Accelerate My Practice Blog

Dental Insurance.. It is a ''Necessary Evil", or is it?? What are the Dental Insurance Trends occuring in the dental industry now? Does your dental team know what these trends are? The ADA published an article in 2013 that has shown, there is a "New Normal" to dental spending. The per capita per patient has gone down since 2013. The "Good Old Days of Dentistry" are gone! So, how do we make a living in this atmosphere? We will need to change with the times to rematin competitive! What is your plan to prepare for this "New Normal"?


Did you know that 42% of patients pay dental expenses with a credit card? Compare that to 47% that pay with insurance! After seeing those numbers answer the question, why is everyone trying to ride the PPO Wave? The annual maximum converage is giong down, they take longer to pay and they are paying out less for services you provide.

Maybe we need a mindset change! Is it us, the provider, that is keeping the patients attached to the "Insurance Leash" by what we say when they ask about treatment costs? Do you ever hear yourself say, "We can check to see what your insurance covers for these crowns"? The maximums of today will only allow for about 1-2 crowns to be PARTIALLY covered. Yet, we place emphasis on the need for cheecking with insurance! 

Retirement is an exciting time, and while some dentists are passionate about their jobs and want to hold on as long as they can, others are counting down the days until they can relax by the pool or on the golf course (or both!). Before you decide it is time to retire, you’ll need to take a serious look at your finances so you know if and when you’re ready. Here are a few ways to start saving, so you can take the leap to retire.

It’s a busy world for all of us, with so much to do and so little time! And with everything involved in running your dental practice, the last thing you need is to have to chase down patients to schedule their bi-annual check-ups and actually show up for them. Unfortunately this is not as easy as it sounds. But there are some very effective strategies you can put in place to give your patients a nudge in the right direction.

How often do you cause people to smile in your dental practice?  Is it a daily goal for the team to make the dental experience a pleasant one for your patients? Do you work with vengeance to help your patients overcome their fears of the dental experience, office, procedures, or any other obstacle that may be clouding their view of who you are and how you can significantly impact their life and overall health?

It is truly amazing how some people can rise from adversity and make such a beautiful life for themselves.  Take the 6 year old little boy who lost both his father, and shortly thereafter, his mother at this young age.  The story aired on NBC news demonstrating how powerful a smile can be and how this darling little child’s greatest wish is put a smile on a perfect stranger’s face.  He chose to pursue his dream by purchasing adorable little stuffed animals and various toys to give randomly to people he would decide to meet. The smiles he created with people from all walks of life was ever so gratifying for him and helped him to deal with the grief of the loss of his parents.

Let’s look at the transformations of those who are well-known and perhaps famous by the beautiful smiles you have created as dentists.  A few who come to mind are Celine Dion, Fifty Cent, Nicholas Cage and Zach Affron all who wear big beautiful transformational smiles each and every day of their lives created by the talented and highly skilled dentist and their team.

When discussing health with your patients, be sure to encourage them to use moderation when it comes to weight loss. Too many people tend to make great sacrifices to lose a couple pounds and become a skinnier version of themselves affecting their dental health in the process.

As medical professionals it’s our job to inform our patients about how their diet might also be affecting their dental health in their quest to lose weight. Dentists and dental hygienists tend to do a very good job when it comes to reminding patients about the regular hygienic maintenance their teeth needs. And if a patient casually mentions they are dieting then it’s crucial for dental professionals to warn about the harm certain diets can do too.