about frequent headaches, clicking of their jaw or if they have pain in their jaw (A possible sign they may need a night guard).

Annually complete an oral cancer exam using the latest technology to screen for any precancerous lesions (ViziLite, VELscope, IDENTIFI, etc. can identify a precancerous lesion versus look or palpate and find a lesion that may already be malignant). Oral cancer is on the rise due to HPV in young adults. (Read some of the research: http://1.usa.gov/UC2tlT) Many insurance companies now pay for this important screening annually.

It is very important to annually provide a full-mouth periodontal screening exam. This will include a six-point probing along with documentation of recession, bleeding points, mucogingival involvement, furcations, mobility, suppuration, etc. When you explain to the patient (before you begin the exam), about the numbers you will be calling out, you will have the patient involved with their treatment, Begin by explaining what the range of numbers mean: health or disease. Always explain this before you pick up a probe or recline the patient back to begin your screenings.

Involve the patient by asking them to listen for the highest and lowest number you will call out. Let patients know that once you are done with the exam you will sit them up in the chair and ask them to report back to you the lowest and highest number they heard you call out. This will help patients to become involved in their treatment plan.

Explanation before reclining patients back in the chair, as well as sitting them up to explain your findings, will help you to establish great rapport with your patients. In return this will help to get the patients buy-in to schedule and pay for treatment in the very near future.

If you do not have another team member available to write down the periodontal probing while the hygienist calls out the numbers, use a recorder to talk into and later go back, listen to your probe readings, and you can quickly document in the patient’s chart. This may take a little more time but the benefits to the patient and practice are huge!

Before the patient arrives you should know if they need bitewings or a full mouth series of x-rays. In fact, the chart audit by the hygienist that morning should only be to double check to be certain that everything in the patients chart and on the schedule are correct. Usually patients will be pre-scheduled for future x-rays before the end of their current hygiene appointment (Don’t wait until the day of the patient’s appointment to decide what x-rays they need).

Step 3 is complete the doctor exam sooner than later.

There is no need for doctor to wait until the end of the hygiene appointment to complete the hygiene patient exam. At approximately thirty five to forty-five minutes into the sixty minute hygiene exam, doctor’s assistant should be able to give doctor a nudge to move into the hygiene treatment room and complete the hygiene patient exam. The assistants should have a timer or be aware of the time on a clock so they can lead doctor to the appropriate rooms at the best time.

The hygienist does not need to get up or stop what he (or she) is doing to notify doctor about a hygiene exam. Having doctor arrive at a specific time frame during the hygiene appointment to complete the exam should be standard procedure for every routine hygiene preventive care appointment. If there is a change in the patient’s planned treatment, then the hygienist can notify doctor or the assistant of this change and adjust the hygiene patient exam as necessary.

As a Dental Practice Management Consultant, I have worked with hundreds of offices who use this doctor/hygiene exam protocol and it has been a great tool to de-stress many hygienists and doctors. It also creates thousands of happy patients who feel like they are provided optimal care without having to sit and wait for doctor.

Using this strategic plan for Doctor/Hygiene exams will create a stress-free day for the entire team and your patients will leave your office feeling like you are the world’s best dental provider. This plan will create efficient and profitable doctor/hygiene exams.

Want more RAVING FANS?

Here is a little secret tip to decrease anxiety and the dreadful fear of the dental office: Wait to put on the patient bib until you have reviewed the patient’s health history and have explained the treatment you will provide. Now you are ready to put on the patient bib and recline them back in the chair. Sit down when speaking to your patients. Face the patient: knee-to-knee and eye-to-eye. Watch how this will create a more positive patient-experience. You patient’s may not notice what is different about their experience in your office because this is just a subtle change in the way things are usually done in the dental office. This also leaves patients feeling like you really care about them!

Would you like more ways to increase profits in your dental hygiene department? Get your complimentary subscription to our weekly Dental Profits Newsletter. You will also receive our 7 Day Dental Hygiene Profit Tips when you do subscribe here: http://bit.ly/12zpg2D

The last thing the clinical assistant wants is to have doctor stop their current procedure and spend time on something else and in another treatment room! Doctor’s patient and the patient in the hygiene room get frustrated waiting for doctor! When the hygiene patient is dismissed the last thing they want is a bill for over $100 and all they feel they did was sit and wait!

Continue reading to discover your success plan for dental hygiene patient exams. Stop running behind and feeling stressed! Here are solutions to the frustrations we feel as a dental professional on a set schedule of time all throughout the day.

CREATE  SOLUTIONS

Rather then continue to rant about this, let’s talk about solutions to these frustrations.

Change can sometimes be uncomfortable but let’s face it, somethings gotta give!

Here is the success plan for your doctor hygiene exams:

Let’s divide the hygiene appointment into three sections. Section 1 is the data collection. Section 2 is the case presentation and section 3 is the clinical treatment, the doctor exam and dismissal of patient. (Section 3 is the clinical treatment for continuing care and periodontal maintenance appointments.) And, I want to empahsize that the doctor exam is completed between 30 and 45 minutes into the dental hygiene appointment. Not the last five or ten minutes of the appointment.

Learn to prioritize what is most important. For example, once a year you will complete a full-mouth periodontal screening exam and x-rays. Oral cancer is unfortunately one of the highest forms of cancer in today’s world so I hope that you are using one of the latest technologies such as ViZilte® , VELscope®, or Identifi® by Henry Schein for annual oral cancer screening exams. These are just a few of the new technologies that can diagnose a precancerous lesion.

The point is that you need to prioritize these screenings. If you are completing the perio exam then you don’t do the x-rays at that appointment but alternate between these screenings so you can have time to do it all of the screenings over the next year.

