The Best Practices Show with Kirk Behrendt

Shannon Pace-Brinker - at ADA SmileCon

Episode #520 with Shannon Pace-Brinker

Your dental assistants do more than you think. They are capable, worthy, and keep your practice running. If you want them to stay, it’s time you empower them! One of the best ways is by investing in their education. Today, Kirk Behrendt brings back Shannon Pace-Brinker, founder of the Academy of Chairside Assisting, to talk about valuing your assistants, elevating them and their skill sets, and helping them grow with her upcoming course. Support your valuable dental assistants! To learn how, listen to Episode 520 of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Shannon’s email: [email protected] 
• Shannon’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/chairsideassisting
• Shannon’s social media: @chairsideassisting
• Academy of Chairside Assisting: https://chairsideassisting.com   
• Subscribe to the Best Practices Show Podcast
• Join ACT’s To The Top Study Club
• Join ACT’s Master Class
• See our Live Events Schedule here
• Get the Best Practices Magazine for Free!
• Write a Review on iTunes

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

Shannon's ACT Dental Dental Assistant's Course

Dental Hygiene Nation: https://www.dentalhygienenation.com

Teeth Obsessed Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TeethObsessed

Teeth Obsessed: https://teethobsessed.com

Main Takeaways:

Invest in your dental assistants. They are worthy.

Of 337,000 dental assistants, less than 28,000 are certified.

Elevate the certification so your assistants invest in themselves.

Give assistants the chance to see what they’re capable of achieving.

You and your assistants are a team. Help them grow so they can help you.

Quotes:

“I do love dental assistants. My heart has always been for them. I feel like they really work so hard, and they're so talented. Everybody has their own thing. And what they do in the practice really well, I think sometimes we don't know what that is, and we’ve got to find it. I also feel like dental assistants feel like they're unworthy. And it’s giving them the feeling that, ‘Listen, you are someone. You are great,’ no matter how you may feel, that someone thinks you are the lowest on the totem pole, or maybe you're not worthy of the status of some of the other people in the practice. We are worthy.” (2:16—2:54)

“It’s what you do with yourself, as far as the education. People say, ‘Well, I don't want to pay for my own education. The doctor should be paying for that.’ It’s like, no, no, no, no. You have to invest in you. This is how you're going to grow. But I think the problem right now is we don't have enough people bonding together to be there for that person.” (2:54—3:13)

“I think assistants don't really have anybody that says, ‘Hey, listen. Tell me about you. How can we make you better and help you be fulfilled? Because we don't want to lose assistants in this industry.’ And right now, it is a hard time. There are so many openings for assistants, and we need to keep these good people in that assistant’s chair. And I feel like right now, more than ever, they need hugs. They need love. They need affection. We need to say, ‘We love you,’ and keeping them there, and finding out what can we do to keep them in the office. It’s a sad time. We’ve got to lift them up.” (3:21—3:53)

“When I was going to dental school, and I went to Wake Forest to get my dental assisting degree, we basically were working with dentists at that time. Right now, in all these dental schools, no assistant is working with any dentists because they're all closed down. There's not a school where the doctor is working, and the doctor goes to school, and the assistant is with them at the same time. The only time they ever work with an assistant is when they're going to take their exams. And I think that's a problem because we weren't, from day one, working with an assistant to say, ‘We’re a team. We’re a team right now.’” (4:12—4:40)

“It’s never about money. It’s telling [dental assistants], ‘Hey, you are just as worthy as I am. I trust your opinion. I trust you.’ Yeah, they’ve got to be trained first. But letting them have a voice, and then when they're trained to do these things, I mean, there's so much that assistants can do nowadays that we couldn't do before. Let them run with it. Don't still keep control.” (4:46—5:05)

“Our dream is that [dental assistants] can do expanded functions. But let's talk about the worst part. The worst part is there are 337,000 dental assistants, and less than 28,000 are certified. So, the value of certification is gone. And I'm going to tell you why. Because the difference in the pay for an assistant who is certified versus one that's not, is pennies. Why would I continue to pay $300 every two years and keep my CDA if I basically can do the same thing I'm doing in a practice and not be certified, and the doctor does not elevate that as far as the salary goes? There's no difference in the salary, so they don't see it. So, right now, 337,000, and only less than 30,000 are certified. It’s sad.” (6:10—6:59)

“Everybody has a skill set. You have to find out what that is and then get them to feel like, ‘Wow, I am really good at this,’ and own it, and let go. Let them run with it. That's how you're going to keep them, is letting me bloom and blossom and, most importantly, do more by myself. Because, again, that's what we yearn for, is to feel like we are a part of that team. But most importantly, everybody always says, ‘Oh, hygiene is a producer. A dentist is a producer.’ I'm a producer too. And I think that this is the mindset that doctors have to have.” (8:24—8:54)

“I love my doctor because he lets me be Shannon, and he gives me the credit, and he says thank you, and I love you. And it’s not about the money. During COVID-19, I made $15 an hour. I can show you my paycheck. $15 an hour. It wasn't about the money. It was about doing something I really love. And when I can make $15 an hour — and that was the only job I had. It wasn't about the money. It’s never about the money. These team members want to be appreciated. We want that “thank you”. And we’ll stay with you forever.” (9:07—9:36)

“Over the last year, I've seen people not really seeing a value in whitening. And it’s cash! How dumb is that? I mean, they're like, ‘Oh, whitening really doesn't make me any money.’ $249 for an hour’s worth of whitening is good money. It’s more than some associates make. And so, this is where we’ve got to change the mindset. People want it, so they're going to [go to] you, or they're going to [go] to someone else and get it.” (10:19—10:39)

“What I always want people to understand is, it’s not about the whitening. It’s what comes from it. And more treatment will come when you're doing that and you're making people happy about their smiles.” (10:50—10:59)

“The assistant and the hygienist have a wall. It is this persona of, assistants feel like they're the lowest on the totem pole, and hygienists sometimes, people think the persona of a hygienist is that they think they're better than us, or they're paid three times as much as we are. And it’s true. But they’ve gone to school longer, as most of us. And so, I know why. But the thing is, we always feel like we’re not . . . And what Amber [Auger] and I hoped to do was to change that. We said, ‘We have to do something.’ The practice is not running if everybody isn't on the same page. It doesn't matter what role you have.” (16:25—17:03)

“The problem in dentistry is we don't laugh enough.” (27:04—27:05)

“Sometimes, the doctor doesn't even know the capabilities their assistant really had. That's what's crazy, is at the end of the day, they didn't know they could do those things [they did at the course] because they never gave them the chance to do it. And the beauty is, now that they’ve done it, doc, you don't have a choice. You've got to turn it over because they just showed you that they could do it.” (34:22—34:35)

“Assistants want and yearn to feel needed. They yearn to get to that next level. One thing I always say is, when you invest in me, I'm going to always remember that. I will forever be grateful. And if you want me to stay with you for 30 years, let's be partners in this and let me grow. I can't keep doing the same dang gone thing I've always done. And I think that this is where we have to. And sometimes, we’re better at it than the doctor — no offense.” (34:58—35:24)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

2:03 Uplift your dental assistants.

3:55 What you need to know about the assisting position.

5:23 Expanded functions for dental assistants.

7:00 Develop and utilize your assistants’ skills.

9:39 About Shannon’s courses.

17:50 Giving back with her online shop, Teeth Obsessed.

31:48 What you'll learn at Shannon’s two-day course.

33:23 Go to Shannon’s course with your assistants.

37:07 How to get in touch with Shannon and sign up for her course.

Shannon Pace-Brinker, CDA Bio:

Shannon Pace-Brinker, CDA, is a national and international speaker and published author of over 300 articles for various publications. She has been a practicing dental assistant for over 25 years and works for Dr. Robert Korman in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Shannon has taught over 2,000 classes on dental assisting techniques and over 60,000 dental assistants over the last six years alone. She has taught at the Nash Institute, Dawson Academy, and Spear Education, instructing through both lectures and hands-on programs.

She has written over 300 articles regarding Clinical Application and has a current column in Dental Product Reports for the team evaluation of dental products and materials. She has her own publication for dental assistants with partnership of Schein Dental called "Side by Side". She has started one of the first online platforms designated for dental assistants called the Academy of Chairside Assisting.

Shannon is an active member of the AACD. She was the first auxiliary to sit on the AACD Board of Directors and was awarded the Rising Star Award. She has also been recognized as one of Dentistry Today’s Top 100 Clinicians for the last 10 years, Dental Products Report 25 most influential women in dentistry, the Lucy Hobbs Award, Sunstar Butler achievement award, and Dr. Bicuspid’s Dental Assistant Educator of the year.

Sameer Bhasin, CareCredit - at ADA SmileCon

Episode #519 with Sameer Bhasin

You don't know what your patients can or can't afford. So, why not give them options and let them decide for themselves? To help you do that, Kirk Behrendt brings back Sameer Bhasin, vice president of strategic alliances at CareCredit, to dispel some of the myths and misconceptions about patient financing. CareCredit benefits everyone! To learn more and become a CareCredit provider, listen to Episode 519 of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Sameer’s email: [email protected] 
• Sameer’s phone number: (210) 792-8829
• CareCredit Partner Portal: https://www.carecredit.com/partnerportal/contactus
• Subscribe to the Best Practices Show Podcast
• Join ACT’s To The Top Study Club
• Join ACT’s Master Class
• See our Live Events Schedule here
• Get the Best Practices Magazine for Free!
• Write a Review on iTunes

Main Takeaways:

CareCredit is for everyone, not just a certain demographic.

Understand the benefits of CareCredit for your patients.

Your treatment acceptance is not as high as you think.

Patient financing is not just about making money.

Don't assume what your patient may want.

Understand the 80/20 rule.  

Quotes:

“If I were to ask 100 offices, ‘What is a good patient financing percentage in your practice? What dollar amount would it be?’ I would probably get numbers from $10,000 a year in patient financing to $1 million. Nobody knows. Nobody knows what that is. So, 80/20 — or what I call the other side, 10/20 — is an easier metric to think about. So, what does that mean? 10% of your patients should be applying.” (3:26—3:54)

“It doesn't matter whether you are a specialist who only sees 10 patients a day, and it doesn't matter if you're a GP that sees 30 patients a day. 10% of your patients should be applying [for financing] because that's a good spot. That's a spot where you will find, a lot of the times, when patients say, ‘Let me think about it. Let me call you back. I need to talk to my spouse.’ So, these are the patients who may or may not have insurance benefits, may or may not have credit cards. They are saying no. Or, ‘Let me think about it,’ is a nicer way of saying no to treatment right now. So, 10% of your patients should be applying.” (3:57—4:28)

“The moment you start to hit that 10%, you start to see that your overall production goes up. Your overall collection goes up. And a good number for a good patient financing part of your practice should be 20% of your overall over-the-counter collection should come from third-party financing. That's a good, healthy number. The assumption is, ‘Oh, we want 50% of your business, 100% of your patients.’ No. 15% to 20% is a good, healthy number. That shows that you are utilizing patient financing in your practice as part of your process, not as a product, not as an afterthought. And that's the place you want to be.” (4:35—5:16)

“I'm sure the audience thinks like, ‘Oh, I don't think I have that problem. Our patients pay cash. Our patients are rich,’ or, ‘Our patients are not very rich,’ whatever that may be. The easiest and the best way to help meet that reality and step away from that perception is, pull up your diagnosed and unscheduled report. It is a great way for you to find out the demographics you're seeing and the mental ceiling that you may have. You will see the reports.” (5:19—5:49)

“Numbers tell a beautiful story, and facts don't care about your feelings.” (5:51—5:54)

“Once you see [your reports], you see the numbers will tell the trend of, ‘A majority of the people on this diagnosed and unscheduled report are $2,000, $3,000, $5,000. All right. I'm pretty good when it comes to treatment and they’re $500 or $700. That's not where my problem is. My problem is at $1,000.’ Or you might see that, ‘I am very good at crowns, but crown patients are not on here. But the moment I talk about aligners or talk about implants . . .’ Now, you can see, is it the procedure? And now, you know, ‘Okay, what do we need to do differently?’ Because you can't ask your team to make a change when you don't even know what you're changing for or why. So, it’s a good place to start.” (5:57—6:43)

“We assume that patient financing, the only solution it can provide to you, as a doctor, is making more money. And if you've been practicing long enough, you're fee-for-service, from a monetary standpoint, you live a nice, comfortable life, you don't see a reason to. But here’s the difference: what if you can maintain the same lifestyle, instead of working five days, to four days? Or if you're at four days, to three days. What does that time do for you? So, you're right. You don't need it because you think, from a monetary standpoint, ‘I'm very comfortable. My kids go to a good school. I live in a nice house. I drive a nice car. I go on good vacations.’ Fantastic. So, you don't need to make any changes. But what would you do with that extra day?” (7:26—8:09)

