By: admin

April 9, 2015

The large majority of the questions I receive on a consistent basis are about billing for a prophy after scaling and root planing has been completed. Like it or not, the majority of offices accept PPO assignments. Even if your office is not a provider of a PPO, you most likely offer to submit for payment to your patients’ insurance company. Today I will write about some strategies for treatment and billing for the periodontal patient. At the end of this blog, you can opt-in to get more tools to get everyone on your team “on the same page.” You can read this article and then grab the tools to implement immediately. (Click on the picture to the left and you will be able to view the video that goes along with this blog)

1. When do we submit for periodontal maintenance?

2. Can we alternate a prophy with periodontal maintenance?

These questions are very common and they can also be very confusing but the employees who bill for payment and the dental hygienists who are providing treatment. This can also be hazardous to legal and ethical reasons as well as being confusing. First let’s look at the definitions set by the American Dental Association for these services. Prophylaxis D1110 is one of the most misinterpreted codes in dentistry.

The CDT Procedures book describes a prophylaxis as a preventive procedure NOT a therapeutic procedure.  You may not ask “What does this mean for the hygienist treating patients?” and/or “What does this mean for billing the patient and/or insurance company?”

What this means is that if a patient has bleeding with 4 and 5 mm pockets (or greater), radiographic bone loss, even slight mobility, furcation involvement, muco-gingival involvement and/or recession, it means that this patient is not treated as a prophylaxis patient.

Know that the above paragraph describes a periodontal patient. This means that you will complete scaling and root planing. If the patient has only 1-3 teeth in any quadrant you will bill D4342 and if there are more than 3 teeth involved in a quadrant you will bill D4341.  Four to six weeks after scaling and root planing is completed you will have the patient return for a post-op (re-evaluation) visit. This visit is billed as the first of a life-time of Periodontal Maintenance appointments. (The Periodonta Patient will return approximately every ninety days and if billing insurance, the CDT code will be D4910) Think of this very similar to a patient with Diabetes and they will return to their physician or a lab to have a HbA1c blood test. If a patient has high cholesterol they will routinely see their physician for blood work to check their cholesterol levels.

It’s the same thing when a patient is diagnosed with periodontal disease. You will treat with scaling and root planing, then re-evaluate. This re-evaluation is the first of future periodontal maintenance appointments.

Now let’s review the most recent definition of the Periodontal Code D4910:

Following periodontal therapy is periodontal maintenance and this continues at varying intervals determined by the clinical evaluation of the dentist and hygienist for the life of the dentition or any implant replacements. Periodontal maintenance includes removal of the bacterial plaque and calculus from supragingival and subgingival regions, site specific scaling, and root planing where indicated, and polishing the teeth. If new or recurring periodontal disease appears, additional diagnostic and treatment procedures must be considered. The definition of Periodontal Maintenance states that this procedure should continue for the life of the dentition.

There is no mention in the definition to only providing this service for a specific period of time after initial therapy.

I am consistently asked: Do we ever revert back to billing D1110?

It’s very important to note that treatment should always be based on diagnosis. If periodontal infection exists, it needs to be maintained to minimize recurring infection (meaning that if active disease returns you will complete D4341 or D4342 as necessary) and destruction of the periodontal support system and bone. If periodontal maintenance is needed, this is what should be completed regardless of insurance limitations.

 About Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS

In 2000, Debbie founded Dental Practice Solutions, a dental practice management business focused on creating profitable dental hygiene departments, as well as improving the total bottom line of the dental practice. She has been named as one of Dentistry Today’s Top Consultants for 10 years in  row!

Debbie is a former clinical assistant professor at University of Southern California where to taught the senior dental hygiene students skills to treat periodontal patients. She also co-taught the practice management course  at USC from 200o-2002. (Until the school start PBL – Problem Based Learning)

Debbie has a team of experts to guide teams throughout the world to provide quality, patient centered practices that sustain profits for the life of their dental practice.

Take your hygiene department to the next level. Enroll in our course.

