Beyond Bitewings

Owning a business isn’t for the faint of heart, and this is especially true for dental practice owners. The transition from becoming an employee to an employer can be difficult if not done correctly, and in this episode of Beyond Bitewings, the team at Edwards & Associates is covering some of the things that you should consider before making the switch.

One of the most important factors to understand is that being an employer isn’t for everyone, and there’s nothing wrong with staying on the employee route. Plus it’s a good idea to wait a few years after getting out of dental school before venturing out on your own. The sweet spot is right around three to five years before moving into your own practice.

They also talk about what’s important to do when you’re thinking about moving from employee to employer and how you should best utilize your time and education as an employee to get ready for that move. In addition, they talk about why a dental study club could be one of the best things you join, even as an employee.

When it comes to getting ready to move out on your own, you should line up your team and resources before you even begin looking to start your own practice. This isn’t something you should do all on your own, or at the last minute when it could be too late.

If you have specific questions about moving from an employee to an employer or if you'd like to have another question answered on a future podcast, please make sure to reach out to the Edwards & Associates team. Or contact any one of the excellent ADCPA affiliates across the nation.

Bringing in specialists can be a great addition to your practice, but the process can be overwhelming. How do you know what specialties to bring in? And more importantly, where do you begin finding the right people to fill these roles?

Santosh Patel, Co-Founder, and President of Complete Specialty Solutions joins the team at Edwards and Associates on this episode of Beyond Bitewings to discuss why this could be a game-changer for your practice, and how his company can help take the headache out of this process.

The good news is that you don’t need to bring in someone full-time for your practice. They can come in as little as a few days a month and can offer these additional services to your clients.

Santosh discusses some of the biggest issues dental practice owners have when trying to hire a specialist, what you need to consider when bringing in a new service and specialist, and how you can avoid some common mistakes.

He also discusses why this can really help your practice grow new revenue streams.

If you’re ready to connect with Santosh, his contact information is:

Gp {at} completespecialty.com

Phone: 214-435-7263

If you have specific questions about hiring specialists or if you'd like to have another question answered on a future podcast, please make sure to reach out to the Edwards & Associates team. Or contact any one of the excellent ADCPA affiliates across the nation.

We’ve all heard of DSO’s (Dental Support Organizations) in the world of dentistry. However, even though it’s common, there are still a lot of questions dental practice owners have when it comes to DSOs, and the team at Edwards and Associates are answering those in this episode of Beyond Bitewings.

Robert and Ash are talking about why DSOs can offer so much more money in offers to purchase dental practices, and what they consider in their calculations that allow them to offer so much.. Plus they discuss why selling your practice to a DSO buyer may be more beneficial than just more money.

They also talk about the two types of DSOs, which are private equity-owned, and doctor-owned, and the pros and cons of each of those, plus so much more!

If you’re considering selling anytime in the near future, or just want to better understand your options as your practice grows, don’t miss this episode.

If you have specific questions about DSOs or if you'd like to have another question answered on a future podcast, please make sure to reach out to the Edwards & Associates team. Or contact any one of the excellent ADCPA affiliates across the nation at https://adcpa.org/.

As we enter a new year, there are a lot of questions about tax rates, and what’s going to happen to them in 2022. Should you plan on your tax rate going up? It’s one of the most common questions asked, and although it’s not possible to say for sure that rates will rise, it’s almost certain that they’re not going to go down in 2022. 

So even though we’re just at the start of 2022, you should start thinking about ways to mitigate any changes to tax rates. The team at Edwards & Associates are covering all of the common questions regarding 2022 taxes in today’s episode of Beyond Bitewings.

As we wait for Congress to pass important legislation, and watch as the IRS starts to track Cryptocurrency more aggressively, it’s important to know how you should be tracking the purchase and sale of your assets. You’ll also need to make sure you hang on to any letters you receive from the IRS regarding the Child Tax Credit, and what to consider regarding any PPP loans that were taken out in addition to forgiveness of those loans.

If you have specific questions about 2022 tax planning or if you'd like to have another question answered on a future podcast, please make sure to reach out to the Edwards & Associates team. Or contact any one of the excellent ADCPA affiliates across the nation at https://adcpa.org/.

With interest rates still at an all-time low, it’s a great time to think about either refinancing a current loan or taking out a loan that you’ve been considering for a while, maybe it’s time to look into your lending options in 2022.

Although no one knows for sure when rates will rise, and how much they will rise, what is known is that there’s a very good chance that they will rise in 2022.

In this episode of Beyond Bitewings, the team at Edwards & Associates answer some of your most pressing questions when it comes to taking out loans, whether it’s for a new practice, an existing practice, or refinancing a current loan.

They talk about what you need to know about rate lock-ins and why you may have more time than you realize to get your loan ready. They also discuss what you should know if you would like to get a start-up loan, why demographics are so important, and things to know about setting your loan term length to get the most out of your cash flow.

If you have specific questions about lending options in 2022 or if you'd like to have your question answered on a future podcast, please make sure to reach out to the Edwards & Associates team. Or contact any one of the excellent ADCPA affiliates across the nation at https://adcpa.org/.

Would your practice survive if you stopped taking insurance?

It’s a question many dental offices are asking, but are too worried to truly explore. However, the answer may surprise you.

