Inform before Perform
Have you ever taken your car in for an oil change for $29.00 and when you pick up your car the cost is actually over $100.00? You discover they rotated...
Finding Out What Your Patients Really Want
Asking good questions opens the door to discovery. With careful and caring questions, two things occur: (1) you put the patient at ease by letting them know that you want...
CEREC and GALILEOS make a world of difference
By 2010 Rich Cooper, DDS, and his staff members had built West Loop Dental Associates, Ltd. into a thriving practice in the trendy West Loop neighborhood of Chicago, Ill. As...
Updated office design and equipment eliminate headaches, and backaches
When Erin Roberts, DDS, purchased a dental office from a retiring dentist to open Healthy Smiles in Enid, Okla. in 2003, she had no idea what kind of challenges she...
How CEREC helps one dentist practice dentistry his way
When Mark W. Heidebrecht, DDS, started his practice, Gentility Dentistry in Wichita, Kan., he wanted to create an atmosphere that supports good dentistry. “I really want to do what’s best...
Decoding the Patient Mindset
You’ll hear a lot of talk these days about creating a great patient experience, but what are the practical steps to achieving that? What I’ve learned is that everything that...
How one dentist turned her small-town practice into a big success
Kristen Burris, DDS, started her dental practice in Shattuck, Oklahoma, more than 20 years ago after she and her husband bought a cattle ranch and moved across the state. Although...
The Difference One Person Can Make
When Cecilia Mescain, COO at Smile Central Dental, P.C. in Paterson, N.J., lists off her many responsibilities it makes you wonder how one person can achieve so much. From handling...
Looking at orthodontics through the eyes of his patients
Dr. Jeff Just of Just Orthodontics doesn’t believe he was predestined to be an orthodontist. Though his father and his grandfather were orthodontists before him, he says he came to...
Simplifying Endodontics with Technology
Every endodontist has two words working against them before a patient even sets foot in the dental practice: "root canal". With a patient base that is often unfamiliar with him...
Easing Patients’ Minds, Then Their Pain
Dr. Garrett Morris has two words working against him before patients ever set foot in his practice: “root canal.” Dr. Morris, of Endodontic Specialists in Metairie, La., said there’s a...
Treating Patients, Not Procedures
Dr. Ed Hood of Hood Dental Care in Denham Springs, La., cherishes his relationships with his patients. It was his desire to serve people that attracted him to dentistry nearly...
Learning the Importance of Relationships
In his 28 years of practicing dentistry, Dr. Ed Hood hasn’t learned everything. Though he still learns something new every day, he’s always known the importance of relationships. “People don’t...
A Patient Experience Win-Win
There is a strong connection between oral health and overall health. That’s not news to you, but too often, it is news to patients. One of the goals of Hygiene...
Comfort’s Role in the Ideal Patient Experience
For Nicole Mathewson, the patient experience starts with comfort. Nicole, office manager at Hadfield Dental Care in Lehi, Utah, sees many patients who approach visits to the dentist with some...
The Sum of All Parts in Patient Experience
There are many factors that contribute to a patient’s comfort level with their dentist. Added up, these factors can make a world of difference for a practice. Nicole Mathewson, office...
4 Ways to Deal With An Unhappy Patient
Dealing with an unhappy patient can be both humbling and frustrating at the same time. Depending on the situation, you may be feeling empathy for them as they vent their...
Changing Lives from Day One
A young dentist breaking out of dental school and into the profession has plenty to worry about. A partnership with Patterson Dental can help ease some of those concerns. That’s...
All Together Now: Tips to Improve Employee Engagement
Is your staff as engaged as you would like them to be? Are they energetic and excited when they walk through your office doors in the morning? Will they greet...
His First Practice, His First Partner
By promising a partnership with the practices it supports, Patterson Dental shows that its focus is on helping practices succeed. Dr. Randal Hadfield came to that conclusion when he started...
The Importance of a Positive Attitude
Sometimes, attitudes can build monuments. My job is to help doctors and their staff members improve their dental practices. In the past 15 years I have visited well over a...
Working to achieve a common goal
When was the last time you sat down with your dental team and talked about the purpose of dentistry? Was it your last team meeting? Maybe at an annual planning...
Today’s Dental Office: Enhanced with Technology
In the dental office museum of my mind, I have exhibits of pegboard accounting systems, color-coded appointment books, recall postcard with an index card file by month system, statements with...
Changing Lives through Education
As a dental assistant at Children’s Smile Center in Ozark, Mo., Brooke Neill knows that her most powerful tool for improving patients’ oral health is not a prophy angle or...
6 Steps to Win Over a New Patient by the First Phone Call
Your patients have high expectations when it comes to customer service, so as you put telephone technique on your priority list, it is important for you to know that in...
Comfort Meets Style in the New A-dec 400
When I talk with doctors who have invested in A-dec chairs, I frequently hear: “My patients are so comfortable they fall asleep,” or, “One patient asked me if she could...
Changing Lives at the Children’s Smile Center
At the Children’s Smile Center in Ozark, Mo., Carrie Burke understands that the fundamentals of a successful business include happy employees who have the resources and support they need to...
Schick 33: A Different Sensor, No Matter Which Way You Look At It
As product manager at Sirona, Joe Goldstone is responsible for knowing all the ins and outs of all of their platforms. Recently, he took the time to discuss the Schick...
CEREC Tip of the Month: The New Incisal Variation Tool in 4.2
One of the new tools in the 4.2 software is the new Incisal Variation tool. Not only can we get great looking anterior proposals with the 4.2 software, we also...
You Know It’s Time to Get a New Website When…
You have a website. This is good. But, there are questions that need to be considered in order to make sure that your site is doing the very best for...