DMD Staff

According to Gary Zelesky, professional speaker, dentists can be hyper focused. Sometimes, he says, that comes at the expense of the bigger picture. To live happier, more fulfilling lives, Zelesky says dentists should look to find humor in everything. That includes with their dental practice teams and with their families.

It's a simple question, but one that isn't easy to answer: What does your dental practice do better than any other practice? The answer is your Unique Selling Proposition. Robert M. Pick, D.D.S., M.S., and principal of Progressive Periodontics & Implants, says your practice absolutely must have one if you want to succeed. Watch this clip as a basis for forming one for your practice.

Over the years, the targets of identity thieves have changed. It used to be that social security numbers were prime areas for attack. However, dental and medical records have become more valuable commodities on the black market. In this clip, Pat Little, D.D.S., F.A.G.D., C.F.E., CEO, and Funder of Dental Risk Concepts and Prosperident, explains what accounts for this shift.

Scott Parazynski, M.D., is the only astronaut to have also summited Everest. From his perspective, there is such a thing as being too risk-averse. Parazynski says that risk often forces us to rethink certain situations and how we approach them. Consequently, this also often leads to innovation.

According to Gary Zelesky, a professional speaker who has spent years helping professionals use passion to improve their businesses, the hardest thing for dentists to do is accept change. When dentists do commit to change, however, Zelesky says they see that change through to the end. In this clip, Zelesky gives reasons for dentists and their teams to embrace change.

Some dentists tend to micromanage, says Robert M. Pick, D.D.S., M.S., and principal of Progressive Periodontics & Implants. Responsibility for social media, however, is one thing that dentists should delegate. In this clip, Pick suggests assigning a team member in your practice the role of social media coordinator and having this team member prioritize posting strong content at the right time.

Password security: It's a simple concept. Make sure each member of your dental practice team has their own password for accessing patient information.

Whether you're heading up Everest or placing a crown, there's a certain amount of risk involved. Managing that risk, according to Scott Parazynski, M.D., who is also the only astronaut to have summited Everest, boils down to knowing what your goals are in advance. Those goals often involve everyone going home safely. To that end, doctors need to know when they're out of their league.

Gary Zelesky is a professional speaker on the subject of passion. He works to help dentists and other professionals use passion to make their businesses more successful. In this clip, Zelesky talks about how passion can make or break your dental team's successes.

If you want your dental practice to operate like a Fortune 500 company, you need to build your practice's team from the ground up. That starts with taking culture-shifting actions, such as corporate retreats and monthly meetings. These aren't just for the Wall Street titans. Robert M. Pick, D.D.S., M.S., and principal of Progressive Periodontics & Implants, says you need to put these strategies in place with your practice's team as soon as possible.

Are you a victim of embezzlement in your dental practice? How would you know if you were? Pat Little, D.D.S, F.A.G.D., C.F.E., CEO and Founder of Dental Risk Concepts and Prosperident describes some of the red flags that may indicate that you are being embezzled. Look out for them to stop the crime in its tracks.

You may not be as ready for retirement as you think you are. For example, have you talked to your spouse about what he or she will do with you being around the house more often? Kerry Straine, CPBA and CEO of Straine Consulting, says that this is one of two common retirement mistakes he sees dentists making. Discover the second, and how to avoid both, in this clip.

Scott Parazynski, M.D., is the only astronaut to have summited Mt. Everest. His career in the space program and taste for adventure have taught him a few things about managing risk, a subject he lectured on at the 2017 Hinman Dental Meeting. In this clip, Parazynski, who is also the CEO of Fluidity Technologies, explains when it just isn't worth it to risk it.

Gary Zelesky is a professional speaker on the subject of passion. He works to help dentists and other professionals use passion to make their businesses more successful. In this clip, Zelesky talks about how you can motivate your dental practice team with passion to improve the patient experience.

Dentistry is a business that requires sound relationships. Whether it's the relationship built with a patient over the course of treatment or the relationship built with a team in the operatory, dentists need to cultivate both. Robert M. Pick, D.D.S., M.S., is the principal of Progressive Periodontics & Implants, an Associate Professor of Surgery at Northwestern University Medical School, and CEO of the dental consulting firm, The Pick Group. In this clip, Pick explains why relationships are vital to your practice's success.

You suspect that there is embezzlement happening in your dental practice. You've confirmed it with an investigation. Now how do you confront the embezzler? Pat Little, D.D.S, F.A.G.D., C.F.E., CEO and Founder of Dental Risk Concepts and Prosperident describes the steps a dentist must take when confronting an embezzler.

