The Dental MeTaMorphosis

The Profitable
SPRING ‘08
®
N e w s & I n f o r m a t i o n t o I n c r e a s e t h e P r o f i t a b i l i t y o f Yo u r P r a c t i c e
The Dental
Metamorphosis
Real-Life Reasons
Your Patients Leave
What’s Up
With Deep
Bleaching
Now?
A New Approach
to Composites
TM
The Road to True Happiness
Hurry ... offer expires March 31, 2008.
Contents
Spring
STAFF
Editor-in-Chief
WOODY OAKES, DDS, FAES
Associate Editors
CRAIG CALLEN, DDS
Executive Vice President of
Operations/Finance
DELAINE STEWART
IN EVERY ISSUE
Products & Solutions 44
Shipping Manager / Seminar Assistant
LISA MERKEL
A Word from our Readers 44
Public Relations Liaison
DONNA ARNOLD
Front Office Coordinator /
Administrative Assistant
CHRISTY CLAYWELL
Account Executive
JENNIFER JONES
|
Issue 224
EDITORIAL
Puzzle Piece 43
Dont Forget Your Promises”
by Dr. Woody Oakes
Executive Vice President of
Marketing/Seminars
CAROLYN SHOUSE MILLS
2008
A Word From Woody
4
In the Spotlight
5
The Road to Happiness
By Dr. Johnny Savage
6
PRACTICE MANAGEMENT
“How to Handle Druggies”
By Dr. Woody Oakes
8
Seven Real-Life Reasons Your Patients Leave
By Fred Joyal
9
Case Acceptance 12
By Dr. Mike Abernathy
Graphic Designer
Susan Vandyke
The Dental Metamorphosis 14
By Dr. Guy Moore & Linda Camoriano
The Profitable Dentist Design
Leah Taylor
Taylor & Associates
Credit Repair: The Truth About What Can and Cannot be Done 17
By Laurence H. Michelson
Your New, Low Cost Employee ... Smile ReminderTM!
By Craig Callen
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
DR. MICHAEL ABERNATHY
DR. BILL DORFMAN
DR. DAVID HORNBROOK
DR. MARK HYMAN
CATHY JAMESON
DR. BILL KIMBALL
DR. ROGER LEVIN
DR. TOM ORENT
DR. STEVE RASNER
DR. LARRY ROSENTHAL
DR. ROY SMITH
DR. BILL STRUPP
McKinney, TX
Los Angeles, CA
La Mesa, CA
Greensboro, NC
Davis, OK
Encinitas, CA
Baltimore, MD
Framingham, MA
Bridgeton, NJ
New York, NY
Tyler, TX
Clearwater, FL
Submitting Patient Information Online is Simple, Secure & Time Saving 20
Dr. Keith D. Rossein
Call Toll-Free: 1-800-337-8467
Fax: (812) 949-8535
Email: EID@theprofitabledentist.com
© 2008 Excellence in Dentistry, Inc., Publisher. Copyright enforced – no part of
this publication may be reproduced without written permission. This publication is
designed to provide reliable information in regard to the subject matter covered.
However, it is sold with the understanding that it does not replace the need for
advice from your personal, competent professional advisors.
HOW TO REACH US
19
Telephone: 1-800-337-8467 or 1-812-949-9043
Mail: The Profitable Dentist
3211 Grantline Road, Suite 20
New Albany, IN 47150
Fax: 1-812-949-8535
Email: eid@theprofitabledentist.com
Website:
1 - 8 www.theprofitabledentist.com
00-337-8467
An Interview with Dr. Jimmy Eubanks,
founder of The Eubank Institute for Advanced Clinical Education 24
Long Term Facility Requirements: What’s Your Plan? 27
By George D. Vaill
CLINICAL/TECHNICAL
Crown & Bridge Problems How To Fix Them! 28
By Dr. Michael Curtis
What’s Up With Deep BleachingTM NOW?? 32
An interview with Dr. Rod Kurthy
Stress-Free, Easy and Profitable Dentures 35
By Dr. John Lyons
A New Approach to Composites 37
By Dr. Dennis Brown
Additional News
Payments by North American Bancard 36
By Leo Townsend
The Shocking Truth 40
about the U.S. Legal System!
By Douglass Lodmell, J.D.
2008 SPRING
A Word
from
Woody
Welcome to the Spring issue of “The Profitable Dentist”!
We sense that all of you are ready to put the cold weather season
behind you and move into the Spring and Summer seasons?
I’ve just returned from an extended stay at my place in Sandestin,
Florida and hope that many of you are making plans to join us April
17-19, 2008 for our annual “Spring Break” Seminar!
We anticipate a record crowd this year so please make plans now for
you and your team to attend. (See page 7 for details.)
There are a lot of great articles in this issue of “The Profitable
Dentist” that we know you’ll enjoy. And as always, we welcome
your suggestions and feedback.
Until next time, take care.
Regards,
Woody on the beach in Sandestin
making sure every aspect of the
Destin 2008 Seminar is perfect.
See you there!
Woody Oakes, DDS
Editor-in-Chief
of the only marketing program that Dr. Woody Oakes, Greg Stanley and other experts
endorse because it gives the highest return on any advertising program in dentistry!
Now you don’t have to pay a fortune (OR sign a contract) to
target New “Fee-for-Service Patients” that have just moved into
your zip code.
• First, we mail a full-color, highly personalized introductory
letter with powerful new-patient offers that really work!
• Then, we follow up two or three times with our unique
full-color, proven, personalized publication every 30 days for an
unbelievably low price!!
This proven program will flood your practice with “New Patients !”
• We’ll get you an average
• No one else can do this for you!
on your advertising investment.
Attract those New Patients before the dentist down the street gets them!
For a FREE information
packet, call today!
SPRING 2008
*1- ]Ê °
*
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
Consulting for this
Generation
In The spotlight
Aegis Progressive Solutions
Change. It can be felt. It can’t be avoided.
It won’t be ignored.
iStockphoto.com/ailime
Regarding change, author Alan Cohen said, “It takes
a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly
secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security
in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in
the adventurous and exciting, for in the movement there is
life, and in change there is power.”
It is the best or worst of times for dentists depending
on how they are approaching change. Changes in culture
and consumerism are occurring so rapidly that many business owners are being caught with their eyes wide shut
and are failing to compete and survive. Dental franchises
are threatening traditional practices and popping up
everywhere offering lower prices, same-day dentures, and
on-the-spot comprehensive care. Business is changing.
Dentistry is changing and in the changes there is power.
Dentists get advice from all sorts of well-meaning
advisors. The advice amazingly suggests the exact opposite
of what should be done. Many dentists are confused in a
cloud of consulting white noise and can’t seem to determine
what is right, what will work, or whose advice to follow.
Because the business of dentistry is changing so
much, so quickly, this “white noise” and yesterday’s
tactics aren’t good enough. Out-of-the-box thinking, new
perspectives, and modern solutions are necessary for survival,
prosperity and extreme practice growth. It is time to let go
of out-dated advice that just isn’t producing lasting results
and take courage in something exciting.
Aegis Progressive Solutions is an inviting power, a
fresh presence, a new force in the business of dentistry that is
changing dentists’ philosophies and producing extreme results.
Aegis provides Consulting for this generation.Consulting for
this generation knows dentistry and business.
Too many times the person telling you how to build a
super-profitable practice has never even touched a patient
or built a successful practice themselves. Dr. Moore has
cared for thousands of patients and been involved with many
multi-million dollar practices. In just a couple years, he
built a $900,000 practice into a extraordinary $3,000,000
single-practitioner dental practice.
The Vice President of Aegis, Linda Camoriano,
presents years of clinical experience as an EFDA as well
as educational and professional experience in marketing,
communications, and public relations. Every Aegis em-
1-800-337-8467
ployee is a top-notch
dental professional
who has combined
clinical and business
experience. They are edgy and speak today’s language for success!
They bring the best of dentistry and business to your office.
Consulting for this generation is comprehensive and
uses the “Focus On Five” approach. The approach combines
Message – Marketing – Momentum – Management – Money and
offers comprehensive, congruent systems in one, all-you-need,
affordable program.
Message – Creating (or recreating) and establishing business identity. Centering the practice. Branding.
Marketing – a strategic campaign to dominate the
marketplace and increase the flow of new patients to at
least 100 per month.
Momentum – Creating the bandwagon effect. When new patient flow reaches a really good “critical mass” where
the practice begins to take on an energy working to
meet the demands.
Management – Implementing a fresh, efficient business model and team approach to accommodate increased
patient flow, higher production, and overall practice
growth, in a low-maintenance, stress-free environment.
Money – Make a lot more with fewer headaches. Use
Aegis’ unique, modern approach to financing, which
removes obstacles to case acceptance and higher
production and almost totally eliminates collections.
Consulting for this generation is visual and hands-on.
Aegis doesn’t just tell you what to do, they show you or do it
for you. Their consultants recommend and implement procedures and protocol. They even “scrub up” to provide clinical
coaching and live case presentations.
You deserve to make a lot of money and you deserve to
enjoy everyday you’re working. Aegis brings vision and contagious
enthusiasm to you and your staff.
Aegis clients across the nation are approaching change
head on; they are not afraid of it nor are they ignoring it.
Instead, they are inviting it!
Go to www.aegisprogressive.com to contact Dr. Moore and
Linda. See information about their upcoming seminar on page. 15.
2008 SPRING
Editorial
The Road to Happiness
By Dr. Johnny Savage
This “epiphany” came to me several months ago while I was
thinking about happiness. So I stopped and wrote down this
insight before I forgot it. That will happen at 73!!
Also, I wrote my thoughts down about this idea and wanted to
share it with you. I have had an opportunity to share it with two
different gurus and have gotten a tremendous response.
Your ego wants you to be bigger,
better or to have more than others.
As you see on the diagram, the ego
will always cause you to think on a
horizontal plane back and forth from
past to future with ego controlled
thoughts leading the un-happiness in
the present moment.
For example: How do you feel when
you have resentment toward others,
judge or feel superior. Certainly we
realize that thoughts of fear, envy,
hate, worry or guilt do not add joy to
our lives. What about trying to force
or change your spouse, children, or
friends. It never works! We all know
that! For the rest of your life, think of
these ego thoughts as horizontal and it
will help you to change.
For happiness, vertical thoughts
are much superior and I believe
they come from Source – the Creative
Power of the universe – we know as
God. Just think of how you feel when
you have an attitude of gratitude for all
the things in your life.
And don’t we all know that we have
to forgive everyone who has ever
hurt us in any way. We all want to be
accepted and approved. We love to
be around people who are kind, caring
and considerate. It is a special blessing
to be with these persons.
These are all vertical thoughts that
lead to peace, serenity, and happiness
SPRING 2008
for you. Thus if you will begin to think of your thoughts as
vertical or horizontal you will get an instant insight as to whether
you need to change and make yourself happier. By asking this
first important question with any thought: “Am I vertical or
horizontal?” You can improve your happiness in any moment.
Vertical or horizontal has made a big impact on my happiness
and I hope it will be of benefit to you.
The Road To happiness
By Johnny Savage
October 2007
Peace, Serenity and Happiness
Unconditional Love
Love
Happiness
Joyfulness
Helping Others
Giving
Non-Judgemental
Honesty
Virtuous
“powerful insight #1”
A good description of your ego is
that it is a “Psychological
dis-functional relationship with
the present moment”
Past
Ego
Fear, Force Control, Hate,
Righteous, Dictatorial, Anxious,
Arrogant, Anticipate, Worry, Guilt
Criticize, Condemn, Complain,
Envy, Rigid, Resentment,
Judgement, Blame, Superior
The ego always wants you
to be bigger, better or have
more than others. The ego will
always cause you to think on
a Horizontal Plane from Past,
Present, and Future leading
to unhappiness in the present
moment!
“powerful insight #2”
The most important question
to ask yourself in any moment
“Am I horizontal or vertical in my
thoughts and actions?”
Present Awareness
Kind
Caring
Thoughtful
Compassion
Acceptance
Forgiving
An Attitude of Gratitude
Future
Ego
“The Solution”
This simple question: Am I
horizontal or vertical in any moment will give you a powerful
insight if you need to change
from horizontal to vertical to
increase joy, peace, serenity
and happiness in your life.
Source
The Creative Power of the Universe
GOD
Johnny has both dental and law degrees from Emory University in Atlanta. While in dental school at Emory, he was elected
President of the student body. After graduation, he was a dentist in the Navy on an icebreaker for two trips to Antarctica.
He then returned to Atlanta and served for ten years in the Georgia Legislature. He currently practices dentistry in the river
swamps of northwest Florida, thirty miles from the closest town. He is very active tennis player and has a passionate interest
in dentistry, philosophy, psychiatry, religion, politics, and happiness. Johnny has spoken to many professional and civic
groups on these various topics.
John Savage
5419 Little Acre Road
Ebro, Florida 32437
(850) 535-2257
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
“Can You Say These 7 Things
About Your Practice?”
• He produces $3,750/Hour
• one single cHange added $1M/year
• His practice does over $4M/year witH only one associate
• tHe practice does $750,000 in Hygiene alone witH 55% net
• He attracts 80 new sedation patients/MontH
• His office is 6,500 square feet (on tHree acres), Has a detacHed
exercise/weigHt rooM for tHe staff
“We can’t reveal who this speaker is until the event, but he has the most amazing
general practice I have ever seen!”
says Dr. Woody Oakes.
• He’ll be flying His private plane to our destin, florida seMinar
If not, plan to attend dentIstry’s # 1 semInar™!
Need aNother reasoN
and… He’ll tell yoU eXaCtly HoW He does It!
8
0
0
2
n
i
t
s
e
D
Here are 22 more reasons to attend:
Sally McKenzie, CMC
Keynote Speaker
Dr. Mike Abernathy
Dr. Bill Kimball
Dr. Bruce Baird
Dr. Rod Kurthy
Dr. Earl Bergersen
Dr. Lorne Lavine
Dr. Jeff Blackburn
Dr. Marc Liechtung
Wendy Briggs, RDH
Tom Limoli
Dr. Clifton Georgaklis
Vicki McManus, RDH
Dr. Robert H. Gregg
Dr. Wayne Mortenson
Fred Joyal
Dr. Roy Smith
Gary Kadi
Dr. Joe Steven
Dr. Chris Kammer
Dr. Pat Wahl /
Ginny Hegarty
18+ CE credit hours. Approval of credits subject to individual state guidelines.
Excellence in Dentistry is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider
18+ CE
Credits!
1-800-337-8467
AGD recognizes and accepts the ADA CERP approval for Fellowship and
Mastership credit. Approval of credits subject to individual licensing authority.
June 2009
to atteNd?
“Anyone who is planning on hosting
a dental meeting should study the
magic and mastery of the excellence
in dentistry meeting put on by Woody
Oakes and his team. We attend at
least 25 events a year and no one does
it better!” Ron Joyal, Chief Mkting.
offiCeR
1-800-Dentist, los angeles, Ca
“If you want to meet the best dentists—
go to EXCELLENCE IN DENTISTRY”
DR. loRin BeRlanD,
Dallas, tX
“I had a marvelous time at Destin and
on a scale of 1 to 10, it was about a
DR. Mike BonneR,
40!”
san antonio, tX
“Great conference. Enjoyed all 3
days, and discovered dozens of pearls.
