Overcoming the Obstacles to Comprehensive Dentistry

Episode #411 with Dr. Bill Robbins

Your patients deserve comprehensive dentistry. So, what's stopping you from providing it? Today, Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Bill Robbins, one of the creators of the Global Diagnosis system, to help you overcome some of the obstacles to comprehensive dentistry. One of the hardest parts is forming your vision, and Dr. Robbins has a list of advice to help you get started. If you're committed to providing the best care for your patients, listen to Episode 411 of The Best Practices Show!

Main Takeaways:

Have a vision of where you want to go.

Attend study clubs to form that vision.

Find a mentor to help shape your vision.

Hire a consultant early in your career.

Prioritize developing your leadership skills.

Create a team based on your practice.

Develop the skillset you need with CE.

Quotes:

“My “why” is because [comprehensive dentistry] is what patients deserve. I believe that when a new patient comes to me, they're coming to me for two things: they're coming for my expertise, and they're coming for a treatment plan. And I'm going to give them both of those things. And sometimes, they don't need anything but two sealants and bleaching, and I will have spent a fair amount of time doing a comprehensive exam on them. But there's value in that.” (6:03—6:32)

“I consider a comprehensive exam not only to be the right thing to do, but to be a wonderful marketing tool. I've never spent any money on marketing. That's just not been my way. I mean, we've got a website, so that's not true. We do spend money on a website. But other than that, my marketing has always been through word-of-mouth, essentially. And so, I see the comprehensive exam as both what a patient deserves and as a way to get more patients to come in.” (6:47—7:15)

“If a dentist doesn't do a comprehensive exam, then the dentist cannot do comprehensive dentistry.” (9:23—9:29)

“The downside [of a comprehensive exam] is that I waste some time. If you consider time that I could've been doing single-tooth dentistry, I'm wasting it talking to a patient who just needs single-tooth dentistry. I get that. And so, I think there are certainly variations on the theme. It doesn't have to be, every patient gets a comprehensive exam. But every patient that’s going to get comprehensive dentistry has to have a comprehensive exam. I do know that for sure.’ (10:59—11:23)

“I think the hardest part of this whole thing, the absolute hardest part of moving your practice into doing comprehensive dentistry and comprehensive exams is getting a vision of doing it. Because once you get a vision, then you have something that’s out there and all you have to do is figure out the steps to get there. But it’s the belief that that's where you want to be. The problem is that once you get it — you, meaning the dentist — you have to share it with those around you. Because if your family at the office isn't on board, then it ain't going to work out.” (12:57—13:36)

“I think it’s really important to have an older dentist, a mentor, that you admire and who you would like to emulate in terms of practice philosophy, but also personal life and all the other important things, and approach them.” (18:01—18:16)

“Make leadership [your] primary focus ahead of dentistry. Because if they don't see you as a leader in the office, both when you know they're watching you — when they're with you and you're not paying attention to them, they're watching you for sure. And how you manage patients, and how you manage staff problems, and how you manage all of the crap that comes into our lives, that's the most important thing around a dental practice. So, I really think leadership and relationship-based leadership is one of the major keys.”...