The challenge we seem to have is that we have to get it all done right now! What must you do at each dental hygiene appointment?  Here is a “to-do” list that needs to be top priority: (see www.perio.org for recommendations)

a)      Medical history update including risk assessments for disease

b)      Screening for any known sensitivity or pain

c)       xerostomia/halitosis

d)       Blood pressure screening (annually)

e)       Radiographic assessment to update (annually)

f)        Oral cancer screening including intra- and extraoral exam and use of adjunctive screening technology, as indicated (annually)

g)       Periodontal screening including an annual comprehensive periodontal assessment as recommended by the AmericanAcademy of Periodontology (spot probe each appts)

h)      Salivary diagnostic tests, (as indicated)

i)        Caries management by risk assessment (CAMBRA) including caries detection technology and interventions to lower risk and implement remineralization strategies

j)         Restorative and esthetic screening including identification of occlusal disease

k)        Smile evaluation (annually)

During data collection portion of the dental hygiene appointment, the important priorities will begin to emerge. This is what will allow the dental hygienist/clinician to provide treatment based upon a diagnosis. Many times what may be a priority based on a past clinical patient notes is now forgotten due to what the hygienist sees at the current appointment.

After you have prioritized and collected the data for your dental hygiene patient you will begin to make a provide a clinical diagnosis and present what you “see” in the patients mouth. (Note: many patients resent that they always seem to go to the dentist and they find something!)

Patient Example

Mr. Yee has an appointment today with his dental hygienist. Chris, the hygienist, has scheduled to use Identifi® for the oral cancer screening.

Mr. Yee has not been in to see his hygienist for over two years so Chris is feeling stressed about getting it all completed today! This patient is a male, 56 years old and slightly obese. His only risk factor is high blood pressure.

Chris quickly reviews Mr. Yee’s health history and notices that he is taking new blood pressure medication. Mr. Yee also has high blood pressure today. It is 160/100.

While completing the clinical exam, Chris notices that Mr. Yee has an abcess on the lower left first molar (tooth #19). Chris also discovers that there is generalized bleeding upon probing with generalized 3-6mm pocket depths.

I think you can probably relate to this experience and possibly this is an every day occurrence for many clinicians. The answers to how you would prioritize your patient will be different for each of you, dependent upon your individual patients and findings.

One approach to treating Mr. Yee would be to call his medical doctor and/or send him to his doctor before beginning any further treatment today. Since Mr. Yee has taken his blood pressure mediation prior to his hygiene appointment, it is in his best interest to see his physician as soon as possible before beginning any future dental treatment. But what would a diagnosis look like for Mr. Yee?

Will doctor complete an initial exam (D140) or a comprehensive periodontal evaluation (D180)?

Code     Procedure                     Description                                                  

D140      Initial Exam                    Specific to a concern

D150      Comp Exam                   New/Current pts

D180      Comp Perio Exam         New/current pts w/ perio risk factors & clinical evidence of perio

This is a perfect scenario to recognize that a dental hygiene appointment is not about cleaning teeth but about the oral all total health of the patient.

It is fine to update the data and have doctor complete the exam but best (in the patients best interest) to recommend that Mr. Yee sees his physician to check his blood pressure and if his medication(s) needs to be changed prior to beginning periodontal or future dental treatment.

What treatment would you recommend for a patient that has a chronic slight to moderate periodontal diagnosis?

The American Academy of Periodontology Recommendations

Many dental offices today recommend that you do the best cleaning and have the patient return in six months. However, the AmericanAcademy of periodontology recommends that patients with chronic slight to moderate periodontist have the following treatment: (See www.perio.org for these recommendations)

a)      Discuss risk factors (tobacco use, Diabetes and other systemic factors)

b)      Instruction and reinforce plaque control  (home care instructions)

c)      Supra-subgingival scaling and root planing

d)      Antimicrobial agents used

e)      Eliminate localized factors such as: restorative overhangs, over-contoured crowns, ill-fitting prosthetic appliances, tooth movement

f)       Restoration of open-contacts which result in food impaction

g)      Treatment of occlusal trauma

Periodontal surgery may need to be considered if initial therapy does not resolve the periodontal condition.

DON’T WAIT

The biggest clinical challenge in the dental office is time management. The doctor should never wait until the last five or ten minutes of the hygiene appointment to complete the patient exam. After the data has been collected and the treatment initially presented by the dental hygienist, the dentist can enter to complete the exam. This usually means between thiry minutes to forty-five minutes into the hygiene appointment, doctor can complete the patient exam. There is no reason to wait until the very end of the appointment to complete the patient exam.

The clinical assistants need to be aware of the time and signal to doctor when it is time to move into the hygiene treatment room and complete the patient exam. This relieves the hygienist from stopping what he or she is doing to signal doctor to complete the exam. The clinical assistant is with doctor and should be able to know when it is approrpiarte to stop the current procedure to go complete the hygiene patient exam. See the photo of the Pie Chart for how this can work out.

PROXEMICS

Use a triangle position of doctor on one side of patient and hygienist on the other side. The patient should be able to look to their right and see a cliniana and then look to their left and see the other clinician. This is a subliminal comfort when both clinicians are positioned in this manner.

This is known as “Proxemics”.  The term “proxemics” was coined by researcher Edward Hall during the 1950’s and 1960’s and has to do with the study of our use of space and how various differences in that use can make us feel more relaxed or anxious.

The advantages of this position is many but here are a few reasons to create a triangle for patient/clinician conversations with a patient:

a)     The patient hears the dental hygienist’s input to the dentist.
b)     The hygienist and the dentist have a professional exchange of information about the patient, in front of the patient, and this means that the patient hears the same conversation.
c)     The dentist understands the priorities for the examination. The exam is thorough and concise.

d)     Increases interaction of the patient, and brings them into a partnership with their oral health.

e)     The patient is more likely to pay attention when someone talks about them when they are present and in the center of the conversation.

(See the photo at top for an example of proxemics)

Creating a successful hygiene patient exam requires planning for success. The rewards for this successful plan are plentiful. Working in a dental office can be stressful and this is only one way to reduce stress. Practice this success plan at your next team meeting. Take note in the future about how this decreases your stress and increases your case acceptance. Do you see more patients returning with improved health when you create your success plan for the highest level of patient care?

