The Authentic Blueprint for Dental Practice Success
An Interview with Dr. Amy Wenninghoff (Roots Dental, Lincoln, NE) and Sara Hansen (Productive Dentist Academy)
YOUR OPERATORY LOOKS BETTER IN BLUE
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Summer 2024
Editor & Publisher
Anne M. Duffy, CEO, RDH
Assistant Editor Clare Yeo
Project Manager
Tari Sixpence
Website
Bhakti Kulmala
Sales & PR Officer
Nyasha Maripakwenda
Layout and Design
Brian Rummel
Editorial Board
Mary Fisher-Day
Dr. Dirk Fleischman
Dr. Sharon Parsons
Dr. Isabel Rambob
Dr. David Rice
Travis Rodgers
Barb Stackhouse
Dr. Lucas Shapiro
Dr. Tom Snyder
Ryan Vet
Summer 2024 Contributors
Gary Bird
Sara Hansen
Kim Larson
Dr. Roger P. Levin
Travis Rodgers
Dr. Luke Shapiro
Ryan Vet Callie Ward
Dr. Amy Wenninghoff Tiffany Wuebben
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Welcome
As I write this editorial, it is hot! Yes, it’s a hot, hot summer, and I am happy to say that our DE Summer is hot off the press! The articles inside this edition are sizzling and as vibrant as the sun. So grab the last days of beach time and your favorite drink and dive into these pages that will inspire you to make the changes you need to succeed at your highest level.
What I love about our cover article is the authenticity of our authors. Believe me, I know because it is almost verbatim what we talked about on our podcast. You can check this episode out from back in the spring. Sara and Dr. Amy are in it to win it and are doing just that. I discovered through their conversation and seeing them interact in person that you can have a friendship and a consultant that will carry you through the highs and lows of your dental career. Pick up the phone and find yours! If not now, when?
On the theme of collaboration, Tiffany Wuebben dives into the power of forming a healthy, collaborative relationship between dentists and hygienists. Callie Ward dives into the impressive skill of making a lasting impression and impact. She shares her insights on wow-worthy qualities that make individuals memorable and how you can emulate them, too!
Part of what makes this issue uplifting is the way it prepares us for the turning of seasons. Looking into the future, Kim Larson prepares fresh-faced dentists for the real world by giving a look into DSOs and what they need to know about them. Travis Rodgers discusses the game-changing process of “customer discovery,” and why it’s the backbone of all successful startups.
When it comes to growing a business, marketing is a daily necessity. Gary Bird exposes the black holes that trouble many practices, sharing the ways in which marketing teams can fix this to improve patient numbers while keeping expenditure low. His insights go hand-in-hand with Ryan Vet’s very present solution of AI, and how it can help practices tend to more calls and increase their patient showup rate.
On the topic of increasing practice production, Roger P. Levin brings it all back to the heart – customer service. He reveals the missing components to what would be a world class, 5-star customer service experience, and how you can incorporate these approaches to your practice.
And as we gaze into the future, Luke Shapiro shines the spotlight on Dr. Donnie Wiggins, who is actively bridging the gap between dentistry and sustainability, paving the way for a greener future.
I hope this issue inspires you to look positively into the future as it provides you insights on how to move forward with more impact. Love,
Summer 2024
Spotlight
6 The Authentic Blueprint for Dental Practice Success
Dr. Amy Wenninghoff and Sara Hansen
Culture
10 You’re Finally a Dentist! Now What?
Kim Larson
14 The Great “Coming Together”: Building a Strong Dentist-Hygienist
Relationship to Ensure a Thriving Practice
Tiffany Wuebben
Business
18 Can Customer Service Increase Practice Production?
Roger P. Levin, DDS
20 How Startups Solve The Biggest Problems Facing Dentists Today
Travis Rodgers
Innovation
22 The Future of Dentistry: Working Together to Solve the Black Hole of Marketing
Gary Bird
Launchpad
26 How Dr. Donnie Wiggins is Bridging the Gap Between Sustainability and Dentistry
Luke Shapiro, DDS
Impact
28 How to Make an Impact When You Step Into a Room!
Callie Ward
32 The Unseen Foundations of AI: More Than Just the Latest Hype
Ryan Vet
The Authentic Blueprint for Dental Practice Success
An Interview with Dr. Amy Wenninghoff (Roots Dental, Lincoln, NE) and Sara Hansen (Productive Dentist Academy)
Opening up a dental practice from scratch can feel overwhelming for any dentist. The journey from conceptualizing the practice to welcoming the first patient involves countless steps and decisions that can seem daunting. Every detail - from finding the right location and securing financing to office space design and equipment purchases - requires careful consideration. On top of that, you have to build a competent team that backs your vision, while you navigate regulatory requirements.
It’s a lot to handle.
One critical aspect that is often overlooked in this process is marketing. Effective and authentic marketing is not just about tactics or attracting new patients but about generating the kind of patients you want to see in your practice - those who align with your values and clinical approach. Authentic marketing helps establish a genuine connection with potential patients, making them feel understood and valued before they walk through your doors. It’s about telling your story and showcasing what makes your practice unique, ensuring that the patients who choose you are a good fit for your practice. And sometimes, the best way to achieve a marketing strategy that brings those patients through your door requires a little outside help.
In this special interview*, Dental Entrepreneur explores these topics with Dr. Amy Wenninghoff, a successful dentist in Lincoln, Nebraska, who has recently navigated the complexities of starting her own practice - Roots Dental; and Productive Dentist Academy Marketing Consultant Sara Hansen, who has
been instrumental in helping Dr. Wenninghoff attract the right patients through proven authentic marketing strategies.
With PDA’s help, Dr. Wenninghoff’s patient value in her practice increased from $744 in 2023 to $888 in 2024, marking a 19.35 percent increase. Additionally, her production per patient skyrocketed from $791 in 2023 to $1,358 in 2024 (a remarkable 71.1% increase). Her digital advertising ROI also saw a significant 50% improvement moving from 4:1 in 2023 to 6:1 in 2024. Together, Sara and Dr. Amy share their insights and experiences in building a thriving dental practice from the ground up.
DR. AMY WENNINGHOFF, YOU HAD 12 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AS A DENTIST, AND AFTER ALL THAT TIME WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO FINALLY OPEN YOUR OWN DENTAL PRACTICE?
Dr. Amy Wenninghoff: I knew I wanted to do a startup. Every six months, I would get this feeling I needed to do something different and on my own. I started creating an office in my head - and it was lovely. Finally, my husband said, “This is a really nice office you’re running in your head, Amy. Maybe it’s time you start to take a step forward and create what you’ve been dreaming about.” The cards fell in the right place. We found a great location that’s close to my house. Everything began pointing me in the direction of starting my own practice. Even the name, “Roots Dental,” came about because I’ve always enjoyed gardening. My favorite flower is even in the logo of my practice.
WHERE IN THE PROCESS OF STARTING YOUR PRACTICE DID YOU START WORKING WITH PRODUCTIVE DENTIST ACADEMY (PDA)?
Dr. Amy: I heard of PDA through online communities during my startup research. They kept coming up as a top consulting group in dentistry, known for helping clinicians grow authentically and improve patient experiences. They focus heavily on patient communication, bridging the gap between learning and patient care. Surrounding myself with dentists from PDA felt right - they have such an abundance mindset. Before starting my practice, I interviewed them on marketing and loved their approach. Then once I got through equipment purchases and construction, I had enough budget to reach back out to start working with them.
THAT’S WHEN YOU STARTED WORKING WITH SARA HANSEN. SARA, TELL US ABOUT YOUR ROLE AT PDA AND CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT YOUR AUTHENTIC MARKETING PHILOSOPHY?
