#915: Tips + Tricks to Make Coding Exciting (and Accurate)

13 nov 2024 · Dental A Team Podcast

00:25:23

Tiff and Dana discuss the importance of coding accuracy in dental practices. That includes universal codes everyone can understand, how to stay up-to-date on resources, the best way to know team members are getting paid for all their work, different codes across specialties, and more.

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Transcript:

The Dental A Team (00:01.11)

Hello Dental A Team listeners, we are back at you today. I have the one and only Miss Dana here with me to podcast. I love pulling Dana in. I love pulling all the consultants in, but I truly love pulling in Dana. think I shouted you out this morning. do. Wednesday core value shout out in our.

I know that we've done some podcasts on that. So if you're not already doing a core value shout out every day or every week, please by all means go listen to those podcasts because it's freaking incredible and Dana you truly are the epitome of ease within our company and for your clients and I just think you need to publicly shout it from the rooftops be Just recognized for that aspect of your personality. You truly do make life easier I know a lot of your clients feel the same way you are

so good at finding the easiest path for the systems implementation for whatever it is that needs to be done for us as a company. So Dana, welcome today. I'm so excited to have you here with me. Thank you for joining me on this beautiful Wednesday. I don't know what day this is gonna air, but it's a Wednesday today. And it's absolutely gorgeous here in Arizona. How are you, Dana?

Dana (01:08.193)

doing good, Tim, doing good. love days like today.

The Dental A Team (01:11.629)

I do too, I do too. It's starting to get fallish in Arizona, which means 85 degrees instead of the 105 that we had last week, least up in Phoenix. I know you get a little bit more fall down where you're at, but I'll take the 85 over the 105 for sure. Today, Dina, I wanted to pick your brain.

I've got some information today I wanna share with the doctors. It's also for billing departments, for treatment coordinators, for whomever wants to listen to this. But I really wanted us to shout out our doctors for really, really just knowing everything about their businesses. I know that you guys are all here listening. I know you're watching, whatever it might be, to really learn more about the business side and about what the team is doing to help support your practice. So I wanna shout you out for that. And I just think it's a really incredible tool.

and resource to have to truly know what it is that's going on, the inner workings behind the scenes of your practice, aside from just the dentistry that you're performing. So shout out to you guys for being here, for listening. Team members, if your doctor's not listening yet, please share it with them. Dana, today I really wanted to pick your brain and go over some coding information. I know it sounds super boring, you guys, but stick with us. We've got some great tips and tricks and some tools, especially for you doctors who are out there to really

focus in and pay attention to the things that are being input into the system and sent off to insurance companies, or if you're fee for service, you still need to be insanely accurate within your system and making sure that we're using the right tools. So doctors, again, this one's for you as well. Billing representatives, treatment coordinators, front office representatives, office managers, whoever you might be, whoever might be touching a ledger or an account or a code in general dental assistance, hi, Genes, you guys.

This is all gonna be really great information for all of you. Coding with Accuracy happens to be a book, by the way, you can purchase that. But honestly, coding with accuracy is incredibly important and valuable to your system, not only for the billing portion to ensure that we're accurately sending things off to insurance companies, accurately getting paid, but realistically to show super accurately what you've actually done with your patients to your patients. That way, if anything were to ever come about and anyone needed to look into it or

The Dental A Team (03:28.327)

your patients had questions and they asked for the account, it makes sense to the next person who's looking at it. And you can say, yes, I did that, that was me. I did that filling, I did that crown, I did that crown seat, I did those pieces. I know a lot of practices, and Dana, I think you've probably seen this too, a lot of practices will overuse, in my opinion, an office visit or a palliative treatment, to certain codes like that and unspecified, because they're just not sure.

what to use. And so they throw one of those, especially office visits, and I'm like, what is this office visit? How many, this patient's been in for 20 office visits. They're like, most of those are crown seats or like if a filling needed to be adjusted or like, and I'm like, wow, so we don't have any documentation right here that we ever sat any of these crowns.

That's an issue. looking at those pieces and making sure that we're super accurate with what we're calling things is something I really, really want to talk about today, Dana. Have you noticed that as well? I know you see a lot of clients, you do a lot of virtual clients, but you see a lot of ledgers, you get a lot of things sent to you, and you have been traveling a ton this year in office to practices as well. So what are you seeing when you're out there when it comes to coding and just kind of like randomness that you're seeing thrown around?

Dana (04:40.983)

Yeah, I agree with you on just like the miscellaneous codes. I delivery. What did we deliver? Because we need to know exactly what we delivered today. And then a lot of just like 999 things and sometimes a 999 code you absolutely

The Dental A Team (04:47.133)

Yeah.

Dana (04:55.967)

can utilize it, should be utilizing it, but oftentimes too, it's like, no, there's actually a code for that. Like we don't have to send a 999 with documentation and notes, there's a code specific for that. So making sure that offices really are up to date, also to like when things change because they do change occasionally. And so just having somebody who knows those things in and out has resources to spot check and that we are billing what we're doing and coding exactly what we're doing.

The Dental A Team (05:25.511)

Yeah, I totally agree. The 999 code, I love that one. It is thrown in there for everything and I am guilty of the 999 code because I'm like, don't know what he's even talking about. 999, that sucker. And I'll explain, I'll say exactly what he just said to me. I have no idea what he said, but I've got this. So I'm surely, surely guilty of that one. I do love the staying up to date and doctors, I really want you to know and understand within dentistry.

There's not, like we have a course for billing that will review billing for you and will go over the basics of billing, what it needs to look like, how to send a claim, how to input an EOB and a payment and all of those pieces. But there's really not a good school for billing where it's like, gosh, I'm gonna send them to a billing school and now they've got this accredited school has shown them this kind of like medical billing, right? You can go to medical billing school and now you're a medical biller.

to be a dental biller, you just needed someone ahead of you to show you how to do it. So within this world, it's just super important, like Dana said, that we stay on top of it as best we can. So making sure that we're getting ADA emails sent to us and that we're watching for any codes that change, because they will let us know. Whatever your state's dental association is, I know here it's the AZDA, the California Dental Association.

Whatever it is, make sure that you're signed up for those auto emails, because that's going to be the best resource. And then as those yearly conventions come around that we all love to go to, that we hate taking boring classes, look for any updates. I wouldn't say you've got to hit the billing courses yourself, or you have to send your billing rep to the billing courses. Sometimes they're a bust. Sometimes they're super insurance prone or driven. I don't love that. But if there's anything that's like coding updates or

New laws things like that. It's always a good idea. So I do want to preface it with that Just know always staying up to date just getting those resources sent to you is going to be super super important And now aside from that there are things like coding with confidence coding with accuracy All of those different books that you can get I believe coding with confidence you can order from Amazon or ADA I think both of them have it. I think it probably comes from the ADA when you do it from Amazon, whatever you choose

The Dental A Team (07:37.7)

It's a fantastic book and having that resource, there's a companion book that goes with it as well. I always had that resource with me. It was literally in a drawer behind my desk and as soon as I had something pop up for an implant or gosh, when we were doing over dentures and there's just so many parts and pieces and little things that need to be accurately coded.

There's no way I'm gonna remember all of these things or intuitively know it. So I would pull those books out constantly and I would go through it with my doctor and I'd say, okay, does this describe, is this what you're saying? Is this describing it? Because even just for regular dentures, there's different codes that can be used. And if you use one that's a maxillary but you're doing a mandibular denture, you're not gonna get paid, right? And even if you put upper denture in the thing and you did a mandibular code, they're still not gonna pay it because it doesn't match.

So just making sure that those codes are super accurate. Now from a doctor's standpoint, why is this important? Super important because you need to be paid, right? So my owner doctors, you need to be sure that your practice is being paid, that you're being paid for what you're doing, your hygiene team's being paid for what they're doing, and that if, again, anything were ever to have been and come about, somebody looking at the ledger, looking at the account, looking at the chart, can accurately and confidently see exactly what you performed. So not only do you need to get paid,

you need to cover your tail. For my associate doctors and even my hygienist who might be listening, you really, really wanna watch your production and your collections, because typically, especially my associates, you guys are gonna be paid off of that in some form or fashion. So making sure that the coding is correct and that it accurately, actually reflects what you've done is key. Otherwise, you might get paid for a filling when you did an onlay.

Right, and the billing representative, has, or he has no idea, they were not chair side with you. So if it's not fixed chair side, or if you, gosh, Dina, how many times have you seen this one, where chair side, you know, we were scheduled for an MO, chair side, doctor's like, this went into the distal, we've gotta update that. So we update it, we tell the patient, we're like, got another service added, get the treatment plan going, lay them back, finish the filling, and then they go up front, and then they get paid on an MO.

The Dental A Team (09:51.99)

because the MOD was never switched out and the appointment went before it was set complete. again, the billing representative, he's not chair side. They have no idea that that billing changed. The dental assistant needed to update and change it. So making sure that that's accurate in there. Now, Dina, I know you have a lot of practices and a lot of associates. You've got a lot of big practices that have a lot of associates. How do you make sure at the end of the day, at the end of the month, at the end of everything, that these guys are knowing exactly what their

being paid on? Like how do you make sure that they know with confidence that they're getting paid for everything that they did?

Dana (10:28.329)

Yeah, I have them usually daily check their provider production and check their individual provider day sheet just to make sure that everything was accounted for. If there were changes, if something was walked out inaccurately, catching that from the very beginning is super important because honestly, like you pointed out, the difference in some of these codes is hundreds of dollars worth of production. And that can be even within implant parts, even with indentures, like a difference in that

that coding can majorly impact production. So making sure that everything is accounted for, everything that they did is on there and everything is walked out and ready to submit. So that whether it's insurance based or we've got to call a patient and say, hey, you know, we under collected that service did change, we had added. whether it is patient portion that we've got to update or insurance portion, just making sure that we're catching that. And I like to do it daily because

Claims are submitted daily. We're reaching out to patients and we don't want a patient to go till the end of the month before we're like, hey, by the way, you missed a thing, right? So I like my, especially my associates and hygiene to just look and make sure everything's accounted for each and every day.

The Dental A Team (11:34.98)

Yeah. Yes.

The Dental A Team (11:47.01)

Yeah, I agree. think that's perfect because pulling that sheet, especially like Dentrix and Eagle Soft and OpenDone, like all of these programs have a super easy sheet to print at the end of the day or even like print screen and then just look at it. So we're not using all the paper all the time. I've definitely had it where a doctor will come back like a week later and be like, we didn't actually do a buildup because we just, you you treat and plan a crown and we should plan a buildup just in case, or you have your doctors who treat and plan only a crown and then add a buildup.

if we needed a buildup and so vice versa. A week later, we're like, I didn't build up on that crown. I'm like, well, bro, she gone, she lost. There's no way, it's so uncomfortable to call a patient and be like, by the way, we forgot to charge you for that billing that's underneath the crown that's to build the tooth back up because of the K. And now I'm in this whole conversation of like, why didn't this just get done the first time? So I totally agree. I think that's brilliant. And doctors also, looking ahead at your schedule,

Dana (12:21.687)

It was true.

The Dental A Team (12:43.172)

Prepping your schedule in conjunction with that is gonna be huge. We get really comfortable. Our dental assistants are incredible. I was a dental assistant near and dear to my heart. It's my favorite position. If I were ever to like quit everything in life and go back to in-office dentistry, it would have to be as a dental assistant. I would not do anything else. It's my favorite space. But you guys, I messed up sometimes. Like it happens. I would get forgetful.

Like how many times did I forget to grab the bond? And I'm like, you can't do a filling without a bond. How did you forget that? And then expecting me to change it every single time in the chart or make sure that it was accurate ahead of time. Things flip through the cracks. So we've gotta have checks and balances. We can't just rely on one person to get it right every single time. So your dental assistants prepping the charts, prepping your schedule for the next day is huge, but I really wanna implore that you guys, you doctors,

You are looking at your schedules as well. You know what's coming up and you know that it's accurate. I had a dentist that worked in our practice. He's fantastic. He's gone to all of this oral surgery, like extracurricular. He's just, it's insane. I watch his videos on Instagram and I'm like, that's so gross. I always must do him. Like I remember the first time I did a bone flap with you and I was like, what? I can't do this, but he's so good. He did all of these like perio surgeries, oral surgeries. He did so many things in our practice and holy cow.

A GP girl over here, learning how to code for all of these extensive procedures that he was doing. He was doing, you know, he's doing the blood draws before it was even a thing. I am like, are we allowed to do that? Like I'm in my practice, like what the heck? This is crazy. And now I'm having to code things that to me are like outlandish.

and I'm sitting there Googling things. Like, this doesn't make sense. So I'm pulling out my little code book and like, gosh, it is in here. This is a dental thing. We can do this, but there's no way those added procedures would have been accurately coded if I didn't take those extra steps to ensure it. And if he didn't, bless his heart, come to me every day.

The Dental A Team (14:47.322)

with a list of the things that needed to be added to tomorrow that wasn't accurate or things that we missed today. He would double check his treatment plans just because they were so extensive. And honestly, there were times, like he did GP work in our practice as well. So there were times too where he would catch a filling surface was missed or an onlay surface was missed. And I'm like, dang, not only are, you know, did we miss something on your giant surgery over here that I literally cannot assist with, cause I will pass out.

But we also miss like a surface on an online, like, goodness gracious, right? But he is my example because he was so diligent about making sure that the charting was accurate. Like, of course he wanted to get paid for the things he was doing, but he's like, I need to make sure that whatever it is that I'm doing, it's all here. It's all accounted for. And when he went to go do all of the accrediting with the oral surgery boards and implant boards and like, he's got all this crazy stuff behind him now. He needed all of those things. He called me from Texas years later.

And I was like, remember that patient that we did that thing? And I'm like, my gosh, yeah. So I'm like looking for this patient. He's like, I need all of their notes and I need all of their ledger and I need everything to submit to the implant board. And I was like, my gosh, thank goodness we went through and did all of those things. So you guys, it doesn't matter what you're doing. You don't have to be doing crazy dentistry or crazy oral surgery within your practice. Those minor things need to get caught as well. And Dana, earlier you mentioned like the 999 code.

And I know we have to go in or have the auto updates done and make sure that the codes are being updated. But I did notice there are more and more systems that even have as simple as broken appointment code already in there, Crown Seat Code, Denture Seat Code, all of these pieces. So when you're working with practices and you're seeing this, or they ask us, we'll get text messages from office managers that are like, this is what he said, what do I code that as?

I don't know, right? But what are you doing? How are you helping them to figure out, this is probably not a pallet over 999 or what an office visit, this is probably X, Y, or Z.

Dana (16:52.117)

Yeah, I mean, I'll be honest, if a lot of times I am pulling like a coding with confidence, or I'm googling things and, I'm trying to piece it together or I'm asking, you know, okay, well, like, walk with what does that look like? Walk me through like, can you explain the process to me? So maybe I can find it in here or send me a picture of the part that maybe I can look it up. But it's really just doing due diligence and combing through the codes that are available. And then determining

The Dental A Team (16:58.797)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (17:10.987)

Yes.

Dana (17:20.083)

If there is a specific code for that procedure and if there's not, then yeah, you do a 999 code with lots of documentation, IOPs, all the things, so that once it gets to insurance, they can determine if it's something that they're covering.

The Dental A Team (17:35.266)

I agree, yeah, I love that. I do love Google, I have Googled so many times. I've been in office trying to help them come up with cheat sheets, which is the next little topic here, but that I'm like, what is this? Or give me a picture of this so that I can put it on their cheat sheet. And doctors who are doing things like implants or dentures even, crowns, anything you're doing, having those cheat sheets is super helpful.

I have a lot of my practices throw those into their operations manual. So with the crown setup or whatever, it'll also have the steps and the codes that would be used. We have to update it when they update, but have all of those available there side by side with it. So it'll be like, crown seed, and it'll be the setup, and then it'll be all of the codes. The ones that get wild are our implants, right? Our All-On-X denture cases. Those ones get wildly insane.

dentures, right, start to finish because what happens is in the treatment planning mode, let's use denture, right, as a treatment planner, right, so I'm a dental assistant and the doctor says we need to do a full denture. Cool, maxillary denture. And then I'm like, treatment coordinator, here you go. And they're like, cool. And then they schedule a denture. There's like 16 steps sometimes to a denture.

Right, so having that and being able to break it down and break it apart shows that all the steps and processes were done and then having a cheat sheet that goes along with it helps not only your treatment coordinator and your scheduler, but it helps your biller and your dental assistant, even your hygienist. I've had so many hygienists come to me and say, what step are we on? And I'm like, well, I'm not sure, let's look. Like, let's look at our checklist and see where we're at. So even within that denture, having the denture treatment plan for pricing.

Dana (18:56.011)

Yes.

The Dental A Team (19:24.294)

Obviously, right, any extractions, any bone grafts that need to be done. If you're doing a temporary denture before the final is done, if you're doing, gosh, if you're doing a scan and a final delivery, like they're getting much faster. But before, remember, we had to have a wax rim, we had to have teeth and wax, we had to have the color shade, we had to have a try-in, then we had to have a realign. Like all of these pieces needed to be segregated out in there so that we treatment plan.

the one thing, but we have those steps readily available so that it can be scheduled correctly and in order. And then having those cheat sheets with those codes lined up is super helpful. I have a practice in Wisconsin that was just getting so confused on the implant process and an ortho process. And I was like, easy peasy, let's just like section this out. And now every single time they've got it laminated and they just pull it out. They're like, I've got my implant sheet. I've got my ortho sheet or whatever. So I always have them add that as well. So Dana.

Wrap it up for us. So we've got coding, checking, all the pieces. What could an office do, a doctor do to ensure maybe even adding it to their operations manual? What's the process they should make sure that is being followed and updated yearly within all of these pieces that we've talked about today?

Dana (20:42.627)

Yeah, I think it's added to your yearly calendars that you make sure that you do know the updates you have the codes every year and just like we get Insurance fee schedules and we do all of our insurance updates just add that to that list one So add and make sure we've got do we have the resource for it? And do we know what they are? I think to any time that you are adding a new service just checking and double-checking that you know what the codes are So if you're bringing in a CBC team, make sure that those codes are in there and you've got fees attached to them

and all of those pieces. I love your cheat sheet idea as far as especially where there's a there's a lot of nitty-gritty things that need to get built out for specific things like ortho-like implants making sure that you've got cheat sheets and you make it really really easy and then make sure you've got a very clear communication system for when treatment changes so that it gets changed all the way okay and then I think daily having people look at them and just one

Final tip I guess in in with your cheat sheets oftentimes we call things things that like are not in the code, right? The description of the code is not that and then we're constantly like, what are they actually? What do they actually call right? A lot of your systems will allow you to add notes to like those procedure codes put in what you call it in the office so that it's easy to find it will still put the actual code definition on your piece going on your claims go out, but if you call something something specific

just update it in your system so it's easy for the team to buy.

The Dental A Team (22:12.623)

That was brilliant. I know my dentist had like five different terms for a hater bar and I never, was like, I don't know what you're talking about. And the Ribon, he would call the, you know, the Perio procedure by the name of the material he needed. And I was like, so, and he only do this once every, I don't know, 10 years. Like this procedure is never done. He's like, we've got to do a Ribon. Where's the Ribon? I'm like, I don't even remember what this is.

I don't know what that says. So yes, I agree. I love that idea, the descriptions and making sure too then I would transfer. We do this in our Google Drive, you guys. Whatever you might call it, also probably put that on your cheat sheet, maybe in parentheses. Like this is what it is. These are the five different terms that any of our doctors may call it so that it is easy to find and easy to figure out. I think that's brilliant. Awesome, thank you for wrapping us, Dana. I think this was insanely beneficial for all of our doctors out there and our team members again.

Doctors, if you're here listening, congrats. I think that's so huge. It's really important for you to know and understand these things. Share it with your team, because they can use these pieces too, especially anyone who's doing your billing and your practice. And then team members who are out there whose doctors haven't heard this one yet, share it with them. Make sure that they understand what they're getting into as well, and that they're supporting you in your position as a team member to be super accurate, because you're depending on them.

to get things right so that you can do your job. So share it with them. Make sure you guys are all up to date and as always, reach out for any questions you might have. [email protected]. We are not code masters, but you guys, we are solution masters and we will find the answers or find the way and we can help you with just about anything you can think of. [email protected]. We can't wait to catch you next time.

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#955: Spread Love Like Confetti
13 feb· Dental A Team Podcast
It’s not difficult to enter a practice and feel whether a team is synergistic and they love each other versus if they have animosity and do not get along. Kiera gives advice for spreading love to team members and patients, and establishing a culture of appreciation beyond Valentine’s Day.

Episode resources:

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Transcript:

Kiera Dent (00:01.23)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and it is the season and the month of love. And honestly, Valentine's Day and February isn't just about hearts and chocolates. It's truly the perfect time to show appreciation to your team and patients if you desire. So today we're going to teach you some simple, impactful ways to spread love in your dental practice, because why not? One of my favorite quotes is to spread love like confetti. And I think in today's world and in Dental A Team's mission to positively impact the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible,

Why not spread love, spread kindness, spread joy to our team and our patients. So just wanted to give you guys a couple quick tips on how you're able to do that. You guys know that this is something that I'm really passionate. I'm really passionate about you loving your job, you loving your life, loving your patients, impacting your community and your team to ultimately live the most fulfilled and impactful life. Showing love and appreciation increases our morale in our practices. It increases retention and the overall practice culture where patients feel that love.

crazy because when I walk into an office when consulting, you can feel if a team is synergistic and they love each other versus if they're animosity and they do not get along with one another. And so really just something for you to highlight that people can feel the energy. And so let's spread that love in a quick action packed episode for you today on the season of love. So number one, step one is show love to your team. I do believe that it comes from when we

recognize and appreciate our team's hard work when we show that love to one another. That's really how we're able to highlight and enhance in some quick easy ways that I think are love appropriate within the workforce, our right personal thank you notes to each team member, maybe once a quarter, we we bust out the thank you cards and we write them. It's crazy how a little pen and paper can really make a big impact for people. You guys could also have like around Valentine's Day, maybe have a Valentine's Day themed lunch or treat where

We really do maybe exchange Valentine's Day gifts with one another, like go back to the time where we wrote Valentine's for one another. And also like we've talked about in other times of creating a shout out board where you can write kind notes to each other. I've seen offices where they just have a whiteboard there where people just write a quick note of like, here you crushed it today or Sarah, you crushed it today and we just leave it. And it's almost like our wall of love. And you can even create a wall of love where we just like stamp them up there or on shout out jars. We post those up there because again, showing love to one another.

Kiera Dent (02:25.7)

It creates a habit, creates a pattern. creates a way for us too of how we operate. And so just again, thinking of that. And so my suggestion for you is pick one of those ideas. Are we going to do thank you notes to one another? Are we going to have a lunch of a Valentine's themed? Are we going to get those little Valentine's boxes back out? Are we going to have a shout out board for one another? What are we going to do to implement kindness and love within our practice? And then step two is now we've done it to our teams. We've taken care of ourselves.

Now we're going to spread this to our patients. And so what can we do to show love to our patients? And what's crazy is when people feel loved, they're actually very bound. There's a retention piece. There's a loyalty piece because people feel that love and that genuine appreciation. And so little things for them that we can do of you can send heartfelt emails or text messages to patients. We could even have little hearts this month and write little love notes to our patients of how much we appreciate them. You could highlight one patient.

that you just every day to have them be the patient of the day. We could actually create a social media post highlight, make sure it's a HIPAA and you've got consents for it. A patient appreciation and highlight the patients to like why we really love them and why they love their smile. So lots of different ways where we can show them. But I think that intentionality, there's a book called Unreasonable Hospitality. And I loved in there where they had like this whole little like craft kit is how I imagine it. I've never been there.

But where they were allowed to, they really encouraged their team to create magic moments for their guests, for these people who would attend the restaurant. so having a way for your team to produce this unreasonable hospitality, if we know someone's having a baby or we know someone's getting married or we know someone's it's their birthday or like just having a little, like I said, a little craft station where we can do these things on an intentional basis every single day to really create magic and to spread love to our patients. It's crazy how just a small little intentional thing

I mean, I can't imagine it's never happened to me, but could you just imagine if your hygienist in your little goodie bag wrote you a handwritten note, like again, like a little heart or a little card, like, Kiera, I just really always look forward to when you come. You're one of my favorite patients. And I just want you to know how much I really appreciate you and do it without any expectation other than just giving the gift of love to this person. I think that this would actually really truly grow your practice, grow your,

Kiera Dent (04:47.136)

retention, grow your patient base. And then another idea is think about our online reviews. Yes, we respond to those reviews for Google Analytics and for different pieces. But what would it be like if you actually wrote a personalized letter to each person who left your view, thanking them for that review, or a personalized letter to each person who referred someone to your practice? It just seems crazy how this intentionality of personalization and creating magic for our patients and spreading the love.

really would be able to be something. I think in the month of February, it's a fun time for us to pick one patient focused, like idea where we can show them the love and implement it, whether before Valentine's day or after Valentine's day you choose, but really like how can we create this magic for our patients? And then step three is foster the culture beyond Valentine's day. Like how do we foster this culture of appreciation and love beyond? And I think a lot of the pieces for this were,

talking about things of creating the magic moments, creating the shout out boards, but maybe for this ideas are we start a monthly recognition program for team and patients. How can we recognize somebody every single month that really we just love and we want to like shower them with love, sprinkle them with the confetti of love. Maybe we also do positive feedback, like the shout out jars, the kudos jars, keep the board going of how much we love each other. Maybe these things like that. And what you can do is even like rotate. I like to have systems and cadences. So maybe it's.

Kiera's day is on Monday and Kiera goes and writes love notes to each team member every single Monday. Every Tuesday it's Britt's turn to do it. Every Wednesday is Tiff's turn to do it. But really like finding a way to have this where it becomes, yes it will be quote unquote forced at the beginning, but then becomes automatic in the longterm. We could also do quarterly patient appreciation events. So I've seen offices, one of my favorite offices that I've seen is they had donuts on the corner. offices like patients would be driving all the time for high school.

and they had donuts and they just like gave a little like, love our patients and they would do it. And people in the community knew about this all the time. I have an office where they're gonna start running promos of if your name is blank, come in and get free whitening. We love our patients. We love to have them smile bright and something like that where it's just fun things where we're showing appreciation, we're showing love, we're able to give back. These are ways that we're able to make this not just be about Valentine's Day and the month of love.

Kiera Dent (07:00.9)

But like I said, spreading love like confetti all year long. And so I would plan one appreciation initiative. So what we're gonna do this year of are we doing recognition for patients and team? Are we going to have a quarterly event? Are we gonna do donuts? But the goal is not to cost a lot of money, not to create more busy work for you, but to really be in the habit of adding love for our team and our patients. I feel like our world has become such a world.

where we've forgotten to be humans. We've forgotten to be, we've forgotten to love. We're so automated, we're so into AI and automations and doing and maximizing and optimizing that we've forgotten to just love. We've forgotten what our center is, what our core is, what it means to be a human being, not a human doing, but a human being, being intentional, being in that spirit to really create magic. So I think a good book is Unreasonable Hospitality.

to just think of how can we create magic and love moments more often, to have that be the culture and the feel. And I know families who have love, you can feel it when you walk into a home, relationships that are very centered on love. You can feel that when you're around them, why not make your practice a space where people feel loved, they feel accepted, they don't feel judged. They feel like they're special, but they're important. Everyone in this world is looking for that, whether big or small, they're looking for that. So like I said, we've got the three steps of number one, show love to our team.

Number two, spread love to our patients. And number three, have that culture of appreciation beyond just Valentine's Day in the month of February. This is how we're able to change the world. This is how we're able to create magic. This is how we're able to change people's lives just by coming to the dentist. And if we see that by, we're not just changing their smiles, we're changing them as a human. It's what we do in consulting. Yes, I'm here to talk to you about profitability and systems and consulting, but I believe in changing the human. I believe in impacting the soul.

I believe in having you have your dream life as team members and as owners to really give you the best life you can possibly have. And we do that through love. Love is the connector. Love is the bridge. Love is what makes us so happy. So I encourage you to truly like, if you're ready to spread love in the practices, like share, tag us. Like that would be my, my action for you is go spread love and tag the Dental A Team. Um, on Instagram, I would love to just have like it flooding of

Kiera Dent (09:22.358)

an initiative of all the podcast listeners. Let's just make it this month of love where we're tagging, we're spreading, we're saying hello. Can we add love into Facebook groups? Can we share this podcast with someone that we love? Where can we do that? And truly, this is a way that we're able to give back. if this is what you want and you want a team that's not just about systems, you want consulting that's not just about the dentistry. Yes, that's what we do, but it's more about being, it's more about intentionality, it's more about love.

reach out. This is what we do. when we are ready, we're ready for you. And so reach out [email protected] or just go click and book a call for a complimentary practice assessment for you and your team to just show you value and insights and help you. Because at the end of the day, the mission of Dental A Team's podcast and Dental A Team is from love. Loving my Midwestern students when I worked with them to give them resources to then loving our dental offices and loving them as people to give them the resources.

to change their lives, to change their communities and have this impact that goes far beyond our dental practice and our space. It blesses our families, it blesses our teams, it blesses our patients. And so really, that's what we're about. I'm so happy you're here. So go spread love like confetti. Know that I love you, that you're doing better than you think you are. Give yourself the grace, the kudos, make magic moments for those patients and let me know. And I cannot wait to see you guys. Tag me, DM me. This is where we're at. I would love to get Valentine's from you.

I love Valentine's, so send them out, spread them out, give those love bombs to people around you, inside and out, and so truly, this is the time. It's your time to spread love like confetti to change the world. And as always, thanks for listening, and I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team podcast.
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#954: Getting Your Team Aligned
12 feb· Dental A Team Podcast
Kiera talks about the power of ‘state of the company’ meetings, how to set them up, how to roll them out, and how to continue having them quarter after quarter.

Episode resources:

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Transcript:

Kiera Dent (00:00.802)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera. And today I just wanna ask you the question of does your team know where you're going and what you're trying to achieve as a practice? And if the answer is not absolutely 100 % yes, if you came into our practice, Kiera, and asked every person, then today this episode is for you. And it's something beautiful that we've just recently learned that I'm so excited to share with you to make your life easier, to get your team aligned, to get them all rolling in the same direction.

and I just tested it on my team and we're testing it with offices and the feedback has been outstanding of better team buy-in, more clarity and easier ability to row in the same direction. Dental A Team is here for you. We love to support you. Our mission is to positively impact the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible. And I'm so honored that you're here as part of our podcast family. All of our consultants, we work with you virtually or one-on-one, in person.

or on the screen, we make sure that you are thriving and that you are living your best self. It can be hard, it can be lonely, but it doesn't have to be. And that's what Dental A Team was created. And that's why we created the podcast was to give you tactical tips to make sure that your world is easier, more efficient, and that you're able to feel not alone, but supported in the world of dentistry. All right, so today we're gonna rock this out. This is something from Traction. You know that I'm a huge fan of Gina Wickman and I'm gonna break down three simple steps of the state of the company.

The state of the company is something to do after your quarterly meetings. So you go as a leadership team, you meet, you have a quarterly meeting. We do this with our clients. We work with this within our mastermind group. It's so fun. And I'm so excited to help people really deep dive on the businesses. I've done a lot of research over the years to make sure that I'm able to deliver the best of the best to you. So we meet with our leadership team. We work on our action items.

We're able to figure out what's the focus. What are our annual goals? What are our quarterly goals that we need to do? And the leadership team gets crystal crystal clear. We're able to have the uncomfortable conversations, solve the issues. That step one is you've got to have your annual meetings to make sure that you are then focused on where are we going? And then also breaking it down into our quarterly meetings. So step one of the state of the company, getting your whole team rowing in the correct vision is number one, leadership team needs to meet annually and quarterly to set the vision, to set the focus, to say where they're going.

Kiera Dent (02:13.454)

I love it to be leadership teams because I feel like that's where we can really get to the nitty gritty, the juicy. I have an office and they're truly remarkable and I absolutely love them. And what's really fun is the leadership teams able to come hash it out. What does hygiene want? What did dental assistants want? What does front office need? What did the doctors need? What does the practice need from all those different perspectives? And it's been amazing to watch them go from a $3.5 million practice up to a $6 million practice in one year.

by simply getting their leadership team aligned and then rolling this out to their departments. So step one is leadership team needs alignment annually and quarterly. Step two is now you prepare for what the team needs to hear and this is called the state of the company. The state of the company feels like I should have a top hat on and that I should be Abe Lincoln and it felt really funny to me. But really what it is is it's a snapshot of where is the company at? What has happened? Where are we at and where are we going? And it was crazy because as I was doing it, it's a one hour meeting with your team.

but you need to prepare for this. So that step two is prepare for the state of the company meeting. And on that, what we do is, like I said, where have we been, where are we going, and what do we need to do to change? What are updates on the company? Where are our goals? What were the quarterly rocks that we just set in traction terms that we then are going to be able to take to our team and deliver in a clear, concise manner? This is usually done by your office manager. Office managers prepare it, they put it together.

Doctors, you're going to be the one who presents it or whomever the lead of the team is ultimately. So for me and my company, I'm the one who gets to deliver the state of the company. So step one, leadership team needs to work together. They need to create the annual and the quarterly goals. Step two is office manager and doctor need to combine together to figure out what exactly are we needing to do to make this state of the company report there. We build it. Britt kudos to her on our team. She built it in the most beautiful format. So we had it at the top. We have it mapped out.

Here's where we were, here's where we're going. If there's a gap, so if it's Q1 and we're behind, what's the gap? What have we learned and why are we here? It was a really beautiful conversation between Britt and myself where we were able to really assess how did we get here? Why are we here? And what are we going to do moving forward? For me, I don't believe in failures, I believe in results. So what are the results and why did we get here? And what are we going to do to move forward and to learn from that? Step three is now hold your state of the company meeting. I plan and prep an hour with our team.

Kiera Dent (04:31.564)

We do it at the beginning of each quarter. So we roll it out to them. And what we do is we actually show, I share screened this document that Britt and I had put together. I go through it I really empower the team and I talk to the team, this is where we are. This is the nuts and bolts. These are the facts. This is what needs to happen in order for us to move forward. This is the reason that we're doing these goals. And it's really to me, the state of the company addresses more giving the why behind along with the tangibles of what needs to happen. So it's why did we get here?

Why are we wanting to implement for our company this year? It's marketing masters and AI innovation. We're adding that in because I believe if we look down the line dentistry is going to be shifting heavily. And so we need to be ahead of that. We need to be ahead of the curve. We need to see, we need to build different ways for people to be coming to our company. We need to be having a way to truly, if our mission is to reach out to all the dental practices, we've got to be building different funnels, different methods, different models from what we've been doing and be ahead of that.

but me educating my team and teaching them, this is why we're doing it. Now the team has what I call the lock and loaded buy-in because now they're clear. And I had no clue how this would land. We ran it for an hour, gave them all the information. had it prepped. We asked them for questions. And then I actually wasn't there the next day. And Britt actually asked the team for feedback of, you want this every quarter? Do you not? And it has been an outstanding resounding. We loved that. And it's been so interesting to hear throughout the week, throughout the trickling.

of Kiera, feel so much more clear. Kiera, I feel like I understand where we're going. Kiera, I'm so grateful that you took the time. It was broken down in such simple steps for us. And what was great for me as a leader was I was able actually to do a deep dive on my practice, my business to see what were the strengths, what were the weaknesses, why did I get here? Ask the hard questions and for Britt and I to align and then lock and load our team in the synergy and the energy of having a team drive this forward for you is there.

