Does your management consist of always putting out fires? The reason why you’re always trying to solve things frantically today may lie in how you do your dental office meetings in the morning. Often morning huddles are being done but the dentist is solely running the meetings, and they are always just talking about what is being done today. And here lies two mistakes in doing it this way. The dentist must never run the morning huddle. Now I didn’t say not to have one at all; I just said not to RUN it.  What the dentist should do is have...

Do you ever ask your patients, "Any questions?" If you do so often enough, you'll lose a lot of income. Let me explain. Dentists often tell patients they need to do this, this, and this, in a rapid-fire style, throwing in terms patients probably don't understand (like leaky margins), and then ask, "Any questions?" More often than not the patient says no, and then goes merrily to the financial arranger and asks what procedure their dental insurance will cover. Often whatever procedure is covered is all they commit to -- and sometimes not even that. Many dentists never really get the...

A survey of several dental professionals offered the following suggestions for dealing with back pain: Dental loupes are the magnifying glasses that dentists wear to enlarge everything that they see in the mouth. ... Secondly, loupes are worn to allow dentists to have a more “physiologic” posture while working, and thereby minimize the slouching which dentists are historically known to develop. Working out your core means working out the entire middle section of your body which includes your stomach muscles, your hips, your butt, your lower back as well your side obliques and adductors. ... Core exercises also strengthen your hips,...

It is best if practice owners do NOT spend a lot of time on management.  They should instead focus on servicing patients with the best possible care. Stay focused on helping patients get better; not on the money. The money will come if you stay focused on helping as many people as possible in your community by improving the quality of their lives through excellent dentistry. Revenue normally follows close behind when a dentist really puts attention on communicating with the patient and honestly cares about how he or she can help the patient improve their oral health. Many times, it’s...