Liked it so much that I signed up our
staff for next year’s conference. I’m
convinced we can produce a million
per year and I believe it can be done
within 3 years or less. Thanks again.”
Call 1-800-DESTIN-7
(1-800-337-8467)
DR. gene ZiegenhoRn,
anDRews, sC
Register
Today! 2008 SPRING
practice management
“How to Handle Druggies”
By Dr. Woody Oakes
All of us have
problems from
time to time with
folks seeking pain
meds they don’t
need. Here’s
the office policy
of Louisville
Neurosurgical
Specialists that
nicely covers
this touchy
topic.
PRESCRIPTION/DRUG
POLICY
Prescriptions will not be
refilled after normal busin
ess hours, on holidays or
when the doctor on call
weekends
does not have your record
s.
This is for your safety and
others. An early refill on
the safety of
your pain medicine will
NOT be granted if you tak
prescribed amount.
e more than the
Prescription refills should
be called into your pharm
acy. Your pharmacy will
office. It will take up to
then contact the
two working office days
to refill a prescription.
Prescriptions will not be
refilled if you have cancel
led your last appointment
show for your last appoin
, did not
tment, if you do not follow
through with recommend
treatment/testing, you hav
ed medical
e been discharged from
the practice, or if you we
as needed (PRN). WE DO
re to return only
NOT PRACTICE PAIN
MANAGEMENT.
Prescriptions that have bee
n lost (or discarded) will
not be refilled.
Prescriptions that have bee
n stolen will not be refille
d.
During the time of your
care in this office, unless
we have referred you to
specialist, this office will
a pain management
be the ONLY SOURCE
OF YOUR PAIN MEDI
still receive other medic
CINE. You may
ation (for an example, ant
ibiotics.) from your fam
ONE doctor should be pre
ily doctor, but only
scribing your pain medic
ation at a time.
It is our legal duty to rep
ort to the authorities the
name of a patient whom
taking, selling, or distrib
we believe may be
uting narcotics or other
medications illegally.
We reserve the right to ter
minate the doctor-patient
relationship in the even
this policy by the patien
of any breech in
t.
I HAVE READ THE AB
OVE AND UNDERSTA
ND
Reprint from the
Neurosurgical Specialists.
SPRING 2008
PATIENT SIGNATURE
:
THE PRESCRIPTION
POLICIES.
____________________
________ DATE: ____
__________
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
practice management
Real-Life Reasons
Your Patients Leave
By Fred Joyal
CEO & Co-Founder of 1-800-DENTIST
When was the last time you took a close look at your patient
database? If it’s been a while, many of your records could be
outdated or inactive. While many dentists concern themselves
with how many new patients are coming in the front door, few
spend time figuring out why existing patients leave.
At 1-800-DENTIST, we receive calls 24-hours a day from people
looking for a dentist. The majority of these callers don’t currently
have a dentist, but some admit they are searching for a new
practice – and they are eager to tell us why. After working
with thousands of practices and interacting with millions of
patients, here are the primary reasons we’ve determined
why patients leave...
They move away.
#1
According to the U.S. Postal Service, roughly 14%
of the American population moves or changes addresses
annually. More importantly, 8% move out of their current
county—which means they probably aren’t going to keep
the same dentist. So, in a large city, you can expect to
lose 8-10% of your patients every year. Do you know
which of your patients have moved? Usually you only
find out when the patient, or their new dentist, requests
their dental records.
1-800-337-8467
2008 SPRING
#2 Your practice doesn’t offer
#5 Their insurance changed, and
They’ve heard about Invisalign®, lasers, one-day
restorations with CEREC® machines, or they saw ZOOM!®
whitening on Extreme Makeover® – the problem is that you
don’t offer these things. So they go somewhere else to get it.
There’s not much you can do about that, right? At
1-800-DENTIST, we ask consumers if they are willing to go
out of their plan for the right dentist, and often they will. People
want good dentistry, not necessarily the cheapest. For those
patients who are contemplating leaving because of an insurance
plan change, let them know you would still like to treat them even
though they’re on a closed plan. Hopefully they will find value in
the relationship and some will stay. Others will come back when
they don’t like the care they’ve gotten somewhere else.
what they want.
#3 They don’t know what you do.
You may have done 600 hours of cosmetic C.E. with
the top clinicians in the country. Perhaps you offer I.V. sedation
and place implants. But this doesn’t make a difference unless
they know that you do. Don’t assume that you or your staff have
mentioned it or that they know because you have brochures
available in the waiting room. The reality is that patients spend
most of their time in your office looking at the ceiling. So unless
it’s written up there, they most likely don’t know about it. More
importantly, telling people what you can do for them once is not
effective. Most patients are only listening if it’s something that
matters to them right at that moment. Effective practice marketing
means repeatedly telling your patients in a variety of ways about
the services your practice offers and the benefits of those services.
I’ve heard dentists mention having a long-time patient
show up for a recare appointment with a full set of veneers.
When asked why they went elsewhere for the procedure, the
story is always the same: They saw an ad for a great “cosmetic”
dentist. When the dentist explains that he also does veneers, the
patient says, “Oh, but cosmetics is the other dentist’s specialty!”
Now their “general” dentist gets to do prophys on that smile
for the next 20 years. Communicate what you do to your patients
repeatedly – this is your greatest resource for increased production.
#4 They haven’t budgeted for
dentistry, so anything more than zero is “expensive.”
One of the most common complaints we hear from
consumers is about fees for dental care. They’ll say, “He charged
me $1,000 for a root canal!” And we’ll calmly answer that this
is a reasonable fee. Let’s face it, most people don’t understand
what dentistry costs because it hasn’t been fully explained to
them. In fact, cost is one of the main reasons why people avoid
the dentist in the first place. They think it’s expensive (and
insurance doesn’t pay for it, they lament!) and all they’re paying
for is discomfort. Many believe that six-month recall is a myth
created by the ADA. The truth is, in order to bring patients into
comprehensive care, they have to appreciate the value of what
you do. This means your staff, office environment, technology
and you as the doctor have to communicate to the patient why
they should value the care you provide.
Remember, 80% of what you do in dentistry is elective.
And people spend their discretionary income on things that they
want, not things that they need. So it’s up to you and your staff
to demonstrate how what you have to offer can improve their
quality of life, build their confidence and enhance their looks –
you’re not just providing scheduled maintenance.
10
SPRING 2008
you don’t take it.
#6 They are embarrassed about how
long they’ve put off their recall.
This may seem strange, but people feel uncomfortable
about being chided for neglecting their exams and cleanings.
Some people would rather go to an entirely new dentist rather
than face a dentist they’ve avoided for a long time. Don’t make
your patients feel guilty. Let them know you’re there to treat
them when they are ready, and ask how you can make it more
convenient for them.
They don’t think you care.
#7
Many patients think you don’t care about them
personally. It’s very easy for you to get caught up in the clinical
side of things and very often your staff is multi-tasking and
doesn’t pay proper attention to the patient. But it only takes a
moment to let your patient know that you understand their fear
and their discomfort – and suddenly they feel cared for. They
don’t expect dentistry to feel good, which is all the more reason
to take the time to acknowledge what they’re going through.
Otherwise you’re just telling them that all they represent is
income to you. And no one likes feeling that way.
Successful practices make their highest priority ensuring
their patients know they care. This can often take as little as
a minute of your time, or your staff’s time, asking about their
kids, telling a joke or sharing a story. My dentist was doing a
rather long and unpleasant crown restoration on me and right in
the middle he stopped and said, “Why don’t we let your mouth
calm down a little bit since we’ve been doing a lot of work here?
So, what’s new?” After two minutes of talking, he resumed and
completed the treatment. Instantly, he showed how much he
cared about my comfort. With a little effort, it can take only a
few minutes to turn someone into a long-term, loyal patient.
The simple solution most often is communication,
the kind of interaction that shows patients that they are in a
relationship with you about their lifelong oral health. Show
them you care, relate to them, equip your office with the latest
technology and for goodness sake, tell them what you do. Getting
new patients is tough enough. It’s worth the effort to keep them.
Fred Joyal co-founded 1-800-DENTIST® in 1986 to provide screened patients to
member dentists while emphasizing the importance of oral health to millions of
consumers through national commercials, which feature him as the spokesperson.
Their internal marketing program, Patient Activator, also helps educate patients,
improving recall and treatment acceptance for member dentists. He can be reached
at fjoyal@1800dentist.com or (310) 215-6400.
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
Learn Jay Geier’s Practice Building Strategy That Has Changed
the Lives and Practices of 2,322 Dentists Across the Country!
“Jay has a unique approach to new patient generation and practice expansion that is truly
amazing. I am so impressed with Jay’s results that I have hired him to work with my
MEGA coaching group & my Excellence in Dentistry team.”
- Dr. Woody Oakes, Editor-In-Chief of The Profitable Dentist
“Jay, I want to relay to you the incredible influence you’ve had on our office. It has been a practice-altering experience! In
the last year, our New Patients have increased 145%. Our practice growth has been incredible as well. This is a remarkable
statistic as I have been in private practice in the same location for 25 years and we have always been busy and successful.”
- Dr. Edward G. Johnson, NJ
“When we started with the Scheduling Institute we were averaging 198 new patients a
month with a conversion rate of 64%. In the last three months we have averaged 358
new patients a month with a 91% conversion rate.” - Dr. Michael Abernathy, Texas
“From our first month back in April, we have been up anywhere from 60 to 75% each month in our new patient volume
compared to the previous year. That was just incredible for me and that also meant a great return on investment because
our practice also jumped about 20 to 25% over the last six months. And so we’re just thrilled.” - Dr. Ron Senn, WA
“The doctor who sold me on Jay and the Scheduling Institute had just seen his new patients increase from 200
per month to over 350 per month in just 30 days. I was blown away! Since then, we introduce Jay’s program
into every office we service!” - Greg Stanley, Whitehall Management
“The $12,000 a month we were spending on advertising was performing less and less. We made
the bold decision to discontinue our paid advertising at the same time we started working with Jay.
BINGO! In the first month our office saw an immediate jump from 175 to 250 new patient
appointments. Jay’s wisdom and ‘keep it simple’ strategies are refreshing and can be
implemented economically and immediately.” - Dr. Roger W. Abbott, Georgia
“Working with the Scheduling Institute has actually been a mini miracle in my life. My new patients
have increased effortlessly 30%. I was averaging 35 to 40 new patients a month and now I see about
65 or 70 new patients a month.” - Dr. Larry Kaplan, New Jersey
v Ready to Enroll in Jay Geier’s Scheduling Institute Today?
Call 770-518-7575 for Express Enrollment—Guaranteed 5 Minutes or Less!
v Want More Information? Jay Will Send You a FREE Custom Analysis of Your Staff
1. Call 770-518-7575
2. Visit www.JayTeachMyStaff.com, OR
3. Copy this page, complete the form below, and fax it to 770-518-7577.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Your Name
Email Address
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Mailing Address
*The information we will be sending you is confidential and should only be reviewed by you, the dentist. Therefore,
we ask that the mailing address you provide is an address where you are the ONLY one who opens the mail.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
City
State
Zip
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Office Phone
Fax
For Express Enrollment—Guaranteed 5 Minutes or Less—Call 770-518-7575
2008 SPRING
11
1-800-337-8467
practice management
CASE ACCEPTANCE
By Dr. Mike Abernathy
We regularly receive questions about case acceptance, indicating that there is a lot of confusion in dentistry about the
subject in general. It seems to mean different things to different people. If you attend enough continuing education
courses, you never seem to discover a common consensus
about how you define or measure it.
The “can’t miss,
shooting dead fish
in a barrel with a
bazooka strategy”
to 100% case
acceptance.
12
SPRING 2008
In a recent email, a doctor posed three questions about case
acceptance and how to measure it:
1. If the patient says “Yes” at the chair, or in
the consultation room, does that mean they
have accepted your entire treatment plan?
2. Does the patient have to say “Yes” and
then pay for all of the treatment for there
to be case acceptance? (If they pay as they
go would that still be case acceptance?)
3. What if the patient starts the treatment but
for some reason stops prior to completion of
the entire treatment plan?
We are going to answer these questions and give you
everything you ever wanted to know about case acceptance.
So, what is case acceptance? Remember, in any case
presentation the bottom line is to “tie the patient to the
office.” I consider case acceptance to have occurred when
the patient says “Yes”, shows up, pays for treatment, and
refers everyone they know.
Let me take a moment and tell you what case
acceptance is not. The patient can say “Yes” and still not
have accepted the case. The only reason they said “Yes”
was to get out of the consultation room (otherwise they
would have to listen to the Doctor go on and on and on
and on). They had no intention of actually showing up for
the appointment. The process of case acceptance starts
with the first phone call. Miss any step, mess up once, and
you’re done. What if they say “Yes”, show up and change
the treatment plan? Instead of a crown and buildup you are
faced with doing an extraction. What if they say “Yes” in
the treatment room but can’t afford it or you can’t fit it into
their budget? They say “Yes” but you’re not open during
the hours when they want to come in? They need to come
in after work or maybe on Friday or Saturday. As you can
see, case acceptance is not a moment in time but a series
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
of systems that set the stage and carry the patient through to a
successful result. Only if the patient says “Yes”, shows up, pays
for treatment, and refers everyone they know do we have true
case acceptance. Our patients vote with their feet. If you keep
seeing the backs of their heads, something is wrong.
Where do we start? Let’s look at it from the patient’s
point of view. I’m going to show up at your door step in one
of two scenarios: I call with a problem (toothache) or I call
and want my teeth cleaned. From the perspective of the caller
(potential patient) these are the only things I know to ask
for. As a consultant, I feel we need to give the patient more
of what he or she wants, and less of what he or she doesn’t
want. Remember, you can’t get better at giving patients
what they don’t want. If a potential patient calls and you
can’t say “Yes” to what they ask for, the first step in the system
of successful case acceptance has failed. As the patient, I
want my teeth cleaned or I want the problem to go away. We
sell “solutions to problems” and “good feelings.” You must
happily give them what they want, and tell them what they
need. The trick is to help them “want” what they need, and fit
it into an already tight budget.
Turn Key Practice
Opportunity:
Plaza
Dental
Group
for
Sale
How, as dental professionals, do we balance this ethical
dilemma with running a consumer driven business? Let’s look at
it from the doctor’s point of view. We have conflicting strategies
of what the new patient “experience” should look like. It seems
that every guru or consultant has a different definition of what
“comprehensive dentistry” is and how we should deliver it.
How can we determine what to do? Axiom #1: You must tell
the patient what is wrong, what caused it, what will happen if it
is not addressed and what you recommend as treatment options.
Axiom #2: You must give the patient what they want, in order to
have the opportunity to eventually deliver what they need. Vary
from these principles and your case acceptance will plummet.
