The Best Practices Show with Kirk Behrendt

In this episode of The Best Practices Show, host Kirk Behrendt sits down with serial entrepreneur, speaker, and author Chuck Blakeman to talk re-humanizing the workplace of a dental practice. Blakeman believes that since the dawn of factories, our culture has slowly but steadily grown towards de-humanizing our workforce. This same trend is all too true in the world of dental practices. Kirk asks Blakeman for his best advice to return humanity to the 8 to 5, and takes a deep dive into a world where there are no longer managers.

Re-humanizing a workplace that has been de-humanized by too much telling and not enough asking isn’t an easy process, but from his bevy of experiences, Blakeman shares some of his best advice, starting with a return to our humanity through awareness and creativity. Blakeman goes on to illustrate how training is better than telling when it comes to building leaders, and that overall, a dental practice, or any workplace, needs input from its people to regain its collective humanity.

The episode concludes with Blakeman’s insight into turning employees into adults again, a practice that includes letting your people make decisions, making it possible for them to do what they like and what they’re good at, and asking the most powerful question in business: "Why?" The final factor to take a practice from de-humanized to re-humanized is through examining your own mindset. Blakeman emphasized that if a leader thinks his or her people are stupid and lazy, those people will most likely be stupid and lazy. On the converse, when leaders believe that their people are smart and motivated, re-humanizing is not only possible, it’s probable.

Main Takeaways

Awareness and creativity make us human (5:58)

Training is better than telling when it comes to building leaders (16:34)

Leaders don’t tell, they ask (19:32)

Managers have reports, leaders have followers (27:21)

Decision-making makes us adults (29:10)

Letting people do what they like and what they’re good at re-humanizes the workplace (33:01)

The most powerful and least asked question in business is "Why?" (38:49)

When it comes to re-humanizing the workplace, the place to start is your own mindset (42:23)

Key Quotes

“We’ve de-humanized work. Now we have to figure out how to re-humanize it.”

“What de-humanizes us is other people telling us what to do.”

“What’s the one thing most people at dental practices are not allowed to do at work? Make decisions.”

“People commit to what they create.”

“You can impose any goal you want on anybody, but if they don’t believe it, it’s not going to come true.”

“Managers need to become leaders and they do that by asking questions, instead of making statements.”

“Why is the most human of questions. It’s the one that motivates us.”

Snippets

Why no practice should have a manager (5:11-9:03)

Consensus and collaboration (9:12-13:30)

Agency of Responsibility (13:53-17:04)

Input equals ownership (17:44-23:51)

Everyone should be a leader (23:57-28:36)

What really makes us an adult (28:53-31:40)

Distributed decision-making (35:00-39:14)

Bio of Guest

Chuck Blakeman is a serial entrepreneur, international speaker, best-selling business author and world-renowned business advisor who built ten businesses in seven industries on four continents, and now uses his experience to advise others. His company, Crankset Group, provides outcome-based mentoring and peer advisory for business leaders worldwide. Chuck sold one of his businesses to the largest consumer fulfillment company in America and led three other $10-$100 million companies. He presently leads the Crankset Group and a for-profit business based in Africa, focused on developing local economies to solve poverty. Chuck is a results leader with decades of experience leading companies in marketing, import/export, fulfillment, call centers, website development, printing and direct mail processing. Some of Chuck’s customers have included...

This episode of The Best Practices Show is all about real estate. Austin Hair and Nathan Palmer sit down with host Kirk Behrendt to discuss how to handle relocating your practice and how to navigate whether to rent or to buy. After briefly discussing how COVID has affected real estate, Nate goes on to give some insight into how to determine whether to buy or rent a dental office space. He explains the importance of considering your strategies and goals, as well as the capital available to you, when making this determination, so that the real estate and the decision is the best value for you and helps you achieve your goal.

Nate and Austin go on to discuss the importance of location and new patient acquisition. Austin suggests that location should be the main consideration over whether you buy or rent a space. Nate also points out that it’s not only important to consider you physical location, but also your digital location. They recommend doing research yourself to determine which location would be best and to figure out the correlation of increased space cost and increased patient acquisition. In addition to doing research, Austin also stresses the importance of using someone who is experienced in your area of industry. Nate encourages the listener to be creative as you consider your options, because the perfect place doesn’t always exist. Overall, it’s an extremely important decision that needs to be handled with great care and intentionality, and Nate and Austin do their best to equip dentists to make that decision with Real Estate University.