By: admin

April 2, 2015

For most of my life, I lived in Orange County, California and I was a clinical hygienist in Newport Beach, California for more than twenty years.

If you are familiar with the area, what comes to mind when you think of Newport Beach, California or Orange County, California?

I looked up how people describe Orange County and here is a description I found:

“…an urban paradise in California where Amusement parks… Ice cream lovers and Soccer moms coincide and live with each other in peace and harmony.”  Orange County may be expensive, but it is a fun place to live!

Now, from a hygienist’s point of view and one who worked in Newport Beach, just think about this; there are actually patients who want their teeth perfect!  For the majority, that is what they want, and cost was not a factor!  It sure makes life easy when they ask for it!

Now, think about your dental office…What is it about your dental office that keeps your patients coming back?  Do you do have impeccable service? What is it that you can do to keep patients returning to your office? What makes your dental practice irresistible?

Watch the video today and then talk with your office about what makes your dental office unique.

Many offices today offer “Laser Dentistry”.  What would happen if you offered laser dentistry?  Patients today want to know they are receiving the latest and best technology.

Do you offer Lifetime Whitening for your patients? Exactly what does that mean to your patients? Do they understand that Lifetime Whitening is a reward system for coming to their routine appointments?

What really matters is whom you want to serve in your community.  In addition, how will you use your irresistible services to get your message out to these people?

Think about the words that you use to communicate to your patients that make you irresistible and keep your patients coming back to YOUR office!

What makes your dental office irresistible? Please leave in the comments below.

Grab your Free eBook to Reduce Cancellations and Increase Profits

About Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS

In 2000, Debbie founded Dental Practice Solutions, a dental practice management business focused on creating profitable dental hygiene departments, as well as improving the total bottom line of the dental practice. She has been named as one of Dentistry Today’s Top Consultants for 10 years in  row!

Debbie is a former clinical assistant professor at University of Southern California where to taught the senior dental hygiene students skills to treat periodontal patients. She also co-taught the practice management course  at USC from 200o-2002. (Until the school start PBL – Problem Based Learning)

Debbie has a team of experts to guide teams throughout the world to provide quality, patient centered practices that sustain profits for the life of their dental practice.

By: admin

March 26, 2015

 Think back to your last visit to Nordstrom. What type of service did they provide?

Did you see value in their services? Do their clothes and the way you are treated make you feel special; like you are fit to be King or Queen?

Personally, I prefer to shop at Nordstrom because I know I receive quality products and great customer service.   The results are that it makes me look and feel great! I especially like the way I am treated and valued as a customer.

Just like customer service is key; value propositions will keep your patients coming back to your office for a lifetime.

What is a value driven proposition?

Simply put, value driven propositions are what keep your patients returning to your dental office for their appointments. And, it especially means they will keep their routine dental hygiene appointments.

Offering your patients value driven propositions:

• explains how your services will improves their specific dental situation
• delivers specific benefits (this adds to the value),
• tells your patients why they should continue returning to your dental office

During this month of March I have been sharing tips to reduce cancellations. Many of you have asked what words will add value.

Below is a list of words and phrases you can use to add value:

• Optimal Oral Health
• Preventive Care
• Periodontal Maintenance
• Inflammation
• Disease
• Bleeding Gums
• Healthier and Longer Life
• Loose teeth
• Jaw pain
• Eliminate grinding

While the dental hygiene patient is seated upright in the chair, explain what you will be doing (before you recline them back in the chair) during their time in the office and use some of the above words. These words and phrases are suggestions that add value to the patients’ appointment. (This is just a short list with examples.) Talk with your team to gain insight into what other words you can use to add value and benefits to patient appointments.

Here is one example of how benefits for returning to the hygiene appointment is driven by benefits.  

Hygienist Susan: “Mrs. Jones, today we will complete your periodontal maintenance appointment. As I reivew your medical history, I see that are taking insulin for your Diabetes. Did you take your insulin today? That’s great! I want to commend you for continuing to return for your routine periodontal maintenance appointments. This is what helps maintain optimal oral health and a longer, healthier life.

