The Best Practices Show with Kirk Behrendt

The 90-10 Case Acceptance

Episode #490 with Dr. Tarun “T-Bone” Agarwal

Case acceptance should be as high as possible. That's what you've been led to believe. And to challenge that idea, Kirk Behrendt brings in Dr. Tarun “T-Bone” Agarwal, founder of 3D Dentists, with four tips to help you rethink and improve case acceptance. Sometimes, less is more! To learn how to get your patients to say yes more often, listen to Episode 490 of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Dr. Agarwal’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tbonespeaks
• Dr. Agarwal’s social media: @tbonespeaks
• Dentistry Made Simple podcast: https://3d-dentists.com/podcast/
• 3D Dentists 3D Retreat: https://3d-dentists.com/3d-retreat/
• 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

Main Takeaways:

Understand the 90-10.

Give a good, full diagnosis.

Present patients with choices.

Always set firm, financial agreements.

Utilize third-party financing for patients.

Use the three levels of priority scheduling.

Offer dentistry in fewer, well-planned visits.

Quotes:

“I believe we have been massively misled about case acceptance and what case acceptance should be. We’re all led to believe that case acceptance should be as high as possible. And I actually want case acceptance to be around 10%.” (6:00—6:12)

“Here’s what I think happens. We see a tooth, we tell a patient they need a tooth done, and we forget about everything else going on in their mouth. And we never give our patients the chance to say yes to doing all of their dentistry in fewer, well-planned visits.” (6:19—6:33)

“The 90-10 concept comes from this: I want 10% case acceptance. And what I mean by that is, if Kirk came in as a patient and he’s got a mouth full of old amalgams that are starting to break down, I want Kirk to say, 10% of the time, yes to doing everything. But 90% of the time, I want Kirk to say yes to doing at least one area of his mouth. So, it’s a some-or-all concept.” (6:50—7:19)

“I tell patients, ‘You have a right to choose to do some of it, none of it, or all of it.’ So, 90% choose to do some of it. Some people choose to do none of it. And 10% choose to do all of it in fewer, well-planned visits. And that's the premise of the concept.” (7:20—7:36)

“We don't present what people aren't ready to hear, or willing to hear. So, we believe in a nonconfrontational, non-salesy approach to case acceptance. We believe in an influential approach to case acceptance, not an educational approach to case acceptance. And so, we have a four-step process that we teach.” (8:25—8:45)

“The first concept is, I think it’s our ethical obligation to fully diagnose what all is going on in a patient’s mouth. That doesn't mean make up things. That doesn’t mean everybody is a full-mouth rehab. That just means if you looked at this patient and you assume — and this is a big assumption that we have to get through our heads — that money is not an object. We have to diagnose with the assumption that money is not an object. And the second assumption I take is, ‘What would you do if this were your mouth?’” (9:17—9:51)

“We have a fear of overwhelming the patient. We have a fear of hearing “no”. And I think the crutch of the problem is we don't know what we’re looking for. We don't have the diagnostic eyes to see. I'll give you an example. Last week at one of our programs, I put up a picture and I asked all 12 dentists in the room, ‘Put up a treatment plan from this one picture. Assume money is not an object. Assume, what would you do if this were your mouth.’ And the treatment plans ranged from $500 to $30,000. Some people noticed the recession and suggested soft tissue grafting. Some people noticed the malocclusion and suggested orthodontics. Some people noticed the need for a guard. Some people noticed cracks in teeth and wanted to do restorations. So, I think a lot of it starts with, number one, we don't have the eyes of what's going on.” (10:52—11:45)

“Number two, and maybe even more important than number one, is we’re running around on roller skates. We’re literally spending two, three minutes doing all of this and so much has been left to the dentist because we’re the diagnosers. And I believe we’re the confirmers, not the diagnosers. So much of this should be team-driven. But it doesn't become team-driven until it becomes dentist-driven first.” (11:46—12:10)

“All the young dentists I talk to, they're working two, three chairs, plus they're doing hygiene checks. And when I worked like that, my hygiene checks are, ‘We’ll look at that next time. We’ll talk about this next time. Hey, I'm running 10 minutes behind in the next room. Do I really need to see the patient?’ So, we call this phase slowing down to speed up, because we want to get to a concept of one column, one dentist. I don't want our dentists to schedule more than one column of dentistry. That leaves good time to do great hygiene checks. And when you do great hygiene checks, you diagnose more. And then, when you diagnose more, you become more productive.” (12:17—12:58)

“The whole concept of running multiple chairs is to make up for the fact that we’re doing a lot of small things on lots of different patients. And we want to move to a concept of fewer, well-planned visits.” (12:58—13:09)

“We have to prioritize the dentist. It’s got to be dentist first. It’s got to be the name on the door. Even if you're an associate listening to this, you're an entrepreneur within the practice that you're in. That's the beauty of dentistry. You control what you do. You literally call the shots. That's why we went into dentistry. And so many of us got into dentistry to call the shots, and then next thing you know, the inmates started running the asylum and we’re no longer in control.” (14:10—14:39)

“The other day, I got a flat tire on one of my tires on my car. And they said, ‘Hey, by the way, your other three tires are starting to get low on tread. Do you want to proactively go ahead and deal with this, or do you want to come back to us in six months and deal with it?’ And I said, ‘Well, let's just go ahead and deal with all four of them now and be done with it.’ And that's the analogy I like to use with dentists. And ultimately, they didn't tell me I need to replace all four tires. They gave me a choice.” (15:39—16:09)

“When we get to communication, then we start with what's called a permission and choice dialogue. And the permission is, ‘Hey, would today be a good day to talk to you about everything that I see in your mouth?’ And it’s like, ‘Duh, of course. That's what I'm here for.’ And, ‘I want to give you a choice. The choice is, I could talk to you about everything that's going on, and it may sound a little overwhelming, but it'll give you the option to plan out what's going on and get an idea of what's coming up down the road.’ Or, ‘I know that you mentioned you were having pain down here. If you’d like, we can just focus on this one area. Which works best for you?’” (16:10—16:48)

“People feel sold to when you tell them what they want, or you choose for them. And so, to me, everything is about giving the patient the choice. It’s your teeth. It’s your mouth. Frankly, I don't care what you do. I legitimately don't care what you do. So, the first step is, we’ve got to give them permission and choice.” (17:04—17:22)

“I want to give every patient a chance to do something like this: ‘If it’s possible, would you be interested in getting all your dentistry done in as few as a single visit?’ And what patient says, ‘No, I'd rather come back to the dentist eight times’? Nobody. Right? So, I frame it as, ‘Would you be interested in trying to get all your work done in a single visit?’ And I know the dentist is out there saying, ‘Well, what if it can't be done in a single visit?’ Then don't offer it in a single visit. Say, ‘In as few visits as possible.’ Because not everything can be done in one visit. But the premise is, I want [patients] to say, ‘Yes, I want to get it done in a single visit.’” (17:42—18:25)

“I want to start with diagnosing everything I see in the mouth as if it were my mouth. I want to ask the patient, do they want to hear about everything, or do they want to focus on just a single area. And then, I want to ask them, ‘Would you like to do everything in as few visits as possible.’ And the typical patient is going to say, ‘Of course I would. But how much does it cost?’ And then, we get to block number three, which is our firm financial arrangements. And this is where most people have dropped the ball. They diagnose, they give patients the chance to say yes, and then patients say no because they can't afford it. And then, we get retrained, instead of presenting with $3,000 of dentistry, let me just present with what insurance will cover. And that's why I need 3,000 patients, because I need 3,000 patients to do $400 worth of dentistry for me to make a living.” (19:18—20:19)

“Let's walk through box number three, firm financial arrangements. Our concept here is that, in our practice, we make a simple promise to our patients. Before we ever begin, we’re going to give you, in writing, what we’re doing, how long it’s going to take, how much it costs, and exactly how you can pay for it — in writing. And that's our financial menu.” (21:07—21:33)

“Patient affordability has very little to do with price.” (21:40—21:43)

“Patients aren't saying no to the dentistry. They're saying, ‘No, you haven't provided me a way to fit it into my budget.” (23:09—23:15)

“An amazingly underutilized service in every practice is the use of third-party financing. Payment plans. How do we make this affordable? Payment plans are all about affordability. At the end of the day, a $1,500 crown is super expensive. A $2,000 crown is super expensive. A $1,000 crown is super expensive. It doesn't matter. It’s all a lot of money to the average person in this country. So, the firm financial arrangement starts with the concept of a financial menu.” (23:18—23:49)

“Imagine if you went to a restaurant and every waiter or waitress had to tell you what's on the menu. How much would you buy? It'd be tough, right? But what do they give you? They give you a menu in writing that spells out exactly what they offer and exactly how much it costs. So, our concept starts with a financial menu that tells the patient exactly what we’re doing, how much time it’s going to take, exactly how much it costs. And then, the kicker part of it is exactly how they can pay for it. And exactly how they can pay for it is two categories. Category number one is you can pay in full. Category number two, you can choose payment plans.” (23:50—24:35)

“You're going to give away anywhere between 5% and 14% cost of the practice, depending on the patient’s credit worthiness. So, let's average it out and say it’s 9% to 10% I'm going to give away. So, if we do simple math, if using a third party allows me to do two crowns at the same time on a patient versus one crown, your profit margin goes from 10%, 15% to 40%, 50%. Because how much longer does it take to do two crowns versus one crown? And so, the margin is not in the savings of the discount fee. The margin is in doing more dentistry in a single visit. That makes up for the 10%.” (26:18—27:03)