These last few sentences form the foundation to excellent case
acceptance. Misunderstand their implications and you will ruin
any opportunity at success in dentistry. Before you challenge
any of the above, remember: If you are not growing you are not
meeting your patients’ needs.
Back to the original question from our doctor: There are....
Read the rest of this article complete with sample forms at
www.TheProfitableDentist.com.
Dear Doctor,
Are you looking to start a practice
without spending $250,000?
Last year Woody started Plaza Dental Group and Plaza Dental Assisting School
in beautiful New Albany, IN just over the river from Louisville, KY and right next to the
publication office. While Woody enjoyed putting the office together and getting it off to a great
start, I’ve convinced him that he’s too busy with his other commitments and his recent back
surgery to spend time “at the office” working on teeth. He asked me to coordinate the sale of
the dental office while allowing him to retain the assisting school since that doesn’t take hands-on
time from Woody. This is a wonderful opportunity to be mentored by one of dentistry’s greats while
growing your own dental practice. I’ll bet you’ll also get all the dental DVDs, CE seminars and one-onone visits with the people Woody interacts with … most of the biggest names in dentistry.
Take the virtual tour at www.plazadentalgp.com. Woody only spent $83,000
putting the office together, which includes great signage, reception, consultation and
business areas, central sterilization, lab, Panoramic x-ray, and two fully equipped
operatories. He would be happy to just get his money back out, which is pretty generous in
my opinion … but that’s Woody. Please call me at 1-800-800-6950 to discuss if you might be
a candidate for this opportunity to work with woody!
Bill Kimball, DDS
To your success,
President, Kimball Consulting, Inc.
Bill
800.800.6950 Direct 805.460.0774 Fax 888.357.8346
www.kimballconsulting.com
1-800-337-8467
2008 SPRING
13
M
Page 1
practice management
The
Dental
Metamorphosis
By Dr. Guy Moore
and Linda Camoriano
Success in today’s dental world demands that dentists morph
the roles of clinician and business person.
As a single-practitioner, I produce $3,000,000 annually.
Dentists nationwide ask, “How in the world do you produce
that much?” I produce this much because I have forced myself
to morph – to become a really good dentist and an equally good
business man. These roles are no longer mutually exclusive. I
have to keep a two-fold perspective – I view myself as a dentist
and view my practice as a business.
Business success depends on clinical abilities. As dentists
we need to master the services within our discipline and strive to
have referral-free businesses.
Today’s general dentists can skyrocket their income and job
satisfaction by maximizing their skill sets instead of referring
patients out. People want one-stop shopping – they want to have
all their dental work completed in one convenient location. It is
bad business to send customers elsewhere for service.
Many patients come to my office because their dentists
referred them to a specialist who was out of town and cost more
money. They see my advertisements or hear about my practice and
call to schedule an appointment. After I treat them, I encourage
them to return to their “regular” dentist. Most of the time they
won’t go back because I offered them a superior skill set and a
better experience. In cases like this, I do not apologize; I don’t
steal patients, other dentists lose them.
Realize that talent is only a starting point and the skills of
dentistry must be constantly increased and refined. Expand your
skill set to include endodontics and extractions. Learn to perform
adjunctive procedures: tori removal, implants, bone augmentation
and apicoectomies. Not only are endodontics and surgeries high
profit procedures, they allow you to deal with complications and
manage failures easily and comfortably within your office.
Expanded skill sets allow practitioners to promote and
provide the highest standard of comprehensive, convenient care.
Having a referral-free office dramatically increases patient satisfaction, patient retention, referrals and production.
Clinical success depends on business abilities. A smart
business man will:
14
SPRING 2008
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
1. Think lemonade.
Don’t complicate things. The business of dentistry is
like a lemonade stand – you recognize customers’ needs,
you offer a great product and service, you make the consumer
aware of your product, then you make it affordable and
convenient. You must manage your plan, your resources, and
your finances for success.
Compete for customers; don’t let them wait to find you.
Strive for 100 new patients a month and don’t make excuses
why you can’t. Watch what Fortune 500 companies are doing relative to branding, marketing and customer service, and
then copy them on a smaller business scale. Look outside of
dental trends to stay edgy in business tactics.
2. Manage well.
You’ve heard Benjamin Franklin’s saying, “Drive the
business or the business will drive you.” Think about it –
build your business like a high-performance car. Engineer it,
put every part in its proper place, give it great aesthetics, and
make it different and better than the rest. When everything
is centered on maximum performance, you will easily climb
into your office and gently manipulate the wheel. Everyday
business can and should run this smoothly with patients
enjoying the ride.
My staff and I don’t come in early for morning huddles
or stay late for meetings. Expectations are clear, a business
model is in place, everyone is accountable to perform… so
I come to work, drink some coffee, scrub up, do dentistry,
have fun, and make a ton of money. If you manage well, you
live well!
3.Avoid micro-managing.
Superior management depends on leadership and requires
little more than motivating other people. Many dentists
complain that their staff is just not motivated and they blame
them for problems and poor results. An unmotivated staff is
symptomatic of weak management. Dentists are only as good
as the people around them so find quality staff, with positive
chemistry, and delegate as much responsibility as possible.
If you are micro-managing then you do not trust your
team. You’re probably choking the life out of them and getting poor performance. You have a boss-centered business
rather than an employee-centered business. You invest a
lot of effort, time and stress into management that seldom
results in lasting change.
Try a new leadership style. Get a fresh vision and prove
the way with character and enthusiasm. Remind yourself that
a man’s character is his fate. Don’t be a controlling dentist, be
a dentist in control. Let go and empower your team to take
your business to the next level.
4. Keep evolving.
What I thought was a negative early in my career, eventually became a positive. Because it took me awhile to find
a home – somewhere to settle in and do the type of dentistry
that was fulfilling to me, I spent time in several practices. At
the time it seemed unstable, but it proved to be an excellent
opportunity to learn from others successes and failures.
I’ve always had a passionate interest in dentistry and
business. This passion fuels a lot of questions. I search for
answers from multiple sources and study the cause and effect
of business successes and failures.
As dentists, we struggle with the awful evil of pride. It
keeps us from happiness and hinders our ability to succeed.
We find it uncomfortable to listen to the advice of others. All
advice, whether wise or foolish, is profitable. To be honest
with you, I owe much of my success to “having listened
respectfully to the very best advice, and then going away
and doing the exact opposite” –novelist G.K Chesterton.
5. Get help.
The reason most dentists are struggling in business is
because they are ill equipped with a lack of formal education,
are too busy to engage in mentorship, and are not learning
modern practice management ideas to prosper in the midst
of drastic changes in the business of dentistry.
Dentists are compromising clinical success because
they’re stressing over business. When it comes down to it,
business is like any other learned skill. Very few have a natural
aptitude for it. If you are a dentist who is not a “natural,”
understand that the next best thing to handling business
yourself is having the intelligence to find someone who can
handle it for you.
So let’s face it, dentistry and business go hand and hand
and we no longer have the luxury of separating the two.
Dentistry is becoming an increasingly more competitive
business and those who fail to morph: to transform quickly
between the roles of clinician and business person, will
struggle. Those who do morph will enjoy a new kind of
success and prosperity.
Dr. Moore is the founder of Aegis Progressive Solutions and has been practicing
dentistry for 12 years. Linda Camoriano is Vice President of Aegis and has
years of experience as an EFDA and educational and professional experience in marketing, communications and public relations. You may contact
them by phone at 260-414-4857 or online at www. aegisprogressive.com
Seminar Opportunity
Because of a high demand for Aegis services, a seminar
(CE credits) will be offered Sat., June 7, 2008 in
Chicago, IL. Space is limited. Contact Aegis now to
pre-register or to acquire a free informative package.
Aegis Progressive Solutions 260-414-4857
aegisprogressive.com
Be sure to stop by the Aegis booth
at DESTIN 2008!
1-800-337-8467
2008 SPRING
15
16
SPRING 2008
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
practice management
Credit Repair:
The Truth About What
Can and Cannot be Done
By Laurence H. Michelson, President of FiCODOC
Contrary to what the credit bureaus would like you to
believe, credit repair does work and can work for 100%
of people in most circumstances. This is, of course,
provided you are getting the best advice and have an
experienced professional working on your case.
Anyone with a credit score below 720 can benefit longterm from the advice and information provided through credit
repair; however, there are times when your own limitations make
adhering to this advice impossible. The two limiting factors are:
(1) your financial situation, and (2) the time frame within you
need to reach your results. It is possible to remove anything
from a credit report, even accurate items, if the creditor does
not adhere to the law that outlines what needs to be done and by
when. Just because you have a certain type of account removed
at one time does not mean other, similar items are going to be
able to be removed, even with simlar circumstances. A hit-ormiss aspect exists in credit repair, because credit repair relies
not only on the strategies of the person attempting to repair the
credit, but also on the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of the
creditors and credit bureaus in adhering to the laws. Sometimes
you want the credit bureaus to follow the law, sometimes you
don’t-it all depends on your particular situation.
The reason credit repair has received such a bad name
is due to the abundance of scam artists who flock to the easy
money made available by people desperate for this type of
service. This unfortunate reality leads the credit bureaus and the
FTC to make blanket, untrue statements such as, “Credit repair
does not work” and “There is nothing a credit repair company
can do for you that you can’t do for yourself.” Given that more
than 90% of credit repair companies are scam artists, promising
the world and then disappearing when you pay, the credit
bureaus and the FTC are forced to make such bold statements. It
would be impossible for them to explain the truth to consumers
1-800-337-8467
without causing them to make a bad choice that would result in
the getting scammed. As a result, the credit bureaus and the FTC
must adhere to the “credit repair does not work” position
As I have stated, credit repair does work, but…don’t let
anyone tell you that credit repair is effective every time. Its
success varies with the number of players in the game, some
of whom never perform consistently. Even if you have a true
master of credit repair on your side, you have to take into
account that sometimes the other players perform in a way
that throws your master of his game. Take Shaquille O’Neal...
although he has the ability to win every game for his team, there
are going to be times when the other team has a formation that
takes him off his game and causes his results to be less than
optimal. Given that fact, you still cannot predict to any level of
certainty whether or not he will perform well or poorly the next
time he faces that team. Credit repair is similar. Sometimes the
opposing side shows up strong, other times they don’t. Even if
you follow the same approach with every situation that arises
when doing credit repair, your results will still vary due to the
other players involved. So the next time someone tells you they
can get everything repaired on your credit, run the other way,
because, at best, the pendulum will swing widely both ways for
the same situation.
Credit repair limitations occur almost 100% of the time
under the following situations. These situations make it nearly
impossible for credit repair to help someone needing results within
six months to a year. Please keep in mind even when you can’t
be helped in the short term, the advice that can be given now,
2008 SPRING
17
if coming from a professional, can prevent you from making a
mistake in the near future that may worsen your situation.
Here are examples of situations where not much can be done
within a six to twelve month period.
1. If more than 50% of the negative accounts showing on
the credit report appear as unpaid collections, charge-offs,
repossessions, or foreclosures and you do not have the money
to either pay the accounts in full or settle them. Due to the
negative accounts remaining unpaid, these items will simply
reappear on your report once removed. Any negatives, even
unpaid accounts, can be removed-but, unless the negative
account is current, paid or settled, it will simply reappear in
10-90 days.
The only way to prevent this is to bring the account current
by paying the past due amount, or, in the case of a collection,
charge-off, repossession, or foreclosure, pay the balance in
full or settle it for pennies on the dollar. Unpaid accounts that
do not have collection, charge-off, repossession or foreclosure
status require only that the past due balance be paid to be
considered current. Unless the negative account is a public
record, the only way to keep it from being re-reported is to
make sure the status is “current, paid, settled, transferred or
sold.” In other words, if deleted, any negative account that
does not show one of those five statuses will most likely get
re-reported, unless the account is a public record.
Public records are the only negative items that do not need
to be paid to prevent re-reporting. Because they are only
reported once, public records, such as unpaid judgments and
tax liens, can remain unpaid and yet will not reappear once
they are removed. In fact, the only time they reappear is when
the initial reason for removal was the public record agency
failing to respond the credit bureaus’ verification request within
the 30-day period outlined by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, in
which case the credit bureau would reinsert the public record
if and when the public record agency responds to the credit
bureaus after that 30-day period.
2. Credit repair is nearly impossible if you can’t pay your
minimum monthly payments and you keep adding new late
payments to your report. This is a “spinning wheels” scenario
that rarely yields much improvement to your credit score.
In conclusion, you can repair your credit if you hire a pro
and listen to his or her professional advice
Laurence H. Michelson is the President of FiCODOC and a financial credit
consultant, he is also the author of “Getting the White Picket Fence Without a
Man” For more information please visit his web site www.ficodoc.com or call
1-877-899-2565.
Tired of the same old
Marketing Choices?
Visit the links at www.FreeSmileWhitening.com
or email us at SmileFX@telusplanet.net
for details on our time-limited
FREE MEMBERSHIP PROGRAMS
“ I’ve followed Yar’s rise over the years and can without a nano-second’s
reservation say that EVERY DENTIST who wants MORE NEW PATIENTS
and MORE MONEY as a result, should be using Yar’s marketing system. ”
Dr. Tom Orent - 1000 Gems Seminars, Gems Insiders’ Circle
FREE SMILE
W
WHITENING?
www.FreeSmileWhitening.com
www.FreeSmileWhitening.com
18
SPRING 2008
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
practice management
Your New, Low Cost Employee ...
TM
Smile Reminder !
By Craig Callen
Last year I signed up for Smile ReminderTM after hearing
a couple of colleagues say some good things about it. It has
become one of the best investments in my practice from a
marketing and management standpoint that I have made. For
those of you who haven’t yet heard of it, Smile ReminderTM is
an Internet-based program that integrates with your existing
practice management software to help boost your practice. How
does it do this you ask? After a short live phone training program
and set up you are ready to take advantage of all that Smile
ReminderTM has to offer including:
event or news. Not only can you keep your patient base
informed and educated about your services, but you can also
communicate important changes affecting your patient’s
health. For instance, when the American Heart Association
changed the recommendations for pre-medication, I was
able to communicate this to my practice almost immediately.
Generally I will try to educate/motivate them towards
treatment, focusing on one main thing per newsletter such
as bleaching or facings. I will often then tie in some sort
of offer such as $100 off take home bleaching. Patients
are encouraged to refer their friends and family through
the newsletter. Personal information about someone in the
practice or one of the doctors is included occasionally to help
the patients get to know us a little better.
1.) It automatically confirms patients’ appointments by e-mail
and/or text messaging. When and how is determined by you.
The messages are all customizable. When the patient sends
back the confirmation you are notified by e-mail. In our
practice with three hygiene schedules to confirm five days
a week, this is a huge time savings for our front desk staff.
They know for a fact that the patient got the message, not
just hope that they listened to an answering machine. That
extra time can be spent taking better care of the patient in
the practice.
6.) Custom Marketing Messages can also be sent as often as
you would like. These postcard like messages are meant
to announce a new product, technique, or to get a new
promotion out to your patient base. The average cost of a
postcard mailing to your patients is about $.50 per mailing.