Main Takeaways

It’s important to identify long-term and short-term strategies when determining whether to buy or rent. (8:54)

Both physical and digital real estate is important to consider. (15:13)

It’s important to make sure you do research and use someone who is experienced in this specific area. (18:12)

It’s important to be creative as you consider options, because the perfect option isn’t always out there. (28:57)

Consider which location will best serve your needs and help you become most profitable. (30:01)

Key Quotes

“Not everybody starts at the same point.”

“The most important thing is optimizing the value of your lease.”

“You’ve got to have some goal in mind, and then try to find the right real estate that compliments that goal.”

“For dentists, this is one of the most important decisions you’ll ever make in your life, because the cost of buildout is so high.”

“Consumers and patients are becoming less loyal and more convenience driven.”

“You have the ability to take a strong, stable practice, great provider, good patient base, and when the right times come up with your lease and expiration, then move that to a prime location.”

“Priority number one should be location over whether you’re going to rent or whether you’re going to buy.”

Snippets

How COVID has disrupted the real estate market (4:46-7:53)

Buying vs. renting (8:43-11:54)

Data analytics behind patient flow and location (12:42-17:51)

The value of increased rent with new patient acquisition (22:47-26:05)

Bio of Guests

Austin Hair was a professional wake boarder for twelve years who began buying residential properties on the side and turning them into Air BNBs, as well as buying and opening gyms. Later, after an invitation from Nate, Austin went on to complete the Tony Robbins Mastery Program, and after selling his gyms, he now does commercial real estate full time.

Nathan Palmer has been in real estate since coming out of college. Because of an apprenticeship right out of college, Nate was introduced to the health care retail niche and has been focusing on that ever since. Initially, they focused exclusively on urgent cares, but in the last few years, his team has started to expand to the dental world.

Austin Hair and Nathan Palmer’s Contact Info:

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://reuniversity.org

Additional Resources

Podcast:...

In this episode of The Best Practices Show, guest Dr. David Mugford, sits down with host Kirk Behrendt and cohost Dr. Bill Robbins to discuss the biggest challenge to being successful in a practice. Before they discuss the biggest challenge, David explains why The Seattle Study Club and the Symposium are so valuable to him, and the role it has played in making him a better clinician. He explains that while the education is immensely valuable, the relationships, friendships and accountability that come from being part of The Seattle Study Club is one of the best parts.

David goes on to discuss what he believes to be one of the greatest challenges, or limiting factors, in success, isolation and trying to do things alone. He explains that when there can be a spirit or teamwork and camaraderie established among specialists and dentists, instead of a system of hierarchy, that it betters the community as a whole and also the patient’s experiences. He also points out that this type of mindset allows you to better yourself not just as a provider, but as a person. David also emphasizes the importance of relationships, not just in reaching the next level in care, but also in order to protect against the isolation and stress that comes with dentistry. He shares how important it is to build a team of people and then pursue continued education together.

Once you’ve found a team and pushed one another, there will come a time when you find yourself in a position to pour into and invest in the next generation of dentists, and that is critical to the continued development and improvement of dentistry as a whole. Towards the end, both Bill and David share how excited they are about the future of dentistry and they emphasize once more the immense value in finding a team, being part of something like The Seattle Study Club, and attending The Seattle Study Club Symposium. It’s a wise and enjoyable way to grow as a person and as a provider.

Main Takeaways

Seattle Study Club isn’t just about continuing education, it’s about relationships. (7:07)

Isolation is one of the biggest challenges to having a successful practice. (12:21)

Being a specialist is about working together as a team. (14:57)

Relationships are the key to avoiding the stress and isolation that comes with dentistry. (19:59)

It’s very important to grow and develop the next generation. (29:44)

Key Quotes

“[Symposium] is an experience. At the end of it, it’s like going on a retreat, and just coming back uplifted, inspired, and ready to move forward.”

“I really think that one of the most limiting factors, in success, is when we try to do it all by ourselves.”