“Car dealerships are selling more cars than you need to people that shouldn't be able to afford that car, because they're doing something right. So, for me, it really boils down to, you've got to forget about the discount fee. And it starts with giving the patient the chance to say yes to all of it. And then, you have the financial menu in place so the patient can choose what they want to do. So, I want the patient to choose. And what we have found is that we work on less patients and we get a great result, and everybody wins.” (28:35—29:13)

“I talk about the financial arrangements. It’s firm financial arrangements. And what I mean by that, you do not get on our schedule until you sign and leave a deposit . . . Remember, I said there are two choices. Choice number one is you're paying full. Choice number two is you choose a payment plan. If you choose a payment plan and it’s a third-party service, great. Get approved, we’ll schedule you. You're approved for the money. We’re going to get the money. We run your care credit, X, Y, Z company, and we get the money, we schedule you, we put all your appointments on the books and knock it out. If you say, ‘Hey, I'm going to pay at the time of service,’ then we handle it this way. You leave a $100 deposit to get on the books, and then you owe the rest of it the day of service.” (29:30—30:31)

“For our sedation cases or our super-large cases that are three, four, five hours long, we take a larger deposit. But again, most dentists aren't doing lots of three, four, five-hour dentistry. So, let's keep it simple and focus on the 30-minute to two-hour appointments. Take a $100 deposit. It’s enough money to make people say, ‘Well, I'm not really committed. I don't want to schedule right now.’ And that's what I want. I don't want anybody to schedule that's not committed. Again, the clues are all around us. You do not get an airplane reservation without paying for your seat.” (30:34—31:05)

“Here’s why you need it in writing. 70% of your patients don't say yes right away. A lot of people say, ‘Hey, I've got to go home and think about it,’ or, ‘I'm not ready to decide. I've got to look at my calendar. I've got to think about it.’ And if you didn't do this in writing, then they don't remember how you told them they can pay for it. So, the in-writing part is all about something they can keep in their drawer, something they can refer back to and they can say, ‘Oh, my tooth is hurting. I need to get this taken care of. A month ago, I went through this. Let me look at my treatment plan. I need to choose this. Let me get this done.’” (31:18—31:52)

“The other part about in-writing is, there's something psychological about having somebody sign something and getting it in writing that they committed to this. And so, to me, it’s about the psychology of it. And I don't want people calling us back and saying, ‘Hey, I remember you talked about payment plans. What were my choices, again?’ Just give it to you in writing.” (31:53—32:12)

“I'm going to make up numbers here. I want to produce a million dollars. I want to produce a million dollars with one patient in one day. That's my goal. It’s impossible. I get it. But why should I see 1,000 patients to do a million dollars when I can see 100 patients to do a million dollars, or 500 patients to do a million dollars?” (33:06—33:23)

“I don't like running from room to room, bottom line. Because, for me, running from room to room means I've got to have more team members. I've got to have a bigger facility. I've got to have more operatories. I've got to create a big machine where it suddenly turns into, I'm working to feed the machine, and I get whatever may be left over, and you feel like you're working for everybody else. To me, I don't want any of that. I went into dentistry to call the shots, so I want to keep it simple.” (33:27—33:57)

“Our concept on the scheduling is a column per provider on the schedule. So, in your practice management software, there's a column per provider. Now, that may mean I work out of two rooms to most efficiently see my patients while the other room is getting set up or torn down. But in the schedule, it’s one column per provider. Most people, what they're doing is they're making a column per chair. And that's when chaos starts. It turns into utter chaos.” (33:58—34:28)

“I'm an eight-operatory practice. Most people would have eight columns in their practice management software of choice. In our practice, we’re three hygienists, three dentists, and one other. We have seven columns in our office because we have seven providers, because a provider cannot be scheduled to be in more than one place at a time. Now, I may work out of multiple rooms. But not with multiple patients in multiple rooms at the same time.” (34:34—35:01)

“The clues are all around us. I learned this in the medical/surgical model. For example, when you go to a plastic surgeon, they say, ‘I do consults on Tuesdays, and I do surgeries on Monday and Wednesday.’ And what do patients that want plastic surgery do? ‘Well, I guess I'll get my breasts done on Monday or Wednesday,’ because that's the day I've set up for the surgeon to do that type of procedure. So, I take that mentality for my part of the practice.” (37:08—37:38)

“Our concept is what we call priority scheduling. And there are three levels to it. Level one is your traditional block scheduling, what's been taught since the ‘80s, ‘90s, whatever. I think it’s antiquated, personally, but it’s the traditional model. And the block scheduling is rock, paper, scissors; rock, sand, water, whatever it is, and you block production waste. So, we have rock, procedures that are, in our practice, $2,000 or more. You have sand, procedures that are $300 to $500. And you have water procedures that basically pay you nothing. That's a great starting point. So, if your schedule is a free-for-all where patients can choose when they go, a great place to start is what we call level one scheduling, which is your traditional block schedule.” (38:24—39:16)

“Once we get control of our traditional block scheduling, the next concept is a time-based concept. And that's a time based for a single patient. So, again, we stick to the block concept. But what we do is we block four-hour blocks, three-hour blocks, and two-hour blocks for one patient at a time. So, a patient that needs four hours’ worth of work, a patient that needs three hours’ worth of work, and a patient that needs two hours’ worth of work. And we have multiple blocks depending on your historical data of what type of dentistry you're doing, and we block that many patients.” (39:44—40:18)

“Level three is what we call procedure or bust. For example, in my scenario, the second Wednesday of every month is a hybrid. If we don't have a hybrid that month, I don't work.” (42:22—42:35)

“It’s your name on the door. You should be controlling and calling the shots. So, there's nobody that says you have to do it my way. You don't have to do it Kirk’s way. You don't have to do it anybody’s way. You have to do it your way. It’s your name on the door. It’s your business. You're the one that spent half a million dollars getting through school. You're the one that took out the million-dollar loan to do this. You're the one that's responsible for anywhere from four to 15 people and their families, and...

Reinfection Rates & What You Need to Know

Episode #489 with Dr. John Molinari

Dentistry has a history with infection control. It has become better and safer because of it, and we can do it again for COVID-19. And to encourage keeping your practice and patients safe, Kirk Behrendt brings in Dr. John Molinari, expert on infection control and co-author of Cottone’s Practical Infection Control in Dentistry. He explains everything you need to know about reinfection rates and what you can do to keep your community healthy. Don't let your guard down against reinfection! For more advice from the expert, listen to Episode 489 of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Dr. Molinari’s email: [email protected] 
• 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

Main Takeaways:

COVID-19 is here to stay.

Vaccines alone will not prevent reinfection.

Practice the proven methods of infection control.

There are many more cases than what's reported.

Stay positive. Advancements are being made quickly.

Quotes:

“[COVID-19 is] not going to go away. I hate to say that. People keep saying, ‘Well, you have a vaxxed team for influenza, and we have some of that under control.’ But still, people get the flu even after they get the vaccine. And of course, a lot of people get the flu vaccine. Well, flu vaccine research started in 1940. So, we've had like 80-some-odd years of research with flu vaccines. We only have a little more than two-and-a-half years with SARS-CoV-2. And these coronaviruses do mutate a lot. They change.” (3:52—4:30)

“The good news — the good news first — is that [COVID-19 Omicron] reinfections with this tend to be milder, especially if you're vaccinated. So, that's good, which is what these [vaccines] were designed to do, prevent severe illness, hospitalizations, death. But the not-so-good news is this thing continues to adapt and mutate where now we have BA.4, BA.5, which are predominant in the U.S. And they can escape our antibodies to a certain extent.” (4:37—5:05)

“[COVID-19] antibodies can protect, but not like a hepatitis B immunity or a measles immunity or something like that, which is more stable. And so, you have people who could get reinfected, especially if they had a mild infection the first time where they didn't produce a lot of antibodies. This virus is really — I hate to give it a human characteristic, but it’s very smart. It can adapt and change very readily. The good news is that the most recent mutations appear to present with milder infections, especially for those who are vaccinated. The unvaccinated continue to be much more severe in hospitalizations.” (5:06—5:52)

“I will tell you one exciting thing that I think is on the horizon. And I don't have a crystal ball, but there are clinical trials, including in this country, on what's called a pan-coronavirus vaccine where they actually are taking antigens from different coronavirus strains, not just SARS-CoV-2, and trying to find stabilized antigens so that they can induce a broader immune response with this pan-coronavirus vaccine down the road, which will not only protect against what's out there, but will also help protect against the emerging stuff down the road.” (6:26—7:08)

“One of the themes I hear is, ‘I'm really tired of this crap. We’re okay. We got vaccinated. We got boosted. These are expensive. This is expensive. What can I do?’ So, they're not necessarily following what they were doing during the peak of the pandemic. What they need to realize is this is part of the new infection control, just like gloves were in the ‘80s for them. Respirators protect against a number of things, and not just this — especially if you have people with mild infections or who are asymptomatic who have a positive home test but don't report it, which is very, very common. There are many more cases than are being reported, so [dentists] need to keep doing what they’ve already been shown that they can do and practice the appropriate infection control. I worry about that.” (7:45—8:42)

“I think that it’s going to get better. Science is going to continue to evolve to look for vaccines. We already have good drugs out there which protect against severe infection. We even have things like Paxlovid, which can be prophylactic for people who are compromised. So, we have some good things out there. That was why the death rate went down so low. Our hospital heroes really have more in their armamentarium, and we’re learning more about this all the time. What's also nice is you have a worldwide effort. It’s not just the U.S. and Canada or Great Britain. There are countries that are really devoting a lot of time to studying this and coming up with advances which we can take advantage of as well.” (9:20—10:06)