Teams often just need clarity. They need to understand the why. They need to understand why are we doing this? Where are we going and what is the purpose of this? And then like I said, they lock and load and they're rock solid with you executing, taking ownership. I have seen teams that do this, elevate the ownership, elevate the clarity, elevate the synergy of them all rolling together. So my question is, do you want a team that's rolling together with ease, efficiency and effectiveness? The state of the company, the quarterly address.

Kiera Dent (06:51.916)

is something that I would strongly recommend with these three points to add into your practice. Feel free, I'm happy to share a sample of what we've done so that way you can see it so you can kick it off to share it with your team. Like I said, we pulled this from Gina Wickman Traction and built it up Dental A Team's version of how we wanted to do this, giving you the resources because my goal is to make dentistry easy, to make running a practice easy, to make it to where this isn't hard for you because really running a practice can be easy. Being a profitable dentist can be easy.

being fulfilled and not having to do it all can be a reality. Having a team that rallies and is so incredibly accountable can be a reality. And that's what Dental A Team does. So if that's of interest for you, reach out, [email protected] We do a one hour free practice assessment for you, where I literally deep dive with you, your practice, where you're at, some of these huge hits that need to happen in order for your practice to flourish and for you to have the life that you're wanting. So reach out, [email protected]

You'll get a ton of value. You'll be able to have clarity of where your practice goes. And if we're a great fit for you, I'd love to work with you as always. Thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.
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#953: How to Overcome Negative Production Impacts
11 feb· Dental A Team Podcast
Tiff and Dana share common pitfalls that scale back your practice’s production — and what to do to address them. Included solutions are Dental A-Team’s scorecard and a fixed cost spreadsheet, which you can reach out to the DAT for help on: [email protected].

Episode resources:

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Leave us a review

Transcript:

The Dental A Team (00:01.967)

Hello, Dental A Team podcast listeners. I am so excited to be here with you today. This is Tiffanie. I never introduced myself, which is weird. Hopefully there's like some sort of intro that goes to that. just thought of that. Anyhow, here we are. Another day, another podcast. And first and foremost, I want to thank all of you guys who listen. I know we get a lot of practice assessment.

schedules from people who listen to our podcasts. That's how you guys are finding us. And it just means a lot to us that you're here, that you're with us, that you're supporting us. We want to support you and we are doing forever. As far as I can tell, we're doing new free practice assessments for practices all over, all over the country, all over the world. Sometimes we get Canadian practices and it's super cool. I know we've worked with practices all the way in New Zealand and it's just really cool. And these complimentary practice assessment tools.

are fantastic because we really are helping you deep dive and figure out where your focus should be or could be to get you to the results that you're looking to gain, whether you're gonna work with us one-on-one in a group fashion or just continue being a listener no matter what. We love doing these complimentary practice assessments with you guys. And it's just really fun. It's so cool to see where dentistry is at and where you guys are at.

wins and the struggles you guys are having and it's just, it's super awesome. So thank you to everybody who's here with us today. We are excited to take you on this journey with us and doctors and practice owners, leaders, whoever's here today. I really wanted to chat here. I've got my girl Dana with me and I wanted to chat about projections, scheduling, reaching goals. I think that's a huge focus.

for everyone always needs to reach goals, right? But I think in 2025 so far, Dana, like we need to heavily focus on this because 2024, there was a lot that happened in 2024. It was a weird, it was a wild year, right? Like was so weird. It felt like, okay, we're getting momentum with everyone. And then it was like two steps forward, one step back, five steps forward, three steps back. And it was like, gosh, we're getting momentum. But it was an uphill battle in 2024. I don't know what happened, but holy cow, this year feels cleaner already. It feels different.

Dana (01:57.805)

wild.

The Dental A Team (02:17.795)

And I think everyone's kind of shifted their focus to the areas to be able to see what's the most important. So I'm excited to chat with you about that today, Dana, and I hope our listeners are excited for this one. I wanted to just have a conversation around what impacts production from a schedule standpoint, not technical scheduling, right? Not our blog scheduling. We've done a million freaking podcasts on that. Dana and I are not doing that today.

Dana (02:45.276)

No?

The Dental A Team (02:47.601)

But really those other pieces that impact it and how doctors can and practice owners can look at these factors and project. It's still early enough in the year that if you haven't done this yet, get on it. It's totally fine and look for those pieces. So I wanted to pick your brain a little bit Dana and I think let's take it in the space of let's talk about the things that can impact and then let's talk about how we can.

project that and fix it and work it into our goals. So what are the spaces Dana that you have, your clients, and I think we likely do this the same, but what spaces and what do you have your clients look for when they are getting prepped for that next year? We're into the year and we're trying to figure out what's going on, what things impact production goals from a scheduling standpoint like that that you guys are taking a look at.

Dana (03:37.388)

Yeah, I love this topic because I do think when we think about production and impacts on production, we go right to scheduling, we go right to those pieces. And so I love that today is a little bit different. And I think that sometimes we just forget that like taking a vacation is going to impact production, having holidays in there, holidays will sometimes fall on work days and sometimes not.

you know, yearly, they're different. so looking at how many holidays do we have in there looking at, if we're going to take CE, how much of that is time away from the office, team meetings and quarterly meetings and admin time, knowing all of those things, right? All of those things impact your production because then that isn't necessarily time spent taking care of patients. It's definitely needed. It's time spent working on the business. It's time spent training and, working on all of our processes. So

The Dental A Team (04:21.495)

So.

Dana (04:27.664)

let's not not do it because it affects production, right? Knowing it will impact your production and being able to combat that is definitely super helpful.

The Dental A Team (04:31.174)

Yeah, yeah.

The Dental A Team (04:40.57)

Yeah, I totally agree. think CE is something that a lot of doctors will find on a whim or be like, I need to take this course. You need to block me out these days. And if we're not projecting and planning for that or accommodating the schedule in other places, it really impacts it. I had a client that I was chatting with last week, an office manager, and she's like, Tiff, what the heck do I do? Like they want to make XML this month, but they took between the two doctors, they took two weeks off. And I'm like, well,

This is the shared reality, right? So their reality is they're not looking at that. They're not thinking about that. Your reality is that you have to get it on the schedule. And so that's the first place you look when they come to you and tell you to shut down days is you're like, well, what am I supposed to do with this? So coming to that shared reality is huge and trying to project as much as you can the CE that you want to take this year or

estimating how much CE you're willing to take time off for is always huge as well. I know I've got a few doctors that don't know when they want to take vacation or where they want to go or if they want it. And I say, you know what? That's totally fine. In the perfect world, how much vacation time do you want to take with your family? And I have one doctor that said four to six weeks. I said, great. Then plan for six. I want you to take six weeks out of your productive

numbers, days of work, right, take those six weeks out of that productive time, now estimate what you can do and how we can bump those goals. Because the reality is we need to increase production and collections by seven to ten percent every year to keep up with inflation. And team members that are listening, every year, no matter what, you're going to get a new goal. It's going to be different than it was last year. And guess what? We're doing things on the other side to help you with that.

just FYI, you're going to get a bigger goal every year. Soap. Soapbox. The days of the year that we're willing, that we're able to work, right, impact if how easily or how difficult it's going to be to get to that goal. So we've got to say, okay, this is our goal, this is the number of days we're working with, what do have to do every day to get to that goal? So it's not necessarily, this is how many days I have to work, what is my goal, it's, this is what I need to do, this is how many days I

The Dental A Team (07:03.878)

I have that I'm working, how do we fix that? So I love that. And I've had a lot of doctors in the last couple of years that have really learned to just say, okay, well, I don't have it planned yet, but I would love to take three CEs this year, because I want them and I need them. And I'd love to take this much vacation with my family. Great. Swipe it off, figure it out, we move on. Other pieces that I know have come into play, in the dental industry. So

Guess what, guys? We've got a lot of babies that come along. Maternity and paternity leave is a real thing. Like, we're family. We're healthcare providers, so we are family-oriented beings. So making sure that we're considering that as well. I know a lot of offices that are like, shoot, I didn't even think about the fact that my hygienist is going to be out for three months starting in June, and what am I supposed to do? And it's May. And I'm like, my gosh.

Dana (07:59.95)

you

The Dental A Team (08:00.052)

Why didn't Oyrin want this information? You know, it's just like those pieces we forget about. So I love that. Like, Observed Holidays, which 2024 taught us a lesson if we were not pre-planning for Observed Holidays because Christmas and New Year's landed on wild days for that year, and it really, really messed with December production. 2025, it's similar. It's at least towards the end of the week, so you can work the beginning of both.

Dana (08:03.246)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (08:29.897)

but observed holidays and how much time are you gonna give yourself and your team off during those holidays? CE, how much do you want to on vacations? How much do you want to take? How much do you aspire to take? Always go big, because you can work extra days. Team vacations, especially when it comes to providers, so associates and hygienists, you've gotta make sure we're prepped for that. Maternity and paternity leave.

making sure we're prepped for all of those situations and scenarios, and I'm sure there are some that I didn't even think about, that impact it. I do have doctors that will take some time off and then they'll work maybe extra Fridays or they'll work extra long on Thursdays where they normally would have done some admin work, which I don't love you guys getting rid of admin work. and you said, know, admin hours and meeting hours, things like that, making sure we're accounting for those things. But if you can,

pick up extra days for sure. I'm never gonna turn that down and neither will your schedulers. But making sure we're prepping and planning for that. some tools, Day, let's talk about some tools that we have that we have our clients utilize and then also that you guys who aren't yet clients, your listeners, use tools like this or reach out and we can help you with tools like this. Really narrowing in and making things easy is...

what I love in life. I hate... doesn't mean things are never going to be hard. I hate hard forever. I want hard right now, so maybe it's time consuming right now, but it's going to save me pain later. That's what I want to do. So, Dana, we have our projections sheet, so maybe talk about our projections sheet a little bit and our scorecard and how those combine and then how you're using that now two months into the year with your clients to really assess and see.

Dana (09:59.5)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (10:21.856)

how their goals are going for them as we're rounding out middle of Q1.

Dana (10:26.092)

Yeah, so I love our projection sheet and I feel like in 2024 I used it more than ever because 2024 was wild so let's prep and make sure 2025 stays a little less wild than 2024 was.

The Dental A Team (10:32.031)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (10:37.896)

Absolutely.

Dana (10:38.766)

And so really, it truly is it's mapping out I go through every month of the year with the client, how many working days are we going to have for each provider, including hygiene. And some of that does take prep work as far as hey, I need you to get that information from your heart to can they do they have any idea when they're going to take vacations? Do they have any idea and then honestly, if we don't, okay, well, how much PTO do they have and we build that in just saying like, okay, well, we know they're probably going to use their two weeks of PTO somewhere. So if we even it out throughout the

The Dental A Team (10:53.716)

Mm-hmm.

The Dental A Team (11:01.909)

Yeah.

Dana (11:08.72)

quarters, at least we kind of have the number of days that we're working with. And so we'll go through and we'll say, where do you want to end up next year, right? We'll base it on this year, we'll look at all sorts of things. And then we go through that sheet together and we basically say, okay, if these are the number of working days, if this is the number of providers we have available, this is what it's going to take every single day from each provider to get you to your ultimate goal. So it's kind of some reverse engineering, but it also is some planning and prepping.

The Dental A Team (11:34.315)

Yeah.

Dana (11:38.83)

And I love that meeting with clients because a lot of that goes like a lot of things go into that projection sheet. And I love that you said, okay, well, how many CE days do you want to take? Sometimes actually CE comes down to what do we have for a CE budget next year? And then of that budget, okay, well, that can likely get you two to three CE courses, which then helps with our projections that way. So it is a lot of planning and prepping that goes into it. But I think that it really helps.

got them down to the penny what needs to happen every single day in each month and really gives them a roadmap that then as the year starts going and we bring in our scorecard we're constantly paying attention to where are we to getting to that and following that roadmap that we set out at the end of the year prior. So it's a really cool combination of tools and and I love to see especially this year is like we're

The Dental A Team (12:21.32)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (12:30.802)

Yeah.

Dana (12:38.704)

really customizing and tightening of the scorecard that it constantly has them assessing gaps, it constantly has them going back to that initial roadmap we set, and then like you said, really just looking for opportunities of what is the thing we need to focus on right now.

The Dental A Team (12:56.073)

I love that. think you nailed it with those. The projection sheet is huge. And then coupling it with the scorecard and a piece that made me think of that's on the scorecard. And we purposely put it on the scorecard because this made a massive impact on goals being reached last year. I think every year, but last year, it really showed its face is the number of hours that were left.

open on the schedule, so they were not filled with production either in hygiene or on the doctor's schedule. So when you look at the projections, you're like, great, this is awesome. This is if I were full to 100%, this is what my estimated production could be by provider. But then when you get in there and you start utilizing the scorecard and you're looking at the production, you compare the two, you're like, why am I off and why is it hard to reach these goals? Or why am I just not there yet? Why am I not reaching this goal yet?

A lot of times it's lost in those pieces that we haven't always paid a lot of attention to, or just like we could, we should, why isn't it happening? I'm not sure. Looking at those open hours and even taking into account maybe, know, with that, that you're likely going to have like 3 % or so left open on the schedule. But looking at those open hours and saying, great, well, if I multiplied these open hours by that producer's average dollar per hour, that's going to show me I probably could have made that goal.

really focusing the attention in on there and bringing it back then to the schedulers and treatment planners and full team of handoffs and all of those pieces we talk about because of schedule working takes the full practice. So it takes you guys projecting, you guys prepping and planning takes, you know, the back office and front office working really hard together to ensure that our patients are the healthiest they possibly can be. Dana, you mentioned CE budget.

And that made me think of the other tools that we're utilizing that I hope other practices that are not yet Delay Team clients are utilizing as well. that's in the, which goes along with that projection, right? The fixed cost spreadsheets, making sure you know what your fixed costs are. That's also part of that planning and projecting because if you're fixed costs and your bare minimum production and collections that you need in order to have the overhead that you want,

The Dental A Team (15:12.587)

If those aren't in alignment, right, with your projections, your projections are low, we might need to look then and say, okay, well, where can we add days back in? Because if we're not combining all of that information, again, we're just not seeing all the levels. It's like not seeing all of the colors. It's like being colorblind to orange, right? You can't see orange anywhere and you're just missing all of these flowers and things that could light up your life. It's like.

not being able to see those pieces. So the fixed cost spreadsheet and knowing what are the fixed costs, what are my average payrolls, what are my average supplies, what should this look like? Then you look at what that needs to be, what are my projections, and what can I do then minus those fixed costs? What would my overhead look like if this is the projection for that month? So then tackling that and looking at that growth percentage and profit percentage,

opportunity allows you then to again look at what you're projecting and what you're taking time off for and evaluate what do I need to do to change that result or it's perfect. And Dana, I you've been working a lot, a lot, a lot with the fixed cost spreadsheet. How has that impacted the being able to project and impact the schedule for the clients that you've got utilizing that spreadsheet?

Dana (16:35.374)

Yeah, I really used to fix costs heavily this year because I do feel like that was part of the wild of 2024 is you know with everything going on and things are just more expensive wages are higher and I feel like practices we're seeing really good growth as far as looking at production but offices who weren't keeping quite an eye on expenses got some surprises because it ended up that like

The Dental A Team (16:41.294)

Mm-hmm.

The Dental A Team (16:56.345)

Yeah.

Dana (17:03.36)

you know, we set goals based on the numbers from the previous year. And so then when this year's expenses are quite a bit higher, and they're not watching them, or that's not something, you know, that they consistently look at, it just became more necessary this year to ensure that they knew where their fixed costs were. And they also knew that, okay, if it's outside of this, right, that is like,

The Dental A Team (17:07.769)

Mm-hmm.

The Dental A Team (17:17.051)

you

Dana (17:28.31)

an alert that like we need to take a deeper dive into this and we need to really keep an eye on it. So it was something that I really incorporated in 2024. And again, this year, I love that it is part of our scorecard and the things that we're really tracking with clients because that was an area that really hit offices hard. was like, were just giving raises and we were just saying, yep, you know what, I think I can extend my pay range for this new position to this and, just making some of these

The Dental A Team (17:29.614)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (17:56.641)

Mm-hmm.

Dana (17:58.186)

decisions like a little bit on the fly without crunching and saying, All right, well, what does that look like on the expense side? Or how much does that actually add to my BAM and my bottom line? And so I think that that it really was impactful this last year. And so, you know, I with you, I'm encouraging offices, even those listening to really make sure that that is a number that you know.

The Dental A Team (18:08.548)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (18:22.36)

For sure, and I think you're 100 % right because our goal is to be profitable and to have a thriving business that patients can continue to come to. But when we're making decisions without knowing the full spectrum, makes it really difficult. And to combine those pieces into what you just said, the...

holiday situation at the end of the year. I know I had a lot of clients and it was like November, December. They're like, Tiff, we decided to just take the two weeks off. And it's like, my gosh, like you just deleted four days out of December and that's massive. So going from a 16 day month to a 12 day month, like if you're averaging, you know, $10,000 a day, that's 40 grand that we've now deleted at the end of the year. There's nowhere else to put that. So being able to know.

Is that 40 grand going to affect the profit, the profitability and the overhead of the practice? Do I have that saved somewhere to cover it because I'm not collecting that 40 grand in January from December, right? So having that fixed cost information and what your bare minimum is to know where your overhead will be to know, can I actually deduct 40 grand from my production?

and be okay because I've got a couple practices now, you know, into January, February that are like, Tip, why is my collections low? And I'm like, well, girl, you took two weeks off in December and we collect on a lag when it comes to dental insurances. So I'm not surprised that it was a little low in January. So I think that was brilliant to really be able to combine all of those pieces. And again, that's like missing a color in the rainbow spectrum of colors, whatever. Like, you can't, you've got to look at it all.

Dana (19:51.595)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (20:09.444)

And if any of those pieces aren't missing, it could be really detrimental to the practice. So I think that was really cool, Dana. Thank you for bringing that up. You guys, it's simple. Even though it's February, if you haven't done this yet, like, that's okay. It's not December. You guys, you're not telling me in November, you're taking four days off in December. So guess what? It's only February. It's only whatever month you decided to live, you decided to listen to this in, go do these things. So look at, if you don't have the spreadsheets, if you're not one of our clients, then...

Dana (20:26.67)

Thank you.

The Dental A Team (20:37.805)

Create one. All you have to do is know what you can work and what your estimated dollar per hours are or reach out to us. [email protected] We're happy to help you with some ideas and some tools as well. Again, we are doing our complimentary practice assessments. Always TheDentalATeam.com That'll pop up. You can sign up for one those. This is definitely something that we talk about on those a lot. So we always look at your profitability. We always look at how the business can grow clients and non-clients. We like to help you guys with all of that. So

Dana, thank you. Thank you, thank you. Thank you for being such a huge advocate of the business side of all of this and really helping your clients and all of everyone to see those pieces and for helping on the back end so much of the creation of all of these pieces. It was a huge project within our company to ensure that we had it dialed in as much as we.

have the knowledge for now or know to look at. So thank you so much for that. Thank you for this conversation today and freaking rock it out. Your clients are doing amazing and I love seeing you all, you and your clients just thrive in those worlds. So super cool. Awesome. Guys, go do the things. Like I said, it's gonna take some time upfront, but it's gonna save you.

pain in the long run. So do the hard right now, save yourself pain and hard later. Get those numbers dialed in. Dana had some amazing tips and tools today within all of those different areas and realms to look for. Don't forget the meetings, you guys, I think that's a space that a lot of us miss. Meetings, CE credits, those hours, those pieces like that that you're taking off in admin hours. So make sure you're calculating correctly.

Go look at what can impact your production and your schedule and work with your team to make sure you guys are doing the best ever possible. Dana, thank you for being here with me today. I loved this conversation. Your brain is incredible and I don't, that's it. Like you're just freaking amazing. I don't know how you do it and I just love it. So thank you so much.

Dana (22:37.826)

Thanks for having me and right back at you, Tiff.

The Dental A Team (22:40.263)

Thank you. Thank you. All right, guys, let us know what you thought about this. We'd love to see a five-star review and letting us know how much help this information was or what have you. [email protected] And we can't wait to see you guys, if you are not yet a client, on a complimentary practice assessment because I really, really, really want you to get dialed in this year, no matter what that looks like for us and you. And keep listening, you guys. We're gonna always have some amazing content here for you. Catch you next time.
- Luisteren Nogmaals beluisteren Doorgaan Wordt afgespeeld...
- Later beluisteren Later beluisteren
#952: This Practice Has No Hygienist (and is Successful!)
6 feb· Dental A Team Podcast
Kiera is joined by Mike and Stephanie Walton of Walton Family Dentistry in Bardstown, Kentucky. For the past almost year, the Waltons have not had a hygienist in their office. They talk with Kiera about why they were struggling to keep one staffed, what led them to stop having one in the first place, and how they efficiently and profitably operate to this day without a hygienist.

Episode resources:

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Transcript:

Kiera Dent (00:05.844)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera and today is such a special episode. I am so excited. I am being joined by our incredible clients. I've got Mike and Stephanie Walton. They are running such an incredible practice. They are doing something so different, so unique, and I just wanted them to come on and share just about themselves. I think they're just a great example for so many offices out there. So Stephanie and Mike, welcome to the show. How are you today?

Mike Walton (00:30.602)

Doing great, doing great. Thanks for having us on.

Stephanie (00:33.948)

Thank you so much.

Kiera Dent (00:35.114)

Yes, absolutely. And I'll do better. I'll ask like Mike this, Stephanie that, because I know when there's three of us on here, can get a little funny, I'll just have Mike, I'll have you kind of kick this off. You two are incredible. I finally met you for the first time. We've worked together for so long. Tiffanie's your main consultant, but it was really dreamy when I got to meet you in June at the Dennis Money Show with Dennis Advisors.

Stephanie (00:39.209)

.

Kiera Dent (00:59.07)

So super fun, I'm excited to see you guys in person really soon too, but Mike, I'll have you just kick us off, kind of tell us a little bit about your practice, where you guys are at, kind of the dynamics of what you guys do in your practice. So the audience gets to know Mike and Stephanie Walton's office.

Mike Walton (01:11.809)

Great. So we are central Kentucky, little south of Louisville. So we're in a town called Bardstown. That's the bourbon capital of the world and the most beautiful small town award that we've received as well.

Stephanie (01:27.244)

In America.

Kiera Dent (01:28.69)

I agree. And you also bring the best candies and treats with you. Like they loaded us up when they came and met us. Bourbon Central, it was amazing. It was great. I was so like, it was so, the Carmel Stephanie, top notch, incredible. That was my favorite. So thank you.

Mike Walton (01:43.318)

Well, and Kara, have to say, you know, when I first saw you there, you know, of course we've seen each other on the think tank and, I saw you across the room and I was like, Hey, there's Kara. And I was like, she probably don't know who I am. We've never met before officially.

Stephanie (01:44.759)

You're welcome. Majestics.

Kiera Dent (01:46.961)

Exactly.

Kiera Dent (02:01.086)

I did it. Well, cause you know, you guys can see Mike, like there's video of him, Mike always, so we have, meant in think tank, which is our doctor mastermind every the first Tuesday of every month that we have. And Mike always wears his Yankees hat. Always. He always has a hat on. So even tonight I'm like, Mike, what are you doing? I'm not even going to recognize you. And you're right. I was like, where's your Yankees hat? That's fair. All right. So you guys are in Kentucky.

Mike Walton (02:19.4)

I'm saving it for next season.

Kiera Dent (02:27.103)

Tell us kind of the dynamics of your practice. How long have you been practicing? What does this practice look like?

Mike Walton (02:30.026)

So I've been practicing, it'll be 22 years in June. Started out in partnerships and then went out on my own about six years ago. So we are a small office where you are about five operatories. It's one doctor. And then right now it's four assistants, two front desk and then office manager.

Stephanie (02:35.246)

you

Kiera Dent (02:56.552)

And did you hear there's no hygienist, which is what we're going to lead into of how Mike went from a hygiene practice where he had hygienist to the shortage. was crunch time. Like he couldn't figure out how to, like it was so hard to hire. And so that's what I'm super excited to talk about. There was literally four assistants, no hygienist. Stephanie, tell us about your place. How are you in the practice? How did you get involved? I mean, you must really love Mike to be working there. You're even like scrubbed up over there, girl. It's not like you just shop. Tell us kind of how you.

Stephanie (03:07.129)

you

So I could tell that he was kind of unhappy at the last place and I was like, you know, it doesn't have to be that way. And so we started doing some research about how to open an office because they don't tell you a lot of business in dental school. And I had my own career and we had three little kids, but I wanted him to be happy. And we found ideal practices and they helped us open the office up and it was well worth the money.

And so that's how I got in there with him. And it was just he and I and an assistant and a hygienist when we started. And now we have two wonderful girls at the front desk. And so they do the majority of running the day-to-day stuff and I get to do the stuff that expands the practice and things like that. So we've come a long way, especially with your all's help.

Kiera Dent (04:16.54)

amazing. Tiffanie loves you. She raves about you. guys, every time you're on her coaching call schedule, Tiffanie is like, I get to talk to the Waltons today. Like truly, it has been such an incredible relationship. She adores you. And Stephanie, I love that you love Mike so much. And I think that that's just so telling of who you two are as a couple, what your practice is, the vibe you have, really just coming together as a couple. So now everyone is wondering and I'm wondering, like, how did you guys even come to this decision to have no hygiene? And how is that even like

operating. Like I need to know this because when you mentioned it on think tank, I didn't realize because I'm not on all of your calls that you literally had zero hygienist in your practice and it's been that way for a little while. So whomever wants to like take this on, I don't know whose brainy idea it was, like how did you guys even come to this decision and how is it going and give me all the things.

Mike Walton (05:04.002)

Well, I think what kind of led to, know, after COVID came through, you know, the number of hygienists went way down and, you know, it was constant turnover. It was, you know, they were in such demand and every office needed them that it was constantly training and getting them adapted to how we like things done. And then

Stephanie (05:19.492)

Okay.

Mike Walton (05:30.66)

somebody else would make a better offer and then they would go. And you know, their schedule would be booked out six to eight months and they'd give you a two week notice. And it was super stressful because you know, then we're faced with, well, we're running an ad, there's no way we're gonna get somebody to replace you in two weeks. And it got to the point where it was like, do we reschedule all these people or do we squeeze them in? And we were squeezing them in.

Kiera Dent (05:34.666)

Mm.

Kiera Dent (05:42.377)

Yep.

Mike Walton (06:00.778)

And it was stress and stress and stress and more stress. And then we got to the point where we're like, we can't do this anymore. and you know, you'd go through the cycle where you'd finally get somebody to bite on your ad, you'd get them in the office. And then, you know, I think about every maybe three or four months, it was turnover. And we were going through the same thing again. And we finally got, we're like, how do we, how do we get out of this terrible cycle of.

Stephanie (06:19.136)

you

Mike Walton (06:30.441)

of one, having to train, and two, having to deal with a six month schedule that's booked out for a two week notice. And the team was feeling that too. It wasn't just us because they were picking up a lot of the slack. And so we were like, gosh, if we keep doing this, they're going to get frustrated. We're going to lose the whole team. And then what are we going to do?

Stephanie (06:53.736)

And we have a wonderful team. The assistants are wonderful and the two at the front desk, shout out to Haley and Jessica. They are great.

Kiera Dent (07:03.346)

Yeah. Stephanie, how did you feel going through this? Did you agree with Mike? Were you like, let's just cut bait and try and see if we can figure this out? Or were you like, let's not do that. I mean, the traditional model is we need hygienists. We know we need two hygienists for every doctor. Like, Stephanie, what was your take? Because I think if I was in your shoes, I have a reasonable level of risk, but I'm also very risk adverse. And so how is it for you? I mean, this is your livelihood. You two are a couple in this. You went away. You've given up your career. You're in this now. Stephanie, how is that for you?

making this decision to go hygiene-less in a practice.

Stephanie (07:36.508)

you end up with kind of your opposite when you marry you know and so I'm the kind of like let's don't miss the boat and he's like that let's not rock the boat kind of person so so this was my idea like I was like

Kiera Dent (07:48.042)

Okay. I love it. I knew it was. I didn't even know, but I was like, I bet it was Stephanie's. Just knowing you two, I'm like, I bet.

Mike Walton (07:54.627)

But that's what I was gonna say is that I think you're directing this question to the wrong person.

Kiera Dent (08:02.612)

Yeah

Stephanie (08:03.274)

So I'm always like, well, what about this? And what about this? And what about this? And they're like, you're wearing us out. And so I try not to change too many things. But at the same time, I'm like, if anybody has any ideas, that's the great thing about small business and not having anybody to be your boss. You can try it. And if it doesn't work, you try something else.

Kiera Dent (08:26.47)

Exactly. Stephanie, what was your career prior to joining the dental practice? Where did you come from? What were you doing? I know you had three littles. So what did you do beforehand?

Stephanie (08:34.462)

was an occupational therapist. So I did, you know, worked at the hospital post, you know, rehab for strokes and hip replacements and things like that. So it comes in handy telling him about ergonomics and protecting that because I had patients that were former dentists. And so I can help the assistants and hygienists. We had one when we switched to this model and assistant

that was having some ulnar nerve impingement because she was doing so much of the same task. And so I was teaching her about ulnar nerve glides and ergonomics and stuff. So that's what I did before.

Kiera Dent (09:13.564)

I love it. And so what's fun about that is I wanted to highlight that because I think so often having a fresh perspective like you'd have Stephanie of we're running a ragged race and Mike, I think we're in dental. We're so ingrained in dental. That's why it's really fun to have consultants or have other business people or have someone else's perspective. So Stephanie, how did you pitch this and what was your reasoning? Like walk me through, how did you even say like we're getting rid of the hygienist? Like forget it, Mike. We're going to go for this. Walk me through kind of your thought process of even how you

thought to do this and then I'm excited to hear Mike how you guys actually ended up doing it.

Stephanie (09:46.832)

You know, I don't even know if I'm on a lot of different forums and a lot of just to learn podcasts, consume, you know, and I don't know if somebody else was doing it or if it was like a hybrid from like accelerated hygiene or if it was just the fact that can we entertain the idea of not having that position in the office.

and then boost the wonderful people that we do have, you know, could we make that work? Because I'm kind of like, you know, out of the box, you know, well, have we ever tried this before? And, you know, I watch a lot of Simon Sinek, you know, you can have anything you want as long as you don't hurt anybody else in the process, you know? So.

Kiera Dent (10:29.224)

Yep, yep.

Kiera Dent (10:33.13)

Mm hmm. All right. So Mike, she pitches this to you. Let's get rid of hygiene. I can only imagine a dentist's worst nightmare is, hey, you want to start scaling teeth again? So I'm just dying to know, Mike, how did this pitch go? I'm imagining Shark Tank. Stephanie's got the like white boards. Like we could do this. We can think outside the box. And Mike, you're like, but this means I have to scale again. So Mike, how did this go for you? Give me come because I guarantee you dentists listening are like

I'm hanging up. Like I'm not even gonna listen. How did this dentist even say yes to wanting to do hygiene again? Because I imagine that that's how it's rolling in your practice right now. Well.

Mike Walton (11:04.144)

Well, you know, we've been married. We've been married for it'll be 24 years this year and together for 31 years. And I learned a long time ago that I say, you're right. you know, it doesn't take a lot of fight anymore to kind of get me to go along because

Kiera Dent (11:13.374)

Wow, congrats.

Kiera Dent (11:22.942)

Yeah

Mike Walton (11:28.956)

She does a lot of that research and a lot of that background. You know, I've always been more of the technician and she kind of says, hey, if you think about this, you think about that. And she's got a good way of presenting it to where it makes all the sense in the world. You know, I think there were some logistical things that were kind of popping in both of our heads of how does this work? But also from her background as an occupational therapist, she is...

Stephanie (11:38.526)

.

Mike Walton (11:57.744)

incredibly structured and organized. And so it, you know, she took a lot of that on and kind of said, Hey, what if we do this? What if we do that? And I was like, I couldn't find anything to argue with other than, you know, in dental school, I remember graduating dental school thinking, well, that's the last prophy I'm ever going to do. and you know, I kind of dreaded it going into it at first, but you know, it's not, it's not bad. know, right now I'm still like, you know,

Stephanie (12:02.157)

.

Mike Walton (12:25.787)

I'm not gonna do any scaling and root planing. you know, I say we're hygienist-less. We do have one of our old hygienists that does come in and do our scaling and root planing for us. And we set her up every couple of weeks and with a full schedule and she's fantastic. And she comes in and takes care of us with that. But we do all the paramedinance and all the pro fees. you know, it took a little time to kind of get into that groove because we were trying to figure out, we do it all?

all hygiene in one day and all restorative in another day or do we mix and match it? And we decided and figured out that it was more efficient and profitable to kind of break it up and do it day by day. we got one day or I guess we work four days a week. So in a two week span, we got eight work days and we'll do several days of just hygiene and several days of restorative.

Stephanie (13:22.5)

Three.

Mike Walton (13:24.859)

and we kind of alternate those doors. So yeah, so like today was a full day of hygiene for me. So we had three operatories of hygiene just back to back to back and ran all day like that.

Kiera Dent (13:27.316)

So you do a full day. It's a full day. Go ahead.

Stephanie (13:27.383)

you

Kiera Dent (13:40.668)

Amazing. And so you basically are doing triple accelerated hygiene. You've got your assistants who are over a column and then you basically just go in scale. You can do the exam at the same time. So that is convenient. Is that how it operates? Now I'm dying to know the logistics. All right, so we've got three columns of hygiene that we're doing, which is why we have our assistants. How does that work for you, Mike? Are you just scaling, they're polishing, they're taking the x-rays?

Mike Walton (13:42.594)

Thank

Kiera Dent (14:07.282)

and do you stagger your schedule so that way you're able to get to all of them or are they blocked on the hour just like a regular hygiene schedule?

Mike Walton (14:12.26)

So good question. We do not stagger them. We kind of have them on our appointments. I'm trying to think of what's the best way to start here.

Stephanie (14:29.31)

The front desk does a really good job of mixing patients that need x-rays with patients that don't need x-rays. So that's kind of the substitute for staggering and the DAs do too, looking forward.

Mike Walton (14:33.186)

Yes.

Kiera Dent (14:35.978)

Amazing.

Mike Walton (14:37.518)

Yeah. So yeah, we'll have somebody that needs x-rays and two that don't. And so what happens is I'll start out and I'll just scale. As soon as they get the first three patients back, I'll scale one. The other assistant is getting all the data and profi. And then the other one's doing the x-rays. And so they're a little bit behind that second one. And then it kind of staggers when I need to go into each room, if that makes sense.

Kiera Dent (15:07.614)

Mm-hmm, it does.

Mike Walton (15:08.043)

And then, you know, that's what it is. It's just kind of a bounce, room to room to room, and then they got time to turn over, and then we bounce room to room to room again.

Stephanie (15:20.476)

And we're real fortunate in the state of Kentucky because the dental assistants can do everything but the scaling. With the certification, they can do the coronal polishing. They can do, we trained them to do period charting. We trained them to do everything but the scaling and of course the diagnosing. And that has worked out tremendously well as far as that. But they can do everything. They can do sealants, can do flora, they can do polishing.

Kiera Dent (15:20.659)

Amazing.