Please comment below and tell us how your doctor hygiene exams are going. We would like to hear from you.

Do you ask your patients or a friend when you see them: “How are you?”

And what is their response?

Do they say “I am fine”?

Do they tell you how they really are?! Do people really tell you the truth?

When you tell me that you are doing fine, will you be able to retire when you want to?

Doctor, How are you really doing? Did you know that your dental practice numbers don’t’ lie? Most of the dentists I talk to never look over their numbers.

I find that they think it is better to just hide their head in the sand.

Maybe most dentists don’t want to be bothered with the mundane question “How are you doing?” – because then they would have to deal with the truth.

Rarely, does a dentist tell me how stressed out they really feel about their numbers. Nor do they talk about the chaos they are experiencing every day at the office.

Let me ask you now, “Are you doing fine?”

Is your team steering the course for the success of your dental practice? Or are you veering off into the pit of gloom and doomsday?

Seriously, how do your finances look? Do you really feel better not looking at your numbers?

A few years ago at the Annual meeting for the Academy of Dental Management Consultants, our keynote speaker was Bill Rancic. Now you may ask, “Who is Bill Rancic?”

Bill Rancic is the winner of the 1^st Apprentice, Reality Show, Produced by Donald Trump. Bill Rancic started out many years ago with a cigar of the month club and his business was doing just fine. (As some would say) Yes, that was how it went back in the early days. But you know what? He was open to asking for help. That is how he has become the multi-millionaire he is and yes, very successful today. Look him up if you don’t know who he is. Most will agree that he lives a great life! Bill doesn’t work hard but lives the life most of us dream of having.

If you ever hear Bill Rancic talk, he says that he has “those days” and he too, has to get up, brush off his pant legs and move forward.

Think of other leaders and can you imagine them telling you that they are “just fine?”

What about Abraham Lincoln, Ronald Regan, Nelson Mandela? How would they respond if you were to ask them, “How are you doing?”

I can’t imagine them saying “Just fine.”

Are you really feeling “Just Fine?!”

Every year we have a theme for our business. This year is going to be the year of Reaching Abundance.

I need to ask you before 2014 arrives, “Are you ready to tell yourself the truth?”

Are you ready to grab some courage and admit that FINE is not Your Best if you want to Create Abundance for yourself?

Are you open to reaching more abundance in 2014?

Are your arms open to receive abundance? Is your mind-set in the right place? Are your eyes wide open and your ears ready to hear the truth?

Time to clear out the clutter in your life and your business.

December is your last chance to save dollars on your 2013 taxes. It is your last chance to turn it all around.

Last week in a client’s office — because he allowed me to look at his numbers — we immediately found over $10,000. Yes, Imagine that! That was in the 1^st hour of our in-office consult.

When you open your eyes, ears and your door to our dental management expertise, we can create abundance for you now, not later. It is not a wait and watch game with your finances.

You don’t tell you patients to wait and watch their tooth decay or bleeding gums and, I want to tell you that you can not wait any longer to create a better life –with abundance.

The average office that uses and implements our systems will have an average of 300% return on their investment. And this investment is when you use our services for 12 months. Yes, this is just the average.

Currently, until the end of December, we are running our year-end specials. Some are $33 for something that will bring you thousands of dollars. When you spend money on one of our small systems not only do you increase your chances of increased production with less stress but we also offer you 20% off our in-office consulting services when we look at your numbers before January 7, 2014.

I think this will be more than just fine. Do you agree?

Use the comment section below to let us know “How are you doing?”

If you don’t have a success plan in place for 2015 at this time of the year (Last quarter of 2014), then you have planned to fail.

I am offering you a No-charge 30 min Discovery Call to serve you and get your success plan in place before 2015 is here.

Let’s talk about creating the most abundance for you in 2015: SCHEDULE YOUR CALL HERE

When you are the owner of a dental practice, you are also the owner of your own business. Most dentists I know are very talented artists and get an “A” in science. However, understanding how to work on your business is not at the top of most dentists “to do” lists.

When you own a dental practice you have added responsibilities. You have business expenses to be concerned about, daily and monthly reports to view, taxes to pay, a profit and loss statement to review with your accountant and the list goes on and on. I believe and hope that you are concerned about your bottom line and your net profits.

“It’s not how much you make, but how much money you can keep.”

As a dental practice management consultant, I see many dentists struggle with the above mentioned responsibilities, so in this blog I will talk about the 5 must have’s for a successful dental practice.

“There is a difference between a good business owner and a great business leader.” You don’t have to be born a leader but you must have an open mind to learn how to lead.

1. LEADERSHIP

What does it mean to be a great business leader?

• A leader never uses the same method of leadership. They will always be open to using different methods and styles to reach a goal.

• As a leader you must have the same objectives as your teammates (and they must embrace the business owners goals as well) and, you must encourage your team members.

• The great leader knows how to speak to his/her team.

In order to have a great team, when you are the leader, you must understand your team. You must nderstand the various personality styles of your team. Know what keeps them feeling inspired and motivated to do their best.

2. TEAMS OF GREAT LEADERS

People are the mitochondria – – the powerhouse of your business. Great business leaders will understand who they should recruit and hire for their team. Successful dental practices will have a written system to train all team members. The leaders of great teams share their vision for the business and engage the team members in the vision and mission of the dental practice. The great leaders of successful teams will share their business code of ethics (Similar to the Ten Commandments). This will lead the team in a way that everyone including the clients you serve, know what they can expect, when they are in the office. Great leaders will be able to develop passionate teams.