“When you start to work with and become friends with other dentists, that have been out there for a while, [and] set up mentorships, you start to see what the possibilities are.”

“As a specialist, what I really feel, is we need to establish a team, as opposed to a hierarchy, where it’s one or the other. Really, we need to be supporting each other all the way.”

“Sure, we can do great dentistry, but if it’s just great dentistry for ourselves, that’s nothing. We do it for our patients, and we do it so we can elevate our level of practice, to become better people as we do it.”

“If you can go on this journey with other people, it’s always better.”

“As soon as possible, form an interdisciplinary team, [and] get educated together.”

Snippets

Seattle Study Club and the Symposium (6:50-11:08)

The biggest challenge to being successful in a practice (11:21-13:17)

The role of a specialist in lifting up a community (14:55-17:58)

How to combat isolation in dentistry (19:49-23:02)

Investing in the next generation of dentists (29:00-32:52)

Bio of Guest

Dr. Mugford has been a periodontist for a little over 30 years, and he deeply loves what he does. He has trained directly with the most prominent Clinicians and Institutions including: The L.D. Pankey Institute, The Dawson Academy, The Spear Institute, The Pikos...

On this episode of The Best Practices Show, host Kirk Behrendt sits down with Dr. Lorne Lavine to discuss IT security, specifically in regard to protection against ransomware viruses. Lorne begins by explaining how the increase in ransomware has increased the need for excellent data security. He emphasizes the importance of making sure that anyone who has access to your network has the appropriate security in place. Next, Lorne describes how a practice would go about recovering from a ransomware virus. He explains the value in having a good back up and what a practice is required to do following a ransomware virus, which is a breach of HIPAA.

Dr. Lavine also walks listeners through how they can stay protected. First, it’s important for a practice to have a good quality firewall. Next, it’s important to keep software current and up to date. And finally, make sure that your staff is trained to be able to spot ransomware emails, as this is the most common point of entry for a ransomware virus. Lorne ends the episode by discussing how HIPAA has changed and what we can anticipate from HIPAA law in the future, as well as an explanation of the importance of, and purpose of, cyber liability insurance.

Main Takeaways

There has been a push to go electronic with data. (9:13)

There has been an increase in ransomware attacks since COVID. (12:02)

Anyone who has access to an office’s network, needs to be keeping those connections secure. (12:19)

A breach is defined as loss of control of your data. (17:03)

Some HIPPA laws have been reinterpreted the last couple of years. (32:29)

Key Quotes

“As healthcare providers are getting more and more electronic with their data, we need to make sure that we do everything we can to secure and protect that data.”

“Ransomware is a specific type of virus that locks your files.”

“It’s mandatory that we, as IT providers, do everything we can to make sure that no one has access to our client’s data.”

“If you are hit with a ransomware virus, you have suffered a HIPAA breach.”

“The most common entry for ransomware Is email.”

“Small, local, solo practitioners are a bigger risk than large health groups who have multiple HIPAA compliance officers on their pay roll.”

Snippets

Ransomware has changed the need for security. (10:40-13:44)

The secure way to set up portals (13:45-14:59)

Recovering from ransomware attacks (15:45-18:47)

How to stay protected (20:56-24:53)

The future of HIPAA and cyber security (31:29-33:58)

Explanation of cyber liability insurance (34:09-37:16)

Bio of Guest

Dr. Lorne Lavine began his career as a periodontist and found that what he loved most was the technology. Having grown up around technology, Lorne had a knack for figuring out the technology which turned into him helping other practices with their technology. After moving to California, he happened into full time IT work helping dentists determine the best technology for their practice, and he now has six employees. He has lectured in Scotland, Australia, Brazil and across North America.

Dr. Lavine’s Contact Info:

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 866-204-3398

Website: www.thedigitaldentist.com

Additional Resources

Free Security Predictor Checklist: https://go.thedigitaldentist.com/free-checklist

In this episode of The Best Practices Show, Dr. Sam Low highlights four critical areas in which to improve your practice’s efficiency, profitability and customer relationships. He brings his 25 years of practicing, teaching and consulting expertise to the challenge of evolving habitual office systems to meet challenges faced by dental practices of all sizes.

