Academy of Comprehensive Esthetics Tampa 2011 Conference on Social Media & Marketing for Dentistry

Slated for April 1st and 2nd, 2011, there are just a few weeks left to sign up. Can you afford to miss it?

If You Build It, They Will Come

Today’s marketing environment has changed dramatically. It’s gone viral, to say the least. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and blogs are the hubs of social media and you can use them to leverage your practice, solidify your brand, and grow your patient base. If you’re not in the social media game, you’re simply not reaching your full potential.

A Social Platform

The benefits of social media marketing:

• Access is easy and inexpensive –anyone with the Internet can be a part of social media
• Increase communication that fosters brand awareness and better customer service
• Your patients become your mouthpiece by sharing information with their social networks
• Create content that attracts attention and generates buzz
• Centralize information and share new developments

For more information, or to sign up, visit ACE 2011 Conference on Social Media & Marketing for Dentistry.

Enter Dr. Mayer Levitt, President and owner of Jodena Consulting, a firm that provides vital support and solutions to dental practices nationwide. Dr. Levitt spent nearly 30 years managing his now 12 chair dental practices before becoming a consultant, and during his last seven years in private practice, he balanced both consulting and practice management. Dr. Levitt knows the business of being a dentist and has worked with over 525 practices on everything from creating profitable hygiene departments, to practice transitions and helping doctors optimize their efficiency and effectiveness.

Dr. Levitt graciously allowed us to pick his brain about practice management today, and to let us in on a few secrets:

DB: As a dentist, what was the hardest thing about managing your own practice?
Dr. Levitt: Unquestionably, finding and keeping a talented, caring, customer service oriented staff. It’s still the biggest problem for dental practices now.

DB: What are some of the worst mistakes a dentist can make when managing his or her practice?
Dr. Levitt: Micromanaging the staff and not allowing them to grow and learn from their mistakes is a big misstep. Also, failure to think outside of the box and stifling creativity is an issue. Sometimes you simply have to leave your comfort zone and remain open to a different approach. If you continue to do what you have always done, you will continue to get what you’ve always gotten.

DB: What’s the latest piece of advice you’re giving to your clients?
Dr. Levitt: Get going with Internet marketing. It’s an absolute must if you want your practice to remain competitive. You have to have a great website as well as a social media presence. Google is king!

Dr. Levitt also let us in on another secret. Since he is no longer practicing dentistry, he doesn’t get the satisfaction of seeing patients relieved of pain and happy with their smiles. Now he gets his kicks seeing his clients become more successful as they grow their practices. For more great practice management advice, visit Dr. Levitt’s blog. Be sure to sign up for the Jodena blog RSS Feed to receive lots of consistent, practical advice delivered right to you email (you’ll receive a FeedBurner notice via email, so be sure to confirm after signing up). To learn more about Dr. Levitt and Jodena Consulting, visit his website at www.jodena.com.

The National Children’s Oral Health Foundation (NCOHF) is dedicated to eliminating America’s number one chronic childhood illness: pediatric dental disease. Millions of children nationwide suffer from pain so severe they have trouble just being kids. Eating, sleeping, and even learning become difficult, and many suffer lifelong health complications as a result of untreated pediatric dental disease. The NCOHF provides vital financial, product, and technical support to a network of not-for-profit programs and volunteer dental professionals who deliver critical oral health services to underserved children.

The NCOHF has launched a new campaign called Trick or Treat for America’s Toothfairy, which encourages individuals, businesses, and dental professionals alike to change lives with change. Dressed as Toothfairies and, yes, Tooth Wizards, caring individuals will collect spare change to help the NCOHF provide at-risk children with the comprehensive dental care they deserve. Making Halloween about having fun and doing good in the community? That’s change we can get behind! For more information on how you can help the NCOHF this Halloween, visit www.ncofh.org.

DDSMac, LLC was born when a group of dentists who had a common goal –to grow their practices using the best technology available –met on the Internet Dental Forum. For them, Mac was the clear choice. However, they soon found there were extremely limited choices in the dental software department. Something had to be done! Work immediately began on a practice management software program for use on the Mac platform. Now MaxDent Pro is officially on the market.