In a few minutes I will recline you back in the chair and begin the periodontal exam. As you may remember, you will hear me call out those numbers. When you hear me say numbers like 1 thru 3 this means your gums are healthy. If I call out a 4 this is a sign of inflammation. If I call out a 5 or higher, as you may remember, these are numbers that relate to periodontal (gum) disease. If you hear me say bleeding point, this is not good. It means that you have active disease. Healthy gums do not bleed.”

During this communication with the patient, imagine how the hygienist has set up the patient to engage with her during the hygiene periodontal exam. This is an example of “co-diagnosis” between the hygienist and the patient. They are developing a partnership during the patients service today.

Other value driven propositions may sound like this: (Imagine now that it is the end of the dental hygiene appointment. Below is what it may sound like.)

“Mrs. Jones, It was great to see you today and congratulations on an excellent periodontal maintenance appointment today! As recommended by the American Academy of Periodontolgy, patients with diabetes and especially with a diagnosis of periodontal disease, need to return at least every 3 months for a periodontal maintenance appointment. This is where we re-evaluate the health of your gums and provide treatment to create healthy teeth and gums.  The latest science and research says that we can even reverse diabetes. At the very least, routine periodontal maintenance appointments support  status-quo with patients who have a diagnosis of diabetes. sThis means that you can live a long and healthy life. I can see you on Thursday July 16^th at 11 am, for your next periodontal maintenance apppointment. Will that work for you?”

Do you see how the hygienist complimented the patient, keeping a positive environment in what can many times be  a stressful environment?

Susan, the hygienist, also gave a valuable reason for her patient  to return for future routine periodontal maintenance appointments. Susan also explained the benefits of why it is important for Mrs. Jones to return in 3 months.

What words to you use in your patient appointments that add value and benefits for patients returning to your office?

Do you want to know more about ways to reduce cancellations? Grab our free eBook here: Reduce Cancellations and Increase Profits

About Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS

In 2000, Debbie founded Dental Practice Solutions, a dental practice management business focused on creating profitable dental hygiene departments, as well as improving the total bottom line of the dental practice. She has been named as one of Dentistry Today’s Top Consultants for 10 years in  row!

Debbie is a former clinical assistant professor at University of Southern California where to taught the senior dental hygiene students skills to treat periodontal patients. She also co-taught the practice management course  at USC from 200o-2002. (Until the school start PBL – Problem Based Learning)

Debbie has a team of experts to guide teams throughout the world to provide quality, patient centered practices that sustain profits for the life of their dental practice.

By: admin

March 18, 2015

Dental Professionals know that open operatories destroy the dental practices profit. When the office is silent, the dentist and entire team risk losing their job!

Unfortunately, no strategy will completely eliminate last minute cancellations and  no-shows. Howver, here are some strategies you can employ to keep downtime to a minimum.

During the month of March I will create one video tip each week and then write a little about how you can implement this and help keep patients coming back to your office.

This week I want to talk about one more tip that will help  reduce last minute cancellations.

Do you have an after-hours message on a voice mail for your office?

Most offices do have a message machine where patients can leave a message when the office is closed.

What does your voice message say to patients who call your office after hours?

Do you allow patients to leave a message to cancel their dental appointment?

Many times leaving a message about appointment cancellations is a scape goat for the patient.

State in your after-hours voice message “This voicemail does not accept cancellations. All cancellations must be made in during business hours.”

Also consider if you do feel it’s necessary for your patients to leave this type of message AND if you have your patients trained right…your patients will only cancel when they have an emergency situation. If you are the doctor, don’t you want to know about a personal emergency with your patients?

Your patients are most likely a friend and in the case of an emergency and they do need to cancel last minute, have your answer machine state that if there is an emergency situation that requires a change in their appointment they need to call doctor at such-and-such phone number.

Most patients will not call doctor UNLESS it really is an emergency.