When guiding successful teams I have found what will maximize profits in the business. These teams will have the following:

• Written Standards:  A professionally designed Human Resource Manual.
• Written Communication: I have worked with doctors who say they want to provide excellence. What does this mean? How do you communicate excellence to the patients you serve? Provide scripts for the team in order to accomplish your goal and expectations to provide excellence.
• Provide the Experience: If you want to create a Ritz Carlton, five-star experience, you can waste hours talking about creating the experience. Whatever the brand is that you want your business to portray to patients; if it is Ritz Carlton, take a trip to a five star spa or hotel to personally experience this brand you want your patients to experience.
• Attitude Affects Performance: How do you arrive to the office each day? Do you great the team with a “Good morning” and genuinely begin the day at the office with a smile on your face? As the leader of your team it does make a difference when you begin with a positive. You are more likely to have a great day when you begin with a great attitude. Leave personal problems in the parking lot.
• Conflict Resolution: Your motto should be “Resolve it now or take it somewhere else.” This means you will not permit tension or an environment of hostility. If the employees cannot resolve their conflicts, they need to find a new place of employment.

3. DENTAL PRACTICE PROFITS

I enjoy playing tennis. If I could earn enough money to live on playing tennis, I would have chosen this career. Iwas never able to be a USTA Top Ranked player so I knew it would not be a viable career for me. However, I always enjoy my time on the court!

Have you ever seen a professional tennis player who did not enjoy the game of tennis? It is the same thing with dentistry. If you and your team enjoy serving your patients, you are more likely to have a successful, sustainable and profitable dental practice.

Know your Numbers: All successful leaders know and understand where their money is going. There are four specific areas money is spent in the dental business:

• Payroll

What you pay your team should not exceed 33%.

• Lab costs

These costs should not exceed 15%.

• Supplies

Your supplies should not exceed 8% of your total expenses. Shop around to maintain the best quality and benefit for what you are paying.

• Lease, Rent, Facility Costs

The expenses of your facility should not exceed 8%. There are some reasons this may be higher but the operative principle or standard is 5-8%.

The above numbers will guide you to keep your overhead under 60%.

 Fees: To keep your overhead level, your practice fees should be in the 80^th percentile. This is based on yearly reports. The higher your fees, should mean less overhead and the greater your profits will be. If you are a specialist, your fees should be in the 90^th percentile.

Collections: Always set your goal high. No less than 98% should be collected each month. The longer a patient owes money, the less likely you are to be paid. When your collections dip below 98% create a plan to immediately work on collections until they are back on track.

4. TRAINING TO GET TO THE NEXT LEVEL

Many dental practice owners have been sitting around wringing their hands, scratching their heads, hiding their heads in the sand, wondering what to do about the economy.

The answer to this is “Create Your Own Economy!”

Does the above describe you? Talk to your sales rep, attend CE Courses, and/or meet with your team to discuss new services you can offer your patients when 2014 arrives. One more way to get to the next level is to pick up the phone and call a dental practice management consultant, an expert. Schedule a complimentary -no-fee- look at your numbers and true potential.

These are a few suggestions to get to “that next level” in your dental business.

Invest in your team and your practice on an annual basis, not every ten or twenty years. Let your patients know that you invest in your team and practice. Tell your patients that you always stay abreast of latest technology, science and services to offer them the highest level of care.

5. KNOW WHAT YOUR PATIENTS WANT

When was the last time you surveyed your patients? Do they want dental implants or BOTOX services? How many patients of yours want tooth whitening procedures? Do you ask the magic question(s) to discover what patients really want?

AND do you know the correct questions to ask so you know what patients want? If you never ask, the answer will always be “NO”.

Do you know how to ask questions so patients can tell you what their burning desires for beauty and health are? What are specific words that you can say and discover what patients want from your dental office?

CONCLUSION

Owning a successful dental practice  mean you understand what it means to offer the best customer service, creating an outstanding patient experience, and offer the highest level of care. This is some of the traits you need to have if you wish to maximize your profit potential.

If you follow the  guidelines outlined in this article, you will offer employees a great place to work,  provide a positive patient experience which in return give your practice profits that provide a great life for your patients and yourself.

You must understand that as the owner of a dental practice, you are not only a technician, but you are a business owner

It means that you must be an effective leader. As the leader of a business you need to create a team that can produce beautiful music with successful scores. Effective leadership will create a collaborative team. Put these two together and you should have a profitable business.

Great Leadership + Great Team  =  Happy Patients

Happy Patients  =  INCREASED PROFITS

INCREASED PROFITS Can be a Vehicle to Provide You with a HAPPY LIFE!

Now, Go REAP the benefits of Great Leadership!

Do you have a PLAN to create Your Next Level of Success in 2014? Please use the comments below to tell us how you plan to create that next level of success.

What will you do differently in 2014 to get to your next level?

Dental practices that fail to hold daily, monthly and annual team meetings are found to have more chaos and be less productive.

Especially in today’s gloomy economic climate, when many dental practices are not as productive as years past, team meetings are more important than ever before. Team morale and everyone focused on the dental practice goals are now more important than ever.

Read on for team meeting tips to reduce stress and drive your dental practice success.

1. Purpose

Every member of the team needs to understand why each meeting is taking place. Understanding the dental practice vision is very important to having an engaged team.

2. Agenda

Distribute a written agenda prior to the meetings so all team members can review and be well prepared.  List out what you will discuss during the meeting. Collaboration is best when the team members feel involved and like they have an important part in the meeting process.

Assign a team member to lead the meeting, one to record notes during the meeting and someone to be in charge of action items created. The team leader should also be aware of the time spent on the agenda and various topics so the meeting flow is steady.

3. Timely

Each meeting should have a leader and that leader needs to hold everyone accountable for beginning and ending in a timely manner. Schedule emergency patients, phone calls and various tasks at a time that will not interfere with the team meeting.

This also sets the stage with a message that the doctor really values meetings and everyone’s time.

4. Respect

Many team meetings turn into rant sessions so be sure that each team member can participate equally without being cut short. No one team member should feel that they are being cut off. And no one team member should be seen as the person doing all the talking.

Great ideas are lost from team members who feel they don’t have an opportunity to talk or give input.

A team means that each individual can be a part of the ideas. Each team member should feel comfortable sharing their knowledge to improve customer service, communication, case acceptance and so much more that makes a successful dental practice.

A big part of dental practice success means that your team meetings keep everyone “in the loop”.