Tamara Whitley joins the Edwards and Associate’s team during this episode of Beyond Bitewings, to talk about her journey of removing insurance from her husband’s dental practice.

After seeing her husband’s office make less money than he was making working as an employee for another office, they started to dig a bit deeper to how they could see where profits might be falling short. What Tamra uncovered was more than disconcerting, and they saw how taking insurance was actually losing them money vs. making it. 

With the help of Craig at Solutions 101 (https://www.s101medical.com/), Tamara was able to see how insurance was affecting their practice, how much they had in outstanding claims, and how to create a roadmap that got them on the path to more profitability.

Tamara talks about how she changed their practice’s insurance policies, how they’ve been able to retain clients, and why this has been the best thing they could have done.

If you’re wondering how you can make the jump to stopping the PPO Whack-A-Mole, then make sure you listen because they may just be the push you need. 

If you have specific questions about this episode or if you'd like to have your question answered on a future podcast, please make sure to reach out to the Edwards & Associates team. Or contact any one of the excellent ADCPA affiliates across the nation at https://adcpa.org/.

Have you tried to bill medical insurance for a dental procedure, but the claim was denied or something else went wrong? Are you thinking about doing more medical billing for dental procedures but aren’t sure what your options are?

As more and more insurance companies recognize the importance of dental procedures to the overall health of patients, billing medical insurance for dental procedures is becoming more common. However, many dental practices attempt to do their own medical billing, but fall short due to incorrect diagnosis coding or because they’re not aware of the vast difference between dental billing and medical billing.

This is why Surety Dental Services started their business because they saw so many dental offices getting medical claims denied and missing out on payouts.

Medical billing is an entirely different skill set. So instead of hiring more staff you can bring in Surety to help you get your claims paid and have your staff focus on what matters most, your patients.

Monica Holder joins the team at Edwards and Associates today to talk more about medical billing, what dentist offices need to know about it, why it shouldn’t be ignored, and why hiring an outside firm to help handle it may be your best option.

If you’re interested in getting in contact with Surety Dental, you can call them at: 662-402-4021.

You can also visit: https://www.suretydentalsolutions.net/

If you have specific questions about this episode or if you'd like to have your question answered on a future podcast, please make sure to reach out to the Edwards & Associates team. Or contact any one of the excellent ADCPA affiliates across the nation at https://adcpa.org/.

How do you find the right people to work for your practice, and most importantly, what can you do to make them stay?

It’s two of the most important questions employers are asking themselves in today’s climate, and one that the team at Edwards and Associates is discussing in this episode.

Gone are the days when paying more was the solution to keeping employees. We are experiencing the time of the great resignation, and companies are scrambling trying to find ways to attract talent in addition to keeping their employees happy. Plus as we see a workforce move more to remote work, dental offices must come up with more creative ways to keep staff motivated to come into the office

What do employees really value, and what have other companies found that have worked? After hearing from some of Edwards and Associates’ clients, we’re getting an inside look into what companies have implemented. Some of the ideas that are discussed are things like offering different incentives like child care credits, surveying your employees to get ideas, initiating ways to foster creativity, plus much more. 

If you have specific questions about this episode or if you'd like to have your question answered on a future podcast, please make sure to reach out to the Edwards & Associates team. Or contact any one of the excellent ADCPA affiliates across the nation at https://adcpa.org/.

It’s hard to go anywhere these days without hearing someone talk about cryptocurrency. As it becomes more mainstream, more people are wanting in but they’re not exactly sure how to start.

In this episode the team from Edwards & Associates is visited by ‘Will’, an investor who has been investing in the cryptocurrency field for quite some time. The team is getting asked a lot of questions about cryptocurrency and Will is here to answer them. 

Will and the team discuss the safety of this investment, how you should store your cryptocurrency, are there regulations for it, and if not, are they coming. Plus they talk about how you should report your trading, how cryptocurrency is taxed, and understanding the basic terms like what’s a cryptocurrency, vs. a token, vs. a blockchain.

Will also mentions a few websites to help with your investing, which include  Gemini.com and Coinbase.com.

If you have specific questions about this episode or if you'd like to have your question answered on a future podcast, please make sure to reach out to the Edwards & Associates team. Or contact any one of the excellent ADCPA affiliates across the nation at https://adcpa.org/.

It’s that time of year! As 2021 comes to a close, it’s time to start making sure you have all of your loose ends tied up when it comes to 2021 yearend tax planning. There’s a lot to think about as we get ready for 2022, and unfortunately, there’s a lot of uncertainty about what’s going to happen with tax laws, and there are a lot of items that aren’t 100% clear yet as potential new tax laws sit in front of the legislature.

The team at Edwards & Associates is giving you the low down on everything they want you to know and consider as the year comes to an end. They’re discussing what will change in the upcoming year, in addition to what could change and why 2021 yearend tax planning is so important.

In this episode, they’re talking about potential changes in the tax rates, including capital gains tax. You’ll also learn what you need to know about retirement plans, including both Roth and Traditional IRAs. Plus they’re talking about what you should consider for equipment purchases and other business expenses being on your books in 2021 vs. 2022.

If you have specific questions about this episode or if you'd like to have your question answered on a future podcast, please make sure to reach out to the Edwards & Associates team. Or contact any one of the excellent ADCPA affiliates across the nation at https://adcpa.org/.