With Smile ReminderTM you are basically getting this for free!
2.) The program will send e-mails and /or text messages to
your patients on their birthday. This has been a nice PR tool.
Some patients have told me that this was the ONLY birthday
greeting they got.
7.) Send notices to patients of last minute openings in the
schedule. Just had a bridge appointment cancel? You can
broadcast a message to those patients willing to come in on
short notice that you have an immediate opening.
3.) After a patient’s appointment they will get a post treatment
survey. They can respond either by name or anonymously.
There are standard questions, or you can design your own.
This has been huge for our practice. Not only have we
learned what we are doing right, we have learned what
we are doing WRONG. We have been able to head off
misunderstandings, or just plain screw ups on our part and
make it right with the patient to salvage our relationship. The
program keeps track of all of the responses and maintains a
running percentage for you to track. I will regularly print out
a survey, highlight the good or bad comments and post it in
the staff lounge for all to see and learn from.
8.) Recall reactivation is streamlined with automatic messages
set up by you. These reminders encourage patients to call and
return for treatment.
4.) Custom surveys can be designed and sent out at any time. If
you are considering adding Saturday hours, you can survey
your patients to see how many would avail themselves of the
new hours.
5.) As many times as you would like you can send your patients
an e-mail newsletter. You can write your own stories and
import any images you would like to include. I try to
send one every month and sometimes two for a special
1-800-337-8467
One of the challenges we had was to collect the e-mail addresses
of as many of our patients as possible. While our new patients already
registered their e-mail addresses, the more established patients had
not all registered their e-mails. After begging and threatening, I
decided to set up a reward system to encourage the staff to ask
for and enter the addresses into our system. What I did was to put
$1 in the pot for every new address entered over a three month
period. We collected enough new e-mail addresses to take the whole
staff out for dinner at a nice local restaurant.
The system continues to grow and evolve with us and new
features are being added all the time. Smile ReminderTM will
save valuable staff time, reduce no-shows, encourage referrals
and increase patient loyalty to your practice. This is a NO BRAINER
decision at a one time set up cost of $399 and a flat monthly rate
of $249. You will save this much just in saved postage the first
couple of months. The more you use the system, the more you
SAVE and the more your practice will GROW! You can contact
Smile ReminderTM at 866-605-6867 or www.smilerminder.com.
2008 SPRING
19
practice management
Submitting
Patient
Information
Online is
Simple,
Secure and
Time Saving
Dr. Keith D. Rossein
Practice Management
Are new patients unhappy about coming early for
their first appointment to fill out paperwork? After a
patient fills out their personal, insurance and medical/
dental history, are the forms often illegible? Does your
staff spend countless hours scanning or retyping this
information into your practice management software?
Are you considering “going paperless” for your practice?
If any of these answers are YES, you need to read on.
Some might say that over the last 15 years, dentistry has gone
through a digital revolution with products such as digital xrays, Cerec, intraoral cameras, digital diagnostics and practice
management software.
And yet, with all that, dentistry as a profession has been
slow, by comparison, to have greater involvement with the
Internet and all the advantages of digital communication.
I’d liked to discuss one important phase of dental practice
management that has previously missed an opportunity to keep
up with technology and has been stuck in the mud in trying
to move forward. I’m referring to the necessary process of
20
SPRING 2008
ascertaining information about new and existing patients that
is extremely important to their treatment, health and their longterm relationship to the dental practice.
Most dental offices have some type of practice management
software installed in their computers for record keeping, storing
of patient information, appointment reminders and recall notices.
Standardized codes and procedures have made it easier to submit
insurance claims and get reimbursed quicker, especially with
electronic submissions.
Yet, when a new patient comes for their first visit, we
hand them a clip board and pen and a stack of forms that are
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
Clinical/Technical
often 4th generation copies, and we ask them to provide us with extremely important
information about themselves and their families. What’s wrong with this picture? The
scenario only gets worse.
First, the patient is told to come a half hour early to complete the paperwork
(they just love that). Patients stress out about other patients sitting nearby who may
be looking over their shoulder, about where to put their insurance card/social security
card or other documents that they removed from their pocket book or wallet and about
where to get another pen when the first one stops writing (on the clip board propped up
on their knees); in some case they have to keep one eye of their children.
And, this antiquated process is a burden to your office staff. It’s not uncommon for
the patient to make several interrupting trips to the front desk to ask your office manager
questions about the questions. When the often illegible forms are returned by the patient,
your staff first goes to work. Some offices scan the forms and store them in the patient
document center of their practice management software. Other practices retype all of the
information into the electronic patient chart (only takes from 15-20 minutes).
The good news is that there is a better way. It’s a website called
SubmitPatientForms.com [Fig. 1] that provides an inexpensive online service
to dental practices so that their patients (unlimited number) can complete their
paperwork before they come in for their first appointment.
Here’s how it works. A new patient calls the office. The office manager says,
“We have a simple, secure and convenient way for you to fill out your paperwork
online, so you do not have to arrive early for your first appointment. You may also
print a copy for yourself before you submit the forms to our office. What is your
email address? I will send you the link to get started. Please be sure to complete the
information and submit it several days before your appointment.”
The office manager then logs onto your management account that was created
when the dental office originally signed up [Fig. 2]. She clicks on “Refer a Patient.”
When the next page is displayed, she types in the patient’s name and email address
and clicks on “Submit.” [Fig. 3] This automatically sends a prepared email letter from
the office to the patient. When the patient clicks on the enclosed link, it brings them to
the HIPAA document for your office and they follow the online menu.
Patients can save their information as they type it. So, for example, they can start the
forms on Monday evening, continue on Tuesday afternoon and finish up on Thursday.
Before they submit, the patient can print out a copy of the forms for their own records.
Once the forms are submitted by the patient, the office gets an email notification;
the office manager can then log onto the management account and clicks on “Registered
Patient List.” A list of all patients that have submitted their forms will be displayed
[fig. 4]. You will have three different formats in which to view or download the
information – PDF, JPEG and/or Excel. If you want hard copies for the patient chart,
open the PDF forms and print. If you want to store the forms in a patient document
center of your practice management software, unzip the JPEG format [takes the place
of scanning] and download those forms to your computer. If you need to type certain
information such has name, address, phone, etc for a new patient into your practice
management software, you may copy and paste from the Excel database to save time.
Having the forms completed before the patient arrives for their appointment has
1-800-337-8467
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
2008 SPRING
21
Figure 4
Figure 5
many advantages. The office can validate the patient’s insurance coverage; potential
medical complications, pre-medication requirements and/or past adverse reactions
can be red flagged; time normally allocated to reviewing the entire medical/dental
histories can be better spent getting to know the patient and double checking any
concerns that were previously notice on the forms.
This service can be utilized with or without having your own practice website.
During the sign-up process or at any later time, the practice can copy some Java
Script from their management account that will allow their webmaster to embed
a navigation button in the office website. This will provide a direct link to the
appropriate page at SubmitPatientForms for your patients to start the process [Fig. 5].
This service should be used not only for new patients but for current patients so
that all patient histories will be legible and standardized. In fact, Dr. Woody Oakes
suggested that practices should contact their inactive patients, asking them to bring
their histories up-to-date online, as an excellent way of reactivating these patients.
The “New Patient” form is the default form and will appear each time a
patient is sent to fill out the paperwork. If your patient has already provided all the
appropriate information by filling out the “New Patient” form at a previous time, but
has some changes/additions to their information such as a change of phone number,
address, insurance and/or has a new medication or medical complication, then the
patient is instructed to choose the “Patient Update” from the drop down menu. This
simplifies the process for the patient and allows the dentist and staff to quickly determine
any significant changes without having to read all the past information and figure it out.
Some offices, because they are specialty practices or because they want to have
specific questions with a specific layout, prefer not to use generic forms. So, for
a one-time reasonable charge, your own custom forms can be converted into the
SubmitPatientForms software and utilized with the same low monthly fee.
The SubmitPatientForms website is extremely secure [a comprehensive
explanation can be read at their site]. Only the patient’s dentist will have access to
their personal data via a username and password. Once the patient’s records have
been downloaded by the dentist, he/she has the option of deleting the information.
SubmitPatientForms periodically purges the patient records from the server, so they
don’t remain in the database indefinitely.
As a special promotion for the readers of The Profitable Dentist,
SubmitPatientForms is offering a free month trial. During the sign up process you
will be asked if you have any coupons. Type in EID18 and you will receive a free
month trial and a discounted monthly fee of $18.95, instead of $24.95. The practice
will still be asked to put in their credit card information, but there will be no charge
until the second month. If before the 30 days are up and the practice wants out,
they can call the toll free number or cancel by email, and there will be no charge to
the credit card. It’s a win-win situation and it would be hard to believe somebody
wouldn’t want to try it for free and see how well it actually does work.
Dr. Keith Rossein is president of International Dental Consultants, a partner in WebDentalMarketing.
com and SubmitPatientForms.com, the editor of Implant New & Views, is listed in the Seattle Study
Clubs Speaker’s Bureau and presents CE workshops on electrosurgery, narrow-body implants, stress
management, care & maintenance of implants and Internet marketing. He can be reached at 888.385.1535
or krossein@optonline.net.
22
SPRING 2008
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
/Ê*
*
/
2%-/6!",%#/3-%4)#
0!24)!,$%.452%
2!)3).'
6%24)#!,$)-%.3)/.
,IKENOOTHERAPPLIANCE3NAP/N3MILE®
REPLACESMISSINGTEETHANDENHANCESTHE
ESTHETICSOFTHEABUTMENTTEETHASWELL!LL
CANBEACCOMPLISHEDWITHTHEREMOVABLE
PARTIALDENTUREBY3NAP/N3MILE®
$UETOITSSTRENGTHANDDURABILITYTHEAPPLIANCE
CANBEUSEDTORAISETHEFACIALHEIGHTOFAPATIENT
4HE3NAP/N3MILE®APPLIANCEISAGREATTOOLFOR
BOTHBRUXERSANDOCCLUSALPREDICTABILITYFORFULL
MOUTHREHABILITATIONCASES
#$3-)$7).4%2-%%4).'
%8#%,,%.#%).$%.4)3429
&EBRUARYSTTH
3NAP/N3MILE®WILLBE
ATTHE#HICAGO$ENTAL
3OCIETYS-IDWINTER
-EETING#OMEVISITUS
AT"OOTH
$R-ARC,IECHTUNGINVENTOR
AND#%/OF3NAP/N
3MILE®WILLBESPEAKING
AT0ROlTABLE$ENTISTS
%XCELLENCEIN$ENTISTRY
SEMINARIN$ESTIN&,
ON!PRILTHTH
4OLEARNMOREORFORACASEPICKUP
CALL3.!0/.ORVISIT3NAP/N3MILECOM
-ODELISANACTUALPATIENTANDUSEROFTHE3NAP/N3MILE®APPLIANCEANDMAYNOTNECESSARILYREmECTTHEABOVECASESTUDYINTHEPHOTOGRAPHS
practice management
An Interview with
Dr. Jimmy Eubanks,
founder of
The Eubank Institute for
Advanced Clinical Education
The Eubank Institute, one of the world’s leading centers for
the advancement of clinical education and training, is dedicated
to helping dental professionals who want to provide complete,
quality care to their patients. The Institute is headed by Dr.
Jimmy Eubank, an internationally-renowned leader in the
field of aesthetic and functional dentistry, with over 33 years
experience as a dental practitioner. A graduate of the University
of Texas School of Dentistry, Dr. Eubank has the unique
distinction of being the only professional in the world accredited
as both a dentist and a laboratory technician.
Dr. Eubank’s other professional distinctions include being
a Fellow and past accreditation Chairman of the American
Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry, a Fellow of the Academy of
General Dentistry, and a Fellow of the American Academy of
Esthetic Dentistry.
The Profitable Dentist talked with Dr. Eubank about the goal of
the Institute, its course offerings , and what makes it unique.
Q. What is the goal of the Institute?
Eubank: It is our goal to guide, to enlighten, and to teach
students the skills and techniques that provide superior esthetics
within the framework of optimal occlusion. By integrating
esthetic techniques with the principles of proper occlusion,
students are able to address complex cases with both competence
and confidence.
Q. What courses do you offer?
Eubank: The Institute offers an integrated curriculum ranging
from beginning and advanced occlusion, to anterior and posterior
esthetics. All courses are offered at our state-of-the-art facility
in Plano, Texas, approximately 20 miles north of Dallas. The
full-service facility includes instructional classrooms, multiple
operatories, and a state-of-the-art laboratory.
24
SPRING 2008
Q. What makes the Eubank Institute unique?
Eubank: To enhance the learning experience, we limit our
classes to ten participants; this ensures that students receive
one-on-one instruction and ample hands-on clinical experience
as they learn new techniques in our classroom... practice them
in our lab... and then apply them directly in our operatory.
The boutique-class size and 360 degree approach to training
and education are hallmarks of the Institute’s learning-based
environment. Additionally, the Eubank Institute includes postcourse mentoring for all its participants. As we see it, our
responsibility is to teach and help our students grow.... and that
responsibility doesn’t end when the course is over. In fact.... it’s
just the beginning.
Q. Do you welcome personal inquiries from doctors, and if
so, how can they get in touch with you?
Eubank: Absolutely! It’s why I started the Institute. I love talking
with doctors about challenges they are facing or successes
they’ve experienced in their practice. To reach me, they can call
888.596.1811 or send an email to dr.eubank@therightfitdentist.com.
Q. Anything else?
Eubank: I’d like to personally thank Dr. Woody Oakes for this
opportunity to talk about the Institute. It is my passion and I’m
thrilled anytime I get the chance to share information about it
(just ask my wife!). I’d also like to thank all of the doctors who
entrust us with their clinical training and education. We pledge
to do our very best to continue to provide participants with
abundant opportunities to learn and thrive.
For more information on the Eubank Institute call 888.596.1811 or visit
www.therightfitdentist.com.
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
2008 Course Calendar
DATE
PROGRAM February 21-23, 2008 The Diagnostic Box: Patient Management & Treatment Planning
March 6-8, 2008 Advanced Occlusion
April 3-5, 2008 Essential Occlusion
June 12-14, 2008 Advanced Esthetics & Restorative Procedures
June 19-20, 2008 Annual Alumni Program July 24-26, 2008 Essential Occlusion
August 28-30,2008 The Diagnostic Box: Patient Management & Treatment Planning
September 25-27, 2008 Smile Design & Direct Composite Bonding
October 9-11, 2008 Advanced Occlusion
December 4-6, 2008 Essential Occlusion
helping dental professionals provide complete, quality care
Here’s what doctors are saying about the Eubank Institute for Advanced Clinical Training & Education:
“Any course Dr. Eubank believes is worth teaching... I
believe is worth taking.
Not only is he a great educator, presenting new material
in an organized, concise way, he is a great dentist and
ceramist. His systems are understandable and the
information can be applied in your office the next day.
Bottom line is: if you want to love what you do, have
more fun doing it, and make more money, then become a
student of the Eubank Institute.”
