Oral Surgery Admin's Time Out: Practice Management Success Tips

Managing post-operative pain without relying on opioids requires clear communication, yet patient retention of discharge instructions is often poor during stressful surgical days. In this episode of Oral Surgery Admin's Time Out, host Linden Tucker (SOMSA) discusses how oral surgery practices use a physical tool—the Comfort Control Clock—to standardize recovery protocols and reduce team frustration.

The panel features the clock's creator and design team, pediatric dentist Dr. Jeff Berlin (Berlin Rudnick Pediatric Dentistry in Pepper Pike, Ohio), Gerry Engelhart, and Rachel Gordon, alongside SOMSA members Julie Henriquez (McNally Brothers Oral Surgery), Wendy D'Oliveira (Wellesley Oral Surgery and Implant Center), and Susan Krpata-Young (47 North Oral Surgery). These administrators share how implementing a visual, dual-arrow clock face helps patients accurately alternate ibuprofen and acetaminophen every three hours after surgery. By giving families a tangible guide to take home, practices bridge knowledge gaps and lower the volume of post-op pain management phone calls.

Beyond patient comfort, the discussion centers on measurable practice efficiency. The administrators report saving an average of 10 minutes per patient by accelerating discharge education and preventing parking-lot callbacks. For a practice averaging 10 cases a day, chief strategy officer Gerry Engelhart notes this efficiency saves roughly 1.67 hours of staff time daily—amounting to an estimated $18,000 in annual wage recovery or providing the scheduling capacity to handle an additional surgical case per day. The panel also highlights how customization options, such as printing specific office branding or adding QR codes for digital instructions, turn the tool into a passive referral vehicle.

Tune in to hear practical strategies from your peers on structuring your discharge workflow, protecting your team from burnout, and minimizing after-hours pain calls.

• SnapScale: Remote staffing solutions for healthcare front offices. snapscale.com/start
• Digimatic Marketing: Healthcare SEO, medical authority content, and answer engine optimization. digimatic.com

Cybersecurity expert Gary Salman discusses ransomware, AI in oral surgery, HIPAA risks, healthcare data protection, and why OMS administrators need visibility into cyber risk. Listen for practical advice every oral surgery leader can use today.

In this episode, pediatric dentist Dr. Jeffrey Berlin Berlin Rudnick Pediatric Dentistry (Pepper Pike, Ohio) shares the origin story of the Comfort Control Clock, a simple analog tool that helps patients correctly alternate acetaminophen and ibuprofen after surgery. While serving on a multidisciplinary committee re-evaluating pain-management practices during the opioid crisis, Dr. Berlin recognized that alternating OTC medications was well supported by literature—especially in dental and OMFS research—yet difficult for families to understand. A moment of frustration in a PACU whiteboard session led him to sketch a rotating clock face that visually clarified medication timing. Early prototypes were handmade; later, a hospital innovation center and a skilled printer helped refine and scale the product. Adoption began internally and expanded nationally, with OMFS practices becoming the strongest users. The episode also covers the entrepreneurial process, early testing, challenges of commercialization, and the broader impact on reducing opioid exposure and post-op call volume.

In this episode, we sit down with Daniel Boyce from Digimatiq Marketing to talk about future-proofing your oral surgery practice. The digital landscape is shifting fast, but the goal isn't to replace your team with robots—it's to use artificial intelligence to handle the mundane, repetitive tasks that drain your energy. Daniel explains how to bridge the gap between technical efficiency and authentic patient care.

Key Concepts for the Modern Practice

• Agile Practice Management: Building a workflow that can adapt to digital changes within 24 to 48 hours is the best way to "future-proof."
• AI for Busy Work, Humans for Moments: Use LLMs (Large Language Models) like ChatGPT and Gemini for drafting, transcribing, and routing. This frees your staff to focus on "empathy moments"—like high-stakes treatment plan conversations or direct patient support.
• Generative Engine Optimization (GEO): Search is moving away from simple keywords. Patients are asking complex, natural-language questions, and your practice needs to provide "clusters" of expert information to be quoted by AI search engines.
• Personifying the Surgeon: Learn how a simple two-minute voice memo from your doctor can be transformed into a blog or FAQ that showcases their bedside manner before the patient even walks in the door.
• Referral Relationship Management: Discover how to use AI to track and summarize CE events, allowing for hyper-personalized follow-ups that turn "C" level referrers into "A" level partners.

Reclaiming Your Time Whether it's saving an hour on meeting recaps or automating clinical notes and SOAP notes, the secret lies in finding the right tool for the specific job. By letting AI act as a "brilliant mime" for your admin tasks, you can lead with the authenticity and innovation that define SOMSA's core values.

This SOMSA podcast episode, part of our New Admin Series, features a candid conversation between host Lucy and HR consultant Adrienne Twigg of Bent Ericksen & Associates, focused on managing difficult employee conversations and termination procedures within oral surgery practices. They dive into how OMS practice administrators can approach performance issues, interpersonal conflict, and behavior problems with confidence, empathy, and clarity. Adrienne emphasizes the value of preparation, documentation, and emotional regulation before any HR conversation.

Lucy shares a specific, real-life situation involving clinic cleanliness and front desk accountability, providing listeners with an actionable example of how to address workplace issues using daily checklists, verbal warnings, and written follow-ups. Adrienne outlines the necessary steps before terminating an employee—from understanding your state's laws and ensuring fair processes to protecting patient safety and team morale.

Key takeaways include how to structure feedback, encourage team collaboration, maintain professionalism during termination, and whether and when to conduct exit interviews. It's essential listening for any OMS administrator aiming to create a culture of trust, accountability, and clear communication.