“At the end of the day, sometimes, you've got to work with the willing. If you don't care, for whatever reason, I can't really fix it. Because when you don't care — I can't be the only one caring in this situation. It’s the same thing as the patient who comes in. You know you can help that patient live a fantastic, healthy life with a beautiful smile. If the patient is not ready, there is no amount of your clinical skills — so, where is the value of the treatment? So, if you were to say, ‘I don't need it,’ that's absolutely correct. You may not need it. Financially, you're pretty good. What is it that makes you get to the next level of dentistry you want to do? Are you doing the treatment you want to do, or are you doing the treatment that's coming through your door?” (8:15—9:02)

“Here’s something to think about. If I were to look at 10, 15 years ago, if I saw a Mercedes on the road, or a Lexus or a BMW, the assumption was it’s a doctor or lawyer or a high executive. It was a pretty safe assumption. Expensive cars. Fast-forward 10 years, you see a lot of those cars. And it’s not because, all of a sudden, the demographics have gotten richer. The financing got to a point where it allowed for people to be able — it’s not like people didn't want to drive a Lexus or a Mercedes. They just couldn't afford it at that point in time. But now, the financing has helped it. So, if you look at the transition, the same thing from there to dentistry, I honestly do personally believe when a doctor talks about a $10,000, $15,000, $20,000 case, patients do want to get that treatment. They know that this would be life-changing for them. But their reference is, ‘It’s not broken, bleeding, or hurting, so I can't. I can't because holidays are coming around.’ Life takes over. So, this is where when it becomes part of your process, the conversation is amazing. When the patient actually accepts the treatment that you are recommending, not a portion of it, and not, ‘Let's spread it out over the next five years,’ treatment. It’s, ‘I believe it. I can do it. You showed me the way to do it, and I want to do it.’” (9:44—11:19)

“Doctors get to excel on their clinical skills by CE courses, and going to conventions, and taking next-level advanced courses. The hygienists get to do the same thing. Assistants get to do the same thing. But when it comes to the business team, who is discussing this? Where do they go? So, when I don't have a team that’s comfortable and trained, and I give them those resources, human nature automatically says, ‘I'm not going to talk about something I'm not comfortable talking about. So, let's not talk about it, and let the patient do it.’ Now, this is where it starts to click. And we understand that. This is where CareCredit, as a company, our constant focus is, how can we make it easier? How can we make it easier for the team members? That's why we are integrated with every practice management software. How can we make it easier to have that conversation? There are tools and resources. How can we make it easier? That's where we have experts. We have content that we can share. It’s all free. So, it’s easier for us to do that. But the question becomes, are you open and willing to learn that? Or do you want to continue to do the same thing over and over again?” (11:47—13:02)

“We are here to help. That is all we do. The CareCredit rep is not going to come into your office and say, ‘You are not doing enough CareCredit.’ It will be more about, ‘I don't think we’re helping as many patients as we could. How can we help you change that?’ There are tools where the offices can know ahead of time whether the patient will get approved or not without running their credit. How does that change in your conversation? The patient experience, it’s all in communication.” (13:03—13:29)

“Money is the easier thing to fix. That's where we come into play. But the harder part is for the patient to believe the treatment that you recommended, there's value in it. And I have heard it so many times from the doctor, to the hygienist, to the team members, to the business team members, ‘Okay, there's something I need to do. How do I get it done?’ And that's where, the majority of the time, in my experience, the ball gets dropped. It comes down to, ‘It’s $10,000. How would you like to pay?’” (13:29—13:56)

“The assumption [dentists make about CareCredit is] that they don't think they need it, or their patients need it, that they have good treatment acceptance. That's the big one. The moment we ask the question, ‘How is your treatment acceptance?’ Sometimes, I don't even get to finish my question, and the answer is, ‘90%. It’s 90%.’ Like, ‘Well, it can't be 90%. That means you're presenting 10 cases of $9,000 to 10 patients, and all nine are accepting it.’ ‘Well, no . . .’ So, that's where they get it incorrect.” (14:17—14:47)

“The other [thing dentists get wrong] is assuming that patient financing is only for a certain income demographic. I walk into some offices where they say, ‘We don't require patient financing because our patients are very wealthy.’ Or, the other side of that is, ‘Our patients won't get approved because they are not.’ So, that's the assumption, that patient financing is only for large treatments. Large is very subjective. Large to some people is a $300 payment, and large to some is $3,000. So, that's a big gap, going back to not understanding who your patient base is, and the assumptions are, ‘Everybody pays cash,’ or, ‘It’s only for large treatments.’ No. It’s for everyone. I have financed things that were $1,500, and I have financed things that were $50,000. So, it has nothing to do with that. It’s more about making it available to the patient and letting them decide.” (14:47—16:07)

“That's one of the biggest misses we see, is assuming what the patient may want. And it’s the hardest place to be. Nobody has that, first of all. If somebody out there has that, we would love to invest in it, that you would know who can afford what. We don't know that. And that's where the consistency comes into play of, keep it consistent. Keep it up front. Have that conversation. Educate your patient. Let them make the decision.” (16:09—16:36)

“I have even had conversations with some practices, like, ‘I've gone to your website, and patient financing is buried so deep, far in there, I can't even find it. So, to me, as a patient, that tells me you don't want to offer it, or you don't offer it.’ So, either, a) you are going to be very inexpensive that I don't need it, or, b) it’s not an option so I may need to look someplace else. Or I need to phase it out over the next five years.” (17:00—17:26)

“What is more important, having 90% of something, or 100% of nothing?” (17:54—17:58)

“Interest rates, those are some of the things you and I can't control. But I can tell you how the patient changes their behavior. More and more will start to hold on to their cash. More and more will start to keep their credit cards open because they don't know when an emergency may show up. So, now, when it comes to patient financing, it really becomes more important to give them an option that's not handling their cash, and it’s not taking space on their credit card. It’s keeping it separate so I still have that option.” (18:46—19:18)

“Have interest rates changed the way treatments are planned? Have interest rates changed the way patients are walking in? It’s not. So, why add on one more barrier? It’s a mental barrier. At the end of the day, I, as a patient, know whether I can afford it or I am ready to get this treatment done or not. So, there is a lot of external noise, and that's what it is. You can't do anything about it. We have had great economies, and we've had not-so-great economies. Ultimately, the only thing I can control is how I show up and how I show up for my patients.” (19:23—19:59)

“Keep an eye on what the market is doing. But don't make every decision about your patient based on that. Let the patients make that decision. They're smart people.” (20:06—20:15)

“It’s not going to be a flip of the switch and saying, ‘All right. Tomorrow morning, things are going to look very different.’ It’s a process, just like anything else. So, let's take that first step to see where you're at, what are some of the challenges, what is your focus that you are looking at for this year or at the end of the year. Are you looking at your reports? I'm sure that you are looking at your benefit reports. Are you looking at CareCredit reports of the patients who have money available on their card? It’s available to you. Why not pull the patients who have treatment, who have benefits left, and have CareCredit on their credit card come in? Make it attractive.” (21:19—21:56)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

0:33 Sameer’s background.

2:12 It’s okay to wear Lulu pants.

3:02 The 80/20, explained.

6:43 Why you need third-party financing.

9:06 Be an advocate for your patients.

11:19 How CareCredit can help your practice.

13:57 What people get wrong most about CareCredit.

16:37 Educate patients about their options.

18:12 Don't make assumptions based on the market.

20:31 Last thoughts and how to get in touch with Sameer.

Sameer Bhasin Bio:

Sameer Bhasin is the vice president of strategic alliances at CareCredit. He is dedicated to working with dentistry’s key opinion leaders and leading educators. One of his key initiatives is to gather the latest insights, ideas, and practical tools presented at dental meetings and conventions. To help increase recommended patient care, he shares these best practices with CareCredit’s community of more than 110,000 enrolled dental providers. Prior to his current role, Sameer acquired more than a decade of front-line business practice experience in his position as practice development manager, and subsequently as regional sales manager.

Dr. Josh Austin at ADA SmileCon

Episode #518 with Dr. Joshua Austin

Today, from the floor of ADA SmileCon, Kirk Behrendt brings back one of ACT’s favorite dental comedians, Dr. Joshua Austin, who uses humor to talk about some of the serious issues that many dentists face. He shares his insights on mental health, emotional well-being, and the role of therapy as he reflects on some of the key victories in his life that he has learned to celebrate. To be inspired by his story and to start celebrating the achievements in your life, listen to Episode 518 of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Dr. Austin’s email: [email protected] 
• Dr. Austin’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JoshuaAustinDDS/
• Dr. Austin’s social media: @joshuaaustindds
• Subscribe to the Best Practices Show Podcast
• Join ACT’s To The Top Study Club
• Join ACT’s Master Class
• See our Live Events Schedule here
• Get the Best Practices Magazine for Free!
• Write a Review on iTunes

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

American Academy of Clear Aligners: https://www.aacaligners.com

Reingage: https://www.reingage.com

Voices of Dentistry: https://www.voicesofdentistry.com

Main Takeaways:

Always be kind to yourself.

Appreciate the things you're able to do.

Learn how to celebrate victories — even small ones.

Talk to yourself the way you talk to people you love and respect.

Friends, coaches, and consultants are great — but you need a therapist.

Quotes:

“I remember being 11 years old and getting Comedy Central added to our cable package and experiencing that for the first time. I think it’s when it launched. And I remember early on, being 11 years old, and seeing a Howie Mandel standup special and thinking, ‘God, I would love to do that one day. But there's no way I have the talent or skill to do that.’” (15:31—15:48)

“Remember the movie, Field of Dreams? It’s one of my favorite movies. There’s a character named Moonlight Graham. And Moonlight Graham comes up because he got one at-bat in the Major Leagues, and then he never got to play again. And I remember somebody in the movie saying something like, ‘Aren't you angry? Don't you wish you had more chance?’ And he’s like, ‘No. I got to live my dream, even if it was one at-bat.’ And so, [opening for Jim Gaffigan] was my one at-bat. It'll probably never happen again, and it’s fine. And not a ton of dental meetings have standup comics, surprisingly, so it'll probably never come up. I'll probably never get another chance to do it, and that's totally fine. I'm totally happy with it. The fact that I got to do it once was amazing.” (16:35—17:18)

“I'm bad about celebrating . . . I don't celebrate things if something happens. Like, we had a great CE course yesterday. It’s a packed room, sold-out room, and it was like, ‘Oh, great course!’ I'm like, ‘Yeah, I don't know . . . Whatever. It was easy,’ trying to find some way to diminish it because I don't like to take the compliment.” (17:19—17:41)

“Andrea, my wife, had basically told me, ‘We’re celebrating this. We’re going to get a champagne or cocktail when this is done.’ So, I stopped at the hotel bar. It’s the closest to the bank of elevators that we were staying in. No rhyme or reason to it, it’s just where we stopped, and ordered a glass of champagne or cocktail, whatever it was. We’re standing there, and the bartender brought it over, and he was like, ‘These are paid for.’ Someone down at the bar had seen the set and paid for our drinks. He came over, and he was like, ‘Hey, I just want to let you know it was awesome. You're so courageous to have gotten up there. I would’ve never had the courage to do that.’ So, it was great. We enjoyed our nice drink. And I remember Andrea went to bed. I was still, adrenaline going, so I couldn't sleep. And at some point, I went in the bathroom of the hotel room, and I closed the door, and I sat on the floor and cried for 45 minutes. Which, it was weird. It wasn't a sad cry. It was this moment of intense appreciation for the fact that I got to do this thing that I'd always wanted to do.” (17:42—18:51)

“[Voices of Dentistry] was the first place that I ever shared my mental health journey. And that was in February of 2020. And it was literally — like, I had an hour. I did 40 minutes about other stuff, and then the last 20 minutes was this mental health thing. And I'd never gotten feedback about anything like I got about those 20 minutes.” (25:28—25:49)

“My wife makes fun of me because — I can't believe we’re talking about this — I don't like to be naked, even with her . . . She calls me a never-nude, which is a reference to an old show with Jason Bateman, Arrested Development. There was a guy there who’s called a “Never Nude”, who didn't like to ever take his clothes off. And so, that's me. And she was like, ‘I cannot believe that you will show this video where you strip down to your underwear. You don't take your shirt off for anybody, and yet . . .’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, because I can get a laugh out of it.’” (29:49—30:37)

“You go to a Wendy’s or a Burger King, and it’s a horrible experience, all the way around. Then, you go to Chick-fil-A. So, where does Chick-fil-A find these people that are this amazing? How do they find these amazing people to work for them? And it’s the idea that they hire the same people that Burger King or Wendy’s hires. It’s that their systems are different. And so, the system makes the experience. The system makes the service.” (39:51—40:16)

“This is something I talk about with my therapist often, is that I don't celebrate stuff. And she’s like, ‘You have to celebrate.’ And Brené [Brown] talked about it a little bit yesterday, about internal dialogues with ourselves. Brené talked about your internal dialogue about yourself. Like, you should talk to yourself the way you talk to somebody that you love and respect.” (41:55—42:17)

