What the Recession Means for Dentists

Locally, as well as nation-wide, the recession is having a negative impact on just about every market, and the dental industry is certainly no exception. High unemployment rates translate into smaller budgets for the average American household, meaning that treatment plan acceptance is more difficult to attain, and elective dental procedures are less of a priority for the working-class patient.

As a skilled and experienced Dental Practice Consultant, I invite you to challenge your view of what this recession means for your practice. Rather than decide beforehand that your patients will be less likely to accept your recommended treatment plans, focus on patient education that places value on dental health. Feature aesthetic services that may give patients a competitive edge in a tough job market.

If a review of your production figures shows a plateau or even a decline in recent months, rest assured, there are dental practices in your local area that have refused to settle for “recession numbers,” and are flourishing. Doing so requires the drive and determination to regroup and try some new tactics. This recession can indeed be a time of growth for your dental practice, and I can give you the tools to make it so!

For Dental Practice Management and Consulting in the Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR areas, contact Dentist CEO today.

The Right Time For An Honest Appraisal

Comfortable. There is nothing wrong with being comfortable, is there? Let me ask you this: Are you comfortable with your dentistry, your staff, your patient base?

Although it may sound like just the place you want to be, being comfortable often translates to a loss of competitive edge. Comfortable dental practices may start to experience a slow decline while competitors seize the opportunity to revamp their practice policies and marketing schemes to draw your valuable clients away.

So, this Vancouver and Portland Dental Consultant encourages you to strive for exceptional, which often requires getting out of your comfort zone. Train your staff to go above and beyond, providing exceptional customer care. Make sure the dentistry you perform is also exceptional, standing head and shoulders above the competition! Hiring a dental consulting company to perform a Dental Practice Appraisal may be the first step in making improvements to reach beyond comfortable and find your place as one of the exceptions!

Contact Dr. Brad Larsen of Dentist CEO today, to learn more about Dental Practice Consulting in Portland, OR and Vancouver, WA today, and discover how your practice can become exceptional!

The Winds of Change

On a recent summer day, I was impressed with the ability of the surfers to use the wind and their parachutes to maneuver their boards across the choppy waters. The “winds of change” have dramatically changed the delivery of dentistry over the past twenty years. Gone are the days when a young graduate could hang his shingle and crank out bread and butter dentistry. Today’s aging population coupled with the advances in dentistry and patient consumerism have created unprecedented opportunities and challenges as dentists meet the complex needs of their patients. While this may overwhelm many dentists, to those who are able to diagnose, treat and market such comprehensive dental care, this is an unparalleled opportunity. Dental care continues to be highly valued in our society ranking second only to medical coverage as an employee benefit (Witt, Musco & Weston).

Matt Giegerich, president and CEO of CommonHealth, one of the world’s largest healthcare marketing and communications companies, points out that today’s aging baby boomer population represents a quantitative force in terms of numbers of adults moving through the system, as well as the qualitative characteristic regarding boomer attitudes toward self, e.g., self-improvement, self-entitlement, self-empowerment (DiMatteo).

"Those dynamics are really changing the nature of many categories in (dental) marketing in a lot of different areas," Giegerich explains. "As it relates to anything health-oriented, anything cosmetic-oriented, or anything that gets at a sense of self, then it’s certainly a boomer-oriented subject, and they’re taking charge of those areas that they believe have an impact on either their expression of themselves or their own opinion of themselves." He continues, "Whether it’s to treat a life-threatening disease like cancer or a purely cosmetic concern like teen acne, the recipients of these messages are a consumer base interested in their own opinions, engaged in the process, and willing to take charge of the outcome." (DiMatteo)

Direct marketing by dental manufacturers and increased media interest have markedly increase the general dental I Q. A recent survey by the United States Food and Drug Administration found that in the patients who saw a physician in the past three months, 51% were prompted to seek out more information about a particular prescription medication being marketed at the time. Drug sales in the United States totaled $252 billion in 2006 due in large part to direct marketing by the pharmaceutical industry (DiMatteo). Dental manufacturer such as Den-Mat, Sirona, Discus Dental and Nobel Biocare have recently joined the traditional direct marketers such as Colgate, Crest and Oral-B.

Nowhere have the recent advances in restorative dentistry been more evident than in the area dental implants. Over the past five years dental implants have exploded on to the scene and now would have to be considered the standard of care in the many cases. With the potential problems associated with abutment teeth, many informed adults are choosing implants over fix bridges, partials and dentures. The American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons reports that 69% of adults ages 35 to 44 have lost at least one permanent tooth to an accident, gum disease, a failed root canal or tooth decay. Furthermore, by age 74, 26% of adults have lost all of their permanent teeth (American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons). Until twenty years ago, patients would have had no alternative but to employ a fixed bridge or removable denture to restore their ability to eat, speak clearly and smile. Unfortunately fixed bridges and removable dentures are not the perfect solution. Removable dentures may slip or cause embarrassing clicking sounds while eating or speaking. Of even greater concern, fixed bridges often affect adjacent healthy teeth, and removable dentures may lead to bone loss in the area where the tooth or teeth are missing. Recurrent decay, periodontal disease and other factors often doom fixed bridgework to early failure. Even procedures once thought to be primarily for younger patients such as orthodontics are gaining in popularity among adults (Kalia & Melsen) Many times the restorative process becomes complex process involving various dental specialties such as periodontics, orthodontics, etc. Such multidisciplinary treatment requires extensive planning and coordination and many times overwhelm the less prepared dentist.