Topic Outline

1. Purpose of Difficult Conversations
   • Building trust and improving communication
   • Aligning conversations with broader cultural goals
2. Preparation Steps
   • Identifying the core issue (performance vs. behavior)
   • Gathering documentation and facts
   • Setting time, place, and emotional readiness
3. Real-Life Scenario: Bathroom Cleanliness Issue
   • Lucy's 48-hour rule for addressing issues
   • Use of checklists, photo documentation, and assistant manager delegation
   • Verbal warning and follow-up strategy
4. Common Pitfalls
   • Avoiding the issue
   • Letting emotions dictate timing or tone
   • Overlooking accountability
5. Team Guidelines for Emotional Regulation
   • Discussing 24–48 hour cool-off expectations
   • Encouraging managers to tailor approaches to their emotional makeup
6. Collaborative Solutions
   • Team brainstorming to prevent repeat issues
   • Empowering staff to ask for help
7. Transition to Termination
   • Ensuring all support options are exhausted
   • Legal considerations and documentation
8. Termination Process Guidelines
   • Who should be in the meeting
   • Having materials (final check, COBRA forms, key returns) ready
   • Keeping the tone respectful and the meeting brief
9. Voluntary Resignation as an Option
   • Offering space for employees to choose resignation
   • How to document and follow up
10. Post-Termination Communication
    • Sending a professional team email
    • Preventing gossip and maintaining morale
11. Exit Interviews
    • When and how they are useful
    • How to structure and apply feedback

This SOMSA podcast episode, part of our New Admin Series, features a candid conversation between host Lucy and HR consultant Adrienne Twigg of Bent Ericksen & Associates, focused on managing difficult employee conversations and termination procedures within oral surgery practices. They dive into how OMS practice administrators can approach performance issues, interpersonal conflict, and behavior problems with confidence, empathy, and clarity. Adrienne emphasizes the value of preparation, documentation, and emotional regulation before any HR conversation.

Lucy shares a specific, real-life situation involving clinic cleanliness and front desk accountability, providing listeners with an actionable example of how to address workplace issues using daily checklists, verbal warnings, and written follow-ups. Adrienne outlines the necessary steps before terminating an employee—from understanding your state's laws and ensuring fair processes to protecting patient safety and team morale.

Key takeaways include how to structure feedback, encourage team collaboration, maintain professionalism during termination, and whether and when to conduct exit interviews. It's essential listening for any OMS administrator aiming to create a culture of trust, accountability, and clear communication.

Topic Outline

1. Purpose of Difficult Conversations
   • Building trust and improving communication
   • Aligning conversations with broader cultural goals
2. Preparation Steps
   • Identifying the core issue (performance vs. behavior)
   • Gathering documentation and facts
   • Setting time, place, and emotional readiness
3. Real-Life Scenario: Bathroom Cleanliness Issue
   • Lucy's 48-hour rule for addressing issues
   • Use of checklists, photo documentation, and assistant manager delegation
   • Verbal warning and follow-up strategy
4. Common Pitfalls
   • Avoiding the issue
   • Letting emotions dictate timing or tone
   • Overlooking accountability
5. Team Guidelines for Emotional Regulation
   • Discussing 24–48 hour cool-off expectations
   • Encouraging managers to tailor approaches to their emotional makeup
6. Collaborative Solutions
   • Team brainstorming to prevent repeat issues
   • Empowering staff to ask for help
7. Transition to Termination
   • Ensuring all support options are exhausted
   • Legal considerations and documentation
8. Termination Process Guidelines
   • Who should be in the meeting
   • Having materials (final check, COBRA forms, key returns) ready
   • Keeping the tone respectful and the meeting brief
9. Voluntary Resignation as an Option
   • Offering space for employees to choose resignation
   • How to document and follow up
10. Post-Termination Communication
    • Sending a professional team email
    • Preventing gossip and maintaining morale
11. Exit Interviews
    • When and how they are useful
    • How to structure and apply feedback

In this episode of the Oral Surgery Admins Timeout podcast, hosts Jamie Leos (OMS Powerhouse Consulting) and Nathan Greenberg (Firm Media) explore how modern marketing and AI are transforming OMS practices.

Guest Chris Suchánek (Firm Media) shares insights from years of working with oral surgery practices, highlighting challenges in shifting from referral-based growth to direct patient acquisition. He explains why strong brand positioning, smart digital strategies, and mixed media campaigns are crucial for standing out in a competitive market.

Chris also discusses how AI enables faster competitor analysis, tailored content, and precise audience targeting, saving practices time and money. The conversation dives into practical tips for converting leads, leveraging front office staff, and integrating online and offline touchpoints to build lasting patient relationships. A must-listen for OMS professionals eager to harness AI and elevate their marketing game.

"Patient-centered care" is more than a buzzword; it's a fundamental shift in developing treatment plans and providing patient care, and it benefits patients as well as the practices. In this episode moderated by Josh DeVries from Intiveo, our panelists explore curating the experiences of oral surgery patients. You'll hear practice leaders discuss innovations that transform the patient experience at their oral surgery practices, and you'll find out how they are using technology and compassionate care to make a difference in oral surgery.

Join host Jill Dunnam and co-host Halisi Tambuzi (CEDR HR Solutions) as they cover The Great Resignation... or The Great Job Hop, cultural fit versus culture add, plus the whole interview process, including two types of interview questions and interview methods... have you conducted working interviews?? Uh-oh!

Join host Jill Dunnam and co-host Gary Salman (Black Talon) as they talk all things cybersecurity. They cover the latest trends in cybersecurity; how long hackers scan networks and steal data before encryption and ransoming for it; what they're doing with your patient data on the dark web, why a cybersecurity is best equipped to fully protect your practice; and practical, proactive steps you can take today to defend your network. For resources and transcript, visit https://bit.ly/somsa-106