“When you have these negative dialogues with yourself about yourself, it makes it to where you marginalize successes, and you overinflate the failures. That skews this internal dialogue you have. You're kind of cutting yourself off at the knees. And I'm speaking about this like I'm some expert, and like I've fixed it. And no, it’s still a problem.” (42:57—43:21)

“When I had my first real, big international gig, when I spoke in Europe, [my therapist] was like, ‘You need to celebrate this. This is something you've wanted to do. You did it. You need to take some time to reflect on it, and celebrate it, and not minimalize it, not say like, well, there was probably somebody else that they booked, but they were busy. Oh, it was COVID-19, so they couldn't get somebody from this country to go, so you were the third choice. Stop having that conversation and celebrate the achievement. Celebrate the victory.’ And so, it’s still a huge challenge for me. I think it’s all internal dialogue systems, and it probably stems from family systems that were in my family of like, if you got straight A’s, it was, ‘Cool.’ It’s what you're supposed to do. You don't get a Happy Meal because you got straight A’s on your report card. That's what you're supposed to do. So, those systems come in early. The problem with that is that creates an achievement cycle that can never fulfil what you need.” (44:09—45:16)

“The most valuable therapy sessions I have aren't where I'm just like, ‘And then, this. And then, that. And then, this.’ Whereas [my therapist] stops you and is like, ‘All right, hold on a second. Let's think about that. Why did you react that way? What was this? Where did that come from? Oh, that connects back to this.’ They're trained that way. They're trained to find those connections, and find those patterns, and identify them, and help reshape the way that we think. A consultant or a coach can't do that. A “hairapist” can't do that. And I'm not saying don't have that personal connection with your consultant or your coach, or don't have that connection with your hair stylist. But you still need to have somebody in your life who is professionally trained to handle these things, and to not just listen to you talk for an hour to give information and feedback and systems back to you.” (47:19—48:08)

“Here’s the thing about my therapy journey. It’s not only changed the way I feel about myself — and it’s not perfect. I'm not there — it’s also changed how I communicate with people. That doesn't end when I step foot in my office. That carries into my office. That carries into how I communicate with my staff, how I communicate with my patients, how I communicate with people in my industry. And so, that's the thing about therapy, is it permeates your whole life.” (48:48—49:16)

“In dentistry, we have a treatment plan. You need six restorations and three implants. You work towards a treatment plan. At some point, you're done. But there's always maintenance. Like, when are you done getting your teeth cleaned? When you don't have teeth anymore, I guess. And then, we’ve all failed, somewhere along the way. Like, when are you done with therapy? For some people, if there’s one or two traumatic experiences that you're trying to work through, there may be that. You may be able to work for some time and get to a place where you're good. But, for me, I don't know if I'll ever be done with it. And I think that's okay.” (49:21—50:01)

“My day is a series of answering other people’s problems. Solve this problem, solve this problem, solve this problem. And if I solve enough problems, I get to go home and pet my dog and hug my wife. And that's the goal every day. How many problems do I need to solve to where I'm done? But for that one hour a week [in therapy], I'm someone else’s problem. I don't have to be the answer, and I don't have to answer a problem or find a solution. For one hour a week, someone finds a solution for me. And that solution may just be listening. It may be feedback. We may do EMDR, whatever it is. But for that one hour a week, I'm no longer solving everyone’s problems. And it’s super valuable.” (50:21—50:59)

Snippets:

0:00 Rambling on random subjects.

2:31 About Dr. Austin’s hand-on course at SmileCon.

3:58 Meeting Dr. David Galler, doing standup, and opening for Jim Gaffigan.

23:49 About Voices of Dentistry.

25:50 Reflecting on ACT’s COVID-19 Conference.

29:09 Being a never-nude.

31:16 Dr. Austin’s Trump impersonation.

35:15 Being complimented by Todd Williams.

38:05 Fanboys are weird.

39:23 Core values makes things better.

41:46 Be kind to yourself.

45:49 Why you need a therapist.

51:22 Dr. Austin’s ride home.

Dr. Joshua Austin Bio: 

Dr. Joshua Austin, DDS, MAGD, FACD, is a native San Antonian. After attending San Antonio's Health Careers High School and the University of Texas at San Antonio as an undergrad student, Dr. Austin graduated from the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio Dental School.

Dr. Austin is a member of the prestigious Seattle Study Club, which is a network of professional dental study groups dedicated to ideal comprehensive dental care. Dr. Austin's other professional memberships include the Academy of General Dentistry, the Texas Dental Association, American Dental Association, and the Rotary Club of San Antonio.

Dr. Austin is a published author and lectures nationally on restorative dentistry and reputation management. He has a monthly column and weekly e-newsletter in Dental Economics, the most-read dental magazine in the world. 

In the past, Dr. Austin has served as a faculty member in the Department of Restorative Dentistry at UTHSCSA Dental School. Dr. Austin has received several awards during his dental career. In 2009, the Texas Dental Association honored Dr. Austin by naming him Young Dentist of the Year. In 2010, the Texas Academy of General Dentistry named him New Dentist of the Year, the most prestigious award it gives for dentists who have graduated in the previous 7 years. Dr. Austin has earned a Fellowship and Mastership in the Academy of General Dentistry. In 2014, Dr. Austin was awarded with a Fellowship in the American College of Dentists for his outstanding commitment to ethics in patient care. 

The Modern Comprehensive Mindset

Episode #517 with Dr. Christian Coachman

In today’s competitive world of dentistry, you need to think comprehensively. But what does it mean to have a modern comprehensive mindset? To explain what it truly means and how it can reinvent your practice, Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Christian Coachman, pioneer of the Digital Smile Design methodology and founder of Digital Smile Design. Today, there is no room to be an average dentist! To learn how to differentiate yourself and become a “three-star Michelin dentist”, listen to Episode 517 of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Dr. Coachman’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christiancoachman
• Dr. Coachman’s social media: @chriscoachman
• Digital Smile Design: https://digitalsmiledesign.com
• Subscribe to the Best Practices Show Podcast
• Join ACT’s To The Top Study Club
• Join ACT’s Master Class
• See our Live Events Schedule here
• Get the Best Practices Magazine for Free!
• Write a Review on iTunes

Main Takeaways:

Stop practicing biased dentistry.

Understand the two pillars of DSD.

Everything starts with mindset and vision.

Great planning is what leads to great outcomes.

Create small plans that you can follow through with.

Comprehensive dentistry can only exist with teamwork.

Stay humble and always embrace your beginner’s mindset.

Quotes:

“[The modern comprehensive mindset is important] because the future of dentistry belongs to the comprehensive thinkers. We know dentistry is becoming more and more competitive. Things are changing drastically, everybody says, and that's true. We are going through a disruption in dentistry. Consumer behavior is changing. Solutions for clinical execution are changing. And the corporate dental world is changing. So, dentists need to basically understand that there will be no room for average practice owners. Either you're going to become extremely special and different, or corporate dentists will take over whatever you do.” (7:21—8:17)

“What I call the three-star Michelin restaurant idea, the three-star Michelin dental office idea, is exactly like in the restaurant business. In the past 20, 30, 40 years, we had all these neighborhood family restaurants that were pretty good, and people would go and eat there. They're mainly gone since chains of restaurants that in the past were just cheap, bad food learned how to do very, very good, fancy food as well with a nice ambiance, nice environment, nice experience. And it took over that whole middle part of the industry, leaving only space for the Michelin chefs to keep their freedom and keep their individuality and keep their business going. So, as a practice owner, I believe that you need to make a choice. Do you want to become a Michelin-star dentist, or do you want to just work for a corporation? And there's no right or wrong, but that's what I see.” (8:17—9:27)

“To become this unique, special place, the main change is related to this new comprehensive thinking process. You need to think comprehensively. You need to build a comprehensive team. You need to do comprehensive diagnoses. You need to document the patient in a comprehensive way. You need to improve your first appointment to become comprehensive, research about that human being sitting in front of you. You need to expand your vision.” (9:28—10:00)

“We do what I call biased dentistry. 99.9999999% of dentistry done is biased. What I mean with biased dentistry is a dentist that sees a patient on a first appointment and sees what they like the most and what they want to see. And human beings are not fragmented like that. You don't have an aligner patient. You don't have a veneer patient. You don't have an implant patient. You have a human being that, on the first appointment, deserves a comprehensive report, a comprehensive diagnosis, a comprehensive treatment plan. And afterwards, understand exactly what they need.” (10:00—10:41)

“There's also “comprehensive” [as in] understanding the patient experience, how you change people’s priorities. How do you become special in people’s imagination? How do you differentiate yourself? How do you create perceived value? The key is, how do you position yourself, positioning comprehensively, position yourself as the comprehensive doctor in town? That is the shortcut to success in the next 10 years. How can you position yourself, brand yourself, spread the word that you are the comprehensive dental practice in town? Of course, there are other ways to achieve success. But I can guarantee that this is a very smart way to guarantee success in the next decade.” (10:44—11:33)

“We can talk about fancy, modern digital technologies. We can talk about fancy treatments, sophisticated surgeries. We can talk about new tools to develop new things. But at the end of the day, it starts with the mindset. You need to ignite this passion to challenge yourself. You need to reinvent yourself. You need to have enough motivation to say, ‘Okay, I'm a good dentist. I'm doing okay. I'm happy with my work. I'm proud of my work. But that's not enough. I want to find a more meaningful way to do dentistry.’” (12:17—13:03)

“What we do, it’s already meaningful, yes. Every dentist doing a good job should be proud. But how can we become even more meaningful — meaningful to ourselves, meaningful to our staff, meaningful to our patients? How can we go deeper? How can we become more vital? How can we make the real difference in people’s lives? People say, ‘Okay. I did 10 veneers, and my patient is smiling better, and I made a difference in their life.’ Yes, you did. But could you make an even bigger difference? The 10-veneer, cute, superficial smile is great. But how can dentistry become more meaningful? How can you really change, long-term, somebody’s life?” (13:13—13:59)

“There are so many amazing things that a dental team can do to a patient in changing people’s lives and not be stuck with what I call camouflage dentistry — superficial, camouflage dentistry, not understanding the hidden problems, not understanding the real problems of the patient, and not expending our toolbox to really address what needs to be addressed. And everything else starts to become much more relevant in our life as a dentist. And with this type of dentistry, I believe you never get tired of dentistry.” (13:59—14:46)

“That is one of the biggest bottlenecks that I see in this process of becoming a real comprehensive care provider, is building a comprehensive team, and inspiring and motivating this comprehensive team. And that is basically leadership and communication skills. We don't learn that in dental school. As I say, modern comprehensive dentistry is a team sport, different than dentistry in the recent past. It’s a team sport. When doctors come to me and say, ‘Christian, I'm a comprehensive dentist,’ I say, ‘No, you're not. Because that doesn't exist, our comprehensive teams.’ You may say, ‘I'm a leader of a comprehensive dental team.’ But by yourself, you cannot be a modern comprehensive dentist, the same way that you can't be a digital dentist. There are no digital dentists. There are digital teams.” (15:18—16:28)

“Comprehensive, digital dentistry only exists with teamwork. And that's completely different than the way we did dentistry historically, where the dentist was doing everything. And so, of course, you had an assistant. You would refer a patient to an orthodontist. But that's not modern teamwork. The level of teamwork I'm talking about is when you see a super, super, top sports team working together and delivering something together. That's the type of work that we need to bring into dentistry to deliver this type of dentistry.” (16:29—17:06)

“Comprehensive treatment planning and unique emotional patient experience — these are the pillars of DSD.” (19:54—20:01)

“Comprehensive treatment planning is pillar number one. But pillar number two is as important, and that is the patient experience, the perception of value. So, pillar number one is how to deliver more value. Pillar number two is how to make people value that you're delivering more value. Because one thing is to be great. And the other thing is to be seen as great. One thing is to be very good. The other thing is to make people value that you're completely different. So, if you're going to invest in this very challenging journey of reinventing your practice, to really move into comprehensive oral care, somebody has to pay for it. And the patient is the one that has to pay for it. And they happily pay for it if they see the value.” (20:22—21:15)

“We call DSD where great dentistry meets great business. So, it has to be great dentistry first. Because, above all, we are ethical, and we are focused on the patients. We love ideas that can allow us to deliver better dentistry, but at the same time, allow us to have a better business. Not every strategy brings both. Unfortunately, many doctors out there are focusing on the business, not on the patient. We don't like that. We don't want that. But many doctors out there do their best on the dentistry, and not necessarily getting the best on the business. So, we love ideas and strategies that can bring these two worlds together where great dentistry meets great business.” (21:22—22:15)

