Alitta Boechler, AuD, MBA

Practices are now taking advantage of all the technologies available to them.

An analysis of treatment plans and what dentists can do to maximize the number of patients that move ahead with treatment.

Although collecting payment from delinquent patients may be uncomfortable, it is a necessary part of keeping a practice healthy. This paper examines trends in accounts receivable and how accounts receivable balances have changed since 2011.

Understanding the number of diagnoses in the dental practice is key to understanding the state of oral health and the long term effects of receiving oral diagnoses and interventions.

As attracting new patients and keeping the current active patient base robust is imperative for the financial health of the practice, dentists need to know their patient numbers and how those numbers compare to national averages.

Seasonality trends are something most dentists experience, and deciding how your practice will deal with the highs and lows is important to keeping your practice healthy. Here are five tips on how to manage seasonality in your practice.

Practice Mobilizer is a free secure app from Sikka Software that allows dentists to monitor their schedule, communicate with patients and track financial and clinical data using their Android or iOS mobile devices.

Accounts receivable is often a significant part of a dental practice’s financial health. Due to common dental benefit practices and late patient payments, dentists are often owed a significant amount of money. Although carrying an accounts receivable balance is common and in many cases unavoidable, reducing the outstanding financial burden can improve cash flow and overall practice health.

Dentists require a team of staff members to serve the needs of the patient. When everyone is busy, working together, there is room for conflict to arise.

Why is measuring and preparing for seasonality important for dental practices? It could create major cash flow problems.

As a dentist you regularly interface with your patients and your community, making you a public figure and the target of online and offline discussion. How patients discuss you, in a good or bad light, can be strongly influenced by you and your team. In essence, much of their opinion of you is shaped by how you present yourself and your practice - and whether they agree that you live up to those expectations.

Attrition is devastating to a practice, and not for the reason most practitioners think. Many assume that they are only losing revenue from one patient, and that there is always another new patient around the corner to make up the difference. However, loss of patients not only results in revenue loss but also in added expenses in marketing and onboarding new patients so the practice can maintain patient flow.

This article will focus on these care providers and the value they bring to the dental practice. Data includes hygienist gross revenue, net revenue compared to scheduled production and number of patients seen monthly. Trends are measured over the last eight years to give a comprehensive look at the hygienist’s role in the dental practice.

This article will focus on these care providers and the value they bring to the dental practice. Data includes hygienist gross revenue, net revenue compared to scheduled production and number of patients seen monthly. Trends are measured over the last eight years to give a comprehensive look at the hygienist’s role in the dental practice.

This article will discuss national trends such as average gross revenue and collections in private dental practices, focusing on the widening gap between the revenue due and the actual dollar amount that is collected by the practice for services and products.

Because each dental practice is unique in how and where they are located and plans can vary widely in fee schedules, it is difficult to understand when plans are negatively affecting your patients and your practice.

Change takes time commitment and perseverance. The good news is that, whatever change you want to make, building a plan and setting mile markers will help you keep on track.

Keeping your fee schedules up-to-date is imperative to keeping your practice healthy. There are many important factors to take into account including geography, your patients, how you practice and data from other practices in your area. However, quality data on fees in your zip code can be challenging to find-so Sikka Software did the work for you.

Welcome to 2016.

Billions of dollars in dental insurance benefits are left unused every year. These benefits can be used for both general maintenance care as well as dental procedures, like root canals or emergency procedures. According to Forbes, only three percent of patients use all of their dental benefits annually, indicating that there is a significant dollar amount of benefits left untapped at the end of December.

Money can be mysterious and can also be the source of stress in your practice. How you manage money has a direct impact on your ability to serve your patients’ oral health needs.

There is only a month and a half left in 2015, and you may be wondering where time went. However, there is still time to finish out the year strong for your practice and your patients.

As we enter the fall season, chances are that you have patients with remaining dental benefits who also require dental care. According to Forbes, only three percent of patients use all of their benefits in a given year.

The national average of number of adjunct oral cancer screenings billed under CDT D0431 per clinic has risen sharply. From 2012 to 2014, clinics performed an average of six to seven tests each month.

You can’t run your clinic alone. Whether you are a large center or a small clinic, you likely will need to manage both professional and support staff. You may need other dentists, specialists, hygienists, office managers and front desk personnel to be part of the team. This staff may come with a wide range of educational backgrounds and, depending on the individual positions, may require varying levels of supervision.

illing your dental appointment book is an important step in maximizing your revenue.Many clinics may have open spots either unfilled or from cancellations.

Over the last four years, dentists have experienced significant changes to how they practice dentistry and the reimbursement they received for their services. These changes were experienced on a national scale.