Every day we work with dentists who express frustration over a team that fails to meet their expectations. There is the sense that the same issue has been talked about over and over again, yet the delivery of results is never consistent, or always sub-par. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard someone say,  “We just need more accountability.” 

I typically follow this statement up with a request to see the systems that would produce said expectations, and I hear something like “well we’ve talked about it plenty, and my assistant knows what she is supposed to do.” Yeah, sure she does. 

Before you point the finger, turn the thumb.

If you truly want to promote accountability in your dental practice, start with yourself. If your team isn’t delivering the result that you want, ask yourself a few questions?

• Have I been clear about my expectations and goals?
• Do we have written agreements about these expectations and goals?...

Best Practices Show Podcast Episode #232: How to Avoid the Production Plummet (3 Steps to End the Year Strong) with Xana Winans

Our guest on this episode of The Best Practices show is Xana Winans, Founder and CEO of Golden Proportions Marketing. Xana works with Kirk Behrendt and the ACT Dental team often on their marketing plan and strategies, continually encouraging them to adjust and improve their systems and goals.

Xana joins us on this episode to discuss how to avoid the upcoming production plummet and end 2020 strong. She explains that many people inside and outside of the dental industry are viewing the current crisis as COVID, but that the real crisis is actually the recession caused by COVID, which could impact the economy for years to come. She walks viewers and listeners through the 6 stages of every crisis, identifying the manifestations of each of these stages as they are appearing right now. The 6 stages are: warning, risk assessment, react, revise, resolve, recover.

Best Practices Show Podcast Episode #231: The Life of a Dental Biomaterial Researcher with Dr. Nate Lawson

Dr. Nate Lawson is here! Nate is the Director of the Division of Biomaterials at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry. He’s published over 150 articles, abstracts, book chapters, and periodicals related to dental materials. He is a researcher, teacher, and a dentist who practices part time. Nate is passionate about biomaterials and research. He also loves teaching and speaking in front of groups. He is always willing to share his knowledge and takes what some might consider boring and make it exciting.

Nate shares his background and how he always knew he’d be a dentist. He went to college for engineering, but ended up on a research project with Dr. John Burgess. This project sparked his love for research and rekindled his love of dentistry. He shares how his journey began and how he ended up in Alabama. Nate also talks about some of...

When you began your technical career, you lucked into an amazing front office team member. She has been with you for 15 years, she began her career with you at a young age and grew alongside you. You have never worried about things getting done at the front desk, and you have never learned how to do them yourself, you relied solely on this incredible team member, and the institutional knowledge she holds of all of the practice workings.

If you’ve experienced this, you are one of the lucky ones, sort of.

Since things have run so smoothly on the administrative front, you’ve likely made the fatal assumption in believing you’ve got it all covered, and understanding the technical side of dentistry translates to understanding the business side of dentistry. Nothing could be further from the truth. 

This long term employee, with complete knowledge of the workings of your practice solely in her head, for a time, has been your greatest asset, yet soon, she will become...

Sally has been sitting at the front for 8 years. You rely on her to keep the books full. She is friendly on the phone and in person. Patients love her. Beyond that, she is great at collecting money. In short, Sally is a keeper. But Sally is leaving. She isn’t the first team member to leave, and she won’t be the last. 

Every dentist has, or will, lose a Sally or two in their career, but when it comes to employee turnover rates, what is normal? 

Most experts will tell you that an employee retention rate of 90% would be considered successful. In reality, it’s lower than that for most dental practices, and we know that in the current climate, the turnover rate is much higher than 10% for most dental teams.

Maybe you’re still telling yourself.  “So what, it doesn’t cost me much to replace my team members. and it isn’t that big of a deal.”

You will lose people, that is the reality of owning a business. Yet have you analyzed the ...

Dental Practice profitability is a top priority. Without it, you can not keep your doors open, you can not treat your patients, and you can not live the life you envisioned.

I am willing to bet that you have analyzed, and then over analyzed your website and marketing budget. You’ve invested yearly in continuing education and consistently look at adding the newest equipment and the latest technology to the practice in hopes of increasing efficiency and profitability. 

You have focused on ROI when it comes to marketing budgets and big-ticket technology items, analyzing the cost per patient gained, and the cost and time difference for the crown milled chairside.

All of this effort, with the hopes of retaining patients, growing the practice, and increasing profitability.

Let me now ask a question. How much time have you spent thinking about staff retention in terms of ROI and practice growth? If the answer is none or not much, you are missing out on a tremendous opportunity.

What...

Your day has taken a turn for the worse; one of your team members quit unexpectedly. You did not see it coming, and to make matters worse, today will be their last day. Once the initial shock of their exit has passed, how do you respond?

What do you do when your dental assistant or administrative team member quits out of the blue? How do you keep the morale in the office high with the sudden loss, fill the gap that has been created, and make sure that your team isn’t overwhelmed by the added responsibilities everyone will have in the days to come?

You begin scrambling and enter panic mode. What are you going to do? How will the practice manage being one team member short? How quickly can you find a dental assistant that knows everything they need to do? Or a treatment coordinator that speaks insurance like a pro?

As you think more about it, you’re not even 100% certain what tasks this team member was responsible for!

You are not alone!

Many dental practices across the...

Dr. Kevin Groth on Episode #322 of The Best Practices Show: The New Dentist Movement and Lessons Learned

Kirk speaks with Dr. Kevin Groth, a dentist based in Bingham Farms, Michigan.

Dr. Groth starts by explaining how coming out of of the University of Michigan Dental School in 2013 was dizzying, and starting out in dentistry wasn’t easy. He realized that discovering his identity was key in jump-starting his career.

His expectation did not match the reality of starting a new practice, but the lessons he learned as a result are priceless. Over the last few years, Dr. Groth struggled to make his life as a new dentist line up with his core beliefs. But as he learned from mistakes and experience, he was able to turn dentistry into the dream career that allows him to live his life and spend the most time with his family.

Some of the specific strategies that Dr. Groth discusses are: the need to surround yourself with like-minded people, the patience required to work...

Fall is coming and you know what that means...football season, pumpkin spice EVERYTHING, and every dentist’s favorite -- Sucktember (dun dun dunnn…). For the ACT Dental coaching team, this means calls from doctors that are constantly asking, “what can I do to increase the efficiency and productivity of my practice?” This year, as practices around the country brace for the potential of slower than usual fall schedules, this question becomes particularly pertinent. 

A quick internet search on the topics of increasing production and efficiency in the dental office will produce hundreds of articles and a multitude of checklists offering tips on how to improve these items. Most will talk about transitioning to a paperless environment, having systems in place, hiring and training the right team members, and learning how automation can benefit your team. 

These are all great. These all take a lot of time. 

So what can you do today, and tomorrow, that...

How many times have you purchased goods or utilized services that you didn’t expect to pay for?? I don’t know about you, but for me, that number is pretty much zero.

I think we can all agree, goods and services, especially those of value, cost money.

So why do dental professionals, and their teams, have such an issue asking for payments from patients for the valuable services they provide?

For some reason, paying for the services that are received, and even more so paying for them on the day they are received is an idea that has permeated every business and industry except dentistry.

As a dentist and a healthcare provider, you signed up to provide excellent care to your patients, yet the “health” of the practice can not be lost in this transaction. In order to provide quality patient care, to afford the team you need, to purchase equipment and PPE, patients must say yes to both the care and the financing that goes along with it. The practice must collect for...