“We see that every dentist is doing great today. And sometimes, unfortunately, even dentists that are not very good clinically are doing great. They're basically doing great, business wise, because they are creating this unique experience and developing strategies to make people value what they do. And you see on Instagram, or you hear about dentists that make a lot of money because they're mastering the process of making people come to them and making people love what they do. Because it’s very hard for patients to actually evaluate how good they are as a dentist. Patients will evaluate everything else, and then decide that they are good dentists because of everything else. But the strategies are probably not that organized in terms of how to create a five-star dental practice experience for the patients, how to create the three-star Michelin restaurant experience in a dental practice. But we see people talk more and more about that.” (22:44—23:59)

“The first pillar that may sound, initially, as the one under control is actually the one that is not under control. When it comes to comprehensive treatment planning, first, treatment planning is much more difficult than clinical execution. And our whole industry is biased towards clinical execution. Meaning, courses, conferences, lectures, books, articles, R&D, software, technologies, systems, techniques, equipment, instruments — everything is driven to help dentists perform better dentistry. But our problem is not there. Our problem is before performing dentistry. It’s decision-making, diagnosing, and treatment planning. When we know exactly what the patient needs, it’s easier to perform. So, we see that all over the world where we can find many more great clinicians than great treatment planning.” (24:01—25:07)

“For me, the number-one problem of dentistry, by far, is decision-making. Dentists all over the world, even the very good ones, are making poor decisions every day. We can make better decisions. We need better systems to make better decisions. And it’s not standardized. Dentistry is very unprofessional when it comes to diagnosis and treatment planning decision-making. There are no books about it. There's very little know-how on standardization. And I usually say that may be why medicine doesn't take dentistry that seriously. That's maybe why if you send a patient to 10 different good dentists, you're going to come back with 10 different diagnoses, 10 different treatment plans, 10 different estimates. That's how much room for improvement we have in this area. And our focus is, what are the strategies that can help a dentist make consistent, better decisions when it comes to diagnosis and treatment planning.” (26:07—27:15)

“Our great Peter Dawson said many, many times, ‘If you know where you want to go, it’s easier to get there.’” (27:36—27:43)

“The quality of an outcome is only as good as the quality of the plan. Because there's no magic. You cannot just, poor planning, great outcome. Maybe once in a lifetime, you get lucky. Once a year, you get lucky. But the quality of the outcome of a treatment can only be as good as the quality of the plan. The seed is planning. Planning means diagnosis, tee communication, treatment planning, risk assessment, what are the options, making better decisions. So, you don't see that. You go to conferences, and nobody talks about it. Everybody talks about the clinical execution. Very few talk about decision-making.” (27:47—28:32)

“It doesn't matter how much you change. It doesn't matter the speed of change. What matters is that you're moving. You have to move, one step at a time. Don't be stuck. That's the beauty. Don't compare yourself. Don't feel like you're falling behind. No, it’s about moving and enjoying the journey every day, a little bit better.” (29:03—29:25)

“I want to hire the right people. I want to train the right people. I want to do the blueprint with the architect. I want to design the whole experience. I want to buy the right technology. Can we start from scratch, ideally? Yes, we can. Is that possible for 99.9% of people? No. So, what you need to do is to create a transition strategy, a plan. I call it a five-year plan. You build a five-year plan where you create your vision first, and then you reverse-engineer your strategies and you create steps.” (29:45—31:13)

“We know life is not easy. Dentistry is not easy. Building a successful career is not easy. But we cannot feel overwhelmed. We need to keep the excitement, the vision, and the motivation.” (31:49—32:02)

“Everything starts with the vision. You need to have a vision for yourself, regardless of if you're a young graduate, if you just bought a practice, you're already a mature practice owner, or you are already planning your exit strategy. It doesn't matter where you are. I love the idea of having a five-year plan. So, starting with the question, where do you want to be in five years, that's, for me, the key. You close your eyes; you need to know where you want to be. Even though we know that we may not get there, ever, or not in five years, or we’re going to get somewhere else building these plans, building the vision creates the energy to move. So, you have to have this vision.” (32:03—32:58)

“Don't create plans that are too overwhelming because you're not going to fulfill them in one or three months. You're going to get mad at yourself and you're going to quit. It’s exactly like we do when we say we’re going to go to the gym, and we’re going to look amazing, and this and that. We sabotage ourselves and end up, if we don't go for a while, we say, ‘Ah, that's not for me.’ I'm going to try to find an excuse and build my happier life without going to the gym. And that's who we are. So, we try to develop strategies where you can collect these early victories. I think the early victories are underrated. People don't talk enough about how to create strategies that allow people to almost have 100% guaranteed early victories.” (33:02—33:58)

“I think that the key here is to be humble, to keep our beginner’s mind. I've been working with so many great clinicians, and I'm very proud of the work that I did with these great professionals. But there's so much room for improvement, always. We have to reinvent dentistry, and we have the tools to do it. And to do that, we need to put aside everything that we’re already very good at and pretend for a moment that we are beginners. As they call it, beginner’s mind. And when you think as a beginner, everything is possible.” (38:26—39:12)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

3:33 Dr. Coachman’s background.

7:10 The modern comprehensive mindset, explained.

11:47 Why it starts with mindset.

14:46 Comprehensive dentistry can only exist with teamwork.

17:20 The evolution of DSD.

19:47 The two pillars of DSD.

22:15 Work on the second pillar.

27:15 The seed is the planning.

28:36 Can you start this process from scratch?

31:14 Feed your energy and your motivation.

34:46 Learn to practice emotional dentistry.

36:30 About DSD Day.

38:18 Last thoughts on the modern comprehensive mindset.

Dr. Christian Coachman Bio:

Combining his advanced skills, experience, and technology solutions, Dr. Christian Coachman pioneered the Digital Smile Design methodology and founded Digital Smile Design company (DSD). Since its inception, thousands of dentists worldwide have attended DSD courses and workshops, such as the renowned DSD Residency program.

Dr. Coachman is the developer of worldwide, well-known concepts such as the Digital Smile Design, the Pink Hybrid Implant Restoration, the Digital Planning Center, Emotional Dentistry, Interdisciplinary Treatment Simulation, and Digital Smile Donator.

He regularly consults for dental industry companies, developing products, implementing concepts, and marketing strategies, such as the Facially Driven Digital Orthodontic Workflow developed in collaboration with Invisalign, Align Technology.

He has lectured and published internationally in the fields of esthetic and digital dentistry, dental photography, oral rehabilitation, dental ceramics, implants, and communication strategies and marketing in dentistry. 

Mike Buckner, Pearl, Inc. - at ADA SmileCon

Episode #516 with Mike Buckner

Your eye can see up to 50 shades of gray. But wouldn't it be great to see more in your X-rays? Well, you can — with artificial intelligence! There are many things AI can do better than humans, and Kirk Behrendt brings in Mike Buckner, senior vice president of partnerships at Pearl, to explain what AI is, why it’s important for dentistry, and how a system like Pearl can elevate your practice. AI is the future of dentistry! To learn more about Pearl and how to integrate it today, listen to Episode 516 of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Mike’s email: [email protected] 
• Pearl: https://www.hellopearl.com
• Subscribe to the Best Practices Show Podcast
• Join ACT’s To The Top Study Club
• Join ACT’s Master Class
• See our Live Events Schedule here
• Get the Best Practices Magazine for Free!
• Write a Review on iTunes

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

Oura Ring: https://ouraring.com

Main Takeaways:

AI does not replace, but it enhances human capabilities.

The average dentist picks up 70% to 75% of everything on an X-ray.

On average, AI’s accuracy for the same image is between 84% to 85%.

When dentists work with AI to analyze an image, accuracy increases to 90+%.

Pearl can provide a comprehensive report on all the undiagnosed opportunities.

Remember that AI is not perfect, and it can't detect 100% of everything, every time.

Quotes:

“You think about where artificial intelligence has been over the last few years in the medical space, you think of mammograms and X-rays. Artificial intelligence has already been incorporated in medical for quite some time now. And so, the fact that we are just now able to bring this into dentistry in 2022 is a lot of fun to be on the front lines here.” (3:20—3:42)

“I don't think that we need to be worried about computers taking over dentistry at all. We know that's not going to happen. But what we do know is there are some things that computers can do that humans just straight-up can't.” (4:21—4:33)

“Are you ever in those situations where you're talking to a good friend and you're like, ‘Oh my gosh, I've got to show you that picture of,’ fill in the blank, whatever that picture is, and you're scrolling back, you're looking through your thousands of pictures that you take that you never do anything with, and they're lost somewhere in your phone? Well, for example — and if you're at home, you can do this — get your iPhone, go to the Photos app. Down in the search bar of the Photos app, you can type in something very generic: bird, dog, tree. And AI will actually go in, and within a second, find all of the pictures in your phone that have a dog, or a cat, or a tree in those pictures. And that is, for an example, of how AI has been programmed to recognize what looks like a dog.” (4:55—5:38)

“I didn't tag the photo with [my wife], but I have her picture in a contact, just her face shot, in my phone as “Carly”. And so, the example that I gave you was I typed in “dog”, and I had 328 pictures of dogs that popped up on my phone. And I typed in “Carly” — thank goodness there were more than 300 — there were like 3,000 pictures of her. But one of the pictures really caught my eye. It was a picture of when we were in Tahiti, and it was a silhouette of her face. I literally had to do a double take. I'm like, ‘Wait, is she even in this picture?’ And I look a little bit closer and zoom in, and sure enough, she is. So, there are certain things that computers can quickly analyze and see that are probably naked to the human eye.” (5:48—6:33)

“The human eye can see anywhere between 30 and 50 different shades of gray. Now, you think of the X-rays that our doctors are viewing every day. The black and white, the grays, the human eye can distinguish between 30 and 50 different shades. Computers and AI can come in and now analyze and distinguish between 550 to 750 different shades of gray. So, we are able to go in and, with the AI technology, pick up things that otherwise may have been missed, or catch early-stage caries that oftentimes goes missed.” (6:36—7:13)

“[Pearl has] one of the largest collections of X-rays in the world. We started this process of analyzing dental X-rays clear back in 2015, and really going in and highlighting, for example, what caries looks like, widening of the periodontal ligament, calculus, etc., and programming those things so that after millions of X-rays, the computer system can basically recognize and learn and continue to improve. So, what's fascinating, even since I've been at Pearl from the end of 2021 until now, even seeing the accuracy improve has been phenomenal.” (7:37—8:19)

“Looking at 2D images, bitewings, and periapicals, one of the studies we did was, basically, if you have a dentist who is looking at a set of X-rays, the average dentist will pick up about 70% to 75% of everything on that X-ray, as far as what's accurately depicted on that X-ray. Now, when AI comes in and analyzes that image, now the accuracy is anywhere between 84%, 85%. However, when AI analyzes the image and the dentist comes in and they work together, they analyze that radiograph together, now the accuracy is upwards in the 90 percentiles of everything that should be detected, picked up, and presented to the patient.” (8:41—9:26)

“Pearl has two platforms. The first one, we call Second Opinion. Second Opinion, all we need there is to sync with the imaging software. So, the patient comes in, sits down, gets an X-ray taken. And within a minute, minute-and-a-half, you now have all of the AI detections and predictions up on that X-ray. So, you can see bone level measurements. You can see calculus, caries, how far into the dentin, how far into the enamel the caries has protruded. You can see all those details within a very short period of time after taking the X-ray. That's what we call Second Opinion.” (9:44—10:23)

“We know that there's a lot of data there that we’re able to pick up [with Pearl]. So, if we can take all of that data and all of the detections the AI found, and then we want to compare that with what's in the practice management software — so, we’re actually looking to see, ‘All right, if AI picked up this list of things here for this patient, what has actually been presented to the patient? What's on the treatment plan?’” (10:25—10:46)

“For the first time, ever, a software is now able to provide a report, a very comprehensive report, of all of the undiagnosed opportunity in a practice.” (10:55—11:07)

“When we work with a practice that is utilizing Practice Intelligence and we go and we analyze the last 18 months of radiographs — and we’re choosing 18 months because that's generally your active patients — it’s very rare that we find a practice that does not have over $1 million of undiagnosed opportunity.” (11:34—11:55)

“How often do we find that we were looking at an X-ray, all of these things that we want to present, but we know the patient in the chair, ‘Oh, they're going to freak out if we go through this whole list of things. They're going to think that we’re overselling,’ so we maybe aim low? But now, to be able to show, ‘Hey, here’s the X-ray. And all of our X-rays are backed by an FDA-cleared AI platform.’ Let's use it as an educational experience. Let's talk about what AI has picked up, what we’re looking at on the X-ray.” (12:19—12:47)

“[What dentists get wrong is thinking that] AI is perfect. AI is perfect, and it’s going to find everything. Everything is going to be 100% accurate. It’s going to come pretty dang close. But the example that I gave with the phone, like when I typed in “dog” into my phone, out of those 328 pictures of dogs, I had two that were deer. It got pretty dang close. And as I'm looking at it, I can see, ‘Oh, I can see how the computer confused that.’ And we’re analyzing the X-ray. The quality of X-rays, as you know, it ranges. And so, sometimes, we’ll come across a false positive, for example. But the accuracy is continuing to improve, so much so that we can even distinguish the difference between cervical burnout and caries.” (13:03—13:49)

“Most of our clients that come in and start utilizing Practice Intelligence — so, for us to analyze the last 18 months of images, depending on the volume of images, we allow about two-and-a-half weeks to really analyze all of those images and compile that report for the practice. And going forward, we do a 40-minute training. And most of our clients will have this up in each operatory as almost like their image reader, so that as soon as the X-rays come in, as soon as the X-rays are taken, they can show this to the patient immediately. So, about a 40-minute training.” (14:02—14:37)

“We really are making a difference in what that standard of care is and elevating the standard of care. We did a case study with the Dental AI Council. We took 137 dentists and we had them all review one FMX, and basically said, ‘Go in, analyze every tooth, how you would treat it, and what the treatment plan would be.’ Out of 137 dentists, we had less than a 50% average diagnostic concurrence. We had results all over the board. We had treatment plans ranging from $300 to $36,000. It was all over the board. And yet, we are still relying on a technology that is a doctor and the team reading black-and-white images.” (15:01—15:43)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

2:33 Artificial Intelligence in the dental space.