The front desk, and the schedule, is the hub of any dental practice. A Mac-native solution, MaxDent Pro is built around the scheduler. Created by dentists, for dentists, MaxDent Pro boasts intuitive navigation with powerful tools. These are just a few of the features:

• Reports, reports, reports! Information is crucial, and MaxDent pro is loaded with reports, including A/R monthly statements, daily activity, insurance aging, and more.
• Prescription printing and a full drug database come standard.
• E-claims and digital document storage help move your office closer to your paperless goals.
• A “smile reminder” feature allows you to set up appointment reminders, birthday messages, and much more, via email, text, and other electronic services.
• Fully HIPAA compliant.

MaxDent Pro is offering a free, fully functional demo that’s downloadable to one machine and holds up to 75 patients. Go to www.maxdentpro.com to sign up for your free download copy and take it for a test drive.

If you haven’t been a part of the Halloween Candy Buy Back, it’s a great cause worth checking out. The Halloween Candy Buy Back enlists dentists across the United States to “buy back” all that extra Halloween candy that kids don’t need and parents don’t want. Dentists hold events to collect the candy in the days following Halloween and then donate it to Operation Gratitude as well as other military support groups. Operation Gratitude uses the candy to fill holiday care packages that will be sent off in December to our troops
overseas. This year, Operation Gratitude is set to deliver 60,000 care packages to service men and women who aren’t going to make it home for the Holidays.

Dentists are in a unique position to effect positive change in their patients’ oral health, and in their communities. Joining the Halloween Candy Buy Back as a participating dentist presents several opportunities for you and your practice. Not only will it give you a chance to further patient education on healthy habits and good oral health, there’s the opportunity to promote your practice though a candy collection event. Best of all, you’ll be helping to put smiles on the faces of our troops!

For more information on becoming a Halloween Candy Buy Back participating dentist, visit www.halloweencandybuyback.com. You can also learn more about Operation Gratitude at www.operationgratitude.com.

With much debate in dental circles on whether or not to Web 2.0, Dr. Dalin, a St. Louis dentist, said in his article that he strongly believed in walking the walk, not just talking the talk. And so, using his own website as a case study, Dr. Dalin dove right into a re-skin of his old, stagnant website, hiring TNT Dental to lead the SEO charge. He also gave the go ahead to optimize his new site into a mobile friendly format for display on smart phones, such as the iPhone, Blackberry, and Droid mobile devices.

Besides being more visually appealing, what is Dr. Dalin’s goal with the new website? According to his article, it’s to place higher in search engine rankings, drive new traffic to his site, generate leads that will become new patient conversions, as well as keep his existing patients consistently engaged. Dr. Dalin also plans a series of follow up articles to appear in DE magazine over the coming months chronicling his website’s success. We’re certainly eager to see the results!

View Dr. Dalin’s new website, read his article about embracing dental search engine optimization, and then tell us what you think.

Does this scenario sound like something that’s happened at your practice? You’re probably nodding your head, “Yes”. Anyone who has handled a dental emergency call knows that patients are not consistent in describing their symptoms, their pain, and can often be uncooperative wondering why they are being peppered with questions when they are in such acute discomfort. Dentists listening to an emergency patient’s symptoms chairside have the benefit of diagnostic tools, as well as years of clinical experience and education, to help determine the condition that’s causing the problem. However, your front office team, who has limited, or no clinical training, relies on asking the emergency call a set of pre-selected questions to determine when they should be scheduled into the day. No matter how well you have trained your team, it’s just not an accurate system.

Now there is a better way to repair the disconnect that so often arises between patient, team, dentist, and schedule during dental emergencies: a new dental software program called Crumb’s Cranium. Developed by New York Dentist, Dr. Donald Crumb, Crumb’s Cranium is a simple scheduling tool that “thinks” like a dentist. Easily downloaded and installed on any PC in less than 30 minutes, Crumb’s Cranium works alongside your existing dental software and helps your front office team by:

• Recognizing the most common reasons for dental patients to call your office with an emergency
• Providing simplified, logical sequencing of diagnostic information questions for effective triage and prioritizing of emergencies
• Providing scheduling recommendations, clinical impressions, and a printout system to prepare the dentist and clinical team for the emergency appointment

Crumb’s Cranium streamlines your dental emergency management, smoothes over the scheduling conflicts dental emergencies tend to create, reduces stress, and allows you to spend the time with your patients that they need and deserve. Best of all, it requires virtually no dental knowledge, minimal computer skills, and becomes a great training tool for the team members who handle dental emergency calls. To learn more about Crumb’s Cranium, how it can improve the day-to-day operations of your practice, and receive a free, 30-day trial, visit www.crumbscranium.com .