My point here is:

• #1 do not allow patients to leave a message to cancel their appointment on your voicemail.
• #2 is if you MUST allow patients to leave messages on your voicemail to change an appointment at have your voicemail state that if the patient does need to change their appointment, they must call doctor personally. This will eliminate the scape goats from calling because (as I stated in last week’s video) too often patients value another type of appointment over their dental appointment and they will call last minute to cancel their dental appointment. Seldom do people call to cancel their massage, spa appointment or haircut! AND
• #3 if you communicate via text and emails with your patients, let me know these types of communication are not accepted when a patient needs to change their dental appointment. The must call to change an appointment during office hours.
• #4 is eliminating the word cancel and instead say “Change in appointment”.

What challenges do you have with cancellations in your office?

What has worked well to reduce cancellations for your office?

Please do share below.

VIEW THIS WEEKS VIDEO TIP BY CLICKING ON THIS LINK  

If you would like to increase profits in your hygiene department and learn more about reducing cancellations please grab our 7 Day Dental Hygiene Profits Program. It’s no charge today! Grab it here

About Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS

In 2000 Debbie founded Dental Practice Solutions, a dental practice management business focused on creating profitable dental hygiene departments, as well as improving the total bottom line of the dental practice. She has been named as one of Dentistry Today’s Top Consultants for 10 years in  row!

Debbie is a former clinical assistant professor at University of Southern California where to taught the senior dental hygiene students skills to treat periodontal patients. She also co-taught the practice management course (Until the school start PBL – Problem Based Learning) at USC from 200o-2002.

Debbie has a team of experts to guide teams throughout the world to provide quality, patient centered practices that sustain profits for the life of their dental practice.

You can also enroll in her 7 Day Dental Hygiene Profit Program for No Charge Today: Get Your No Charge Dental Hygiene Profits Program Here

By: admin

March 12, 2015

Doctor, do you know what happens when a patient calls last minute to cancel their appointment?        (Please click on the above video to hear One Tip to Reduce Cancellations)

I am certain that you probably have a protocol, but do you know what is truly said when a patient calls to cancel?

I was observing in an office last week and I saw and over heard the front office team member pick up the phone. She listened to the patient and her response was only to say “OK!” End of the conversation!

The team member then deleted the patient appointment from the schedule on the computer.

How many times has this happened in your office?

I imagine it happens every week that a patient calls to cancel last minute.

Today, I bring just one tip that may help to reduce cancellations.

Yes! There are true emergency situations that arise but how does the team follow up when someone calls to cancel?

Is that patient deleted from the schedule and that is the end of the story?

I see things like this happen all the time when I am doing an observation in an office.

The proper protocol to keep you patients coming back is to:

• Ask the patient what you can do to help them keep their appointment
• Offer to help solve their current situation that keeps them from coming in that day or week

> Does the patient need a babysitter or do they need a taxi?

> It does happen occasionally (GOD FORBID!) that there is a serious emergency. (In this situation, always call to follow up in 24 hrs. Check on your patient with an serious emergency!Never just delete them from the schedule – out of sight – out of mind!)

If your patient must cancel, be sure to schedule a next visist and if the patient doesn’t have a good excuse definitely do not reschedule them the very next day!

Patients who don’t feel dentistry and their oral health is important are the ones most likely to cancel last minute.

• Do you have a cancellation policy? And do patients read and sign this?

Add value to your patients about why they need to return to the dental office. Do they have high blood pressure, heart disease AND periodontal disease? Does this patient understand the link between their oral health and how optimal oral health will most likely halt systemic diseases. Much research is available to show oral health can reverse systemic diseases such as diabetes.(1)

One more system we have seen work well to keep patients from cancelling last minute is to offer Lifetime Whitening.

Next week I will provide another video to help reduce cancellations.

What type of challenges does your office have regarding last minute cancellations? Please comment below so I can provide suggestions to overcome this epidemic in the dental office.