“I am blown away by Dr. Eubank’s depth in all facets of
restorative dentistry and have never encountered anyone in
my 21 years of practicing dentistry that even comes close
to his complete level of accomplishment... and I’ve been
exposed to some great dentists!”
- Dr. Dennis Wells
- Dr. Stan Golden
“I have gone to many seminars and heard it all — from the
best, to the most obscure — and I can say this with great
confidence: ‘Dr. Eubank is simply the best.’ His humility,
patience and depth of knowledge have never ceased to
amaze me. He is an inspiration.”
- Dr. Rose Tranllgyeau
1-800-337-8467
2008 SPRING
25
The Eubank Institute
For Advanced Clinical Education
This is ‘the place’
to understand and
implement the
combination of occlusion
and esthetics.
- Dr. Jim Pierce
DISCOVER WHY MORE AND MORE DENTISTS ARE
TURNING TO THE EUBANK INSTITUTE FOR THEIR
CLINICAL TRAINING AND EDUCATION
essential
occlusion
for esthetics
& function
Dallas, Texas
April 3–5, 2008
July 24–26, 2008
December 4–6, 2008
“ I have taken several occlusion courses from
different instructors... Dr. Eubank is the first
instructor to break down the concepts and
make them easy to understand ‘and apply.’
He taught me step-by-step and gave me
recipes for all types of occlusal issues.”
—Dr. Beatriz Dennis
“ These are unequivocally the best value CE
programs I’ve had the privilege of attending!
The step-by-step instruction is outstanding
and delivered to small groups in a safe
learning environment.”
“ Thank you for entrusting
us with your clinical
training and education.
We pledge to do our
very best to provide
you with abundant
opportunities to learn and thrive—not only
while you are with us, but also as you begin
to apply the principles you’ve learned in
your practice.
—Dr. Jimmy Eubank
—Dr. Allen Bruley
“ This occlusion course truly brought
confidence, clarity and peace of mind to
me. You have absolutely no idea how much
you have helped to change my life. Thank
you for everything!”
—Dr. John Kling, II, FAGD, PC
“ Dr. Eubank’s passion for giving and teaching
others is a gift. His courses inspire me to
want to get better and better... and I feel
that there is not a better, more enthusiastic
mentor for me to model my practice after.”
—Dr. Brenda Jennings
Sign Up Before
March 31, 2008
& Save $250!
Space is very limited and this
program sells out every time!
Sign up now before it’s too late.
Call 888.596.1811 or visit
www.therightfitdentist.com
practice management
Long Term Facility Requirements:
What’s Your Plan?
By George D. Vaill
iStockphoto.com/asiseeit
Doctor Blue in Tulsa had a terrific retirement plan. He’d
had a small, but very successful boutique practice for many
years and was very happy with what he had put aside. He felt
safe that his financial future was secure. The plan earmarked
funds for college tuitions and for supporting the level of lifestyle
that he and his family had come to enjoy. He had even been able
to set aside extra funds to build that fishing lodge on the lake that
he had dreamed about his whole career.
Unfortunately, what he had not counted on was losing his
lease, being forced to move, and having to invest hundreds of
thousands of dollars to construct a new dental facility elsewhere.
He had not made any provision in his financial plan for that
eventuality. So, to his great disappointment, that fishing lodge on
the lake was sacrificed to fund the new facility – with only 4 years
remaining before his retirement. In spite of all of his years of hard
work and scrupulous planning, his fishing dreams went up in smoke.
Could Dr. Blue have avoided this sudden and most drastic
change in fortunes? The simple answer is “yes.” If he had set aside
and regularly funded a reserve to cover any potential, major facility
renovation or relocation, he might well have been able to pay for
such a contingency without totally gutting his retirement portfolio.
Developing a long-term plan for your practice commonly
entails reviewing such issues as clinical methodology, personnel
management and facility utilization. Frequently, however, dentists
who lease their office space often fail to consider long-term
occupancy requirements: (i) how long the facility they currently
occupy will efficiently accommodate their practice growth
plan; (ii) what changes in that occupancy may be forced by an
expiring lease or may be required in order to achieve desired
practice growth; and, (iii) what capital investment may be
necessary – and should be budgeted – to fund changes that may
be required in conjunction with a facility expansion, renovation
or a planned or forced relocation. Any long-term planning that
does not include such considerations accompanied by a budget
contingency for facility capitalization is incomplete. Such a lack
of anticipation and planning may well result in an interruption
of your occupancy (and, thus, your practice) accompanied by an
unplanned expenditure for facility replacement that significantly
alters your financial model: a rude surprise indeed!
Unless consciously negotiated with specific time frames
in mind, office leases rarely provide the kind of flexibility
that allows you to come and go at will in response to your
growth plan. Therefore, it is paramount that you review your
lease carefully to understand fully what occupancy rights (and
obligations) you have and how they may affect your ability to
carry out that plan in the years to come. Given the number of
years you wish to work, the practice size you envision and the
projected demographic basis required to support your plan,
among other questions you must answer are:
1-800-337-8467
1. How large a facility (and how much parking) will you require
five years out? 10 years out? 20 years out?
2. Will your existing facility meet those needs over the long
haul or will you likely require a facility change?
3. Does your lease contain terms that guaranty, obligate you to,
or limit long term occupancy?
4. Does your lease contain renewal options of sufficient
number and length with pre-negotiated terms offering transition
increment opportunities that coincide with planned growth steps?
5. When is the ideal time to renegotiate term length and renewal
options in order to best position yourself for uninterrupted
occupancy – or for premature termination?
If you are uncertain about your occupancy rights and obligations,
a dental office lease professional can help you interpret your lease
and provide expert guidance that will prove invaluable. Once you
have answered these questions and determined how well your
current facility and your lease provisions do or do not support
your projected needs, you will be in a better position to plan
accordingly and reduce the likelihood of that rude surprise.
Leasing
Space?
You negotiate an
office lease once...
Do it right!
“With just one letter to our landlord,
he got our rent lowered $500 a month!”
—Dr. Woody Oakes, New Albany, IN
To level the playing field in your
next lease negotiation, simply call
1-800-340-2701 or visit
www.georgevaill.com/tpd/
Satisfaction
Guaranteed
!
GEORGE VAILL
DENTAL OFFICE LEASE NEGOTIATIONS
2008 SPRING
27
Clinical/Technical
Crown & Bridge Problems How To Fix Them!
By Dr. Michael Curtis
100’s of Pearls on
Fees & Case
1. Recurrent Decay:
Acceptance
t your profit!
tips to skyrocke
Plus countless
totally
• Fast, easy and
busy
practical for the
general dentist.
dollars
• Saves 1000’s of
in C.E.
and countless hours
s from 100’s
• 100’s of Pearl
you know
of sources...Do
them all?
For The General
Dentist
Do you ever have
problems with Crown
& Bridge? Are your
patients stressed
when their expensive
work begins to fail?
Some tips for the most
lucrative cases we do:
28
SPRING 2008
How should you repair early decay under crowns? Do NOT use composite! Resins on
root surfaces leak like crazy and cause tissue inflammation. Glass Ionomers (GI) or Resin
Modified GI’s (RMGI) seal far better, reduce inflammation and are proven cariostatics.
Some products:
• Self Curing: “Fugi IX GP Extra” (GC): When you can’t get your curing light
to a difficult area, inject this self-cured GI material. Wait 15 seconds so it’s not
sticky to shape. Sets in only 2-3 minutes. Trim and polish all GI’s with water to
prevent cracking.
• Light Cured Flowable: “Fugi II LC” capsules: I place this RMGI; then etch,
bond and place resin. (Superior to using flowable.)
• Difficult Isolation: “Fugi Triage”: A GI designed as a sealant, but adheres even
when you can’t get total isolation.
• Highly Esthetic Areas:” “Ketac Nano (3M Espe): RMGI with great esthetics
and polish.
• For how to prevent recurrent decay under your new crowns, ask for our FREE
Report: “Xerostomia & Root Decay” when you order any of our guides.
2. Black Scuzz:
Have you ever removed a temporary and noted a black discolored area on your prep?
• Hemostatic agents that contain ferric ions (Cut-Trol, Viscostat) can cause this
black residue. Try “Viscostat Clear” (Ultradent) instead. For more, see “100s of
Pearls on Endodontics.”
• Micro-leakage may also cause the problem. Avoid resin-based temporary cements.
Use a Bis-Acryl resin (Luxatemp etc.) for the most accurate temporaries. To fill
voids at margins, clean with alcohol; dry, apply bond and flowable composite,
re-seat on prep. Then cure. Trim margins intra-orally with a ½” Aluminum
Oxide disc (Moore) for ideal contours.
3. Crown Breaks Off:
What can you do for bridgework that has broken off at the gumline?
• “Metabond” (Parkell): This miracle material is now easier to use, but still
holds impossible cases when other cements can’t. Buys time until you can fix
the problem permanently.
• “Snap-On Smile®.” This is a strong, removable resin material that snaps over
existing teeth with no anesthesia, no prep, and < 30-minutes chair-time. A new
inexpensive answer for patients that can’t afford large cases (877-776-2766).
• Buildups: Many dentists leave and prep old fillings when doing crowns.
Wrong! There’s almost always decay underneath, which will worsen under
your new crown. Always remove all old filling material. Prep retention for
your liner or buildup even if bonded.
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
4. One Abutment Loosens:
What should you do when one abutment loosens, while the
others remain tight? If you try to remove the bridge, you risk
fracturing porcelain or the remaining abutments. Make a hole in
the loose abutment with a round diamond. Pull up on the bridge
and inspect for recurrent decay. If you can remove the caries,
inject permanent cement into the hole and re-press the bridge
into place. Place your finger over the opening so back pressure
extrudes cement out the margins. Repair hole.
9. Crowns Don’t Fit:
•
•
•
5. Crown Needs Endo:
Root canals under crowns are often tight and calcified. How can
you get down them every time? How can you get old posts out?
Why are apex locators unreliable within crowns, and how can
you fix them? For answers, see our “Endodontics” guide.
6. Poor Contacts:
Improper contacts are a major cause of crown failures as food
catches lead to recurrent decay and perio problems. To produce a
natural self-cleansing papilla, most contacts should start apically
about 4mm from bone. After prepping, push your perio probe
through the sulcus and sound to bone. Measure how far your
finish line is from bone and ask lab to start contacts at that 4mm
level. Contacts should be broad, wide areas, not contact points.
• Pindexed dies move. Always pour a second uncut
model to check contacts.
• Soft tissues are commonly distorted from prepping,
cords, chemicals, lasers or electrosurgery. To avoid
“black triangles,” do a try-in and take a pickup impression. Then, have your lab pour a silicone “soft tissue
model” that mimics gum contours for ideal emergence
profiles.
7. Root Sensitivity:
Countless patients have root sensitivity. There are dozens of
products for sensitive roots, but unfortunately none work reliably. For a protocol that works every time, and how to bill insurance, see page 138 of our “Anesthesia” guide.
8. Sandblaster in Every Op:
•
•
A micro-etcher (Danville etc.) can more than double
crown retention. Place an extra air line (~$250) and
sandblast the internal of metal crowns. Blasting can
also remove old temporary cement, organic debris or
black residue from preps. Cover tissues first with any
liquid dam, so you don’t induce bleeding.
Sandblast internal of temps too so cement stays in your
temp rather than on the prep for an easier faster insert
appointment. Always micro-etch old resin when adding
new composite to create a reliable bond.
1-800-337-8467
Consider >3.5X magnification and a 4000K headlight
to see the details you need to create excellent preps,
check impressions, margins, dies etc.
When you need precise control, turn your rheostat
turned down to a slow 25 PSI. Then, prep finish lines
with no water for better visibility. For short crowns,
prep mini-parallel inlays and grooves for better retention.
Some lab stones exhibit serious expansion or distortion.
Call your impression manufacturer for the best stones
to use with their material.
10. Sub-gingival Margins:
100% visibility is critical for sub-gingival margins. Electro-surgery, laser or the “double-cord” techniques work well:
• Cord: Immediately after breaking contact, pack a thin
cord (000 Ultradent) around tooth. Cut off excess so
cord does not wrap around itself and remains totally
buried. Prep to this tissue level for optimal margin
placement. If tissue is not too thin, pack a second
cord after preps are done and leave five minutes. Pull
second, but not first cord to get a wide trough, so your
impression of the margin does not distort or tear. Leave
first cord under gum line until you dismiss patient for
wonderful tissue control.
• Bleeding: If you get bleeding while injecting, apply
a gentle stream of air to clean and move impression
material into area.
• Ferrule: On posteriors, a 2mm ferrule (1mm deep) is
critical facially and lingually, but not interproximally.
This is because occlusal forces rock teeth bucco-lingually, but not mesio-distally. Consider Captek or other
gold margins for the best tissue reaction to a buried
margin.
11. Anterior Temporaries:
Do your anterior temporaries look like real teeth or a continuous
blob? Try Brasseler’s 945, 080 ¼” diamond disc for an ultra-thin
interproximal cut, to define each tooth.
12. Everyday Issues:
•
•
Costs: What is the #1 reason people reject dentistry?
Cost; especially for crown & bridge. To skyrocket your
case load and get paid faster and easier, consider our
“Fees & Case Acceptance” and “Collections” guides.
Post Op Pain: What is your biggest practice builder?
It’s how comfortable your patients feel in the hours
following your procedure! 90% of dentists don’t know
these simple tips and loose themselves a fortune. For
what to do, check out our “Anesthesia” guide.
2008 SPRING
29
•
Non-Restorable Teeth: Do you employ “rapid extrusion” or “intentional re-plantation”? Both are easy ways
to save “non-restorable” teeth and are used around the
world. For more, see our “Endodontics” guide.
13. Do You Know All Our Pearls?
“100s of Pearls” guides have sold in 23 countries!
• “Anesthesia & Pain Relief” Over 500 “Pearls” in 97
categories
• “Fees & Case Acceptance” Over 400 “Pearls” in 79
categories
• “Endodontics” Over 600 “Pearls” in 87 categories
• “Financing & Collections” Over 400 “Pearls” in 76
categories
• More coming soon!
For questions or to order, call 800-427-2830, visit us at HundredsofPearls.com
This article is excerpted from several “100s of Pearls” guides and is copyrighted
and reprinted with permission.
Dr. Michael Curtis practices in Connecticut and is the author of the
“100s of Pearls” series of books and founder of “Hundreds of Pearls”
(www.HundredsofPearls.com). For questions or to order, call
1-800-427-2830 or email to hundredsofpearls@sbcglobal.net.
Success
“One important key
to success is
self-confidence.
An important key to
self-confidence is
preparation.”
Authur Ashe
“Finally, a Website that
attracts TONS of New Patients and
Helps You Sell More Smiles!”
Where do potential patients find you?
DentalWebsites.com
Celebrating 10 Years of Catering
Exclusively to Dentists!
30
SPRING 2008
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
Lab Services Created by Dentists for Dentists
“The Assurance Denture
has drastically reduced the
time it takes to make a
perfect fitting denture.