“[COVID-19] is not going to go away. It’s not going to go away. And dentistry needs to continue to respond like they did. And I know they can.” (10:08—10:18)

“[Advancements are] moving as fast as it can. There have been some missteps because the virus continues to surprise, at times. And it doesn't happen with all viruses. It happens to happen with coronaviruses and this one, in particular, really became much more aggressive. And we’re dealing with a virus that is able to mutate fairly readily. I remember seeing about a year ago now, some report came out of Europe that suggested that SARS-CoV-2 had mutated 12,000 times since the beginning of the pandemic. But you don't see that with measles or hepatitis or mumps, or even smallpox or polio. The vaccines are going to get better. That's a big effort.” (10:51—11:41)

“Certain viruses are very adaptable, especially respiratory viruses. We lucked out, to a certain extent, with measles and things like that, which haven't really changed very much. But we also have a very aggressive vaccination program where we have the overwhelming majority of the population protected for a long period of time. We didn't get that with COVID-19. There was too much division, if you will. And I'll just leave it at that. And so, the virus has continued to gain a foothold.” (13:42—14:14)

“I think people need to start to get over the fact that, ‘We’re never going to do this! Science has failed us! The CDC is in the government’s pocket!’ That sort of stuff is nonsense. But it takes time. And we only have two-and-a-half years of experience with this virus, versus what we have for hep B and influenza and measles and stuff like that, even smallpox.” (15:57—16:19)

“Dentistry has responded to challenges . . . I can remember when we introduced gloves in our school in 1980. Our hygiene department wanted it. Oh my god, the dentists went crazy. But dentistry responded, and they responded well. So, there's a history there with infection control. And dentistry has gotten so much better and safer. And this is another step as we have another challenge. So, dentistry has already been asked to do it.” (16:41—17:18)

“There have been advances. It’s based on science. It’s based on clinical evidence. It’s based on applications of it. Do what's appropriate. Protect yourselves, protect your staff, protect your families.” (18:39—18:50)

“You and I remember when dentists and other health professionals didn't want to treat AIDS patients. And then, they realized that they were seeing them without even realizing it. And then, that brought in the standard precautions. And so, it takes time. But I think dentistry has had a good start in this, and I think they want to do the right things — not I think, I know they want to do the right things. I don't know of anybody who went into dentistry not to help people.” (18:55—19:24)

“You have to do what the evidence shows. And the evidence has continued to evolve. We’re going to get better.” (19:28—19:33)

“We've come a long way. I'm proud of what dentistry has accomplished. I'm not a dentist, but I worked with dentists most of my adult life, and hygienists and assistants. And I'm proud of what dentistry has accomplished. Don't go backwards. You've done it. Now, it’s part of your armamentarium. Use the right personal protective equipment. Have the right approach. People are being home tested, so we’re seeing a lot of cases that are not even being reported. So, when you see reported numbers, they are way low, way below what's really happening. And understand that. But make sure that you do what you're supposed to do, because the evidence shows that you are protected from that.” (20:20—21:08)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

1:44 Dr. Molinari’s background.

3:16 Why COVID-19 isn't going away.

8:56 Will COVID-19 be part of our entire lives?

10:31 What we need to know about the advancements.

13:15 Lessons to learn from the past.

16:22 Advice for dentists.

20:06 Last thoughts on COVID-19 reinfection rates.

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

Articles by Dr. Molinari in Dental Economics: https://www.dentaleconomics.com/search?filters={%22text%22:%22dr.%20john%20a.%20molinari%22,%22type%22:[],%22websiteSchedule%22:[],%22labels%22:[],%22authors%22:[]}

Articles by Dr. Molinari in JADA: https://jada.ada.org/action/doSearch?text1=dr.+john+a.+molinari&field1=AllField

Cottone’s Practical Infection Control in Dentistry by Dr. John A. Molinari and Dr. Jennifer A. Harte: https://bookshop.org/p/books/cottone-s-practical-infection-control-in-dentistry-john-a-molinari/16414133?ean=9781284220308

Dr. John Molinari Bio:

Dr. John A. Molinari received a B.A. in Biology from St. Vincent College and a Ph.D. in Microbiology from the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine. He was awarded Professor Emeritus at the University of Detroit Mercy, where he served for 32 years in the School of Dentistry as Professor and Chairman of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Director of Infection Control. He was later Infection Control Director for THE DENTAL ADVISOR in Ann Arbor, Michigan, from 2009 to 2018. He has published over 500 scientific articles, text chapters, and abstracts in the areas of microbiology and immunology, and lectures nationally and internationally on topics dealing with infectious diseases and infection control.

Dr. Molinari is a founder and Past-President of OSAP and is also co-author of the text, Cottone’s Practical Infection Control in Dentistry. He has served as a consultant for the CDC, ADA Council on Scientific Affairs, Council on Dental Practice, and regional hospitals. He also was Chairman of the State of Michigan Governor’s Risk Reduction and AIDS Policy Commission. Previously, he was the Infection Control section editor for The Compendium of Continuing Education in Dentistry, a member of the Editorial Board for The Journal of the American Dental Association, and contributed a monthly column for Dental Economics. In recognition of his efforts, he was inducted as an honorary member of the Michigan Dental Association, the International College of Dentists, the American College of Dentists, and was a recipient of the ADA Golden Apple Award. 

The Pathway to Bigger CE

Episode #488 with Dr. Steven Vorholt

If you're listening to this podcast, you already know the importance of continuing education. And today, Kirk Behrendt brings in Dr. Steven Vorholt, course instructor from The Pathway, to answer every dentist’s burning question: is bigger CE worth the bigger cost? He shares his journey to explain the benefits of big CE and the mistakes you should avoid as you get started. Start CE early and take it often! For more advice on choosing high-value CE, listen to Episode 488 of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Dr. Vorholt’s website: https://www.stevenvorholtdds.com/
• Dr. Vorholt’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vorholt
• Dr. Vorholt’s social media: @vorholtdds
• The Pathway courses: https://www.thepathway.com/courses/course-catalog
• 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

Main Takeaways:

CE keeps you from stagnating.

Start big CE as early as possible.

Every successful dentist takes big CE.

Travel for CE to get into a different mindset.

Meet people — the pearls are after the course.

Quotes:

“You cannot do big CE until the office is running well. If you go out and learn something, and then you try to bring that into a ship that's already casting to one side, you're still losing water.” (4:19—4:30)

“When I look at the landscape of dentists that I consider my colleagues and that I want to be around, all of them have taken large continuum CEs, high-value and high-cost. And when you look at people who you might consider really successful in your own local area or maybe in your state, they’ve probably taken big CE. So, it’s not the people who are going to their state dental association to get their 40 hours checked off or doing stuff one webinar at a time to get 40 hours over the year, or the back of a magazine.” (10:17—10:52)

“I [got my 40 hours checked off] the first three years out of school because I thought that's what you did to keep your license active. And that's one of my biggest regrets was, looking back, that I didn't dive in sooner.” (10:53—11:03)

“I'll hear from a lot of young dentists, ‘How can I afford [CE]?’ I don't know if you can afford not to. You've got to think, a $20,000 CE — and there are companies out there that let you finance this stuff too. Like Proceed Finance, it’s a patient finance, will also finance dental CE for the dentist. And there are other companies. And most companies like The Pathway have payment plans and such like that. So, you can work it out on a monthly basis that's comfortable for you. But the jumping off the trampoline of that CE back at your practice is what really counts.” (11:04—11:40)

“When someone says, ‘Is it worth it to spend $20,000 on CE?’ The answer is, well, what's the CE? What's it going to give you? What's the return on investment? That's true with anything. Like, if someone were to say, ‘I'm going to spend $100,000 on X, Y, Z,’ but it’s going to make them a million dollars over the next five years, great. The money doesn't matter. It’s all about the return. So, if you're interested in doing something like implant dentistry, which is its own subspecialty, you need to have high-quality CE. You cannot dabble because the stuff, just to get set up for it, is at least $25,000 in motors, parts, pieces, and implants. So, if you're not also backing that up with really good training that's high-quality and has good follow-up and backup and whatnot, then you're just going to be flat on your feet.” (11:40—12:27)

“Until you get out and do some stuff, you really don't know what excites you. Dental school is such a weird little bubble. I liked the pediatric professors we had, and I liked the two weeks of experience I got in the pediatric clinic rotation. I thought, ‘Maybe I want to do that in my career.’ I had no idea. I get out and practice for five years and realize peds is my least favorite part of the whole thing. It would've been a nightmare if I got into this as a specialty.” (25:13—25:35)

“It has a lot to do with what you want in your career. Do you want your career to support your family life and what your priorities are? If you just want, ‘I want to work three to four days a week. I want to make a good living for my family. And I want to be in this town,’ well, you could do what is going to lead to that.” (25:47—26:02)

“You just can't do [CE] one hour at a time.” (37:28—37:30)

“One of the big downfalls when I moved to Scottsdale, I thought, ‘This is great. CE will come to me! I have Spear here. I have this. These conferences come here all the time.’ I don't go to them very often because, more often than not, I would feel guilty not being home. Or if I went to Spear, I wouldn't be the person who goes to the bar or the dinner afterwards with some of the attendees and learns all those pearls because I've got a wife and a kid at home, and I want to be with them. So, I still look, now, for travel CE experiences for that reason, to get in that mindset, because I think that is important.” (37:50—38:22)

“If it’s a big travel CE, meet people. After the course is where all the pearls are really learned. And get after it, because that's how you're going to get passionate, and that's how you're going to meet people. And the networking in these events is probably even more important than the material.” (38:24—38:40)

“You can do whatever your heart desires in this career. Do not feel locked in. Do not feel pigeonholed. Even if you just started a practice, there are ways to get out of it.” (42:19—42:29)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

1:36 Dr. Vorholt’s background.