3:42 AI, explained.

4:37 How AI is already part of your life.

5:39 Some advantages of using AI.

7:14 How Pearl helps with caries management.

9:27 Is Pearl easy to integrate with current systems?

10:24 Find your undiagnosed opportunity with Pearl.

12:48 What dentists get wrong about AI.

13:50 Other things AI can do, and the learning curve.

14:38 The problems that Pearl can solve.

15:45 More about Pearl and how to get in touch with Mike.

16:07 Q&A: What is the Oura Ring?

19:19 Q&A: Have you ever been mistaken for someone else?

21:02 Q&A: What do you do to blow off steam when you're fired up?

24:52 Q&A: Daily routine secrets.

Mike Buckner Bio:

Mike Buckner was most recently the director of business development for the dental division at Weave, a communication platform for small business. He also served as the director of business development at software company Dental Intelligence, and was a business development executive at Solutionreach, a patient engagement platform for healthcare practices.

Dr. Mark Hyman – at SmileCon

Episode #515 with Dr. Mark Hyman

In this special episode from ADA’s SmileCon in Houston, Texas, Kirk Behrendt brings back one of ACT’s favorite guests, Dr. Mark Hyman, to share some of the most valuable advice that every dentist and prospective dentist should hear. Dentistry is one of the best and most rewarding professions — you just have to put in the work. To learn how to make your future years in practice shine, listen to Episode 515 of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Dr. Hyman’s website: https://drmarkspeaks.com
• Dr. Hyman’s email: [email protected] 
• Dr. Hyman’s social media: @drmarkspeaks
• Subscribe to the Best Practices Show Podcast
•  Join ACT’s To The Top Study Club
• Join ACT’s Master Class
• See our Live Events Schedule here
• Get the Best Practices Magazine for Free!
• Write a Review on iTunes

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Sean Covey and Stephen R. Covey: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-7-Habits-of-Highly-Effective-People/Stephen-R-Covey/9781982137137

Main Takeaways:

Learn how to be the best boss possible.

Success leaves clues. Learn from successful people.

Know what you are and aren't good at as early as possible.

Surround yourself with the best people in good and bad times.

Take care of your mind and body. Suffering is not a badge of honor.

Quotes:

“You can't get an arrow back once you shoot it. You can't get a bullet back once you shoot it. Once you say something to a teammate, the one time you humiliate a teammate, or correct them aggressively in front of a teammate or a patient, you never get it back. And you'll never have that same level of trust. And that's a shame. So, I try to be the best boss possible. Part of that was, know when to not say something because I'm not ready to say something constructive.” (2:31—2:54)

“You are on stage, and the team is watching. So, it’s okay to put yourself in time-out — or when you are asked a question by the team. There's a classic example. One December, a dental assistant came to her boss and said, ‘I've worked real hard this year. Can I have a dollar-an-hour raise?’ He’s like, ‘Sure.’ And this teammate went and told the entire team. Then, everybody wanted their dollar-an-hour raise. Times ten employees, times how many hours a year. It was a multi-multi-thousand-dollar boo-boo that wasn't anticipated. So, I love the thought that the doctor can say, ‘That's a good question. I'll consider it. Let me study this. I'll get back to you. Let me decide the raise I want to give to the entire team, because everybody is valuable.’” (3:25—4:06)

“One of the most frightening things for [young dentists] is their level of debt. And their role models, many of their role models have said, ‘It’s going to take you 15 years to pay off your school debt.’ And I try to tell them I can show them how to do it in 15 months if they trust me, if they trust the systems, and they get good role models, and good verbal skills, and some new clinical skills, and use equipment consistently.” (4:36—4:58)

“One of the biggest shames for me of dentistry is we buy some high-tech equipment, and we don't train on it.” (5:04—5:09)

“You don't have to do anything unless you want to be successful.” (5:41—5:44)

“I love three magic words: success leaves clues. What do the most high-impact, successful men and women in dentistry do? They spend a ton of time on their own personal self-growth. They educate the team. They liberate the team to use all of their talents. They bring in consultants and coaches that have skillsets different than they do. They celebrate and enhance their highest levels of skill, and they minimize their weaknesses.” (5:45—6:11)

“I knew what I wasn't good at, so I didn't do it. I hated endo. I didn't do it. I had 11 board-certified endodontists within 50 yards of my office. So, why try to find an MB2 canal when it’s not my joy, when I did a gorgeous root canal and showed the patient, and they're like, ‘That was a lot of money. Why does it still hurt?’ versus when I do veneers on someone and they break down crying, and hug me, and write me thank-you notes. So, I'm a pretty simple, lower-level paramecium of an animal, and I love that human response. I love the reward for my dentistry. It’s fine to be paid. But the emotional joy, and the five-star reviews, and people sending their friends, and the trust — that is the gift, to me. The gift of being part of people’s families.” (6:12—6:54)

“Part of figuring out what you're good at is, as the technology changes, and you get more continuing education, and you get positive feedback from patients, you go, ‘I want more of those hugs. I want more of those thank-you notes. I want the gifts delivered. I want the five-star reviews when I do the cosmetic dentistry that people can see.’ When I do the root canals, when I do apicos, the patient just says, ‘That was expensive,’ or, ‘That didn't take you long.’ So, for me, I'm a needy animal, and I need that joy and that feedback.” (7:56—8:23)

“So many speakers say, ‘Kirk, look at my 28-unit veneer, perfect case. Two visits, and we’re done.’ I'm like, ‘Yo mama. That's not the way it works.’ It didn't work that way for me. You had to re-impress. A provisional came off. You're cementing two of the veneers, and you put them in backwards. Life happens. So, to me, it’s not interesting that it happens, it’s how did you react to it. As a leader, do you throw things? The clients that you have had — I hope it’s not many — where a doctor throws instruments at the team, what a way to poison the well.” (14:23—14:50)

“If you really want to be an exquisite leader, you have to know you're on stage and you're being watched. And either you say, ‘I don't care. It’s my business. I'll do what I want,’ or if you really want a depth of commitment from the team, you don't do that. They know that they're safe, and you would never humiliate them, show them up in front of a teammate, in front of a patient, or guide and lead them out of fear.” (16:05—16:28)

“It’s classic Stephen Covey, habit five: seek first to understand, then to be understood.” (17:00—17:05)

“[If I could give my younger self advice], I think I would specifically try to take better physical care of myself because of how I physically ended up crumbling at the end of my career with my L4-L5 blown out, and arthritis/carpal tunnel, tennis elbow. Statistically, I did 90 years of dentistry in 32 years. So, dentists of my generation, that was a badge of honor, how much you lived out of the operatory. And that's stupid.” (17:51—18:15)

“I wish I had my 25-year-old body back and realized that the extra production that I did, it’s not worth it now.” (18:29—18:36)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

2:24 Ways to be the best boss possible.

4:06 Get rid of your debt in 15 months.

5:10 Success leaves clues.

6:57 Figure out what you're good at.

8:23 How to find your best life partner.

12:52 Dr. Hyman’s next chapter and future seminars.

15:05 Bouncing mirrors in frustration.

17:26 Advice for his 25-year-old self.

18:39 Why it’s important to surround yourself with good people.

20:46 Last thoughts.

Dr. Mark Hyman Bio:

Dr. Mark E. Hyman is a renowned, full-time practicing dentist in Greensboro, North Carolina. He is a public speaker whose work is characterized by his warmth, enthusiasm, sense of humor, and passion for dentistry.

As an accomplished seminar speaker, Dr. Hyman has lectured throughout North America and internationally, receiving rave reviews. For the past 14 years, Dentistry Today magazine has selected Dr. Hyman as one of the top 100 speakers in dentistry. He is an Adjunct Full Professor at the UNC School of Dentistry in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and has taught at The Pankey Institute in Florida and at Spear Education in Arizona. 

Real Solutions to the Hiring Climate Challenges

Episode #514 with Angela Heathman & Miranda Beeson

Quiet quitting is the new trend. And your solution shouldn't be loud layoffs! It is challenging in today’s hiring climate, and Kirk Behrendt brings back two amazing ACT coaches, Angela Heathman and Miranda Beeson, to help you navigate the craziness in finding and retaining great people for your team. If you want team members who are committed to you, you need to be committed to them! To learn what you need to fix for a great team, listen to Episode 514 of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

•  Angela’s email: [email protected] 
•  Angela’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/angeheathman 
• Miranda’s email: [email protected] 
• The ACT Team’s social media: @actdental
• Subscribe to the Best Practices Show Podcast
• Join ACT’s To The Top Study Club
• Join ACT’s Master Class
• See our Live Events Schedule here
• Get the Best Practices Magazine for Free!
• Write a Review on iTunes

Main Takeaways:

Understand what “quiet quitting” is and why employees are doing it. 

Check-ins matter. Have them regularly with every team member.

Separate your check-in process from performance reviews. 

Think out of the box to retain current team members.

Core values are essential to creating a great team. 

Quotes:

“Having a great team is the most important thing you'll ever do as a dentist.” (1:40—1:45) -Kirk

“Ever since COVID-19 and people working from home, there's been this online community, especially with the younger people that are on our teams, where they're starting to see all of these toxic culture posts and “quiet quitting,” everyone who is working through their workday just getting enough done to get by. They're just not all-in. I know one of our core values at ACT is all-in, and for those of us who have always naturally had that personality style, I think it’s hard to understand where these people are coming from. But if you hop on to some of these social media platforms, “quiet quitting,” if you search it on TikTok, millions upon millions of posts. And so, that's what people are up against now that is brand new. It’s something that employers, dentists, have never had to really worry about in the past.” (3:25—4:13) -Miranda

“Quiet quitting is something that's been around for a long time, it just wasn't labeled. But it’s become more progressive since the work-from-home era that we had over the last couple of years. So, it’s really those people who, they show up, they may show up on time, they may show up a few minutes late, right under the radar. They're always doing just enough to make sure that they're not having repercussions in the workplace. But they're not really going above and beyond, and they're certainly not giving their all. They're always having their ears open to what else might be out there and what else might be available. And they call it “quiet quitting”. They're not really making a stink. They're not making a fuss. But they're also not giving their all.” (5:10—5:49) -Miranda

“Check-ins matter. Because if you can really get to the core of what's motivating someone, how can we develop them in their current role, or is there a better role for them that they're striving for, versus them listening to that whisper outside of the organization and possibly going elsewhere.” (5:57—6:12) -Miranda

“So many of our offices that we coach have never done what we call at ACT a check-in. But even more common language might be team development, or a coaching call, or a review. They’ve never had these one-on-one conversations with their team before. And so, sometimes, when I introduce this idea like, ‘Hey, we want you to actually talk to your team members one-on-one for 20 minutes every month or two,’ that's a foreign concept to a lot of people.” (6:17—6:51) -Angela

“Get to know your team members. Know what motivates them. Know what they want to develop, and learn, and grow, and do. So many of our doctors and team members have been really hesitant to do that because it makes them a little bit nervous. But after they do and they implement it, oh my gosh, they're so happy that they have taken the time to really get to know each other on a different level.” (6:54—7:17) -Angela 

“Quite often, when we do sit down and talk with a team member, we’re talking to them about something negative, something that we’ve noticed repetitively, a behavior that we'd like to correct, or whatever that may be. And so, if you hear from the doctor or an administrator, ‘I'd like to talk with you for a few minutes, later,’ your team member is like, ‘Oh, great. What did I do?’ But really [develop] a culture of separating that performance review process from personal development and having two separate organizational processes to where you can sit down and say, ‘I'm taking off my boss hat or my doctor hat right now, and I really want to talk to you, human being to human being. I want to know, are you getting out of this what you want to be getting out of this? If you're not, how can I help you reach those goals that you want to reach personally? Because we do value you here and we’d like to see you more invested. How can we make that work for you?’ and really [separate] it from that negative space of a performance review.” (7:32—8:28) -Miranda