It’s that time of the year where you should be mapping out all of your valuable team meetings for 2014. Do you have your annual plan in place for 2014? What team meetings are scheduled for 2014?

Did you answer No, to any of the above? Let me know in the comments below what team meetings your office schedules each month. I want to hear what you are doing in your office.

Do you find it challenging to hold regular team meetings? Give our office a call so we can keep you on track for more success in your dental practice BEFORE 2014 is here. Do Not Wait ‘til January 1, 2014 to create your plan for improved success. We will set up a no-fee call with you to get your on track now: 888-816-1511 or CLICK HERE TO SCHEDULE   

THE TWO CONFLICTING MINDSETS

The first mindset I want to mention is the “Holiday Mindset” and, I know as a dental practice management consultant, I see this every year. This is especially present now as we all anticipate taking time off work to celebrate. We begin to get lazy, eat more than normal, possibly some of us sleep more than normal, you are watching more TV – football, etc, and really – just over-indulging in every possible way that we can all get away with. This is hardly a regimen to prepare for success in the New Year.

The 2nd mindset we have is what I call the “New Year Mindset.” This is where we begin to feel optimistic about next year. Most of us think to ourselves something along the lines of, “I’m ready to make this my best year ever!” or “This is the year that I’m finally going to ________!”  And some of you are saying “I’ll do that in January!” 

These are the type of good intentions that most of us begin each New Year with, so why do so few people make significant improvements in the areas of their life and business that really matter most?

THE CHALLENGE

If anyone was preparing for their best performance in anything—whether it is an athlete preparing for the Olympics or if we are preparing to create the most extraordinary  – profitable year we could ever imagine (in 2014)—we wouldn’t do it by engaging in habits like overeating, oversleeping, flying by the seat of our pants, glaze over all those openings in your daily schedule, leave incomplete treatment in the patient charts, allow overdue balances to continue, forget to follow up with those overdue hygiene patients, etc.  You know what I am talking about here.

And yet, this Pre-New Year Syndrome is what precedes the New Year. In fact, the New Year is a holiday, so nearly everyone hits January 1^st with what I call a “Holiday Hangover”— armed with an arsenal of bad habits that we have all developed in December. This is why, despite “good intentions,” most people don’t get the start they want to when the New Year does arrive. And how do you ever recover from your holiday hangover? This is what results in yet another year of disappointment, regret, and unfulfilled potential.

So what does that mean for your future dental practice success? What do you need to do NOW to set yourself and your dental practice up for success in 2014?

THE BEST TIME TO CREATE YOUR DENTAL PRACTICE SUCCESS PLAN

If you are serious about making 2014 your best year ever, it doesn’t start January 1^st, it starts TODAY. It starts right now, with the decisions you make, about how you’re going to finish off the remainder of THIS year. In other words, if you want to make 2014 your best year ever, you have to make this December your best MONTH ever.

For example, if you have a goal of running a marathon next year, don’t wait until January 1^st to go out and run for the first time. You need to hit the road today. At least go run a mile tomorrow morning, and build up to 5 miles by the end of the January 2014. As a dental professional set goals to finish strong and make December the best month you have ever had! I urge you to see December as the most important month of your life—as your opportunity to become the person you need to be to create the 2014 your want, by developing the mindset, habits, and the discipline that will set you up for extraordinary success in 2014.

For over 600 dental professionals, the process of planning, preparing, and ultimately creating their best year ever in 2014 started in November when I shared my webinar with a Success Blueprint for your dental hygiene department. Many of you registered and attended my webinar on November 13 to set your sails in the right direction for 2014. You can register next week for your Treatment Planning Webinar that will occur on December 17^th at 5pm Pacific. This webinar is going to be called: “3 Steps To Effective Treatment Planning In The Hygiene Room”

When you register there will be a complimentary hygiene department training video available.

Don’t want to wait until next week to register? For many of you who take today’s article seriously, you won’t want to wait and I tell you that it costs you nothing to pick up the phone or click on this link now and schedule a time to chat about your 2014. Let’s create a plan for your success and I mean success like you have never seen before!

HOW DO YOU CREATE DENTAL PRACTICE SUCCESS FOR 2014 TODAY?

It begins right now. Dental Practice Management Consultants have the expert knowledge and offer the best support before 2014 arrives. Hit the ground running! We invite you to SCHEDULE YOUR STRATEGY CALL NOW. JUST CLICK HERE  or call: 888-816-1511 to schedule your session. This is how your success in 2014 will begin today!

It will cost you millions if you don’t have a plan!

Please feel free to comment below and let us know what your success plan looks like.

Happy Holidays!

A blind boy stood in front of a building in downtown Portland, Oregon with a hat at the bottom of his feet. He held a sign that said “I am blind, please help.”

I only saw a few coins in his hat.

Next I saw a middle aged woman walk by. She took a couple of one dollar bills from her purse and dropped them into the hat. This woman then took the boys sign, turned it around, and wrote a few words. This woman gave the sign back to the boy with the new words on it.

Surprising as it may sound, the boys hat began to fill up! Many more people began to fill the boy’s hat with coins, dollar bills and bigger bills!

Later that day the middle aged woman came walking back and inquired how the boy was doing.

The boy who couldn’t see the woman did however, recognize her gait and asked “Were you the lady who changed my sign this morning? What did you write on my sign?”

The woman told the boy, “I only wrote the truth. I wrote what you said but in a different way.” I wrote: “Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it.”

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. The first sign very simply said that the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign was more effective?

The Moral of This Story

Be thankful for what you have. Be creative. Be innovative. Think differently and positively. When life gives you 100 reasons to cry, show life that you have 1000 reasons to smile. Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. Keep the faith and drop the fear.

The most beautiful thing is to see a person smiling. And even more beautiful, is knowing that you are the reason behind it!

As dental professionals we are in the business of making people smile. I hope that if you are thinking this has not been a good year for your dental business (MANY of you have told me this is how you feel this year and even the past three years!), that you will plan to create your own economy!

As Dental Practice Management Consultants we are here to create a success plan for your dental practice. What are you thankful for this year?