Stephanie (15:48.785)

They can establish rapport and so they fill that time with what we call how's your mama experience, you know, because that's what it is when people come in, we say how, you know, how are you doing? How's your mom? And we know that good.

Kiera Dent (15:54.984)

Yeah.

Kiera Dent (16:00.095)

Mm-hmm.

Right. And in the state of Kentucky, because I don't know all the laws, are they, when we go to the restorative side, can they act as like F does in others or are they, they do fillings? Can they do crown preps? Like you obviously prep. that, does that work for you? Because I'm just trying to figure out logistics on restorative day, because I'm guessing you've got quite a few columns of restorative. Is that how your, your assistants work?

Mike Walton (16:22.74)

Right, right, exactly. yeah, anything that is reversible they can do. And so they are all extended duty certified.

And that's kind of how we run. Whatever they can do, they are allowed to do, they do, and they do it well. You know, that was one of the...

Kiera Dent (16:46.473)

Right?

Stephanie (16:47.311)

And the great part about that is, is they understand the restorative part when it comes to treatment planning during a hygiene appointment. And the hygienists always struggled with that. They knew hygiene inside and out, everything about that. But when it came to treatment planning, the process of extractions and dentures or whatever it may be, they didn't understand that. And these dental assistants understand it forwards and backwards. And so they're his right hand in the restorative. And so when it comes to treatment planning,

Kiera Dent (16:55.156)

Totally.

Kiera Dent (17:09.258)

right.

Stephanie (17:17.147)

They already know how he likes it, the procedure process, the steps of it. And so even the treatment planning is so much better because they understand the restorative part where the hygienist really didn't.

Mike Walton (17:21.558)

All right.

Kiera Dent (17:30.394)

That's a good point Stephanie and I hadn't actually not thought about that. Like you're right. They're probably teeing up treatments so much better. They don't even need to know what would doctor do because they know they've assisted you and as an assistant, I'm like, I know what my doctor is going to do. You're so intimate with your doctor that you really do know. That's actually like a plug for people that want to go fully hygiene, hygiene less like you guys have. If you're looking at assisted hygiene, that assistant really can tee up a lot of treatment if they've worked with a doctor and they are an experienced assistant.

Stephanie (17:36.078)

Yes.

Mike Walton (17:36.469)

you

Stephanie (17:39.856)

Yes.

Mike Walton (17:42.101)

Okay.

Kiera Dent (17:58.346)

That's a really big pro that I had not thought of. So Mike, is it for you as a dentist, like scaling all day long? Are you okay with it? Do you like the piezo? Walk me through, how many months has this been since you guys have gone to this model?

Mike Walton (18:06.516)

It was probably May when we started doing this. Yeah, yeah. And so it was tough at first because it's a whole different positioning. know, it was, I would end the day and could hardly, you know, stand up straight. you know, it's taken a long time to try to figure out

Kiera Dent (18:15.754)

Okay, so we're like nine months, 10 months in.

Kiera Dent (18:27.145)

Yeah.

Stephanie (18:29.765)

It's.

Mike Walton (18:35.858)

where proper position was, you know, cause it had been so long since I'd done it. But you know, the last, probably the last month or two, month and a half, it's gotten to where I found that groove and I get in. it's not, you know, it's not that strenuous on me as it was in the beginning. You know, I think that was one of the things early on that we thought, gosh, we might not be able to pull this off because it was so hard, you know, physically, but.

Kiera Dent (18:41.833)

Right?

Stephanie (18:58.051)

Okay.

Mike Walton (19:05.363)

I think we just kept working and of course, know, Stephanie's got a lot of good input on how to do things with the ergonomics and, you know, if I was complaining about something bothering me, she's like, try this, try that. And so, you know, that all kind of panned out and, you know, I think with the assistants learning new skills and taking on more responsibility, they really like, they've run with it, you know, it's pushing there.

Stephanie (19:27.051)

Okay.

Mike Walton (19:35.388)

their level of importance up in the office and they appreciate that and I appreciate that. It kind of makes their job more fulfilling and it allows us to get through the day. We tend to on time a lot better than we did before. I think one of the nicest things is that there's no interruption. When you had a hygienist, was no matter what you were doing, was constantly, I'm ready for a check.

Stephanie (19:53.614)

Okay.

Kiera Dent (19:54.834)

I bet.

Kiera Dent (20:01.279)

Mm-hmm.

Mike Walton (20:04.518)

and you'd have to stop and get up and go check and then you come back and then it seemed like as soon as you sat down and put your gloves on and got your fingers wet, it was time for a check again. And so we don't have that anymore. And so that's like a huge stress reliever. And because you're not having to get up and down all the time, it allows you to schedule more efficiently. know, it...

Kiera Dent (20:14.461)

Right.

Kiera Dent (20:26.856)

I was going to say, I bet on restorative, can actually do a lot more restorative faster and more efficiently and actually get more done than you were prior. Have you noticed that to be true?

Mike Walton (20:37.027)

It has because and you know just kind of jumping a little bit into probably what you would ask down the road, but you know I think our our overall production has gone down a little bit just because we Yeah So like it's it's gone down a little bit just because we can't see as many patients anymore

Stephanie (20:50.092)

Okay.

Kiera Dent (20:52.262)

Yep, you knew, you know me. Of course I want to know like what are the numbers?

Mike Walton (21:01.584)

So we had to scale back just a little bit to make it work with the amount of appointments that we had possibly available. But with how efficient we are now with the scheduling, the profitability has gone up. And I had those numbers and I did that on a presentation with another mastermind group and I don't have it right in front of me, but I don't know, do you remember what those were Stephanie or no?

Kiera Dent (21:02.634)

Mm-hmm.

Stephanie (21:26.668)

Not exactly, we took home more is what it came down to and our team did. Like we were able to give raises, we were able to share that because we didn't have that hygiene overhead. But another good point is that we had to set aside specific time in the schedule, make appointments, make events.

Kiera Dent (21:33.353)

Mm-hmm.

Stephanie (21:45.75)

to formalize their training with how to do period charting to his standards, how to do these skills to his standards. It's like everything else you had to put it on the schedule so that everybody could check it off. And so it's kind of like a loss in the beginning, but it pays off in spades down the road because they feel confident about it. And it's like they're their patients, you know, and they're, you know, in charge of it.

Kiera Dent (21:48.383)

Yeah.

Stephanie (22:11.335)

and responsible for it and they're very proud of how many skills they have now and you know so they were kind of hesitant at first because it's just like it's unknown and you know I don't know if I can do that and but you know by checking off and feeling confident you know it's made the biggest difference.

Kiera Dent (22:30.75)

That's amazing. And as an assistant myself, and I know tips and assistant as well, it actually is really fun to think of elevating assistants to give them more skill sets, things that they can do giving them that autonomy. It actually kind of comes down to an ortho assistant model where they're able to do so much more while still being able to have the the general side where we get to do all the fun, like I call it the blood and guts of dentistry, like ortho is so clean, which hygiene is so clean with air quotes around it.

Mike Walton (22:45.23)

you

Kiera Dent (22:58.538)

And so I think you've actually blended for assistance because I was always envious of the ortho assistance. I'm like, gosh, they get to do so much. They get to do so much more than I do. So I think like really incredible work agreed. think I'd be nervous to take this on and be like, if we're doing hygiene, but I think also way to give them a huge elevation piece. So, and it's also fun to hear about your numbers. I would imagine without that hygiene expense that you will be more profitable. So you run

When you run restorative days, you run three columns of restorative on that, or how many columns of restorative do you normally do?

Mike Walton (23:30.189)

three and then. We'll have a foot. We've got a fourth room that if we have kids we can squeeze in a fourth. Yeah, yeah.

Stephanie (23:42.692)

that are assistant only.

Kiera Dent (23:44.842)

Sure. Okay, so we're running three columns of hygiene on one day, then three columns of restorative, which you can. Now you can have them shorter appointments. You can get in and out. You can utilize your assistants more. So they're having fun too. They have a hygiene day, then restorative day, hygiene. So it breaks up their model too. They're not running all the time. But I'm curious. I always think like long-term, like, do you guys wanna go back to hygiene and or would you hire another dentist?

So then Mike, you and another dentist are doing this hygiene model. can see, cause I'm thinking, well shoot, you're seeing three columns of hygiene. You're probably only seeing two before, but we're seeing three columns, but just not consistently across the time. So what are your kind of your long-term pieces? You took home more, you had a little drop in production. I'm super curious like to see a full year of this. Like will the numbers come back up now that everybody's trained? We kind of have this whole model, but what's kind of in the long-term scope? Are you thinking of another doctor or maybe looking for hygienists?

or like, no, we're gonna just ride this out for a little while.

Mike Walton (24:41.671)

I think the plan is gonna be to kind of ride it out. We kind of talked about if you brought on another doctor, are they gonna buy into doing hygiene like we have? I think that's a hard pill to swallow until you've had the heartache and the upset that we had with maintaining a hygienist. So I think it's gonna be kind of ride it out and see how things go.

Stephanie (25:00.407)

.

Kiera Dent (25:03.486)

Right.

Mike Walton (25:12.317)

Is there ever a time where you'd have a hygienist back in? Absolutely. I think there's some things that have to change market-wise and availability-wise and knowing that security because I think that's one of the biggest things that the patients have noticed is they're getting consistency with the same person. And we're...

Stephanie (25:34.233)

They love seeing the doctor. There's no pushback to not having a hygienist. They are very excited to have more time with him.

Kiera Dent (25:34.495)

Right.

Mike Walton (25:41.29)

And, you know, and I think we're getting into that cycle where from when we started, we're seeing the six month, you know, group coming back through and they're like, you know, we had so much turnover that every time they came, it was a different person. And now there, there's like, I get to the same person again. And, and so, you know, that's a, that's a good feeling for them too. And, you know, I think that that would be the limitation on a hygienist is one, no one, you know,

Kiera Dent (25:42.889)

I believe it.

Stephanie (25:59.533)

you

Mike Walton (26:09.994)

If I could guarantee that they would be here long term, absolutely. Or if the market were to change to where there was a surplus that you felt like that was gonna drive them to stay for a long time, I think that's where the change would come in that perspective.

Kiera Dent (26:31.582)

Wow. I'm so intrigued and I'm sure listeners are just beyond intrigued by this. It is fun to know about the numbers. It's fun to hear. And I remember Mike in our mastermind that we were chatting, you literally said like, I wouldn't go back. You're like, it was the best thing we ever did. And I'm like, we're getting on the podcast because it's such a anomaly. think it's, it shows your guys's grit. It shows your determination. I love Stephanie, you pushing to think outside the box. So I'm just curious, like with this.

Stephanie (26:52.164)

.

Kiera Dent (27:00.202)

What would you say are like the best benefits? mean, Mike, I've heard a few come through from you benefits and Stephanie, you just said them. So I'll list a few and see if there's anything I might have missed was something I love that you said they get consistency with the, with the doctor, like they're seeing Mike, they're seeing him more often. Um, I think Mike, for you not having to get the, we're ready for a check. We're ready for a check. Like you feel like you can just get in and almost like do your thing every single day. I also heard the assistants have been able to rise up. You've been able to

probably pay them more than they would normally make, which also then retains your assistance and makes them more sticky to you, I would presume. But any other things that you've seen that have been positives of moving to a hygiene-less model?

Stephanie (27:38.747)

Well, I want to speak to that because the team is so much more unified because and they're candid with us because everybody feels like they're on the same level.

Kiera Dent (27:44.681)

Interesting.

Stephanie (27:48.192)

Like there's no hierarchy in the office. The back office people are candid with the front office people and telling us how we can schedule more efficiently. The front office people are telling the back office people you need to document this so we're getting paid quicker. It's like the barriers have been broken down. Like everybody's on the same level and that has unified the team, I think, like we didn't anticipate.

Kiera Dent (28:17.574)

I wouldn't have thought that either. I could see like some divides, but I also think when you go through quote unquote hard times, which you were, you were losing hygienists consistently. We're having to pick up the slack. That's stressful. We've got all these columns of hygiene. It does bring people together when they go through that. And I bet this team is pretty rock solid sticky with you for quite some time going through this, which I think is awesome. Mike, anything you've seen that you want to add to that or Stephanie, either one of you.

Mike Walton (28:40.738)

you know, I think those are the big highlights. you know, it's, it's, it seemed like there was always tension before and we don't have that. Like Stephanie said, it's, you know, that, that unifying of the team and it's because everybody's, you know, pulling, you know, a very important role in the office and making it work and everybody's establishing that relationship and

Stephanie (29:09.907)

All right.

Mike Walton (29:10.817)

It's kind of like not your right hand talking to your left hand. It's like having one big hand and it's all just working together. And I did look up while you all were talking a minute ago, I pulled up the other presentation I had with the profitability. So this was when we were four months into it. Our payroll overhead was falling between 15 and 18%.

Stephanie (29:18.016)

Okay.

Kiera Dent (29:18.58)

Yeah.

Stephanie (29:25.633)

Okay.

Kiera Dent (29:26.89)

Oh yeah, I wanna know these. I love numbers.

Mike Walton (29:37.284)

because we lost the payroll for the hygienist. Our average overhead for that four months was 48%. And then our overall production was steady, but our profitability was up 27 % over the same four month period the year before. So.

Kiera Dent (29:38.504)

Wow.

Kiera Dent (29:47.306)

amazing.

Kiera Dent (29:56.854)

That's insane. And to hear payroll numbers coming in at, you know, 15, 18 % when right now people are struggling to keep it at 30, 34, 35%. Everything's rising up. And so that had to just feel good to, I mean, I don't know, Mike, I saw both, I saw you for many months. And I just remember the stress, like so many think tanks, you're like, can't find a hygienist, we just lost a hygienist. And I feel like the stress and the

angst that you are going through and watching you two tonight, you just seem like, yep, we have a plan and I'm wondering if there's now, do you feel more certainty? And I think Stephanie will come to you on this one. Is there more certainty that like your success, your future's in your hands or does it feel like there's more stress because now it's all on you? has it, has it freed you up? Has it created more stress? What do you feel Stephanie from your perspective?

Stephanie (30:46.206)

think making this change has recreated more stress at all. I enjoy this. I worry about it being physically hard on him, but I enjoy the team being a lot happier when they come in and them feeling fulfilled. And I think that decreases our worry. And I think a lot of people that own practices are worried that people, if you rub them the wrong way, they're just going to leave.

If you ask them to do one more thing, they're just going to leave. And that was a constant stress for us. And I don't feel like that with this group. So, you know, I don't know if it's going to be a long-term option because, you know, I worry about the wear and tear on him, but they seem to really care about each other. it's...

Kiera Dent (31:15.604)

Right?

Mike Walton (31:15.811)

Thank

Kiera Dent (31:18.442)

Mm-hmm.

Stephanie (31:39.249)

Yeah, it's working for now and we just need to watch trends and see if it's going to continue to work or if we need to pivot.

Kiera Dent (31:48.212)

Sure, I love that. Mike, what about for you?

Mike Walton (31:49.637)

you know, I think, I think the excess of stress is kind of what pushed us to make the change. And I would say that definitely the, you know, since we've made it just with the demeanor and the whole office and, and the, the lack of the headache of constantly replacing somebody is, I mean, that's taken mountains of stress away. And, and, you know, I mean,

I think that was the most valuable thing that we've done is relieving that stress because it was taken as toll. It was pretty hard on us.

Kiera Dent (32:31.006)

believe it. How does it feel Mike for you being like Stephanie was saying you are now the hygienist and the dentist and so like those two hands I always told my dentist every night I'm like hey keep those hands good because that's my job I tell him like when you walk through the crosswalk put your hands up so in case like the car hits you like they just take your body out but your hands are still good but truly I was like you are my job Mike how is that for you like you are the hygienist you are the dentist it is you in that practice

Stephanie (32:35.292)

.

Kiera Dent (32:58.524)

Is there stress on you feeling that or is like, well, I'm to do what I can do. And Hey, worst case scenario, I'm going to find someone to replace me if I have to. What, does that feel?

Stephanie (33:05.843)

So I think that was something that was really eating at him. And then we sat down with Matt at the dental advisors. And once we got the disability insurance in place and everything was, we have a contingency plan. So if the works were to happen, for whatever that the team is provided for for a little while, and then we have.

Kiera Dent (33:16.446)

Mm.

Kiera Dent (33:21.712)

Tell

Stephanie (33:30.649)

And I think that's, and Mike, you need to speak to this. I think that made him feel a whole lot better because there was a lot of responsibility on his shoulders is just having those contingency plans if something bad were to happen.

Mike Walton (33:44.404)

Right and like what she was saying, you you kind of carry that load of everything is dependent on me and what happens and You know, I think that's just seeing the numbers, you know once you see the numbers just like anything that it Relieves you a little bit and you know that hey, you know, you don't want the worst to happen but if it does you know things are provided for you know, as far as

Kiera Dent (33:45.224)

For sure.

Stephanie (34:10.606)

you

Mike Walton (34:11.42)

you know, hands and things go, you know, I see lots of people that go through years of work and I think if anything, my hands are good. It was my back that I was worried about, but you know, I think just repositioning and kind of paying attention and listening to your body too that, you know, I, I've had hygienists that only hand scale and you know, and I'm like, use the use of ultrasonic, you know, that's what it's there for. It's meant to save your hands. And so

Kiera Dent (34:22.472)

you

Kiera Dent (34:38.833)

Exactly.

Stephanie (34:40.133)

.

Mike Walton (34:40.315)

You know, I do most everything ultrasonic and if I can't get to ultrasonic, I hand scale and like I said, it's not, you know, I don't pay a whole lot of attention to that wear and tear, you know, because it's so minimal. But, you know, it's one of those things that, you know, at first I thought I wasn't going to like, but I've always been the talker with the patients too. And it's like, now I've got a little extra time to talk, you know?

Kiera Dent (35:07.751)

Yeah.

Mike Walton (35:10.746)

I think it's been a good change.

Kiera Dent (35:11.058)

I bet.

Kiera Dent (35:14.842)

It's such a fun thing and I'm so grateful you guys were willing to come on and share and definitely love you guys as clients, love seeing your success, love seeing the change. love just you sharing your experience. It's really fun. So just super appreciative of you coming on. And of course my mind's thinking like, well, if you guys are gonna stay this model, you might as well go fee for service. Like you've already got a huge tether to these patients, make more, it can do less.

bring on another doctor that could swap you out. Hi Jenna. So really fun past for you in the future. I'm just curious as we wrap up tonight, like so appreciative. Any last thoughts, maybe things I didn't ask that I should have asked or things that you're like, Kiera, this would be really helpful for practice thinking about doing this. Stephanie, I'll pivot to you first and then we'll wrap with you, Mike. Anything I maybe didn't ask or something you want to add as we wrap up tonight.

Stephanie (36:00.993)

So it probably helps us tremendously that we do not have contracts with any insurance. So we're not straight up fee for service, but we do get full fee now. So that probably makes it a little bit more doable for us, but it also adds a little bit of stress on our wonderful front desk people because they're having those hard conversations.

Kiera Dent (36:10.398)

Yes.

Stephanie (36:20.951)

And then another barrier was there are only so many hygiene spots that we could fit in a calendar year. So we could literally with only one doctor see probably 2300 hygiene appointments in a year. And so we had probably 4,000 active patients when this was going on. And so we were like, what do we do? And Mike said, you know, a little bit of health issues. And so we wanted to decrease the stress. We're at a point where we could do that. And so

Kiera Dent (36:38.376)

Yeah, the big cut.

Stephanie (36:50.006)

we had to like downsize some patients and I bet every office would like to downsize some patients. And we just started with the people that gave him the highest stress or didn't value keeping their appointments. And we enacted a super strict cancellation policy, which is a little bit of a hard conversation for the front desk, but it's a little work upfront that pays off in spades and...

Kiera Dent (36:55.946)

Hahaha

Stephanie (37:17.353)

And it's kind of like people are coming to the understanding that this more of a specialist type office. If they truly value coming to see Dr. Walton, which they love seeing him because of that relationship, you know, they're going to keep that appointment. They're going to book it far out. And so we got to kind of let some people go that didn't respect, you know, his time or we didn't enjoy seeing necessarily. So, you know, I think that was, you know,

something that was hard that we didn't anticipate. But I think it's kind of a good thing in the long run.

Kiera Dent (37:53.596)

Yeah, no, and you're right, that is a big downsize, but it's also an upgrade in life and fulfillment and happiness. And I tell a lot of offices, like the best gift, there was one dentist I worked with and they said every year for the holidays, the gift they gave was like, the employees could go through the list of patients of which ones give us the heartache, which ones are the ones that like we just grown, and we're going to dismiss them and we're going to actually like fire them as patients in a very respectful way, send them to another office.

But elevating that, like it's crazy how much that can do for your morale. I only work with clients that I like. That's part of the Dental A Teams model. Like, yes, I understand that there'll be some tricky ones, but we really only, we like to work with our clients. love, and I love the name, my day is full of all the clients that I love working with. And I know Tip feels the same way. So I can only imagine giving yourself that life upgrade was incredible. So thanks for that. That's a, that's also a good, think, key point, cause you're right. Limited space. What do we do with that? And based on where you are in your career path,

It makes sense to possibly downsize. Who knows how much longer we want to practice, but I think if you're really early on in your practice, that'd be something to really consider because downsizing a practice and then if you ever bring in doctors, you're going to need to re-increase that. think that's something that was a wise decision based on where you are. So Mike, anything for you you wanted to add or highlight?

Mike Walton (39:07.389)

Well, I think the only thing that Stephanie didn't mention, I'm going blank here now, but it was... What was I going to say?

Kiera Dent (39:23.624)

I chatted too long for you, Mike.

Mike Walton (39:23.896)

Caught me off guard there. Oh, I know, was when we made that change, one of the other difficult things was, you had six months of hygiene people that you had to reschedule to the days that you were seeing hygiene. And so that was a tremendous load on the front desk as well to move all of those patients and get them lined up on the days that we deemed as the hygiene days. But that was for...

six months and we've made it through that and you know that's a huge load off of their shoulders now and yeah yeah.

Stephanie (39:58.002)

.

Shout out to Jessica.

Kiera Dent (40:01.93)

Right. It is something where I think you guys have really painted a picture of it's short-term pain for long-term gain. Yes, those are annoying. Yes, those things are just obnoxious. And I think a lot of people aren't willing to do the short-term pain. So they stay in long-term pain thinking that that's easier. And so it is annoying as a front office to move patients, but it's what the benefit going to be. Like we have a pediatric practice that I worked with and we got the doctor where she has

We work just ops in the morning and then we do all hygiene in the afternoon. So it's a similar, it's just split days for them. And she's so much happier, but they had to move. I mean, we're talking pediatrics. That's just like so many little appointments in a day. But that team, hunkered in just like your team did. And it's amazing at how happy this team has become, how much happier the patients are, how much more efficient they are with their time. So mad kudos to you and your team. Yes.

Stephanie (40:55.583)

And add those hard conversations about that. that's what people, a lot of people don't want to do is have those hard conversations to have the long-term benefit.

Mike Walton (40:57.526)

All

Stephanie (41:06.927)

That's what we've experienced is they just, even the doctors, they just avoid those hard conversations, tell them what they want to hear and just get out and.

Kiera Dent (41:16.604)

Yeah, and then here we are. So I'm so proud of you. I know Tiff has been proud of you. I know she's been a huge instrumental part to help you guys navigate through this and just work with it and just like really I think the tenacity, the grit and the love that you have is just so incredible. So thank you. I know it's late for you. You guys are East Coast. I'm West Coast. So thank you for taking time. You had a full day today. But really, just thanks for sharing your experience. And I think for offices listening, I think think outside the box like Stephanie and I Mike and go through those

the pains, you will, it's the pain, the pain of holding on and like having that constant replacement, or is the pain of let's figure this out so we're not there. And I'm so excited, like, thanks for letting me, you know, eat my popcorn on the sideline of your life and watch to see how this unfolds. I think you have so many fun things to see how does this year shake out? Is this something we want to do long term? Or is it something where no, maybe we might go back to a more traditional, maybe we do a hybrid of what we've done and what we used to do. I'm really excited to see the future and I think it's bright and

Mike Walton (42:03.859)

Yes, thanks.

Kiera Dent (42:13.588)

hallelujah, you're not in the hygiene debacle anymore for now. We'll see what changes in the future, but mad appreciation to both of you.

Stephanie (42:20.239)

Thank you for letting us share our story.

Kiera Dent (42:23.58)

Of course. All right, you guys, that wraps it up. And for all of you listening, thank you for listening and I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.
- Luisteren Nogmaals beluisteren Doorgaan Wordt afgespeeld...
- Later beluisteren Later beluisteren
#951: Using AI + Other Tech in Your Practice
5 feb· Dental A Team Podcast
Artificial intelligence is steadily growing as a presence in our personal and professional lives. In this episode, Tiff and Dana talk about how AI can be used effectively in practices, game-changing technology in recent years, and the never-out-of-style human interaction among it all.

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Transcript

The Dental A Team (00:01.681)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. I am so excited. We are second month of a new year, and that means you should be tracking your goals. If you're a Dental A Team client, you have this amazing new scorecard that we've introduced that my personal clients have freaking loved. And being able to see where those goals are so quickly in the month and being able to track along and see what we need to do to pivot or change or continue growth has been really cool. So welcome to new month, new year.

knew you. Dana, thank you so much for being here with me. I know you have a ton of clients that have been onboarded with that scorecard and doing super well as well. How is this new year treating you? This 2025, how's it going, Dana?

Dana (00:46.03)

Oh, it's going pretty well. Happy New Year to you and everyone listening. Yeah, I'm super excited about the scorecard. Clients seem to really like it and I think it'll just be a game changer for 2025 to keep everybody just intentional and focused on the things to move forward. So I'm really looking forward to 2025.

The Dental A Team (01:04.136)

Yeah, me too. Me too. I have a client that I talked to actually this morning that was like, well, we needed to make some adjustments to the scorecard to fit their practice, which is why we say that we're customizable because anything that we do, it's got to be custom fit to that practice. So we had made some adjustments in there and then.

I was like, you know, you guys, know that you're tracking everything. Like this office manager is meticulously tracking everything in the practice. So I said, this is like an overview. Like my meticulous tracker is like an overview for you guys. So make it your own. Let's figure it out. But I told her there's so many practices out there that don't know what to track or how to track it or how to see the trends within the numbers. And her mind was just blown.

She's the wife, they've owned the dental practice for years and years and years and years. They've been in dentistry forever. So she's learned all of that along the way, but she was just mind blown at how some people just don't know. And I didn't know when I first started managing, I was like, what do all these numbers mean? And we all have to learn somewhere. So it's just been really cool to watch everyone continue that growth in the new year and really, like you said, track along with those goals and see.

what can be done to manipulate and change the results to create something magical. Whatever it is that you want, can change those tracking metrics and change those results to create something really cool. Within that conversation, I'm excited about today, because today, Dana, we just prepped for this. And I think your track that you're thinking for this conversation today is so beautiful. We talk a lot about new dental tech is what I'll air quote it as.

kind of like new things on the scene. And it's really easy to talk about scanners and lasers and all of those CBCTs and all the different things in the practice that we can implement kind of in the clinical aspect. I really love what you are talking about now with all the other pieces. There's so much AI coming into play. And that's what you had mentioned Dana. And I really want to chat about that because it's so cool.

The Dental A Team (03:06.342)

I know I chat GPT, especially on my personal side. like, I create and think of so much stuff, you know, for Dental A Team, I'm sure you do the same, you create so much for us and our content. I know on my personal side, I'm like, Ben, chat GPT, tell me what to do. that, like, AI has really come into play strong, I would say in the last year. And this year, even a month and a half or whatever into the year feels like

Like it's a do or die. Like you're using AI. There's just no two ways about it. So how have you seen in your practices currently, the AI bots come into play and all those pieces aside from chat GPT that can help with the patient response. But how have you seen those AI tools really be being implemented? And then I want to think about how do we see like the future, what that's going to look like as well.

Dana (03:58.528)

Yeah, I think it's actually pretty incredible some of the new like dental AI stuff that's coming out essentially now you can use AI to be almost like a receptionist or a part of especially your front office team. Lots of dental tech companies coming out with

They can, you know, the chat bot or the AI bot can take care of missed calls or after hours calls. So now patients can have communication with you 24 hours a day, not just when your office is open. Being able to log into your system and actually schedule the patient without you there.

The Dental A Team (04:35.067)

Mm-hmm.

Dana (04:38.23)

and doing it really actually pretty well. And then sending, you know, a lot of the AI, the reception, it's like, then they send you, you know, an overview of the call so that you know exactly what was said, you can add in any notes that you want. So it truly can be as if they called while somebody was in the practice. And so AI is really coming in strong this year, especially in the dental world. And I'm excited, you know, I know a lot of offices in my calls, it's like they struggle with call volume, and they struggle with

The Dental A Team (05:06.285)

That's nice.

Dana (05:08.685)

getting their team members to be able to handle the volume of calls that are coming in and still get their tasks done. So when you have something that can easily handle that overflow and keep you going and keep you moving forward and you can still have a pulse on it, I think it's actually really cool.

The Dental A Team (05:14.163)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (05:23.313)

I agree, and it makes me think of vacation time too, because there's so many practices that don't have 20 team members that if people are taking vacation or if doctor wants to take vacation, there's not two associates to take over the schedule. And so it's like the practice is closing down. But one of the biggest fears I think a lot of practice owners have is shutting down the practice means there could be a week or how many other days of patient calls and patient interactions that are missed.

Sometimes we don't have the staff to be like, hey, sometimes they want to take vacation with you, know, or the same time as you. So that's what it made me think of too, is, well, grab a bot for, you know, that we have somebody maybe checking in on it and looking at it. Obviously, we don't fully trust it yet. They haven't taken over the world just yet. But having somebody monitor it, but for vacations, things like that, you said the after hours kind of extends into that. Or Fridays, a lot of doctors, and it's a lot of new patient opportunities on Fridays because...

dentistry. You know, we love being off on Fridays as often as we can as well. But a lot of companies are actually off on Fridays or have flex Fridays. And so sometimes I think for the just humans in general for the population, Fridays are kind of a catch up day where we're making appointments, we're calling in, we're asking questions and we're getting appointments done. And so we miss a lot of opportunities there. And the dreaded Monday fell apart.

Dana (06:44.91)

Mm-hmm.

The Dental A Team (06:45.046)

So, you know, it might still fall apart. You might still get those calls, but at least it's not walking into 30 voicemails on Monday morning and then being like, oh my gosh, everything we talked about in huddle is just completely destroyed because everybody fell off the schedule or whatever. So I love that. I love that. Have you seen to I know there's a lot of third party companies, Modento and Dental Intel and Diversion, all those companies. Have you seen to I haven't like looked into it. So I'm asking.

For reals, if they're using any of those tools yet within their stuff, think Modento had some stuff like on the wire. I'm not sure, but, any opportunities or anything for like confirmations, right? Cause I know, I guess like Modento has done voicemail jobs. So it's like, we're already partially there with like voicemail jobs and the automated, voicemails or phone calls for re-care and things like that. So how do you think that'll affect having the AI bot I feel like is so much more.

customizable and you can like give it rules. can give it lingo and verbiage and just kind of different things. So how do you see that transitioning for companies like that too?

Dana (07:55.734)

Yeah, I can't say that I've seen any of the companies integrate it yet. I do think it's coming, but I do think some of the newer companies that are doing AI really well and are coming out, they are offering those things like confirmation calls, like re care calls. You can get your basically AI receptionist to do those things for you. And truly, I think because it is customizable, it also does feel more as if it is a human versus those automated text messages that as much as we try to make them warm and

The Dental A Team (08:19.937)

Yeah. Yeah.

Dana (08:25.592)

friendly and specific and just from our office, right? AI, think is a little bit of a step above that.

The Dental A Team (08:33.717)

Yeah, I agree. I agree. think it's caveat, I know I said chat GPT and I know a lot of people love verbiage. think Dana and I get a lot of, and the other, other consultants as well. But I know Dana and I for sure get up so many text messages or emails of like, how do I say this? I want to say this to my team or I want to tell my doctor this. How do I, how do I do this? Give me words. I have a couple of practices that just call it like tiffisms and like what would tiff say? And I'm like, holy cow.

which I love and I love verbiage and I love communication. like, warning, I guess, or a reminder, if you are going to chat GPT or whatever AI, any of that stuff, just make sure that you guys are still looking at it and personalizing it, especially if it's you throw some, I've seen a lot of people throw things into a program like chat GPT.

that spits out like a patient response. And sometimes it is robotic, because it is a robot. It's not a human on the other side. They did as good as they could so far with it, and they do really great job. But sometimes those things can still come off, like you said, Dana, a little cold or harsh. And so I just stress the importance of taking it, making it your own. I say the same thing about my verbiage when I give it to people. This is a template. I love giving templates, and I want you to make it your own, because it should sound like you. It shouldn't sound like...

a robot a shouldn't sound like a script, it should sound like you still. So no matter how you're getting those verbiage tips and tools or what you're choosing to do with it, just make sure there's a human interaction side of it, and you're bringing that humanization back to it. That's my warning, my caveat there, because I do use it occasionally, or sometimes my brain's just dead at the end of the day, and I'm like, my gosh, how do I make this recipe? Gosh, I'm...

ChatGPT is becoming a best friend in my personal life, feel like. But aside from the AI stuff, or you're in transition with the AI stuff, I think that pulls into that teledentistry side as well. Because I know a lot of practices that are still doing a lot of teledentistry. Obviously, it was huge during quote unquote COVID times. But I think it spurred something for us in the availability to create more opportunities for our patients. So a lot of practices are doing the cosmetic

The Dental A Team (10:50.787)

consults virtually. And it's really cool smile designs, smile makeover, all of these different variations of a teledentistry appointment. And I'm thinking with that kind of AI kind of smashing those two together, because that's an easy opportunity to allow an AI bot or someone to schedule those appointments and have someone who's like over the cosmetic consults when you don't have the opportunity or availability in the practice.

So teledentistry is still really, really a fantastic idea, I think, and something that we don't consider tech in our brains, but it kind of is. And it's kind of cool to be able to say, let's take a half day Thursday and take three hours in the afternoon and bust out three cosmetic consults or more. And I've seen a lot of success with that. Dana, have you seen that as well? You still have a lot of clients who are using teledentistry or considering it.

Dana (11:45.036)

Yeah, they do definitely do for different types of consultations and even I have one office that will do teledentistry to like pre-screen for limited right to see if this is something I just need to refer out or do we need to see you in the office? So they'll use it for that to end some PEDS offices using it for like surgery or sedation consulting and I have one office that's even trying to do some just case presentations or treatment.

The Dental A Team (12:14.493)

yeah.

Dana (12:14.786)

presentations if the patient left the office, right, and they can't come in, just doing that too. So I think using the technology at your fingertips that make it that it's convenient for the patient, that it's easy for you, I think take advantage of it where you can within your practice.

