Michael Sacopulos, JD. Partner with Sacopulos, Johnson & Sacopulos

With the current economic uncertainty, dentists are questioning their commercial office space needs. According to Dr. Jeffrey Spiegel, who has been a practicing facial plastic surgeon for 13 years at the Boston University of Medicine, leasing has advantages including increased flexibility, tax benefits and reduced responsibilities. Dr. Spiegel opened a new office in a Boston suburb and has been in his new space for roughly a year and a half. After much searching he decided to lease the space.

Your hands are your livelihood. In a flash, a career that took decades to achieve can come to an end. Meanwhile, the monthly bills keep rolling in and financial obligations mount as you’re out of work. This is an unpleasant but important topic for all dentists.

Tips that all dental practices should use to set clear financial arrangements and expectations for their dental patients.

Social media can be used to connect with long lost friends and keep in touch with distant family members, but some dentists are using sites like Facebook to connect with their patients on a new platform. “I started using social media about two years ago when I opened up my own private practice as a tool to build community,” said Chicago based pediatric dentist Dr. Grace Yum.

Q: I have always worked on my children's teeth. Now they are grown and established with careers of their own with full benefits. I submitted a bill to my son’s dental insurance and was paid. A month later I received a request from a firm asking for a refund for the exam, prophy, and full mouth x-rays. The reason stated on the request for refund was that the insurance does not pay for work done by a family member. I could not understand why not so I called the number in the letter.

Waiting to see the dentist can be trying. There are only so many magazines one can read. Now, dentists like John Stark in South Jordan, UT are providing iPads to patients in the waiting room. The iPads are loaded with dozens of easy to use apps, most of which pertain to dental health. “Patients love it, it has been pretty amazing how people will play with it,” Dr. Stark said.