9:28 Is high-cost CE worth it?

13:09 Other values in attending CE.

18:57 The future and opportunity with implants.

24:16 Figure out what you want in your career.

28:04 The many options in dentistry.

31:43 How students transform with CE.

34:51 The impact of live courses.

37:03 Last thoughts on the path to bigger CE.

40:13 Dr. Vorholt’s courses and how to get in touch.

Links Mentioned in This Episode:

Proceed Finance: https://www.proceedfinance.com/

The Alan Mead Experience podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/5IBO0VS2MTwxxcolO5IJEY  

The Clinical Hacks podcast: http://dentalhacks.com/podcasts/choose-your-own-adventure-with-dr-steven-vorholt-chp44

The Dental Hacks podcast: http://dentalhacks.com/podcasts/implants-done-right-with-dr-justin-moody-and-dr-steven-vorholt-dhp299

Dr. Steven Vorholt Bio:

Dr. Steven Vorholt was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, and later moved to Columbus, Ohio, to attend college. He graduated with his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from The Ohio State University in 2013.

Shortly after graduation, Dr. Vorholt started a private practice in the Columbus area. Immersing himself in as much continuing education as possible, he eventually developed a great passion for dental implant surgery. After six years of building a successful general practice in Ohio, Dr. Vorholt followed his passion and moved to Scottsdale, Arizona, to take a full-time position with the New Horizon Dental Center and Implant Pathway. You will see him mentoring at most courses at the Tempe facility, and he also coordinates the follow-up and restorative care for all implant patients through the Implant Pathway program. 

How to Be Different & Have Patients Beat the Door Down

Episode #487 with Dr. Tim Herre

Do what no one else does, and patients will flock to see you. And to help you find your X factor for your practice, Kirk Behrendt brings in Dr. Tim Herre, founder of the Breathe to Thrive Holistic Dental Center, to share his journey into holistic dentistry and advice for getting started. Self-discovery is your first and most important step! To learn more about finding your path and passion in dentistry, listen to Episode 487 of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Dr. Herre’s email: [email protected] 
• Dr. Herre’s website: https://holisticdentalkc.com/
• Dr. Herre’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/timherredds
• Dr. Herre’s social media: @drtimherre
• Holistic Dental’s social media: @holisticdentalkc
• 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

Main Takeaways:

Figure out who you are first.

Decide how you want your practice to look.

Find something you enjoy that no one else does.

Listen to your patients’ goals, then tailor to their needs.

Keep learning and improving yourself, your team, and your practice.

Quotes:

“We know what we know today, and then tomorrow we do better.” (5:53—5:55)

“You've got to figure out what's right for you, because I think I've gotten caught in the trap too. You listen to a lot of other people talk about their practice and, ‘I have 10 practices,’ or, ‘I'm doing X, Y, and Z.’ But what's right for you? Do you want something small? Something big? What procedures do you like to do? What do you want your clients to look like? So, I think it’s figuring out who you are first.” (11:58—12:22)

“Everybody, all the time, is like, ‘I want an airway practice.’ But what does that truly mean? I think airway being a buzzword can mean a lot of different things to a lot of people. Even “holistic” can mean a lot of different things to a lot of people. But what does it mean to you, and how do you want to spin it?” (12:46—13:05)

“Number one is, what do they want and what are their goals? What does the parent want for their child, versus project what we want on them? I think that's probably the biggest thing, is always ask them, ‘Well, what do you want?’ because then you can tailor what you're talking about to what their needs and goals are and give them choices based on that. Because it’s not always a one-size-fits-all. And so, I think first and foremost is listening to them and their story.” (15:29—15:56)

“When you find the path that you want to take and you're passionate about it, it may take time, but things fall into place if you're always trying to figure things out.” (16:52—17:04)

“That's been the biggest thing, is I found a procedure, or I found something that I enjoy that no one else does, so when all the other people in town, or therapists, or moms hear about it, that they have to come see [me].” (17:56—18:10)

“When I rebranded to include “holistic” in my name, that brought in a whole other group of people. They come in because they want something different, but they're more open to listening to the message that you have. And they're more open to you sitting down and educating them, and your team educating, them on, ‘Hey, this is what I see,’ versus, ‘It’s broken. Fix it.’ They’ll be more proactive with their care and more receptive to, ‘Hey, I'm not in pain, but I see these things. Let's make a long-term game plan to help get me on track.’” (18:26—19:01)

“When you're doing it for the right reasons, then it doesn't make it as time-consuming, always thinking about it and always tinkering with it. I think that's the biggest thing, is what are your values, what your goals are, what's in it for you, and then run with that. Because otherwise, it’s like what everybody says with a new job: if you don't enjoy it, it’s going to be a challenge.” (30:05—30:26)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

1:50 Dr. Herre’s background.

5:59 His journey to holistic dentistry.

8:18 What his practice looks like.

11:24 Figure out who you are.

13:06 Holistic, defined.

14:58 Listen to your patients.

16:13 Self-marketing.

20:01 Challenges with the “holistic” rebranding.

21:47 The future of airway.

24:21 Other insights and advice.

26:15 What's next for Dr. Herre.

29:31 Last thoughts on being different.

30:29 How to get in touch with Dr. Herre.

Dr. Tim Herre Bio:

Dr. Tim founded the Breathe to Thrive Center after growing frustrated seeing the chronic disease that plagues so many Americans. As a holistic, biological dentist, he looks beyond the mouth and connects the dots between whole-body health. Far too often, chronic stress, inflammation, and a poorly functioning airway are the basis of many of our modern healthcare problems. For many Americans, our modern healthcare system is set up to monitor or manage a patient’s symptoms versus a holistic approach that aims to treat the root cause of disease. This holistic approach is what Dr. Tim wants for his own family, and it is the motivation behind him seeking out training and knowledge to help those seeking similar care sharing the whole- body health philosophy. 

Transforming Lives: Treating Patients with Autism

Episode #486 with Karen Raposa, RDH

Imagine having a toothache, but you're unable to communicate. In fact, you may have patients like this in your practice. Autism affects many children and adults — and you can have a positive impact on their dental experience. And to teach you how, Kirk Behrendt brings in Karen Raposa, author of Treating the Dental Patient with a Developmental Disability, to explain the misconceptions about autism and ways to educate yourself and your team. Every person deserves great dental care! To start helping these patients today, listen to Episode 486 of the Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Karen’s website: http://www.karenraposa.com/
• Karen’s email: [email protected] 
• 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

Main Takeaways:

Autism is not a monolith.

Educate yourself and your team about autism.

Become an advocate for patients with disabilities.

Everyone deserves compassionate, life-long dental care.

Get involved with organizations like AADMD to learn how to help.

Quotes:

“When it comes to autism, if you've met one person with autism, that's it — you've met one person with autism. So, there can be misconceptions that, ‘Oh, I just do the same thing for everybody, and it’s going to help everybody who has autism.’ But every individual with autism is entirely different.” (2:37—2:53)

“Unfortunately, a lot of [misconceptions about autism] is because of the media. What the media tends to show is people who are higher functioning with autism. Because there are people who maybe are not comfortable socially, but they're brilliant. They're savants, and they can play instruments amazingly, or they can go through life, when it comes to their education, very easily. But it’s a spectrum.” (3:36—3:59)

“People don't realize, ‘What does that mean, “spectrum”?’ Well, it means that some people with autism may be extremely intelligent, and some people may be severely impaired, intellectually. And socially, some people may be able to communicate well and get along with others, and other people may not have that ability at all. And some may need someone to care for them for their entire life, and other people may be very independent. And I think the misconception is that it’s just this one image that you might have in your mind. And most of the time, individuals like my son, you don't hear about on TV programs or in the news, unless something really bad happens.” (4:01—4:44)

“In general, most people go into dentistry because they want to help people. What tends to happen with the autism population is, most of the time, a dentist, a hygienist, an assistant, wants to help. They're just afraid they might do the wrong thing. And so, instead of trying something, very often, they choose not to help. And people with autism are human beings and deserve that valuable, life-long dental health just like everybody else does.” (5:01—5:35)

“I can understand. I didn't know anything about autism. I was a hygienist. Prior to my son, I probably would've done the exact same thing and been like, ‘Oh my goodness. I don't want to do something wrong and have this end up being a bad situation. So, I'm just going to see if I can find another place for this patient to go.’ And the reality is, there really are not places for these individuals to go. Everybody needs to chip in and help a little bit to make a huge impact.” (5:37—6:06)

“You're working with this person; you've learned that this person doesn't speak to anybody. Imagine if they speak to you because they’ve learned how you value them. They’ve learned how much you care for them. I love this phrase: people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. So, at the end of the day, as a dental professional, most of the time, you're exhausted. Imagine how exhilarated you would feel if you helped someone who no one else was able to help, and you helped them feel better, and not have to have major dental care because you're helping prevent major problems in their mouth. You can change somebody’s life. You can have a major impact on somebody’s life by keeping them out of pain.” (6:24—7:14)