VIEW One Tip to Reduce Cancellations VIDEO HERE

About Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS

In 2000 Debbie founded Dental Practice Solutions, a dental practice management business focused on creating profitable dental hygiene departments, as well as improving the total bottom line of the dental practice. She has been named as one of Dentistry Today’s Top Consultants for 10 years in  row!

Debbie is a former clinical assistant professor at University of Southern California where to taught the senior dental hygiene students skills to treat periodontal patients. She also co-taught the practice management course (Until the school start PBL – Problem Based Learning) at USC from 200o-2002.

Debbie has a team of experts to guide teams throughout the world to provide quality, patient centered practices that sustain profits for the life of their dental practice.

You can also enroll in her 7 Day Dental Hygiene Profit Program for No Charge Today: Get Your No Charge Dental Hygiene Profits Program Here

By: admin

March 4, 2015

Trust is the #1 reason patients will accept your care at your dental office! (Please click on the above picture to view this weeks video. This video is one from my 60 Day Dental Hygiene Profit Program.)

Hearing patients say “Yes” to case acceptance begins with a patients first phone call to your office and in today’s world their first contact may be through a visit to your website. This is the place where trust begins.

Once they walk in your front door it continues and how you talk to them while first seated in the dental chair makes a huge difference. Do you put a patient bib on immediately or do you sit knee-knee and eye-eye with patients at the beginning of their appointment? This can only take one minute but makes a huge difference in patient rapport!  

When patients are in your dental chair provide a tour of their mouth to show them what you see. Use pictures in brochures, typodonts, posters, etc. when you explain what you see and when you explain the benefits iof “WHY” their treatment needs to be completed sooner than later. 

When patients leave your office to “think about it” many times they leave because they really don’t get it. There was something missing, their questions were not answered and maybe they didn’t feel comfortable asking.

If you have enthusiasm in your tone, and your attitude is positive, you will be more likely to have your patient feel enthusiastic about the treatment you present. Realistically, some patients will need to have a spouse or significant other help with their decision especially if that someone else is attached to paying for the treatment.

When patients leave without making their next appointment always ask when you can follow up and try to make this follow up call within 72 hours. The  longer you wait to schedule their treatment the less value their treatment will have. Urgency to complete treatment is key here and why would anyone want to wait if they can be healthier tomorrow?

This video is part of our 60 Day Dental Hygiene Profits Program. Did you like what you just read? Want to view more videos like this and learn innovative and proven methodologies to improve your dental hygiene department and profitability? Check out the 60 Day Dental Hygiene Profits Program. Our clients double their money spent on this program. If you purchase today and take advantage of the 2 coaching calls we offer you a  money back guarantee.

About Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS

Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS is founder of Dental Practice Solutions a global dental consulting, coaching and speaking business. For the past ten years Debbie has been named one of Dentistry Today’s Top Consultants. She has guided thousands of dental practices throughout the world to be more profitable by implementing proven methodologies in the dental hygiene department. What separates Debbie from other dental hygiene consultants is her ability to look at the practice’ bottom line numbers. Due to client successes and currently unique to the Dental Consulting Industry, is her money back guarantee for clients. Not every dental office is a perfect fit for her services but for those who are, she can offer a 200% ROI. If taking your practice to the next level is something you are serious about contact her today for a no-fee 30 minute Discovery Call and see what areas you should focus on to receive your biggest profit potential and without working as hard as you may be today! Email her office at mailto:support@dentalpracticesolutions.com

By: admin

February 12, 2015

This week I will share 2 tips to scheduling your perfect day. Last week I shared 3 tips and throughout the month of February I will continue talking about ways you can create a perfect day’s schedule.

It is very important that as a dental professional, you understand what a valuable role you play because we are helping our patients to live a longer healthier and happier life. Isn’t that right?

I sure hope you agree because my experience as a dental practice management consultant has proven to me that dental practices who embrace this philosophy are the happiest dental teams and the most profitable!