Sara Hansen: I come from dentistry. I started 26 years ago as a dental assistant, and worked my way through every role in the practice except dentist, and I fell in love with the profession. After 18 years in dental offices, I turned to consulting, and I love it. When it comes to marketing, I believe in leading from experience. After learning my authentic “why” - or, what I was put on this Earth to do - I fell in love with marketing. I love that I get to tell doctors’ stories through marketing; it’s not just promotions but the “why” behind each dental practice.
For Dr. Amy, her “why” is in building relationships. She loved science, and getting into health care was something she wanted to do with it, but the way she’s found success is through creating strong relationships with patients who wanted her guidance on their dental journey. Like many of the doctors we serve, our marketing approach is comprehensive. We provide internal and external marketing. As a fractional CMO, I love that I get to collaborate with dentists like Dr. Amy to define goals, and bridge gaps through marketing. One year out, and we are already shifting Dr. Amy’s marketing because she’s so focused on her message. She doesn’t have a back-door problem because she’s creating loyal patients.
Dr. Amy: Starting out, setting up systems was overwhelming, especially how my team and I interact with new patients, and also ask them to invite their friends and family to come see us. It was really nice to know I could offload this training onto Sara and know that my team was learning how to do those things well. That has really shown. We have a lot of patients coming in from referrals, friends, and family, and through our online
reviews. That was another big part of our training: asking for reviews.
Sara: With Dr. Amy and her team, we spent time discussing referrals and what they mean, and then we determined the best way for them to obtain those referrals, which came in the way of Google reviews.
Dr. Amy: We reached 100 Google reviews shortly after Roots Dental’s first anniversary. We earned every review. We owe it to Sara’s guidance in asking for them, and that’s made a huge difference in our growth.
Sara: Marketing is all about building trust and delivering an experience the patient expects. Yes, we market externally for brand awareness and to get messaging out that says, “We’re open, and we’d love to see you.” But the moment the phone rings, the external marketing job stops, and we hand the baton to the dental team. From there we ask questions like: How were the patients treated on the phone? Do you have financial options? Do you have open availability? Are patients waiting months to get in? Are they treated with kindness? It’s the practice’s job to keep that patient journey going and deliver expectations on the messaging we’re putting out in the market. We believe marketing is from the inside out. Dr. Amy’s website reads, “Let us care for you,” and her team shows that care by building relationships with their patients through active listening. There is no patient they don’t try to find a solution for.
WHAT DOES THE FUTURE LOOK LIKE FOR YOU, DR. AMY? WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR ROOTS DENTAL?
Dr. Amy: I have goals, but I’m also incredibly flexible. My guiding vision is crucial to staying focused, especially in the startup phase. Initially, it was about exceptional patient care. I love interacting with patients and ensuring top-quality care through ongoing education. At first, it was just me building a strong foundation. Now, with my team excelling, I’m excited about potentially mentoring another dentist in the future. The focus remains on excellent care in a friendly environment.
A LOT OF TIMES WHEN YOU GET INTO YOUR OWN PRACTICE, YOUR HEAD IS DOWN, AND YOU’RE WORKING REALLY HARD. YOU DON’T SEE WHAT IS EVEN POSSIBLE SOMETIMES UNTIL SOMEBODY SEES IT IN YOU. AND THEN THEY CAN HELP DEVELOP THAT. IS THAT PART OF THE JOB, SARA, WHEN YOU’RE WORKING WITH THEM?
Sara: As entrepreneurs, trust is crucial. Amy had to trust me with all the risk on her shoulders. She trusted the process, and focused on her values and patient care. She said, “This is who I am, this
is how I want to practice dentistry,” and everything else formed around that. So now, one year in, she has grown tremendously. Her external advertising has grown 50% from 2023 to 2024, and her production per patient has grown 70%.
Dr. Amy is getting the kind of patients she’s always wanted. These are patients who are invested in making a difference in their smile and oral health. They don’t have to afford $20,000 in treatment, they’re looking for a different kind of dentistry where they and Dr. Amy can walk along that journey together. I owe Dr. Amy so much gratitude because it’s about trusting the process, growing together, and building what she wants. Every dentist is capable of achieving this if you build the foundation correctly. I’m really proud of her for the risk she took, but also for this amazing reward that she’s starting to see.
Dr. Amy: I told Sara the other day that within the last month, more new patients have sought us out because of some of the video content we’ve put out. It’s just me talking to a patient who might be anxious, and saying things like, “Hey, it’s OK to come in. We’re not going to judge you, we’re here for you, and we want to help you.” Several patients have come in because of those videos. It’s cool because when they come in I already have a little rapport with them before I start with that patient. They’ve already decided this is the dentist for me before they’ve even met me. This strategy is just so authentic. It doesn’t feel salesy. It’s not outside my realm of comfort. So for patients to seek me out because I am who I am is really cool. I never thought that would be possible, so I have a lot of gratitude to Sara and I’m glad I trusted the process.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A NEW PRACTICE OWNER WHO WANTS TO ACHIEVE SIMILAR SUCCESS, DR. AMY?
Dr. Amy: Start. You just have to start, and let things come to you as they happen. If you never start, it’s only going to live in your head. This practice of mine, I could have started five years earlier. Believe in yourself and know that you don’t have all the answers. That’s where help like PDA comes in. Surround yourself with people who can help you if you don’t know what you’re doing next. Be vulnerable and be able to say, “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.” You don’t have to have all the answers, and you don’t have to have a perfect plan.
But you do have to start if you want something like this. And if you have started and you’re overwhelmed, write it all down on paper. A lot of times we focus on things that aren’t that important yet, but it’s taking up space in your head. Take time to prioritize and organize; I think it makes you a lot more efficient. And then delegate where you can delegate. You might have 300 things in your head, and you cannot possibly do every single
one of them. That’s where things like coaching and having an external team help you with marketing can help. It’s been helpful to take that weight off my shoulders so I can focus on things that I’m much more equipped to do in my office.
SARA, WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO OTHER DENTAL PROFESSIONALS LOOKING TO BOOST THEIR MARKETING EFFORTS? WHAT CAN THEY DO?
Sara: Dentists wear many hats and it can be very overwhelming. Taking off some of those hats and bringing in people who can help support you gives you more time to focus on the business where you need to focus. There are so many people out there who can take some of that weight off as entrepreneurs. Also, look internally. Does the doctor ever listen in on phone calls? How are patients treated? Has your team earned the right to ask for referrals and reviews? How many past-due appointments are there? How much do you have in unscheduled treatment? Those are all things that help boost production within the practice to help with patient flow, and it’s something you don’t have to pay extra for. There’s a lot of opportunities inside the practice.
It’s no secret that many dental practices struggle to attract patients and stand out from the crowd. Sara Hansen is a marketing consultant at productive dentist academy whose expertise lies in crafting authentic marketing plans that boosts growth, connects with communities, and transforms practices. Through a tailored strategy, practices are able to establish themselves as a local authority — turning their practice into a patient magnet that’s booked and busy.
Dr. Amy has been a practicing dentist for the past 12 years. In 2023, she started her own thriving practice, Roots Dental, where she loves getting to know her patients and helping them achieve their goals. In her free time, she enjoys the outdoors and spending time with her family.
PODCAST: Growing at the Right Pace: Balancing Family Time, Marketing, and Growth with Dr. Amy Wenninghoff & Sara Hansen
You’re Finally a Dentist! Now What?
Kim Larson, Co-Founder & COO, www.GroupDentistryNow.com
When you are handed a DMD or DDS degree, you will have acquired well-honed clinical skills, a wealth of dental knowledge, and most likely a great deal of debt. However, what may not have been acquired are the business management skills needed to be a successful business owner, team leader, and people manager.
REAL-LIFE PROBLEMS
The business acumen required to run a successful dental practice can be overwhelming, especially since most dental students have an education based in science, not financial management, insurance negotiations, marketing, IT, or human resources.
The business side of dentistry is often done after patient hours. Dentists entering the field, including growing numbers of women, often want a work-life balance that business ownership doesn’t necessarily provide.