Dr. Low shares concrete strategies in four key areas of practice management. He talks at length about optimizing the role of dental hygienists to best leverage their talents and also introduces the concept of a “product market center” through which to sell dental items for the convenience of patients as well as to establish a revenue stream. Dr. Low also suggests ideas for getting as much value as possible from recall appointments and the many long-term impacts of Covid19 on dental and periodontal practices.

Today’s presentation took place as part of the Covid19 Dental Relief Conference.

Main Takeaways

Your dental hygienist is also your new patient coordinator. (13:37)

Review dental-assisted hygiene with enhanced efficiency. (21:00)

Create an oral hygiene product market center. (37:05)

Ways of ensuring standard recall appointments are effective and valuable. (47:43)

The 60-minute appointment is over – especially for PPO patients. (52:16)

Key Quotes

“We are losing out by not maximizing what we do with our hygienists. They are not cleaning people. You know what they are? You watch. They're the nurse practitioners.”

“Stop using the words, “fix” our “treat” ever in a dental practice. Always use the word manage.”

“(Patients) need to walk out of there knowing that gum disease is … an autoimmune disease.”

“Dental hygienists: If you have anxiety and fear about going back to work and you are working with a practice that has always had quality infection control, you have nothing to worry about.”

“If you are in a PPO practice, especially in a hardcore PPO practice, you are not going to be able to have hygiene appointments for 60 minutes. It’s not going to happen.”\

“Look outside of dentistry (for business models). Start reading things outside of just dental magazines.”

“Teledentristy – used the right way – is going to be probably one of the most important areas we have.”

Snippets

Four revenue-related elements to examine in your hygiene practice (8:05-9:31

Leveraging your dental hygienist appropriately. (14:05-14:57)

Periodontitis: Takeaways patients need to have. (19:11-19:34)

Four buckets for periodontitis classification. (24:28-24:55)

What you’re optimally doing in the second hour of a new patient appointment. (26:58-27:33)

Valuable laser applications. (35:20-36:36)

Systems for co-marketing and offering dental products. (41:40-42:52)

Strategies for reducing your rate of no-shows and cancellations. (49:38-51:50)

The evolving role of teledentistry. 1:00-1:00:26

Bio of guest

Dr. Sam Low is an associate faculty member of the L.D. Pankey Institute and Professor Emeritus at the University of Florida’s College of Dentistry. His consulting practice focuses on creating positive interactions between dentists, periodontists and dental hygienists through communication skills and continuous quality improvement to enhance esthetics, tooth retention and implant placement.

Contact

Website: www.drsamlow.com

Email: [email protected]

Resources

VoiceWorks: https://www.floridaprobe.com/voiceworks.htm

PreViser: www.previser.com

PerioSciences: https://periosciences.com

ProBiora: https://probiorahealth.com

ActDental U: www.actdentalU.com

Dr. Rich Rosado and Robyn Reis make a guest appearance to update listeners on the ADA’s work and current HR concerns. They emphasizes the importance of understanding and implementing various safety protocols to protect patients and staff. They cover the role dentists might play in the roll-out of vaccinations as well as an admonition to remain skeptical of “instant” Covid19 testing, which can be unreliable. Robyn also goes through specific situations to consider when exposures do occur with patients and team members.

Rich shares a bit about the status of PPP legislation and recommends members consider joining the non-partisan “Tooth Party” and refrain from letting the nation’s current political division distract from the important work of advancing the health and well-being of patients.

Robyn’s message is clear: Prepare. Prepare. Prepare. She runs through a number of protocols that dental practices can establish in order to respond to Covid-19 exposure most effectively. Contacting local public health authorities in your state is the first step. Developing strong PPE protocols and ground rules for lunchrooms and team meetings are also cornerstones of a robust plan.

Main Takeaways

Protocols to follow if you or a patient receives a Covid19 diagnosis. (5:02)

Be prepared to meet specific governmental policies and procedures. (8:00)

The status of vaccinations and the potential role for dental practices. (12:25)

Cautionary note about Covid19 testing reliability and availability. (14:30)

Status of PPP relief and legislative goals (16:50)

Understanding the Family First Coronavirus Act (FFCRA). (25:40)

Defining the Americans with Disabilities Act and employer responsibilities with regard to HIPAA. (28:03)

What happens if the doctor tests positive and the practice has to close? (29:51)

Steps when someone from your team has been exposed (43:54)

Key Quotes

“Dentistry is essential care. If there's anything we figured out during the first parts of the pandemic it was that oral care that goes untouched, undiagnosed, unviewed, unchecked starts to become an oral health crisis.”

