Organization of a dental practice is, in essence, composed of ensuring you and your dental staff are trained on how to efficiently and effectively process: a. New Patients b. Returning Patients c. Emergency Patients When we work with a new client we evaluate where the weak links are in handling new, returning and emergency patients and then systematically strengthen each of the weak links through training.  The following functions are a few examples of where weak links are often discovered: a. New Patient phone calls b. Processing new patients c. Financial arrangements d. Patient retention e. Scheduling Often there are functions...

The two main reasons why most dental practices underproduce are: a. Staff non-compliance b. Double work  It is the small things that add up to consuming vast amounts of time and we all know time is money. Too often dental staff look busy but are in fact simply handling unnecessary work they needlessly generate caused by inefficiencies and lack of training. Examples: A lab case is not in the office and the patient arrives for their appointment.Incomplete information in patient charts.Incomplete dental insurance submission.Insurance not verified.Patient leaves the office without an appointment.Phone numbers for patient are not correct. Can’t confirm appointment.Delivering...

Here is a quick formula I use in my dental consulting to determine how efficient your hygienists are: 1. Take active patients and multiply by two (go back 1.5 to 2 years for active patient count).  Example: 2000 active patients x 2 = 4000 possible hygiene visits. 2. Run the code in the software for number of cleanings done in the last year.  Example Result: 2000 3. Run a report on the code for comprehensive exams in the last 12 months. This gives a true number of new dental patients as it eliminates limited exams that are emergency exams.  Example: 200...

What should your voice mail message contain?  You or your dental receptionist should introduce yourself and then clearly state: a. Your dental practice's hours. b. Instructions for your dental patients in case of an emergency  i.e. call your cell, 911 or a covering dentist. c. Let the patient know when they can expect a return call.  d. What information the patient should leave i.e. the reason for the call, their name and a good time to call back. The message should be clear, quite friendly and professional. Example: Hello. You’ve reached the dental practice of Dr. Smith. Our regular hours are 9:00am...