Younger dentists are leaving dental school more deeply in debt than in the past, sometimes carrying half a million dollars in student loans. This debt, coupled with startup costs including securing real estate, hiring staff, and buying expensive equipment, prevents many from opening their own practices.
REAL-LIFE SOLUTIONS
Upon graduation, well over 30% of all dental school graduates will join a DSO or multi-location group practice, and that number grows yearly. Working for a DSO upon graduation can assist the recent graduate in building clinical skills and confidence, but also allows them to expedite paying down loans and accumulating capital.
However, DSOs are not just training grounds for new graduates. In fact, a significant percentage of new recruits are experienced dentists.
Many graduates will work for a dental support organization at some point in their career.
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS
• You may know other’s perceptions of DSOs and some general information about DSOs, but do you know what a DSO really is?
• Are you fully equipped with the knowledge to know if a DSO is right for you?
• Do you know how to choose the right DSO?
DSO 101
DSO is an acronym that can stand for either dental support organization or dental service organization. Whether the ‘S’ stands for support or service, the meaning is the same.
A DSO is typically a stand-alone, legal entity built specifically to handle the non-clinical functions of the dental offices which it manages. These non-clinical functions include human resources, accounting, legal, marketing, risk management, compliance, recruiting, payroll, IT, procurement, and other non-clinical services.
When a dentist decides to work for a DSO, one of the major draws is that the dentist can focus on the clinical side of dentistry while leaving the administrative side to a team of business experts.
You go to dental school to change people’s lives through the art of dentistry, not necessarily become a CEO (chief everything officer), skilled in insurance, procurement, equipment maintenance/repair, payroll, HR, marketing, and other business practices which are a necessary part of a healthy dental office.
The right DSO can be a great place to start your dental career and fine-tune your clinical skills without the sometimes overwhelming distraction of figuring out and managing the business side of dentistry. It can remain your home for the duration of your career, or you can gain experience and leave to start your own practice.
THE SURGE TOWARDS DSOs IS GAINING MOMENTUM.
Research conducted by the ADA Health Policy Institute (HPI) shows there is a decline in traditional solo practices as dentists increasingly opt for group practices, a trend expected to persist. According to the ADA Health Policy Institute, 13% of dentists nationwide were affiliated with a dental support organization in 2022, an increase from 10.4% of dentists in 2019 and 8.8% in 2017. For dentists less than 10 years out of dental school, the rate is much higher, according to HPI.
ADEA studies have revealed that the percentage of dental school seniors planning to join a DSO rose from 12% percent in 2015, and 30% in 2020, to 34% in 2023.
AREN’T ALL DSOs THE SAME?
Regardless of what you may have heard (good or bad) about working for a DSO, it is important to remember that each group or dental support organization is different. Each has its own
culture, its own unique business model, and its own opportunities and challenges.
There is an industry expression, “When you’ve seen one DSO, you’ve seen one DSO.” They can vary in many ways, including:
• Geographic footprint
• Career path and opportunities
• Ownership structure
• Access to technology and products
• Company culture and camaraderie
• Doctor compensation models – salary, pay for production, student loan repayment
• Potential ownership opportunities
• Mentorship, education, and training programs
• Charitable causes and philanthropic efforts
• Paths to leadership - career opportunities beyond the chair
• The type of dentistry performed
• Payor fee-for-service, Medicaid, capitated, mix
• Mission
• Business growth and exit strategies
WITH 2,000+ DSOs TO CHOOSE FROM, HOW DO YOU DECIDE?
Much like each solo practice operates differently, each DSO also operates differently. According to The Association of Dental Support Organizations, there are thousands of DSOs to choose from and their numbers are growing.
Since DSOs come in all shapes and sizes: private group practice, emerging, mid-market, regional and national; all offering different cultures and support philosophies, it is important to understand how you align with their culture, philosophy, and value system.
Opportunities abound. You need to make sure that you choose the right DSO, and not necessarily the first DSO with whom you
speak or the one that has free cocktails and dinner at a campus recruitment event.
It is valuable to attend DSO campus events and become familiar with recruiters and their DSO’s culture. Talk to every DSO that comes to your campus. Go prepared and ask them the tough questions. Do they fit into your life plan? Do they meet your requirements? Do you share values and a common life philosophy?
You also need to perform your due diligence online. Visit and join some of the many social media groups specifically geared for dentists on Facebook and LinkedIn. Use these groups to find other dentists who have worked for a DSO you may be considering and get their opinion and experience. But don’t just rely on one person’s opinion.
You may be more familiar with some of the larger DSOs since they tend to have more doctor recruiters who can attend and sponsor various campus functions. However, there are hundreds more to choose from. Don’t limit yourself. DSOs are not all created equal. Bigger is not necessarily better.
Gather information to make an informed decision. Research other smaller, emerging, or mid-market DSOs that may be more regional in nature and offer unique benefits or opportunities in order to compete with the larger DSOs.
Online resources like JoinDSO.com (with a free job board), and GroupDentistryNow.com’s free e-newsletter and podcast, will help you navigate the abundance of opportunities and give you more information to help you make the best decision.
INTERVIEW DSOs AND ASK THE TOUGH QUESTIONS LIKE:
• What are the student debt repayment opportunities?
• How are patient treatment plans determined, managed, and executed?
• What is the DSO’s business model and how does a new dentist fit into it?
• Are there opportunities to buy into the DSO or own a percentage of a practice(s)?
• What type of charitable and philanthropic work or community outreach does your DSO do?
• What does the work-life balance look like? What are the work hours and how flexible are they?
• Are there advancement opportunities beyond the chair?
• What is the DSO’s growth strategy?
• Who owns the DSO and how does that influence operations?
• Besides being patient-centric, offering clinical autonomy, and centralized administrative functions, what differentiates the DSO from other DSOs?
• What type of training is offered? Continuing education or leadership opportunities?
• Is there a mentorship program?
It may be true that newly graduating dentists have incurred more debt than ever before in history. However, the good news is that there are more debt repayment options and countless career paths to explore and follow.
You’ve worked hard. You’re finally a dentist. And now your options are limitless. You can chart the course that is uniquely right for you!
In 2014, recognizing a discernible void in the digital publication landscape dedicated to the Dental Support Organization (DSO) and group practice domain, Kim Larson founded Group Dentistry Now (GDN) and JoinDSO. Over the past decade, her unwavering focus on the DSO space has garnered significant attention and a substantial following within the DSO and dental industry circles and widely known. Her expertise and industry influence have positioned her as a trusted figure in the dental community, drawing admiration from both professionals and enthusiasts alike. Kim’s commitment to the success of the DSO space is further emphasized by her role as a consultant for the Association of Dental Support Organizations (ADSO), manufacturers, DSOs, and emerging dental groups. Kim has achieved widespread recognition on social media platforms. Follow her on LinkedIn.
The Great “Coming Together”: Building a Strong DentistHygienist Relationship to Ensure a Thriving Practice
Tiffany Wuebben, RDH, Founder and CEO of The Hygienepreneur
At 5:30 in the morning, I found myself eagerly texting my dentist, Dr. Brown. No, it wasn’t about calling in sick; it was another brilliant idea brewing in my mind, a strategy to propel our hygiene department to new heights. This routine, though unconventional, was our norm—a testament to the dynamic collaboration that defined our professional journey.
For 11 years, Dr. Brown and I nurtured a partnership that transcended conventional roles. Despite owning the practice, he treated me as an equal contributor, empowering me to lead and innovate within the hygiene department. His unwavering support fueled my drive, transforming our workplace into a place of positivity and excellence. And conversely, I was motivated to help satisfy his vision and embrace his goals. I was an active participant in fulfilling the hopes and dreams that he expressed for himself and the team. I also approached my role differently; I had an “owner” mindset and because of this, I achieved so many of the goals that I set out for myself. I knew that if my driver was patient care and practice growth, I would win as well. So, I led with that, and it worked like magic.