“At this time they're treating dentistry like an emergency room or a hospital setting. Be vigilant and you’ll be able to continue to practice.”

“If I could implore you to be a dentist, to be a colleague, to be a friend boss, a compassionate person, and understand that there are no politics in a vaccine.”

“If someone reaches out to the office and says, we have testing, you'll be able to test your patients and your staff every morning in under 15 minutes, those tests are not specific enough to trust.”

“It’s inevitable that you’re going to face (a Covid19 exposure) so I would highly recommend that you come together as a team and make sure that you have a plan in place.”

“The state health department should always be your first phone call to find out about your specific situation. There’s always going to be nuances and caveats.”

“If a team member is exposed, that doesn’t mean you have to shut down. That person just needs to follow the CDC guidelines on quarantine.”

Snippets

Understanding and executing Covid19 policies and protocols. (7:58-8:34)

A percentage of patients won’t seek routine dental care without a vaccine.(10:27-11:04)

Potential role for dentists in vaccine administration, state by state. (13:20-14:24)

Use caution with regard to Covid19 testing. (14:34-15:22)

Provisions of proposed new PPP bill pending in Congress. (16:59-17:36)

It’s imperative that every dental practice have a plan. (24:36-25:10)

Layers of protection are essential to the initial response when an associate tests positive. (27:18-27:47)

The Americans With Disabilities and how it applies. (28:05-29:29)

Doctors who require staff to get tested must cover the cost.. (33:11-33:47)

Protocols when a team member is exposed to someone who has been exposed? (45:38-46:55)

Bio of Guests

Richard J. Rosato, D.M.D., is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon practicing...

From all of us at ACT Dental, we wish you the happiest of holidays and pray you are all safe, healthy and able to enjoy time with family and friends.

It is a season of gratitude and there is much to be thankful for. We don't simply mean that gratitude is meant for the good things in life, but it is also meant for our trials as well. We need to be grateful for our families, our blessings both personally and professionally, and health that has kept us functional during a year of uncertainty.

But we also need to be grateful for the trials experienced and the lessons we have learned throughout these recent times. We have experienced moments where we have had to reassess our priorities, become more conscientious of helping others, allowed for humility to set in during times where it would have been easy to be upset.

We have been given an opportunity to show who we truly are inside and to be examples to others while lifting up those that need us.

Be thankful, be grateful, be happy by choice and enjoy this holiday season.

In this episode of The Best Practices Show, Kirk sits down with Debi Carr to explore the many ways in which dental practices might be vulnerable to data breaches, hacking or other cyber threats. Their conversation covers a whole checklist of areas for concern and ways to take proactive measures to protect both patient privacy and valuable assets and applications.

Debi urges dental practices to take control by treating HIPAA not as a regulation but as a tool to guide sound policy and planning with regard to securing computer and data systems. She recommends partnering with an IT specialist who understands not only the programs that are unique to dental practices but is also equipped to monitor for telltale signs of intrusion.

The wide-ranging discussion covers a gamut of cybersecurity hot-button issues confronted by every dental practice, regardless of whether business is being conducted inside the office or remotely from home. These include password security, firewalls, wireless router updates, ransomware, antivirus protection, breach insurance and coming up with a robust plan that addresses all of the above.

Today’s interview took place as part of the Covid-19 Dental Relief Conference.