It’s added a whole
new profit center
to my practice”
Call about the Altadonics solution and
SAVE $20 on Excellence in Dentistry’s
“Mega Profit With Minimal Doctor Effort”
DVD by Dr. Bob Price.
“It’s the most amazing advance
in dentures in 137 years”
- Dr. Woody Oakes
Altadonics. We broke the mold on making dentures.
Peer-reviewed and peer-approved, the Assurance Denture
is bringing newfound convenience and comfort to denture
patients. It takes only 20 minutes to make the mold in any
dental office and then simply send the mold to the Altadonics
lab. Since we’re located in the U.S., you’ll have the new
denture within days. Just as importantly, your patients can
have a perfect fit in just three visits. So save valuable time and
pour on the profits with the Assurance Denture.
For more information on the latest breakthrough
866-221-7061
in dentures, call Altadonics at 886-221-7061,
or visit www.altadonics.com
The Old Way
Assurance Denture
Dentists’ time
to produce
160 minutes
20 minutes
Number of
steps required
10
3
Turnaround time
for new dentures
3 weeks
3-5 days
Dentist gross
revenue per
minute
$1.050/160=
$6.56
$1,050/20=
$52.50
Above example is for illustration purposes only. Results may vary based on fees and other factors.
Clinical/technical
practice management
What’s Up With
Deep Bleaching NOW??
TM
an interview with Deep BleachingTM inventor, Dr. Rod Kurthy
Rod Kurthy and his Deep BleachingTM technique have been favorites of our
subscribers for some time now. In response to the multitude of requests, we
interviewed Rod in 2006 for our Driving Dentist Series. The interview received
enormous rave reviews from our subscribers, so we featured Rod on the cover
of The Profitable Dentist later in the year. With Rod having now formed his
own company to provide his Deep
BleachingTM products, and especially since Rod will be lecturing
(twice) at our upcoming Destin
Spring Break Seminar, we wanted to get the scoop from Rod
regarding all his exciting
new updates.
32
SPRING 2008
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
Woody – Thanks for being with us Rod. As everyone already
knows, Deep Bleaching has become all the rage among dentists
all over the world. You’ve figured out how to achieve permanent
incredible whitening success on every single patient and also
figured out how to do it with very low or no sensitivity. But recently we’ve been hearing great things about your new Evolve
Dental Technologies company and your new Deep Bleaching
products. What made you decide to start your own company?
Rod – Well Woody, it’s a long story. For years I’ve given help
to most of the major bleaching product companies when they’ve
asked. I even developed a formal relationship with one company. The problem has always been that companies tend to be
concerned about profit far more than they are about the things I am
concerned about. Everything had to be weighed to determine
how profitable it would be. My hands were often tied, and frequently my suggestions fell on deaf ears.
Having my own company gives me the ability to do things the
way I want to. I don’t have anyone telling me that I can’t do things
that aren’t profitable enough. I can now do the things I’ve wanted
to be able to do with Deep BleachingTM for a long time.
Woody – Hey, I’ve had the same experiences so I know exactly
what you’re talking about. You said that you can now do things
you’ve wanted to do for a long time. Tell us about those things.
Rod – Dentists have been asking me to provide a place where
they can get virtually everything they need for Deep BleachingTM
instead of having to go to various companies, and we’ve done
that. We’ve also brought out some very exciting new products
that I’ve wanted to provide for some time now – and we’re
getting rave reviews about them like crazy. Our products have
been selected and developed by me to specifically have the exact
physical properties necessary for the very best results with Deep
Bleaching.
Woody – Tell us a bit about some of your new products.
Rod– There are several. First of all, in addition to the Standard
Deep BleachingTM, I’ve introduced my Deep BleachingMAXTM.
This is for dentists like me who want to totally knock the socks
off ALL of their patients. Deep BleachingTM is a super-charged
bleaching system as it is, and this is the top of the top! And I’ve
also brought out a brand new desensitizer that, most importantly,
is also a whitening enhancer. This product makes teeth whiten
much faster than ever before, so the end results are even better.
And we’re using what I feel is a vastly improved desensitizer
system for the patients to use at home.
Woody – I know that your Deep Bleaching Tray design and
fabrication technique are major components of Deep Bleaching,
and I’ve read in your book about how fanatical you are regarding
the impressions. So what’s this I hear about a new impression technique and new impression materials just for Deep Bleaching Trays?
Rod – Well Woody, the materials and technique are not just for
Deep Bleaching tray impressions. We have numerous dentists
1-800-337-8467
who’ve been so flipped out about the materials and technique,
that they’re now using it for their crown & bridge impressions.
Bottom line is that no matter how diligent I was in my instructions regarding the impressions, this was the most frequent
cause when practices screwed up Deep Bleaching. You already
know that I do my clinical testing in my own practice on Fridays.
I worked and worked on the research, development and clinical
testing of the
new impression
technique and
new products
specifically for
use with the
technique. I
know we don’t
have time
here to teach
the technique,
but it’s nearly
foolproof, and it even captures a great impression of the gingival
sulcus throughout the mouth, which is exactly where we need
precision for the Deep Bleaching trays.
Woody – I’ve seen your new packaging of the bleaching kits
that are given to the patients to take home, and I have to say
that I think it’s very colorful. It looks almost like something
that you’d take with you after purchasing products at a highend cosmetics store. I bet the patients love it?
Rod – We’re definitely getting great feedback from dentists.
Dentists charge a good amount for
Deep Bleaching, and they want to
feel proud of the packaging of the
products they give to the patients
to take home. This was one of the
most common requests that I used
to receive from dentists – asking
me to create something they’d be
proud to give out.
Woody – I know you’re “The
Marketing Guy” Rod. You’ve
written two books on dental practice marketing called “The
No-Coupon Marketable Dentist,” which I think most dentists
have heard of. So what have you done regarding marketing of
Deep BleachingTM for dentists?
Rod – Well, I haven’t had a chance to complete all of my
marketing ideas yet, but they’re in the works. I know you like
and respect my buddy, Howie Horrocks, who owns New Patients,
Inc. Howie is an amazing marketing professional, and he and I
have brainstormed and developed marketing techniques together
for a number of years. We are putting together Deep Bleaching
marketing kits for dentists that include many types of marketing
staples such as various ads, statement suffers, press releases,
counter displays and other things.
2008 SPRING
33
I have a pet
peeve. I believe in
truth in advertising
– especially for the
health professions.
And it just really
bugs me when I
see teeth whitening brochures with
models that have
white teeth that
were NOT made
white with the
technique being
advertised in the
brochure. Some
of these models’
photos have been
retouched to make
their teeth so white,
and some even
have Hollywood
White porcelain
veneers. I refuse to
do that.
My Deep Bleaching cover girl is beautiful, has amazingly
white teeth AND her teeth are white BECAUSE of Deep
Bleaching. She’s not a professional model. In fact, she’s my
daughter, Shannon. On our brochures (meant for dentists to
have on their counters for patients to read and take with them)
and posters, it says right next to her picture that she’s not a
model, that the photos have not been retouched, and that her
teeth are white because of Deep Bleaching. And I’ve used all of
my marketing knowledge to make the Deep Bleaching brochure
a tremendously effective marketing tool for dental practices.
Woody – Well, I’ve saved the best for last Rod. I know that
you are absolutely a fanatic about refrigeration of bleaching
products. You and I have discussed the importance of that
before. And I know that you’re really excited about how your
company handles your bleaching products. So tell us all about it.
Rod – Yes, this is something that I’ve harped on for a long,
long time. I believe that we dentists often, or even routinely,
receive bleach that has already lost a significant amount of its
effectiveness – and we have no way of knowing. But none of
the companies I’ve worked with wanted to endure the high cost
of refrigeration. So I’m now free to do it myself, and the reports
that we’re getting from dentists are amazing – even beyond what
I’d anticipated.
ALL bleaching gels are unstable. They’re supposed to be.
That’s why they will give up their oxygen rapidly when placed
in the mouth. But this instability has a downside too. These
products start to degrade immediately after their manufacture.
The only way to prevent the degradation is refrigeration, but that
is VERY expensive as you will see. And even more important
than refrigeration is the protection from HIGH HEAT, which
34
SPRING 2008
QUICKLY destroys bleach. I believe that the lack of refrigeration
and protection from heat is why we dentists complain of varying
effectiveness of bleaching gels that we receive.
We all know how HOT it can get in warehouses and inside
trucks! UPS has informed us that they expect contents of packages
to reach at least 125oF even when shipped ‘next day’ shipping.
And slow freight shipping of product from the factory to the
bleaching product company in unbearably hot trucks can take
five days or more! Typically bleaching product companies do
not refrigerate all of their gels at their facilities. Warehouses can
get very hot, especially over the weekends, and dentists already
know that they usually don’t receive bleaching gels in a refrigerated container. The lack of refrigeration is bad enough, but the
exposure to high heat during slow freight shipping, warehouse
storage and shipping to the dentist is unacceptable to me.
ALL of our Evolve bleaching gels (hydrogen AND carbamide
peroxides) are: 1) Refrigerated immediately after manufacture
and until shipped to Evolve (I insisted on and arranged this special
handling with the factories). 2) Shipped REFRIGERATED to
Evolve in planes and trucks every
second of the way. 3) Immediately
placed in Evolve’s huge industrial
walk-in refrigerator. 4) Shipped
to dentists in thermally insulated
foam boxes with cold packs.
This ensures that dentists receive 100% fresh, 100% effective
bleach every time!
It was always my strong
opinion that this was important, but
there was no way for me to ever
test it. As much of a difference as I thought constant refrigeration
would make, it’s turned out to be even more impressive than I had
imagined. The response we’re getting from dentists is amazing.
And I’m talking about dentists who have been using Deep
BleachingTM for some time.
Because moisture from condensation during refrigeration
will ruin typical fancy box containers, all of our bleaching gels
are provided in plastic containers so that we can keep them under
constant refrigeration without damage to paper boxes.
The first thing that most dentists ask me when they hear this
is, how much more do we charge because of all the refrigeration?
The fact is that we don’t charge ANY more at all. It’s something
I believe in very much, so we just do it.
Woody – Thanks Rod, it sounds like you’ve got a lot going on,
and we appreciate you taking the time to talk with us. I know
that our readers will have more questions, so how do they
contact Evolve Dental Technologies?
Rod – Hey Woody, you know that this is my favorite topic in the
world – and I’m really looking forward to speaking at Destin.
That is always an amazing meeting! I’m excited to be a part of
it this year and to get to hang out with all of your fans for a few
days. I’m normally at my dental practice, but Evolve can be
contacted at (866) 763-7753, and the website is www.DeepBleaching.com. See ya at Destin bud!
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
Clinical/Technical
Stress-Free,
Easy and Profitable
Dentures
By Dr. John Lyons
Learn to love doing
dentures as I do.
Most dentists I talk to hate doing dentures. When asked why,
they usually respond with one of the following replies:
1) The patients are never satisfied;
2) They keep coming back for adjustments endlessly;
3) I don’t make any money with dentures; or
4) I cannot compete with the guy down the street.
In this article, I would like to show you how to reverse these
negative experiences and thoughts and get you to love doing
dentures as I do.
We will review the special situations that arise most often
and show simple and effective ways to deal with them.
1) The “never-ending” complainer:
Although 97% of all edentulous patients are easily satisfied
with the confection of new dentures, some patients will
never be pleased with their prosthetic appliances. These
people want that big piece of plastic in their mouth to
function and look like natural teeth!
Obviously the trick is, as they told us in dental school, to avoid
this type of patient. But how can you tell!
We have all heard of the scenario where the patient comes in
once and tells you that he is unable to get used to his dentures
and that they are the third ones he has gotten this year. While
this would be a “no-brainer,” it rarely happens. Usually the
“difficult” patient is much harder to spot and will give only small
clues revealing his potential future discontentment. Possible
signs to look for are:
1-800-337-8467
Dr. Lyons DVD series is available at
www.TheProfitableDentist.com.
A) When a patient is way too detail conscious. Although
you may spot this only at the try-in appointment, it is
still not too late to stop everything.
B) When a patient speaks of any unrealistic or extremely
difficult expectations. While it may be tempting to try
a case where you feel you might be able to satisfy this
patient’s needs, the risk is too high to get involved.
C) When the patient fails to understand the reasons his old
denture is no longer any good. This could be a patient
with insufficient lower ridge height requiring implants.
The patient “hears” you when you explain the reasons
for the instability of his lower denture but quickly
replies “just make me a new lower denture.”
Contrary to the unrealistic patient, however, this patient can be
content with a new “set of teeth” since you have explained and
often repeated that the new denture may not hold any better than
the old one.
Solution:
For the rare case where the patient has somehow slipped
through your screening process and for whom you have gone out
and completed new dentures (although you now wish you had
not), reimburse him quickly. The sooner you give him back his
money, the less time, aggravation, and eventually money, you
will lose.
As for those patients you do not wish to treat (3%), tell them
that this case is a special situation and you feel you might not be
able to satisfy them. Refer them to the best prosthodontist or to
your worst enemy.
2008 SPRING
35
Clinical/Technical
2) The patient who wants his new dentures to be exactly the
same as the old ones.
Although some techniques exist to duplicate existing
dentures, patients should be warned that you can get “as close as
possible to” but never exactly the same as their old dentures.
There is the economy denture (competes with the fee of Dr.
Cheapo), there is the quality denture (at a reasonable fee) and
there is a deluxe model with the most esthetic teeth and highest
quality acrylic (high fee).
By doing it this way, you remain competitive while offering
the highest quality. You will be surprised by the number of
people who go for the deluxe mode.
3) The guy down the street is really inexpensive!
Solution: Who cares!
If there is one thing I have learned about my job, it is that I
only love doing what I get paid for. Whether it is ortho, crown
and bridge, surgery or dentures, I hate doing things for free or
for an inadequate compensation.
However, you can still compete with “el cheap” down
the road by giving patients a choice. Tell them that there are
different qualities of dentures and that you offer three types.
For a complete LIVE demonstration, order Productive Video’s Dentures and
Partials DVS at 1-800-337-8467.
Need more help? Order “Adventures in Dentures” set by calling 1-800-3378467. Mention this article and get 1 of the 3 DVDs for FREE!
Payments by
North American Bancard
By Leo Townsend
Leo Townsend, president of Paymerica of Illinois, LLC,
is pleased to announce the formation of Payments by North
American Bancard. This new organization will allow merchants
the ability to not only receive wholesale rates on their credit card
processing, but can provide free equipment to those in the need.
Also, if you’ve been reluctant to switch your processing due to
cancellation fees by your current processing bank, Leo can now
pay up to $295 of the cancellation fee for qualified merchants.
The Profitable Dentist has worked with Leo for more than
five years on saving dentists, and other businesses, money on
their processing. It’s as simple as faxing a recent statement to
Leo for review and the entire application process to switch your
processing and begin recouping your savings can happen in
as little as two days! Most often you won’t need to switch the
equipment that your staff is familiar with, reducing the training
time involved.
Why continue to put your hard earned money in your
processing banks pocket? Leo has saved 100% of those who
contacted him money. The choice is yours.