DR. BROWN ENCOURAGED ME
I really wanted to grow professionally and personally. To my surprise, Dr. Brown would often tell me, “you seem bored.” I
never really noticed what he was talking about. But he did and he would typically tell me that he was going to send me to another course or another mastermind. So, as a result, I continued to be supported and fed with knowledge. There was mutual appreciation and the practice and patients benefited from my needs being met. I operated with joy.
I was a hygienist that was driven by the goals that we created for our department, and it was more about that than the money. However, the financial benefit was the icing on the cake. And boy did I do well!
Next, Dr. Brown encouraged me to write my book. I had written so many systems for the practice throughout the years, this was a natural next move. And you know what? We had so much success in the hygiene department that other dentist friends of his started to notice. This is how “The Hygienepreneur” first took off.
FOUNDING THE HYGIENEPRENEUR
Our journey together inspired me to venture into hygiene consulting, founding The Hygienepreneur—a testament to the transformative power of unity in dental practices. If I hadn’t achieved this synergistic relationship with my Dentist and been
put in a position to create better workflow systems, I would have never written a book or founded The Hygienepreneur.
I was a single parent who had no time to do anything else, I didn’t even read! I was lucky and so was he. We had found the “secret sauce” to building a thriving practice through the ultimate power of the perfect relationship. Through my experiences, I’ve witnessed the spectrum of dentist-hygienist relationships, from harmonious partnerships to strained ones. I am always impressed when I go into an office to help transform a hygiene department and I see unity and partnership. This practice always out-performs the one where the relationship between the dentist and hygienist is strained.
The hygiene shortage across America has magnified an issue that we have to focus on to protect our industry. The struggle that myself and others are witnessing is very challenging and has motivated me to write this article to get real and address the “elephant in the room” in an empathetic and caring way. I owe dentistry so much. It helped me as a single parent to live a better life and the community supported me through the many challenges that I faced over the past 30 years. I feel very protective over it and would not feel good unless I called “it” out.
A CRISIS OF UNITY
We had some balance pre-pandemic. There was an understanding of what our roles were, and the patient was better served. The pandemic changed everything for us. Some hygienists left their positions for good after having the time to reflect at home, realizing that they were not being fed, they were dissatisfied, and they wanted more. This shortage has impacted our industry in a big way. As a result, it has created a division between some dentists and hygienists due to the supply and demand resulting in a wage war and a great division. Today, our industry grapples with a crisis of unity, with some hygienists voicing grievances of feeling undervalued and disconnected from their dentists. And Dentists feeling like they are being forced to pay wages that are too high for them to absorb. Did you know there is legislation in process that considers giving dental assistants the rights to perform more procedures in hygiene? The public health is the concern. This is a serious issue. It’s time to confront this challenge head-on, fostering a culture of understanding and collaboration.
A SHARED COMMITMENT
To bridge this gap, both dentists and hygienists must embrace a shared commitment to communication, respect, and synergy. Dentists can cultivate a supportive environment by acknowledging and incentivizing the expertise of their hygienists, fostering open dialogue, and expressing gratitude for their vital contributions.
Conversely, hygienists play a pivotal role in nurturing trust and loyalty within the practice. By demonstrating empathy, team-
work, and a commitment to practice success, they can strengthen the dentist-hygienist bond and foster a culture of mutual respect. Hygienists need to better understand “the business” of hygiene and see that the practice can’t survive in paying the wages that are being demanded by some hygienists.
When we coach hygiene departments, we embrace the “paid for performance” model. When I was practicing in the op, this is how I was compensated, and it was awesome. I was paid like an associate Dentist, and it made me feel empowered, inspired and happy. Plus, with this model, the practice wins, too, and that creates a synergistic balance of success.
Financially, this method of pay helped me meet and exceed all of my financial goals. The “triple winning scenario” is achieved with this type of compensation. The patient, the practice, and the provider all benefit. It also creates mutual respect, positivity, and a culture that is harnessed with achievement and growth. In order to get there, we have to look within ourselves and commit to change.
A SHIFT IN MINDSET
tice productivity. Her book, “Hygienepreneur: The Dental Hygienist’s Guide to Achieving Career Success & Personal Transformation,” offers transformative guidance for hygienists striving for personal and professional greatness.
Website: www.thehygienepreneur.com
Email:tiffany@thehygienepreneur.com
Office: (951)775-4478 hub.dentalentrepreneur.com/podcasts/the-future-of-dentistry
www.dewlifecrew.com/dew-retreat
Can Customer Service Increase Practice Production?
Roger P. Levin, DDS
Throughout my career, I have had a major focus on the subject of customer service. Customer service is one of those concepts constantly talked about, but not so regularly implemented in businesses, including dental practices. This is not to say that most dental practice teams aren’t relatively nice. Most patients have relatively good experiences. However, there is a difference between a relatively nice practice where patients have relatively good experiences and the positive effect that 5-star Customer Service can have on practice performance and production.
One of the most important insights is that customer service is not an accident. It is a system that needs to be carried out the same way every day, every patient, every time. Customer service is not only about reacting to problems (as many people believe) but it is about proactively creating an environment that sets the stage for an incredible patient experience. Practices with excellent systems often perform 30% – 50% better in regard to practice production. Customer service is one of those systems that takes the practice to much higher levels of performance and long-term excellence.
UNDERSTANDING CUSTOMER SERVICE.
Over the years of studying customer service, Levin Group has routinely observed that most practices overestimate the level of customer service provided. For the vast majority of practices, when asked if they provide 5-star customer service, a term that most people generally understand, the answer is yes. However,
only a small minority of practices actually provide 5-star customer service. Many practice teams confuse being nice with reaching a high level of customer service that stimulates patients to take specific actions that are beneficial to the practice
Most practices provide 3 or 4-star level customer service, which is not bad, but it is not 5-star. There is a significant difference between 3 or 4-star customer service and 5-star. In a video course that I produced entitled “Wow Every Patient,” I highlight 50 or 60 strategies that can be used to build a 5-star customer service environment. When I interviewed practices to prepare for the book, I found that most practices typically have 10 or fewer. Again, this is not bad, but not 5-star customer service, and the difference is important.
WHAT IS THAT DIFFERENCE? 5-STAR CUSTOMER SERVICE
DIFFERENTIATES A PRACTICE AND PROVIDES THESE 5 BENEFITS.
Practices with 5-star customer service have higher production. The reason is that patients in a 5-star customer service practice trust the practice more and are much more open to accepting recommended treatment. When patients experience incredible customer service it translates into trust, and trust is the major factor in case acceptance – another key practice system.
Practices with 5-star customer service increase referrals. Many patients become ambassadors, referring others without ever being asked and without even realizing they are doing it. This is one of those effects of a 5-star customer service environment. People tell others and others come. New patients are the life-
blood of a practice. New patients bring major benefits to a prac tice. For example, the average new patient provides 2 to 3 times higher production in the first 12 months compared to current active patients.
Practices with 5-star customer service have a higher number of positive reviews. Some patients will feel so good in that environ ment that they will write a review. The reason is that they feel bonded to the practice when they are treated extremely well and are happy to do anything they can that is positive for the prac tice. About two-thirds of new patients read reviews before they come to a practice. Positive reviews increase new patients and enhance their willingness to accept treatment.
A 5-star customer service practice retains a larger percentage of its patients each year. Part of the protocol for delivering great customer service is reminding patients about their next appoint ment. We have found that 5-star customer service practices lose approximately half the number of patients versus other prac tices. Patient longevity is one of the key factors in increasing production.
Five-star customer service gives you an edge. Most dentists don’t spend their days thinking about competition. However, competition for patients is real. As dentistry becomes more competitive, and insurance companies are restricting increases in reimbursements, customer service can make major contributions to practice success. Patients who experience tremendous customer service trust and respect the dentist and team, which of course leads to greater case acceptance.