Main Takeaways

Brief background on the dental relief conference. (00:14)

How Carr’s came to cybersecurity and health care management systems. (01:49)

Proactive do’s and don’t’s for dealing with cyber-hacking and breaches. (05:42)

Things you can learn and do today – a checklist for strengthening home and office cybersecurity protocols. (08:37)

Why and how to install a firewall. (10:57)

The importance of keeping your wireless router up to date. (11:56)

Things to know about passwords and safety protocols. (13:11)

Explanation of two-factor authentication. (15:40)

More about wifi router vulnerability and strategies for protecting data. (18:04)

Defining ransomware: How hackers infiltrate and infect systems. (20:12)

Firmware updates and how to assess whether your router needs to be replaced. (23:55)

Thoughts on WhatsApp as a tool. (26:56)

The importance of maintaining IT partnerships even while working remotely or when practices are shut down by pandemic. (28:22)

Overview of anti-virus best practices. (31:30)

Access to QuickBooks and what it entails in terms of risk and vulnerability. (32:20)

Protecting your system following remote access interactions.(33:35)

Risk analysis and implementing security controls, written manuals, policies and procedures. (34:29)

Specialty insurance against data breaches and related investigations. (41:15)

Fundamentals of forensic investigation following computer system breaches. (46:00)

What to do if you experience a ransom attack. (48:43)

Cybersecurity doesn’t have to be overwhelming, scary or expensive. (51:34)

Key Quotes

“Stop looking at HIPAA as regulation. Look at it as a guide, a tool, it’s incremental because you can use it to implement best practices.”

“Every home in America – whether we’re in a pandemic or not – should have some basic security controls in place in their homes “

“Any time you can enable two-factor authentication, you should take advantage of it.”

“Any hacker that gets into an application may have a door to other applications on your computer. So strong passwords are an added line of defense.”

“You've got your firewall, you've got your router, you've got your strong passwords, but you still want to back up and have multiple backups in multiple locations.”

“If you’re projecting out to the Internet at all – if you’re on the worldwide web – then you need to have a firewall.”

“The steps that every practice needs to take as part of HIPAA should include a breach notification or breach incident response plan.”

“It’s really important that in the event of an attack you call in someone that can be an incident response mitigator and walk you through all those stacks.”

“I don’t want it to be scary because we have the best tools at hand.

Our guest on this episode of the Best Practices Show podcast is Dr. Lauralee Nygaard, a renowned periodontist and long-time member and leader of the Seattle Study Club. Lauralee chose dentistry as a profession because of the flexibility paired with the challenges of serving clients in all situations. Early on in her career, she had to work through a lot of imposter syndrome, spurred on by negative referrals and critiques of other dentists in her area, but she has found that the key to her practice’s success is taking exceptional care of her patients and the rest will fall into place.

A lifelong learner, Lauralee has gleaned a lot of knowledge from thought leaders outside of the dental industry. She learned from Malcolm Gladwell about the intrinsic need for people to be in relationships, which cemented her belief that taking exceptional care of her patients would drive positive word-of-mouth referrals, and this continues to be her #1 source of new clients to this day. Lauralee has also found a great source of community, as well as personal and professional enrichment, through the Seattle Study Club symposium and her local club. She has been mentored by and has been a mentor to many clinicians over the years, and these relationships have been essential during this uncertain environment due to COVID-19 for finding mutual support and encouragement.

In addition to signing up for the Seattle Study Club symposium coming up January 29-31, 2021, Lauralee challenges listeners to connect with 2 people this week just to check in and see how they are doing during COVID-19. You may be surprised by the impact of a single phone call.

Main Takeaways:

The origins of the Seattle Study Club (7:15)

Finding business advice outside of dentistry (16:20)

Connecting with your patients is the secret (19:43)

Knowing someone that came before you (25:00)

Dentistry is a perfect fit for women (28:38)\

Quotes:

“I’m passionate about telling young clinicians – and women in particular – that they can be very successful in dentistry, and being a female is an asset, something that they should be willing to embrace.”

“I think the secret of my practice success is relational connection.”

“It’s cheaper than therapy to pay for me to go to symposium because those are my people.”

“If I wanted to build my business, I had to take exceptional care of people.”

“Charisma is not a gift – it’s a skill.”

“I didn’t understand that 80% of my business could come from 20% of my people.”

“There is always room for exceptionally taking care of people with a relational experience.”