I am so thankful that I have a great life and part of what makes it so great is the chance to serve all of you!

I am so thankful to all of you!

Happy Thanksgiving!

The dental field has many things you need to know about to get ready for the New Year. A big change in 2014 will be the new CDT code updates. The ADA is giving us some time to digest and prepare for the 2014 CDT additions and changes.

In 2014 we will have 58 changes to the Current Dental CDT Codes.  Dental Practice Solutions works hard to keep dental offices informed of changes within dentistry.  We realize that you need to keep focused on providing excellent care for your patients. Thank you for relying us to keep you up to date and informed.  There will be 29 new codes, 18 revised codes, 4 deleted codes, and 7 changes to subcategories of the CDT code set.

You must take a proactive stand on the success of your dental practice. Read about the CDT Code changes for 2014!

HIPAA

HIPAA recognizes the CDT as the standard for reporting dental claims and the ADA is responsible to maintain the CDT codes.  Changes to codes are determined by insurance carriers on how and what is being processed so remember to submit all procedures and codes that are provided, even if you know you will not be paid this year; it may be next year!  Who ever thought sealants, implants, adult fluoride, oral cancer screenings or night guards would eventually be a covered benefit for our patients?

RECOMMENDATIONS BY DENTAL PRACTICE SOLUTIONS

Dental Practice Solutions recommends having one team member be “in charge “of and completely understand the CDT codes. This team member is ultimately responsible for learning the CDT codes, updating tyour dental software with the changes, and for training all team members.

We suggest training all dental team members on the correct dental terminology because this is your menu of services that you offer. A good analogy would be a waitress arriving at a table not knowing the menu and then placing a wrong order into the kitchen and the kitchen producing the wrong meal for the table.  Most offices do not realize they can be selling the side of mash potatoes with the steak a la carte, they assume the steak just comes with the meal.  A perfect example of this is separating the implant attachment from the implant fee.

Previously, dental offices combined implant attachments with the implant fee because insurance companies never paid for implants. Now more insurance companies are paying for this valuable service you provide your patients. The CDT has previously updated this code to accommodate these changes.

Have someone in your office to be accountable and on alert of these changes. This will mean extra income for your practice doing the same dentistry you have been doing but now you will get paid for it!  “Making more money, for the same effort?” Yes, that is what we are saying!

New Codes

1. D0393 Treatment simulation using 3D image volume
2. D0394 Digital subtraction of two or more images or image volumes of the same modality
3. D0395 Fusion of two or more 3D image volumes of one or more modalitiesd0601 Caries risk assessment and documentation, with a finding of low risk
4. D0601 Caries risk assessment and documentation, with a finding of low risk
5. D0602 Caries risk assessment and documentation, with a finding of moderate risk
6. D0603 Caries risk assessment and documentation, with a finding of high risk
7. D1999 Unspecified preventive procedure, by report
8. D2921 reattachment of tooth fragment, incisal edge, or cusp
9. D2941 Interim therapeutic restoration-primary dentition
10. D2949 Restorative foundation for an indirect restoration
11. D3355 Pulpal regeneration-initial visit
12. D3356 Pulpal regeneration-Interim medication replacement
13. D3357 Pulpal regeneration-completion of treatment
14. D3427 Periradicular surgery without apicoectomy
15. D3428 Bone graft in conjunction with periradicular surgery- per tooth, single site
16. D3429 Bone graft in conjunction with periradicular surgery-each additional contiguous tooth in the same surgical site
17. D3431 Biologic material to aid in soft and osseous tissue regeneration in conjunction with periradicular surgery
18. D3432 Guided tissue regeneration, resorbable barrier, per site, in conjunction with periradicular surgery
19. D4921 Gingival irrigation- per quadrant
20. D5863 Overdenture-complete maxillary
21. D5865 Overdenture-complete mandibular
22. D5864 Overdenture –partial maxillary
23. D5866 Overdenture-partial mandibular
24. D5994 periodontal medicament carrier with peripheral seal-laboratory processed
25. D6011 Second stage implant surgery
26. D6013 Surgical placement of mini implant
27. D6052 Semi-precision attachment abutment
28. D8694 Repair of fixed retainers, includes reattachment
29. D9985 Sales tax

New sub categories

1. Post processing of image or images sets
2. Pulpal regeneration
3. Carriers

a)     Radiation carrier (D5983)

b)     Fluoride gel carrier (D5986)

c)      Vesiculobullous disease medicament carrier (D5991)

d)     Periodontal medicament carrier with peripheral seal –laboratory processed (D5994)

Deleted Codes

1. D0363 Cone beam- three dimensional image reconstruction using existing data, includes multiple images
2. D3354 Pulpal regeneration-(completion of regenerative treatment in an immature permanent tooth with a necrotic pulp); does not include final restoration.
3. D5860 Overdenture-complete, by report
4. 5861 Overdenture-partial, by report

The CDT 2014 is now available to purchase on the ADA website http://www.ada.org we recommend supplementing by also purchasing Dental Coding Made Simple: Resource Guide and Training Manual, 2013-2014.  This resource guide is revised every two years, sections include 151 common questions/answers; more than 25 coding exercises; an illustrated implant section; and a continuing education exam with five CE credits.  We also suggest you look at this website for additional information: www.practicebooster.com . The 2014 edit of Coding with Confidence is now available and a great resource for you office!

Keep your office up to date on the CDT codes to maximize patient coverage to have higher acceptance rate of treatment, have better speed and accuracy of dental claims submitted to have faster payment of dental claims and utilize front office staff to engage more dentistry in your schedule and not be resubmitting or following up on poorly submitted claims.

A well-trained dental team is a happier and more productive team! Are you proactive with the health of your practice? Make resolutions to be preventative with your offices’ health. Train and be prepared for the New Year.

Dental Practice Solutions is available for office team training and practice health assessments to move you forward in the New Year. Call today to for a 15-minute assessment to a healthier economic and mental well being for you and your staff members.  The economy is up to you not our nation or what anyone else may be telling you!