SUMMARY
A 5-star customer service environment has incredible benefits as outlined above. Most practices rate themselves as a 5-star customer service when in fact, they are 3 or 4-star. 4-star customer service practices have satisfied patients, but do not get the same effect and benefits as a 5-star practice. It is worthwhile for every practice that is serious about increasing production annually (which should be the goal of every dental practice) to protect the future and work toward becoming a 5-star customer service practice.
Roger P. Levin, DDS is the CEO and Founder of Levin Group, a leading practice management consulting firm that has worked with over 30,000 practices to increase production. A recognized expert on dental practice management and marketing, he has written 67 books and over 4,000 articles and regularly presents seminars in the U.S. and around the world.
To contact Dr. Levin or to join the 40,000 dental professionals who receive his Practice Production Tip of the Day, visit www.levingroup. com or email rlevin@levingroup.com.
How Startups Solve The Biggest Problems Facing Dentists Today
Travis Rodgers
One concept, one person, one failure, or one piece of information can change someone’s life and those of others. It could save an entrepreneur’s savings, business, or relationship. That happened to me five years ago. I was 15 years into building software and technology in the dental industry when I was introduced to a Stanford professor named Steve Blank. He taught me the concept of “Customer Discovery.” I was launching new products into the dental industry, and several didn’t take off as expected, and I was frustrated.
It was 2019, and I had spent many years developing the industry’s first referral product, then called RecordLinc and now called OneClick Referral. To bootstrap my company, I spun out my integrations, marketing services, and white-labeled modules for others looking to start a software company. Some were successful, but others failed, and I couldn’t figure out why. I had prior success with a few big companies and was a part of selling several startups. I had the background, education, drive, and the ultimate entrepreneurial spirit, but something was missing. I worked hard but felt like a duck treading water and going nowhere. People told me what I was building was great, but no one was paying for it, which is the test of whether a product is a success.
I was missing one key thing and didn’t figure it out until it was almost too late. Most of my dental friends told me it was my lack of focus, but that wasn’t the issue. I WAS focused. I wanted to be the first to build an electronic referral with built-in online sched-
uling and a patient file-sharing app, and I did. You can read more about that story in my Fall 2022 article, “Top 10 Reasons Why Dental Software Startup Companies Fail.”
Today, I advise dental startup company founders through my work at Dental Venture Capital by DrDDS. I teach founders to put their entrepreneur’s ego aside and look at the data. Are you building “The Right It”? Are you building something that YOU want or something that dentists need? Is the problem you are solving painful enough that dental teams will be willing to change? Do you have the story to tell to get them emotionally involved? Is there enough financial benefit for dental practices to change what they are doing today?
Five years ago, I implemented the “customer discovery process.” This process, made famous by the book The Lean Startup, includes collecting data from many potential users of the product you hope to develop. Next is to create a hypothesis or minimal product, test the problem you are solving, and then the solution you have built. The final step is to re-evaluate the data, survey, and pivot. The faster you pivot and the more accurate the data you collect, the better the product you build or the sooner you walk away. A few years ago, we added an AI tool to go deeper into evaluating personality types. We looked at over five thousand dentists and determined that most are of the conscientious personality types, C on the DISC assessment. You can read more about that in my Spring
“I have failed over and over in my life, and that is why I succeeded.”
- Michael Jordan
2022 article, “Succeeding With Implementing Change In Your Dental Practice.”
Customer discovery may seem simple and intuitive, but it is more complex, and I am oversimplifying it for this article. Don’t take this for granted. If you are in a dental practice, you likely already know the significant issues facing dentistry today. If you want to build something to solve that problem, it takes a much different skill set. Communicating precisely what to make requires a clear blueprint. Too often, entrepreneurs come to me and tell me what they want to develop, but they fall short of providing the level of detail of the problem or the solution to create the right plan. The more planning you do at the beginning, the better product you will build, and the less money you will spend building it. I compare this to building a house. The more you plan, the better the result.
This is now my fifth year of doing an annual customer discovery survey. When we first surveyed in 2019, the number one issue was communication, but it changed during COVID-19 and has remained the same over the past three years. Here are the three significant areas of pain for dental offices:
1. Staffing
2. Insurance
3. Communication
Some of you will stop reading here and say, “I know that.” If you only look at these results or your results from the surface view, you will likely fail to find the true solution you are looking for. It isn’t the first layer of customer discovery questions that matters. It is when you go deeper into your questions and don’t bias the survey results on what you want them to say. When you listen deeply and with many people and roles, you will find the answers you seek.
The results from our deeper questioning are proprietary to the customers we work with, so I can’t go deeper here, but I will share a few success stories of the results for startups following this process:
Envodent is a new cloud-based practice management system quickly gaining market share from larger systems because the company has listened to and adapted to its customers.
ToothPillow found an unmet need to help children who need airway management solutions.
Effex discovered that dental practices needed an easier way to track OSHA and HIPAA compliance in real-time.
LuciDent surveyed patients and found that patients wanted improved communication with their dentist.
Scout Dental found that dental practices want a low-cost and easy-to-use analytics platform.
Odne discovered that endodontists and patients want a better, non-toxic solution for root canals.
OneClick Referra l found that the referral problem is solved by making it easy for GPs to send referrals and that the problem is more significant for internal referrals for DSOs.
Woods Dental has found that dental offices want to get paid by insurance faster and easier.
Whether you are building a dental product, a house, or a relationship, following the customer discovery process will help you succeed. Gather the data, make decisions based on math instead of emotion, plan, fail early, pivot often, and find mentors, coaches, and advisors who can help you.
Travis Rodgers specializes in technology, strategy, fundraising, and go-to-market strategies for dental startup companies.
Travis was the first to develop an electronic referral tool, online scheduling, and a patient file-sharing app in the dental industry. He has created 27 different dental software programs, launched 7 companies, and helped bring hundreds of dental companies and products to market over the past 20 years. Travis grew up in Silicon Valley and is a lifetime entrepreneur. Travis runs the Dental Venture Capital program at the venture studio, DrDDS Innovations.
The Future of Dentistry: Working Together to Solve the Black Hole of Marketing
Gary Bird
Most dentists I talk to want to grow their practices. Many spend thousands on marketing trying to do it.
And over and over again, I hear dentists tell me “I’m just not getting the results I want to see.”
Now, sometimes, the problem is bad marketing. If your ads aren’t targeted right, your SEO sucks, or your website doesn’t speak to your audience, then you’re going to struggle to grow.
But I want to let you in on a secret — one that could be costing you 80% of your marketing budget each month. However, once I tell you, it will change how you think about marketing forever.
And you’ll be prepared to start growing in a major way. Ready for it?
The biggest reason that most dental practices fail to generate new patients isn’t bad marketing. I can tell you firsthand that
it isn’t that hard to make your phone ring. There are a million marketing agencies out there that can do it.
No, the reason dentists struggle to grow is because most dental practices don’t know how to convert leads into patients.
I call this problem the Black Hole of Marketing — because while it’s a giant drain on your revenue, you probably don’t even know it exists. Unless you rigorously track your new patient journey from start to finish, you may have no idea that you’re leaking new patient opportunities like a sieve.
Solving the Black Hole is often the single most powerful action you can take to get more bang for your marketing buck. I don’t mean small, incremental improvements, either. I’m talking about doubling your new patient count without increasing your marketing spend.
And I’m also going to go out on a limb and say that the future of our industry will belong to the dentists who are willing to work with partners to tackle the Black Hole together.
Allow me to explain.
WHAT IS THE BLACK HOLE OF MARKETING?
The Black Hole of Marketing is all of the hinge points on your new patient journey where you lose opportunities due to poor conversion. Here are the biggest problem areas:
1. Unanswered calls. Astonishingly, the average dental practice flat out misses 35% of new patient phone calls during working hours.