“The winds of change” present unparalleled opportunities for both the dentist and patients. Learning to control the winds of change will make the difference between taking your practice to new heights or just getting wet. Contact Dr. Brad Larsen of Dentist CEO today with all of your Vancouver and Portland Dental Practice Consulting inquiries. I can help you soar to new heights.

References:
American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Dental Implants. 2005 http://www.aaoms.org/dental_implants.php.
DiMatteo, Allison M., Direct-to-Consumer Marketing: How Messages from Manufacturers Are Driving Dental Consumerism. Inside Dentistry, Nov/Dec 2007 — Vol. 3, #10. http://www.insidedentistry.net/article.php?id=1151.
Kalia, Sonil & Melsen, Birte. Interdisciplinary approaches to adult orthodontic care, http://jorthod.maneyjournals.org/cgi/content/full/28/3/191.
Witt, Jennifer Parmelee; Musco, Thomas; & Weston, Wendy P.,
PGroup Dental Market: Trends and Opportunities, a 2004 Report. http://www.ahipresearch.org/pdfs/14_LIMRAAHIPDentalreport.pdf.

Staff Meetings

When I first started to practice, I had a small staff and it never occurred to me that I actually needed a staff meeting. So for couple years I “wandered in the wilderness.” As I matured as a leader, I learned that staff meetings are an invaluable tool to create a successful practice. Not only are staff meetings essential to maximize your productivity, they help to create a successful team that will make your life as a doctor less stressful.

As I work with clients, I often have discussions regarding successful staff meetings. Here is my list of a few key points suggestions for successful staff meetings.

1. Regularity/Frequency
In the early days, I tried to have staff meetings once a month during lunch, I soon found that once a month was not adequate. We were never able to complete an agenda and things backed up from month to month. I found that weekly meetings during production time were the most effective. As it turned out even though we didn’t see patients, the hour spent in staff meeting became on of the most productive hours of the week.

2. Punctuality
A key to success is starting and ending the meeting on time. I found that having the meeting at the end of a lunch hour facilitated starting the meeting in a timely manner. Punctuality sets the tone for the hour that follows.

3. No Distractions
Forget the phone, don’t and answer the door. This time is valuable, don’t waste it.

4. Agenda
Having a set agenda is essential. Although every office is different some of the key points of our staff meeting agenda were: review of production and goals, calendar, staff and doctor input, and staff training.

5. Respect
Participation by entire staff is critical. All opinions are important.

6. LAUGHTER
Make it fun! Shared laughter is one of the most effective ways are team building.

The hour each week that we spent in our staff meetings were some of the times of my practice career. Don’t miss out!

The Power of the Internet

Today’s dentist would be ill advised to ignore the power of the internet in their marketing scheme. The internet offers unlimited possibilities for the savvy dentist to market his/her practice. To understand the power of internet market, have a look at the rock group, Boyce Avenue. In 2007, Boyce Avenue, a band composed of three brothers in Florida, began posting videos on YouTube, both of original material and covers. The band was formed when the oldest brother, Daniel returned to Florida after graduating from Harvard law school and joined his two younger brothers, Alejandro and Fabian, students at the University of Florida. The videos amassed millions of views, with the most popular being their cover of Linkin Park song “Shadow of the day” which to date has over 9,000,000 views. Due to their tremendous fan support the group has successfully toured throughout the United States, Europe and Asia. While most dental offices are not intent on touring or cutting albums, the internet offers a tremendous opportunity to market dental services.

Tylenol or Toyota

This commercial aired about a month before the recent Toyota problems began earlier this year. Interestingly enough the very qualities that Toyota extolled in the commercial were called into question as the controversy was played out in the media. I was reminded of another company in trouble. In the fall of 1982, McNeil Consumer Products, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, was confronted with a crisis when seven people on Chicago's West Side died mysteriously. Authorities determined that each of the people that died had ingested an Extra-Strength Tylenol capsule laced with cyanide. Unlike Toyota, Johnson & Johnson & Johnson's top management put customer safety first, before they worried about their companies profit and other financial concerns. The company immediately alerted consumers across the nation, via the media, not to consume any type of Tylenol product. They increased their quality control efforts to insure their product’s safety. Once they could confidently assure the safety of the product and its packaging they offered to replace all the product purchase prior the scare. As results of their efforts they actually increased their market share and their company’s reputation. Unfortunately Toyota did not remember the lessons of Tylenol and saw their stellar reputation become tarnished. There is a lesson for all of us in these two examples. How we handle patients concerns and quality control in our office will determine whether we come out a Tylenol or a Toyota.

More Than a Handshake

I am working with a doctor to complete his practice transition. For the past ten years he and his “partner” have been working with no written operating agreement. This has created a “nightmare” for him as he tries to sell his “stock” in the corporation. Once again, I have been reminded for the need of written contracts. I repeatedly witness the turmoil that is created when there is no formal contract, whether that is with partners, associates or employees. Not only do written contracts help in avoiding turmoil and hard feelings, they will help to create fulfilling personal relationships. We all function better when expectations are clear.