“Imagine being somebody who can't speak, and you have a toothache. And you're banging your face because you're trying to help somebody understand. And you're suffering every day. As dental professionals, we can prevent that from happening to somebody.” (7:15—7:30)

“Most of the time, these individuals were sent to — even if they were adults — a pediatric dentist because they could do some in-office sedation. And if they couldn't do it in-office, they'd take them to the hospital and sedate them. And I consider that a form of restraint. And that's really where the good news is — dentistry is changing. There are some amazing organizations that are advocates for this population now.” (7:52—8:20)

“We talk about protective stabilization today because you are protecting that person. When you say “restraint”, that's when you're doing it because you don't have good intention. But protecting and stabilizing someone so that they can have regular dental care and they can be healthy for their life is a totally different concept. And there's a lot of good conversation happening around that, because there are risks in sending somebody to a hospital to be fully sedated for dental care when you know that a lot of that could have been prevented by taking some simple steps to help that person.” (8:42—9:19)

“Every one of us is one step away from [a disability]. I mean, I could have a stroke tomorrow. You could have a bad car accident tomorrow. Think about the way you would like to be treated if you couldn't communicate well anymore. That's really what it’s all about.” (10:07—10:23)

“The first step is to get involved with an organization like AADMD, because you're going to be surrounded by other dentists and doctors who are helping people in this population. You do need to go beyond your DMD or DDS, generally, because you're going to need a little bit more skillset in working with people who have different impairments. So, whether it’s a GPR specialty or at least AGD, a little bit of an advanced education is going to be really helpful. Because in these cases, you're going to want to be good at the dentistry, but you've got to know how to help that person, in general. And if you're good at the dentistry, then you can concentrate on the other pieces of it a little bit more.” (10:54—11:45)

“You don't really know what you don't know, and you never know how you can impact a person’s life in a major way.” (17:08—17:17)

“If every dentist and dental hygienist in this country decided, ‘I'm going to help one person who has a pretty significant intellectual impairment. I'm going to be an advocate for that one person,’ someone who may have no one else in their life who advocates for them, imagine how you can change their life, and in that process change your own.” (17:27—17:53)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

1:18 Karen’s background.

3:18 Big misconceptions about autism.

4:45 Why this is important in dentistry.

6:06 Clinicians can make a positive impact.

7:32 Protective stabilization versus restraint.

9:19 How to get started helping patients with autism.

13:32 Karen’s book and where to find it.

16:55 Last thoughts on helping patients with autism.

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

AADMD: https://www.aadmd.org/

Treating the Dental Patient with a Developmental Disorder by Karen A. Raposa: https://www.wiley.com/en-us/Treating+the+Dental+Patient+with+a+Developmental+Disorder-p-9780813823935

Karen Raposa, RDH, MBA Bio:

Like many of us, Karen Raposa had poor dental experiences in her childhood. During her 20 years of private practice, Karen helped thousands of patients overcome their fears about dental treatment.

Karen’s clinical success fueled her desire to take her career in a new, challenging direction. She decided to get an MBA, knowing that a business degree would allow her to meld her clinical experiences with the challenges of sharing valuable information about both products and procedures with fellow dental professionals.

Karen has authored articles on a variety of dental subjects and has co-edited a textbook titled Treating the Dental Patient with a Developmental Disorder, which was released in the summer of 2012. In addition, her work has been published in both Dr. Esther Wilkins’ textbook titled Clinical Practice of the Dental Hygienist, as well as the Dental Clinics of North America, “The Special Care Patient” publication. She also has extensive experience in the academic world as a former assistant professor in Boston University’s Department of General Dentistry.

At the ADA Annual Session in Hawaii in 2009, Karen was awarded the Dimensions of Dental Hygiene’s Professional Achievement Award. This award recognizes one corporate council member each year who, through their work, professional involvement, and/or community service, has clearly advanced the profession of dental hygiene. She is the first recipient of this award, and a commemorative brick has been engraved with her name and placed in the courtyard of the National Museum of Dentistry in Baltimore, Maryland. In September of 2013, she was awarded the title as one of the “Top 25 Women in Dentistry” by Dental Products Reports.

Karen’s role in corporate dental hygiene as Senior Manager of Professional Relations for Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals allowed her to interact with dental professionals all over the country. Her current role as Clinical Education Manager for Hu-Friedy Mfg. Co. continues to provide her with opportunities to present a variety of course topics in dental and dental hygiene schools in the northeast region of the United States. Because of her vast array of clinical, academic, and marketing experiences, she has become an expert presenter on a variety of topics.

But perhaps Karen’s greatest contribution to our body of knowledge is her passion for helping us learn more about working with special needs patients, most specifically those with autism. Her personal insight into autism, her compassion for people stricken with this disorder, and her extensive product knowledge, coupled with a real-world understanding of both clinical challenges and the corporate world, provide a unique perspective that we can all learn from.  Get ready to laugh, learn, and perhaps even cry a bit as you spend time with Karen in her courses.

What Most Dentists Get Wrong About Social Media

Episode #485 with Allison Lacoursiere

Not using social media is a big mistake. And for dentists feeling uneasy about the online world, today’s episode will change your mind! Kirk Behrendt brings in Allison Lacoursiere, founder of Clear Coaching, to explain why you need these platforms, how to do it well, and ways to connect with the patients you want in your practice. It’s time to embrace social media! To learn the best practices for social media success, listen to Episode 485 of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Allison’s website: https://www.yourclearalignercoach.com/
• Allison’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/allison.lacoursiere
• Allison’s social media: @yourclearalignercoach
• Clearly I.G.’s social media: @clearlyig
• 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

Main Takeaways:

Understand your vision and values before showcasing on social media.

An online presence helps your patients know, like, and trust you.

Be authentic. Don't change who you are when you're online.

Create a system for capturing special moments.

Don't manage social media on your own.

Social media is your digital resume.

Quotes:

“[Social media] can be just as bad, or as frustrating, or as difficult as it can be good . . . It’s just the future. It’s the future of the way that we communicate. It’s the future of the way that our patients find out information about us. And what I like to call it now is it’s our digital resume when we are a business owner. And so, when we want people to understand who we are, what matters to us, and really pull back the curtain on what we’re doing in our business, social media is the best way we can do this with its visual platform and with the way that it’s reaching this audience.” (4:29—5:10)

“[Social media] wasn't always as important. But it’s becoming more and more important because our audience has changed. The people that we’re trying to talk to has changed, and this is the way that they digest information. And so, one of the biggest things I would say that I see in the industry where we’re doing it wrong with social media is having a mindset that it has to be a certain way, or we have to be a certain way on social media for it to be successful.” (5:17—5:40)

“If you can understand why social media is going to help your business, how it’s going to help your business, understand the platforms that you're going to use to get in front of the people that you want to serve the most, and then know how you can show up authentically, it’s not going to feel as icky and it’s going to have this very strong purpose to it so that you can really be excited about social media rather than dread it.” (5:44—6:06)

“Don't change anything about who you are to get onto social media. Just show what you're doing that is working. Show the great care that you're doing with your patients. Show the fun that you're having with your team. Show who you guys are as a practice. And that's what's going to be the social proof that will allow patients to choose you and know, like, and trust you.” (6:48—7:06)

“Doing [social media] well is understanding your values, your vision, who you are, showcasing in a very authentic way what's happening in your practice every single day. What's not doing it well is when you feel the need to only post dancing videos on the platform, or when you're only emulating other pages that you're seeing that really isn't authentic to you. You can always tell when you watch a video and the dentist is just like, ‘I would rather be anywhere else than be doing this dancing video right now,’ and it doesn't really work.” (7:08—7:40)

“We either get to educate or entertain on our page. We provide value. And so, what kind of practice are you, and does dancing really resonate with the type of practice that you are? And if it doesn't, then don't dance. You don't have to. You can educate, and you can inspire, and you can provide value in different ways.” (7:41—7:58)

“You have to remember, what is TikTok? TikTok is a social media platform that is entertaining and engaging. And a lot of people are on it because the nature of how engaging it is. And so, if we’re a dentist or a business owner, we’re thinking, ‘Why would I want to be on TikTok?’ It is to get in front of more people that we can serve. So, don't forget why we’re doing this in the first place. It’s not to get TikTok famous. It is to be able to share a message with the people that you want to serve the most to either influence them to come into your practice or to find out more about you. That's why we’re doing this.” (9:15—9:53)

“The biggest thing that's going wrong is that dentists are trying to do it themselves. And that is not the best use of your time. Should you understand what best practice is for your social media? Absolutely. Should you understand what good looks like for your social media? 100%. But should you be managing and running it? No! Not at all. And so, either you have a team member that you feel is interested and excited about social media and has the time as a specific role in the practice that can learn and do it and take over the systems . . . or you find a company that has a dental background or understands dentistry itself and will create and produce authentic content. This is the key.” (11:09—11:58)

“One of my mantras is, if you're going to try to do a very successful social media page, don't let a special moment in your practice go uncaptured. So, make sure your team is on board capturing those special moments, either with your patients when they're having a smile reveal or you're at your team event and team retreat and you're learning how to take better care of your patients. Capture all of that, because that is the authentic content that patients need to see to know, like, and trust you as a provider.” (13:00—13:29)

“Teach everyone in the practice to know how to capture [special moments] and create one location where everyone puts their images to. Some practices are like, absolutely no phones in the practice. That's totally fine. Get a practice phone that everyone can capture content on. Other than that, you can have everyone capture their own content from their own phone and put it in a centralized area where that person will take the content and post it to the platform.” (13:39—14:01)