2. Phone conversion and scheduling. Even if they do pick up the phone, most practices schedule less than 50% of potential marketing patients who call.
3. Delayed new patient visits. Many practices make new patients wait well over two weeks for their first appointment, despite evidence that no-show rates jump to almost 30% if you can’t see a new patient within 72 business hours of their call.
Here’s an example to show you why this is such a big deal.
Let’s say you spend $10,000 a month on marketing. Your practice misses 35% of phone calls, right around the national average. Boom! That’s $3500 worth of marketing gone.
Then you schedule only 50% of the marketing patients you do talk to on the phone. Oops, that’s another $3750 from your marketing budget poured on the ground.
And finally, of the remaining patients you do schedule, you’re going to lose 30% to no-shows or same-day cancellations because you made them wait too long for their appointment. That’s $825 more marketing dollars lost.
Of that $10,000 you invested in marketing, you’ve wasted $8,075 due to poor conversion. Or to put it in terms of new patients: If you paid $10,000 to generate 100 leads, only 19 of them would actually show up in your waiting room.
That’s a failure rate of almost 81%.
Ouch.
FINDING THE BLACK HOLE
Now, you may be thinking, “Gary, I can’t possibly be losing this many patients to the Black Hole.” And you might be right! Some practices are better at conversion than others.
But you won’t know for sure until you have a system in place to track your new patient journey so you can actually measure your conversion rates at each of the key hinge points.
The most effective way to do that is to use a CRM. A CRM (which stands for client relationship management) is an app that allows you to track everything that happens after a potential new patient enters your funnel by contacting your practice for the first time.
You need one that integrates with your PMS to give you end-toend visibility over your patient journey.
Ideally, here’s what you want to use your CRM to track:
1. Cost per lead. This is how much you are paying to generate a single new patient marketing lead.
2. Cost per acquisition. This is your cost to use marketing to generate an actual new patient who shows up in your office for their first visit.
3. Missed call rate. How often are you picking up?
4. Phone conversion rate. When you pick up a call from a marketing lead, how often do you schedule them for a new patient appointment?
5. Average time to appointment. How many days do your new marketing patients have to wait for their first appointment?
6. No-show rate. How many marketing patients schedule and then don’t show up?
Points 1 and 2 measure the overall performance of your new patient journey. And 3-6 are individual opportunities for you to make a conversion — to move a patient along to the next step on your patient journey — or lose them.
If you’re tracking each of these points, you’ll be able to see what’s working and what isn’t.
Notice that I keep talking about “marketing patients” rather than simply “patients.” Marketing patients are the ones you’re using marketing to create. They are pickier than referrals, less loyal to your practice, and quicker to no-show.
These are the patients you’re losing to the Black Hole, so these are the ones you need to follow with your CRM.
SMC uses Trackable.io as our CRM for every client. We won’t help a practice with their marketing unless Trackable is in place.
FIXING THE BLACK HOLE
Once you have a CRM in place and you’re tracking your new ad patient funnel, you can begin to see how the Black Hole is blocking your growth so you can fix it.
As we’ve already explored, this can have huge rewards for your bottom line. For example, if you’re converting 40% of your
answered new patient calls into scheduled appointments (within the average range for practices) and you can get that number up to 70%, all of a sudden you’ve almost doubled the number of new patients making it through your funnel.
Now imagine what happens if you patch several of your leaks.
However, once you have good data and understand where you could improve your conversions, you’re going to run smack into another problem. Your team probably doesn’t have the internal capacity to solve the Black Hole without help.
Sure, you can figure out how to answer more phone calls, but do you know how to lead a caller to book an appointment? What about which scheduling tactics cut down on appointment wait times or how to bring down your cost to acquire each individual new patient?
Odds are, you’ll struggle to tackle that alone. And your regular old marketing agency isn’t going to get it done for you, either.
version issues. They’re data-driven, possess operational expertise, and know that good marketing and sales equals growth.
A growth partner is the next step in the evolution of dental marketing agencies.
This is where you need to bring in a growth partner. A growth partner is the next step in the evolution of dental marketing agencies.
Rather than simply creating leads, a growth partner combines marketing with a deep understanding of practice operations and sales. As a result, you’ll be able to stop losing opportunities (and dollars!) to the Black Hole by converting more of your new patients at each step of your patient journey.
WHY THIS MATTERS (BESIDES THE MONEY YOU’RE LOSING)
We’ve already explored how the Black Hole costs you money. But there’s a big-picture element here, too.
You know who is already beating the Black Hole? Big DSOs.
Many DSOs have the internal capacity to track and optimize their patient journeys to avoid losing so many patients to con-
Plus they’ve got the private equity backing to invest heavily in the latter, gobbling up market share and opportunities from traditional practices… unless you beat them at their game.
But you can’t do it alone. This is why I see the future of dentistry as doctor-owned, debtfunded practices or dental groups joining with growth partners to level the playing field against the largest DSOs.
In this new era for dental, your practice will not only survive, but thrive, if you’re willing to bring in the outside expertise you need to get the same level of visibility and optimization that DSOs enjoy.
You’ll be able to reach more people who need dental care and turn more of them into patients, all while offering the kind of patient care and clinical outcomes that DSOs will always struggle to match.
And you’ll become more profitable to boot.
I’m excited and energized by this future. Are you?
Gary Bird is the founder of SMC National, a growth partner that helps entrepreneurial dentists generate new patients and close more cases by turbocharging marketing, operations, and sales. You can find him on social media @thegarybird
How Dr. Donnie Wiggins is Bridging the Gap Between Sustainability and Dentistry
Dr. Luke Shapiro, DDS
Dr. Donnie Wiggins is a general dentist from Clevand, Ohio, living and working in New York City. Dr. Wiggins completed dental school at Tufts University and his residency at Kings County. He is also the CEO of Syber, a biotech start-up focused on biodegradable plastics. The initial goal was to bring environmentally friendly toothbrushes to the market but now they have expanded to all commodity plastics because the problem stems deeper than just the dental industry.
HOW DID YOU GET YOUR START IN DENTISTRY?
My dental career started early in this vocational program that I had the opportunity to do in high school where half the day I would do high school and the other half I would do dental assisting. My mom told me that I had to do this program and I had to decide between dental assisting, nursing, graphic design and something with construction. So I had options.
WHY DENTISTRY?
So to be honest, the instructor at the time was super charismatic. High energy and she made it seem really cool, really fun. And also, I mean, I was in high school. There were a lot of girls around. So I was like, this could be kind of fun. But then I got into it and I really enjoyed it and was really good at it.
AND WAS THAT ALL OF HIGH SCHOOL?
Just the last two years of high school - junior and senior year. I got a certificate in dental assisting and radiology and if I wanted to I could have gone to work as a dental assistant straight out of high school. But obviously I went the whole way.
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN CREATING A DENTAL SUSTAINABILITY COMPANY?
I noticed the waste that is produced in dentistry, and I noticed it when we were training and saw the collection of toothbrushes and paste and plastic barriers and things like that. And then from research I found out that 1 billion toothbrushes are thrown away every year. It is a crazy statistic that I found and really propelled me into action. So I ended up creating a recycling program through this company called Terracycle. We were recycling oral hygiene appliances, toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes, floss containers, all the packaging. But then COVID happened and the program shut down, but I still wanted to do something.
At the time I had a relationship with the Dean of Research, Dr. Kugel, who is now my partner, and we came up with this idea for a biodegradable toothbrush.
SO YOU DID THIS WHILE YOU WERE AWAY FROM SCHOOL DURING COVID?
Yeah, we were all remote. We were just trying to find something to do, to promote the idea of recycling toothbrushes. So I met with Dr. Kugel and we came up with the idea of a biodegradable toothbrush. There’s the bamboo toothbrushes and other
similar ones, but we feel like they haven’t resonated with a lot of consumers. We use a silk material that we process a certain way.