With all the credit card processing companies soliciting your
business and the many different rates that you are being quoted
it’s hard to know who to trust. Woody Oakes trusts Leo and one
of the local dentists near you are probably already saving money
through Leo’s program.
36
SPRING 2008
North American
Bancard
was previously
Paymerica of
Illinois, LLC
Keep these things in mind when you are shopping for credit card
processing:
q All credit card processing companies have the same costs as
determined by MasterCard/Visa. The difference in the rates
offered to you is predicated by their profit requirements.
q There is NO Visa/MasterCard “medical/dental” program.
Companies are claiming a “special” rate for this program
which is generally just standard pricing.
q Many sales people in the industry are using the ploy that
your equipment will be decertified in 2008 or 2009 as a way
to get you scared and their foot in your door. Payments
by North American Bancard can reprogram over 95% of
the equipment in service today. If for some reason they
can’t, they can tell you what to purchase on your own on
eBay, provide wholesale pricing or even free equipment for
qualified merchants.
Contact Leo today for a FREE, no obligation quote on just how much money you
could save in 2008. Fax your statement to 815-273-2133 or call 866-522-1169
more information. Tell them Woody sent you!
©2005 North American Bancard - A registered Merchant Service Provider for
HSBC Bank USA, National Association, Buffalo, NY
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
Clinical/Technical
“Congratulations Dr. Dennis Brown on selection of the Great Curve tofflemire band to
Dental Products Report – Top Ten Chairside Products (2007)
CRA Buying Guide – Best Products of the Year (2007).”
– Woody
A New Approach to Composites
By Dr. Dennis Brown
Class II
The technique will be demonstrated on a broken down tooth #19. A difficult
direct Class II composite made simpler. (Fig. 1 & 2)
I will state the obvious:
Composites have different handling
properties than amalgam. So why are
dentists using amalgam techniques to
restore teeth with composite? Amalgam
techniques of wedging and separating
Fig.1. Pre-opt #19
teeth create inconsistencies when
The new method is a twist on the familiar tofflemire band. Refer to Fig.3.
The left matrix is a standard tofflemire band and to the right is the “Greater
Curve tofflemire band.” The Greater Curve matrix has a greater curve
(hence the nick name “banana band”). When the Greater Curve band is set
up in a retainer the flare from bottom to top is obvious. (Fig. 4)
applied to composites. Using amalgam
technology for composites, the dentist
Fig. 2. All decay removed.
Ready to be restored
can not always assure proper isolation,
rounded interproximal contours and
tight contacts. Tight contacts every time
seems to be the most elusive.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 4. Set up in retainer.
Use of the Greater Curve tofflemire matrix band has four advantages: (Fig. 5)
Now you can predictably perform better
1) The band pulls very tight around the cervical for a very tight seal.
Excellent isolation is mandatory for successful composite placement.
Class II, III, IV, and V composites with
2) The flare of the band places it intimately against the contact areas of
the adjacent teeth.
simple techniques described in this
3) No need to force teeth apart with wedges or separating springs.
Teeth restored while remaining in a neutral position.
article.
4) There is a direct build of composite against the adjacent tooth.
Here is where the technique becomes interesting. So simple, it is surprising
G.V. Black didn’t think of it. A small football shaped composite finishing
carbide (i.e. Brasseler’s 7404, or Shofu’s White Stone (FL2)) is used to burnish
an opening in the matrix at the contact position. (Fig. 6) KEEP THE CARBIDE
AGAINST THE MATRIX THE ENTIRE TIME. DO NOT LIFT THE
1-800-337-8467
2008 SPRING
37
Clinical/Technical
Fig. 5. Greater Curve
tofflemire band in
place. No wedges
needed. No
separating springs
needed. Band
pulls very tight for
a 360º excellent
seal. Set up is
very simple.
CARBIDE. IT IS A “RUBBING, SMOOTHING IN” SIDE TO SIDE
MOTION. YOU ARE GENTLY PEELING AWAY METAL. (See arrow
in Fig. 5) A smooth surface is left on the adjacent tooth’s contact. Around
the opening the matrix imperceptibly blends against the adjacent tooth. The
dentist has absolute control over the size and position of the contact. Contacts
will be a direct build of the composite against the adjacent tooth. (Fig. 7)
There is no danger of nicking the adjacent contact when executed
correctly. It is 180º from the way we were taught. It is easy to do. We
all use composite finishing carbides to smooth composite
against occlusal enamel, and no nicking occurs. Using
finishing carbide at the interproximal is no different.
The buildup is completed. (Fig. 9) DO NOT WORRY
ABOUT PLACING ANY SEPARATING AGENT AT
THE CONTACT OPENING. The contact is broken with
the blade of a metal spatula before the band is removed.
The bond will break very cleanly for two reasons: (Fig. 8)
1) We are only dealing with a small 1mm oval. Not
much surface area bonded.
2) The contact area on the neighboring tooth was
smoothed with finishing carbide as described above.
Therefore, the composite itself will be smooth
at the contact position. The band removes in one
piece. It slides through the contact. Why, because
the periphery of the opening blended imperceptibly
against the adjacent contact.
A difficult Class II buildup with wide embrasures, on
a short misaligned tooth made simple. Tight contacts
with rounded contours having both width and depth.
(Figs. 9, 10, & 11)
Class III & Class IV
Fig. 6 Brasseler
# 7404,
Shofu # FL2
Fig.7 Contact opening
made in matrix.
Fig. 9. Composite travels
across wide
mesial and distal
embrasures.
Fig. 8. Blade of metal spatula
breaks contact.
Fig. 10. Contacts with width
and depth.
Fig.11.
Rounded
interproximal
contours.
The Greater Curve works very well for anterior teeth. (Fig. 12)
After the Greater Curve matrix has been tightened around tooth #8, a mesial opening
is created in the matrix as described previously. Cutting away the
labial portion of the matrix provides access to the cervical portion
of the prep. The dentist has plenty of visibility coupled with great
isolation from saliva invasion. Matrix secured with Triad Gel. (Fig.
13) Composite is placed, and matrix slides out in one piece. Why?
The periphery of the opening blended imperceptibly against the
adjacent contact. (Fig.14)
Final mesial Class IV composite tooth # 8. Note the rounded
emergence contour. The base of the
contact is near the papilla. (Figs. 15
& 16)) Forget awkward mylar strips.
You will never again experience
straight line emergence contours
and unsightly black triangles caused
by mylar strips secured with wood
wedges. Long vertical contacts which
are the nature of Class IV’s are easily
accomplished.
Fig.14. Matrix slides out in one
piece.
38
SPRING 2008
Fig. 12 Class IV prep tooth #8.
Fig. 15. Final restoration
#8
Fig.13. Matrix secured (Triad Gel)
Fig. 16. Lingual view final
restoration #8.
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
Class V
The Greater curve works well for many Class V restorations. It is a
savior when:
1) the caries are deep relative to the gingival margin.
2) the gingiva is very thin and friable making it impossible to
place cord.
3) superior isolation from saliva contamination is paramount.
Class V caries on #31 extends from mesial to distal along the lingual.
(Fig. 17) A Dent-a-pop at the lingual contains the tongue and draws
saliva away. Prep is very well isolated in a location that is normally
difficult to isolate. The Greater Curve matrix provides plenty of
access to place restorative material (Fugi II LC). (Fig. 18)
Fig. 17
Lingual prep # 31
In summary the Greater Curve tofflemire band technique has advantages:
•
•
•
•
Fig.18 Excellent isolation
lingual #31.
There are no wedges needed! No separating springs needed! Hardware greatly reduced.
Set up very simple.
Teeth restored in a neutral position because there is no need to force teeth apart.
There is excellent isolation of the cavity prep. Particularly those with deep subgingival
decay. The band pulls very tight at the cervical.
The cost per restoration is reduced.
The quality of your composite restorations will soar. Tight rounded contacts with width and depth.
Fig. 19 Final lingual subgingival
Class V #31.
For more information on how the Greater Curve tofflemire band can make restorative dentistry simpler and more
predictable go to www.greatercurve.com or call 866-493-3437.
Why Not Simplify Direct Composites?
Wide open embrasures with
deep cervical decay easily bridged
with tight, smooth contacts.
Throw away awkward mylar strips.
Create rounded emergence contours with long contacts on anterior teeth.
“Best Products of the Year – 2007”
CRA Buying Guide
“Top Ten Chairside Products – 2007”
DPR
www.greatercurve.com
sCONTACT GREATERCURVECOM
1-800-337-8467
2008 SPRING
39
The Shocking TRUTH about the U.S. Legal System!
Discover the Hidden Secrets of Litigation that
Plaintiffs’ Lawyers Pray you Never Learn!
By Douglass Lodmell, J.D.
Let me ask you a question. “Have you ever wondered
why it feels like you need to consult a lawyer before talking to
the parents of your children’s friends about why their kid came
home with a bruise from your house? Do you notice how you
feel when someone slips and falls, or even bumps their arm in
your home or office building? Or, if you own a business or have
employees, why even a loose comment or risqué joke around the
office now makes you cringe with fear? Or why sometimes the
patient sitting in your chair does or says something that triggers
a fear that they might just be a lawsuit waiting to happen?”
Why is that? Why is it that even normal minor accidents or
casual conversations can trigger a deep sense of fear and insecurity
in you? What do you attribute this to? Why do you think that is?
It’s because this fear is legitimate! For some of you it is
because you have already been sued, or have seen a friend,
colleague or neighbor go through a nightmare lawsuit. Not to
mention that we all see the aggressive advertising of plaintiffs’
attorneys on TV, billboards and radio that implore the masses to
call them “after any accident” to get their “rightful” cash awards,
as if it was a government subsidized entitlement program.
Let’s face it. We have all learned to take on a sense of guilt
if anything goes wrong in our own lives AND in the lives of those
around us. We all know about this guilt! But what you might not
know is how a small group of lawyers and judges has taken that
sense of guilt and used it against the very people they are here
to serve to create the biggest money making scheme in history.
And in the process, have turned our legal system into a sham!
Just like Cold War Russia or North Korea of today, we
are now ruled by the Law of Fear! What this law says is that
you better not take any risks, hurt anyone or even be around
when something goes wrong in someone’s life, because there
is an army of lawyers that will be there to serve the victims of
your negligence and find JUSTICE. And since this is America,
justice is measured in terms of COLD, HARD CASH – so you
will just PAY! And, of course, these lawyers are not doing
this as a public service. They are taking a BIG cut of the $300
billion each year in lawsuit action for their honorable position as
the purveyor of justice (i.e. conflicts)!
When I started writing this story for The Profitable Dentist,
I found myself writing page after page (far too many pages for
this publication). The story was about a justice system where
the “justice” has been replaced with an economic model where
the most aggressive and ruthless attorneys use the lawsuit as
a weapon and make ridiculous amounts of money by doing it!
The story became so big and so important that I can only do it
‘justice’ by offering you the whole story!
What got created is an incredible “Insider’s Report” that
tells all! This report is far more than a simple article. It is a
40
SPRING 2008
full story of exactly how our legal system was designed, what
happened to it, and WHY! What I can assure you of is that there
are a lot of facts, and information that I know you will want to
know, such as:
q How the Plaintiffs’ attorneys have ‘rewritten the rules’ over
the past 30 years to make it easier, and more profitable, for
them to sue you.
q How we moved from a system where ‘contingent fees’ were
immoral and illegal for lawyers to use, to one in which they
are virtually the only way plaintiffs’ attorneys now work!
q How clever attorneys removed the prohibition against “attorney
advertising” and created an industry of TV, Radio, and
Billboard lawyers designed to stir up conflict—just for profit!
q How lawyers have changed their own self-governing ethical
rules to allow the use of sleazy tactics and frivolous lawsuits!
q How even the Rules of Civil Procedure have been modified by
attorneys to make it easier to sue, easier to use a lawsuit as a
harassment tool, and harder to get a bogus lawsuit thrown out!
q Why all these changes make anyone with even a modest level
of assets a SITTING DUCK for almost any plaintiff’s attorney!
q Why being a Doctor creates a ‘triple-whammy’ effect and
increases your risk far more than you ever imagined!
q How lawyers have targeted your employees as the latest
“victims” in their money-making lawsuit mills, and why, as
an employer, they are now your #1 risk!
q How Lawsuits REALLY WORK, and how lawyers use the
“no loser pays” system as a tool for LEGAL EXTORTION!
In fact, once I got started writing the WHOLE STORY, I
couldn’t stop at just telling you what’s wrong with the system. I
had to go the whole way and also tell you what solutions are out
there, which ones work, which ones don’t, and what YOU can do
to turn the tables in your favor! You will also learn:
q How a simple policy you can implement in your office can
VIRTUALLY ELIMINATE employee lawsuits!
q What “Asset Protection” really means, and why 95% of
all “Asset Protection” planning you hear about or find on the
Internet doesn’t work, and may even get you into BIG
TROUBLE!
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
q Which assets you have are ALREADY protected and which
ones are not, and what you can do today to increase your
protection with no expenses!
q Why numbered bank accounts and secrecy as asset
protection tools Don’t Work!
q What Nevada Corporations really are and why you want to
STAY AWAY!
q How you can maintain 100% control of your assets and still
have them COMPLETELY PROTECTED!
q What Insurance Companies don’t want you to know about
your coverage – and why what you don’t know can hurt you!
q How you can stop almost any lawsuit from ever gaining
momentum, and how that can save you hundred’s of
thousands of dollars in worthless legal fees (even if the
claim are ridiculous and bogus!) And much, much more!
By the way, when you request and receive your Insider’s Report
on the legal system and discover the previously hidden dark
secrets, you will understand that it applies to everyone! You will
find out why this is true, even if you never get sued!
The information and solutions you will be given can not
only save you thousands of dollars that might otherwise be spent
on litigation, but will give you something even more valuable;
peace of mind and a sense of freedom that will allow you to
focus on what’s most important to you!
Many of your colleagues who have already read this Insider’s
Report say that it was critical in helping them to make the best
decision about their family’s financial future. There is no cost or
obligation for you to inform yourself about the REAL story!
With more than 30 years of legal experience,
Lodmell & Lodmell, P.C. is one of the nation’s
premiere providers of integrated estate planning
and net worth protection services. Co-founded by
attorneys Gary and Douglass Lodmell, the Phoenixbased law firm is an expert in all aspects of business
and tax law, estate planning and asset protection.
Douglass S. Lodmell, Managing Partner &
Co-Founder, is an expert in estate planning, taxation
and strategic asset protection for domestic and
international clients. In addition to a Juris Doctorate
degree, Doug Lodmell has a Bachelor of Science
degree in finance as well as an advance law degree
in taxation. He has authored numerous articles for professional journals and is
currently at work on a book about the explosion of lawsuits in America and how
personal wealth is no longer safe in this country. For more information you may
contact Douglass Lodmell at 602-230-2014 / 800-231-7112 or online at www.
lodmell.com or www.lawyers.com/lodmell com.
Dental Genius’ Fall 2007 ad was incorrectly printed, and was the mistake of the printer. We regret the error.
Find Your Inner Genius.
It’s defined as ‘extraordinary intellect and creative power’.
