There are some things in dentistry that we believe that are just not true. Today I'm going to cover a few myths in dentistry and what the reality of the situation is. Just a few of the topics will include the myths that access to care is a problem and you need large numbers of new patients to succeed. Listen in for more myths, and a few little secrets that could help your practice today.

The average bank account balance in America right now is $4,400 and the average credit card balance is $18,500. So what happens if you have a treatment plan that's up around $9-10,000? Well, right now the economy is pretty good, but what happens if it goes down? The reality is we have to find ways to make dentistry more affordable to patients. So today we're going to talk about financial options that could help your office and your patients.

I always tell doctors there are two kinds of people in this world: engineers and non-engineers. The engineer is the one who needs to have all the info before they make a decision; they're the ones who want to know the molecular makeup of the material you're going to use. The non-engineer needs to trust you. The truth is about 80% of dentists think like engineers, while about 80% of your patients don't. Today we're going to talk about how to not lose productivity and how to take advantage of the opportunities to take care of people.

In part 1 of this two-part series, we talked about the process of how we go through an examination. How I do it is all new patients come through me first, and we see a 37% increase in productivity when I see the patient first as opposed to hygiene. It also keeps us on track with our schedule. Today we're going to talk about more best practices for handling new patient exam from what to look for, how to communicate with the patient, and how to get them to "yes" and make them a patient for life.

We're all taught how to do an exam in dental school. But in my own practice, and at Productive Dentist Academy, we do things a bit differently than what they teach in school. As we get started on this two-part series about the new patient exam, I want you to remember something that I've said many times before on this podcast: you as a dentist are not responsible for your patient's issues. Let's hop into talking about what really matters in the new patient exam – it might not be what you think.

I get a lot of emails promoting the newest product or technique. I'm sure you have the same thing in your inbox, too. So how do we sort the contenders from the pretenders? I think its common sense to say don't take everything you hear as gospel. I know I've certainly made a few mistakes over the years, but I've learned a thing or two. Now don't get me wrong, there are some really good new things out there. So, how to you tell the difference before you sign up for something? Today, I want to talk more about how you can ask the right questions and look for the right things when vetting the newest techniques, technologies, or procedures.

Today I'm going to talk about something that hit me between the eyes. It doesn't really matter how old you are – 20, 30, 60, 70 – it can happen anytime in our career. I lost one of my best friends this year and I found that I started feeling old. This is what can happen anytime: you get old, you feel that you've reached the pinnacle of your career. So I started thinking about the dentists I know who stay on top: they keep pushing forward, learning new techniques, they're excited about dentistry. It doesn't matter what age they are, they stay engaged in their careers and lives – they keep learning, they work out, eat right, go on vacations. So let's talk more about how to not let the old man in.

I've been getting questions from doctors all over the country about the Netflix documentary "Root Cause" that follows the experiences of one person's experience with root canal treatment and the alleged systemic issues he claims are associated with root canal treatment. Let me just say that my opinions have been shaped over the past 39 years of practicing dentistry, I hope we all never stop learning, and I know this documentary is controversial. So, today we're going to talk about some of what I've been seeing in the industry and possible concerns.

Another one of the risk factors I've added to my arsenal is psychological or psycho risk. What's important for you to understand as a dentist is that some of your patients are psycho. And I like to find out who those patients are before I do a treatment plan. These are the patients who bring in a bag of 30 sets of dentures, show up every day for a month, always have something negative to say about their spouse, their life, their health, etc. They are never happy and can be a huge drain on you and your office. But just because they walk through my doors doesn't mean I have to work on them. So today, we're going to talk about how protocols (and some observational skills) will give you insight into psycho risk patients and go over some strategies for handling them.

Dr. John Kois lists 4 risk factors which we've already covered, but over the years I've added a few. One is physiologic risk. I see a lot of people with sleep apnea, allergies, and other seemingly non-dental issues and I've come to consider them as physiologic risks. I highly suggest you get training in sleep apnea and go to a course and get educated in this area, it could make a big difference to your patients or someone you love. I'm a good example of this risk factor and I'll talk about some of my personal experiences regarding physiologic risk in today's episode.