Meet Eastside Dental—a practice in Milwaukee that values giving back. The team at Eastside recently hosted their Community Giveback Day. On this day, they give away FREE dentistry to people who need it but can’t afford it. The doctors donate everything from routine cleanings to extractions. You’d be surprised how many people need treatment. The line was out the door, and some patients drove from an hour away!
It’s incredible the impact your patients have on your emotional state—there are patients who immediately induce anxiety when you see them on the schedule, and there are those that inspire peace. When you have great patients, you have a great day, and when your schedule is full of those people, every day
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How will dentistry be in the future? What should dentists today focus on? Is balance possible in this profession? To thoughtfully answer these three big questions, Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Christian Coachman, founder of Digital Smile Design, with his advice for navigating the personal and business side of being a dentist. Your best years and dentistry’s best years are still yet to come! To hear about what you can look forward to, listen to Episode 805 of The Best Practices Show!
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Doctors treat diseases as soon as they see it. They don't wait until the final stage! So, why aren't dentists doing the same? To encourage you to start diagnosing more and treating patients early, Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Drew McDonald from the Chicago Study Club to explain the consequences of waiting until it’s too late. Early diagnosis isn’t overtreating — you are setting patients up for a better, healthier, pain-free life. To learn the true value of orthodontics and how you can help more patients, listen to Episode 804 of The Best Practices Show!
Many private practices employ a 32 clinical work week. Seeing patients 8 hours per day for 4 days per week allows most dental teams that fifth day off. This opportunity for a third off day per week both adds to your team’s quality of life and helps reduce burnout in what can be a grueling profession. We here at ACT recommend a slight variation to this schedule. Let’s call it the 30-2 hour work week. In this model, you offer 30 clinical hours to your patients with 2 hours every week for you and your team to temporarily lock the doors and perform a 2-hour team meeting.
We’ve all been in the same position. Someone calls you for a favor, and you can’t help but say yes. Dentists say yes to lots of things—yes to free treatment, yes to long hours, yes to working at home. Do they actually want to do all this? NO! This doesn’t just happen at the office. Dentists say yes in their personal lives, too, whether it’s yes to dinner plans, weekend trips or volunteering. When all you say is yes, there’s no time left for yourself.
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You're a dentist — not a hammer! Stop forcing treatment on patients and start guiding them toward it instead. To help you make that happen, Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Christopher Mazzola and Dr. Charlie Ward, visiting faculty from the Pankey Institute, to share what they’ve uncovered about the new patient process and how to find the things that matter to them most. To start decoding your patients’ minds to establish trust and improve retention, listen to Episode 803 of The Best Practices Show!
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You care about your business more than anyone else. For that reason, it’s up to you to understand your numbers! To help you lean into the data you need, Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Barrett Straub, ACT’s CEO, to share the top key metrics to track in every aspect of your practice. There's no “easy button” for success, but data will make the path easier! To learn how to make your data work for you, listen to Episode 802 of The Best Practices Show!
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Dentistry can give you the life you want. So, why do you dread going into the office? Kirk Behrendt brings back Miranda Beeson, ACT’s director of education, to tell you it’s not the dentistry giving you the Sunday scaries — it’s how you're doing it. To help you overcome burnout and take control over your practice and life, they provide a framework for planning the life you want in and outside of your practice. It’s your life and your practice! To learn how to make it the best it can be, listen to Episode 801 of The Best Practices Show!
We want you to build more than a better practice. We want you to build a better life, too, and that starts by using the one percent strategy. The one percent strategy means you’re improving a little bit each day. When you go to bed, you should feel one percent better than the person you were yesterday.