The Dental A Team (12:31.234)

Yeah, that's a great idea doing the consults because a lot of practices will have those monster treatment plans. So it's like, okay, let's have you back in for a consult. And we know that's difficult to get patients to come back in, especially if we're not accomplishing something, right? They're not getting treatment that day. So I always tell clients who are doing that style of treatment planning, it's totally fine. And I love it. But just make sure maybe we do fillings with that.

treatment console, but I think that's a great idea to doing it by zoom or Google meet or any of those platforms really are a lot of them have free up to while Google meet is free, right for however long you want it, but even zoom has up to I think 35 or 40 minutes of free information that you don't have to pay for. So that's a really great idea because then it just locks it in and I think we've all become accustomed to this being like being in person, you know, I think virtual.

has become the norm. It's almost weird to constantly be in person with people. Again, thank you, 2020. And I think it's worked out well for the dental industry. So that's a great idea to be able to do those bigger consults. And I too have some pediatric practices, even the moms who are moms and something happens and we're like, I got to get my kid in. Like right now you got to look at this. And a lot of my pediatric practices will.

do the same thing where they'll take a picture, send it in, or let's hop on a Zoom call or Google Meet, and they'll kind of tell the parent how to angle the camera or what have you to show whatever it is. I mean, I remember one time I brought Brody all the way in and I was working in office and I'm like, you have to look at this and it was literally nothing. It was like, he's like, you are just being so silly. You are in dentistry.

you know these things, but as you put your mom hat on and you're like, I don't know anything, my kid, like something happened, you just have to look. And so I can't even imagine being outside of dentistry and something happening to my kid and really not having any of that background knowledge. So for my pediatric practices, it's been really beneficial to be able to do things like that and take some of that stuff off their plates. And for pediatric practices too, with the AI conversation, like they're seeing so many patients.

The Dental A Team (14:44.728)

in any given day, right? They're seeing 45 to 80 patients any given day with one doctor, let alone, you've got practices that have two or three doctors, they're seeing a lot of patients. So for a front office team to have to keep up with the confirmations, even the check-in, the check-out, like, you've got to understand they're spread so thin, and then they've got phone calls coming in and they've got new patients to schedule, and it's hard in a GP practice to be working on the hour, but in

peed practices, right? We're really, Dana, working on the 15 minutes. And so every 15 minutes, you have anywhere from one to six to eight patients coming and going every 15 minutes. So I think that's a great idea to really be able to add that tech into practices like that. I love it. I love it. And I love the, I just love the transitions dentistry takes. We think back, gosh.

Dana (15:17.774)

Mm-hmm.

The Dental A Team (15:42.844)

Even three years ago, it was like, oh, let's do a scanner, right? We're doing that whole mouth scans was like crazy town. And it's like, now you're doing a whole mouth scan before you ever get to my practice. You're taking pictures of your mouth just so my doctor can do a virtual consult with you and doesn't have to be in the practice. So think it's really cool. Um, hygiene side, I know we've talked lasers before and I think that's still like one of the

Dana (15:47.816)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (16:10.541)

one of the latest and the greatest, but what have you really seen the hygiene side? I know I pick your brain on this a lot, be able to implement maybe not, you know, virtual or AI or whatever, but just how have scanners and CBCTs and all of this new-ish, right, within the last five, maybe even 10 years, how has that impacted the hygiene visits and the care that hygienists have been able to provide to the patients in your opinion?

Dana (16:37.676)

Yeah, I think the technology advances in lasers, in all of the microscope and the saliva testing and all of the things that are coming out for hygiene right now. It really just allows you to give more individualized care, that you have more options to get the patient in your chair, the best result for them, because patients come in very unique varieties.

The Dental A Team (16:56.881)

Yeah.

Dana (16:59.968)

every single day and so being able to say, I have this thing that's going to benefit you. I have this thing that I know will make this area better and being able to have more choices of those to be able to give individualized care.

And individualized instruction too. I not even just things in the office, the technology that's available even over the counter to patients to help with home care, to help with the things that hygienists are talking about those things every day. And so I think the technology has been a game changer in the last decade as far as being able to get patients results from adjunct treatments or different products or different.

The Dental A Team (17:29.117)

you

Dana (17:40.108)

things that are available now that just weren't.

And things that don't necessarily so much of the hygiene products that existed before and still do right it It's patient compliance. So as long as patient does it does it correctly they get results and now there's so many things that actually if I do this in my chair you get the results so I don't it's not so reliant on Patient compliance and patient following through and patient stepping it up It's great come more often and I can do this come more often and I can oversee this and I can get you the results Which I think is incredible

The Dental A Team (17:43.447)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (17:52.123)

Mm-hmm.

The Dental A Team (17:59.686)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (18:07.731)

Yeah.

Dana (18:13.264)

you

The Dental A Team (18:14.173)

I agree. I love that conversation of just come more often and something that we've always been afraid of. Having that conversation with our patients, which has always interested me, because I mean, we tie ourselves by these rules that we feel like we're in place by the companies we won't mention today. We won't go on that tangent, but we do like put ourselves in this little box. And it's like, if we are here actually for the patient's best benefit, then all of these things

Come into play for that. Come into the practice more frequently. Get your testing done. Like, let's figure out what your saliva tells us. How can we positively impact your dental health and your full body health just by the foods that you're eating or things you're drinking, which is insane and so cool. And again, couple of that with a results-driven conversation over a virtual call. Like, that's incredible. So you can help them.

just in so many different ways. And as you're talking, was thinking, gosh, thinking about how different tools like AI can help support the team that you have. I think the first thing, especially from a front office standpoint is like, you're going to replace me with a robot. We're all going to be replaced with robots one day, right? Like 50 years down the road, guess what? I don't know. But the point of all of those tools is not to replace the humans.

that we love and want on our team, it's to provide them support so that they can do more and do better for the patients that are coming in, the other humans. So it's like, these tools are being integrated to help support you to give a better experience for the patient base.

and to support the patients in their overall health. If I have more time to spend even interacting and having a simple conversation face-to-face with a patient who's in the practice because an AI bot is scheduling someone for me, that patient is likely to say, yeah, that sounds great. I'm gonna stop drinking coffee because it's tearing up my insights based on this test you just gave me results for. Like getting people to the level where they're comfortable.

The Dental A Team (20:26.63)

Right? They're open that vulnerability space of just having that human interaction. So if we can take confirmations off of your plate, if we can take these things off of the humans and allow human human contact and conversation and AI or bots to text messages, like I don't need to send the text messages. Somebody else, know, a bot can do that. A service can do that. I want to be human interaction. I don't need to be electronic interaction. So.

It's really cool. Thank you, for that conversation. You've got my brain thinking, you know, and hopefully those who are listening got your brain thinking too and you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did. Dana, think we always like to leave with action items, right? And I think action items right now are really that conversation of how can I support my team with tools like this or where do...

Dana (20:58.638)

No.

The Dental A Team (21:18.249)

Where do my team members need support so that they can have that more human interaction? So I think that's an item Dana and tell me if there's something to add or if you want to spin this a little bit. But I think that's the conversation and the action item is to really just start thinking about how your patient experience might be better or how your team's experience might be better by utilizing some of those tools. Can we do teledentistry appointments for

you know, and not calling it tele dentistry, calling it your consults. Can we do consults by virtual? Can we get a bot or an offsite virtual assistant, someone that can help support our team? I that's your action item guys. Dana, what are your thoughts? What do you want to lead them with today?

Dana (22:03.276)

Yeah, no, I love that and I think that, you know, leaders, practice owners take time even every year to just look at office optimization and is there a new technology? Is there a new product? Is there a new service or something that can help me optimize, whether it's my patient experience or my team or, you know, services that I've got.

for patients, think it's just a great time to sit down and look for opportunities there and how can you, like you said, optimize and help, not necessarily take away.

The Dental A Team (22:35.533)

I love it. Good. I love the word optimize. Good word to pull out there. All right, guys. This was a fun conversation. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I hope you got some good tips or sometimes hearing something that you've heard before will spin you to think, okay, gosh, now I really actually need to do this or yeah, that was a cool thing I forgot about. So have fun with it. Go enjoy it. Optimize your practice. Go optimize your team.

and really, really truly support your team and your patients in the best ways possible. And that's how it comes back to you and they will support you in the best ways possible. So leave us a review below. We love a five star that tells us how much you loved this. Tell us what you loved about it. And if there's anything else you guys ever want to hear, please make sure you send it along. [email protected] And if you need any help with your practice or you need ideas, [email protected] is an easy way to get that as well.

you can pop over to TheDentalATeam.com and sign up for a practice assessment if you're not already a Dental A Team client. We love to just honestly give you guys ideas and tools. So thank you so much, Dana. Thank you for being here with me today and we'll catch you guys next time.
- Luisteren Nogmaals beluisteren Doorgaan Wordt afgespeeld...
- Later beluisteren Later beluisteren
#950: Staying Up-To-Date: Dentistry’s Latest Techniques + Technology
4 feb· Dental A Team Podcast
Do you ever feel like there’s too much happening in dentistry to keep your head on straight? Kiera talks about 4 ways you can stay up to date without being overwhelmed:

Listen to podcasts

Attend conferences

Join a consulting group

Find what you’re passionate about

Episode resources:

Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast

Schedule a Practice Assessment

Leave us a review

Transcript:

Kiera Dent (00:00.554)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and welcome to the podcast. I hope today is just a magical day for you. I hope that you're having just a great time and I hope that you just remember that we're in the greatest space possible. We get to be in dentistry. We get to help people. We get to literally help people have greater smiles and greater happiness in life. And I think that that is one of the most incredible things that we get to be a part of. So thank you for being a part of our family. Thank you for being on the podcast with us.

Thank you for listening in, get ready. We're gonna actually start to have a lot of you join us on the podcast. I have a new idea that's ready to trickle out and I hope you are excited for it. I wanna get to know more of you. I want to hear from more of you. So get ready, it's coming for you. Today is going to be kind of a funny topic. I thought it was funny. I have our team, they're super kind, our marketing team, shout out to them. They actually go and they read Facebook groups and they read.

different areas, they read a lot of dental information and they're constantly watching things and they listen for what you guys are emailing in on, which you could always email me a podcast topic. [email protected]. I love to hear from you. love pen pals. and so our team, they go out and they scope and I read this one and I said, I don't want to podcast on that. and then I read through, they have a nice list for me of about seven pages of topics for me, which is super nice. And this topic was on there like,

It was here. And then I looked on the list and it was here again. And I thought, okay, fine. I will talk about a topic. And I hope that this is helpful for you. And the question is like how to stay updated on all the new dental technology and how to keep my team educated and up to date with the latest techniques and technology. And to me, this feels like a no brainer, but I realized this is obviously a question that you guys have. So let's answer it. All right. So welcome to the Dental A Team Podcast. I'm going to teach you how to do this, how we do it, how we help other offices do it.

And again, something that I thought was so just everyday knowledge isn't. So here we go. That's why we had the podcast. That's why we share. And if you love our podcast, please do me a solid favor, go like, review and share with somebody today. Okay, so ways that we were able to do this. Number one, you're doing a great job. You're listening to a podcast. So high five there. I try really hard to bring people to the industry that I've met, that I talk to, but it is tricky. And it's like, how do we know that these people are the best? So find somebody who's a trusted source.

Kiera Dent (02:19.774)

within the industry that you can trust. I have prided myself for years that I started Dental A Team because of Midwestern students. Shout out to all my Midwestern students out there. I noticed that in dental school, they were gonna get freaking eaten alive coming out into the world of dentistry. And it's like, how do you trust different reps? Because people are so good at selling you on the latest technology and the latest this and the latest that, that it's kind of scary.

And so that was something that I wanted to do is to be a resource, to be a beacon, to help you know, these are people I've vetted. Just so you know, any sponsor I bring on, they have to work with us. They have to do different pieces. They have to let me beta test on them of other practices before I will even introduce them. So I have quite a few people in the back burner at all times that I'm testing, that I'm vetting, that I wanna make sure that they're getting results before I bring them onto the podcast. I got burned a little bit early on. And also if you listen to past podcasts,

that company might not stay the top of the list. I'm constantly looking for it and I tell offices like you might not get to be or sponsors. I will always be looking and if someone comes in better than you, they will get promoted from me. So I think that that's one zone. Like I've told Zeke at Swell, if anybody comes onto the market that's better doing Google reviews than him, I will definitely promote them. As of today,

Zeke is still the number one way that I get Google reviews for clients. They tell me all the time, Kiera, but we have it in this software, this software. I say, guess what? Zeke does it for, think like 149 or 199 a month. And I have offices who I literally beta tested on who got over 50 reviews in one month from using Swell. They have grown their practice from having like three new patients a month, I'm not joking, to having over 45 new patients a month by using Swell. People ask, how did you do it, Kiera? And I'm like, honestly, it was Google reviews and time. That's it.

And so for that, I will promote them. And so when you're curious about how do we find this up to date of new technologies, I think listening to podcasts and listening to trusted sources out there, like AI and different pieces, I also think going to conferences. So the way I actually meet a ton of our sponsors and speakers and different people are through conferences. I go to these conventions and I go meet people and then I go test their products and then I work with them and I figure out and I have a lot of our clients are beta testers for me and they'll try them out and I get free trials for them.

Kiera Dent (04:35.566)

but going to your conferences in your areas, not only is great for a CE, but go meet people. And I know it can be annoying to be sold all the time, but it can be helpful. And so for example, like right now, the greatest AI on the market is between Overjet and Pearl. Those are the top two for adding AI onto your X-rays to help you co-diagnose, to helping you with that. They're the best on the market. I love Pearl. That's the one we've selected to go with. We have an affiliate relationship with them where I get the most preferred pricing for all of our clients.

So if you're interested in that, be sure to reach out. We can help you connect with them and get that discounted rate. But this is how we do it. Also, I think online, like watching reels as silly as that sounds, but there's a lot on Instagram and TikTok and things like that. But then questioning it as well of is this really real and what really is needed for my practice? So right now AI is hot. So let's be looking at AI and what things could we implement into our practice. And it's one of those things I don't like to be the earliest adopter, but I also don't want to be the person who never adopted and I actually got left behind.

So when we're looking for this new technology, we're looking for these new things, attending those pieces, watching it, and then doing our own individual research. Like you can email me anytime, hey Kiera, have you heard about this company? I love it when people do that. Cause one, you expose me to other companies and two, I'm able to then go research them, vet them, and then bring it to the podcast and share. Because my goal is within our community, within consulting, I love it. We bring our offices together. And this is actually how I also learn about a lot of things. And that would be my third point of like, join a consulting group.

I know I'm a consultant, so hopefully you want to choose the Dental A Team, but join a consulting group that brings people together, that shares. We bring our doctors together every single month, and then we meet in person actually twice a year. And it's because I want you to mastermind and I want you to talk to each other, and I want you to figure out what are the best ideas, what are the best resources, who are you using for this, who are you using for that? Because just hearing and talking with other people, it's like, my gosh, I didn't even know that. In our company, we call it Tip Tuesday.

And every Tuesday, our team member brings pieces to the tables. Like today, Shelby brought like a window cleaner. And it seems so silly, but I think back to community, right? Think back to back in the day when we didn't have technology and we weren't all connected virtually, we were connected in person. And when you're in person, you chat. And when you chat, you share your secrets and you share the best things that work for you. And so like Shelby sharing a glass cleaner that's $2.89 on Amazon, life-changing.

Kiera Dent (06:59.234)

But without community and without chatting, that's something that I would have just gone on my merry way continuing to buy Windex that is the strongest being promoted product out there. And it sounds so silly, but it's tips like that. What are the little things you're doing in your practice? What are the elite practices doing? What are other offices doing? And let's all share. And it's not just the elite practices. It's a lot of startups. Startups are scrappy. They've got other resources. But like I talked to my gym trainer and we used to virtually coach. And then I went in person with her.

And instantly I'm connected to people for the podcast and people for social media and different people for whatever it is because I'm with her. And so getting together with a consulting group that meets in person or meets virtually that shares ideas, our community goes wild and it's incredible to see them all sharing, hey, what cosmetic group do you want to go to? Or, hey, what's a great resource for this? Or what's a great thing for that? But being a part of a group of community of trusted colleagues, I also think is a great way to stay on top of it. Now, how do we get our team educated on it?

I think that there's other ways like you can take them to courses. So look to see, I usually try to do things within our team that I want to learn. So let's say we wanna learn marketing. We're gonna take our team to marketing events. We're going to find coaches for marketing. We're gonna find events around it. If you wanna do cosmetic, let's do cosmetic. Let's bring it to the office. Again, that's why I love consulting is because we literally fly to the office and we show you guys what you can implement within your practice that can help with it. So finding those things, but...

Also on your leadership team, get them fired up. Hygenist will go and look for research and information and see E that's going to make them so excited and so fun that they're excited about with laser and PRF and PRP and what can we do for snoring and different pieces like that. But find what you're passionate about. And that's also another way, because I think sometimes we get so inundated with technology that we miss what we're actually passionate about. And so really helping you realize this can be fun. You don't have to be.

over the top and like, my gosh, I'm missing out on all of this. I would say in a simple form of number one, plan to go to at least one dental convention every single year. I don't care what it is. I don't care where you go. I don't care if wanna travel out of state, but that's gonna be your best way to bring those people in because those conferences are constantly looking for sponsors and people and a lot of the newer companies, a lot of the OG companies.

Kiera Dent (09:13.528)

they tend to attend these conferences. If you're not in a big area where maybe a lot of people won't come to it, go to some of the bigger ones like RMDC in Colorado, Chicago Midwinter, Dicama. Some of these are really big ones that will bring more people in for you. And you don't have to even go for the CE. Just go walk the vendor halls, go see who this is there, and then go do some research on it. Next would be, would say, listen to podcasts and attend free webinars. Our company puts on the third Thursday of every single month, we do a free CE webinar.

And I do that intentionally to bring great people to the audience, to share with you other people that are out there, to get all these different pieces of technology and sponsors and vendors and different things that will make your office easier, attend those. So I would pick once a year, go to a conference every month, find some sort of CE, whether it's a book, whether it's a webinar or something that's going to get you educated. And then the third thing I would say is to join a group, a consulting group, because honestly, that's where it's the networking, it's the community, it's sharing.

that you're going to learn all these different pieces. It's too hard to do it on your own. And so find someone. And of course, I would love Dental A Team to be your preferred consultant. I'd love us to help take you to the next level. I'd love to expose you and your team. We have virtual, we have in-person and we have in-person events and we have in-office visits as well where we come to your practice and we also meet together as a community, as a collective group. We do it on Friday and Saturday. It's really fun. It's really exciting. And it's a really great time to just connect to

to share and I think that you doing those items, you will stay up to date. There's no way you can't stay up to date as long as the consultant is innovative. And of course, I'm going to like toot my own horn. We're one of the youngest consulting companies out there. I'm nervous for us to become an older one, but I've tried really hard to keep myself young. Being a millennial, I'm very tech savvy. I'm very aggressive on research and knowledge and innovating and implementing ideas because I know that if we don't, be dated very quickly. And so,

also finding someone who is maybe a little bit younger on that. Like I look for social people that are in their twenties because they're going to innovate even better than I will. And so those would be some of my suggestions of how you can stay up to date, how you can stay current, how you can make sure that you're gathering all these research, these resources, and then realize I'm not going to catch them all, but I'm going to focus on the ones that turn my practice to ease efficiency in the areas I want. And that's what I'm going to do. And I guarantee you, if you do that, you will be so happy. So

Kiera Dent (11:36.386)

Hopefully those gave you some ideas. Like I said, this was a topic that I thought everybody already knew, but in digging into it, I realized this can feel daunting and it can feel like I'm always behind, but I think breaking it down to your annual, your monthly, and then also joining a group. Again, like I said, I'd love you to be a part of it. I think those three things will keep you current and will keep your team current as well. And as always, if we can help you reach out, [email protected] You guys are incredible. We're doing an incredible work. There's amazing things coming into dentistry. And I would say do not get left behind.

but stay current. And then I guess my fourth final tip for you would be commit to implementing at least one item of new technology every single year. And I think if you do those items, you will always stay up to date. I'm happy to share a ton of our resources. So reach out, [email protected] And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.
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#949: Add Back $600K-$1M to Your Practice
30 jan· Dental A Team Podcast
Did you know you’re losing $600,000 to $1 million by having open time in your schedule? Kiera talks about what is likely impacting your schedule and how to fix it (without working overtime).

Episode resources:

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Transcript:

Kiera Dent (00:00.974)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and today is just a great day and I hope you're having a great day. I hope that you remember you are changing people's lives through dentistry. Like what you're doing, know billing, hygiene, hygiene checks, dentistry, doing the exams, doing the numbers, looking at the profitability, running the business doesn't feel like you're changing lives, but you are. You're giving people the confidence of their smiles and their healthy mouths. You're helping them have long-term systemic health. You're saving them from period disease. You're helping them have like

preventing the risk of cardiovascular disease. You are doing such a great service in this world and you're also helping more people smile more confidently, changing their lives exponentially. And just remember you're doing so much good. So let's keep it up. And I'm here to give you all the tactical practical tips, infusing your world with positivity and changing this world in the greatest way possible. If you love the podcast, leave us a review, share it with a friend, do something of goodness today. You guys just stay here and listen on your own.

Share with someone, send it to a doctor, send it to a team member, send it to a colleague, whomever it is, put it in a Facebook group, tag me. I'd love to see a picture of you where you're at. Tag us. It makes me so happy to get to know you instead of just talking to you. So share, I'd love to hear from you. And thank you for being a part of our family. Make sure that you guys are sharing though. keeps us at the top of the list. And my goal is to bring you massive value that you naturally want to be sharing. And so today my massive value is...

how to give you back like 600 to a million dollars to your practice. You on board with that? Does that sound dreamy enough for you to share with someone to listen in to take some notes? I hope so because Tiff and I were actually talking the other day and she was like, Kiera, it's so interesting. I talked to practices and like, I'm not hitting my numbers. I can't afford these things. I can't do this. And the answer is that's true. But there's a simple, simple, simple solution. And then we're going to, I'll give you two. That's actually helping you.

miss this money and it's so simple and yet we look at over all the time and it's your schedule being open. I know, I know. I took you to the top and brought you down to the bottom. What, Kiera, you want to tell me that? Yes, your schedule being open because if we take your hourly production and your hygiene's hourly production and we go and look at your open time in your schedule, if you just filled your schedule, it's like we calculated it. It's 600 to a million dollars in most practices by just having open time in their schedule.

Kiera Dent (02:24.216)

which then you're like, well, I can't afford these things. can't do it. Well, yeah, because your schedule's open. And so I want to give you some tips. Like I said, it seems kind of like, gosh, OK, we're going to do this. We are going to do this because 600 to a million just with an open schedule. So what impacts our schedule being open? Cancellations, not closing treatment, not getting patients to schedule, not reappointing our patients, not having a cancellation policy within our practice.

Those things create open schedules. And then also I'm going to lovingly and directly say not having our team focused and obsessed on filling the schedule. Offices who are obsessed with filling the schedule, meaning we have it to 90 to 95 % to goal every single day are the offices that are freaking killing it. The other offices are like, we tried our best. See you later. It's five. No. As a front office team member, the expectation and the agreement we made was I was not allowed to leave for the day.

unless my schedule for the next day was full. Now people tell me, Kiera, we fill our schedule, it's full at the end of the day and I come in in the morning and I have voicemails canceling my whole day out. Well, phenomenal, you don't have a cancellation policy. Number one, don't let them leave a voicemail to cancel. It's way too easy to break up with someone on a voicemail. So let's eliminate that. On your voicemail, can say, thank you for calling, if you have an emergency here, this is. Also, we do require.

Kiera Dent (03:56.866)

Also, we do require a 48 hour notice for any appointment changes and we do not accept those via voicemail. Give us a call back during normal business hours to move your appointment or reappoint your appointment. That was really, really clunky. Call back during business hours to reappoint or reschedule your dental appointment. Also, text messages, I do not accept them via text message. I tell them, hey, thank you for reaching out. We can't take any appointment changes via text. Give me a quick call and I'll help you get this taken care of.

Amazing. They text you. So we don't have to worry about that. My dermatologist literally has no voicemail. I kid you not, there is no way for me to leave them a voicemail after hours for cancellation. They don't have it and they have a policy that if we don't have a 48 hour notice that we have a credit card on file and it's a hundred dollar fee, you can choose whatever you want. I'm not here to advocate that you should charge fees. I'm not here to say you should have a credit card on file, but I am saying you need to have a policy that your whole team is behind.

I'm very big on you are a specialist, you are a doctor's office and patients should value your time. So whether we're having them leave you on, they put a deposit down, there's a credit card on file, but every specialist, I'm talking IVF, dermatologists, doctors, like everybody in healthcare has a credit card on file. And if you choose not to show for that appointment and you don't give them a 48 hour notice, there is a deposit that's non-refundable that they do take. Now you don't have to do that, but you do have to have a policy.

Some offices, if you choose to cancel or reschedule your appointment, I never use the word cancel, they just reschedule because I have no one who cancels on me. They reschedule their appointment. If they choose not to do it within 48 hours, that's okay. We push them out six weeks or 12 weeks, whatever it is, and then we move them forward after they've waited for about four weeks. If they continue to do it, so it's a three strike policy for me, if they choose to continue to do that, then they actually get put on what's called our walk-in.

list like, Hey, care, it sounds like you're super, super busy. We're actually not going to reschedule this appointment for you. just give me a call and you'll be on a same day walk in, that we'll be able to get you in if we have availability that day. but either way, there's a set policy and we're going to start to train our patients. So our patients stop canceling off of our schedules because remember 600 to a million, just by having open schedules is something we need to stop. And so looking at this, you can also have them sign that they understand that these things are happening, but really

Kiera Dent (06:18.958)

getting super clear on what our cancellation policy is, having everybody follow through on it and making sure, and you're not being a jerk. You're just saying like, these are the rules of our game. We want you to play the game with us. These are the rules. Do we agree that we're both going to play by them? Absolutely. Yes. Phenomenal. Come to our practice. We're going to be on time for you. We're going to get you back and we're going to make sure that we see you and we have the adequate time for you. That's how we play the rules of the game. So number one, keeping our schedules full. We don't take those cancellations.

We make sure that at the end of the day, our schedules are always filled, filled up to goal. We call, you guys, I used to call all the time and I got so good when patients called to cancel and I'm like, my gosh, Mrs. Jones, tell me what's going on. like, I hope you're doing okay. Tell me what's going on. And I find out what her problem is and then I find the solution. Mrs. Jones, doctor was so excited to see you today. I understand you have a work meeting. Like thank you for letting me know. We do require a 48 hour notice for any appointment changes.

Let's see, I could actually like if we could get you in and out by two o'clock today, does that work for you? Yep, that works great. Amazing. Mrs. Jones is in my schedule. I just move her time. We move along. There's so many ways that we can keep patients on the schedule. We can let them know like, hey, like I have people that like I can't make it send an Uber. If they're a big case, send an Uber to the patient. But you've got to have some solutions for them to where patients are staying on our schedule. And I feel like this is where if you own

and your friend office owns that the schedule will be full and that's what their agreement with you is. Excellent. Hold them to that level. And people are like, but Kiera, patients are canceling for sure. Let's count for a 10 % cancellation. Like that's normal, but guess what? We've still got to keep 90 % of it full. We still have to go through that open time. Hygienist not hitting their goals. does it do to open time? Anytime we have open time on the schedule or if we like finish with a patient on time or like, let's say it's an hour and we finish at 45 minutes.

For every 15 minute increments, let's have people make five phone calls. So we've got outbound calls going all the time to make sure our schedule is always getting full with people coming in. This is how we keep our schedules full. This is how we own it. This is how. And then the next thing is doctors needs to be diagnosing. I shouldn't share our secrets. We have a question for consultants interviewing for our company, and I'm always looking to see if they can catch it. It's the hardest one for them to catch. It's the schedule is so busy, but we're not hitting goal.

Kiera Dent (08:42.052)

Well, usually that's because doctors not diagnosing enough. So let's check at that. And doctors, this is not me saying you're doing anything wrong. But what I am going to say is, we being comprehensive and are we diagnosing comprehensively for that patient? Are we doing quad dentistry or are we like watching a lot of things because we don't want to have the conversations of treatments needed? That's a question you get to answer. I'm not your dentist. I'm not a doctor. You get to tell me that. I'm just here to ask you the question. So when we look at that, if we're not able to hit goal and we don't have these schedules filled,

Is it because we're not presenting enough treatment? Is it because we're not closing enough treatment? And are we not calibrated between hygiene for an office and doctors to make sure that all of us are actually on the same page with each other and that we're closing all these cases? Are we reviewing our cases together? Are we looking to see what's going on with these cases? Are we looking to find out why is it not closing? We presented it this way. Are we recording ourselves and listening to them back to find out what are we saying that's not having these cases closed? Because patients are the dentist. They want dentistry. And I want you to remember that. There's an office that I coach in there.

team is incredible. We have added so much to their practice and helped so many more patients. And one of their treatment coordinators, says, she's like, Kiera, when people come to the dentist, they want to do dentistry. So they want to do dentistry. My job is to make sure that they get the dentistry done. Like they're here. And I was like, that is the most beautiful way to think about this because you're right. They're at the dentist. They're here. They're giving up their time to be here. Let's make sure that we're giving them the information that they need. We're helping them. We're guiding them. And we're actually helping them have good, clean, healthy mouths.

That's what we're here for. And so for you guys looking to see these are easy ways for us to actually add money to our schedule. We can afford things, but money is being lost because the team's not unified. So if all of us know no one gets to leave, it's not just the front office. No one leaves until our schedule is full. Well, hygienist, reappoint. You should be at 98 % reappointment. Let's not ask like, Hey, Kiera, do you want to schedule back? It's Kiera, we're going to schedule your six months. I've got you on May 5th at 8 a.m. same time as now.

Can't wait to see you in May and then I'm gonna walk you up to the front if May 5th doesn't work for me I'm going to let you know we always remind them like we do require 48-hour notice for any appointment changes 48 hours and then I also really big on unconfirmed appointments because the schedule can look totally full But if they're not confirmed, they're probably not gonna show and so what's our policy for that? I do have some offices where we call the patients and say hey I've got to hear from you today If not, I am going to need to reschedule your appointment. They scooch off the appointment

Kiera Dent (11:07.914)

we fill it with someone who's guaranteed to come. If that patient comes, I get to have the fun conversation with them. Notice it's fun. Hey, awesome. Again, these are the rules of our game. We called you, we told you we needed to hear from you. And because we didn't hear from you, we did pull you off the schedule. If I have time that day, I'm going to scoot them in. I'm not going to do the whole thing. If I don't, I'm going to say like, I am going to reschedule you. Let's get you back at this time. I do need you to confirm your appointments because we have, we have so many patients that we want to see that every patient does need to confirm their appointment. Great.

They know the rules of the game. You can even tell your patients new year, new start. This is what we require. So patients do need to give a confirmation. Otherwise we will be moving you off the schedule. It's totally fine. But these little areas and people are like, gosh, Keira, is it really worth it? To me, 600 to a million is definitely worth it. I'm not working any extra days. I'm not working any extra hours. I'm literally working the exact same time. I'm just making sure my schedule is full every day. If you wanted to change one thing in 2025,

Keep your schedule full and have the entire team unified on this. I guarantee you, you will see results. Guaranteed. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Guaranteed. You can have it there. But it's a whole team effort. And I promise you, goals will be hit easier. Your team will do better. You'll serve more patients, and you will work less. People are like, Kiera, how do you cut down from five days to four days? You have full schedules. You're able to do it.

we're and we're better with our block scheduling and we map it out. So we're super productive every time. So doctors are diagnosing treatment, treatment coordinators are closing cases. Hygienists are reappointing and schedulers are filling the schedule. The whole team is ticking together and we can actually consolidate. can expand whatever your goals and dreams and desires are. And we have good block schedules in there to fill it full. Then if we can't fill a block with what we're supposed to, we have a 24 hour hold on that. And then if we can't, fill it with something that's going to be productive for it, whether it's an emergency.

We also schedule emergency times in our schedule. Scheduling is so clutch in a practice. And yet I feel like we just haphazardly oftentimes do it. It's so easy. It's so easy to add production to offices, schedules, and consulting because we work on this. We train the team. We watch it. We see it. We make sure they're productive. And then from there, we're able to help offices grow exponentially. So go look to see how to add $600 to a million to your practice. And if we can help you.

Kiera Dent (13:28.056)

We're experts at this. We're really, really good at it. We're really good at helping your team with the verbiage. We're good at helping them understand like how we change the voicemail and what do we do with the upset patients and how do we handle this? Reach out. It's easier to do it with a buddy. So reach out. Hello @ TheDentalATeam.com And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.
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#948: The CEO Visionary + OM Implementer
29 jan· Dental A Team Podcast
Kiera gives insight into how CEOs and office managers (or dreamers and task-drivers) can effectively work together to run the ideal dental practice — without stepping on each other’s toes.

Episode resources:

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Transcript:

Kiera Dent (00:01.646)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and today I am so excited to be on the podcast. I'm excited to be podcasting with you. I hope that your new year is rocking and rolling and I hope that you are just enjoying your time working in dental practices because remember, we are so blessed and so lucky to be working in an industry that literally changes lives. I believe that dentistry is the best possible industry for us to be a part of and you get to make people's literal smiles come true. So as always,

Thank you for being a part of our Dental A Team family. Please be sure that you are always leaving us review, sharing us with other people. That is how you keep us as the top dental podcast out there. And I just want to say for every one of you that has done it, truly thank you. Thank you for sharing this podcast with others. Thank you for being on our journey. And for those of you that are new, welcome. I want you guys to remember we are getting up there on our numbers of podcasts. So we are in the 900s, almost breaking about a thousand episodes.

I cannot believe I have made that many episodes. That's a lot of episodes. And sometimes it might feel daunting or you might forget that this is a resource in your back pocket. So always head on over to TheDentalATeam.com click on our podcast page and you are able to then go search every episode. So if you have like, wanna know information about cancellations or I wanna know about partnerships or I wanna know about buy-ins or I Kiera talked about Pearl AI, but I can't remember where that was at.

go search our podcast in any episode that I have ever recorded for you of all those thousands of episodes, because there'll be more coming, you will literally be able to go find any one of them. So just be sure put that in your resource pocket. A lot of people want to know like, how do get our hygiene? How do we do perio? How do we do fluoride? How do we run effective meetings? How do we run quarterly meetings? Any of those things literally, I want you to think about this as your Google or your AI for you.

It's all there. There's a ton of it. have verbiage for you. I have information for you. So be sure that you're always using those as resources for you because I believe in working smarter, not harder. And I'm always here committed to sharing the top tips and tricks for you. So today I just wanted to dive into a really fun topic that I think is great for you guys. I think it's something that I get asked a lot. It's something that I'm excited about and really helping you understand kind of what a CEO visionary

Kiera Dent (02:14.816)

and an office manager, implementer or integrator role should look like and how you can have this in your practice. Because as I'm watching offices and as I'm coaching practices, I'm noticing that dentists, when they start to move into this CEO role, they actually don't know what the heck they're supposed to do. It feels very weird. It feels very awkward. It feels like I don't even know what I'm supposed to be doing. And so giving you guys some tips of what does this relationship even look like? So.

There's a great book. guys know I'm a huge faction, a huge fan of traction. Merged those together and had faction come out. Huge fan of traction by Gina Wickman. We help a lot of offices, Dental A Team's version of traction where we actually help you build leadership teams. We help you get quarterly goals in place. We help you with accountability, tracking data, scorecards, write people, write seats. So if that's something you're interested, be sure to reach out. [email protected] Super, super, super fun and very effective.