About Dr. Crumb: Since 1976, Dr. Crumb has practiced quality dentistry for patients in and around Syracuse, New York. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1971, achieved his DDS at New York University College of Dentistry in 1975, and completed a post-doctoral residency at Northwestern University in 1976. He believes strongly in giving back to his community for all that it has given him and has been an attending dentist on the clinical staff at St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center since 1977.

Behind every successful practice is an office manager who displays innovative thinking, business acumen and leadership qualities, within their practice and their community. Each year, the AADOM recognizes these exceptional individuals and highlights their accomplishments at their annual conference. “I’ve been in dentistry for over 20 years.  When you’ve been around that long, you know what it takes to get results.  It takes a great team, great clinical skills and delivering a great patient experience,” said Kay Valentine, 2009 AADOM Office Manager of the Year.

The 2010 AADOM Office Manager of the Year will be featured on the front cover of The Observer, AADOM’s publication for dental office managers, receives free registration in 2011 to the Annual Dental Office Managers Conference and a check for $1,000, courtesy of CareCredit, AADOM Founding Sponsor. “We’re delighted to support the AADOM in recognizing the valuable contribution these professionals have made and support their professional and personal growth,” stated Cindy Hearn, Sr. VP of Marketing, CareCredit.  For nomination details, visit www.dentalmanagers.com.

About the AADOM: the American Association of Dental Office Managers (AADOM) is the country’s largest professional organization for office managers, practice administrators and other practice management staff.  The AADOM is committed to creating and maintaining a network of dental professionals to share resources and information, helping all members achieve the highest level of professional and personal development. The Annual Dental Office Managers Conference will be held this October in Las Vegas.

About CareCredit: for more than 20 years, CareCredit has been making it easy for patients to get the dentistry they need and want. Today, CareCredit is at work in more than 130,000 practices and has been used by over 20 million patients.  CareCredit is exclusively selected for their members by most state and national dental associations, including the AADOM, ADA Business Resources^SM*, AGD, AAOMS, and AAP, and is also recommended by leading practice management consultants. For more information on CareCredit, call 1-800-300-3046 ext. 4519 or visit www.carecredit.com.

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*ADA is a registered trademark of the American Dental Association. ADA Business Resources is a service mark of the American Dental Association. ADA Business Resources is a program brought to you by ADA Business Enterprises, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the American Dental Association.

Jameson teams use the 25 systems of a dental practice that Jameson has pinpointed and they rate themselves on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being poor; 10 being excellent.  Everyone rates the systems individually; then the group tallies their scores and studies the averages.  This acts as a measurement tool and a compass on where to focus your attention as a team for practice improvement and continuous growth.

Have you graded your practice lately?  Rate yourself on Jameson’s 25 systems:

1. Improve Teamwork
2. Discover Effective Communication
3. Develop & Achieve Mission / Vision / Goals – Strategic Plan
4. Understand Personnel Management
5. Have Exceptional Team Meetings
6. Provide Various Financing Options
7. Manage Insurance Policies
8. Experience Increased Collections
9. Schedule Effectively
10. Monitor Overhead Control / Fee Analysis
11. Track Business Monitors/Monthly Graphs
12. Enhance Your New Patient Experience
13. Deliver Excellent Diagnoses / Treatment Plans/ Consultations
14. Increase Treatment Coordination and Acceptance
15. Utilize Full Use of Technology and Equipment
16. Educate Patients
17. Establish Clinical Efficiency / Ergonomics Systems
18. Learn the Critical Factors of Documentation
19. Implement an Advanced Hygiene Program
20. Maximize Hygiene Retention
21. Maintain Superior Levels of Sterilization / Infection Control
22. Drive Patients to Your Practice Through Marketing / Practice Building
23. Provide 5-Star Customer Service
24. Build Specific Aspects of the Practice (i.e. – Cosmetic, Implant, Invisalign, etc.)
25. Develop Leadership Skills

How did you do?  Now, focus your attention on the low scoring items and get your systems into alignment.  This is the first step in having a practice that runs like a well-oiled machine.  Visit www.jamesonmanagement.com today and take a more focused, online Rate Your Practice survey.