LIKE SILK MADE FROM A SHIRT?
Yes but we process it a certain way to create a hard bioplastic that emulates a normal plastic.
HOW DO YOU KNOW SO MUCH ABOUT SILK? DO YOU HAVE A BACKGROUND IN IT?
No. So my major in undergrad was biology and then I got a master’s in biomedical sciences. So no engineering or product design background. I’m just interested in life.
WHAT ABOUT DR. KUGEL?
Dr. Kugel has a lot of background in research in general and in materials. He was working with silk, in the sustainability realm of medicine. He also had a close relationship with our partner, Dr. David Kaplan, who was the head of the Silk Lab at the main campus at Tufts. I was then introduced to one of his PhD students. She taught me how to process silk and then we worked together for 3 years to create an actual tangible prototype.
SO HOW IS SILK MADE?
From moths - they make silk. The lab has moths and cocoons. We take it at its primal stage of a silk cocoon and process it in a way to make it bioplastic.
AND YOU HAVE A PATENT ON THE PROCESS?
Yes we have a provisional patent which has allowed us to work on it and get the ball rolling. My partners also have multiple patents unrelated to the company.
HOW DOES THIS TECHNOLOGY WORK?
So the process that allows this technology to break down on its own is 1) the way that we process it and 2) what we put in it. And so we put a biocompatible enzyme essentially or a catalyst to make a breakdown when we want based on the concentration of that enzyme that we put in there.
AND HOW IS THIS WHOLE THING FUNDED?
Initially there were a lot of grants from Dr. Kugel and Dr. Kaplan. But now that we want to take this to market, we are trying to raise money to begin the process of building a business.
WHAT’S THAT PROCESS LIKE?
It’s difficult - so difficult. Like right now what we’re doing is creating a pitch deck to tell investors this is what we do. This is who we are. This is why you should invest in this technology. And so it’s a very curated way to ask for money because you’re telling a story. And at this stage of where we’re at, it’s more of an
idea than anything because we don’t have any revenue. We don’t have a final product to put on the shelf.
WHERE DO YOU SEE THE WORLD IN 20 OR 30 YEARS? DO YOU THINK EVERYONE WILL BE USING THIS SILK TOOTHBRUSH?
No but I think this just allows people the option. And by that time, it’s hopefully so comparable to traditional plastic that, you know, people will make the conscious decision to say, okay, this is a similar price. This looks exactly the same, feels the same, does the same thing, but it’s better for the environment. And I don’t have to think about recycling it. Most of plastic production is in packaging - over 40%. So that’s another big market. Agriculture is another market we’re looking at. So it is highly possible that at the end this isn’t even really a mainly dental company.
Dr. Lucas Shapiro is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis and Stony Brook University School of Dental Medicine, where he received his Doctor of Dental Surgery. He completed his post-doctoral orthodontic training at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. He currently practices orthodontics at Lemchen Salzer Ortho in NYC. He started the Instagram page @ futuredentists , works with the educational organization @ignitedds, and has an orthodontic tiktok page @drshap
How to Make an Impact When You Step Into a Room!
Callie Ward
Have you noticed how certain individuals can walk into a room and instantly captivate everyone present? What qualities do these individuals possess that make them so memorable, and how can we emulate them? As dentists, it’s crucial to make a lasting impact when entering a room, especially during recall exams. Here are five key strategies to help you achieve this and enhance your patient interactions.
1. Confidence: Confidence is key. Patients come to you because you are the expert. It’s important to exude confidence in your diagnosis and treatment recommendations. Provide a clear diagnosis and a comprehensive plan to address their dental issues without hesitation.
2. Positive Energy: Establishing a positive connection with your patients is essential. Before delving into dental matters, take the time to connect with them on a personal level. Show genuine excitement to see them and find common ground through simple questions about their life, interests, friends, and family.
3. Active Listening for Authenticity and Empathy: Active listening is crucial for building trust with your patients. Ensure that you and your team actively listen to the patient’s concerns and health history. Acknowledge their worries and address them with genuine empathy, showing that you truly care about their well-being.
4. Comprehensive Examination and Treatment Plan: After understanding the patient’s needs and concerns, provide a thorough examination and treatment plan. Discuss all available options, prioritizing the best care first while considering the patient’s preferences and financial situation.
5. Empathy in Decision-Making: Empathy plays a vital role in understanding the patient’s perspective and needs. Work with the patient to develop a treatment plan that aligns with their preferences and financial capabilities. Show genuine concern for their well-being and guide them through the decision-making process.
Confidence cannot be emphasized enough! The patient is there because YOU are the dentist. You are the expert. We want our dentist to exude confidence in what needs to be done and how to do it. We want clear diagnosis as well as a solid game plan to solve the problem. Don’t worry about the cost when you diagnose, the patient deserves to have the BEST solution to their problem. I find it effective to ask the patient before the exam if you have their permission for sharing the best solutions with the longest lasting solutions first to get them healthy. When you have their permission, you can diagnose as if it is yourself or your loved one. The patient needs to hear your confidence, they need to hear that you would do the same thing if it was you. When you offer the best care first, the patient is in control of
how they want to move forward. If there is any challenge from them choosing the best option, you can move on to sharing other options while always highlighting the value of the best option. We all want the best; your job is to work with the patient to find what the best is for them.
Positive energy is a must for connecting with patients. We need to quickly connect to them as human beings before we go to dentistry. We need to be excited to see them and make connections. We want to walk into the exam and connect with the human behind the teeth. How can you quickly make connections, and by connection, the patient also must know something about you! My favorite way is to use LIFE to ask my questions
L - Where do they LIVE, where did they go to school, what is their “location” in life and do you have any connections to these?
I – What are they Interested in? What are their hobbies, what do they do in their spare time? What brings them joy? Can you find anything similar to yourself?
F- Friends and Family – do they have children, do they have pets, what does their family life look like and can you draw any similarities to your own life?
Active listening is the next big hurdle. Ideally, after you connect with your patient you look to your hygienist and ask them what they have discussed with the patient. Now your hygienist has the opportunity to share with you what the patient has already talked about. We love to make sure that we are talking about the patient’s concerns first. This is the problem that they want solved.
Next, it is ideal to have your hygienist review any health history changes or concerns. Do they have heart issues, do they take medications that cause issues with their mouth? Sharing these in front of the patient shows the depth of your exam and concern and it increases their trust. Then your hygienist will review the extent of the patient’s risk for dental concerns. They will touch on their occlusal, perio and restorative findings, are they at a high risk for problems? You will then know already what your hygienist has educated the patient on. Did your hygienist ask the patient to “rank” their smile and see if they are interested in any aesthetic possibilities?
“When you are connected to your patients you are more authentic in your concerns for them.”
Now, you can put the patient chair back and complete your exam. The hygienist took the time to listen actively to the patient and then you actively listened to the hygienist. The patient heard their concerns and their trust is now with you to solve their problems. This is a very important step to make sure that the patient hears all of this.
E - Entertainment – What is their favorite genre of movie or books?
When we are able to find 2 to 3 connections with someone, they feel like they know us as a human too. Now we have a friendship or relationship that extends from the Doctor Patient. This relationship increases trust. It increases the ability to communicate and to share “concern” for them. You earn this by connecting as humans and it will carry you much farther than “educating” the patient ever will.
When you are connected to your patients you are more authentic in your concerns for them. If they are a high risk for perio and they take heart medications, it sounds much more sincere that you are concerned for their health and that they need to complete a “deep cleaning”. You are not trying to educate them about a “deep cleaning,” you are concerned about their health as their friend and you are able to have frank conversations that come from your heart, not whether their insurance will cover the procedure or not. We need to be ourselves; we need to care about our patients and find ways for them to be able to get the necessary treatment.