I was really looking forward to providing optimal oral healthcare to patients again! I have always enjoying providing patient care but even more I enjoy sharing my knowledge as a consultant.

The office doesn’t have a morning team huddle and I needed to talk to the dentist about the office protocol for treatment of peridontal patients. I asked the doctor about how he wanted me to tell a dental hygiene patient that a patient on my schedule had periodontal disease. From the chart notes,  I could see this was never been communicated to the patient.

When you tell your dental hygiene patient the news (Their perio diagnosis): Does it really need to be bad news?

PERIO PATIENTS: WHAT DO YOU TELL THEM?

I was extremely concerned about this one patient.  He was 56 years old and I saw he had no perio charting completed in the past three years. He was scheduled for a prophy appointment only. As I looked at his latest perio chart I saw chart notes with 5 and 6mm pockets generalized. Nothing else was documented. Looking at his radiographs (No FMX), I could detect that this patient probably had mobility on various teeth. Last perio charting and x-rays were about three years ago.

I asked doctor “How would you like me to approach this situation?” You can probably understand that I was a bit confused, at best, because looking at this patient chart, I was about to see a patient with definite perio problems and the scheduled told me it would be a prophy patient.

When I asked doctor about his plan for this patient with the perio disease, he told me “Just do the prophy!” Doctor said “This man has been coming here for years and he will never do anything so just clean his teeth and let me tell him about the periodontal disease!”

I add the exclamation marks to let you know that is how he responded to me about this patient.

Well, the patient came in, end of the day, and I did only clean his teeth. I did my very best and yes, those teeth were mobile. Many of the posterior teeth had mobility of 1.

Doctor came at the end of the appointment to do an exam. No x-rays were taken (doctor didn’t want me to do those!). Remember, I was instructed to “only” clean his teeth as my schedule said to do. The doctor said nothing about periodontal disease  during the patient exam, but told him “It all looks good, (Insert Patient’s Name Here).”

The patient left my treatment room at precisely 5pm and as I cleaned up my room I could hear doctor talking to the patient. They were making plans to play a game of golf together. Sounded like something they do often.

WHAT IS A DENTISTS ETHICAL/LEGAL OBLIGATION?

Well, it’s been months later, and I am now with enough nerve to tell you about this incidence. I don’t want to come across like I am bashing another dentist and I don’t like to write negative stories on the internet.

And yes, I already decided I didn’t every want to go back there again AND I have yet to do another day in a dental office as the temp hygienist!

My question that I would like to ask this dentist is “Will Patient X be really angry when his tooth falls out on the golf course with you or will he be angry if you now decide to tell him that he has periodontal disease?! Which is worse?!

We do have an ethical and legal obligation to tell our patients the truth. There is so much science and research to back the health benefits of treating periodontal disease. AND treating periodontal disease in the early stages vs. wait and watch has many benefits – Financial and health to the patient.

SOLVE THE DISEASE PROBLEM

Here is how I believe a patient with periodontal disease needs to be treated: It begins with each and every patient at about thirteen years of age. You will begin at this age, completing a full mouth periodontal screening. You can look up on the AAP website to see all that is involved in this screening because it is more than just those six probing numbers.

STEPS TO INVOLVE YOUR DENTAL HYGIENE PATIENT

Step 1 Call out the Numbers and Have another Auxiliary Record These Numbers

The periodontal screening needs to be completed and documented once a year. This is the standard of care. If a patient has a periodontal pocket that is not within normal range you must recheck that pocket before you pick up your curette. Re-evaluate pockets before you scale is key here. Too many reasons so write about here so email or write in the comments below if you want more 411 on why probing comes before scaling.

Tell you patients that you will be taking some measurements of their teeth and gums and that you will call out some numbers. Tell them that 1-3 are good numbers and 4 means the start of disease. Anything above a 4 means disease.

Step 2 Include Your Patient in This Exam Process

Ask your patient to remember the lowest number and the highest number you call out. At the end of your screening, ask the patient to tell you the lowest and highest numbers. This really helps to bring the patient into active participation with their oral health – or lack of health.

When another auxiliary is there to document the numbers, this entire process should take approximately ten minutes.

Step 3 Use Intraoral Photos

If you see bleeding, suppuration, and heavy supra, etc., now is a great time to take photos with the intra oral camera.

Step 4 Initial Treatment Planning Process

You should be at approximately fifteen to twenty minutes into the hygiene appointment at this point.  Sit your patient upright in the chair. You will sit eye-to-eye and knee-to-knee, while you explain what you see in their mouth. Computer monitor in front of you both, will show the perio chart, x-rays and any photos you have taken.

I mention the word see because I have had patients say they don’t like the dental office because we always find something. I believe that when you say the word see the patient can also be looking with you and see what you see.

This is now your time to review the periodontal probings, bleeding points, furcations, etc., with your patient and show them what you see and the photos you took with the intra oral camera. Use brochures or posters, etc., to explain the treatment process and future preventive recommendations, etc.

This may take about ten minutes but you still have time left for the doctor exam and some treatment which also needs to include home care and post-op instructions. At Dental Practice Solutions, we educate our dental client team in a specific way for doctor to arrive in a timely manner, to complete the exam.

There is a strategy in place so doctor’s assistants understand when to direct doctor into the hygiene treatment room for the exam.

Step 5: Communication with Your Patients

It is important that you understand how to communicate with each individual patient. We use the DISC Profile and Meyer Briggs with clients. This can help us to understand the various personality types of your patients. You should know which patients want a lot of the details and the others who want you to get right to the point.

Always be sure to educate your patients about the oral health and systemic health link. If your patient has a risk factor that contributes to periodontal disease, emphasize the benefits of preventive care and treating their disease to keep their other risk factors under control. Some patients may need to read the science so be prepared with where they can read about this for themselves.

Step 6 Doctor Hygiene Exam Process

It is important to have a specific system so that when doctor begins the patient exam, the hygienist knows his or her role in communicating what was discovered during the hygiene appointment.