“Do you think having a great team is important? I would think you would say yes. I ask audiences all the time, ‘On a scale from one to 10?’ And they go, ‘Well, yeah. It’s a 10.’ I'm like, ‘No, it’s a 12. It’s a 12 out of 10.’ And then, if you do value that, what do you do that supports that? It’s not about taking them on trips. Don't get me wrong, some of that stuff is really fun . . . The whole idea is that you're building a team by nurturing them, letting them know that you care about them, and having space to be able to talk about that.” (10:13—10:50) -Kirk

“What's so sad for me that I've seen in some offices is they might do an exit interview when someone is leaving, and then they find out all this turmoil and stress that this team member has been under, and uncovering a lot of things that, ‘Gosh. Wouldn’t it have been great if we would've known all of this years ago?’” (11:42—12:04) -Angela

“The playing field is level in the world. There's no business that's like, ‘Gosh, I put out an ad and I'm getting flooded with all these resumes, with all these overqualified people.’ No. The water line is low for everybody. And so, what that means for you as a dentist, or even a dental team, is you've got to up your game. And core values are no joke. They're just not.” (12:45—13:06) -Kirk

“The bottom line is this: when you have your core values locked in, you talk about them, you hire, fire, reward, you believe in them, you walk it, you at least discuss them, you're laying a foundation that's way bigger than the work, I would think. And it gives people a special “why” in how they want to be attached to you and the purpose.” (13:19—13:41) -Kirk

“What I find [core values] to be most helpful for my team members is they answer questions before they even arise. So, some of [our core values] are all-in, always be growing, results driven. So, we can pause and think about, ‘Well, how would our core values answer this question that I have?’ And it can solve a lot of things that come up.” (14:00—14:27) -Angela

“What are people being fed from the outside in, these toxic cultures? A lot of people are concerned with micromanagement, not really feeling like they have ownership or autonomy. So, when you have those established core values and they're living strong within your practice, you have the ability to create a lot more autonomy and ownership with your team members. And then, they feel more invested, and they feel like it’s theirs as much as it’s yours. It’s really easy if they're trying to make a decision to say, ‘Does it fit within our core values?’ Then, I feel like you know how to make a good decision on this.” (15:09—15:40) -Miranda

“Of course, as the owner or the dentist, you're always going to have the final say. But if you have a team that really lives the core values, it’s like a filter that everything goes through, and then you can alleviate some of that pressure or micromanagement that they often feel that gives them that desire to go find something a little more freeing.” (15:40—16:00) -Miranda

“We can't always do anything about what's happening in the environment. It’s really hard for everyone right now finding new team members. But if we can really focus on nurturing the relationships we have with our current team members, then we can slowly build, versus continuing to lose and needing to rebuild and rebuild in such a challenging environment.” (16:41—17:00) -Miranda

“Thinking about some alternatives to the way we’ve traditionally worked in the past, so Miranda talked earlier about people that are working remotely. And that's not completely impossible in dentistry. We do have some people that might be outsourcing some of their social media or accounts receivable. And they might be outsourcing them to a company, or they might be outsourcing them to someone who works remotely. So, those are some options that you can consider too.” (19:04—19:37) -Angela

“A couple of my teams actually are doing some outsourcing because they love the team that they have, and they don't want to rock the boat. So, they have decided, ‘Okay, hiring is crazy right now, and we love the place that we’re in. We know that if we add one more team member to this mix, it’s going to shake it up.’ It doesn't necessarily mean that it’s going to be bad, but they want to keep the team the way they have it. So, they’ve made some decisions to outsource some things.” (19:38—20:09) -Angela

“We have to think outside of the box. We get into these types of situations where we can't do things the way we’ve always done them. It’s not working right now. We have to think outside the box. And [outsourcing is] a great option for that. Another thing is looking at the people that you have on your team. If you need an assistant and you're really struggling — you’ve had an ad out for four months. You cannot find someone who will show up to an interview. Or if they do, they're late and they're in their sweatpants — then maybe it’s time to reframe what we’re looking at. Maybe you have a business team member who is spent on their business team responsibilities they really enjoy. They're always the one that's like, ‘Can I come look at that case? Can I pop into your surgery tomorrow?’ And you think, ‘Hey, maybe this person is someone that we can invest in and talk to, like, do they want to transition into the clinical realm. Maybe it’s going to be easier for us to find a business team member than it is an assistant right now.’ And so, looking at things outside the box. If you know they're the right person for your team, is there a way to reposition them within the practice that can build value there? (21:10—22:14) -Miranda

“If your schedule is crazy and it’s nuts, here’s a question for you: would you want to be a dental assistant in your office? And if the answer is no, you've got to fix that.” (22:19—22:28) -Kirk

“If you have an assistant that tells you, ‘I value my lunch breaks,’ and you're working them through their lunch break on a regular basis, they're not going to stay with you for very long.” (22:30—22:39) -Miranda

“I don't think there's a reason to see patients after 5:00 p.m. You can't give me one good reason. And so, if you've got weird hours, you're always going to be challenged to find amazing people, because they know they're amazing and they don't want to work till 7:00 p.m.” (22:52—23:07) -Kirk

“You're always going to find less desirable people when you've got staggered hours, because you're trying to save a few pennies and you're trying to please a few patients that you don't even like anyway.” (23:19—23:30) -Kirk

“People like rules. They like predictability.” (24:11—24:13) -Kirk

“It’s not like seven team members are toxic. If you're in that boat, you need more than just a coach. It might start with one team member that you're tolerating who’s putting you in a corner, who’s rolling their eyes, and they're creating this air, and you're giving into it. That is dangerous. And I'm telling you, that can be fixed. It can be fixed 100% with a great coach, great rules, great core values, and you can reduce the toxicity. And now, it becomes a more fun place to work, over time.” (24:23—25:06) -Kirk

“The more you lean into core values, the less crazy stuff you deal with.” (25:21—25:24) -Kirk

“If you're looking for one thing to start with, start with the check-in. Get those on the schedule for your team.” (25:47—25:52) -Angela

“We’re asking people to show up and spend the bulk of their life with us, committing to our vision and our dream when we’re practice owners. And we really have to respect our team members, and we have to care about our team members, and acknowledge that they're doing that for us. And so, it’s a great opportunity during those one-on-one check-in times to really make sure that you're making those personal connections with your team. And that's going to build a stronger foundation. And hopefully, they're going to stay with you for a long, long time because they’ll respect that.” (26:34—27:00) -Miranda

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

2:02 Angela and Miranda’s backgrounds.

2:45 Decoding the current hiring climate.

4:37 Quiet quitting, explained.

6:13 Get to know team members with check-ins. 

12:09 Core values are no joke.

18:47 Outsourcing is an option.

21:00 Other out-of-the-box options.

22:14 Fix your scheduling.

23:33 Get a coach.

24:14 Purge the toxicity. 

25:40 Last thoughts. 

Angela Heathman, MS, RDH Bio: 

Angela Heathman is a Lead Practice Coach who works with dentists and their teams to help them accomplish their goals. She believes the hard work you do on your practice is just as important as the work you do in your practice! 

Angela has over 20 years of clinical dental hygiene, dental sales, and practice coaching experience. When she transitioned from her role as a clinician to her role as a sales account manager, she realized both her passion for education and practice development. Angela holds a master's degree in dental hygiene education from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. 

Miranda Beeson, MS, BSDH Bio:

Miranda Beeson, MS, BSDH, has over 25 years of clinical dental hygiene, front office, practice administration, and speaking experience. She is enthusiastic about communication and loves helping others find the power that words can bring to their patient interactions and practice dynamics. As a Lead Practice Coach, she is driven to create opportunities to find value in experiences and cultivate new approaches. 

Miranda graduated from Old Dominion University, and enjoys spending time with her husband, Chuck, and her children, Trent, Mallory, and Cassidy. Family time is the best time, and is often spent on a golf course, a volleyball court, or spending the day boating at the beach. 

Dentistry is a Team Sport

Episode #513 with Heather Crockett

You're not just a dentist — you're also the player and the coach for your team! And to help you and your practice be on your A game, Kirk Behrendt brings back Heather Crockett, one of ACT’s amazing coaches, to explain how football relates to a dental practice and the takeaway tips that you can start using today. You can't run your practice alone! To start becoming the best team possible, listen to Episode 513 of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Heather’s email: [email protected] 
• Heather’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/heather.r.crockett
• Heather’s social media: @actdental
• Subscribe to the Best Practices Show Podcast
• Join ACT’s To The Top Study Club
• Join ACT’s Master Class
• See our Live Events Schedule here
• Get the Best Practices Magazine for Free!
• Write a Review on iTunes

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

Traction by Gino Wickman: https://benbellabooks.com/shop/traction

Main Takeaways:

Delegate and elevate. You can't do dentistry alone.

Alignment with your team is essential.

Have countermeasures in place.

Positivity breeds positivity.

Be a confident leader.

Quotes:

“Last night, I went to a football game with my husband, and I was thinking of a couple of my clients and some of the struggles that they’ve recently been having. And some of those struggles come from the fact that they — in my mind, I'm thinking that they're the quarterback, and they're going on the field, and they need their team to come with them, and they need their team. This is a huge deal. They need to have a team around them supporting them as they're going onto the field to play this team sport. They can't do it by themselves. And oftentimes, they carry too many of the things that they need to do with them.” (3:06—3:42) -Heather

“I was just talking to a client this morning about how they could delegate using their digital printer to one of their team members. But sometimes, they're a little bit hesitant to let something like that go or to train their team on it. But they're doing one too many things. We talk about better practice, better life. Part of that better practice, better life is letting go, delegating and elevating to our other team members. And we need to be able to trust our team to take these tasks on, to protect us. Like, as the quarterback, we need the offensive line. We need that center to protect us so that we don't get sacked.” (4:06—4:42) -Heather

“You're going to have plays. You go out, and each team member knows the play when the quarterback calls the play or when the coach calls the play. And so, then, the team knows how to execute that play. They know their role. They know exactly which route to run in that play. Well, if we don't tell our team what those plays are, we don't tell them what our ultimate goal is, they're going to be completely lost. So, when you go to pass, you go to throw, your wide receiver is not going to be there to receive the pass that you just threw because you didn't tell them that game plan to begin with.” (6:35—7:13) Heather

“What makes the game better is when everyone knows the game plan.” (8:21—8:24) -Kirk

“The practice owner has too many things on their plate. They need to delegate that to other team members. And not necessarily does each role have a similar amount of things on their plate. But the more evenly spread the tasks are within the practice, the better things are going to run because we have that expectation, and we have that role.” (8:56—9:23) -Heather

“We could take this in multiple facets. Like our Function Accountability Chart, who’s in charge for each thing, so that when we come off of the field we can say, ‘Oh, we missed that. Quarterback got sacked. What do we need to do to change and improve? Do we need a different offensive lineman to take the center’s job? Do we need to try that for a couple of rounds to see if that is what we need to do?’ Maybe the previous center doesn't quite have what it takes, the “get it, want it, capacity to do it” thing that we get from Traction. Is that person in the wrong role? Oftentimes, we hear of a high school player, ‘I did wide receiver in high school.’ Well, now, in college, they might switch to a completely different role. Their coach might see their potential somewhere else. And we need to do the same thing in a dental practice.” (9:24—10:12) -Heather

“Could you imagine playing on a football team where the offensive coordinator and the head coach do not get along and they are not on the same page? It’s going to confuse every single person. The key of alignment is essential.” (11:17—11:30) -Kirk

“If you're a dentist and you're in a five-doctor practice and you have 75 team members, or whatever, the problem is not your team. The problem is the five leaders at the top. Any crack in daylight between the five blinds everybody else.” (12:00—12:15) -Kirk

“As a coach, you've got to have alignment time. You should never go onto the practice field where you didn't align with the other coaches.” (12:26—12:33) -Kirk

“Don't make dentistry harder than it is. You have a group of people that are on your team. You have to treat them like a team. You have to practice. You have to have a game plan. You've got to have core values that attract the right type of players. You've got to treat it like practice.” (13:29—13:41) -Kirk

“Let's talk about confidence here for a second, because if your quarterback goes out and is unsure, what is the feel of the rest of the team?” (14:14—14:21) -Heather

“You have to go in with all this confidence to say, ‘Look. Yes, we are down by 14 points, and we have five minutes left of the game. But you guys, we can totally do this.’ And is that team going to rally around that quarterback? Absolutely, yes. Or the quarterback can go in and go, ‘Oh. Well, it looks like we lost this game.’ Not okay. So, coming in with that confidence factor, that positivity breeds positivity. So, as you go into the game and the situation, it’s okay to say, ‘Okay, we’re going to call a timeout for a minute. We’re going to get really confident. We’re going to get aligned on the play that we’re going to do, on the game plan, for the next few minutes. And we are going to make this happen together because we can. It’s absolutely possible.’” (14:30—15:17) -Heather