“When it comes to Instagram, for example, on your Story — that is the little feature that goes away within 24 hours — 100%, post that organically from your phone. For your feed posts or your Reels, you can schedule those. And we know that what gets scheduled gets done. And when we block time to do something consistently, we’re going to be more efficient. And so, my recommendation is that you schedule what you can schedule. And then, daily, show up on the Story authentically, on the app.” (14:42—15:12)

“Like anything that we’re implementing in our practices, we need to start from the very beginning and help our team understand why. Why is social media so important? Why are we spending time on this? Why are we creating this new effort in order for us to be successful on the platform? And really, it comes down to, ‘Guys, we need to educate our patients that we are an exceptional practice and that we are a great fit for them to come and serve their dental needs.’ So, really get that buy-in from your team. First, help them understand why social media is important.” (15:34—16:00)

“Marketing is not about saying a different message every day. It’s about saying the same message in different ways.” (16:54—16:59)

“One of the biggest things that I see wrong with goals is, first, it’s the delegation. Sometimes, you'll have a hygienist or a dental assistant be like, ‘Yeah, I like social media,’ and [the dentist would] be like, ‘Great. You can run it.’ And that is not a clear goal. That's not a clear delegation. It’s vague and it doesn't usually work. So, that's the first thing, is like, ‘Oh, my goal is to have my team member do it,’ without any direction or clarity. Big problem.” (17:53—18:17)

“The second problem is expecting that after putting up three posts you're going to have patients banging down the door to get into your practice. Social media is the long game. And social media is more about social proof, credibility. I also call it your internal digital referral system. So, when people say, ‘Oh, you should go and check out the Greenbank dental practice,’ what a millennial will do is go onto social media and look at that practice. Because with Instagram, especially, it’s such a visual platform. You get to see the inside of the practice. You get to see the way that you're taking care of patients. And it allows that person to trust you more, and then create that appointment.” (18:17—18:55)

“We call follows and likes vanity metrics because they don't mean a lot. And so, when we dig into the analytics of a page, we’ll see engagement. We will see views. We will see profile visits, website clicks. That's the actual metric that's going to bring patients into your office or create the return on investment that you're looking for. It’s not follows and likes.” (19:32—19:54)

“The reality is, on social media, there are a lot of cool things to look at. There are puppies, amazing vacation homes. Dentistry is interesting, but let's be honest. Not a lot of people are going to be searching for dentists to follow. And so, if somebody’s not following you, that doesn't mean they're not looking at your page.” (19:55—20:16)

“You will find the people that are interested and care about the things that you care about when you demonstrate your values on [your social media] page.” (22:28—22:34)

“Something that we do as an exercise for the practices I work with, we write out the core values of the practice, and then we brainstorm what is a video we could film today that would honor that core value or showcase that core value as an example in your practice. And as a team, we brainstorm this, and we get fun, and we have a great time. We come up with a list of 30 to 40 videos that we can film that are going to honor the practice’s values.” (22:35—23:02)

“When you're making a video, make sure that in the first two seconds, you're capturing attention. So, you're either creating a bold statement, you're answering a question, you're saying something like, ‘Most people don't know this, but here’s the answer.’ So, in the video, you want to immediately capture attention. The second thing that you want is to not make the video very long. That is a big mistake that people make. The other mistake that a lot of clinicians in my dental practices make is they get so clinical in their videos.” (25:45—26:12)

“Your patients don't know anything, really, about dentistry. So, you have to take your clinical hat off when you're thinking about content for them. So, don't film videos that are bloody, that are gory. As amazing as that implant was placed, your patient does not want to see the insertion site.” (26:28—26:43)

“Sometimes, patients will say with the retracted photos, ‘Ew, that's gross. I hate seeing teeth like that.’ So, we have to really understand what our patients are wanting to look for. So, don't film videos of very, very clinical things. Film videos of the patients experiencing what's happened because of the clinical things that you've done.” (26:46—27:06)

“Have a photo release form in your new patient form now and have your patients sign that when they start in your practice. Also, that's not enough. When you take a picture or a video of someone and you're going to post it onto social platforms, even if they have signed that release form ages ago, or even recently, let them know, ‘We’re going to put this on our social media. We’re so excited.’ And the way that you ask a patient to be on your social media is making it about them. So, if I was like, ‘Hey, I love you in our practice. You are such a light when you come into our practice, and we want to have more patients like you. Would you mind sharing your experience on how it’s working in our practice so that we can have more patients like you come to our practice?’ That's the way to ask for that request rather than say, ‘Hey, I need to put something on my social media. Do you mind if we take a picture of you?’ Make it about the patient. Make them feel excited about it and proud to be on that platform.” (27:23—28:20)

“[One of the biggest mistakes dentists make] is not doing it or not being on [social media]. And I think it’s time to embrace it. And I know that can feel like a lot of pressure, or it can feel uncomfortable. But remember that it can be what you want it to be. Social media is a tool for you to grow your business. And as much as we can get into comparison mode or, ‘This practice is doing this,’ remember, it’s for you, and it’s there to represent your practice to the people that want to come and see you.” (30:08—30:33)

“It’s time to understand [social media], and to get comfortable with it, and to even maybe have fun with it because it will help your business grow. And if you're not on social media right now, it can be seen as being irrelevant or a non-trustworthy practice because you don't honor digital technology or modern-day communication styles. So, it’s time. And there are ways that you can do this in a fun and exciting way.” (30:36—31:02)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

2:00 Allison’s background.

3:25 Why social media is important in dentistry.

6:07 The importance of authenticity on social media.

8:00 Social media is here to stay.

8:34 Feeling the pressure to be on TikTok.

10:31 What dentists get wrong about social media.

12:22 How to build a system for social media.

14:21 Should you preschedule your posts?

15:16 How to get buy-in from your team.

17:34 What people get wrong about goals.

20:18 The other secret to marketing.

23:07 Why marketing is important for clear aligners.

25:17 Using videos versus photos.

27:08 Get permission to post and make it about the patient.

28:21 The future of social media.

30:01 Last thoughts on what dentists get wrong on social media.

31:02 How Allison can help you and how to get in touch.

Allison Lacoursiere, RDA, OA, CPC, ELI-MP Bio:

Innovator Allison Lacoursiere, RDA, OA, CPC, ELI-MP, is the creator of the Clear Aligner Systemization methodology. Allison helps dentists and teams streamline efficiencies to increase both patient and practice satisfaction and health.

A native Canadian, Allison moved to Bermuda at the age of 19 to work as a dental assistant and to seek adventure and try something new. She incorporated a system in that practice which generated $80K a month in clear aligner production.

With over a decade of dental practice experience, Allison is a sought-after mentor and speaker. She helps dental teams improve culture, increase production, and grow into their full potential. She is certified through International Professional Excellence in Coaching and is a member of the International Coaches Federation. Allison is a member of Toastmasters International and has trained with Dale Carnegie Speaking Institution. She is a Certified Transformational Trainer through LionSpeak.

Allison is passionate about fitness and wellness. She is an active team member and competitor on the Bermuda National Beach Volleyball Team. Allison is also a certified personal trainer and yoga instructor. Her passion lies in empowering individuals to achieve their ultimate potential and life satisfaction. 

The Ultimate Decision-Making Filter

Episode #484 with Heather Crockett

As a dentist, you make critical decisions every day. And to help you make the right ones, Kirk Behrendt brings back Heather Crockett, one of ACT’s amazing coaches, to share the magic formula to navigate decision-making in your practice. If you follow this system, you will make better decisions much faster and improve your business! To start reducing decision fatigue today, listen to Episode 484 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 the To The Top Study Club
• See our Live Events Schedule here
• Get the Best Practices Magazine for Free!
• Write a Review on iTunes

Main Takeaways:

Establish your core values early in your career.

Hire, fire, and reward based on your core values.

Work on keeping your core values alive in your practice.

Understand the consequences of tolerating bad behavior.

Quotes:

“Your core values are nonnegotiable behaviors in your business. These are deeply ingrained things that make you tick. And when you really distill them down and let them bake for a year, you say to yourself, ‘Holy moly. That is what we are all about.’” (3:56—4:16) -Kirk

“The more you lean into your core values, the more you call them out, the more you recognize them, the more you reward, fire, hire around your core values, crazy stuff goes away. I'm not kidding. You have less and less crazy stuff when you lean into your core values.” (5:22—5:39) -Kirk

“Your favorite people that you'll ever work with, that you'll ever be with, that you'll ever really enjoy yourself as you're with them, is that they care about the same things you care about. The least favorite people you'll ever work with, ever be with, ever be around, they're not bad people. They just don't care about the same things that you care about. So, assignment number one is, figure out what the heck you care about and build a business, a team, a cause, a calling, around these core values.” (5:48—6:19) -Kirk

“If people were to say, ‘What's the three most important things you've ever learned in business?’ number one would be, you've got to figure out your core values. Build an entire brand, an entire team, hire, fire, reward, recognize people around these things . . . Number two is, you need to put the right people in the right seats. Right people, right seats. It’s this: right people do one thing — they fit your core values. Right seats are, you've determined what seats make this practice work, and these people get results. The only reason you ever, ever hire people is for two reasons: they fit our core values and they get results. Not because they're nice people, not because they're your neighbor, not because they’ve worked here before. Everyone in your business has to fit your core values and has to get results, period. That's all there is to it.” (8:02—9:04) -Kirk

“You're going to be presented with challenges. Your ability to overcome these challenges, make really good decisions about your business, determines the health and success in the future.” (9:05—9:16) -Kirk