The last skill to walk into a room and make an impact with your patient is empathy. To be empathetic is to care and understand where the patient is at. The great news is that they are in your chair. You know that you can help them get healthy. The trick is to find the way. Do they want to move forward with everything at once? Do they need to phase the treatment to be able to afford it? When you take the time to understand the patient’s concerns, you are being empathetic to their needs. If you leave the exam and let your team figure out how the patient is going to move forward you are not being empathetic. Your patient needs you to drill down and find the pace that they need to move forward with. Empathy is not offering a filling when you would do a crown if it was you. Don’t make assumptions that they want the lesser choice due to finances–ask questions. Find out what they need from you and how you would solve the problem if it was you. We need to help them find a reasonable starting point before we leave the exam. We need to be empathetic to their challenges and help them find a solution!
Patients are coming to you to solve their problems. They do not know all of the solutions, nor do they know the consequences of not moving forward. When you walk in the room and exude confidence, they feel like they found someone to help. Someone who knows the way and has done it successfully in the past! When you have energy and excitement to meet them and make them your friend, they feel more taken care of then even their physician makes them feel. Your ability to have systems in place for your team to hand off the patient to you, reiterating their concerns doubles their trust in you. They feel seen and heard and they are much more likely to move forward with their treatment. Now you can easily share your concern and be empathetic to the obstacles in their way and be their advocate to help them solve those problems. Your goal is to have that patient refer their friends and family. When you connect and see the person behind the dentistry, you get permission to be so much more in their life.
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Callie, a dental industry veteran of 30+ years, excels as a consultant, leading offices to profitability and team alignment. With a track record of up to 18% ROI for clients, she fosters stress-free environments. Her positive, confident approach attracts the right clientele while promoting work-life balance. Callie’s passion lies in creating enduring friendships and profitable practices for her clients.
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Hundreds of thousands of kids receive dental care each year—usually for free or at a reduced cost through the nonprofit dental clinics we support. Their work is made possible because of generous product donations. For the second year in a row, SS White Dental donated carbide burs worth more than $1 MILLION so that safety-net clinics could stretch their resources to provide restorative care for more kids in need across America!
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KinderSmile Foundation, Trenton, NJ
The Unseen Foundations of AI: More Than Just the Latest Hype
Ryan Vet
In recent times, everyone seems captivated by generative AI, especially with tools like ChatGPT making AI, specifically generative AI, more accessible than ever to the every day human. But AI is not some brand-new innovation that suddenly appeared overnight. It’s not as if AI just woke up, grabbed a latte, and decided to join the party. AI has been here all along, working tirelessly behind the scenes, laying the groundwork for the digital world we live in today.
Back in 2011, when I launched my first startup, we were diving headfirst into the realms of big data, machine learning, and predictive and prescriptive analytics. Back then, AI was a huge buzzword in fundraising from angel investors and VCs. Not only was it a talking point, it was a fundamental part of our strategy to drive insights and make smarter decisions. We harnessed AI to sift through massive datasets, recognize patterns, and forecast outcomes long before it was part of every American’s daily vernacular. So, while everyone is marveling at these shiny new tools, let’s not forget the real backbone of AI that has been quietly revolutionizing industries for years.
WHAT IS AI?
AI, or Artificial Intelligence, is essentially a branch of computer science aimed at creating machines capable of performing tasks that typically require human intelligence. Think of it as a virtual assistant that can learn, reason, and solve problems, much like a human would, but without needing a coffee break. AI can process vast amounts of data, recognize patterns, and make decisions faster and more accurately than we ever could.
In simpler terms, AI is like having a super-smart, incredibly efficient team member who never sleeps, never makes the same
mistake twice, and is always ready to help you tackle the next big challenge. Whether it’s automating mundane tasks, analyzing complex data, or even engaging with your customers, AI is here to enhance our capabilities and help us achieve more than we ever thought possible.
EVERYDAY APPLICATIONS OF AI
You might be more familiar with AI than you think. Consider your daily interactions with technology: the spam filters that keep your email inbox clean, the personalized recommendations on Netflix and Amazon, and even the Roomba that vacuums your home autonomously. Virtual assistants like Siri and Google Assistant manage your schedules and answer your queries, while Tesla’s Autopilot takes the wheel to drive you safely. These applications are all powered by AI, seamlessly integrated into your life to make tasks easier and more efficient.
AI IN DENTISTRY: TRANSFORMING THE PRACTICE
Now, let’s bring this back to the dental chair. AI has vast potential to transform how dental practices operate, from diagnostics to patient care and administrative efficiency.
ENHANCE DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY
AI algorithms can analyze dental images, such as X-rays and scans, to detect issues like cavities, gum disease, and even early signs of oral cancer with a level of precision that surpasses traditional methods. According to research, humans can differentiate between about 30 shades of gray on a radiograph, whereas AI can decipher between 256 shades. Companies like Pearl are leveraging AI to interpret dental X-rays, trained by data from
hundreds or even thousands of cases. While it’s true that AI systems are fallible, their objectivity and vast training data often make them less prone to error than a single human examiner.
I could write all day about the myriad applications of AI in dentistry. X-rays might be the most tangible example of how innovation can be helpful, but AI’s benefits extend far beyond imaging. Imagine AI-powered robots answering phones and carrying on natural conversations with patients, ensuring no call goes unanswered and providing consistent, accurate information every time. These AI systems can handle inquiries, book appointments, and even follow up with patients, freeing up your staff to focus on direct patient care.
Administrative tasks are often the unsung heroes of a smoothrunning dental practice. AI can streamline these processes by automating appointment scheduling and sending out reminders, significantly reducing no-shows and cancellations. By minimizing human error, AI ensures that patients receive timely communications and that their appointments are efficiently managed. This not only enhances operational efficiency but also elevates the patient experience, making it more dynamic and personal.
Furthermore, AI can optimize the patient journey from start to finish. From the moment a patient interacts with your practice, AI can personalize their experience based on their history and preferences. This might include tailoring communication, providing customized health tips, or suggesting specific treatments. By leveraging AI, you create a more engaging and responsive environment that meets each patient’s unique needs.
CONCLUSION: EMBRACING THE AI EVOLUTION
While the world gets excited about the latest AI tools, it’s important to recognize that AI has been a steadfast ally in business and technology for decades. From early applications like Microsoft Clippy and the Roomba to advanced systems like Tesla’s Autopilot, AI has been quietly transforming industries and improving our daily lives. By understanding and leveraging the full spectrum of AI’s capabilities, dental practices can achieve unprecedented levels of efficiency, accuracy, and patient satisfaction.
Ryan Vet is an international speaker, entrepreneur, and author that focuses on inspiring others toward positive change. Ryan’s experiences range from start-ups to Fortune 500s such as Samsung, Warner Brothers, and Bing. From starting his first business at age 14 to launching and successfully exiting start-ups, Ryan is a serial entrepreneur.
At the core, Ryan is passionate about helping audiences create positive changes in the lives of those with whom they interact.
THINGS TO DO, PLACES TO GO
Dental Festival 2024
Influencer 2024
September 11-15, 2024
Opal Key Resort and Marina Key West, FL
Productive Dentist Academy
20th Anniversary
September 12-14, 2024 Frisco, TX
Dentsply Sirona World
September 26 -28, 2024 Las Vegas, NV
Mommy Dentist
September 27 & 28, 2024
The InterContinental Chicago Chicago, IL
DSO Leadership Summit
Sept. 26 – 28 2024
Atlanta Marriott Marquis
ADA Annual Conference
SmileCon® 2024, Oct. 17–19, 2024
New Orleans, LA
The 2024 Dental Culture Con Oct 24-25, 2024 Miami, FL
Productive Dentist Academy
20th Anniversary
September 12-14, 2024 Frisco, TX
Pediatric Dental Growth Summit
September 12-13, 2024
The Ritz-Carlton Maui, Hawaii
Dental Culture Con Oct 24-25, 2024 Miami, FL
We’d love to see you!
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