Do you currently enjoy what you do at your dental office? If you can share that enthusiasm with your patients it will spread great news throughout your community which is certain to bring more raving fans into your office! When you are happy and really value what you do for your patients, then you will experience not only personal joy but your patients are most likely to tell everyone about how much they love coming to your office! (Please view the 2 minute video on top left)

This is one of the easiest ways to have new patients coming into your dental office each and every day your office is open! The key is to share your enthusiasm. It spreads like a wild fire!

Tip number 1 is: Value

Value what you do professionally and then add value to your patients.

What I mean by adding value to your patients is about using words that add value. When you speak to a hygiene patient for example; if that patient has 4 and mm pockets and BOP what do you say when scheduling the patient’s next visit?

What many STILL, in today’s world say (you know all the research we do have about the mouth/body connection- right?!)is this.  I  hear the entire team say the word “Cleaning”. It’s a word I consistently have to work with clients to not use with their patients! We are no longer in the business of cleaning teeth. In today’s world we are all about creating healthier and longer lives for our patients. Let’s get that clear and speak about this value we add to our patients.

Have you ever met a patient who didn’t want to live a longer and healthier life?

Well neither have I!

When a patient is making their next appointment, create value around why they need to return. It may sound something like this:

“Mrs. Johnson, today we talked about and you remember that I showed you (imagine the hygienist showed the patient those areas by using her/his intraoral camera) those areas where you have 4 and 5mm pockets and we saw the bleeding when I was probing. It is very important that you maintain these areas at home with your power tooth brush and floss plus, I need to get in there and remove the bacteria at least every 90 days to keep those areas healthy. And this is what will also keep your body healthy. To maintain the health of these areas and your body I want to see you every three months (or state what the correct interval is for each individual patient), so I can see you on Wednesday May 13^th at 10 am. I know you like the morning appointments and I have the same time and day in three months available to see you then. Will that work for your schedule?”

Do you think Ms. Johnson is more likely to say “YES” to accept the dental hygiene appointment when you state it like this?

Many times I hear the scheduling coordinator ask something like this: “Mrs. Johnson, when would you like to come back for your cleaning?”

Which question do you believe has a higher level of confidence on behalf of the dental professional and adds value and benefits for the patient to return for routine care?

This is your schedule so take charge of it. You must feel proud of your office and the quality of care you provide your patients so OWN IT! Take control of getting patients back to the office and on time!

Tip Number 2:  The dental hygienist is the most important person to schedule all hygiene patien’s next visit.

 The hygienist is the one team member who was just with the patient (for about an hour) and discovered what the patients’ needs were. The hygienist knows exactly why the patient needs to return for their next dental hygiene appointment.

Imagine a patient hygiene preventive care appointment. Does your hygiene patient have disease in their mouth? Did the hygienist and patient discover areas of 4 and mm pockets with bleeding on probing? Most hygienists want to see this patient back in maybe six weeks or at the very most three months.

It’s in the hygiene treatment room that the hygienist is in the best position to explain to their patient WHY and when the patient needs to return for their next hygiene appointment.

Many offices are still sending a hygiene patient to the front desk to make their next appointment and by the time the patient arrives at the front desk, it is very possible, that the patient has already forgotten why (and exactly when) they need to come back see the hygienist AND many times the scheduling coordinator gets so busy that they forget to schedule the patients next hygiene appointment. Yes, I do see this happen ALL too often! At Dental Practice Solutions we review our client data weekly and it happens! No one really intends to let patients leave without a next appointment scheduled but for numerous reasons this happens.  It is something to look at each week to be sure these patients are not lost and without a next appointment.

Team members, all the dental auxiliaries, have so much to do in so little amount of time, that making the patients next appointment can be easily forgotten. This is when time and money are spent chasing patients down to get them back to your office. The end result is the patient spends more time and money in the dental office because their oral disease has become a larger problem by the time they get back to their dental office. Now, the patient is spends more money to care for an oral condition that could have been easily treated or better yet – prevented.

I hope these tips will be helpful to you in keeping your schedule full and experiencing your perfect day’s schedule at the office.

Enjoy your day at the office and next week I will provide more tips to schedule your perfect day!