“I've had several client calls where a client will bring an issue to me as their coach, and they’ll say, ‘Help me with making this decision.’ And I always circle them back to their core values. Because not only are the core values these nonnegotiable behaviors for the practice, they're also guiding principles. They're like that third person in the room helping us to make these hard decisions.” (9:33—9:59)

“I actually saw it on a post from our friend, Josey Sewell, recently on social media, and she talked about how decision fatigue really wears us down as humans. And I agree 110%. We have thousands of decisions that we make every day as a human being. Now, a practice owner adds another layer of complexity and decision-making that we have to do, just as the practice owner and the leader of the team members. There are so many things that can be very overwhelming. This is why people will make their lunch plans the day before. They’ll set out their clothes the night before, things that they want to make the decisions for, but they don't necessarily want to do them all in one day. So, in order to make that easier, while it seems simple, even taking a couple of decisions off of your plate in one day helps you, mentally.” (11:25—12:17)

“Our core values will also help to reduce that decision fatigue, because when we’re faced with a hard choice, if we automatically pull our core values into the conversation, it will make that decision much easier and quicker to make.” (12:24—12:38)

“All, and I mean all — and I do mean all — decisions lead home to the road to your core values.” (13:10—13:18) -Kirk

“I'll take a group of 18 people that are committed to a set of values over the most talented human beings on the planet.” (15:24—15:32) -Kirk

“When you tolerate someone who has bad behavior in your business — nothing kills a great team member more than when you consistently tolerate a bad one.” (17:35—17:48)

“What will happen to you, if you haven't had this happen already, is a great team member will stop you in the hallway and go, ‘I am done. Today is the day.’ And you go, ‘What's today about?’ They're like, ‘I'm done. I'm done. I can no longer do this. I absolutely refuse to be treated like that at the place I work. It’s either me or her. You're going to have to choose.’ And that is a moment of truth. And then, when you don't choose, what happens is you lose them both. And it’s your fault. You didn’t stand on a rock of values.” (17:48—18:22) -Kirk

“When you consistently tolerate bad behavior, it lowers the bar for everybody.” -Kirk (19:59—20:06)

“You have to communicate [your core values] to your team and keep them alive in the practice. Make sure that everybody is shouting each other out, that we’re talking about them frequently so that we don't just establish them and then put them in a drawer, tuck them away, because that won't serve the practice or anybody that's working in the practice.” (24:26—24:45)

“When the why is clear, the how is easy.” -Kirk (25:18—25:20)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

2:26 Heather’s background.

3:02 The secret to decision-making.

6:46 Core values drive every decision.

7:56 Three important things to learn early on.

9:16 Decision fatigue, explained.

12:48 How core values changed ACT.

15:56 Consequences of tolerating anti-core values.

21:21 Core values keep you on track.

24:01 Last thoughts on decision-making.

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. 

Using the F.O.R.D. Concept to Build Relationships in Your Practice

Episode #483 with Jenni Poulos

No matter how hard you try, you can't remember everything about every patient. But there is a way to document key details about them. It’s called the FORD concept, and Kirk Behrendt brings back Jenni Poulos, one of ACT’s amazing coaches, to share what it is, why you need it, and how to use it in your practice. FORD is a shortcut to better relationships! To learn the faster, easier way to bond with your patients, listen to Episode 483 of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Jenni’s email: [email protected] 
• Jenni’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jenni.poulos
• Jenni’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

Main Takeaways:

FORD is an easy way to document key patient information.

This system ensures your entire team is up to date with patients.

Patients will trust you more quickly when they feel listened to and cared for.

When patients trust you, they are more likely to accept your treatment plans.

Quotes:

“Patients want to know you care. They want to know that you're listening. They want to be remembered. We all do. And I've had so many teams say to me, ‘Gosh, we’re trying to find a way to put these notes so we can remember things. Do we put it in the clinical notes? How do we do it? Do we pin it? What's a great system for this?’ And one of the amazing doctors in our community taught us about this FORD concept. It’s a way to create a system to consistently and reliably know what's important to our patients so we can talk to them about it.” (4:04—4:41)

“The FORD concept is making small notes about your patients’ Family, their Occupation, their Recreation, and their Dreams. These are the things that are personal to our patients. So, just by making small notes about each of these items, FORD, keeping them in your software, you can reference them before your patients come in and remember the things that are important to them. And immediately, shortcut relationship, because you begin to talk about them.” (5:33—6:08)

“[FORD] really simplifies this [relationship-building] process, and you're not relying upon Sally’s brain to remember what was important about Mrs. Smith. You're not relying upon your assistant to recall what was talked about six, seven, eight weeks ago the last time a patient was in your chair. Our days are busy and crazy, so make this easy on yourselves and capture these key items.” (8:14—8:46)

“Great leaders, great communicators, great team members, they remember the things that light people up. They remember those exciting moments. And when we talk about our dreams, it’s those light-up moments. It’s those exciting moments. And it actually brings us into a headspace where we have this release of dopamine, this release of serotonin, and we’re happy and excited and engaged. Our brains become malleable from a scientific standpoint. We’re actually more likely to engage in treatment and act upon things when we’re talking about the things that we love and the things that we like. So, our family, our dreams, these are things that are going to light us up, that are going to make us happy. And when we can set the stage of a conversation, what's important to you, to your life, what makes you happy, that conversation about the crown, the filling, the crack, whatever it’s going to be, it’s a much easier conversation that's grounded in relationship and trust.” (8:52—10:01)

“If you're like me, you don't remember things. Like, ‘I totally forgot that her husband passed away.’ There are going to be things that you're like, ‘Oh, shoot. I totally forgot that.’ What's really cool about this is that you and your team can be committed to learning about these people. And as changes happen, especially in their family, you don't make the mistake of going, ‘Oh, how’s Bill?’ ‘Oh, Bill passed away two years ago,’ and you're like, ‘Oh, darn it. I totally forgot that.’ And that's a serious one, but even little things. That's why it’s important to be able to look at the record. Because at the end of the day, you want to be giving energy to things that matter most, which is making the connection with the patient.” (10:41—11:24) -Kirk

“I hate it when somebody asks me the same questions over and over and over. I'm like, ‘I already told you this story about how many kids I have last time, and you weren't even listening. You just thought it was Charlie Brown’s teacher talking when I was talking,’ type of a thing. So, it’s a really cool concept that you can put into play right away and make it work in your practice.” (11:28—11:50) -Kirk

“We tend to overthink things. We really tend to feel like we have to make this difficult. I think that the personality of a lot of dentists lends to overthinking. We just need to ask a few simple questions and remember a few simple things to continue to build on these relationships. Remember, patients invest in the things that they value, and they do business with the people that they trust.” (12:01—12:38)

“Patients will often be more vulnerable with team members than the doctor. Now, that's not always true. But you're going to find that some hygienists or some assistants, or even team members at the front, are going to learn a lot more about the patient than you will, doctor, because they're afraid to tell you everything, or you just haven't had the time. And what's really cool about a system like this is they can introduce things that they’ve learned on the relationship side of things to better help you as a doctor.” (12:46—13:14) -Kirk

“You have a limited amount of time with your patients. Right? That's just the reality of the business that we’re in. You have people that are coming down and sitting in your chair, and you don't have weeks, years, months, to slowly build a relationship with them. You need to get to know them and establish trust and connection quickly.” (14:12—14:35)

“What you can do as a team is, number one, create the FORD concept. Get to know these patients. And then, in salutation, you can say if they're an A, B, or C patient. All you want to do is — don't kick people out but put your energy into the people that best fit what you're looking for to build your practice.” (16:52—17:07) -Kirk

“Think a little bit differently about how we build relationships. Think a little bit differently about the things that you can do to generate amazing relationships and connection in a short period of time with your patients. Make it easy and make it actionable.” (18:12—18:30)

“80% of your problems are going to come from C patients. You don't want to build a practice of people that are problematic. And we need a simple way, a framework, a system, that we can all be working together to love the right type of people for our practice that will bring people just like them.” (19:09—19:26) -Kirk

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

2:11 Jenni’s background.

3:27 Why a system like FORD is so important.

4:42 What the FORD concept is.

6:09 Cultivate an office of trust.

7:53 How FORD can shortcut relationship-building.

11:51 Don't overthink your systems.

12:44 How team members can help build patient-doctor relationships.

13:54 Speed up your relationship-building.

15:37 Organize the data you collect about patients.

18:00 Last thoughts.

Jenni Poulos Bio:

Jenni brings to dental teams a literal lifetime of experience in dentistry. As the daughter and sister of periodontists and a dental hygienist, she has been working in many facets of the dental world since she first held a summer job turning rooms and pouring models at the age of 12. Now, with over 10 years of experience in managing and leading a large periodontal practice, she has a firm grasp on what it takes to run a thriving business. Her passion for organizational health and culture has been a driving force behind her coaching career. She has witnessed firsthand how creating an aligned and engaged team will take a practice to levels of success that they never believed possible! 

Why You Have to Go to SmileCon in Houston This Year!

Episode #482 with Dr. Bob Skinner – ADA Meeting Chair

If there's anything you want to learn about, you need to be at SmileCon! This dental event is one you don't want to miss, and Kirk Behrendt brings in Dr. Bob Skinner, chair of SmileCon 2022, to tell you everything you need to know. From the latest in dental technology to a range of activities — even NASA’s mini museum — there will be something for everyone to enjoy. For more about SmileCon 2022 and to register today, listen to Episode 482 of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Dr. Skinner’s website: https://skinnerdentistry.com/
• Dr. Skinner’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SkinnerDentistry/
• Register for ADA SmileCon 2022: https://www.ada.org/education/smilecon
• 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

Main Takeaways:

Go to SmileCon!