We have a lot of offices that we've worked with for years on this and being dental experts, we're able to help solve a lot of the problems that come up. Whereas some of the other implementers or integrators, they really can't help with that. So it's a really fun niche that we're a part of that I absolutely love. So if you're interested in that, how do I set up these leadership teams or quarterlies, be sure to reach out. I'd love to help you. But in doing that, Gina Wickman wrote another book called Rocket Fuel. And Rocket Fuel, I think is a really lovely book that kind of splits apart this visionary role.

and this integrator role. And not all CEO doctors are visionaries and not all office managers are integrators. And so really figuring out and dialing in, what does this relationship look like? Like what should a CEO do? What should a doctor do? What should an office manager do? I think this dynamic can actually get really tricky and it can get really hard for people. And you might not know exactly what does this look like and how can we maximize it? And so I just kind of wanted to come on and paint a picture. Now, again, this is a picture that's painted.

But it's a, I would say it's made with markers that you can erase or it's one of those like, remember the Etch-A-Sketch that you're able to use like with the sand and you'd like etch it out and then could like shake it up and erase it. That's what I think that this picture and this dynamic should look like for you where it's not perfect. It's not something that you have to do, but this is gonna kind of just give a sketch and an outline of like, what does a visionary do? What does an integrator do? And doctors, a lot of times what I'm seeing is,

Kiera Dent (04:33.43)

you come in and you've been a clinician and then you're like, okay, I've mastered my dream. I've made this a reality. I have taken it to where I no longer have to do clinical all the time. I've hired associates, we've onboarded associates and now what do I do? And what you tend to default into is more of the office manager role, which is fine if you enjoy management, but if you don't, don't slip down into that. And also you might not be the best for this role. You might not be as good at communicating.

I learned like know thyself and be free I think is the best thing I could ever tell you. And so what is your role and what do you like love to do and what if I were looking at your energy sucks in life versus the things that light your fire. What we're trying to do is get everybody into those zones of genius. There's some great books out there. There's some good places where you can kind of look to see what are the tasks. Do I enjoy them? Am I good at them? Am I not good at them? I've done some podcasts on that where you can honestly quadrant yourself into like these are tasks that I love doing and I'm good at.

These are tasks that I don't enjoy doing, but I'm good at them. These are tasks that I am not good at and don't enjoy doing. And these are tasks that I can train people on. So there's kind of some quadrants. And the goal is first to have like 90 % of our day in the quadrant of these are tasks that I'm good at and that I actually enjoy doing. So if we can get you guys there, phenomenal. That's what we're trying to work on. so helping visionaries see, I think so often as doctors are producers in their

these drivers and they've been like with an eight to five schedule moving into what I call more of a creative visionary. It's a very different space. And a little while ago I was on a trip and I realized that the creative mind is so much different than the structured mind. So when I want to create my best ideas, well, if I put it into my calendar, Kiera, you're going to go create at this time. I don't. And I started noticing my marketing team was doing this. They would be their most creative.

when they were in the middle of the night. A lot of my marketers would work at two, three, four a.m. They would sleep in and then they'd come and I was like, this is such a weird world. Like I'm used to the dental office and we have patients at seven a.m. and we're done at five p.m. And that's just the life we live. But that's a very structured schedule versus this creative schedule. And doctors and visionaries start to move into more of this creative schedule, which is not an eight to five per se. It is not forcing ideas and creativity to come.

Kiera Dent (06:52.48)

It is having more space, but I think visionaries oftentimes don't give themselves the space because they're like in this very rigid mindset. And so just kind of, again, like I said, painting this picture with an Etch-A-Sketch where we can shake it off. We can decide which things we want to do, which things we don't want to do, but helping office managers and doctors kind of learn this relationship. So doctors don't accidentally get into the office manager's lane and office managers allow the doctors the freedom and flexibility to become these CEOs and these visionaries.

that they want to be. Now, if you are a doctor and you're not a visionary, that's okay. You do not need to be. Some doctors are incredible, incredible, incredible implementers, and they actually hire someone like another doctor or maybe a CEO to come in to be that visionary role. And that's okay. So again, this is an Etch A Sketch. It's not a perfect painted canvas that we can't change in a race and add different lines to it. It's just a picture. But typically speaking, a CEO who's a visionary, their main pieces are vision,

growth, sometimes they add numbers in there and culture. And usually if I like box it out, that's going to be the three things that that visionary is responsible for. They usually leave meetings. They don't have, they don't have a lot of to-dos. They don't have a lot of items. They come in, they give the vision, they help build the culture. And that's really what they're supposed to do. and a lot of times people who are in this role, they don't think that that's actually that hard or

it's needed or it's like, I remember when I heard like, okay, these are what I'm supposed to do. I was like, that's it? Like, aren't I supposed to do more than that? you know, that's it. I'm just supposed to have the vision and culture and like kind of the numbers. And that's like, no, it's like 20 ideas, big problem solving, relationships, culture. That's like what it is. And...

I think sometimes we take for granted that that's a talent. That's something we're built with and not everybody is coming up with 20 ideas on a regular basis. Like if you are someone like myself, we're like the ideas keep coming. Tiffanie Trader, if you know her, you, I'm sure you do. You love her on the podcast. Tiff will say, I told her on her tombstone, I will write the Tiff died being the efficiency queen. And she told me on my tombstone, she will write Kiera. Like I have a great idea. I'm constantly calling my team. I'm like, Shelbi, I got a great idea. Tiff, I've got a great idea.

Kiera Dent (09:17.254)

I've got this great idea. Hey Eve, I've got this great idea. Jacintha, I've got this great idea. Dana, I've got this great idea. If that's not you, you might not be that visionary CEO role, but that's like what they do. 20 big ideas, creativity problem solving, big relationships and culture. Now for me, I do enjoy numbers. Numbers like light my fire. So I have it on there. That's what I like to do. And then also something else for me that I'm really good at that's a piece in our company is speaking and being a public figure. Now, surprise, surprise, right? I'm on the podcast all the time. I enjoy it. I'm speaking at events.

That's what my role is as the visionary. Now the integrator role or usually an office manager and not all office managers are created equal. I used to be an office manager and how good do you think I was at this? The answer was not very good. I was able to morph and shift into it, but a company I really love is Culture Index. If you're not familiar with them, reach out [email protected] I've got some great contacts. I think it's really, really fascinating. their whole model, it's kind of like Disc or Myers or Briggs or Colby.

but what they do is they actually have you in culture index look to see who are you in your natural habitat and like things you naturally are good at and then how are you performing in your work position. And the goal is that the top box and the bottom box are pretty similar. So me in my happiest state, I would be actually doing things like I would do them naturally. So for me, I like a lot of autonomy. I love a lot of people. I like things to move fast and I like to be creative and I'll have like details when I need them.

That's my perfect world. So me being in an integrator role or an office manager role, that's way more like way less autonomy, more people, I'm good with the people. But then also having to do so many numbers and metrics and checklist and protocols and thoroughness. my gosh, I did not enjoy that. But yeah, I wanted the title of office manager because I felt like that was the only space that I could grow into. And so office managers listening to this as well, know thyself and be free as well.

because I actually made a much better treatment coordinator than I did an office manager, but my ego got in the way of that. I think being careful as we etch a sketch this out of our best role, our best space is let's not be putting ourselves into a box that we actually aren't incredible at. So the office manager or integrator role, according to EOS traction version, their job is to lead, manage and hold accountable. Lead, manage, hold accountable. Their profit and loss, the business plan, remove obstacles and barriers, social projects and logic. And I have over here like,

Kiera Dent (11:39.48)

Projects A to Z, that's the lead managing accountability. They're doing like the one-on-ones, a lot of HR, a lot of like managing the team, it's lead managing accountability, the profit and loss with the numbers. Like I said, I put numbers in me, but that should really fall under the integrator. So they're watching it. They're moving, they're removing the obstacles, barriers. They're working on these projects. So all those different pieces, like when you hear the podcast of like, hey, you should implement a treatment tracker or you should implement an AR protocol or this is a billing protocol. That's all this integrator's job.

Like they're literally like these little machines that love to execute and implement projects. They love project management, softwares. They love to have checklists. They love to have Excel spreadsheets. They love to distract this off. They're obsessed with the numbers and that's really what their role is. And so you've got this visionary who's creating a ton of ideas. It's culture that's very extroverted. And then you have this integrator who's usually oftentimes more introverted, but loves to lead, manage and hold accountable, loves to do these different pieces. That's really what we're looking for. And so as you're doing this,

Again, it's an Etch A Sketch and not every relationship's the same, but this is a good way for you to map out like, okay, do these things lighten me up? Do I love to create the ideas? Do I love to have problem solving and like thinking outside the box? My team comes to all the time, they're like, Kiera, I had this big problem, we don't know what to do. Before I answer, which is so hard for me, because I'm ready to go all the time, is what solutions did you guys have? Because I want to empower my team that they can solve these problems without me. But if they can't figure it out, it's really big like,

coming up with a new product launch in our company or coming up with a different way that we do things, that's my bread and butter. That's where I sit, that's where I create, that's where I come up with these ideas. And sometimes it takes me 10 minutes to create an idea. Other times it's like seven months to create an idea. So again, creativity doesn't strike all at once, it doesn't come all the way, but that's really kind of helping you see the CEO and this integrator role work in tandem. Now it can be tricky and you're not always going to get it right, but I think seeing it more and more

what your role should be or could be or can morph into, I think is very empowering for both parties. And just know that when you're in the right person in the right seat, things move so easily. They don't get stuck. don't get, like, it's not like a traffic jam. It flows. And it was crazy because I watched in office and when they finally put, it was hard because they had someone who is in a hygiene coordinator or a hygiene lead role. And this hygienist wasn't the right hygienist for it.

Kiera Dent (14:03.02)

and the hygiene team didn't do well, they didn't innovate, they didn't create, and they just were not the right hygienist to lead this department. They were an outstanding hygienist. They produced really well, they were amazing, but they weren't the best leader to lead their department. And it was crazy because that team, was really hard. was like, whew, like I feel stressed for them. Having that conversation and having that team member step down from leadership. And I don't actually love that we call it step down because it feels like a demotion. It feels like we didn't do well enough.

But being the right person in the right seat is not a demotion. It's recognizing I'm good at this or I'm not good at this and I need to remove myself for the betterment of the team, of our patients, of our practice. And so when they switched this lead out, the hygiene team flourished. And it was crazy because they actually brought in a lead that was less experienced, less knowledgeable, had not been in the field for as long, but was incredible at leading, managing, and holding accountable a team. And so sometimes we think seniority equates to leadership.

Sometimes we think that we should put people in so they stay with us. But the reality is not everyone wants to be a leader. Not everyone wants to grow into that. Not everybody is actually a good leader who wants to be a good leader. And so know thyself and be free. Build this Etch A Sketch photo of what your practice looks like and what you enjoy doing. And for me, I have this giant sticky note behind where I am in my office that has me of what I want to do as the CEO and visionary for me.

And it helps me stay very crystal clear. Literally it says vision, growth, numbers, future products, ideation, creating, solve big problems, speak and leave. I don't like to do the logistics of speaking. I hate setting up the booth. It stresses me out. I don't like having to deal with the partners. Like I love all those pieces, but I hate doing that plus speaking because it's two different brains and I get so anxious about it. Like literally anxious when I have to do it. I'm good at it and I can do it, but you put me in the box, that zone of I'm good at it, but I hate doing it.

is enough to make somebody go crazy and wanna quit their job. I unfortunately can't quit my job sometimes. Unfortunately, I can't quit it, right? But just thinking about this of how can we help ourselves be happier and set up for more success, I think is a really great way for you to view it. So hopefully today that was able to give you guys some clarity, some ideas around it, help you start to etch a sketch your own world. And sometimes we just need an outside perspective to help us see. I hired another coach. Don't worry, I'm the queen of coaching over here. I do not hire multiple coaches at the same time.

Kiera Dent (16:26.798)

I'm very strategic with who I hire so I don't get consultant paralysis. But I hired another coach who helped me see what my visionary role needed to be, who helped me see who I wanted to become, helped me see what I should or shouldn't say yes to, who helped me see that what I've been in the past is not who I need to be to get the company to where I want it to be. And it was the most liberating, freeing, exhilarating moment of my life. And I love to do this for practices. This is what I geek out about is because I've done it.

Our company's done it, we've successfully done it, and now let us help you. So if this is something that just lights your fire, but you don't quite know how to do it, reach out, [email protected] I'd love to chat with you. And as always, thanks for listening, and I'll catch you next time on The Dental A Team Podcast.
- Luisteren Nogmaals beluisteren Doorgaan Wordt afgespeeld...
- Later beluisteren Later beluisteren
#947: Strategically and Effectively Plan Your Wealth
28 jan· Dental A Team Podcast
Tiff and Britt give tangible tips for creating a wealth plan of action. They cover everything from knowing what your ideal work-life balance is, when you hope to retire, the right systems you can create now to set you on your path, and a ton more.

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Transcript:

The Dental A Team (00:01.504)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners and welcome back. I am here again with Miss Britt. Brilliant Brain Britt is what I've dubbed her today on some awesome business tips and insider tips, things that we've learned along the way, things that Britt has actually gone to school for. So welcome to that. Thank you, Britt.

Britt (00:19.787)

Real life is cool, Cliff. Real life is cool, too.

The Dental A Team (00:25.935)

Fair, fair. But I do love picking your brain for it on these pieces because little do many people know you do have a degree in healthcare management. I think it's really, really freaking cool. And not just any degree, like you have, you know, your master's degree in this and it's really freaking cool you guys because

It means not only do we have, you know, the knowledge that we've all picked up along the way and we've taken courses and CE and all these things and learned and learned how to use freaking Excel and things like that. But Britt also has that side of it that I get to pick her brain on things that just really, really helps you guys learn how to manage your business. So we all do have the real life training, but Britt, I think it's really cool when we get to utilize your degree and you get to utilize it in our company, I think.

I assume you do, but it's really cool when you get to do this stuff. So thank you for being here with me today, Britt, letting me pick that beautiful brain of yours. And just for always being here for us, you are an amazing human being and anything that I need, you're like, yep, we'll figure it out. So thank you for recording with me. How are you doing today, Britt?

Britt (01:15.638)

Mm-hmm.

Britt (01:34.127)

I'm doing well, thanks Tiff. These are fun combos because one, like we both have years of experience in dental and so, and worked with a lot of clients. So it's fun just to kind of talk about ideas and cool things we've seen and what we've learned along the way.

The Dental A Team (01:49.156)

Yeah, I agree. I agree. And today is one of my favorite conversations. I love nothing more than to help a doctor and a business owner of any caliber and degree learn how to make their business work for them and then not spending so much time working for their business. Like you guys became business owners, you became practice owners so that you can have your own business, you could make your own hours and you get into it and you're like, gosh dang it.

Brit, this sucks, I'm working all the time. And it's like, yeah, you will do that for a little while for businesses and it'll come back around every now and again as well. But really looking at how we can plan and project for the future so that you can make that switch at some point and it flips to where the business really is creating the lifestyle of your dreams. And that's something that we work really hard at. I know we work with mostly entrepreneurs, which means.

We work with visionaries, we work with the people who have the big dreams, and then we get to help implementers, office managers typically, right? And doctors learn how to be an implementer from a visionary, but we get to work on the implementation side of really finding the strategies and keying in on the pieces that are going to help us get to that big vision that you want, doctors. So we have other podcasts, a ton of podcasts that'll talk about how we've helped other doctors do those things. I want you to listen to those. I want you to never feel like you're alone.

We are here for you today. I'm actually really excited about this one today strategic wealth management and really planning for that in the future. And Brett, this is going to be a lot of conversation from you. So I hope you're ready. I hope you've got all your words ready to be used today. I know I use a lot of words in a day and I feel like I never run out, but you might run out. I don't know. But I hope you're ready for this because this one is this one. I'm letting you take over quite a bit here on the strategic planning because

I think you do above and beyond look further than a lot of people even look, and look further than maybe some of our listeners are even thinking about. A lot of our doctors are younger, you know, they're 50 and under, and these generations right here, and these two, know, generations, the 30 to 50 generations, we're not always thinking of our retirement. I don't know what happened to us, but we kind of forgot that piece was going to come one day.

The Dental A Team (04:08.186)

for a lot of us. So really looking and making sure that we're considering those pieces and you do that well. You go retirement, I think you go retirement first, like what's our retirement plan and then five to 10 years. so, Britt, take us through some of the pieces that you work with clients on and you've worked with, you know, clients even before you were with the Dental A Team. I'm really making sure that we're looking at our wealth management from a long-term and a short-term.

How do you help people prep for that? What's the first space you look for?

Britt (04:38.719)

Yeah, this is always fun and that's why I love lately I've been on some of our free assessment calls right even with clients coming in to say like all right where are we at you know how can we help you and this is always an important thing that I want to know is right how long do they see themselves owning a business or doing dentistry both really because it just helps us to figure out

We talked about this already even with KPIs. I'm like, what's the future? And then I work my way back. So I'm like, all right, what's the long term? Where are we wanting to go? If it's like, I know I've got at least 15 years of me. Great. Awesome. Like that at least gives us a starting point of where we think we're going and how long we need this business to be producing or the value we need from it for how long you're going to be retired. And so that's where I start is thinking, okay.

So for those of you out there that don't know right now, number one action item, it doesn't have to be exact, right? You don't have to do it, but like, what would you love to be your age of retirement to where at least you're not sitting in the chair anymore doing dentistry? That's an important number. One, for you to know, and two, get a good financial advisor, because they need to know that number, because then you're going to work with them to figure out what lifestyle do you want? How long do we think you're going to, you know?

The Dental A Team (05:35.121)

Thank

The Dental A Team (05:51.538)

Thank

Britt (05:57.333)

live on this great earth and live an awesome life and how much money is that gonna take? So we know, all right, what value do we need in investments, in an account, within your practice, because that's an asset for you as well. How much wealth do we need to build for you to be ready to retire by that point in time? And so, yes, even if we, whether a client says it or not, I'm always thinking about what's that ultimate point? What's the end point we're working towards and how are we gonna get there? Or at least I wanna get you in a position to where

The Dental A Team (05:59.314)

Thank

Britt (06:27.317)

you have the choice to do that, right? You don't have to, but I never want a client to get to the end to where they're like either physically can't do it or something else and they're not set up to be able to live a great life and enjoy it for the rest of their days. So always thinking that big and then thinking about like, all right, and kind of, there any milestones? Some doctors know right away, hey, I want to work down my clinical days and we'll spend more time with family.

The Dental A Team (06:29.009)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (06:51.955)

you

Britt (06:52.423)

Awesome. Let's figure that out. Some are like, no, I want to work and do you know, be in the chair. That's the part I love for as long as I can. Fantastic. That just kind of helps us to see what are the pieces we have. I love it. I think Kira was saying the other day.

life is ultimately just like a series of algebra equations, right? Like everything you look at, it's like, all right, I've got A and C, what B do I need to get to C type of a thing, right? So that's kind of how I look at this is, all right, where do we ultimately need to go? What do we need this asset, this practice to become to do its part in that grand scheme of things? So knowing that first, and then with the practice, it's like, all right, great.

The Dental A Team (07:12.253)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (07:19.111)

Yeah.

Britt (07:35.687)

Either, what do we need to build in value of building this up to where what's our EBITDA? What could I sell it for? Not saying you're going to sell it, but I always want it to be worth as much as possible.

And also like what do need to be making from that practice? Some people they need the full salary of doing the clinical and you know making a lot out of that practice for a certain amount of time and then even just knowing of like all right once I've done that for 10 years I don't have to I can but I don't have to I could always bring in an associate and make X amount off of you know profit from the practice You know based on kind of what we estimate there will be so that's kind of how I work it We've got to know the end

The Dental A Team (07:46.034)

Agree.

Britt (08:15.769)

goal, financial advisors, know dentist advisors are one of our favorites, but working with someone to help you see theoretically when you would retire, what amount do need by then, what current assets do you have, and then we help you on the practice part. What do we need that practice to be or what do we need your income to be from that practice to get you where you need to go. So there's my like long-winded explanation tip.

The Dental A Team (08:30.451)

The Dental A Team (08:38.781)

Yeah.

It was long way to do it short. You accomplished both. You accomplished both. So I agree with the retirement piece and I think I always look like five to 10 years, right? But you're right. That retirement piece is so important. I have had doctors that have come in maybe later in their career with Dental A Team and they're like, gosh, Dental A Team, I'm ready for you and guess what? I'm tired.

And it's like, okay, well, where are we? So now we're like trying to pick up steam towards the end of their career when they didn't see that coming. Or they had an injury or I had a doctor this year that had some really big health scares this year and he wasn't ready. He's like, I know that he's not ready to retire and he wasn't ready to start thinking about it, but he had to. He was forced into that space and that's so much harder and so much scarier than it needs to be.

if we just plan and project a little bit further. So it opened me up too. It opened my eyes up like, gosh dang it, we've got to be on this no matter what. Always be prepared to sell whether you think you're going to sell or not. Always have a business that's sellable and always have a plan for that retirement piece. I think on our side, the Dental A Team comes in for both. We come in for that strategy. We're like, gosh, what do we need that to look like? Where do we want to go? How are we going to get there? How can we?

build this out together? And then how do we get everything systematized to where it needs to be? Get your money coming in. So our side is like, how do we get the money? How do we get the profit? How do get you to be more profitable? How do we get EBITDA up? How do we do these pieces strategically to ensure that you're prepped and ready to go? And then on the financial advisor standpoint, they're going to look at what does it take to live your current lifestyle? Is that current lifestyle what you're going to want to sustain forever?

The Dental A Team (10:28.948)

based on the rates of inflation, what will this look like year over year over year for how long, like Britt said, do we think you're going to, you know, what's your life expectancy, your projection, they're gonna go, they're gonna go as long as they think that they can for you. And then it tells us how much do we need to be pushing into your retirement all the time to get there. So the financial advisor helps with the logistics, they have these really cool, freaking systems behind the scenes that they just.

plug a couple numbers into and it tells this projection and I'm like, are you freaking kidding me? That is so beautiful. But that it helps us on our side to be able to pair those pieces together and say, okay, I had a doctor this year that he's like, Tiff, like, I'm getting tired and I need to speed this up. And I was like, well, get your financial advisor on the phone. Like, let's figure this out. And he's got to pump $12,000 a month into his retirement.

Britt (11:20.791)

Mm-hmm.

The Dental A Team (11:20.801)

That's into his retirement in order to be ready for the projection he just gave his FA, his financial advisor. That's a huge chunk. Like that's a drastic change from what we were doing before. I think we doubled it. He was at like six or eight thousand, depending on what the month looked like. We doubled that. So having those projections early on, that's the strategic wealth management, right? Like wealth management is current. Like what do want your life to look like now?

And what do want your life to look like for the rest of your life? Wealth management is let us help you bring the money in. Let us help you get the money, get profitable or be profitable where you're at, whether you use it only to or not. Like get profitable within your business and then manage where that's going thereafter. Investments and CDs or IRAs or whatever it is that you've got your retirement, your 401k is like.

Britt (12:02.059)

Mm-hmm.

The Dental A Team (12:14.763)

What do you have going on on the other side that's generating income off of that income so that you can keep up with the inflation? You can keep up with all of the pieces that you want your life to look like and combining those, I think is the superhuman power. And with the right systems in place, the right training, the right people behind the scenes, a lot of practices are experiencing turnover, right? The last, I'd say five years, we've seen more turnover than we ever had before. People are like,

I'm in dentistry for 17 years or I've been at this practice for 22 years. Like we don't see that anymore. But with those systems in place, that doesn't have to affect the profitability. And I think before we were seeing that that was affecting the profitability because we were losing people.

and we were so dependent on the people and their knowledge, it was negatively impacting your strategic wealth management. Like it was negatively impacting the projection for your retirement. And one thing that we've learned in the dental field in general is to not be people dependent. So we're taking those systems and those pieces and able to duplicate them, teaching you guys the business side that you've never learned and making sure that all of that combined

is strategizing, like you said, Brit, for forever. Like, this is not just for today or just till retirement, this is for forever. So I love it and I love this topic because I just, I want everyone to understand how important it is to have those conversations and like you said, work backwards. We kind of work, I think a lot of us work from like, here I am, where do I want to go? And so we think how do we stack on top of

where I'm at, but you're saying like flip that board upside down and say, I'm going here. How do I, how can I work backwards from where I want to be and strategize? And it's brilliant. Yeah.

Britt (14:08.031)

and you can always add more on, right? But that's like, that's where I need to be. So no matter what, whatever we work towards, that's where we've got to hit. And it just also helps you to make smart decisions about your practice. I think that most doctors would agree. Every doctor has a sell the practice day from time to time where they're just like, can't do this anymore. It's like, it's okay.

The Dental A Team (14:27.521)

Yeah. Today is the day. Yeah.

Britt (14:30.455)

Wait a minute, it'll be fine. But in those moments, especially as you get more mature in your career, I just talked to recently a potential client and he's like, well, physically and all this, do I sell or if I'm going to stay, then I want to bring in an associate to not have to work as many days. I'm like,

we can absolutely help you if that's the direction you want to go. You need to know first what you need, right? Like that's, you need to know the need first. And then, cause chatting with you, I'm like, you, it sounds like you're ready to go like live the retired life, right? And enjoy your family and do all of those things, which if you can, then great, why not? Then you know, you can make that choice confidently and be prepared for it. But until you talk to someone for financial to see what's your plan for retirement.

The Dental A Team (14:57.741)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (15:05.239)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (15:10.466)

Hmm.

Britt (15:19.191)

What assets do you have? What does that look like? I'm like, I don't, can't, one, I can't advise you even on anything. Ultimately you're a choice, but I'm like, even knowing what direction to go, that's what you need to do first. And then from there.

Make the decision and you want to stay in there like then absolutely come to us. We'll help you grow. We'll help you bring out an associate. We'll help you make it something that's also going to be valuable to sell while keeping in mind like yeah, don't go if you don't need a bunch of equipment, don't go buy a bunch because maybe only need it for like five, 10 years and then you're going to be selling it. So it just helps us to make smarter decisions.

The Dental A Team (15:47.19)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (15:51.226)

I totally agree. I totally agree. And I think at the beginning about you said like, you can add to it, like, don't think that because you set this, this star, this ladder, it's like, I have to do these things. It's not that rigid. It's flexible. The money side, the financial investing, the retirement. Yeah, for sure. Like your financial advisor is going to get you set up and he or she is going to take you the way like find, find someone you trust, find someone who knows the information, let them help you.

Britt (15:57.995)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (16:20.341)

Also work closely. I always say work with your financial advisor and your CPA super closely. And even if they can communicate, it's really smart because your CPA is going to have a like right now mindset and your financial advisor's got to what's later look like and you've got to combine those. adding in your consultant piece is huge. I have a lot of clients that I'm talking to, both of them with them or getting information from my client that they're sending. Cause I'm like, cool, if your financial advisor wants us to do that.

This is how we're going to move that needle. Cool. Your CPA wants you to be prepped for those taxes. This is how we move that needle. Let's get this bucket going over here. Cause they're going to have some of those like obscure plans. They're like, do you need to do this? And then they're like, okay, have fun. Good luck. And then they're gone. But then you're sitting there like, okay, cool. But how am I supposed to get five, 10 % more profitable this year than I was last year? I can't just wish it into existence. So there's a few pieces there. It's ever changing.

Britt (17:19.297)

Mm-hmm.

The Dental A Team (17:19.587)

just like the world of finance is ever changing. So we can add to and we can subtract at any point and change the trajectory. That's the really fun part of the black and white side of watching your practice by numbers standpoint. We see those trends and we're like, great, let's move it a centimeter, right? Let's move it a millimeter and completely change it. I always tell doctors, if you torqued that implant,

a millimeter too short or a millimeter too far, right? You're gonna get a drastically different situation than if it was spot on. If you're like, I don't know if this is spot on, you go a little bit further, that millimeter counts. So thinking that we have to rehaul everything is like saying we have to rehaul the implant. No, you just need to torque it, right? So then we just gotta, we just gotta torque it another millimeter to see or back it off the millimeter to see where we're gonna take it next. And I do have a practice that,

The doctor when we first started was like, in 10 years I wanted to look like this, in five years I to look like this. Well, in three years, we're at three year mark, he's like, I actually don't want those things, Tiff. Cool, cool, that changes it then, right? That changes the trajectory. He's like, I actually want that money then to go to this. It's the same money, but we're putting it on a different focus because his agenda has lined up differently. The things he thought he wanted for his family three years ago.

are very different than the things he's realized he wants for his family now. So setting those sites, but knowing that they don't have to be rigid, they can be flexible. You've just got to be working with the right people. And Britt, you said it earlier, like making sure you've got somebody on the system side that's really helping implement and strategizing with you and making sure you've got somebody that's strategizing on the financial side as well. Britt, I love your brain. Thank you. Thank you.

Britt (19:06.871)

It's fun to know a good amount about this too, right? So this is like the fun to see like both sides of it. And those, I don't know, it's part of the why, right? We care about our clients, why and their ultimate goal, right? And then as people as well, which I know you do big time. And I feel like that's

The Dental A Team (19:22.734)

I think it's...

Britt (19:23.575)

part of it that I'm like, do you, should be like, how do you want to enjoy life, especially like as you retire, being able to enjoy family and grandkids before you aren't physically as able to do things. So that's part, that's why it's part of it. Cause we care about you as people and we want to make sure that ultimately your business feeds that.

The Dental A Team (19:41.697)

I totally agree. totally agree. Actual items are really easy, you guys, like for us. Actual items are easy for us. For you, you've got to start dreaming if you haven't dreamt yet. And you guys, I think most of us dream and we're like, this is the thing I want. And then we just kind of like sit on it because we don't know that we deserve it yet or that we've made it to that point. I've got a lot of younger doctors. They're like, I don't make enough to talk to a financial advisor. Yes, you do. Everyone at Dental Assistance listening today.

Britt (20:06.547)

Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

The Dental A Team (20:09.808)

Treatment coordinators listening today, you make enough to talk to a financial advisor. Everyone should be talking to someone who can help advise them and managing their money and doctors, you especially like, what is it going to look like? How can I make sure that my business is sellable and that I've got my life and my family's life, my kids lives ready to go, whatever that looks like. So step one, dream bigger, dream further, dream and plan for your retirement as weird as that might sound for.

our new grads, I want you to think about when you want to retire and maybe plan a couple years ahead of that even if you think you want to retire at 65 or 70 or whatever age that might be, maybe plan for retirement when you're super young to 60. Like give yourself that flexibility because why not? Then you've got the last five to 10 years to just be like, no, I'm selling today, right? So plan ahead. So think big, dream big, you guys. Come up with that projection. What's your age range?

Chat with your consultant. If you're already working with Dental A Team, you've got a consultant in your back pocket. Chat with one of us on how to get there. If you don't, give us a chat, like give us a call. We're doing these free assessment calls. and Kira and Shelby and the brains behind these things are huge. So you don't even have to be a client with us to help get some of that assessment going. And then three, make sure you've got a financial advisor and a plan for that strategic wealth management. Britt, is there anything you can think of that...

we've missed or you want to re-highlight or anything before we say goodbye.

Britt (21:36.381)

The only thing is you start somewhere and then that's where you at least do a check-in at least every year with whoever's helping you with their finances to say on track off track anything change awesome keep going so that's only addition is it's not a set it and forget it it's a make sure at least every year minimum you're checking in on where your assets are at

The Dental A Team (21:56.285)

Totally agree. I love it. Thank you, Britt. This has been so much fun. This is one of my favorite conversations as well. So I'm super glad that we got to have this today. You guys, you heard it here first, I hope, or second or 15th. I don't care. I hope something hit today that you're like, yes, I've got to go do that. I want you to prep. I want you to plan. I want you to talk to the right people. Let us know how we can help you reach out to your consultant. If you're already a client, if you're a future client, hop on for a free assessment call.

And if you're just someone who's like, I need an assessment, hop on a free assessment call, we're here for it. But reach out [email protected] with questions, with comments, with feedback. We want to hear from you guys and we want to help you plan for your best and brightest futures. Thank you, Dental A Team listeners, and we'll catch you next time.
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#946: Find the Hidden Value in Your Practice
23 jan· Dental A Team Podcast
Kiera points listeners to where opportunity for hidden savings or additional value could be lurking in your profit and loss statements.

Episode resources:

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Transcript:

Kiera Dent (00:00.942)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera. And today I just want to have a really fun podcast with you. I want to talk about some possible ways of hidden value, how to trim some fat in the practice. think these are just some fun things that I don't think we often think about that really can actually add pennies, dollars, Benjamins, thousands into your pocket with minimal effort. As always, thanks for being a part of our Dental A Team podcast family. I adore you.

I appreciate you. If I was with you right now, I'd be telling you, you're doing way better than you think you are. And my mission is to positively impact the world in the greatest way possible. Life is my passion. Dentistry is my platform. And I am here to infuse you with positivity of tactical tips of sharing how you can be living your best life. Life, the life you were destined and meant to live and doing it through dentistry because I'm obsessed with helping you guys give back to people, share with people and become who you were ultimately meant to be. With that, you're loving this podcast,

Go leave us the review, share this with someone because for me to get this into the hands of every single person, every single dentist in this world, I need your help to do it. So please truly go share, share this with someone. And today let's start talking about ways that we can trim the fat, find the hidden value of just little things that we might not be thinking about. My husband does this. He is the guru in our family of looking at our expenses and figuring out what things are we not doing.

of just little tiny things of hidden fees. So you can do this in your personal life and your professional life. And something my husband and I were talking about is we don't have this on a set cadence, right? And so how can we set this on a set cadence? So if you're using a software, our company uses ClickUp. I would not recommend it for most practices. I usually recommend Asana or Trello or Basecamp. Asana is my go-to. Monday.com is another great one. Those are all really good ones, but put this as a reoccurring task. So every year we actually look at these things. And then I do set as a reoccurring task.

every single quarter. My bookkeepers know, so email your CPAs today. Hello, CPAs. Super excited to talk to you. I need you to send me a detailed P &L at the end of every single quarter. I set up myself reminders in my inbox. You can set it up in your project management software, whatever it is, but have a reminder to review your P &L. And I think review your business P &L and your life P &L every quarter. And if you go through every single line item, you will find little areas, but a few things for you today of hidden costs, hidden value, things that you could be doing.

Kiera Dent (02:20.834)

Number one is your insurance. My husband, he's a pharmacist and we have disability insurance, we have life insurance, and there will actually come a point in time, potentially, that you actually no longer need this insurance. For dentists, I'm strongly advocating for you to always carry your disability insurance in case anything happens. I've had so many dentists actually have fluke weird things, like I had a dentist in their 30s have a stroke, I had a dentist in their 20s get cancer, I had a dentist who had tingling in their hands and they actually have

something in their neck, you never know when something weird is going to happen in dentistry. Your hands are really what are going to be able to make it to where you can be successful in your career. but assessing it. I know for us with our our insurance, it's usually we do a lot of research when we buy our cars or our house or our practice or we're getting out of school, but then we never go and reassess it. And so check to make sure are we really like are we paying more than we should be?

Is there a better carrier out there? Are there new people on the market that could be better for us? And just go check instead of just paying that premium every single month, go and look, can we trim the fat? And I know this sounds annoying and you're like, gosh, I don't want to do it. Delegate this to someone, have your managers look into it for you if you want to. But the point is look to make sure that we're not just passively paying our insurances, but we're actively looking to make sure, are we getting the best rates? Are we getting the best fees? Could we negotiate our lease and our rent? That's another zone.

all the different areas that we've negotiated, let's make sure we're looking back. And I think insurance is a really, really big one. The next one is internet. Internet goes up on us, cable, our subscriptions. Can we get those discounted? I know a lot of times with insurance, give you a promo, or excuse me, internet. They give you a promo for a while. And can you cancel it and restart it? Please do it on a weekend. We do not want it disrupting patient care. But can we cancel it and actually get reduced fees? And I know it doesn't sound that great. It's like, OK, well, maybe I could get 50 bucks.