Please be sure to click on the 2 minute video at the top of this blog.

Please feel free to comment below.

• Doctor, do you know what is happening with your patient’s next appointment?
• Does your hygienist have time to schedule patient’s next appointment?

Check out last week’s blog which shows a pie chart and some information to help keep hygienists running on time.

 Download your No Charge 7 Day Dental Hygiene Profit Program Here:  http://bit.ly/7DayDentalHygieneProgram

ABOUT DEBBIE SEIDEL-BITTKE, RDH, BS

Debbie Seidel-Bittke, is Founder of Dental Practice Solutions, one of the largest dental consulting businesses focused on increasing profits through proven systems and services in the dental hygiene department.

Last year the clients of Dental Practice Solutions had no less than a 34% increase in their production and the collections followed alongside of the production numbers.

This alone, is only one of the reasons that Debbie is known for the 10^th year in a row, as one of Dentistry Today’s Top Consultants!

By: admin

February 5, 2015

During the month of February I will talk about tips to scheduling your perfect day. This week will include 3 tips which will include:

1.      Schedule in 10 min intervals

Using 15 minute increments on the schedule costs the practice approximately seven days of treatment time every year. This means the doctors are working that much harder and not smarter. When you change the practice schedule to 10-minute units you are able to schedule procedures with a higher degree of accuracy. When you utilize 10-minute units of time the practice can schedule a 20-minute procedure with ease. With 15-minute units, the procedure must be scheduled either with not enough time (15 minutes) or too much (30 minutes). Ten-minute units will now offer greater flexibility and result in increased productivity.

2.      Reverse engineer it

It doesn’t need to be a calculus equation or statistics but there needs to be a strategic mathematical formula to make certain the practice meets their goals. It is best to schedule an average daily level of production which will be equal to your annual production goal. For example, if you want to produce 1.5 million in 200 days, you need to schedule $7,500 per day. This will include the hygiene schedule and doctor’s schedule. It is not realistic to produce this same number each day. The important fact to look at is your daily practice production average.

Having “Perfect Day” schedules and daily production goals also be valuable in reducing practice stress because it will  allow doctor and their team to achieve a consistent day-in day-out workload.

This allows you to take control of your schedule and the schedule will not control you. When setting up your annual schedule template decide how much production you need to stay in the black. Decide what procedure blocks will be added and at what times on the schedule. Many practices make the mistake of scheduling by reactively filling empty time slots.

3.      Schedule more difficult procedures and patients earlier in the day

Most people during the day have more energy and as the day progresses they tend to run out of steam. For many people the time after a lunch break seems to create a decrease in energy. Try having longer, more intensive treatment options in the morning. This is the time to fill the schedule with longer procedures and high-production cases.

Check back next week for more tips about how to create your perfect days schedule.

Check out our courses/webinars coming up: COURSES

Grab Your 7 Day Dental Hygiene Program at no cost today: 7 Day Dental Hygiene Program

When you have a strong scheduling system in place you have increased productivity and profitability. When you create a schedule with production as a priority you create harmony, less stress and help the practice meet all the daily goals; production and otherwise.

Be sure you view the VIDEO on today’s message: 

Please comment below about your perfect day schedule. How is it going for you this year?

By: admin

January 29, 2015

This is part 3 and the end of this information about how to create a successful and a very profitable dental hygiene department.

When you have a productive and profitable dental hygiene department you will create success for your dental practice indefinitely however, there are a few important tools that every dentist must acquire to be successful and these are

1.   You must be dedicated to leadership,

2.  You must be continually dedicated to learning

3.  Never think that either of these is are “hit or miss.”

CREATING A SUCCESSFUL AND VERY PROFITABLE DENTAL HYGIENE DEPARTMENT

Part 1 and 2 discussed:

 1. Your Vision

 2. Create a Team Approach

( To learn more about Part 1 of this blog go here PART 1. Part 2 can be found here: PART 2)

3. Tap Into Your Recare Goldmine

4. Your Cancellation Policy

In Part 3 today I will focus on

5. KNOW YOUR GOALS

The twenty first century dental practice needs to have daily goals established before the beginning of a new year begins.