Go to SmileCon!

Go to SmileCon!

Quotes:

“To me, to go to an annual meeting, to go to SmileCon, you go there to reconnect and to connect. And if you don't go to these, be it the ADA or any of them, you're missing out.” (10:03—10:13)

“We have 120 presentations at SmileCon this year over three days. So, there's not going to be anything that you can't hear and learn about.” (10:17—10:24)

“I go to meetings a lot of times to learn from my colleagues. Now, most of these speakers are our colleagues because they're doing it too. But that's what I think a lot of people that don't routinely go to meetings [miss out on], whether it’s state, local, or national. That's what I get out of going to a lot of meetings.” (10:45—11:04)

“If there's something you want to learn about, you need to be at SmileCon this year. It’s going to be a great show for everyone, regardless of why you're going.” (11:50—12:00)

“All dental meetings will have this. We’ve called ours Dental Central with SmileCon — and it is. It’s a central place that we can all go, and we can learn, and we can meet. And there will be some fun stuff there to play with too. And then, after it’s all over, we can smile on what a great experience [it was].” (15:48—16:04)

“It’s going to be great. We’re looking forward to seeing everybody and reconnecting. And I think that's the thing that you need to think about. It’s the relationships that make the world turn around. And so, that's what's good about it.” (23:03—23:14)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

2:32 The vision for ADA SmileCon 2022.

9:52 What to expect at ADA SmileCon.

12:17 Participate in the Dental Olympics.

15:21 Experience Dental Central.

21:46 Last thoughts on SmileCon.

Links Mentioned in this Episode:

Unlocking Us podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/4P86ZzHf7EOlRG7do9LkKZ

Dare to Lead podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/3oEPsPKDhPVoNNL7pH5db6

The Power of Vulnerability Ted Talk by Brené Brown: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o

Dr. Bob Skinner Bio:

https://skinnerdentistry.com/meet-dr-skinner/

How to Do Profitable Non-Selling Dentistry

Episode #481 with Dr. Pat Lillis

You don't need to be pushy to be profitable. And to help you get more yeses without the hard sell to patients, Kirk Behrendt brings back Dr. Pat Lillis to share his secret formula to profitable procedures in a non-selling manner. With predictability and a strong team culture, you can increase production without increasing your workdays! To learn more about profitable, non-selling dentistry, listen to Episode 481 of The Best Practices Show!

Episode Resources:

• Dr. Lillis’s email: [email protected] 
• Dr. Lillis’s website: https://opdentaldesign.com/
• Dr. Lillis’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/patrick.lillis.33  
• Dr. Lillis’s social media: @drlillis
• 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

Main Takeaways:

Start with a vision.

Predictability is the key.

Don't sell dentistry to patients.

Master the posterior restoration.

Cultivate your team and your culture.

Educate your patients, then back away.

Quotes:

“Without vision, it’s almost like we waste a lot of time in dentistry. And we only have so many years and hours and days at the chair. So, I think it starts back to vision.” (4:16—4:28)

“The holy grail of dentistry, to me, is efficiency, predictability, and time.” (6:28—6:33)

“When you're doing your procedures, you should take a stopwatch and you should be able to time that down to the minute of when you're going to start and when you're going to stop. And if that is not predictable, then it’s time to start looking at that procedure, if it’s really a good idea to keep in your armamentarium and your practice. Now, if it gets you out of bed in the morning and you love it, great. Go for it. But it’s really homing in that predictability. But the posterior crown, the posterior implant crown, the full-mouth reconstruction can be as well. As long as you can predictably know where you're going to end up before you start, that's the holy grail of dentistry. That's how you become profitable.” (7:12—7:52)

“For me, in my hands, it just wasn't efficient. It’s more efficient to do the same four or five procedures — which I love to do anyway. I know when I'm going to start and when I'm going to stop. That, to us, is we just turn and burn. So, you go from one crown preparation to the next crown preparation, to the next one, to the operative procedure. You pre-block your schedule out where you're just going to do crowns and major stuff in the morning. Then, you're going to do operative dentistry in the afternoon, sprinkled in with exams pre-booked out. That, to us, has been a very, very efficient model. And it took us from working four days a week all the way down to three days a week, and still producing the same numbers as we were when we were doing four days a week when we were doing a hodgepodge of dentistry.” (9:26—10:09)

“You can do an intraoral scan on a posterior implant crown in 10 minutes. And then, you can deliver that in another 10 minutes. So, that's about 20 minutes. Let's be conservative. Let's say it’s 30 minutes, total, chair time. There's no anesthetic, there's no packing core, and it’s all scanned. It’s crazy. But it gets glossed over and people don't realize it. And if you can master the posterior restoration, it’s a huge practice-builder. I cannot tell you how many patients come into the practice and say, ‘Yeah, I just left my other dentist because he put this crown in like four or five times, and it’s never fit really well. And it took him five times to do it, and I just lost confidence.’ That's a killer. And it was just a single restoration.” (11:18—12:03)

“If the case is planned out and it’s mapped out and it’s predictable, that's going to be a very profitable procedure for you. And it could be a single-tooth implant surgery for you. If you can do your implant surgery and you can bang it out, and you know exactly, down to the timeframe of how long it’s going to take you, go for it.” (12:34—12:53)

“Predictability is the key. Because if you can work seven hours in a predictable practice versus 14 hours in an unpredictable practice, that's huge. You can cut your time down. You can cut your workdays down. If you can home in on this, that's the key.” (12:55—13:13)

“Our rule in our practice is — and we’re all in the Midwest. I think it meets our culture here — we’re not pushy. And it’s amazing when you put that back on the patient and you just walk away, what they will do. They’ll do treatment. But when they feel that they're getting a hard sell, or they're being pushed, they will start to back away.” (14:45—15:07)

“I don't think we need to sell the dentistry. We just need to sell ourselves, that we’re confident to do what we’re doing. So, I think the biggest thing for us is educating, to show, teach, and then back away.” (15:12—15:25)

“The biggest thing you need is culture in your practice to do this. You need a team behind you that believes and shares in the vision that you have.” (21:24—21:33)

“It’s all about culture. It’s all about cultivating that culture. It’s all about vision and getting your team behind you. And the importance of the dental team is completely understated. I mean, they are key to a practice’s success.” (25:03—25:18)

“For me, I didn't enjoy endo. I didn't enjoy pediatric dentistry. I didn't enjoy these things, so I just picked the stuff that I really was passionate about. And then, I just went with it and tried to carve out my community.” (27:18—27:34)

“Why would I do it if I'm not good at it and I don't really enjoy it? And usually, if you don't enjoy something, you're not going to be very good at it.” (28:01—28:08)

“If you want to do fee-for-service dentistry, you have to have a really good command on clinical skills, and you've got to really be confident in what you're doing.” (29:23—29:32)

“Go to Spear, Pankey, Kois, Dawson. You're already in debt. What's another $50,000? Take the $50,000 and go spend it there, because they will teach you how to do the dentistry — if you want to do that. But I have friends in Kansas City that are fine not doing that, and they're fine doing PPO dentistry, and they're totally comfortable doing it, and they don't want to mess with the stuff that I see and that I get referred. So, they refer the cases to us. And it works. So, again, it’s back to the vision.” (29:53—30:24)

“You need a strong team. You need a team that has that vision, because your team, let's be honest, is the one that's going to field the majority of the insurance phone calls. They're going to endure most of the questions about insurance.” (30:37—30:50)

“Don't let anybody tell you that you can't do something.” (32:46—32:48)

Snippets:

0:00 Introduction.

1:56 Dr. Lillis’s background.

2:49 Why having a vision is critical for your practice.

5:55 Profitable procedures, explained.

7:53 Why you need to time your procedures.

10:13 Why posterior crowns and implants are glossed over.

12:06 Why predictability is important.

14:11 Non-selling, defined.

17:18 Tell patients the truth and walk away.

20:51 Cultivate your team culture.  

26:20 Do what you enjoy.

28:23 Advice for going out-of-network.

32:02 Last thoughts on profitable non-selling dentistry.

34:00 More about Dr. Lillis’s program and how to get in touch.

Dr. Pat Lillis Bio:

Dr. Patrick Lillis graduated from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Biomedical Science. After graduation, he attended Creighton University School of Dentistry in Omaha, Nebraska, where he received his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree. Upon completion of dental school, he did a two-year Advanced Education in General Dentistry residency program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry in Kansas City, Missouri. This university-based residency program provided a heavy emphasis on implants and cosmetic and complex restorative dental modalities. His training provided him a unique opportunity to focus and treat extremely difficult dental complexities. He had the opportunity to work under some of the foremost leaders in implant, prosthodontic, and cosmetic dentistry in the Midwest.

Dr. Lillis is among an elite network of dentists from around the country who routinely work together to discuss the latest dental technology. In addition to running a practice, he holds the distinction of being a keynote speaker for several dental manufacturers. This allows him to lecture on such topics as dental implants and full-mouth rehabilitation utilizing esthetic and adhesive dentistry. Further, he has had the opportunity to speak at numerous study clubs and larger peer-reviewed meetings nationwide. He routinely carries out these complex dental procedures in his practice, both on patient and doctor referrals.

When Dr. Lillis isn’t running a full-time private practice, lecturing, and teaching, he loves spending time with his wife and two children. His hobbies include running, skiing, and golf.