If your practice is not doubling every ten years, you may have missed opportunities along the way.  How much have missed opportunities cost you?  Where would your practice be today if you had seized a few more opportunities over the last few years? Ken Runkle has uncovered 5 Rules related to the high cost of missed opportunities.  Learn them now and empower your practice to take advantage of opportunities for substantial growth today.

Download the pdf here:

MissedOpportunities

Visit the Paragon Blog!

1. Less is more.  Too much animation, sound effects, objects, text, etc., can overwhelm your patient, diluting your overall message.
2. The total amount of time you or a team member should invest into one digital case presentation is approximately 35 minutes.
3. Use PowerPoint templates to minimize the time you put into creating the presentation.  Why reinvent the wheel?
4. When altering an image to show potential cosmetic results, remember the purpose is to give the patient an idea of what he or she would look like with cosmetic dentistry.  It is not a diagnostic tool.
5. The patient photos need to show his or her teeth.  Sounds simple and like common sense.  However, we see photos all the time where the patient is not smiling that are being used.

For more information on Jameson Marketing and Digital Case Presentation services, visit www.jamesonmanagement.com.

By Misty Clark

Linda Miles, formerly of Linda Miles & Associates and creator of Speaking and Consulting Network, says that 70% of dental practices have reduced hours, laid off employees, cut benefits, or put a freeze on raises. In “Times are tough – no raises this year,” Linda tells us that salary increases for dental professionals may not happen this year because of our lagging economy. She says that merit raises are a much better option than cost of living raises for everyone. Linda believes that merit is based on four key components: attitude, responsibilities, performance, and the health of the practice. Read Linda’s article here, at Dentistry IQ.

Dianne Glasscoe-Watterson of Professional Dental Management answered a letter about “Keeping morale up in a down economy.” The questioner, a dentist, was worried about how to keep morale up when she could not give salary raises and was worried about having to lay off employees. Dianne says doctors need to inform their team of the practice statistics so they can understand “what it actually takes to keep the doors open.” They’ll become stakeholders in the business rather than dependents.

(You might also check out this article on salary versus commission for hygienists.)

But let’s get back to the top ten. Money aside, the desire for respect came in a close second. It’s not surprising. RDAs are proud of their credentials and want respect from their dentists. In a related topic, “many dental assistants feel that their employers treat them like they are ‘just an expense item.’” Furthermore, “not all assistants are created the same, “say ‘thank you’ when team members work hard, and “talk to your team to see where there might be problems.” The underlying theme in all of these points is respect. So how can you show your team members that you value and respect them?

In a Dental Economics article, Dr. Anil Agarwal says that not all employees are money motivated. To show his appreciation for his team members, Dr. Agarwal says that he “. I thank my team members daily for their efforts, and keep movie and dinner tickets handy for on-the-spot recognition when someone goes well beyond the call of duty.” He goes on to recommend the book, 1001 Ways to Reward Employees by Bob Nelson.

You might also read 555 Ways to Reward Your Dental Team by Dr. Joe Blaes and Dr. Nate Booth. I’ll close up this article with a great quote that’s featured in both of these books:

“A good leader is one who approaches leadership as a calling, a life engagement that, if done properly, combines technical and administrative skills with vision, compassion, honesty, and trust to create an environment in which people can grow personally, can feel fulfilled, can contribute to a common good, and can share in the psychic and financial rewards of a job well done.”