Well, 50 bucks over the course of a year is 600 bucks. And so if we look at that, I know 600, you're like, but Kiera, we're doing like 4 million. I agree with you, but $600. It's the principle of continually looking for where can we trim the fat? So we're always staying at our peak because we never know. And so we're always looking at these things, trimming little hidden costs. These things add up. So let's say we're able to save $200 on our insurance. We're able to save 50 bucks on our internet. Then the next one is credit card fees.

Kiera Dent (04:44.834)

I'm going to be a huge advocate for you looking at credit card fees and not just being like with the person that you started the practice with. Credit cards are notorious for tacking on these extra additional fees that you don't even know what they are to where you're paying 7 % on your credit card transactions. That's ludicrous. There's companies like Bestcard or Moolah. can definitely, we have affiliate relationships with them that we can connect you with and you can get the best prices and promos with them. You get terminals for free. You should be paying...

two to three percent max on your credit card transactions. And so when you look at that, paying an additional four percent on credit card transaction fees, that is so much. So let's say you're a four million dollar practice. OK, let's say that you let's actually I'll just do two million. OK, let's come down a little bit. So a two million dollar practice, you transact all of that and we're paying an extra four percent. That's an additional eighty thousand dollars just because we weren't wise stewards over and like looking to trim the fat.

looking at these items. This is where we look at it. Every single month my credit card company sends it to me. You can send it to your manager. Do the quick math. How much was it? How much of that percentage did they take out? Because it doesn't seem like a lot. But what is the true percentage? For me, I try to average 2.7 to 2.9 because we don't take actual cards. You guys actually do a lot of actual cards in the practice. I know you have a lot of cards on file. What can we do to get that reduced down? And there's also companies like Dental Merchant Advocate that can actually go through your credit card statement, see how they can save.

They do a 50-50 split so they take 50 % of the savings and you get 50 % of the savings So it's a great company They can reduce it for you But also go and look at these other companies and see could you also reduce your own fees for you? So look at that look to see look at the credit card fees. What are you being charged for me? I also have a bunch of credit cards that charge me annual fees Could we be getting the same points or better points from other credit cards? Of course talk to your financial advisors because I know opening and closing credits can actually hurt you and help you depending upon how you do it

But are there other ones that you could be doing that would actually give you better rates, give you better return? Being just intentional with the credit cards. We put so much money on our company cards. Are we still in the best credit card for our business and for the savings that we could be getting? Or are they charging us? Again, we don't fall in love with it. Things change. So let's make sure we're always being so strong. Same thing with your labs. Are there better labs out there? Are there better supplies out there that we could go and work with? I know that there's some great companies like Ordo, O-R-D-O.

Kiera Dent (07:09.114)

They can actually get you reductions on your supplies. I know you love your suppliers and I'm not here to say not to, but there are better ways to do it you can actually save a lot of money. There's buying groups. If you want some help, email me [email protected]. You can literally work with your same exact suppliers, but you can save exponent. Like we're talking thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars. To me, these are the simple things that put money in your pocket. And like we said, $200 on our insurance, 50 bucks here, 80,000 with our credit card fees.

with our supplies, a lot of offices are saving hundreds of thousands. Like I am telling you in the hundred thousand right there, we're up to 180,000. If we could save a hundred thousand on our supplies labs, getting a reduction without losing it. You could bring in a 3d printer and not have to pay for those night guards or orthotrains. Now, of course, make sure that you are trained and you're not hurting patients to try and cut costs, but there's a lot of things we can order. A lot of things. I have offices that order things on Amazon or different suppliers, but check to make sure that the fees haven't gone up.

because they do everything goes up and let's make sure that we're actually paying the best fees. And are there other people coming to the game that could be possibly just as good if not better. So looking for that. Other things, cell phones. I know this sounds silly. I've been with Verizon. my gosh. For like 20 years. I kid you not. And there's another cell phone company called Visible that's new to the market and they're $25 a month for unlimited data. I sound like I'm on a Visible commercial. $25 a month.

unlimited data, unlimited call, text, everything. And I watched for a while to see, they actually really good? My family has been on them $25 a month for a cell phone. And yet most of us are probably paying like 70, $80 a month for our cell phones. That's a simple switch. It runs off the Verizon towers. The only con is if you go out of the country, you do need to have a SIM card there. That's the only con they don't have international currently. I guarantee you they'll get there. But $25 just for cell phones. That's like,

right there, let's just do another 50 bucks for us. So we've got 200 for our insurance, 50 for our internet, 50 for our phones. That's $300 right there. That's 3,600 bucks that you like just in those simple savings, not to mention the 80,000 on credit card fees and the 100,000 on supplies. But this is where we trim the fat. This is where we're able to find little simple things. This is where we're good stewards. we can pay. I think it's always funny. I don't think about like gauze. If gauze is the exact same, but I could pay

Kiera Dent (09:35.962)

$200 for gauze or I could pay 20 bucks for gauze. It's exact same, same packaging, same gauze, everything. It's not like the string gauze. Don't worry. I know that there are some better products out there that we pay for. But why on earth would I be paying 10 times the amount just because I wasn't willing to go and do some research? Now doctors, your time is very valuable. So I'm not going to say that these are necessary things for you to go do, but for your office managers, have them go look into this, have them do the research for this, but be intentional. I mean, you're spending money. Why don't we make sure we're spending it?

in the most effective way possible and keeping the most amount of money in your book and your in your pocket. This is how we keep profitability. This is how you're able to afford consultants. This is how you're able to afford coaches is how you're able to afford CBCT. This is how you're able to afford the CE and why not be smart with our finances. And I want to tell you, I believe that the best doctors that are good owners are the ones who fall in love with their numbers, who have the discipline of looking annually, quarterly.

They do a full financial review, a whole assessment. Take a look at these items. Look to see the hidden. We look at them like, we just don't feel like we have enough money. Well, I know $3,600 doesn't feel like a lot, but guess what? Every single month, that was $300. What if we could put those $300 to a team member and be able to hire somebody who has higher value? We maybe can't afford that hygienist because they want $47 and we're only paying 45.

Well, that $2 per hour might just got made up for because we just cut down our internet bill by just making one phone call. These little areas are where you become incredible practices. And so I just want to give you some ideas to get your brain stirring. If you have some good ideas of where you've trimmed the fat or some great resources or some great suppliers or some great dental pieces that you've been able to find, let me know, email me [email protected]. I think it's always so fun to share with you the best ideas. That's why I love the podcast. That's why I love to consult because I love to

Share. love to bring our doctors together. I love our community that shares the best resources, how to get things cheaper, how to save money, looking for different ways to do it. Because if we can be better, we can hire better people. We can hire more team members and have them work in great places. We can grow your practice exponentially because we trimmed the fat in the areas that really it didn't make a difference. Our internet is same internet. We're just paying cheaper.

Kiera Dent (11:53.282)

Our cell phone could potentially be better or worse. If you hate visible, I'm really sorry, but take a look at it. Like that's saving. You could put your whole family on it. Think of now, instead of just you, you've got four or five, six people saving 50 bucks a month. Well, now that's instantly a lot better deal than just yourself. So look at all these different things. Could you get like a Spotify plan and share it with family members and everybody's paying less? Could we get a Netflix family plan and be doing less? All those dollars, it seems like $2 here, $10 there, $5.

When you add it up every single month, I look at my credit card bill and it's usually for 20, 30, $40 Amazon purchases that add up to 2000, 4,000, 5,000, 6,000, 10,000 of $20 transactions. So why not get the $20 savings, the $30 savings, the $50 savings, more money back to you on things you're already using. You're just being smart with it. So like I said, if you've got other great ideas, send them on over. [email protected] be smart.

Save money, get cash in your pocket. And if we can help you in any way, reach out [email protected] And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.
- Luisteren Nogmaals beluisteren Doorgaan Wordt afgespeeld...
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#945: From $1.2 Million to $2.5 Million — Here’s How
22 jan· Dental A Team Podcast
Tiff and Britt provide a play-by-play of what one practice did over the course of one year to go from producing $1.2 million to $2.5 million. This includes having the right systems in place and the right people in the right seats.

Episode resources:

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Transcript:

The Dental A Team (00:02.09)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. I am so excited to be here with you today. We are doing something really exciting. I have Brilliant Brain Britt with me today. I'll say that three times fast. I love it. It's sticking today. It's sticking. But I'm super excited to do this podcast today. This is something we don't always do. We're just trying to mix it in for you guys so that you guys can really feel a connection to other

Britt (00:14.852)

Thanks.

The Dental A Team (00:30.767)

human beings. That is something that Dental A Team works really hard on and this year in 2025, it's a really, really major focus for us is to have all of our doctors that are a part of Dental A Team to have other doctors and other practice owners and leadership people to communicate with because I think sometimes we feel like we're on our own little island in dentistry and there's a dentist on every corner in most cities and states but we still feel like we're alone.

We really want you to have that connection piece that's really big for us this year and always has been. And Britt and I, Britt, I have you here today. We are going to talk about a practice transformation. This is a client that I think no names used, right? But I think this is a client situation and the statistics is something that we see a lot. This is a very common practice that came into the Dental A Team and then...

Britt (01:13.221)

you

The Dental A Team (01:24.237)

Honestly, the results that we saw were pretty common as well. Like this isn't something that I think preface this with that everyone gets the same results every time. It definitely takes a lot of parts and pieces moving together at the same time to make sure that the results are there. Everyone sees results, but.

really looking at the transformation of this practice and I want you guys out there to think how can I see myself in their shoes? How can I see myself in what they're doing or what they're looking for? It's gonna be really huge today. So Brett, I'm excited for this one. How are you doing? How excited are you? What's life like over there?

Britt (02:02.821)

Good, you know, it's always fun. just think of right recently we wrote a bunch of cards to clients and it's just a fun time to sit back and think about, oh, look at, look at all that we've accomplished together. Look at how much fun it is. So I kind of feel like that's like this transformation day is talking about, oh my gosh, it's so fun to think about all that can be done and all the fun things we've done with our clients.

The Dental A Team (02:23.888)

I totally agree. And those cards were so much fun to hear, right? I love thinking about, I was thinking about them the other day. I'm like, gosh, I can't wait for them to like, I'm sure you guys have gotten them now and opened them and I've heard from a few clients, but I love bragging on results and I love bragging on people. And one of the biggest pieces that we work really hard with our clients on, I've said this a million times, but it's making sure that the business is working for them and not just them working for the business. a lot of...

clients, a lot of potential clients, know, the clients that are coming in and doing practice assessments with you guys and looking at what could my life with the Dental A Team look like and what should I be focusing on within that practice assessment. Our clients that we have now, future clients that will come and a lot of you guys out there listening are really looking for very similar things. And the practice we're going to talk about today, that transformation today is, gosh, this is somebody who we worked just.

so close with and we love them to pieces and in 12 months, so you guys know, we were able to take this practice, this practice and their consultant, they went from 1.2 million and their practice they were doing okay, right? 1.2 million is not bad, but they were kind of tired, they were exhausted, they had two young kids at home that they wanted to be at home with and they were working a lot of hours, they were trying to implement the systems, trying to get everything going.

and just putting a lot of work into this practice to really get it to where they wanted it. What they wanted, you know, was more income. They wanted more profitability. They wanted to be able to take some time off clinically to be with their family and build a life outside of the practice. And I think a lot of the people we talk to, that's the space you guys are in too. Whether you've got littles at home, graduated kids at home, no kids at all, future family, no future family, like no matter what.

I think everybody's in the business of getting time back and wherever you're applying that to doesn't matter. It's just not being handcuffed to what you're doing every day, but what you're doing every day to allow you to have the life of your dreams. And that's where this practice was. And within 12 months, I want you guys to know the pieces that we're going to talk about today.

The Dental A Team (04:33.842)

are just some implementables that we worked on with this practice that their consultant worked really hard with them to implement. Went from $1.2 million in their practice in 12 months to a $2.5 million practice. So they doubled their production and their collections. Collections stayed right in line with their production. You guys, that's a piece I want you to understand and know. Your production can double, but your collections also has to double. You've got to make sure you're staying in that 98 % or higher.

They did that. So their overhead dropped as well significantly. They went down about 10 % in that year. So they increased their production collections, decreased their overhead by about 10 % and their hygiene, which we push, you know, I really want to see your hygiene to three to 3.3 times their rate of pay. This practice is hygiene went above and beyond and we're doing about five times their rate of pay. So there's probably, you know, some fee for services in their low PPO, you know, signups. They've got only a couple PPO's and

high reimbursements, but I want those are all a part of those that puzzle you guys. So I really want to dive into how they did this and Britt just objectively, if you have a practice that comes in, you're doing a lot of these practice assessments yourself as well with the with the team, but a practice comes in and they're like, gosh, we're doing fine. Like we're decent. We're at one point two million. I've got two kids at home. I'm tired. I'm working a lot. I want to be home more like

Objectively, what are some of the first questions that you ask or you're looking for to know where to take this practice with their systems?

Britt (06:07.159)

I think systems and people, right? I think that's two things within even this case is looking at what systems do we have running and what people do we have helping to run things that aren't just doctor. I think it's common, That sometimes, not sometimes, often we will have doctors come in and they're doing a lot of things on the business side or keeping track of front desk. They're doing a lot of pieces that aren't the most productive thing for them to be doing.

The Dental A Team (06:22.77)

you

The Dental A Team (06:34.897)

Yeah.

Britt (06:36.365)

And so looking for what are those opportunities of either gaps in systems to where we just don't have a plan for things, we need to shore some things up and if we're a little bit more intentional about what we're doing every day, we're gonna get better results. And then number two is how can we get the right people in the right seats that allows everybody to function at the height of their ability. And when we've got those two things like rockin' and rollin' with this transformation that we have.

The Dental A Team (06:58.215)

Yeah.

Britt (07:05.445)

it just runs smoother and especially for doctors, right? Then you've got a little more time and you can focus most of your energy on patient care and doing some of those bigger cases, you know, having even just more mental space and exams to talk about optional things, to the opportunity to do more work. And so that's kind of what I'm looking for. like, all right.

The Dental A Team (07:20.381)

Mm-hmm.

Britt (07:26.051)

What systems and what people do we have? How much is that doctor into and what can we start to transform on both sides to make the most of everybody?

The Dental A Team (07:36.628)

Yeah, it was just brilliant because this practice in specific that we're talking about, those were the pieces they were lacking. They didn't have an office manager or a leadership team. They didn't have a team. They were passing things off to you. They weren't delegating things. So this doctor comes in and two young children, and wanting more time at home, exhausted and not able to push the production and the collections in the ways that they wanted to.

you look at it and you're like, yeah, because you're doing everything. So if we're holding all of the cards ourselves, whether we're the manager or the doctor or whoever it might be, if we're holding all the cards, I think of it as like, you're trying to hit each one of those pieces and your capacity is only so big. So what happens is

You're managing the growth. You're also performing the dentistry. You're making sure that the patients are happy. You're making sure the team's happy. You've got your hands in so many different pots that you've only got a little bit. You've only got so much of you, right? There's only so much of you. The capacity is only so large. You only have so much to divvy out. And so when you have so many spaces that you're putting little pieces of yourself into, not to mention the things at home, you're actually decreasing the value.

of what each of those spaces is getting of you. Because you can only give so much and that's what spreading yourself then is, right? You can only give so much of yourself to each one of those spaces. So if you were to take a step back and think, well, what parts of this am I doing that someone else could do if I had the right person in place? And I think that's the first space that they really worked on with this client was taking that step back and saying, if we had a manager in place,

What are the things you're doing today that a manager could take off of your plate? That just alone, I think the concept and idea of having someone to delegate, that alone frees up so much space in your brain because it gives you a way out, it gives you an option and some clarity. So they worked really hard on this with this practice to really look at if we could hire the right manager, what would we delegate to him or her?

The Dental A Team (09:44.211)

And then they did it. And I know this consultant very, very closely worked very closely with this practice in the hiring, as well as all of us consultants do. We definitely help hire. We've definitely done interviews. I've done a million interviews for a few practices that really to make sure we're getting the right person, but they worked really hard on the hiring the right person and then training that person to take a lot of those tasks on. So Britt, when you have that office manager, cause you're saying like the people and the systems, right?

So when we have that office manager in place that can take some of those pieces from the doctor, what does that open up for the doctor capacity and space wise? then what can, know, I told you a lot of our clients and a lot of our listeners are in the same place. The financials might be different, the numbers might be different, but the problems are usually the same. So if we can get that right person or train the person who's there now to do some of those pieces, what has that been allowing? What did it allow this doctor to do with their lives?

Britt (10:41.283)

Yeah, I think like I said, it's a mental capacity one, even like chair time, right, might open some of it up for you. Family time, it opens some of it up for you. And the thing is not only are you passing things off to office manager, you are also, that office manager can shore up things that we know need to be done that haven't been happening, right? So AR, we need stronger systems or we've had them, but nobody's following them.

The Dental A Team (11:03.797)

Mm-hmm.

Britt (11:07.883)

office manager can take on a lot of those pieces to help drive us forward as well.

The Dental A Team (11:12.948)

For sure, I totally agree. So I think some of the pieces that this doctor specifically had right were not the right, maybe not even the right systems for the right people. Because I think a lot of you guys listening can see yourselves in this doctor's shoes. Like I said, the numbers might be different. The problems are usually about the same. They just might be on a different level. So part of that and what Britt, you just said too, is really looking at

where are we spreading ourselves then? What are the important pieces that only you can do, doctor? So one piece that we took with this practice alone was to say, dentist, what can you do? You are the only one who can perform the dentistry right now. We don't have an associate, we don't have anybody else, which if there's an associate with a whole other world of problems, we're going to keep it to you. What are the things that only you can do? And you are the one who's providing the dentistry. You're the clinician.

Only you can do the exams, only you can recommend treatment, only you can perform the treatment, only you can run your business from these standpoints. So how do we get those pieces on you? And then how do we divvy out the other pieces? Typically, the stresses are going to come from like Britt just said, and I'm sure this practice had this as well, the AR, right? The accounts receivable, the collections, is the money coming in? And do we have a point person?

appointed to watch those pieces. So that maybe your office manager, it may be a billing person, but ultimately your office manager is going to watch all of those pieces. So what we did with this practice, their consultant strategized with them and built a plan for that office manager. And I know I've done this with a lot of clients as well. What is the training plan going to look like? Who are we hiring? So what's the avatar of the human being that we need? What are the things that we need that human being to perform?

How are we going to strategically train them to take these pieces on from you? And then we trajectory, we have this trajectory and we project when can you say, yes, these things are off my plate? So is it six months from now? Is it nine months from now? What does that look like that these things are off of your plate? And how are we gonna track those trends? So we wouldn't have these stats 1.2 to 2.5, five times the rate of pay and hygiene decreased overhead by 10%.

The Dental A Team (13:22.695)

if we weren't tracking the trends and tracking how the systems were being implemented and put into place. So space one, you guys, they hired an office manager and this office manager came in and freaking killed it. This office manager came in, trained with the consultant, trained with the doctor, the doctor delegated, the doctor built the trust with the office manager and the office manager increased the collections through the AR as well. AR and like over the counters, all of those pieces.

They made sure that they were tracking the trends, they were attacking the systems that needed to be attacked, and they kept building. The momentum started and they kept going. On the other side of that, the doctor, right? Talk, maybe speak a little bit to that capacity side of the doctor. You mentioned, you know, mental capacity. If you're doing all these pieces, your exams, like, what does that look like now? We've removed that obstacle of no office manager. Now what can we implement and expect from the doctor?

Britt (14:20.931)

Yeah, so from the doctor, just that mental space, right? We all know when we're really busy, someone comes to you, you need an answer, whether it's a patient, whether it's a team member. Sometimes you just end up making decisions on things that.

if you weren't so rushed, like you would have maybe gotten a little more information and made a different decision that might have been a better decision in that moment. So I think that's part of it. think treatment planning, one where they just don't feel that they're so frazzled going from thing to thing where.

The Dental A Team (14:42.901)

Yeah.

Britt (14:51.747)

not only they're taking care of patients, they're trying to tackle some business things and take care of things in the midst of the day. And so when we're able to even just compartmentalize that, pass some things off, make specific time to get things done, they can be very patient present, which I think one, not only helps them as a doctor, also helps them to hold their clinical team accountable because they should be preheating and helping the doctor and talking about things. Sometimes when we're exhausted, it's like,

The Dental A Team (15:11.212)

Yeah.

Britt (15:18.637)

I don't even want to tackle that conversation right now. I'll just do it right like that's human nature. I think everybody does it in those moments where you're just exhausted and stressed. So when we can remove that from doctor

you can show up for that clinical team, them little more accountable and have a little bit more mental energy to talk to patients about things or maybe even improve on how we're presenting things or how we're handing things off, not only for a doctor, but the entire clinical team to function a little bit better. And I think with office manager, right? And with this client, one of the things...

on top of taking delegated tasks was someone very dedicated to schedule, scheduling well, making sure that patients are getting in there. And so that alone was a huge piece and switching and getting that production, that revenue to grow is scheduling is huge and keeping it full and not having piddly days where you work really hard and don't make anything.

The Dental A Team (15:59.065)

See you.

The Dental A Team (16:07.864)

I totally agree. And one piece that they, I know that the consultant talked about too on that same standpoint, right? We optimized how the team is doing everything and figured out the systems that needed to be there. But part of those systems were the meetings.

making sure that there was a great cadence, that the communication was there. And even, even doctors who are listening now, they're like, I can kind of see myself there, but I have an office manager and he or she is fantastic. And that's great. And you're still looking for that space in that area of growth. could be as simple as the communication. How is, how is your communication with the team? How are you communicating with your office manager? This specific practice was doing weekly meetings with the office manager and really got that cadence down and really got a good momentum on the meetings because

Now they're talking about the goals. So when we're, and we've talked about this, you guys, there's a couple podcasts recently you can listen to. When you're looking at the goals and you're constantly looking at where are we trying to go and where have we been, what's that gap in between, you're able to then strategize and say together, what do we need to do to get to that point? Because you're not going to say, you're not going to call me and be like, Tiff, we went from 1.5 or 1.2 to 2.5 and I just hired an office manager. That's all it took. It might.

That'd be super freaking cool, right? But likely there's a lot more work that goes into it. So hiring the right person, having right people, right seat, having the training and having the systems and then having the strategy, which is something that I think a lot of doctors need help working through. actually had someone who's really close to me the other day. He's like, I don't understand like this, like a successful doctor, like you're not, they're not your ideal client. And like, yeah, they are.

Britt (17:56.567)

Yeah

The Dental A Team (17:56.837)

I mean, yeah, they are. He's like, well, they've already done it. I'm like, yeah, but sometimes they can't see through the weeds of where they want to go. And they see this vision and they see, okay, I've gotten this far. Is this my cap? Because I really think it'd be cool to do X, Y, and Z. Or I just want a little bit more. And sometimes it's easy to the want, to have that want and have that desire. But the strategy piece...

is a little bit more difficult and sometimes it takes that third party perspective. So this client, making sure that they worked really closely with their consultant on what that strategy needed to look like, the team training, the delegation, the meeting, setting the right cadence for their calls, making sure that they showed up every single time that they were in it to win it. They did the hard things. They did the implementations. We can only do so much. You can't implement it and do it for you. But making sure that they were doing it. This doctor put in a lot of work.

But on the flip side, they got time back with their kids, they decreased overhead, which increased their profitability, increased their profitability with production and collections, right? And increased just their hygiene rate of pay, five times their rate of pay. Like that's huge, that's above and beyond what we push for. But they did those hard things, right? People write seat, write training, write strategy and systems, and making sure you know where you're trying to go.

Britt (19:15.107)

Mm-hmm.

The Dental A Team (19:20.377)

and doing those hard things. And Britt, I think my big question to you is can anyone do this? Like even if these aren't your exact numbers, right? You can see yourself somewhere in this story. Can anyone have these results?

Britt (19:35.333)

I think anyone can definitely get the improvement, right? And there's gonna be some fat, welcome to the realist. Anyone can do it grow. I don't care what space you're in. I don't care what's going on within the practice right now. Everyone has the opportunity to grow and comes in at a point where it's like, all right, you might've been doing really well, great. How do we take you to the next level and grow you even more?

The Dental A Team (19:42.159)

Hahaha

The Dental A Team (19:58.168)

Okay.

Britt (19:59.109)

And there are some where it's like, hey, I'm functioning, right? Decent, but I can't figure out how to get beyond that. And we've got the space, we've got the potential and they can get those results, right? So anyone can make the change and get results. And I think with this factor, it's not just hiring an office manager like you said.

There's also accountability, because sometimes it takes more than one, honestly, to find the right person. So you've got to have the accountability along with it while delegating things and getting someone who can really own that role. And you can do it. You can get the results that you want and get your practice functioning to its full capacity no matter who you are. Just by taking a little bit help and guidance on the way.

The Dental A Team (20:21.296)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (20:37.213)

Totally agree. Yeah, which it should. Like I told this friend who made that comment to me, was like, gosh dang it, do you know how many business ideas I have had in the last five, 10 years of my life that have never gone anywhere because I didn't have somebody sitting behind me. Like, did you do that thing? Did you do that thing? Because I'm like, I don't know what the next step would be. Like if I'm truly going to do something and go to the next level, no matter what it is, if it's my wealth management, if it's...

Britt (20:53.784)

huh.

The Dental A Team (21:04.476)

He's doing something within Dental A Team on a course, right? Creating something new. I can have the idea, but sometimes I need that coach behind me, even if it's just Britt on my own team being like, your next step is, and sometimes we just need that. And I think that's what this doctor came in, like exhausted, knew what he wanted, but just was like spread too thin. It's too hard to fix it all. We need that third party perspective sometimes to be like, no, this is, this is where we start.

If we start right here, clear that up, it leaves space to now double up and apply that space that you've got towards this thing to move that needle, but we've got to free up that space first. So 100 % think you're right.

Britt (21:44.486)

and even just coming up with the ideas, right? Or like some, can think of one client in particular where it's like, I'm maxed on space, which absolutely they were, they were maxed on space and like doing really well. We were able to grow a little bit in that space. And I remember from the beginning, we started working together and I'm like, okay, like.

The Dental A Team (21:53.872)

Mm-hmm.

Britt (22:04.771)

What, right? Big picture. What's your plan? Right? Are you wanting to just maximize this space? Are you wanting to try and get into a bigger space for you? Have you thought associate? And it's like, well, I mean, maybe if something came along and like he just moved into a new building that's big enough and he's like, I want to get my associate on coming on so I can start to back days. I'm like, great. We're in a different spot. It's still not my vision, but I'm like, I'm going to find some ideas. So you know what could be if that aligns with your vision and where you want to go.

The Dental A Team (22:07.152)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (22:18.0)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (22:24.582)

Yep.

The Dental A Team (22:34.205)

Totally agree. Totally agree. I love it. I love it. I love it. I love it. This stuff lights me up and being able to see this kind of growth or the potential in people and for people I think is huge. And that's kind what you're saying. Like your potential could be this, like where do we want to take it is the next question. But this is what I see as possible for you. And I know you guys are doing that a lot on the practice assessment that a lot of, a lot of, hopeful Dental A Team clients or, you know, just getting information people are doing with you guys is

This is where you're at. This is where I think you could go. This is the trajectory. So I think it's really cool. We do a lot of these for all of you guys. Anyone who wants one can call. If you're a Dental A Team client, you know, we work with you guys constantly on making sure that we're setting those goals. So I love it. I think anyone can have this. Like you said, Britt, anyone can have this as long as you'd want it. If this is what you want, or if you want just a little bit of growth, you want whatever, you can have whatever you want. You just have to be willing to do the work and make the changes with.

some guidance and accountability. That's something that we do really well over here. Guidance, accountability, strategy, all of those pieces. So you tell us what you need. If you found yourself in this predicament or you found yourself in this story and you're like, take me to that next level, I'm tired too, or I'm not tired yet, but I'm afraid I'm gonna get there, call us. Send us an email, [email protected] We're always here for you guys. We are so excited to bring you information like this, to bring you the tips and the guidelines.

Britt (23:51.418)

Ha

The Dental A Team (24:01.275)

Brett, thank you for taking this trail with me on this transformation and for your brilliant tips here. think the listeners are lucky to have you. So, Brett, thank you for being here with me today. Awesome.

Britt (24:14.309)

Absolutely. You're the leader. You get to lead all the things here on podcasts and it's always fun to chat with you. I don't know. I always love the yin and yang. I love when people have different ideas. That's probably the fun of consulting is there's a million different ideas and let's talk about it.

The Dental A Team (24:30.162)

I totally agree. I totally agree with that. Well, thank you for the accolades there. All right, guys, five star review below. Let us know that you love this content. If you see yourself in this, if you see yourself out of it, you want more information, reach out to us. You can schedule a free practice assessment with us. You can reach out to us, [email protected] Message us here on all the...

Insta's, the Facebook's, the TikTok's, wherever you can find us, we're there on all of it. So thank you guys so much. Go enjoy your day. Let us know how we can best serve you and we'll catch you next time.
- Luisteren Nogmaals beluisteren Doorgaan Wordt afgespeeld...
- Later beluisteren Later beluisteren
#944: Reignite Your Passion
21 jan· Dental A Team Podcast
Kiera lists a series of questions listeners can ask themselves when they’re feeling a lack of passion for their job, life, relationships, and more.

Episode resources:

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Transcript:

Kiera Dent (00:00.994)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and I hope today is just a great day for you. I hope that you're loving your life. I hope that you are enjoying being in dentistry. And if you're having a bad day, well, let's chalk it up. Hopefully you only have like 10 % of your days that are bad and 90 % of your days that are good. I believe that we are truly in the best profession. We get to change people's lives. We get to do dentistry for people. We get to help people in ways that they didn't know. The smile is the universal hello. And we're able to give people confidence where they didn't feel like they have.

We're able to give people a way to give nutrients to their bodies, a way to communicate with people. And we're doing that through dentistry. So I'm just excited for you and I love it I hope that you do too. And remember, Dental A Team's mission is to positively impact the world in the greatest way possible. And we do that through expert consulting for dentists and teams. And so if this podcast is serving you, blessing you, sharing, you've taken any tip, please share it with somebody. Please help us get this podcast into the hands of every single dentist, every single practice.

Because I believe that that's how we'll be able to achieve our mission of impacting the world in the greatest way possible Today I wanted to dive in to just a fun topic of how to recreate passion I think it's very easy to lose passion. We've been doing things for a long time. It's day in day out We've been working hard. We've been taking on the challenges. We're on opera like smooth operating wherever you are

How do we recreate the passion in our lives? How do we get that passion back? And I can speak from personal experience on this. I lost my passion. I truly did. It was a grind for me. Work was no longer fun for me. And not to say I didn't enjoy my clients, because I always loved my clients. And I love podcasting. So those were still really fun things for me. But overall, being a CEO and

dealing with the struggles, I had some really, really hard things in the business. And I think that's oftentimes when it like kind of sucks the wind out of us and we lose passion. We can lose passion when family life is hard. We can lose passion when it just feels like it's Groundhog's Day. Go in, say hello, do the same thing, leave. And so just trying to help you think of how can we reignite that passion? And I put on here, there's lots of different ways, but today I wanted to dive into the art of play.

Kiera Dent (02:19.59)

and bringing more play into our lives and realizing that I think sometimes we make our jobs and our careers be a one-stop shop for everything we're doing. We literally are sitting here saying like, needs to be my fulfillment piece. needs to be my significance piece. It needs to be my challenge. It needs to be my financial piece. It needs like, it needs to be the space where I feel loved, all these different things. And yet that's a lot to put on one space. I understand that we spend a lot of our time there, but when we lose the passion,

One, I would ask, are there things that we could delegate off? I made a whole list over here of the things that I just don't like doing anymore and where I was getting like into the suck of losing my passion and realized could those things be delegated? Could I hire somebody for those? Could those things get off of my plate successfully? And the answer was yes. So we hired somebody new, we delegated some tasks and I got really, really super clear on what things do I absolutely love doing day in and day out of my life.

I love working with my clients. I love doing numbers. I love the podcast. I love doing events. love speaking. What I don't enjoy doing are like all the little like nuances around all of it. And I've got a team. And so that was just also me realizing I'm in the wrong spot. I've been staying there with my hands in the pot for so long and I need to trust my team and I need to truly empower them that they are brilliant. They're more brilliant than I am and to remove myself. So that's one big passion suck is.

Are we maybe doing things that don't bring us the passion that suck the passion that someone better than us who loves to do it could actually take on. that's step number one. Step number two is what are we doing outside of work and where are our hobbies at? And I remember sitting in therapy trying to figure this out. bought Simon Sinek's like, find your why. My why was there. It just got buried. My why has always been there is to positively impact the world in the greatest way possible. And it's through expert consulting for dentists and teams. Like my why is still there. I still know exactly why I do this. I understand it.

And it just got buried and I forgot. I truly forgot and I believe I've got lots of whys. But that was like the big thing of like, why am I doing this? But I realized I didn't have any passions. I didn't have friends. There was a book I read a while ago called Find Your Tribe. I like it. I will say it's extra churchy. I mean, I am religious and it was a little extra even for myself. So if you can, if you could read past that or if that doesn't bother you, I just want to, I want to give a disclaimer on it. But the book is really good and she talks a lot about

Kiera Dent (04:42.616)

finding five people within a five mile radius of friends. And this is where play comes into play. I did not mean that play on words. So this is where play comes into play and not a play on words. There you go. But what are you doing that's fun? What are you doing as adults for play? Are you into pickleball? Can you get into sports? you, and not that you have to, it's like not kid sports or not hanging out with friends because your kids are that, like, what do do that's soul filling for you?

And I remember sitting there thinking like, honestly don't know. It's almost like I lost myself and I needed to date myself again. You know how couples, they fall out of love because they forget to date each other. Like what they were doing when they were dating, they've stopped doing and in doing so, they actually fell out of love with each other accidentally. And so have we also like fallen out of passion with ourselves because we forgot what even makes us human. We've gotten to our careers. We've become the bosses. We've become, we've been working hard. We...

get lost in the shuffle of kids and family and all the different pieces that we get lost in that we forgot what even makes us a human. And this is where the art of play comes in to play. What do we do for fun? And so I remember I was like, but a lot of these things for me, and I will just speak very candidly and you can judge me or you can like me. This is Kiera Dent, real and raw. I said a comment in therapy. I said, a lot of these things feel stupid to me because they don't make money.

And I think about like buy back your time and who not how, and I know my dollar per hour and it's like, play does not equate to my dollar per hour. And yet my therapist said, but Kiera play is so much of life that isn't going to have a financial ROI. And can you do something just because you enjoy it and not have to feel productive, not have to feel like it has an ROI on it. And she's like, you can still love your work. You can still enjoy that, but there's this whole side of our lives.

that won't ever have an ROI. It won't ever make you money, but it actually will make you money because you're happier and you're more fulfilled and you're more fueled. And then you're actually going to want to go work more because you're happy because as soon as you're done with work, you go play. It's like this whole thing of recess. Think about in school, we work hard and we go play and we have recess. We get done with the day and we go play outside with our friends. We would call up our friends and we'd have play dates all the time. And yet as adults, what are we doing to play? And it doesn't mean that we're just sitting in front of a TV and vegging and numbing our minds.