As the CEO of your dental practice, it's up to you, the dentist, to come up with the policies your practice will use. According to Kerry Straine, CPBA and CEO of Straine Consulting, quite simply, policies are your dental business philosophy as it is to be implemented by your staff. Having effective policies means being clear on your philosophy and putting appropriate resources into training your staff. Here's how to start putting better policies in place in your practice.

Scott Parazynski, M.D., is the only astronaut to have summited Mt. Everest. His career in the space program and taste for adventure have taught him a few things about managing risk, a subject he lectured on at the 2017 Hinman Dental Meeting. In this clip, Parazynski, who is also the CEO of Fluidity Technologies, explains how to think critically when approaching a risky scenario.

Gary Zelesky is a professional speaker on the subject of passion. He works to help dentists and other professionals use passion to make their businesses more successful. In this clip, Zelesky talks about how passion in a dental practice can translate to higher productivity and profit.

Great business leaders are not made in a vacuum. They have help along the way. Among his many roles, Robert M. Pick, D.D.S., M.S., is the principal of Progressive Periodontics & Implants, an Associate Professor of Surgery at Northwestern University Medical School, and CEO of the dental consulting firm, The Pick Group. In this clip, Pick explains how having the right mentors is critical to becoming a strong business leader.

Embezzlement can happen in any dental practice. Do you know how to spot it in yours? Pat Little, D.D.S., F.A.G.D., C.F.E., CEO and Founder of Dental Risk Concepts and Prosperident, outlines some key warning signs to help sniff out an embezzler in your practice. Step one is looking for cash-flow issues.

Brandy Keck, is a brokerage liaison at Carr Healthcare Realty, a firm that specializes in selling and buying real estate for medical professionals. Keck sat down with Dentist's Money Digest at the Yankee Dental Congress to give dentists advice on the practice real estate purchasing process. Assembling the right team of experts, she says, is critical to making the process work.

Scott Parazynski, M.D., is the only astronaut to have summited Mt. Everest. His career in the space program and taste for adventure have taught him a few things about managing risk, a subject he lectured on at the 2017 Hinman Dental Meeting. In this clip, Parazynski, who is also the CEO of Fluidity Technologies, explains how risky environments have taught him about risk management.

It's simple: All dentists want to increase patient flow and profits in their practices. What's complicated is achieving those goals. In this video, Kerry Straine, CPBA, CEO and President of Straine Consulting, walks dentists through the steps they need to take to achieve those goals. He says that for dentists, it all begins with establishing a personal budget that considers factors such as marital status and student loan debt.

Tim Sawyer is president of Crystal Clear Digital Marketing, a company that works with medical professionals to help them connect with patients. From his experience, Sawyer says that many dentists are excellent clinicians, but poor leaders. To drive business growth in dental practices, dentists must set clear performance standards and hold their employees accountable.

Dentists are often confronted with making the choice of targeting new patients or existing patients with their marketing efforts. The right approach, according to Blair Drenner, vice president of strategic business development at eRelevance Corporation, is determined by the maturity of the dental practice.

There are certain indicators that will let you know it's the right time to add an associate dentist or a partner in your dental practice. Kerry Straine, CPBA, CEO and President of Straine Consulting, explains what those indicators are. In this clip, Straine also stresses what a potential associate dentist or partner must demonstrate before you can even consider them for the roles.

Do you feel like you're paying too much in acquisition costs to bring in new patients and retain old patients in your dental practice? You might be, but you won't know for sure unless you're tracking your return on investment, says Blair Drenner, vice president of strategic business development at eRelevance Corporation. In this clip, he explains where your efforts should be focused and how you should be tracking them.

According to Tim Sawyer, president of Crystal Clear Digital Marketing, prioritizing the procedures that drive the most revenue in a dental practice is a problem for the practice leader, the dentist, to solve. This process begins with delegating anything that the dentist his or herself doesn't need to do. Then, it's a matter of fitting everything else that goes on in the practice around those core procedures.

Brandy Keck is a Brockerage Liaison at Carr Healthcare Realty. In this clip, Keck discusses the considerations that must be made before a dentist decides to relocate their practice. It might make sense, Keck says, if the price of relocation can be offset by increased productivity, or increase the potential sale value of the practice down the line. Landlords, Keck says, also sometimes offer dentists generous tenant-improvement allowances.