Snippets:

Lauralee’s story (2:07-2:59)

The power of symposium (9:13-10:58)

How Lauralee found growth while remembering her roots (14:03-15:02)

People want relationships (17:32-18:53)

An impactful letter that Lauralee received from a patient (19:43-21:38)

Advice to younger clinicians (24:31-24:56)

Bio of Our Guest:

Dr. Nygaard is a Board Certified Periodontist, with three additional years of specialty training beyond dental school. Dr. Nygaard attended Loma Linda University where she earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) degree. Dr. Nygaard continued her education for three additional years at Loma Linda University in the graduate periodontics program for specialty training in periodontics, soft tissue procedures and implant dentistry where she earned a Certificate in Periodontics and a Masters of Science degree.

Dr. Nygaard is well known for her exceptional skill with connective tissue grafting and esthetic dental implants. She is also an advocate for patients who desire to manage their total health through proper oral health. She works closely with several cardiologists and heart attack and stroke specialists to manage patients' risk(s). Dr. Nygaard lectures on the possibilities and benefits of connective tissue grafts, as well as other dental topics.

Dr. Nygaard is a member of numerous dental organizations including the American Academy of Periodontology, the...

In this episode of The Best Practices Show, we revisit an interview that occurred during the COVID-19 Conference with Dr. Gary DeWood about treating patients in the middle of the COVID pandemic, (DISCLAIMER: They are not providing legal advice, but merely talking through their perspectives.) The team talks to Gary about a number of situations in this episode, but the one that rises to the top is the question of how to continue to treat patients during the coronavirus pandemic.

The first problem that comes up is the legality and the risk of seeing patients. There is some concern to treat emergency situations, but it’s difficult to discern what is and isn’t an emergency. The dental community has a decided interest in keeping patients out of hospitals, if only to limit their exposure to COVID. Gary and others believe in the safe practices of dentists’ offices, but there are still situations to discern.

The most important takeaway is that dentists should be doing all they can to actually serve their patients during this time. Often, that means not seeing them in the office. There are bigger forces at play than worrying about next week’s paycheck. The way that you handle yourself and your team during this time, they all repeat, will have a lasting impact on how things run when this is all over. Do what you can to stay in contact with your patient base. Show them that you care about their well-being—we are all isolated right now—and you may find that you actually strengthen your practice in the process.

Main Takeaways:

The ADA recommends that you should only treat people in emergency situations in the time of COVID. (3:00)

This is the time to step up to be a leader and lead your team. (5:30)

Do aesthetic emergencies still qualify as emergencies? (9:25)

Things you’re afraid of don’t go away—you can only change how you respond. (18:40)

In a time like this, you either show that you care or you don’t care—it’s just money... (25:45)

Quotes:

“The downside is that everything we’re reading now is just opinion.” – Gary.

“What risks are you willing to take?” – Gary

“You’re thinking of so many things to do—why don’t you think of one?” – Gary.

“Do you have enough masks to replace it after every patient?” – Gary.

“Closing your office is okay, but the best thing you can do is get emergency patients out of the medical system.” – Gary.

“What is the most important thing I can do to be of most service?” – Gary.

“You have to deal with what you can see.” – Gary.

“Go fishing for social distance...make your decision and then be ready to talk about it.” – Gary.

“Vulnerability is not a weakness; it’s a strength in times like this.” – Kirk.

“The way we manage this...is going to shape who we are when it’s over.” – Gary.

Snippets:

Making the decision to treat during COVID. (2:00–4:30)

What are you telling the dentists looking for leadership? (5:20–8:30)

Patterns of the great dentists who make it through. (17:50–20:55)

Stay in touch with your patient base. (23:25–25:00)

Let’s be open to all possibilities for us to get through this together. (30:00–32:00)

Bio of Our Guest:

Dr. DeWood is Executive Vice President of Spear Education. As one of the founding members of Spear, he directed Curriculum and Clinical Education for nearly a decade prior to joining in the launch of Spear Practice Solutions. Today, he splits time between teaching and consulting.

Dr. DeWood serves as an instructor in multiple Spear Workshops, including Facially Generated Treatment Planning, Occlusion in Clinical Practice, Advanced Occlusion, Sleep Medicine in the Dental Practice and a special focus workshop on temporomandibular disorder. He also maintains a limited private practice on the Spear Campus in Scottsdale, Arizona, and lectures nationally and internationally on practice management, treatment planning, case management, case acceptance, TMD diagnosis, appliance therapy, occlusion, and esthetics.

Prior to his contributions at Spear, Dr. DeWood maintained