Kiera Dent (07:08.47)

It doesn't mean that we're drinking and numbing our minds. It means what are we doing to fuel our souls? What are we doing that makes us excited? And so we started listing off ideas and she was like, okay, Kiera. And I'm like, you want me to go book club with people? I was like, this is stupid. said, you want me to go craft with people? This feels so dumb to me. I'm like, you want me to go join a sports team? This also feels so dumb to me because it feels like, no, I need to be at work. Like my dollar per hour is this and I know I can produce that. And yet the play is where passion is.

And so she said, Kiera, feel uncomfortable and do it anyway. And I want that to be your motto. Feel uncomfortable, do it anyway. So that means I feel uncomfortable at a book club, do it anyway. I feel uncomfortable going to the, like calling friends, getting my five friends within five miles and saying, hey, let's meet up for lunch or hey, like, let me have you over and have a party. I feel uncomfortable dressing up for a Halloween party and going to it.

I feel uncomfortable carving pumpkins with people and I sit there and the business still chicks. But when we get into play, we actually forget. I feel really ridiculous going and painting ceramics with my dad. took my dad, said, my dad and I call it fun Fridays. And my dad comes up, he lives about two hours away and we went and we painted ceramics together. And my dad said, Kiera, why do you like to do this? And I said, dad, I like to just have mindless chit chat where I'm just sitting here talking with you and where like painting gives us an activity to do together.

And so I feel ridiculous doing it, but do it anyway, going hiking. And then once I started doing a lot of these items of play, I started to realize like one, your mind gets distracted and then great ideas come for work. So it felt like like a double win. Two, there's more to who I am than just work. I now know I enjoy crafting, like going and doing those paint things with my dad. I love hiking and I really enjoy being outdoors. I fell in love with boating this summer.

Like I got really, really, really good at wake surfing. I mean, you guys, I'm not a pro. I'll get better next year, but I nailed a 360 and it was so fun for me. And we call it wake weenie Wednesday and we have a bunch of friends come join us and we do a weenie roast on the back of the boat after we're done surfing for an entire night. And I realized like, that was where play came back in for me. That's where my passion came back in because I love to be out on the lake. I love to be outdoors.

Kiera Dent (09:32.39)

I started reading a ton of books with my sisters. would do like just dumb things. I would go meet friends and just go to Costco and go shopping with them and their kids. But having something more than work can infuse passion back into your life. You can feel dead and numb and just apathetic to the world. And the way we can infuse that passion is like I said, figure out what's causing that and let's get rid of it. And then let's give our minds a space where they can actually go and have fun.

Let's go play, let's go hit it hard. Jason and I have an alarm where it goes off at 6 10 every single night. And we don't talk about work anymore. We talk about other things. And we don't just veg out in front of the TV, but we do fun things. We invite friends over, we go see people. And we always have an excuse not to do it. But why don't we make reasons why we want to do it? And there's a balance. Sometimes fun and play is taking a nap. Sometimes fun and play is sitting on the couch and doing absolutely nothing. Sometimes fun and play is writing in your journal.

Sometimes fun and play is being active and athletic. Sometimes fun and play is gardening. Sometimes fun and play is doing household chores because you know when you're organizing your personal life, it's actually organizing your business life. You know that there's different ways that you generate, organize, and destroy in your life, but that infuses the passion back for you. Find a coach, find a therapist, figure out what's causing it back for you. But that is some tips of how can we reignite the passion for us. And I truly do believe there's an art of play.

And I think a lot of us, think there's some people that I just admire and they're such fun doctors and they're playing and they're having a good time with their team. like life is always a good time. My dad is one of those people. Every time I call my dad, like he's just giggling and like things are just fun for him. And so it's like having more fun. Life is meant to be fun. Yes, of course there will be hard times. There will be struggles, but to me, I want a life that's fun. I want a life that's fulfilled. I want my life to be fun filled to pull from one of the doctors that I talked to.

And that doesn't mean that we're oblivious to what's going on, but there's more created outside of us than just our practices. And that doesn't mean we have to give up the passion for working. That doesn't mean we have to not enjoy our work. Work can be so fulfilling for us, but it's having that mixture of play and work and fun that really can reignite the passion. And so try those things out. Don't go through it alone.

Kiera Dent (11:51.118)

I also think making sure you reach out to friends. You have a good group of people. I worked so hard. You guys, it's funny. People tell me all the time, Kiera, you're such a social butterfly. And I'm like, I am. But for me to have like true friends that I allow to see the good, the bad, the ugly of me. On the podcast, I want to show up and be the perfect person for you guys. I want to be an incredible consultant. And I feel like I leave my life at the door and I come and I serve and I want to be that. I don't, you guys don't need to know my whole life.

But I also need to have friends that can be there, that can support me when things are hard, that can support me when things are great, that I can be unapologetically myself. I can be whatever version I want to be around those friends and they aren't necessarily work friends. They're people outside of that. They're people that just inspire you and make you want to be better. And then you do the things that really, really, really fuel your soul. like email me [email protected]. Tell me what you do to ignite the passion and what do you do for fun?

What are the ways that you brought back the art of play in your life or what things do you want to do? I'd love to hear from you. I'd love to hear your ideas. And if I can be a resource for you or our consultants can help you delegate those tasks, get your team on board, take those projects away from you and not to have you feel awkward about asking them to do it. I'd love to help you. [email protected] And as always, thanks for listening. Go have so much fun. Make yourself a promise that you are going to have more happy fun days than you will have sad days.

and I promise you your life will become that way. You deserve it. So go live that and have more fun in life. And as always, thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.
- Luisteren Nogmaals beluisteren Doorgaan Wordt afgespeeld...
- Later beluisteren Later beluisteren
#943: Office Autopsy: When Cash Flow is Low
16 jan· Dental A Team Podcast
Kiera summarizes a practice that was struggling with cash flow. She breaks down what the Dental A-Team did to pull back the curtain and find out where cash was hiding, and what was done to fix the flow.

Episode resources:

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Transcript:

Kiera Dent (00:00.814)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and I hope today's incredible for you. I hope you are having the best life. I hope you're just enjoying everything and more. I really truly hope that things are just going so well for you. Don't forget guys, we truly live in the best industry, the best time, all the things are here for us. And so let's not forget how great things really are for us. As always, thanks for being a part of our Dental A Team podcast family. I adore you. I appreciate you. I respect you.

I look up to you. I want to be more like you, all the things. And I'm so, so, so, so, so happy that so many of you are a part of our family. If you guys remember, my mission is to positively impact the world in the greatest way possible. And we do that through expert consulting for dentists and teams. And so if you can share this podcast in a Facebook group or on your drive, us, share this with a colleague, share this with a coworker, share this with someone. Today's going to be an office autopsy.

and leave those Google reviews, those five star reviews on whatever streaming platform you're on. That helps us stay top ranked so more offices and more teams and more doctors just like you can be infused with positivity, tactical tips that are going to make your life, your practice extraordinary, easier and happier and more profitable. So I think it's a win-win-win and that's what we're all about at Dental A Team. That's what our consulting's about is how to help you create and achieve that extraordinary life that you've been looking for.

and do it with ease.

Kiera Dent (02:06.531)

If you are new to the Dental Inn Team podcast, my name is Kiera Dent. Dent really is my last name and I do love what I do. I started this consulting company wanting to help the students of Midwestern University's dental college in Arizona. And I took a practice from 500,000 to 2.4 million with one of the doctors. She was incredible. We did incredible work. And I thought, man, if I could help her.

Maybe I can help other doctors too. And that's actually how Dental A Team started. I had never done consulting before. So everything you get within Dental A Team are things that I wish I would have had things that when we were scrambling, when we couldn't get our team bought in, when we couldn't hit goals, when everything seemed so hard, I wish I would have had these items. And so that's actually what the consulting company has been built upon has been created on is all of that. So that's what Dental A Team's about. And so for those of you who are new,

Every so often, I will do what's called an office autopsy, where I take you behind the scenes of one of our consulting clients. Yes, I do keep them anonymous. And sometimes I will mix and mingle so you can't quite figure out exactly who I'm talking about. And that's just to keep the practices anonymous. I do have permission to share. And these are just things that we've done with a practice. So today, and I love to walk you through because

When I was an office manager, when I owned my practices, we were just in our own silo place. And yet if I can share information with you, help the best practices win and thrive, that's what I'm about. Because I believe that we have a moral obligation within dentistry to help practices that are the best, provide the best dentistry for more patients and to help patients have the best experience. I really, really truly do believe that that's our moral mission. And so, and it's our ethical code and that's what we're here for. So with that, there was a practice.

They were an amazing office. And I remember this doctor called me, I was sitting on an airplane. I used to fly a lot more than I do today. We fly to our practices. We also have offices come together and we meet together for business and leadership events that are so fun. And we basically like get naked on our business in front of other people. And I think it's one of the most beautiful things. They're not physically naked. I feel like I need to like have a massive disclaimer on there. But basically, like we stripped down your business to the bare bones of

Kiera Dent (04:13.889)

what is going on in your practice and what are the real things and what are the roadblocks with no nonsense. Like let's actually figure it out and then let's not spend our time fixing the 500 things that we could fix. A business will always have opportunities to fix and that's why it's a business. But the reality is I think as business owners and as leaders, our job is to sift through all the opportunities and pick the one, two or three items.

that are going to exponentially move us forward in the fastest, most effective, efficient way that will be the best for our teams, the best for our patients. And so that's where we strip it down to the bones, what's going on in the practice, and then we're able to help us identify what do we need to do over these next three months to make sure our practice is flourishing and thriving. And we do this in a group of like-minded doctors. We do this where you are really able to exponentially grow and we have your office manager come with you. Because when I attend events, I love them and I get hyped up.

but then I gotta go back and get my team hyped up. So we figured we are dentists and team consulting. We work with both. We don't just work with one or the other. We are comprehensive that way. And so really having this beautiful match made in heaven where the office managers also get to hot seat. They get to go through, they get to have these opportunities and they get to mix and mingle with other office managers to really pull and seep out the best of the best. So.

That's what we do. either go to you or we bring you together or a mixture of both. And it's so magical. And so this doctor called me and I was sitting on a plane and he was telling me how hard his practice was and how the collections were just struggling a lot. And he said, Keira, can you help me? And I said, well, actually, yeah, this is our specialty. My hunch is there's a lot more than just collections, but usually offices will reach out when cash flow is low. Obviously, right?

We're in panic. We need cash. How do we get this? Let's contact a consultant who's an expert consultant who's been there, done that, done that successfully multiple hundreds of times over and let's hire them. So cashflow, team turnover, culture, lack of vision, wanting to go to the next level. Sometimes there aren't really a lot of problems. I just want to go to the next level and what can we do for that? So those are usually the typical reasons why someone's going to actually reach out for consulting. And so this doctor, it was the cashflow, the cashflow issue.

Kiera Dent (06:25.187)

Other times offices will also reach out for systems. I think that that's a very, very interesting thing too, to see, what are the systems we could be doing? So depending upon where they are in a practice, if they're like zero to a million, usually it's more about systems and foundations and leadership. If they're like a million to about that 5 million mark, it's usually optimization, leadership, cashflow sometimes in that area. And then if they're 5 million plus, usually it's like, let's take to the next level or like, let's get our systems dialed in or where can we do those small refinements?

And then when I'm hitting the offices that are like 10, 20 million, those ones are more like we're mass scaling. We're trying to get all the practices operating in the same direction. So, depending upon where you are, you may or may not fit. Maybe you're above, maybe you're below. Either way, that's really what they're looking for. So, this office, they're in that middle tier, the 1 million to 5 million range, but cash flow. Cash flow is hurting. They're struggling and they don't know why. So, going into the practice, first thing we did was we looked at immediately where can cash be hiding and cash can oftentimes be hiding.

in your AR accounts receivable and doctors I always feel so bad for you because you did the dentistry and yet we didn't collect and I always tell people I'm like how would you like to go to work and you go do the work and then you don't even get paid for the work and so that's where with teams I'm very adamant of you have to be collecting the money you have to be helping your doctor like we did the work we did great dentistry and we can expect patients to pay for that and so we immediately went to the AR and their AR was sky-high

and the money was right there. All the cash was there. Another practice we saw that there's $350,000 of AR sitting there. Well, no wonder our collections fell low because we've got AR there. So you need to put a system into this practice to actually start collecting the AR. So we started sending out statements. We had a process of when do we send the statements? How often do we send the statements? Who's working on these statements? What day are they working on the statements? Are we calling first, then texting, and then sending a paper statement? The answers are yes, we're doing those items.

but they didn't have it. And within a couple of months, this practice was able to collect over $200,000. You better believe that doctor saw the ROI of our consulting immediately. And now they also feel like they've got cashflow. But how did we get here and how do we stay out of there? So a lot of times in consulting, we go in and administer CPR immediately. I guarantee you when you get into consulting, there's usually a burning fire. And so we love to go in, we perform the CPR, we bring it back to life.

Kiera Dent (08:47.481)

And then we're gonna check to see how can we prevent this from happening or what other areas can we optimize? And so with that, we came up with the follow-up, the collections procedure and how to get your collections and make sure we're watching that and have it as a whole team effort. So when patients are checking in, we're collecting, can we get credit cards on file so we're not having to call and chase these patients for statements? We are changing our verbiage of we collect at time of service rather than sending them a statement with insurance. We got better with our insurance verification so we could be more confident when we're presenting treatment plans and collecting balances.

I would much rather collect rather than have to go chase money. And I would rather give refunds rather than having to chase and get payments. And I think all of us would feel that way, right? We'd rather get our paychecks upfront rather than having to wait and hope that someone's willing to pay us. So this practice now is watching, keeping the collections at 98 % immediately fix the cashflow area for them. Other things that they were able to do was from there was helping the culture and fixing the culture because when cashflow is tight, doctors are stressed.

Like truly it just, and then it trickles down to the whole team, morale's low. Then we feel like we've got this desperation. We're constantly trying to get these patients to pay. And so helping them there. so then from there, what we did is we were able to help this practice focus on treatment that they actually love doing. And then brought on an associate to be able to do the treatment that the doctor didn't want to do, keeping the collections high, working on perfect handoffs, helping the hygiene team tee up treatment for this doctor.

and then be able to thrive and allow the office manager to truly manage the practice. So the doctor then is able to focus on doing dentistry. And we say like, you know, have you ever heard that like running a dental practice is hard? Well, that only team comes in and takes that stress away from you. So you can focus on being a dentist and doing what you love again. And that's where we shifted over and help your office manager do what they love. And that's the practice stats, the HR, the business management, training and coaching that office manager up to truly be almost like a COO.

of a practice to do the operations, to do the financials, to do the statistics, and managers love to do this if they've got the right DNA for it. So doctors love to do the dentistry piece, and office managers love to do the management piece. And so teaching both of them how to yin and yang together, so that way it could be this dynamic duo. It could be this incredible practice that's working, and then be able to let go of a lot of the admin pieces. So now this doctor is able to delegate to check in.

Kiera Dent (11:05.337)

to verify to know these things are being taken care of. And they're able to figure out the top KPIs that this practice needs to be watching with collections is number one, because they know that that's their danger spot that they can get into hot water pretty quickly. But they have the process, they have the protocols, they have the system in place to where it's not team dependent, but it's system dependent. And now they're all able to watch their collections, manage the practice and the doctor is thriving. And it's interesting to watch this doctor from when they called me and I was sitting on the airplane and the stress and the

The true like despair, which this happens when I talk to offices and I truly like my heart and passion. say life is my passion, dentistry is my platform. I am obsessed with helping people have their lives that they want to live. I'm obsessed with giving people that freedom back. I'm obsessed with like unshackling the chains of practice ownership that can come.

Like I'm obsessed with helping doctors be free and still be so profitable and love doing dentistry. And all it is is right person, right seat that's accountable to their tasks and they actually know what they're doing. And so being able to give this doctor their life back, being able to give this office manager the skills and the tips and the tools to be able to be so successful and drive this practice forward is literally why Dental A Team was created. Your success as a practice is our freaking passion. We want you to be successful in life, in business, in team, in patient care.

And that's our passion and that's what we're dang good at. And so for this office, now what they're able to do is everyone's been able to rise to the occasion. They're able to attract and have great team members and patients come to their practice. It's less stressful, greater morale. They're not having to do as much busy work because we've got true, true, true, true engagement and interactions. We're collecting so cashflow is no longer an issue. We know what we need to produce. We've set up the block schedules. We set up the dollar per hour production. So now this practice knows what they need to produce.

And now the whole team knows this is what I'm responsible for. This is how I can help grow the practice. Every person's right person, right seat, doing what they love, their zone of genius. Of course there's zones that we don't like within our zone of genius, but most of their day is on stuff that they absolutely love. You could just imagine from where they were to where they are today and how much stress is gone. How much happiness has been brought in. How much better patient care is brought in. How much better the team is all working together.

Kiera Dent (13:22.665)

This is what we do. This is where I love to like take the knife and cut back the curtain and show you this is what we do within a practice and how this took about a year to do. We immediately like I said, bring in that 200,000 cash. Sometimes we can turn a practice around that quickly. Other times it takes a little while to get there. Both are okay. It's okay. Because every practice is not on the same path and every practice doesn't need the same thing, which is why it's completely 100 % personalized to your practice, to your needs and to your vision.

I am not here with a cookie cutter model. We don't do that. We come in and we say, where do we need to administer CPR? What's the next layer? The next layer, where do you need to be in six months, 12 months, 24 months to be living the life you want, to have the practice of your dreams that's your reality and to be thriving, not just surviving. And so welcome to Dental A Team Consulting. Welcome to this practice. This is what we did. This is how we have it. Of course, there going to be other fires that come up. Of course, there are other things like case acceptance and handoffs and hygiene production per hour and...

Making sure that our morning huddles are effective and efficient But we're never gonna come in and do those items unless your practice actually needs them Why there's no reason to create busy work when you are already thriving in certain areas. So that's why teams love us That's why doctors love us because there's no busyness and people wonder like how long did that take care? Like I said, it was about an hour and or excuse me a year and then every month It's about an hour and a half of coaching time and then in between follow-up

working on it, but that's team training, that's doctor training, that's getting us focused and aligned, that's focusing on the most important things, that's doable and efficient. We're not here for inefficiencies. We're here to make your life easier, more effective, more productive, more fun. Like I said, you know how running a practice can be hard? Well, Dental A Team takes care of that so you can love being a dentist again and doing what you love. And that's what we're here for. And I would love you to be our next office autopsy practice. I would love to see where you are.

We have practices that are going from 1.5 million to 4.5 million in a year. We have offices adding $13 million of production. I have other offices that are getting their systems in place and they're actually able to decrease their overhead by five or 10%. I know those numbers don't feel as sexy as the 5 million or the 2 million, but guess what? Sometimes you don't need to be adding all those millions of dollars. You just need to be reducing the stress and getting your life back too. And so all of that.

Kiera Dent (15:38.869)

Is what we love to do. It's all personalized It's all completely built around you your practice and what we see and we're gonna guide you through that And so I would love you to be a part of that Be our next office autopsy reach out. [email protected] We give you a complimentary call and we're going to give you massive value for your practice whether you work with us or not I hope you choose to I think Dental A Team's incredible come strip your practice to the bones be uncomfortable But that's where the uncomfort like in the uncomfortable is where the success lies

getting uncomfortable, recognizing like, hey, there's a better way to do this and I'm going to be brave enough to take that risk, to take that step and to do it with people that I trust, that I know, that I love, that are going to make sure I don't fall. And that's exactly what we do. So reach out [email protected] And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on The Dental A Team Podcast.
- Luisteren Nogmaals beluisteren Doorgaan Wordt afgespeeld...
- Later beluisteren Later beluisteren
#942: How to Combat Loneliness
15 jan· Dental A Team Podcast
Loneliness and social isolation are factors in an epidemic across the United States. Kiera takes the time to talk about ways to fight back the loneliness in our everyday lives.

Episode resources:

Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast

Join Dental A-Team Consulting

Leave us a review

Transcript:

Kiera Dent (00:00.9)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and I hope you're having a great day. I hope things are going so good in your world. I'm so grateful you're a part of the podcast family. I really enjoy podcasting. enjoy, gosh, we're coming up on what is it? Our fifth year. gosh. I think even maybe our sixth year. The podcast is released in 2019. So yeah, we're coming up on its sixth birthday this year. my gosh.

I'm gonna have to fact check myself. Let's just say, Dental A Team is gonna be six years old. That's insanity to me. Maybe it's five years. Might be five? It's gotta be six though. Happy birthday Dental A Team podcast. But if you've been with me, I've enjoyed it. I enjoy the time. I'm so grateful for each of you. And I hope that I've been able to give you tactical practical tips and infuse your world with positivity, truly, because my mission is to positively impact the world in the greatest way possible. And I currently do that through consulting, expert consulting for doctors and teams.

So today I wanted to talk to you about something that I think a lot of us are seeing. It's interesting because there is something we have leadership, we have solo practices and loneliness. And there's some studies that have come out. So this one's from The Guardian, just recently released. And they're talking about how loneliness, it says more broadly, lacking social connection can increase the risk of premature death as much as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.

In addition, poor or insufficient social connection is associated with increased risk of disease, including a 29 % increased risk of heart disease and a 32 % increased risk of stroke. That to me is astronomical. And so I was thinking about it, like literally they're showing that loneliness is actually worse for us than 15 cigarettes a day. can kill you faster than that. And yet like smoking was one of the greatest like killers of the world. And so thinking about this of like,

what causes this and like, you know, leadership is lonely. Owning a practice is lonely. Being a CEO is lonely. I'm sure hygienists and dental assistants, we can feel it's lonely. And yet we're working with so many people, but yet it's a lonely space. so realizing that loneliness is such a prevalent piece and it actually is shown to kill more people. What do we do for this? And they say loneliness is as bad for our bodies as it is for our minds. There's doctors

Kiera Dent (02:27.95)

The US top doctor surgeon general Vivek Murthy is so worried that last year he issues an urgent warning about the epidemic of loneliness and social isolation. These are not quite the same thing though there is a big overlap. Social isolation describes an objective lack of social connections while loneliness is all about perception. You can be lonely without being socially isolated and if you're lucky, vice versa. And so just looking at this like we used to be in a society that was so connected.

Right? Like you think about communities and you think about tribes and we think about going back to even archaic times where people were in tribes and there were cavemen and cavewomen and we all hung out. And then you think about like when my husband, I went to Bali, families live together in these communities and you don't leave them and you stay with them. And there's such a community and camaraderie and everybody knows what's going on and you're there. And I think in, in the U S especially social media came out. Right? So we're

We're more connected, but we're actually more lonely than ever before. And they also were talking about in this article that people are actually afraid to admit. It says many of us struggle to admit we are lonely. There is a tremendous stigness, says Mark Rowland of the Mental Health Foundation. And so looking at this, it's like...

Kiera Dent (03:47.214)

How do we combat this? Leadership's lonely. Owning a practice is lonely. And on this one, says, like, loneliness is not insurmountable at any stage of life. But it's very difficult when it's, let's say, rusting away at your mental and emotional life without you even naming it. Bringing it into the light and sharing with yourself and then with others is really the first step of breaking the cycle. And so today, I just kind of wanted to talk about

What can we do to combat loneliness? They have some ideas in this article of what you can do. They say, you know, try to keep busy, have hobbies like gardening, jigsaw puzzles. They also said it's important that these things are fun or fulfilling. Be careful about working too hard or watching TV shows simply as a distraction. They will only delay or suppress your feelings and could actually make your mental health worse. And then they talk about like stimulate your mind. So podcasts kudos to you on being on podcasts.

comedy, fitness, like work related, whatever, get moving. Physical exercise can help with loneliness. Try to engage with the people you meet. And I think about how often do we go to Starbucks or are we on a train or are we at a coffee shop or are we at the grocery store and we've got AirPods in, we've got our phones up. I mean, so often I think our phone is our best friend. I was at a bachelorette party and I don't drink. And so I'm always the DD with my Shirley Temple and

they were all dancing and I kind of just felt like I would and I also watch all the stuff. So that's kind of my world. And I remember sitting there and I felt very lonely and yet I'm in a room of a ton of people. Instead of talking to someone, what do I do? I grab my phone and I instantly look at my phone to make myself not feel as lonely and like look at social media and feel like I'm doing something to connect. But like talk to people, say hi, ask them about themselves. I think we've lost the art of communicating with people. I remember talking to someone and they said that

they, excuse me, that they did, they have a, some of them they're dating and they don't even see each other and they're just like 30 minutes away. And I thought, my gosh, like, no wonder we're so lonely. and they also said in this article, find people who get you, spend time with pets, try to use social media in a positive way. And then talking to therapists can also help. And I was just thinking like,

Kiera Dent (06:09.124)

These are really, really, really important things and like prolonged social isolation and loneliness are truly like so close to smoking. What are we doing with it and how can we stop it and what can we do to combat it? And so I was just thinking for you, what are you doing to combat your loneliness? Do you have friends? Do you talk to people? Are we so on our phones and social media all the time? Do we put our phones down and do we engage with the people around us? Do we build hobbies?

we go to the gym? I will tell you, I am not a gym human. But I actually am now. And I love going to the gym because it gave me people around me so I didn't feel as alone. Talking to family members, but having people around you and I think having five friends within five miles is so paramount, true friends that you can talk to that you can tell things to. But even within leadership and in a practice, I found it's always super helpful to have mentors to have a community to have people who get me.

I joined Tony Robbins because those are entrepreneurs who go through the same struggles I do. I made a friend group within that group and we meet every single quarter and we talk about like, what are we going through and how can we help each other and where are our numbers at? And we work through the pieces of it. And I'm so grateful for that. My team, we're all a virtual team and yet we communicate all the time with each other, but I miss the in-person engagement. And so we are bringing our team together.

more consistently and meeting with each other face to face to combat that loneliness. But for leaders, where are you going and where are you communicating? And do you have a network? For me, my coaches are huge for me. And yet I think that there's importance for loneliness to combat it, to have coaches that we pay for and to have mentors and mentees and communities, but then to also have our own personal. Do you have friends? Do you have people that you talk to? Do you have hobbies? Like,

Jason and I, I love the memes that are going around of like when my extroverted self makes plans and my introverted self has to fulfill those plans. And I keep saying like, I want more friends and I want to have more people around us. I, cause there is, it's a lonely world. And the way that you're able to then share with people is by knowing them and getting to know them and spending time with them allows you to open up and to share your struggles and to share your life. But without that, it's tricky unless they're paid as like a therapist or a coach.

Kiera Dent (08:29.732)

And I remember there was one night we were invited to a birthday party and I'm like, my gosh, it's the weekend. I don't want to go. I've output so much energy at work this whole week. I just want to recuperate and recover. And there are times to do that, but it was so fun because I'm like, okay, we'll just go for like 15 or 30 minutes. And sometimes I think that's all we have to do for ourselves is it's 15 or 30 minutes that we're going to go, but we're at least going to go socially engaged. And it was actually so much fun. And we ended up staying for three hours and

had the best time and we were so fulfilled and it was so good to spend time with friends because then we saw them the next day and like that's how you build these things. But I do think it takes intentionality. I don't think it just happens. But I think realizing everyone's lonely. Everybody is sad. I mean, I think it's varying degrees, but a lot of people feel like people don't like them. A lot of people feel like what's wrong with me and why does everybody else like them? It's socially perceived like falsehoods. They're not.

It's not real. All of us feel the same way. And so how can we combat this? Because if we realize that loneliness is as deadly as cigarettes, 15 cigarettes a day, that's a lot. And then it's also increased risk of disease, like heart disease and stroke. Well, I think that it's time for us to combat this loneliness. And so I think join a community, be a part of a community. I don't care if it's working out. I don't care where it is, but like,

It's going to feel uncomfortable. Do it anyway. It's okay. You're going to be uncomfortable at the beginning. Join a group. That's honestly why Dental A Team is bringing our people in person because I got so tired of hearing our offices are so lonely. They feel isolated when I'm like, you don't have to be, you don't have to be alone. You don't have to do this alone. There's so many people around us, but I think it's also proximity. Proximity makes things easier. I know I can attend virtual events with Tony Robbins and talk to people online, but when I go to the actual event,

Even though I drag my feet and I don't want to go and I'm a social person, you guys, like I enjoy people, on the culture index. I'm literally in the like 99th percentile of liking people. Like truly I like people and I drag my feet and I don't want to go to these things, but when I'm there, I meet people and you talk and you have the side conversations and our doctors coming in person, they go and they hang out with each other. And so many people say like, yes, the content is great, but meeting people in person and sharing.

Kiera Dent (10:49.692)

a drink with them or hanging out with them at the coffee shop the next morning. That's where bonds are formed. That's where friendships are made. That's where that's where we're able to help serve and lift each other up. And we do it for doctors and office managers because leadership, business and leadership can be very lonely. Can is the key word. does not have to be. It's a matter of how are you doing it? What are you doing? And like, what are you doing proactively to prevent the loneliness? But I think being aware of it, knowing that it's very real, not doing it alone.

is something I'm very pro. I'm very pro mental health. I'm very pro having a therapist. I'm pro having a community. I'm pro having a coach. I'm pro those things because I know that like we've combated so many things in this world. We've beat hunger for the most part. And I understand there's countries that don't have it. I'm not here to sound like I'm not aware of that. I think for the bulk of us here in the US, hunger has been something that's been eliminated for us. And I think that we do have an effort to help other people.

Even people in the US who are struggling with that, but I think the bulk of the people listening to the podcast probably are not struggling with hunger right now. Most of us aren't struggling with where we're going to be living. Most of us aren't struggling with household duties. We have washers, we have dishwashers that we don't have to do those things. We can go to the grocery stores and have food at our fingertips. We don't have to make our own clothes anymore. And yet the next zone that I think we're facing is truly like an epidemic is loneliness.

before it was like, what are we going to eat? We had to like send out hunters and gatherers and go get our food every single day. And then it was, how are we going to survive and have shelter and not have someone come murder us? And now that, that it's not perfect, but it is less. and then it's like, then how do we like get food that's affordable? And we've gotten like that down exponentially that I think now it's, it's loneliness and having friends and having community and having people around us and supporting us.

we've tackled so many things and we've helped on so many levels that now how can we stop this epidemic of loneliness? And I would say today, I encourage you to share this podcast with one person and have them become a friend. I would also encourage you to get five friends within five miles, not just remote friends, but five friends within five miles. I'd also recommend you get a coach within your industry to help you. So if that's management, if that's leader dentists, if it's us, if it's someone else, phenomenal.

Kiera Dent (13:10.48)

But have somebody who can be there who can guide you through your business decision So you don't have to do that alone and then I'd really encourage you to do a hobby that gets you out of your house We figured out like we have Instacart. We have things that deliver for us. We have uber eats We don't have to go anywhere but force yourself to go somewhere and when you're there put your phone away and say hi Engage in a conversation. It feels awkward. It feels awkward for me every single time But it's also the way that we're able to combat this we're able to to bond to forge

and to make it to where we actually are thriving rather than killing ourselves off due to being lonely. And if we can help in any way, if I can be a friend for you, if we can be a consultant for you, if I can guide you in a right direction, I'm here for it because mental health is real. Loneliness is real. Feeling alone is real. Feeling like you have to do this on your own is real. But I also want to say that they can also be false. They can also be things that we can...

not to say that they're false and your feelings aren't valid because they are, but it's also, could just be that there's ways that we can help solve it and we can solve it forever for you and get you a community, get you around people. found when I like, instead of being so isolated, I actually went external and I started talking with people and I hired a coach that was a trainer for the gym. And I talked to my business coach to help me go through it. And I brought my team in person and I joined a community of people.

That's where you start to feel fulfilled and you don't feel lonely. Cause when you have something that comes up against you, you have a resource of people around you and it's not just on you. So I'm going to encourage you to stop living lonely and to, to forge those friendships this year, for your own health. I don't want you to die. I don't want you to be gone. The world needs you. And so let's do this together. And I'm here to help and support you email me, reach out. [email protected]. see all your emails. I see all your messages and I will respond to you. So reach out.

Whether I can help you as a friend or as a consultant or both. I want to make sure that you're, you know that there's support out there and you don't have to be lonely. Come be in person with us. Come hang out with us. Come have fun. Whether that's your comfort zone or your uncomfort zone, it's good for you for growth personally and professionally. So come be with us. I'd love to have you be a part of it. Reach out. [email protected]. And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.
- Luisteren Nogmaals beluisteren Doorgaan Wordt afgespeeld...
- Later beluisteren Later beluisteren
#941: The Path to Multi-Practice Success
14 jan· Dental A Team Podcast
When it comes to owning and operating multiple dental practices, not everything runs the same. That’s a common surprise for those overseeing multiple practices. In this episode, Tiff and Britt discuss where practices often fall short in keeping things running smoothly across all offices, and how to set yourself up for success.

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Transcript:

The Dental A Team (00:01.134)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. I am back today with, I've got a new nickname, brilliant brain Britt, triple B, brilliant brain Britt. I like it. I'm back here for some fun business talk today. are working hard, Britt and I, I hold her business brain for a few different podcasts today and we're working hard to make sure you guys that you've just got some really, really successful business tips and tools early on in the year.

Britt (00:09.18)

I'm going get some

The Dental A Team (00:28.014)

going to be all year long that you're getting business tips. Like always, we love the business side of dentistry because we really, really want your business to work for you, not you work for your business. So we work really hard with all of our clients and all of you listeners to make sure that you have the tips for success there. But today I've pulled Britt on a few different items. We just got done chatting some about really starting your 2025 off right, which was a little bit of a review of how to end Q4 and get prepped for 2025.

but I wanted you guys to have all of those goodies. So if you haven't listened to that yet, you don't have to do it before today. Listen to today, but they can go backwards and listen to that one as well. Today though, Britt, you have, this in your background. Like this is something that you've done. We've both had our hands in it, but you have like honestly and truly just managed multiple practices and really helped set them up for success. You've done transitions, like you've done it all. So I really wanted to bring you on today to pick your brain on some of the pieces that.

are super important and paramount in learning, maybe prior to would probably be, you know, helpful, but a lot of us are not in that situation. A lot of, a lot of doctors listening today already own multiple locations. And so really knowing what they can do and what they can learn and what they should be looking out for is kind of what I'm interested in today for multi-practices. Before we pop in though, how are you today? How is, how's Britt's beautiful brain doing?

Britt (01:53.724)

It's doing good today. It's it's not too early. Britt's brain super early is not always the best. I gotta have a little time to warm up with the day. That's that's how I work or late nights. That's that's my brain time really. So everybody works a little different, but I'm good. It's not too early. I get to sit here and chat with you about I don't know this kind of stuff is fun. Growth is fun. Different ideas are fun, so it's going to be a good time.

The Dental A Team (02:18.394)

I agree. I agree. And your brain just works like this, like numbers, the black and white of it all. Like I've given you kudos before, know, you do really well at seeing the gray too and working through the gray to find the black and white, which I think in business is incredibly, incredibly paramount to success. Working with people is not always the easiest thing in the world. I tell all of my doctors and my office managers that the hardest part about your job is going to be managing the people.

But you do really well with it because of that aspect. So I think it's really, really important to say that now because I think doctors listening and managers listening, whomever business owners are listening, that's a space for you to learn to utilize that black and white data, but to bring in that personal side and to bring in that emotional side without letting the emotions take over the results, I guess. so, Britt, that's something I really want to pick your brain on, but

From the tactical standpoint, what are a few things going into multi-practice ownership, or maybe they already own, right, but hopefully going into, what are some key pieces that they should really be prepped for, looking for, tracking, to know that they're on the path for success for both of them, and what should those look like? Should they be the same? What's the easiest way to go about this when you're taking on a new practice?