Your dentistry already shows it. However, if you’re like
most dentists you struggle with managing a complex and
demanding business. Are you certain that you’re getting
everything you can from the practice you’ve built?
See How Your Collections Could
Improve 20% Or More. Take Advantage of Our
44 system, NO RISK, $1500 Practice Analysis.
This offer expires June 1, 2008. Travel expenses invoiced
separately. Full refund if not completely satisfied. ‘Aha’ moments,
20/20 hindsight, fresh perspective and detailed future action plan
all conveniently included.
Curious about what’s examined?
Go to: www.dentalgenius.com/44points
Schedule Your Analysis Today!
(866) 413-4506
1-800-337-8467
2008 SPRING
41
Doctor SAVES $6,000/month!
Good Morning Doctor,
I thought that you would be interested in this e-mail I received from one of our members:
“We gave Dr. Oakes’ new Profitable Dentist Buying Club (through Darby
Dental) a try for the first time in May. Wow! Our supply bill on $250,000
production is usually $12-$13K or 5-6% of production. I’m happy to say Darby
Dental reduced our supply bill to $6K or 2%. I saved $6,000 and that doesn’t
count the 3% rebate I will get back at the end of the month!”
Dr. Jon Germany
“Wow” is right… this is extra money in your pocket with ZERO extra work! If you’d like to learn more about
what Dr. Germany and thousands of our members are so excited about call 1-800-683-4723 to request a FREE
supplies magalog now!
Regards,
Woody Oakes, DDS
PS – Every day you wait to check this out is costing you BIG $$!
42
SPRING 2008
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
Puzzle Piece
“Don’t Forget
Your Promises”
7
#18
t
r
Pa
of
the Puzzle
0
,00
0
0
$1
by Dr. Woody Oakes
Dental patients are very similar to customers in other types of businesses. Twenty
percent of them provide you with 80% of your business and another 20% provide
80% of the problems.
The best defense for these potential troublemakers is a good offense. By that I mean
if something goes wrong, or you’ve promised something that’s not going to happen
on schedule… communicate with them.
Here’s an example: One time we did alot of crowns in one month. In fact, as I
recall, it was over 100 units. All of these people were
pre-scheduled for the deliveries, but here’s what happened.
Our C&B laboratory moved into a new building that month and
everything that could go wrong went wrong. We were notified
that all cases would be “delayed” at least two weeks.
We immediately put together a postcard to those folks waiting
for crowns explaining to them exactly what happened. Then,
after the bright orange cards were mailed, we also called to
see if they got the cards and apologized for the delay.
Several dentists in our town (who used the same lab) did
nothing… they had people show up at the office with NO
lab work! Talk about some upset people!
When you communicate and explain things to your
patients… most will forgive you for life’s slight
inconveniences.
Here is a card used by our
local cable company that
does the same thing:
Remember…
communication is the KEY, don’t forget your promises!
1-800-337-8467
2008 SPRING
43
ImageMax
Waiting Room Theater TM
Dental Film Processor
Waiting Room Theater™ is an innovative and
dynamic service designed by dentists to educate and
entertain patients while minimizing revenues per
patient.
For those of you who are still using dental x-ray film… at least
consider moving up to the “new age” of dental film processors!
ImageMax costs only $2,495, it is virtually self-cleaning, has no
moving parts and uses 2/3 the chemicals of conventional x-ray
processing machines.
Developed by Dr. Jay Grossman for his own
practice in Los Angeles, Waiting Room Theater™
provides a continuous, professional multimedia
presentation to patients design to help inform and
educate patients about services provided by your
office.
The installing is as simple as plugging it in. It has a small footprint
so it easily fits on a counter or can be placed on a wall mounted
shelf. It does periapical films, panos and cephs. The ImageMax
also comes with an
exclusive 5-year
warranty.
Waiting Room Theater™ is filled with humorous clips,
dental factoids, “Consumer Reports”-style product
comparisons, and information that stimulates
patients’ questions about dental services without
any high-pressure sales. WRT’s presentation will be
refreshed several times per year.
To find out more,
call 1-888-2309500 or visit www.
ImageMax.us and ask
for a special in-office
two-week trial and
free ground shipping
that we’ve arranged
for readers of “The
Profitable Dentist.”
Be sure to mention
the promotional code
#TPDSI08.
To learn more, visit www.waitingroomtheater.com
or call 1-888-978-0550.
This service costs $299/quarter and Dr. Grossman
claims it adds $6,000+ in additional revenue per
month. For a FREE trial of the service, give them a
call and mention promotional code # TPDS08.
A Word From Our Readers
Woody,
Loved your article on Buyer Beware! I figured this same concept out a few years ago but
unfortunately not soon enough. I have a room full of expensive toys that are now high-priced dust
collectors. As a favor to our profession, we need to speak out on the crap dental supply houses
spread. How many times have you heard, “Doc, ya only need to do an extra crown a month to pay
for this new piece of equipment.”?
Buyer Beware! discusses the quandary
Scott Kiser
Salt Lake City
Dear Scott,
on-hand? Read it and other great articles
I wish we could have saved you the financial pain of that decision! We try
to provide cutting-edge, yet practical information to help dentists like yourself grow your practice without being controlled by it. Keep reading. The
articles will hopefully help you save (and make) more money in the future!
online at TheProfitableDentist.com.
44
SPRING 2008
Woody
that many dentists face – buy vs. invest.
This article can be found in our Winter
2007 issue. Don’t have your last issue
Let us know how The Profitable Dentist has
helped your practice or suggest topics that you’d
like to learn more about. Email us at
eid@theprofitabledentist.com
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
“I’m So Confident
You’ll Love Our DDS CDs…
We’ll Send You One For FREE
Plus $537 of FREE Gifts!”
Good Morning Doctor,
I’ve got some really great news for you, but first… I have a confession to make. Here’s my confession:
I realized you were not a member of The Driving Dentist Series (monthly CD program) and when
you didn’t start your membership… I should have called or written you to see why you haven’t at
least taken a “test drive”?
But I didn’t!
Then it dawned on me… I should have asked you “Why?” Maybe you
felt you didn’t have enough time to listen to the CDs? Perhaps you
thought the product would not be helpful to you? Did we drop the ball?
But I didn’t ask any of those things, so please… accept my apology.
And now, for the good news! We would like to send you one of our best
selling DDS interviews for FREE (all I ask is that you pay $9.95 to cover
shipping and handling). Fair Enough?
That CD is my recent interview with Jay Geir of The Scheduling Institute. On this amazing CD, you’ll find several new strategies, including a
cell phone “system” that can generate another $75,000+ for your practice
in the next 12 months!
To take advantage of this offer, simply complete and return the GIFT
CERTIFICATE on the reverse side of this card.
Regards,
William W. Oakes, DDS
P.S. – Doggone it, maybe I still haven’t done enough? If you decide to begin your
membership I’ll send you, absolutely FREE:
1) Dr. Mike Abernathy’s “Secrets Of An $8,000,000 General Practice”
DVD ($297 value)
2) Dr. Jon Germany’s “Get Ready, Get Set, Go” DVD ($107 value)
3) Gary Kadi’s “Million Dollar Dentisty” CD ($97 value)
NOVEMBER 2007
Dr. Guy Moore
Aegis Progressive Solutions
“$900K to $3M in 23 months!”
· How To Develop Marketing Momentum
· Why 5% may be to low for Marketing
· How to Produce $520 K/year in emergency care alone
· How referring patients out to specialists cripples a practice.
· The easy way to increase daily production by 30%
DECEMBER 2007
Dr. Clifton Georgaklis
“Six Month Rapid Braces”
· The number one way to market rapid braces
· How to lower the stress of a typical GP practice
· What about the mid-line when you remove an incisor
· The magic of RIBBOND splints
· How to charge (and receive) almost a full mouth ortho fee
· The effective use of associates to build your niche practice
· A web site that produces 15-35 new patient/month
JANUARY 2008
Wendy Briggs, RDH
“Whitening For Life”
· Five Preventative Services to add to hygiene NOW
· How to easily increase hygiene production $225K/year
· Deciding which of the hygiene “models” is right for your practice
· What’s the only way to compensate you hygienist?
· What’s all the excitement about “Whitening for Life”?
Individual programs are available for $39.95 each. If ordering a single program, please circle the month requested above and send with your order.
Name: ___________________________________________________________________________________________________
Address:________________________________________ City, State, & Zip: ________________________________________
Telephone:___________________________ Fax:________________________ q VISA
q MC q DISCOVER q AMEX
E-Mail: ________________________________________________ Card #_________________________________________
Signature _____________________________________________________________
Expiration Date ________/___________
CODE: NEWS
Fax this form back to 1-812-949-8535
$537
GIFT CERTIFICATE
Woody’s DDS “Welcome Package”
q YES, Woody please send me the FREE DDS “Welcome Package” valued at $537 which includes the Dr. Mike Abernathy
DVD ($297 value), the Dr. Jon Germany DVD ($107 value), the Gary Kadi CD ($97 value) and the Jay Geier CD.
I understand that by accepting this FREE “Welcome Package” I’ll start my membership in the Driving Dentist Series
and will receive a new audio CD (with transcript) every month. Each CD is worth two hours of CE credit and (for my
convenience)... my credit card will be auto billed each month for $39.95 (includes FREE shipping and handling).
I further understand that all CDs come with our 100% MONEY BACK GUARANTEE and I may cancel my membership at any time and still keep the FREE gifts valued at $537.
q Maybe, Just send me the FREE Jay Geier CD (for $9.95 Shipping/Handling) at this time… I’ll pass on the ONE
TIME OFFER of $537 in FREE bonus gifts.
To accept either offer, please complete and return the Acceptance Form below to get started and to
receive your FREE GIFTS. This offer EXPIRES 4/15/08!
RAPID ORDER FORM
To order, please complete the payment information below and fax it back to:
(812) 949-8535 (our secure fax line) or call 1-800-337-8467 or visit www.theprofitabledentist.com
Name: ______________________________________________
Address: ____________________________________________
Payment Method: MC VISA AMEX
____________________________________________________
Card #: _________________________________
____________________________________________________
Phone (___) _________________________________________
DISC
Exp. Date: ____ / ______
Signature: ________________________________
Email_______________________________________________
Fax (___) ____________________________________________
Code: EID Copyright 2008
Profitable Dentists use their time efficiently.
So order any of our products whenever it is
Order Products
7 Days A Week!
46
SPRING 2008
convenient for you ! Whether it’s a 6:00 am,
6:00 pm, or even a holiday, call our secure
voice mail order line – and get profitable!
1-800-337-8467 ext. 5
www.TheProfitableDentist.com
®
Mark Frey, CPA
Re: The Sold Out Tele-seminar
“Ax Your Tax” Tele-Seminar”
John Plisky, MBA
Good Morning Doctor,
It’s that time of year again, and you know what that means? Uncle Sam will soon be paying us all a visit. Let us help ease the burden that
we each face (year after year) with this exciting and informative discussion, presented by some of the nation’s leading financial advisors,
John Plisky and Mark Frey.
This tele-seminar will leave you feeling relaxed, confident, and full of fresh, new ideas to help grow and protect your financial plan.
Here’s just some of what you’re going to discover:
• Real-life examples of dentists slashing their tax burdens and rapidly closing in on their retirement goals.
• How to quickly amass an EXTRA $2.1 million on top of your current plan even if you don’t have a lot of years before retirement.
• The three ways the “dirty little secret” of the retirement plan industry costs dentists millions (and the simple way to keep them
from picking your pocket.)
• How to grow your money 278% faster – without having to work any harder.
• The two best types of retirement plans for dentists – and why you’ve probably never heard of one of these before.
• How to legally walk up to $207,477 of profits out of your practice each year before the IRS can even touch a penny of it.
• How some dentists legally keep 90% of their plan’s contribution for themselves – while still passing all the IRS tests.
• The Triple Guarantee that Wall Street and the insurance companies would never even consider matching.
• A common mistake most dentists make when they try to cut down the required contribution for the staff that actually costs them
more money.
• “Insider secrets” you won’t find anywhere else.
• How to achieve your tax reduction and retirement plan goals using a 421(i) Defined Benefit Plan.
• How to use a Section 79 plan to implement a discriminatory income tax reduction plan/retirement vehicle.
• How to put the maximum amount away for yourself into a qualified plan while retaining flexibility regarding the amounts for
your employees.
• Five tax reduction strategies (basic)
• A/R Continuation Plans… this alone is worth the price of the program!
• How to achieve your retirement plan goals using a New Comparability Profit Sharing Plan.
And much, much more!
Your investment for the CD of this entire event is only $107 and you will also receive all handouts mentioned on the call. Along with
your purchase of these CDs, you’ll also receive a certificate for a FREE $1.2M telephone consult from John Plisky!
To order the “Ax Your Tax” Tele-seminar on audio CD, please complete and return the ORDER FORM below, or call us at 1-800-337-8467.
Regards,
William W. Oakes, DDS
YES, please send me the “Ax Your Tax” Tele-Seminar CDs for only…………...…….......…………..…....................…$107.00
o Please Add $9.95 for Shipping and Handling
Name: ______________________________________________________________________
Address: ____________________________________________________________________
City: ___________________________________ State: _______ Zip: ___________________
Phone: (____) _______________________ Fax: (____) ______________________________
E-mail: _____________________________________________________________________
o Visa o MC o Amex o Discover o Check
CC# ________________________________________________ Exp. Date: ______________
Signature: ___________________________________________________________________
Fill out order form and return to:
Excellence in Dentistry, Inc.
3211 Grantline Rd., Ste. 20
New Albany, IN 471590
For Faster Service FAX
this form back to (812) 949-8535
or call 1-800-337-8467
100% MONEY BACK GUARANTEE!
1-800-337-8467
Copyright EID 22008
008 SPRIN
G TSNS
Code:
47
PDA’S MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE
Increase your production by $300/hour—or your money back.
LEARN HOW TO
RAISE YOUR PRODUCTION
TO $1,250/HOUR—AND KEEP IT THERE!
M
ariela Lung-Compton describes her life as 'balanced.'
She loves where she's going in the morning… and
loves where she's going in the evening. In short,
she's got it all. But it wasn't always that way…
“I graduated from Tufts University in 2002 knowing a lot about
dentistry, but very little about clinical organization or how to
run a business. With the help of Productive Dentist Academy,
I raised my production from $300/hour and I’m now consistently
above $1000/hour.”
ISN'T IT TIME YOU DISCOVERED
PRODUCTIVE DENTIST ACADEMY?
Join the ranks of the nation's top dentists who consistently
produce over $1,000/hour. Call 800-757-6077 or
visit www.productivedentist.com
NEXT PROGRAM DATES:
MARCH 27–29, 2008
JUNE 5–7, 2008
®
© 2008 Productive Dentist Academy
3211 Grantline Road, Suite 20
New Albany, IN 47150
PDA Graduate:
Mariela Lung-Comptom, DMD
(with husband, Casey)
Solo Practitioner
Lakeland, FL
PRSRT STD
U.S. POSTAGE
PAID
L&D