James A. Autry

Love and Profit – The Art of Caring Leadership

Don’t be envious or jaded, just get on board. For the average Dr. Joe, going green doesn’t have to involve redecorating or rebuilding. And contrary to a popular frog’s beliefs, it IS easy being green. Here are just a few ways to celebrate Earth Day this year:

Your Front Office

• Online Registration Forms – instead of printed paperwork
• Web Marketing – instead of phone book ads
• Texted Recall Reminders – instead of postcards
• Recycled Paper & Biodegradable Office Products
• Recycling Program in the Office – call your city for details

Your Back Office

• Digital X-rays – instead of conventional films
• Composite Fillings – instead of amalgams
• Safe Mercury Removal Procedures – see mercuryfreenow.com

The Facility

• Recycled or Bio-Friendly Building Materials
• Reusable Instruments & Supplies (when possible)
• Lush Landscaping & Rainwater Irrigation System
• Windows for Natural Light
• Furniture with Eco-Resins
• HVAC with Zone Controls
• Energy Saving Appliances
• Mercury-Free Lighting

Fact: The first LEED-certified dental office as Mint Dental Works in Portland. LEED® is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program, which is part of the US Green Building Council.

Why Go Green?

Well, you are a human, aren’t you? Do you want your great-great grandchildren to have to wear a respirator 24/7? Other than that, green is good to get you more green. Let me explain. The hot trend in marketing today is giving – investing in people and community is what Generation G is all about. Consider that Miley Cyrus traded her mother’s Porsche in for a Prius, and you’ll see my point.

What better community could you support than the global community? Seriously, just like the Halloween Candy Buy Back can boost your marketing campaign in October, six months later, a Green Dentistry campaign centered around Earth Day has the potential to make a splash with local media.

• Find out what your city is doing for Earth Day and get on board
• Find out what local schools are doing for Earth Day and offer to help
• Sponsor a community clean-up day in a high-visibility area and wear T-shirts with your practice’s name in big bold print on the back
• Send out an e-newsletter advertising that any patient who wears green the week of Earth Day will get a special gift – and give away bedding plants or pet rocks
• Create a “How to Save Your Smile and the Earth” article that reviews the green things your office does, and submit the article to local newspapers and blogs

Get creative this Earth Day and make a mint in the process.

An interesting read… The Wellness Factor.

The Chicago Midwinter is huge, whereas ACE attracts about 100 dentists. At both meetings, my initial impression from January held true. The dentists in Chicago were buying and looking, and it seemed that everyone had a positive outlook. Unlike a few years ago, dental meetings in 2010 are not full of complaining dentists, but dentists who are gearing up and setting great expectations going forward.

There’s not a lot of truly new technology, but people are buying. I think this shows the downturn in research in development a few years ago; it’s catching up now.

The great outlook at Chicago was reflected at ACE in Tampa. Though the crowd was small, ACE dentists are in the cosmetic niche, so they do a lot or elective work. Even with this small piece of the market, dentists had an encouraging perspective on the future. The three-day conference focused on new ideas for more profitable dentistry. The group was fired up. Everyone has high expectations for upcoming year.

In my office,  we’ve seen a turnaround. Since February, we’ve picked up 25-30%. As of March, elective dentistry has resurfaced, as well. We’ve done a lot of cosmetic cases and consulted on many that will book soon. Hopefully it’s a trend!

For dentists, the first point of reference in advertising guidelines should always be the state board’s regulations. The Texas Dental Association, for instance, does not allow dentists to use testimonials in advertising. Other state dental boards regulate issues like statements of superiority, promising predictable results, and use of misleading statements.

Once your advertisement or website passes through the state board’s filter of regulations, consult the FTC guidelines. New policies prohibit promises of atypical results in testimonials, even with a disclaimer; revealing material connections with endorsers; and even on talk shows and in social media, celebrities have to tell people if they’re being paid for the endorsements they discuss.

These days, with online communities like Facebook and Yelp!, dentists who want to boost their advertising often look for testimonials from their patients. Demandforce and other marketing companies for dentists provide a service to acquire and post testimonials from current patients. Not a bad idea if you don’t know the rules and don’t have the time.

For video testimonials, the new guidelines could mean that you’ll need to script the patient testimonials prior to shooting or edit the videos for compliance before use.

A set of guides are available online to make the “16 C.F.R. Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising” a little easier for you to digest. Get the scoop here: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm.

www.smilemarketing.com

One of the occupational hazards of dentists and others in the healing arts is setting appropriate boundaries around caring for patients and what they do. While some in dentistry tout how much they care, perhaps as a marketing ploy, the truth is few patients are looking for a caring dentist! Because “caring” is mostly a hygiene factor. If you show up care-less, that is, without enough caring, patients detect your aloofness and interpret your detachment as a lack of interest. If you show up caring too much, you create a patient obligation that can actually work against you. The objective is to find the sweet spot between the extremes.