A sustainable and profitable dental hygiene department will produce no less than 30% of the total office production. Anything less, is not adequate to support and sustainable dental practice.

The purpose of the numbers discussed here today, are only an example and each location of a dental practice will be different based on their UCR fees.

If doctor’s production goal for the office is $10,000 per day, then the hygiene department production should equal no less than $3,000 per day.

Clients of Dental Practice Solutions are able to track the percentage of treatment plans coming from the hygiene department with our very detailed dashboard.

The treatment diagnosed in the hygiene department can be discovered by adding the hygiene department production which as an example will be $3,000 + to doctor’s daily production goal which is $7,000. This is where we come up with a $10,000 daily goal for the month.

In order for doctor to accomplish his or her daily goals for case acceptance in the hygiene department must be no less than 70% and a follow up plan needs to be in place if patients do not leave the office with a next appointment for restorative care or hygiene services.

Always schedule an end-of-year meeting with the entire team to establish your annual goals and number of days you will need to work to establish your goals.

If you have never scheduled this type of meeting your practice management consultant is a great resource to establish guidelines for this very important annual meeting.

Bottom line with accomplishing your goals is to write them down and review them often with you team. Each month track your goals and at your morning huddle report on where you are with at least your production and collection goals. Have team members report on how they can close the gaps in achieving your goals.

In number 6 I will share some simple services to close your gap on accomplishing your goals.

 6. SAME DAY SERVICES THAT CREATE PATIENT HEALTH AND SUSTAINABLE PROFITS

Same day services will add value to your dental hygiene appointments. Offering your patients services such as ViziLite^® Plus, VELscope^® Vx, or other technology available today for oral cancer screening, fluoride varnish treatments, impressions for night guards, sealants, etc. will save your patients time returning to the office but is also add profitability to the practice.

Take for example, 4 patients each day receive:

Oral Cancer Screening using ViZilite, VELscope             $ 50.00 X 4 = $ 200.00

Fluoride Varnish                                                                $ 35.00 X 4 = $ 140.00

Daily addition to Hygiene Production                                                       $ 340.00

If Your Hygienist adds these 150 days annually                                $  51,000

($340 additional daily production X 150 Days. Imagine your hygienist also adds sealants or night guard impressions. What will that $ amount be?)

The picture below shows how the hygienist can organize their 60 minutes when working with a patient and not feel like they are running on a treadmill. This is an example of how same day services can fit into the hygiene schedule.

CONCLUSION

Most successful dental businesses implemented most or all of these 6 tips. When you implement these systems and services into your dental practice no longer will you hear that the dental hygiene department is a “loss leader.”

Let us know about your dental practice in the comment section below.

What are your current practice challenges?

Do you know where you hygiene recare efficiency stands today?.

Is the hygienist in your office able to manage their patient time effectively?.

Let us know by sending an email if you want us to look over your hygiene department numbers. If you don’t know your numbers then you have a plan to only be “status quo” at best.

Grab our No charge 7 Day Dental Hygiene Profits Program Here

ABOUT Debbie Seidel-Bittke, RDH, BS

Debbie Seidel-Bittke is founder of Dental Practice Solutions, a global consulting and coaching business known as the leader in creating highly profitable and sustainable dental hygiene departments.

Debbie uses a specific innovative and strategic methodology to not only increase hygiene department production but works with the entire team to sustain true profitability for the life of a dental practice.

For 10 yrs. she has been known as one of Dentistry Today’s Top Practice Management Consultants.

Debbie speaks about dental hygiene department profitability and the services which create a profitable and sustainable dental practice.

Grab her 7 Day no-cost hygiene department profit program. Each day, for seven days, you will receive tips to increase your dental hygiene department production without working harder but like a well-oiled machine.

Click here get your no-charge 7 Day Hygiene Department Program