“Confidence is like porcelain. With every layer, it gets stronger.” (15:26—15:30) -Kirk

“You can create a wildly predictable, healthy, awesome practice. What you have to do is you've got to simplify the processes. You've got to think like a team, and you've got to put a game plan together.” (17:28—17:38) -Kirk

“Last night, the game that I went to, our rushing yard, at the half, was negative five. Negative five, rushing yard. So, I'm going to look at that and go, ‘Are you serious right now?’ So, when we go into halftime, we’re going to put countermeasures in place. The coaches, the team, we’re going to say, ‘Holy cow, look at our stats. Our KPI says this. Negative rushing yards.’ Now, as the running back and the quarterback, we have this fire. We are going to make those rushing yards positive again. Not only that, but we’re going to blow it out of the water. By the end of the third quarter, those rushing yards were better than the opposing team. So, countermeasures are anything that we put in place to change a number in a positive way.” (18:08—18:49) -Heather

“A lot of times, your answer, your countermeasure, will be a system. That's what's really cool. It doesn't have to be an effort. It doesn't have to be a new person. It doesn't have to be a new purchase. We just need to tighten up our checklist or our systems. Now, you can accurately diagnose, ‘Where do we need to go?’” (19:13—19:29) -Kirk

“Sports analogies are often my favorite because you see a team come together around a set of values. You get the right people in the right seats. You simplify the game plan. You put in measures and countermeasures. You make the alignment super tight at the top. You practice over and over again. And then, when it comes to the game, that becomes fun. If you’ve ever played a sport, you know how that is. A great week of practice usually translates to a great game. The game becomes the fun part.” (19:38—20:08) -Kirk

“Rely on your team more than you ever have before. Delegate and elevate to them. See them as your peers. They are here for the same amount of ownership that you are. They want to see you and the practice succeed. So, really, really rely on your team in that way.” (20:18—20:37) -Heather

“It’s not always about winning and losing. But I will tell you, winning is a lot more fun than losing. And you can understand that as a dentist.” (21:15—21:22)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

2:14 Heather’s background.

2:46 Dentistry is a team sport.

3:43 Dentists are doing too much.

5:20 How an “audible” works in a dental practice.

8:46 Relating football to a dental practice.

10:12 How Nick Saban runs spring practice.

10:57 Alignment is essential.

14:12 You need to have confidence.

17:08 Have countermeasures.

20:11 Last thoughts.

Heather Crockett Bio:

Heather Crockett is a Lead Practice Coach who finds joy in not only improving practices but improving the lives of those she coaches as well. With over 20 years of combined experience in assisting, office management, and clinical dental hygiene, her awareness supports many aspects of the practice setting.

Heather received her dental hygiene degree from the Utah College of Dental Hygiene in 2008. Networking in the dental community comes easy to her, and she loves to connect with like-minded colleagues on social media. Heather enjoys both attending and presenting continuing education to expand her knowledge and learn from her friends and colleagues.

She enjoys hanging out with her husband, three sons, and their dog, Moki, scrolling through social media, watching football, and traveling. 

#InternationalPodcastDay

Episode #512 with Laura Barry & Andy Konkle

Since launching The Best Practices Show many years ago, it is still going strong. And to celebrate International Podcast Day, Kirk Behrendt brings in two amazing ACT team members, Laura Barry and Andy Konkle, to share and reflect on some of the most valuable and life-changing advice they’ve ever received. Not only will their tips help you in life, but it will also help greatly in your business! To continue hearing the best information to build a better practice and better life, listen to Episode 512 — and all future episodes — of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Laura’s email: [email protected] 
• Andy’s email: [email protected] 
• The ACT Team’s social media: @actdental
• Subscribe to the Best Practices Show Podcast
• Join the To The Top Study Club
• Join ACT’s Master Class
• See our Live Events Schedule here
• Get the Best Practices Magazine for Free!
• Write a Review on iTunes

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

Kolbe: https://www.kolbe.com

Main Takeaways:

Surround yourself with the right people.

Figure out what you're good and bad at early on.

Lean into your core values. It will simplify everything.

Life is difficult. Don't try to do everything on your own.

Every situation is “flippable”. Choose the better attitude.

Quotes:

“Surround yourself with great people, and don't try to be good at things that you're not good at.” (4:30—4:34) -Kirk

“Finding out what you suck at is really important, in life and in business. And I would suggest, do that as fast as possible.” (7:43—7:49) -Kirk

“In a business, when you start to realize what you're good at, and you spend more of your time doing what you're good at, and you surround yourself with people that are good at the things you suck at, that makes your life better.” (8:03—8:16) -Kirk

“I think [ACT puts] great intention in getting the right people together. I had worked for a former company — and I say this all the time — I would still be there if it hadn't been for an acquisition. But they were big on the right fit. It was an IT consulting firm. So, obviously, you have to be IT savvy, which I wasn't. But then, they went for the cultural, ‘Do these people fit what we believe in?’ That was many, many moons ago, and we still have gatherings. We had an office in Madison, Appleton, and the Milwaukee area, and we can still get a good 20-plus people together for a mini reunion. That showed how solid, and the intention in gathering the right people to accomplish whatever your business goals were. And I think [ACT] does the same thing.” (12:12—13:01) -Laura

“For me, I was at the same place for over 20 years. And for many of those years, I thought it was a great culture fit. We got along. Everybody in my area seemed to be striving for the same goals: lifelong learners, always looking back, trying to improve on your situation. And then, the pandemic and a couple other things changed that, in my mind. I didn't feel everyone was all on board anymore. And as I had plenty of time to think about it, I'm like, ‘This isn't working for me anymore.’ And when I started doing my research and saw the posting for this position here [at ACT], I didn't know it was core values until I read that. I'm like, ‘Holy cow. That means a lot.’” (14:39—15:29) -Andy

“When you lean into the core values and you get the right people in the right seats, it’s crazy. You can't even describe what happens. It’s so weird. Because everybody talks like, ‘Oh, I want a great team. I want this. I want to have fun at work.’ And if you really diagnose, ‘Why aren't you having fun at work? Why aren't you getting somewhere?’ it only comes down to two things: you have the wrong people that have different values, or you're just not getting results. Like, you don't have them in the right seats. And so, simplifying that by saying, ‘Hey, look. You hire people because they fit your core values and they get results,’ and it starts to make things more and more simple.” (17:06—17:40) -Kirk

“Celebrating victories is an important thing. Getting some acknowledgement means a lot.” (18:37—18:42) -Andy

“Everybody here, I think, going along with the right people in the right seats, it feels like a family to me. I know I can trust that somebody is going to help me if I need the help. “We before me” is one of our core values, and that's in full practice every day.” (18:43—19:04) -Andy

“If you're a dentist listening, you've got to call those out, what are the things you like, what are the things you don't like, and put words to them. And then, your team members can communicate that. Because that was a feeling I had, but I never knew how to describe it accurately without getting angry or fired up. Now, it’s just a value. That's all it is.” (19:58—20:15) -Kirk

“Yelling at work doesn't work. It just doesn't.” (20:55—20:58) -Kirk

“I think my dad [gave me the best piece of advice], in so many different ways: you can be right, or you can be married. But you can't be both.” (25:09—25:16) -Kirk

“Another piece of advice is, surround yourself with the right people. But that’s a little cliché. You hear that all the time. The real magic happens when you have a tool, or you can actually see a methodology in how to do it. Because it’s one thing to say, ‘Surround yourself with the right people.’ But what does that really mean? And I think really honing in on this process of core values and people that get results, that is one of the biggest life-changing things I've ever experienced in business.” (25:53—26:29) -Kirk

“Your children don't hear what you say. They watch what you do. I think that's a thing I'm constantly thinking about, because I don't always say the right things.” (26:37—26:47) -Kirk

“I was speaking with a life coach many moons ago, and it was super, super simple. ‘All you have to do it flip it. Whatever it is, you can flip it.’ So, her story was, you see a penny on the ground. It’s like, ‘Ugh, it’s just a penny,’ or, ‘It’s a penny! I've got one more penny.’ So, you can look at something bad or good. But everything is flippable. It’s your interpretation and how you move ahead. Are you going to take a bad attitude or a good attitude? And odds are, you're going to be better off with the better attitude.” (27:13—27:48) -Laura

“When I was a freshman in college, moving into the dorm, before my dad left to go home after dropping me off, he said, ‘Now, you need to look at this as if it’s a job. At least eight hours a day, you should be focusing on your studies.’ And that resonated with me, for some reason. Number one, ‘Do you think I'm going to mess this up and do nothing?’ But it was great advice where I took it seriously. Like, ‘You're right. Holy cow, this is my future. I need to pay attention to these courses and study.’ Now, did I study for eight hours every day? No. But I guess if I looked at it, yeah, I did stuff on the radio station. I did stuff for the TV station. So, probably put more than eight hours in a day. But that's what I loved, and that's where I found what I'm good at. So, that meant a lot to me, and that's always come back to me. And, in fact, dropping my nephew off at college this week — and I didn't know how he’d take it, so I wrote it in a card because I'm not the best speaker. So, I'm like, ‘Okay, don't open this now. Open it some other time.’ So, whether he takes advice or not . . . But I think he is.” (28:11—29:24) -Andy

“Dentistry is hard. Don't try to do it on your own. Leading a business is hard. Don't try to do it on your own.” (43:38—43:42)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

3:14 Celebrating International Podcast Day.

6:19 Find out what you're good and bad at.

10:36 Does Andy ever get angry.

11:31 What works and doesn't work in improving workplace culture.

15:51 Core values will simplify everything.

20:39 The last time Kirk and Laura got angry.

23:20 Q&A: What is the best piece of advice you've ever received?

30:15 Q&A: Do you have a good scar story?

35:43 Pop quiz: podcast history.

42:30 ACT’s Master Class, Money Roadmap Tool, and To The Top.

Laura Barry Bio:

Laura joined ACT Dental in September of 2021 as an Executive Assistant. She brings over 24 years of senior administration, project coordination, and relationship-building experience.

"Better Practice - Better Life is what drew me to ACT Dental — truly a mindset that applies to all walks of life."

Andy Konkle Bio:

Andy joined ACT Dental in February 2022 as a Video Producer. A lifelong resident of Wisconsin, he has made a tour around the state calling Milwaukee home for the past two decades. He brings over 25 years of storytelling, video producing, and social media experience. Past assignments have included a little of everything. Covering Super Bowl XLV, spending a night on an aircraft carrier, and the Tick Races are a few of his most memorable stories.

When Andy sets the camera down, you can find him and his wife, Lisa, taking full advantage of nice weather, especially when there's an outdoor festival involved. Experiencing different locations and cultures while finding craft breweries and attending sporting events with family and friends are some of his favorite pastimes. 

Say This, Not That When Collecting Money

Episode #511 with Christina Byrne, Jenni Poulos, & Ariel Juday

As a business, you need to collect money. But dentists aren't collecting what they're owed! And to change that reality, Kirk Behrendt brings back three amazing ACT coaches to help you rethink your habits, your systems, and your language so you can overcome the challenges of collecting money for your practice. Remember — it’s okay to collect! To learn how to do it with confidence, listen to Episode 511 of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Christina’s email: [email protected] 
• Jenni’s email: [email protected] 
• Ariel’s email: [email protected] 
• The ACT Team’s social media: @actdental
• Subscribe to the Best Practices Show Podcast
• Join the To The Top Study Club
• See our Live Events Schedule here
• Get the Best Practices Magazine for Free!
• Write a Review on iTunes

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

ACT Dental’s Say This, Not That document: https://form.jotform.com/221665137804153

ACT Dental’s Verbal Skills Webinar: https://www.actdental.com/verbal

Take Action by Dr. Ann Marie Gorczyca: https://bookshop.org/p/books/take-action-treatment-coordination-for-a-successful-dental-practice-ann-marie-gorczyca/15107051?ean=9781949642384

Episode 506 of The Best Practices Show: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QXdjukwKEk

Main Takeaways:

Get the right thinking, the right language, and the right person to collect.

It’s not “mean” to collect money for a valuable service you provide.

Your practice is a business. If you don't collect, it won't survive.

Don't offer patients the option to not pay you.

Collecting is a collective effort.