Practice this with the doctor, hygienist(s) and entire team at a monthly team meeting.

Step 7 Patient Dismissal

Usually the hygienist will dismiss the patient. This means walking them to the front desk, explaining future treatment, and necessary appointments. Repeating this a third time (1^st time is with hygienist and patient. 2^nd time is with hygienist and doctor during the exam.), can really be helpful when a patient is hearing about periodontal disease for the first time. Imagine that you are speaking Greek! These words may be new to a patient so the first or second time they hear these words, they may make no sense to them.

It is possible that your patient may need to speak to the financial coordinator or someone about the financial aspects. Be sure you do this in a private room and not a patient treatment room.

CONCLUSION

When you have a system for delivering information to your patients: good or bad, do you really think you are a BAD PERSON?

Treating periodontal disease is always going to improve your patient’s health. We must tell our patients the truth. If you create a system and do what is best for your patient, I do not believe that your patients will think you are doing something that is bad for them.

Involve your patient in their diagnosis. Remember, you will have the patient listen and participate with their perio screening exam, and they will look at the numbers, their teeth photos, etc., with you.

Optimal oral health means a longer life. Do you know a patient that doesn’t want to live a longer healthier life?

Neither do I!

How would you have handled that situation that I was in when I was the temp hygienist?

Do you agree with this recommendation for patient discovery?

What is the system in your office for diagnosing a perio patient fir the first time? What if this perio diagnosis is a long time patient of record? Do you handle this differently than a new patient?

Let me know in the comments below.

If dental patients are the “heart” of your practice, then dental hygiene preventive care appointments are the “lifeline.” At least 80% of the dental diagnoses in your practice should be coming from dental hygiene continuing care appointments. When patients leave the hygiene appointment without pre-scheduling their future dental hygiene appointment, this dramatically decreases your practice profitability by at least 50%.

Many years ago it was the standard to have a patient complete a postcard at the end of their hygiene appointment and the office would mail these to the patient. The patient would then call the office to schedule their dental hygiene appointment.

This system has not proven to be successful and for many reasons. Read below for reasons WHY you need to Pre-Schedule Dental Hygiene Appointments

Top Reasons to Pre-Schedule Dental Hygiene Appointments

1. Adult patients should/need to take responsibility for their appointments scheduled.
2. With millions of people using android and iphones, they are able to easily mark their calendars and set reminders for appointments scheduled
3. Adults can be responsible for their own appointments. No need for the office to “remind” them
4. When you have a large and successful dental practice, if patients only call to schedule an appointment at the time they are due, when they do call, it is highly likely that the specific time a patient need to be seen, most likely won’t be available. Patients can’t be left to think they can schedule an appointment last minute or even two weeks before they want to see their hygienist. Create urgency!
5. Patients may request a certain hygienist who works on specific days of the week.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    a. Patients who pre-schedule will know they can see their favorite hygienist and should want to secure that date months in advance                                                                                                                                                                                                    b. People work well knowing they can count on a specific day and time for their dental appointments
6. Pre-Scheduling patient dental hygiene appointments allows for a predictable schedule in your dental office.
7. People today, prefer to not have to make unnecessary calls.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   a. Plan to use a service such as Solution Reach which allows you to email text or have someone else contact your patients (And contact them during hours that you may not have available for calling on the phone.)
8. The front office auxiliaries can spend less time answering phones and scheduling appointments

The question that does prevent a patient from pre-scheduling their dental hygiene appointment, months in advance, is when a patient says “I don’t know what I will be doing in six (or even three) months from now.”

A simple answer to this statement can be “Now you know what you are doing in six (or whatever the date of the next appointment is) months!”

Smile when you say this. Usually patients will smile back and most ‘get it’.  Now let the patient know they will be spending that day and time with you. It really does work to use this method. Have fun with it!

Who is the best team member to schedule hygiene appointments?

The answer to this question is of course, the dental hygienist who is seeing this patient.

If your hygienist’s feel they do not have time to schedule a patients next hygiene appointment, then they need to understand the why and the value this adds to the patients dental hygiene appointment.

The hygienist, who just treated the patient, knows that patients balance point. When I speak of balance point, I am referring to the interval of time a patient can go between a prophylaxis or periodontal maintenance and remain healthy. If a patient comes in for a periodontal maintenance appointment at a four month interval but now they need to transition (maybe only temporarily) into three months, the hygienist knows exactly how to explain this change in their maintenance intervals. If you are not certain of this protocol you may want to contact our office and at the very least read about this at the website for the AmericanAcademy of Periodontology: www.perio.org

Today world of dentistry integrates computers in the treatment room and makes scheduling a patient’s next dental hygiene appointment an easy task to implement.

If you would like to know how to time this process please refer to our blog article “Using Down to a Science Doctor Hygiene Exams. There is a photo at the top of this blog which outlines where the scheduling needs to take place during the hygiene appointment.

If your hygienist is still waiting for the doctor to arrive and complete patient exams, this is a great time to schedule the patients’ next appointment. btw: Dental Practice Solutions does not advocate waiting for doctor exams until the end of the hygiene appointment.

• Do you have open holes in your hygiene schedule?
• Do you have patients missing dental hygiene appointments this year?

Don’t delay in calling and/or sending a letter to let patients know the importance oral health plays in their overall health.

Dental Practice Solutions has a Continuing Care System and ebook that explains how to easily bring in overdue patients. Many offices report that after they send the first of our overdue patient letters, approximately fifty patients will call within thirty days of receiving their letter to schedule their hygiene appointment.

This is a great time of the year to send out those letters to overdue patients. Many people will lose their benefits on December 31^st and some will no longer have dental benefits when they change their insurance benefits due to the new healthcare reform. Don’t delay bringing in those overdue hygiene patients.

• Do you pre-schedule at east 98% of all hygiene patient appointments?
• Who is scheduling these appointments in your office?

If you like this information please share with your colleagues. We also invite you to use the comment section to answer the above questions about your office situation.