Management

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.

Stress is so prevalent for practice owners and teams, you may think it’s an unavoidable occupational hazard. In fact, though it can’t be eliminated completely-there will always be “challenging” days at the office-you can radically reduce stress and the negative feelings, fatigue and general dissatisfaction it can cause.

As a private-practice owner, you may not think you can learn much from the companies on Fortune’s 2015 World’s Most Admired Companies list. After all, they’re big – really big. So how can anything done by these super-sized, wildly successful, profitable companies possibly be relevant to a small or mid-sized dental practice in Smallville, USA?

Dental team members are paid to perform daily, correct? So how do you balance the employee engagement with the accountability each day to the numbers and the goals of the practice? Dr. Tarun Agarwal explains.

It is typical in a dental office that when we hire a new employee at the front desk, they start by answering the phones for the office. Really, when looking at it from the dentist’s perspective, that is the easiest thing to start with, right? That definitely seems to make sense, but frankly, that is one of the worst things you can do for your office with a new employee.

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.

Based on his extensive experience with dentists over the past 30 years, Dr. Roger P. Levin has authored a new book entitled The 31 Biggest Mistakes Dentists Make. His premise is simple. As he says in the introduction, “We can learn from our mistakes. But isn’t it better to learn from other people’s mistakes?”

Bullying. We hear so much about it in the news today. It's no longer the mean boys that beat up kids for their lunch money or even the mean girls that don't invite other girls to the mall.

Remember the Skeleton Dance? You know: the foot bone’s connected to the ankle bone, the ankle bone’s connected to the leg bone... Many of us learned it in school to help illustrate how the parts of our body work together to function. This song, with just a few changes, can just as well apply to your dental practice, the telephone’s connected to the appointment book, the appointment book’s connected to the daily production, the daily production is connected to the net income…

Aside from on-the-fly training and “shadowing” during working hours, few dentists make a strong commitment to providing training to help administrative team members perform better, says Dr. Roger Levin.

We live in a world of instant gratification, surrounded by digital technology that fuels this hunger for immediate knowledge. How many times have you been out with friends and someone asks a question that no one can answer handily?

Too many dentists assume that all they need to do is “wait out” the economy, and they’ll eventually start to grow again. Dr. Roger Levin says that isn't going to happen.

Today, numerous dentists are still asking the big question, “What does it really take to have a highly successful dental practice in this new economy?” Recently I interviewed Eric Nuss, Director of the Henry Schein Business Dental Institute.

Going to a dental practice is an intimate experience. It is one fraught with pain emotionally and financially. Dentists need to look at why people leave and fix what they can so they don't lose patients.

If you have a team member who is a chronic poor performer in your dental practice, it’s time to address the issue, says Dr. Roger Levin. Here's how.

A dentist is worried that he doesn't have the time to chat and listen to every patient. A practice management coach offers some advice on how to deal with the situation.

Analyzing numbers on a daily, monthly, quarterly and annual basis is now an essential part of running a successful dental practice.

The more training that dentists have, the better prepared they will be to handle those difficult situations that come up when they least expect them in the dental practice.

Remember, problems in the dental practice aren’t going to go away just because you put your head in the sand. Communication and creative problem solving are essential for a team to thrive.

Executives can have excellent schooling and their IQ is out the roof, but something separates those who have stellar careers and those who end up working for the stars.

In short, the leader decides what should happen and the manager makes it happen.

Build value for the dentistry – don’t apologize for it, don’t ignore it, and don’t distract from it with televisions playing in 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.

What's a BAA, and why is it so important for your dental practice? Dr. Lorne Lavine explores why this document could be crucial to HIPAA compliance.

Columnist Lisa Newburger talks about the fear some team members have about a dental practice possibly closing.

Welcome to 2016.

We have all heard about, read about, and strived for the elusive five-star customer service. We have attended classes, read testimonials and listened to others tell stories about it. We all want it, strive to provide it and desire to receive it. So what is “IT,” really?

Finding and retaining top teams is one of the most difficult challenges any dental practice owner faces.

Based on his extensive experience with dentists in the past 30 years, Dr. Roger P. Levin has authored a new book entitled The 31 Biggest Mistakes Dentists Make. His premise is simple. As he says in the introduction, “We can learn from our mistakes. But isn’t it better to learn from other people’s mistakes?”

Based on his extensive experience with dentists in the past 30 years, Dr. Roger P. Levin has authored a new book entitled The 31 Biggest Mistakes Dentists Make. His premise is simple. As he says in the introduction, “We can learn from our mistakes. But isn’t it better to learn from other people’s mistakes?”