Quotes:

“[Collecting money in a dental practice is] a huge deal, because it’s the money that you are owed. And if you don't collect it at the time of service, first of all, it’s not worth what it was the day you did the procedure. But it’s much harder to collect it after the fact. People don't answer their phone, they don't read their mail, they don't check their email. So, you're so much better off when you collect it right then and there.” (2:57—3:22) -Christina

“[Collecting money is] not mean. You're providing a valuable service to your patients, and it’s something that is worth something. It’s worth a lot. It has value. We don't feel like it’s mean when we go to the grocery store, and we have to pay for our groceries. I don't think that someone is being mean to me when I go to a store and pay for the goods or services that I am receiving. For some reason, we have this different belief around dentistry and dental care that it doesn't have that value or that worth, especially for that time-of-service collection. We need to throw that limiting belief out the door, own the fact that these are valuable services that the doctor, the team, everyone deserves to be compensated for.” (3:34—4:27) -Jenni

“Remember, it’s a business that needs money to survive. Bottom line, if we don't collect the money, the business can't continue.” (4:28—4:37) -Jenni

“It’s your service. Don't devalue your service. And team members, they are only concerned about collecting if they feel that coming from the dentist or from the leadership. If the team member doesn't know any differently, they're going to collect. It’s these notions that we put in our mind, or we start perceiving who can pay and who can't pay. They wouldn't be here if they couldn't pay. They know. We all know. We don't leave the grocery store with our groceries and say, ‘Bill me.’ We’re not doing the barter system anymore, so it’s okay to collect.” (5:45—6:24) -Ariel

“Of course, nobody wants to — I mean, I don't want to pay. I might value it, but if I have the option not to, I'm going to choose it. So, we’re not offering that option. [We ask,] ‘How would you like to take care of today’s investment portion?’ . . . If you take one big key word away, it’s that these are investments. It’s not a fee. It’s a return when we invest. We get a return in something. So, I'm going to pose the question of, ‘How do you want to take care of this?’ not, ‘Do you want to take care of this?’” (7:20—8:02) -Jenni

“It starts from the day that we actually diagnose and treatment plan and set the patient up for that visit. So, the first time they hear that they need to pay $500 shouldn't be the day that they have the procedure and they're walking out the door after. They should know that, because when we got them in the schedule, we told them, ‘Here’s what you need to prepare for. This is what your investment will be.’” (8:03—8:32) -Christina

“I've seen the evolution in all of my years in dentistry. I started in 1985, and it was a “price”. Then, it was “cost” because that sounded better. Then, we went to “fee” because that sounded a little bit better. But I love “investment”. I think “investment” is wonderful because, what Jenni said, it implies you're going to get something in return, which means I'm going to have better health, I'm going to look better, I'm going to feel better. So, I think, definitely, that is the way to go.” (8:33—9:08) -Christina

“It goes back to systems. What is your system? Because anyone can ask someone to collect if they already know about it. Now, I may not want to drop the bomb on the patient. But I'm okay with collecting if they already know. So, what's the system? Did I present it to them? And then, what's your system for checkout? There's no reason where you should never ask, because you have a series of questions. Did I schedule? Did I collect? Did I go through my checklist or my notes? So, there's really no reason for you to ever miss part of it if you get yourself in a good rhythm and a good system of that. And then, you don't even have to think about, ‘Oh, yeah. Now, I have to ask.’” (9:11—9:52) -Ariel

“When you're collecting, you should be confident about it. You shouldn't apologize. Don't go, ‘Oh, it’s $500.’ So, I think that's really important. The language matters, but it’s also the way that somebody is saying it, the confidence that they have behind the ask.” (11:19—11:38) -Christina

“There's no reason to not very directly ask your team members, ‘Hey, are you comfortable and confident talking about money?’ Because if you have an entire team that's not, you're going to have to practice. You're going to have to roleplay. But if you have someone that's like, ‘Game on. I would love to be the point person for collections,’ then let's utilize that strength and that confidence that that person has.” (11:39—12:03) -Jenni

“You know how they say bees and dogs can sense fear? So can patients.” (12:04—12:08) -Kirk

“I like [saying], ‘Let me help you with your investment options or your investment portion for the date of service. Let me help you understand how we take care of your investment portion on the time of service.’ Again, it’s driving home those value words around the service or around collecting, and I want you to continually layer those in.” (12:30—12:55) -Jenni

“I like that, ‘Let me help you,’ because it also implies that I'm helping the patient. We’re in it together. Our job is to help make this as easy as possible, whether it’s the procedure itself or the ways to pay for it. So, I love that. I love being able to have that conversation and let them know we’re on their side.” (13:09—13:31) -Christina

“That one is also great for past-due balances, ‘Let me help you get caught up.’” (13:32—13:37) -Jenni

“I'm going to lean into how I can help you [rather than say, ‘Our office policy is . . .’]. ‘Let's see how I can help you. Let me help you understand how we take care of this in the practice.’ It’s all about what I can do for you, not what you're going to do for me.” (14:13—14:28) -Jenni

“I think you need to give yourself and your patients a little bit of grace. If you've been operating for 15 years, and people are walking out the door, and you're sending them a statement, you're not going to turn that around tomorrow. So, let your patients know. Let them know what to prepare for. If they're not prepared today, that's totally fine. ‘Let me help you understand what's going to change the next time you come in. We’re going to expect this. This is what it’s going to be. But for today, we understand. You're a great patient. We don't want to drop this on you right now,’ that kind of thing. So, I think that you need to give yourself some grace to get used to the idea, and then also give your patients some grace. Because you have trained them to not pay. So, now, we have to retrain them to pay.” (14:30—15:18) -Christina

“Systems really are designed to assist, not insist.” (15:58—16:02) -Kirk

“When I presented treatment, my system was, I scheduled the appointment and then reviewed the investment. But sometimes, patients don't like that. So, I say, ‘Okay. Well, let's review it. And now, let's get you scheduled.’ There are small tweaks that you have to allow your team members to make. But they have to understand the expectations and the end goal. The end goal was still that I got them scheduled and that I collected. How we went about it depended on the patient. I wanted to guide it towards their experience and what made them comfortable.” (16:22—16:55) -Ariel

“This document, the Say This, Not That, the reason that we have this third column is so there's some variation. There's some authenticity to your practice, to your team members. Because we do want you to be authentically you. We want you to be confident and comfortable, and you're most confident and comfortable in your own skin. So, if you would never say something one way, don't force yourself into it. If you feel like, ‘I am so confident getting them scheduled first, and then reviewing the financials, because that gives me that boost,’ then do that. Do the thing that feels authentic to you that’s going to give you that confidence.” (16:58—17:45) -Jenni

“This is not something that you're going to hand to your team members and say, ‘Here, do this.’ This is going to take probably several team meetings. I would suggest, take a team meeting and work on each section at a time, and really talk about what feels more comfortable. And in that third column, write down what your agreements are. Because the agreements are there to help you to remember. And it’s also there to help keep us accountable. If we have said that this is important, and we want to change the face of the practice, and we want the practice to be profitable, then we have to start collecting.” (18:06—18:41) -Christina

“When we make these agreements, it’s easy for us to say, if somebody says, ‘Hey, Chris. We agreed that this was how we were going to do this, and you're not saying it this way. Let's talk about how we can make it easier for you to have these conversations with the patients.’ Or to your points earlier, am I even the right person in the seat? Maybe that person is not right for that job, but they might shine somewhere else. So, figuring that out is really important.” (18:45—19:15) -Christina

“During these conversations, find out what is comfortable. When team members say that something isn't comfortable, they're like, ‘Oh, I can't say that. That doesn't feel right,’ figure out why. Because it might be that it is actually uncomfortable, and it doesn't flow very well in the current system or process. Or it might be, ‘Oh, I'm not comfortable saying that. I'm not comfortable presenting treatment over X amount because I don't have that myself.’ So, you can start learning. And I always tell everyone, you don't know what people are hiding in their couch. So, don't assume they can't afford it. But our team members, they are the ones talking to the patients. So, we have to figure out, why is it uncomfortable? Can we overcome that with them? If not, what do we do instead?” (19:16—20:05) -Ariel

“We got some great feedback from someone that's in our awesome To The Top study club where we were talking about investment. One of the docs said, ‘My team isn't comfortable referring to very small dollar amounts as an investment.’ So, we calibrated around it, and we made the decision that we have to hit a certain dollar amount to be comfortable using that word. So, they had this conversation around, ‘What feels right to us? What feels authentic? I don't like saying your “investment portion” is $3.’” (20:07—20:39) -Jenni

“I usually like to say [the deposit is] to secure the appointment. ‘In order to secure the appointment in doctor’s time, or to reserve the time in doctor’s schedule, this is what we’re going to do. We’re going to ask you for $250 today, and then we’ll get your appointment scheduled. And when you come back in, your investment will be,’ whatever. I think that makes sense. And the thing too, that deposit is less about the money and more about the commitment. It’s more about the predictability. If I have put down $250, I'm not going to cancel that two-and-a-half or three-hour appointment. But if I have no skin in the game, that's a huge chunk of time for somebody to, on a whim, decide, ‘Oh, I don't think I want to go today,’ and not show up.” (21:21—22:12) -Christina

“Every medical procedure, I think I've even paid in full, not even just the deposit. So, we expect it for bigger procedures. We know. We’re just waiting. We’re not going to say, ‘Oh, do you want me to pay for this now?’ We’re waiting for them to tell us, ‘Okay. We’re going to go ahead and collect this to secure the appointment.’ And patients will say, ‘Okay,’ or they’ll say they can't. And now, you say, ‘Okay. Let's talk and figure out when you can.’ It might just be timing. And that's okay too.” (22:15—22:47) -Ariel

“I always want to have my financial arrangements completely signed, set in stone, completed prior to the patient sitting down in the chair, walking in that day. I love Barrett’s “no surprises”. We want our patients to be comfortable and confident when they arrive that day and not worrying about what happens. And it might be that there are a few payments leading up to it, or it might be one before one day of, and one after. But let's get to that day with that plan already set in stone, signed, and scanned into the patient’s chart.” (24:27—25:06) -Jenni

“Patients are already worried about what's going to be happening once they're in the chair. So, let's take [out] one more fear of, ‘How am I going to pay for this?’ Let's talk about that ahead of time. That way, when they show up, all we have to do is worry about making them comfortable.” (25:08—25:24) -Ariel

“You want to advocate and help the patient as much as you can through the process. But even before that begins, when we know that we’re going to be utilizing financing, we’re going to be presenting financing, [say], ‘Let me help you understand how a lot of patients are able to afford this treatment right now.’” (26:33—26:52) -Jenni

“Be honest with it as well. You don't have to say “loan”, but you can tell them it is a healthcare credit card. So, ‘The benefit is you can use it here, here, and here.’ And I always throw in the vet, because that's where everyone’s like, ‘Oh, yeah. I spend money there.’ And then, if you do offer a promotion, ‘We offer six months no financing.’ Now, I will tell you, ‘You have to be able to pay those off.’ That way, there are no surprises. So, they don't come back and blame you of, ‘Oh. Well, you tricked me into using this.’ Give it to them of, ‘Let me benefit you. Let me show you how you can use this. I'm going to give you all the information, and you can make the decision.’” (26:54—27:35) -Ariel

“I utilize CareCredit myself at the vet. And when I've presented financial options to patients, I've actually been able to say, ‘Hey, I have experience with this myself. This is how it went for me. This is how I made sure to take care of it and pay it off in time within the promotional period.’ So, I could authentically talk about, ‘It worked. I got the care that my little love needed immediately.’ And that gave the patient confidence because it was like, ‘Okay. You've been there. You've done that.’ We don't want to go first. We don't want to be alone. We want to know that someone else has done it, and that it’s going to be okay.” (27:38—28:17) -Jenni

“Let them know, ‘This is how we can do payments.’ Now, I will say, this is the biggest thing I always hear, ‘But they didn't qualify.’ So, the doctor is like, ‘But Ariel, make payments for them because they didn't qualify for CareCredit.’ Let's think through this. CareCredit is a very large company. They know how to collect money. They don't qualify for CareCredit, yet I'm willing to make payments for someone who is proven to have bad credit history? Usually, when they didn't qualify, they probably shouldn't qualify for payments with us either.” (29:00—29:37) -Ariel

“That would be the, ‘Let's begin making payments and building up that credit to go towards it,’ not, ‘Let's begin making payments after.’ You didn't sign up to be a bank, so let's remember that.” (29:38—29:57) -Jenni

“Doctors are hard. They want to just have a handpiece in their hand and do those procedures. But you have to think about, what is the outcome of that? Like Ariel said, if they don't qualify, if their money is not good enough for CareCredit, then I don't think that we should be extending them that courtesy. Because we've said this for how many years, if a patient is tight at the end of the month, what bills are going to be left unpaid? It’s not going to be their mortgage. They're still going to pay that or their rent. They're still going to buy food. They're still going to pay their utilities. They're not going to pay their doctor. So, you don't want to get into that situation because it’s uncomfortable for everybody.” (29:58—30:42) -Christina

“Even if they get declined [for CareCredit], now you know where to lead your talking points, as Jenni said. That's not the end of the road. It doesn't mean they can't afford it. Now, we say, ‘Okay. Do we need to make payments ahead of time? Do we need to ask family members? Do you have other savings? Do you need to move your money around?’ Get them thinking. And it’s okay to have silence because they have to think. We...