Of course, most dentists are unaware of those instances in which they cross the line by caring too much. However, if you’re trading patients with other dentists in your area, having the equivalent of a series of “one night stands,” you may be guilty of this all-too common trait among the most empathetic dentists.

What Patients Hate More

As a dentist, you probably haven’t seen it through this lens, but there’s something that patients find more distasteful than seeing a dentist. It’s seeing a new dentist.

When patients contemplate changing dentists, they can’t help but think of the formidable paperwork, the new environment, new procedures, new personalities and not to mention the general hassle factor. Changing dentists is so unsavory, a dentist would have to inflict a lot of pain to prompt a patient to seek out a new one. But they often do. Oh, not physical pain! Sure, that can happen. But more frequently, it’s psychological pain.

Using Your Cultural Authority

When you care too much, you impose an obligation or create an expectation of a certain patient behavior. It’s often justified as being in the patient’s best interests or the duty of a licensed professional. Even if you see it as merely a polite reminder about the importance of regular flossing, patients with moderate- to low-levels of self-esteem can interpret your well-intentioned suggestion as a prerequisite for being a practice member. Or what “good” patients do.

Each patient, not you, decides if your suggestions or recommendations are an imposition. And it may have nothing to do with the actual words you use, but merely the tone of your voice, body language and countless other nuances. That’s why it’s critical that you care, but not too much.

The Sweet Spot

One way to supply the essential information and guidance is to take a more oblique approach, moving from the first person, “It’s my opinion that you…” or “I think you should…” to the third person: “Many of our patients find…” or “Over the years we’ve noticed…” Patients are more likely to see this as a respectful acknowledgment of their free will—without it being packaged in an obligation that the patient may not be prepared to live up to.

If your heart is clouded by the financial payoff you hope to achieve by inducing patients to embrace your care recommendations, you’ve crossed the boundary between ministry and manipulation. One way to know if patients perceive that you’ve crossed this invisible line is to take an inventory of how many patients in typical month are first timers as a ratio to total patient visits. The higher the number, the leakier your bucket.

In cooperation with Collier, Sarner & Associates, Inc. (www.csanews.com). This is not tax advice. Please consult your own advisors.

Keith Drayer is Vice President, Henry Schein Financial Services. Henry Schein Financial Services provides equipment, technology, practice start-up and acquisition financing services nationwide. Henry Schein Financial Services can be reached at 800-853-9493 or hsfs@henryschein.com.

Your dental office has a sensational opportunity to get involved with your local community, which is great for marketing, and it also shows your business’s desire to give back to the community and nation. Keep in mind, the popular marketing trend of Generation G focuses on generosity, giving, and gratitude. HCBBP fits that bill to a T.

History of the program…
Dr. Chris Kammer started the Halloween Candy Buy Back Program in 2006 when his PR company asked him about an innovative idea for an October promotion. He didn’t invent the concept, but his program has taken off across the country. Dentists, patients, and US soldiers have shown their appreciation through countless letters, videos, pictures, and testimonials. As a free, volunteer-based program, Halloween Candy Buy Back works for everyone!

Here’s how the program works…

• Sign up as a participating dentist – it’s free.
• Learn how to set up your event at a location and time that works for you.
• Get your whole team involved.
• Learn how to advertise the event within your community.
• Give kids $1 per pound of candy they donate.
• Learn how to ship the candy to US soldiers who are serving overseas.
• It’s that easy. And the whole event is tax deductible.

Facebook: You’ll see ideas, posters, videos, and testimonials of dental offices across the nation that have found the Halloween Candy Buy Back Program to be a huge success.
Visit: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Halloween-Candy-Buy-Back/89356491948?ref=nf

Website: The Halloween Candy Buy Back Program is currently creating a new and improved website with TNT Dental. However, at the current site, you’ll have access to a wealth of information, tips, and newsletter archives to help you kick of your practice’s program.
Visit: https://www.tntsecureforms.com/?f=MTE1MQ