Britt (03:43.098)

Yeah, number one thing is have a practice, have your flagship running really well and strong systems in your flagship before you start taking on another one is the ideal way to do it, right? Learn how to manage what is one location before you start multiplying that stress or management of all the locations. And with multiples, it's a different mindset. And I think that's where

The Dental A Team (04:01.624)

I agree.

Britt (04:09.562)

We work with a lot of private practice and even multiples that are private practice and people that are like maybe even transitioning to DSO because it's one of those scenarios to where like the same thing doesn't work for everyone. So that's, do a lot with our practices that are custom and it's like, all right, where are we going? What are we doing? What's it going to look like? What's the feel you want behind it? And when you start, when you know that you want to potentially even go multiples and you're starting with one location, I want you to put like the multiple brain on.

The Dental A Team (04:21.478)

Yeah.

Britt (04:38.192)

We don't have them yet, but we want to start building things to where there are systems that can easily be transitioned into multiples. What I mean by that is, yes, there are going to be some steady things that are like, great, the way we do AR and send statements is going to be the same way we send statements all across all locations. The way we budget for supplies is going to be the same way we budget for supplies across all locations. But make sure you're keeping things really clean bookwise and especially at

The Dental A Team (04:45.956)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (05:07.051)

Mm-hmm.

Britt (05:07.356)

when you start getting into multiples and thinking bigger. So for example, let's say, great, now we've got a couple locations, great, we can share resources. shoot, we ran out of something. Great, go grab some from the other location. You wanna track all those things and pay it from the appropriate business so that each business independently is going to look like the reality and the numbers will be the reality and it's not getting mucked up by the other.

And so you actually know how to, one, drive each individual practice, and then two, know like, all right, when we pull those numbers together, what does the organization look like with all offices together? So it's a little bit of a different mindset when you're doing all the pieces. So great, accounting-wise, that's gonna be one piece that you wanna think of. Hiring team members even, great, what's our onboarding? It's not just gonna be one location, we're gonna be working towards more, so we wanna have a strong system.

The Dental A Team (05:45.157)

Okay.

Britt (06:04.024)

Systems awesome what things can be easily translated across all offices and then where is that great to where each office has a little bit of room for their interpretation on specific things and especially if you're wanting to Let's say I know some that they've got like a PPO practice and then a fee-for-service practice If you know that's the direction you want to go then all right create systems that can work for both And then we just customize some pieces of it based on the location

So big things I think are accounting, planning systems for multiple locations, and also leadership and mindset. Going from a team that's at one location and they think that's what it is, teams get scared of change. so prepping the team or getting them on board that like, this is the direction we're going. This is what we ultimately want. So they're on board to help. And when you get that next location, they...

The Dental A Team (06:32.997)

Mm-hmm.

Britt (06:58.46)

even though it may not really even impact them, but they get scared. What does that mean for us? What are we gonna look like? How's the culture gonna change? All those pieces. So those are some of my most important ones is just thinking multiples, even if you're only a one to start with, and that's the direction you wanna go.

The Dental A Team (07:15.827)

Totally agree. Yeah, I have a few practices, a few practice owners that I've chatted with that they're like, okay, so like, I'm just going to open a second location and restart. I'm going to try again. And I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa. I totally understand that. But it's kind of like, we're driving our car and like the wheels, you know, are a little looser or they need air, the tires are like something like, you know, mechanically is just not right. And we're like,

scrap it, or just, I'll keep this car and I'll keep paying for it, but I'm just gonna get a new one that might be a little bit better. It's kind of what I feel like when they say that, right? Like, just fix the things. You can do that. You can have to. You can have an old car and a new car if you want both. You could sell the old car and buy a new car if you want to do that, but don't keep an old car and keep paying for it when it's broken and then get a new car and start paying for that too.

an absurd waste of money and resources. So I think of it like that. And I have had a few practice owners that are like, but this one is just like, I'm racking my brain like, cool, we haven't found the root cause yet then. So when you're digging into those pieces and really looking at why is my now this is gonna be my flagship. So how do I operate this as my flagship practice? How do I make sure that this practice is the practice model that I want my next practice to look like? And it might be.

It might be a little bit different. said, you know, PPO practice and a fee for service practice. I've got a couple of practices that run similar to that. I've got, I've got one doctor that has three locations that two of them are like PPO style, but they operate as a fee for service. Cause that's just the level of care that they put into everything. But then he's also got a Medicaid practice that's like obscure on the side. That's like, that's a little bit of an uphill battle, but they're, they're so different, but they.

Team-wise, they try to operate very similarly or just, you know, the fee-for-service and the PPO standpoints, but operationally, making sure, like you said, that those systems that we have in place, I want your patient experience to be the same no matter what type of practice you own, right? I want your accounting to be the same. I want it to be super clean no matter what. And the space that you mentioned there with the accounting that gets really muddled and mucky,

The Dental A Team (09:36.583)

is when we don't keep those books clean, especially, no matter what, you've got two different sets of bills, right, of outgoing money that's coming with each practice, no matter what. Well, even if you have one entity and one business name that owns two practices, you still have to separate that in some way. And a lot of you guys are going out and you're getting associates who want to partner in to one of them or...

I know a practice that opened a specialty practice with her best friend. And I was like, super clear from the get-go, we've got to make sure these are super separated. making sure, again, one's paying the other. And an office manager who may act as a regional-ish, you've got to dial that in. How are we paying her when she's on board?

Britt (10:09.788)

Thank

The Dental A Team (10:27.763)

And she's doing hours for the second practice. What does that look? Who's paying for that? Because if our flagship practice pays for everything and now our flagship practices at 80 % overhead and tanking in our second practice, isn't making money yet. We've got an issue there because the books are so confusing. and Britt, just to spiral down that one, when we don't have super clean books like that, what are the negative implications as far as like taxes and just.

Why is it so important from the get-go that this is clean?

Britt (11:00.836)

Yeah, it just it can just get

wild like you said even taxes what business is it coming from what's getting paid by whom and Some things that can get really wild like you said and I'm all for right economies of scale or a thing That's part of the reason of going into multiples. So just make sure it's being allocated correctly You've got a regional manager Maybe there's or an om that's maybe doing 50 50 or 75 25 then great just split their salary right 25 from the smaller one 75 from the other one

I'm just thinking that sense also because you want goals and you want your office managers to be responsible for helping you reach them including overhead So you just don't want it to get mucky to where one we've got excuses that we're like, it's just this right? We're human beings We will all will try to find any reason to like justify why we are where we are instead of digging in to see what's going on and So having it really clean gives honest numbers so people know exactly what they're responsible for

The Dental A Team (11:54.005)

Mm-hmm.

Britt (12:02.268)

They know if we're shooting for a goal, we're shooting for overhead, if we're working to control things, it's really clean for them to do so and it's fair in how we're doing it. then correct, valuation for businesses, right? Even for that, ultimately it's gonna come from like, yes, your EBITDA, but like profitability is gonna be a factor. so, and...

The Dental A Team (12:21.425)

Exactly.

Britt (12:25.208)

If someone comes in and they start looking at things and maybe there was a shift at some point, they're like, two months ago you decided to sell and it's looking real different, it's gonna raise some questions that might be concerning. So keep it clean from the get go if you need to sell one or even just for valuation purposes, if you need to leverage those practices to go buy more locations, you just wanna keep everything clean, because if not, it just creates a lot more questions and it may hinder you from.

The Dental A Team (12:35.989)

Yeah.

Britt (12:51.59)

getting finances or being able to hold team members accountable and also knowing which practices really need some attention or may or may not be doing well.

The Dental A Team (13:00.277)

Yeah, I love that. So it sounds like you need a really great CPA. You need a really good bookkeeper that knows multiples. Yeah, a really great bookkeeper. I do have some doctors who are their own bookkeepers and I'm okay with that, but you gotta be really good at it and a really great payroll company that probably comes with.

Britt (13:04.746)

that most multiples are left.

The Dental A Team (13:18.199)

those two options to make sure that everything's super clean. And then I think, like you said, the office manager situation, making sure that she or he knows where the money's coming from too. And if they're employed now, like if they're getting paychecks from both, that's different. Like that's gonna look different to them on their W-2 side. It's gonna look different to you. Is one business paying, like is the corporation paying the salary and the businesses are paying the corporation? Like you've got to figure those pieces out.

Ask the right questions, ask the right people, make sure that you've got all of those super clean. As far as like that's one major piece of it. So I want to make sure we get that out from the get go. As far as systems go, making sure, operations spaniel and training. Like you mentioned earlier, your team, your culture, it should be stellar. It should be rock solid because honestly, most of the time when we...

see multi-practice locations, we're taking over another practice, right? We're buying a practice from a retiring doctor or whatever, and we're taking over a practice, taking over a team. And so if we've got a really stellar team that understands what we're doing, understands what our goals are, understands our systems and can say, yeah, heck yeah, like let's do this and let's make some more patients really, really in fantastic health, they can then help you duplicate what you've done.

into the next practice and help to welcome those team members. I think one of the most stressful parts of ever taking over any practice, whether it's your first, your second, your 15th, is the people aspect of it. And how many are we going to be able to retain? How do we tell them? When do we tell them? What's their reaction going to be? How do we get them on our systems? Well, the same as we do anything, we, you know, go in, be yourself.

and look at what's working and what's not working. Start with areas that's not working instead of coming in, in my opinion, and being like, this is our book, this is how you're going to be. But if you do what Brett said in the beginning and really make sure that your team is solid and that you've got those systems in place, you've got that culture, I think that team could be super paramount in training and helping to find those systems and really even, I don't know, Brett, going in and being like, that's really cool how you do that.

The Dental A Team (15:32.249)

I think that might be more efficient than how we've been doing it. Let's ask doctor, let's ask office manager, because I actually really like that and having that open mind because your way might, like I know our way, we've got a million ways to do anything. And the reason I think we're successful is that we customize it to the practice. And oftentimes I'll go in and be like, oh, that's not how I told someone to do it yesterday, but this is how I want you to do it. Cause this is what's going to be best for you. So having that open mind and having that team mindset ready to go also takes that

barking off the doctor and makes it so that you can kind of copy and paste. How do you feel about that, Britt? What are your thoughts on that?

Britt (16:09.36)

You hit another big point, agreed with you, right? So having that strong, for a lot of reasons, right? Again, change in people, we don't always love it. It's a transition. So even if they just know you've got a strong culture, they meet team members, right? And they see how great you are. It's gonna make the transition of that new practice a little easier and also set the standard of like, and this is who we are. like, rise to the occasion, cause this is how we function and it's great. And you wanna be great.

The Dental A Team (16:29.666)

Yeah.

Britt (16:35.608)

with us, right? You also hit on an important point of trying to get things off the doctor. That's the next, right? Also with multiples, I'm thinking of systems and multiples. How can your people help you and how can they report up to you? I think of it as I don't have children, but I'm like, once you're outnumbered, right? So like, great, usually parents, it's like two, all right, we can each take one, but then you get throw a third in there and someone's out doing something wild while you're trying to manage to.

The Dental A Team (16:37.261)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (16:54.578)

Yeah.

Britt (17:03.374)

And so I think with locations too, right? Two offices, it's like, all right, if you're in clinical full-time, like it's going to be crazy. If you've got a little time and you're still doing kind of all the things, you don't really have a strong OM, doing a lot of it for you in the practice, you've now just doubled your work with another location if you're going off of that same model. So.

The Dental A Team (17:12.067)

I agree.

Britt (17:24.026)

training people to help you, getting office managers in place, getting things made to where they're reporting up to you. If you don't have to do it, you're starting to pass them off and you focus on the high level things that need to be done. Cause that's, can think of a client right now. We just had this conversation cause like he's still doing bookkeeping and all sorts of stuff. I'm like.

You're going to, you're at three now. We just got three. It's going to get wild real fast for you if you don't start kind of planning for other people to help you do some of the things that they can.

The Dental A Team (17:54.905)

Yeah, yeah. Do you think that they have to have leadership teams in place before they have a 2nd or 3rd or 4th location? How do you feel about that?

Britt (18:06.46)

Absolutely, think even just for the second one, Because when, especially if you're transitioning a practice, right, CEO, which is owner, right, going into multiple locations, big responsibilities for you are gonna be culture, vision, and like ultimately making sure you're holding people accountable, that we're profitable and we're growing. So you're gonna need to spend time at that new location.

The Dental A Team (18:20.762)

Okay.

The Dental A Team (18:26.52)

Yeah.

Britt (18:30.676)

One, to just see what's going on, right? And to help see where things need to be done and observe and build relationships and set culture with that new team that you've got over there. So you're going to get pulled to that new location.

And this is where I don't want you guys going crazy. It should be something you enjoy. Like, yes, it's a time of a season of a little bit more effort and time, but I don't want you to go wild. If you've got an OM at your other location, then it's like, sure, I'm around. You got major things that need to be done awesome. But I can go spend a couple of weeks at the new location getting them onboarded and getting good relationships with those people while my OM is handling things at the other location. So it makes your life so much easier. If not, it gets wild. And I think doctors all know this.

The Dental A Team (19:00.292)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (19:07.631)

For sure.

Britt (19:13.572)

Right? When doctors not in the office or O.M.s not in the office, what usually happens Tiff

The Dental A Team (19:20.257)

Yep, the team goes crazy. It gets wild.

Britt (19:22.81)

Yep, they start to get distracted and like, great, I want you to enjoy each other, but like, we've got to get work done. So you need someone there to make sure things are getting done and holding people accountable when you're not physically in the office.

The Dental A Team (19:28.314)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (19:35.216)

Totally agree. I think it comes down to the ease as well. Like when I've got a lead hygienist, a lead dental assistant, a lead front office, whether it's just my TC is, you know, my lead and it's just that she does really well managing the schedule and managing the people to make sure it's working and whether you call them leads or not, like quarterbacks or go to, like, I don't care what you call them. It doesn't have to be something crazy. It doesn't have to mean

pay raises, doesn't have to mean all this crazy stuff. It's just that you've got those people that the team knows they can count on and that you can count on to carry out your culture when you're gone. And the culture is, you know, how are we getting to our goals in the best ways possible and serving our patients the best? I assume most of our listeners are in that kind of a category, but making sure that that's there so that you can focus some attention on another practice location when you need to. I know it's like,

really hard when the doctor's not in the prac- in any of the practices, right? The doctor is typically the one that carries most of the culture and the person who most prac- most, team members like to go to. But when you instill that culture and you infuse it into the other people and you have right people, right seat, which is a totally different podcast and something you guys should go listen to, that comes naturally for the people and naturally your team gravitates towards those people.

pretty quickly. It may take some implementation, may take some, you know, multiple meetings, et cetera, but making sure that you have that in place, I think, is a really big and important piece. So, multi-practice locations, there's a lot of things I think we could dive into. We could spend two hours talking about it today, but the biggest pieces I think that you hit on beautifully was making sure we have our accounts super clean. That includes our patient accounts, right? Making sure those systems are clean. But making sure you have systems for your accounting, your banking,

your taxes per location and per entity is really big, making sure that it's clean, it's crisp, it's clear. Anybody from the outside looking in can figure it out because it's so clean. Making sure that you have your operational systems at your flagship and your culture at your flagship ready to be duplicated. Could you look at, can you look at your practice today and say, yes, this is what I want to do again?

Britt (21:50.641)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (21:50.716)

This is the practice I want to own again. And can I didn't duplicate that over here. If not, we've got work to do and that's okay. We just find the root causes. And then three, really making sure that you've got a leadership team on board to help you out with it. And I do have to caveat that one. Sometimes people write seat, like sometimes we put somebody in a leadership position and they're good for now. And then we get to a space where we're bigger and it doesn't work. And that's okay too. can switch things around. So I feel like those are the three top.

pieces, the accounts, the systems, and the culture to really dive into this early in the game. And then

Britt (22:24.646)

Yeah.

Britt (22:28.486)

You said something really good as well, right? Even in putting people in like leadership or leads.

The Dental A Team (22:30.963)

Yeah.

Britt (22:34.332)

I'm all for responsibility for title. Like try it out and see how they do before you give an actual title to something. I know manager is a term, like I get it, but it's like, I don't know. Like the power that can come can turn some people sometimes. I'm like, great. It might be, you're the point person for this office. You are maybe front desk lead or whatever it may be. People are like, well, we don't have a manager. Well, you go to TIFF, right? TIFF's responsible for that if you need something. So I will highlight that as you get the right

The Dental A Team (22:47.101)

Hmm.

The Dental A Team (22:59.803)

Yeah.

Britt (23:04.286)

people in the right seats is don't move too fast on giving titles and getting yourself in a scenario that's going to be a crappy one to get yourself out of.

The Dental A Team (23:05.861)

I agree.

The Dental A Team (23:12.766)

I agree. think you highlighted that clarity. TIF is the one you go to for that. So when they know where they need to go for something, that's really all they need. They don't need to know, like, she's the lead. It's just that they need to know who can I trust for this information? When I have this issue arise, who can I trust to help me get a resolution for it?

So I love that clarity. So I love it, you guys. I hope those of you who are considering multipractice or have multipractice that you guys took some tidbits from today, reach out. [email protected] If this is something that interested you, you need more information. We're here for it. If you're a client like texture consultant, if you're a future client, we can't wait to help you onboard your new.

practices and if you're a forever listener and you're not going to be a client, we love you too and we want to make sure that you have the resources as well. So please make sure you reach out. We are here for all of you. We want to make sure that you're super successful. Britt, you're a brilliant brain. Had it again. Thank you so much for that information. I think those are three really, really easy spaces to start with a lot of details. There's a lot that goes into those, but those are three spaces that we can consume and start working at. So thank you for being here with me today, Britt.

Alright, Dental A Team listeners, I love you, Britt. I love you guys. I want to hear from you. I want to know that this was an amazing podcast. I'll leave it's a five star review below. Let us know what else we can do to help you and reach out. [email protected] Britt, thank you as always and hope you have a great rest of your day. Thanks. Bye guys.

Britt (24:41.722)

You too.
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#940: What Leaders Should Not Do
9 jan· Dental A Team Podcast
Kiera is joined by DAT Consultant Dana Morsell to talk about common leadership pitfalls, and how you can overcome them. They discuss such points as:

Thinking you have to make all the decisions

Navigating a lack of creativity or problem-solving

Being too focused on goals, and not enough on happiness

And more

Episode resources:

Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast

Join Dental A-Team Consulting

Leave us a review

Transcript:

Kiera Dent (00:00.758)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and today is a great day. I have the one and only Dana Morselle on the podcast. Everybody who works with her loves her. She won our review challenge. If you want to help Dana out and you love her on the podcast, go leave us a Google review. Make her even the more triumphant winner. But really, like it would be awesome. We have a goal to hit 100 Google reviews before the end of the year. So you guys do it for your practices. We're asking you now help us out. If you love this podcast, go leave it.

Dana, how did it feel to win the Google review? Like most loved consultant apparently, according to those reviews, how did that feel for you?

Dana (00:34.995)

It was awesome. It felt really good. I wouldn't say most loved. I think that I have some viable competitors that are amazing. And it just felt good to see the love, not just for me, but I think for Dental A Team and all the things that we bring. I think being able to make an impact is so special to me. so, you know, seeing it in words just brought a lot of joy.

Kiera Dent (00:40.836)

you

Kiera Dent (00:57.732)

Mm-hmm.

Kiera Dent (01:01.856)

I agree. It was actually so incredible because I think that that's the proof, right? That's the proof of what we do. it's the proof of our clients showing up as well as the proof of our consulting works. Our consulting gets results. Our consulting changes lives. Like I say often, life is my passion and dentistry is my platform. so helping people have their most dreamy lives and doing it through dentistry and helping the systems and the pieces and helping evolve these leaders and

Day in day out loving them. I'm so excited 2025 we are doing in person events for business and leadership and I'm so excited to meet people more face to face and to have more collaboration and to have these brilliant offices and Offices who feel like they're not doing so well All of them are brilliant in their own way and helping them see that they have a special sauce even if they feel like

I'm less than I know when I go to groups, I'm like, what the heck do I have to bring to the table? And I think that that's just so unfortunate that as humans, we've trained ourselves to think that we're less than when as children, we were brought into this world believing that we're more than and so helping people realize they have something to bring to the table and what do you have to give and what can you share to help these other offices flourish? Gosh, this is what I'm here for. This is what we're about. So bring it on. If you want to be a part of our inner circle, reach out [email protected].

All of our clients were super pumped to have you, but yeah, reach out. is limited spacing. And so our venue has been booked. It's in Scottsdale, Arizona. And so if you want to be a part of that, reach out. [email protected] have virtual and in-person, so be sure to check out. But Dana, on the topic of leadership, so business and leadership is really what we're focused on. You had an interesting point of on-call that we're always talking about, like leaders, leaders, leaders, and what should leaders do? But Dana, brilliant. Bring in the topic for today and let's dive right in.

Dana (02:49.661)

Sure, so today I thought it would be fun to take a look at the flip side and like what are things that leaders commonly do that they should stop doing or are barriers or are holding them back?

Kiera Dent (02:59.536)

I love it. Like the flip side of leadership, because you're right, like, leadership can feel like you've got to do, do, do, do, but actually, there's a lot of don't do and stop doing. So Dana, take it away. Let's get into this juicy. I'm really excited for leaders to hear. I actually think it's a breath of fresh air for leaders. Like, there's something I can stop doing. Amazing. I'm like pen and paper in hand. Let's go.

Dana (03:22.781)

Yeah, yeah, and I think number one is stop feeling like, for me, that I've been talking about lately, is stop feeling like you have to make all of the decisions. And I think that as leaders and as practice owners, we feel like I have to be the one to make all the decisions. I have to be available for everyone to come to me with everything. And I think that going in with the mindset of stop doing that.

because you have capable people around you. That's why you hired them. That's why you brought them on. And so I've just been talking about it so much lately and it is understand that your team has the potential to make decisions and to find solutions and to do the things alongside you and with you and you don't always have to be the decision maker.

Kiera Dent (04:14.76)

Amen to that. And I think it's tricky because I think we're so I'm almost like attuned to speaking up so quickly. And I know I was just in a leadership meeting with our leadership team. And I literally had to sit there and bite my tongue. But you're right, Dana. You want the team to come up with the solutions. You want them to struggle. You want them to throw out ideas that aren't the best ideas. Allow them, because that's how you actually got good at making decisions as a leader. And I find so often,

Like I think about, I want robots or do I want humans that think and take responsibility for their actions? The more they do it, yeah, they're going to fail. But like, is it really failing or is it actually just learning? Some things will be wrong. but ask the team. And I think a good way to redirect, if you're like me and it's like, I have the answer. I have the answer. I have the answer. Like, I just want to keep giving them the answers and telling them is what do you guys think? And then I literally have to sit there and in my mind, like count to 10, like one, two.

Like let there be silence because if you can let there be silence, they'll start to realize you are not going to always give the answers. And what do you think? And asking maybe some of your quieter team members, like, what do you think? What do you think would be the solutions? Our quietest team member is Shelbi and Shelbi sits and observes and Shelbi has wisdom beyond. But sometimes unless prompted, she won't speak up. And so really giving some of them an opportunity to might help you. So I love that, Dana. What happens if your team has a really dumb idea though? Like that's a real thing. Like, okay.

I'm not gonna have the solutions, but they come in and it is like, no, what do you say then? Cause you don't want to disempower them, but you also don't want to be the one who's like making all the decisions. How do you navigate that?

Dana (05:55.793)

Yeah, and I think if there's any part of it that you can take that is good, right? Consider that. And then I think, you know what? Keep bringing those ideas. I love that you spoke up today. Keep those ideas coming. You don't have to say that it was a terrible idea. You also don't have to necessarily acknowledge that it was a great idea. But what you want to do is keep the focus on keep bringing them to me. Keep speaking up. Like so proud of you for being confident to share an idea today.

Kiera Dent (06:23.14)

Mm-hmm. And I also think like another piece on it is asking your team like what What what do you think we should do about this? So instead of it like I know we'll have in our slack chat of hey I have this question What do you guys like what do you think and I love to redirect and be like hey? Why don't you tell me what you think first? And then I can give you some solutions and say I want you to do this because I always want you coming with solutions I always want you coming with answers because I like what if I'm not here one day?

I need to make sure I'm training you all to be able to make decisions just as good or better than I am. And if you have that mindset and the team knows that, now they're empowered to do it. So tip number one, leaders, stop making all the decisions and empower your team to do. All right? I love it, Dana. What else? What else do you have for leaders to stop doing?

Dana (07:07.528)

So one thing that I have been thinking about lately is, it's going to come up, you have to hear me out on this one, right? so, it stopped being so goal focused in that don't put goals over happiness.

Kiera Dent (07:15.722)

Okay, I don't know what she's about to say, it's surprise for me too.

Kiera Dent (07:29.188)

you

Dana (07:29.201)

And I feel like so often I keep seeing that like, yes, we want to build goals. We want to talk about goals, but also need to assess that are these goals that you're setting just because you want to achieve something or you want to win or you want to just go to the next level, but yet they don't bring you happiness. So when I say don't be so goal focused, is be happiness focused too.

Kiera Dent (07:51.556)

Yeah.

I think a good, as you were saying that it made me think of like, is it ego focused or is it happiness focused? And Tiff actually gave me some really good feedbacks. I'll speak to this. She said, Kiera, I think you need to stop and enjoy where we've been and where we are. She said, I think it's really hard for you because like I am a driver and I want to keep going. But she's like, but Kiera, you being happy with where we are does not mean we're not going to work on goals as much. It doesn't mean that we're not going to keep growing. It doesn't mean that you're becoming a lazy boss. She's like, it

really is appreciating and being happy with where we are. And Jason says it to me all the time, my husband, he's like, Kiera, like, why is life so good? And I'm like, what are you talking about? We have all these other things that we to be working towards. But I think it's right. Like it is, it's sacrificing the happiness and the joy that the goal is even supposed to bring you. Like if the, if the goal is not bringing happiness, then what the heck are we doing other than feeding egos? And happiness is a much faster drug than ego. Like it's very much, it will, it will be longer term. It will help you so much more. It's more fulfilling. It's more

sustaining. actually really love that. I think it's like make sure that these goals are actually driving happiness and maybe not just ego too.

Dana (08:59.399)

Yeah, I agree. I feel like sometimes we build goals and then we lose our why we're even doing it to begin with. And so I think resetting and looking at that, and it doesn't necessarily mean we don't set goals or we don't focus on the goals. Sometimes it is just like, what is our perspective on the goal and what it brings to us?

Kiera Dent (09:16.101)

Yeah, because a lot of goals, I actually had a epiphany this year. I've got these goals and these numbers and they mean nothing. Like they're just numbers that are arbitrarily put there. Do we still as a team, you want to work towards that? And now the goals are funnier. Like they're, they're fun goals that like the whole team's rallied behind. And I, I had to take a step back to see when I set the goals originally, they were meant to serve a purpose, but is it still serving that purpose anymore? Or do I need to redirect and reconsider?

because sometimes I think we put ourselves in a pressure cooker trying to hit this goal that we said, rather than being like, let's have a redirect, let's have a reassess of where my life is today. And do I still want those same things? And I think it's very important. That's why I love our quarterlies. That's why we do our, the way we're setting up our consulting is checking in quarterly to make sure are we still headed on the path we want to go to, checking in annually, where are we going? And like helping you really build those maps.

to make sure and then giving you the permission to recreate the canvas because you're not the same person you were when you built these originally and your life looks different and you look different and you're like for me, shoot, we went from like this wild out audacious goal to like, let's do something that's actually sustainable and more fun rather than this crazy audacious one. It doesn't mean we don't want to grow, but we don't want to grow just for the sake of growing. We want to grow because it's fun and it's intentional. And I think that's brilliant of being intentional with your goal setting.

and being happy with it rather than just striving. And both are good. So don't feel like we're saying like, schmuck. Like, no, you don't need to. You can do both. That's brilliant. All right. What else do you have? I love these, Dana. I had not thought of this.

Dana (10:43.549)

Yeah.

Dana (10:49.039)

Okay, yeah. I think one thing is for leaders, stop feeling like you can push your team from behind. And what I mean by that is just listening to a podcast and they just kept saying it over and over and it resonated with me so much when thinking of my clients and that is like leaders go first. And making sure that if you want a team that is accountable, you are accountable to them first. If you want...

a team that prioritizes the growth of the practice or prioritizes the practice, you also have to do that. so oftentimes I think we just think we can either drag them behind us or we can shove them through the hole without stepping forward and leading from the

Kiera Dent (11:29.122)

you

Kiera Dent (11:35.414)

Yeah, that's a really good point, Dana, because leaders need to lead. Like you're leading, you are guiding them, you are showing them. And I think like going back to the first point we talked about though, within that is leaders guide, but just because you're accountable, or just because you're proactive, or just because you're driving for this, does not mean you then go and do for each other person that's not doing it. It's hold them accountable to it and have agreements and expectations with each other.

of this is what we're agreeing to. We heard in our leadership meeting, like, let's not have expectations, let's have agreements. Expectations feel like they're placed on us, agreements feel like we agree to it. And so it's like, we have the agreement that we're accountable. These are the items we're accountable to. What's getting in the way, and I do expect you to rise up and own your piece in this as well. But I agree with you, Dana. It's very hard to say, like, do as I say, not as I do. And I've, gosh, it's been like something.

I was not super good with follow through when I started the company. Like it was my greatest like Achilles heel. And I just thought I can sit here and say like, I'm not good at this. Or how am supposed to expect a team to follow through? How am I supposed to expect a team to show up if I don't show up consistently? And so I think it's brilliant. Like you do need to set the example and you do need to hold them there, but not do it for them at the same time, especially those high drivers. I know I love to do. like, it's okay, Dana, I can help with this or it's okay, Tiff. I can help with that. That's not helping. That's hindering.

And then everything's on me. And I think reading the book, the one minute manager meets the monkey. I think that's the one that's like, don't take other people's monkeys because you're a good, a good leader. A good leader actually encourages them to figure out how to handle their issues, how to take care of them without you taking it on. You remove the roadblocks, you set the set the example, set the guiding star, and then make sure that they're rising up to do it as well. Like that's true leadership. It's not doing, it's not pushing, it's not shoving. It's a brilliant, brilliant, brilliant Dana.

And why is it hard? I think it is hard. Because I people are like, no, I want them to show up on time, but the doctor doesn't show up on time. No, I want them to be accountable, but you don't send your clin checks on. And you don't follow through on the things you said you would do. How do you balance that? I think I've got an idea, but what's your idea?

Dana (13:44.615)

think that when you see things not happening the way that you want them, first self-assess. And I know self-assessment can be really hard and often difficult. But if you keep feeling like, I'm running into this roadblock of, yeah, reliability, well, self-assess first and say, am I inspiring and showing reliability in myself? Or what we seem to lack accountability as a team. The team lacks, like, we'll take

self-assess first and say, there any part of this that maybe I am portraying or that I own or that I could do to inspire them to be better at that area?

Kiera Dent (14:23.212)

Yeah, no, I think it's really, really wise to do that self assessment. And then I think also, maybe pick your one, two or three things that you actually want to do. For me, it's high accountability. Like Dana will know if I put it in there, like I will not. How long did I do Friday five until I delegated it to Britt? Like it was it was forever. The team knows I will always follow up on it. They know that I'm going to hit my due dates like I will hit my rocks like that is who I'm going to be because I'm

I don't feel like it is fair to set a standard that I'm not willing to. And if we drop the ball, I will own that, but I'm not going to make excuses for it either. so I think it's like, but those are my main things, like be accountable, get your job done and hit the numbers that you agreed to hitting. And then like do what you say you're going to do and follow through on that. But that's the accountability piece. And I realized that I'm not perfect at that, but it's like...

But we keep showing up and we keep striving to be better. And the reality was I have to set myself a bajillion reminders. I have a reminder for Friday five. I have a reminder for my tasks. I look at my rocks and I'm like, okay, I know I've got a busy week, but I've got to get these things done. I will work late on certain days, but that was due to poor planning, not because I want people working late. Like that was on me. But if I committed and I agreed to that, I need to show up if I want my team to show up as well. And so I think for you leaders as well listening to that.

You're not going to be perfect on everything. And I think it's pick your three things that really matter to you. And for me, it's accountability. It's doing what you're saying you're going to do, which is that, and hit the numbers that you agree to and get the results that we agreed to. Like that's really, like, I want you getting those pieces done. I need to do the same thing. I need to show up on it. But I think like, that's, think how you can not spin so far on like, I want everything perfect. It's not going to be that way. Like let's stop, let's stop setting that bar for ourselves.

And let's focus on the three areas that you really want. And I think that that's actually better leadership. It's smarter leadership, and it's actually growing it with them too.

Dana (16:17.245)

Yeah, yep. And then actually segues right into what I was thinking of as my last thing and that is stop not giving yourselves grace. Because I feel like I hear so much on calls and on some of the events that we do. It's just like, I'm just not a great leader. I'm a terrible leader. And I often want to say because you are so concerned about it, right? That honestly is a sign that you can be a great one.

And so I think that oftentimes leaders hold themselves to just unrealistic expectations or they don't realize that, you know what, like leaders aren't born, they're made or they're grown. And that like, there's just always space for growth. And sometimes you just have to give yourself grace to get there. And to know that, know what, I'm going to seek out the knowledge. I'm going to seek out a coach. I'm going to listen to podcasts. I'm going to read books and I'm going to get there. But I'm also going to give myself grace in the meantime.

Kiera Dent (17:10.776)

As you said that it like actually made me want to just cry because it's like gosh like I had not thought about How hard we work as leaders and how how much love there is I think in leadership and it made me think of I was talking to a doctor last night and She's just like, you know, I'm just not I'm not good and she said I'm so good at self sabotaging and and self sacrificing myself and That also made me kind of stop in the moment of like but why?

I truly do believe that we get what we focus on and I think that there's this space that we think it's humility, but it's actually Deteriorating you as a soul and so it's like if I'm constantly sitting here thinking I'm not a good leader I'm not doing that we actually make that into a reality the strongest force in human nature is to act consistent with who we believe we are not who we actually are and so to this doctor I said well gently I might suggest that we stop with the self-sabotage and start with the self like

lift and I think it's so we're so afraid of ego. We're so afraid of not being this humble leader that we self-sabotage and deteriorate ourselves and like think we're awful and beat ourselves up but it's like you beat yourself up so many times it's very hard to come back up and so I really did love that Dana like give grace have the humility and really focus on what kind of a leader you want to be and even if you're not that maybe even asking yourself like a leader who has grace or a leader who like I think about

have my my hero leaders. And I think about them and I'm like, okay, so what would we'll just use Tony Robbins, you guys all know I'm a huge Tony Robbins fan, like, what would Tony Robbins do in this example, or my really good friend Pierce, he's a really strong CEO. And I'm like, well, what would Pierce do in this moment, and I start to act like that leader and I start to become that leader. But I do love that Dana of becoming like giving the grace. It's a and I love that you said it's a journey. It's not a it's not a destination. It's a journey. We're forever going to be striving and it's like,

If I realize that it's a lifelong journey, I'm not going to be sprinting and destroying myself at the get go. I'm going to be giving the grace, the constant validation. And I think like be your own best cheerleader too. Like I think I'm a dang good freaking leader. I think there's areas to grow. think there's areas to zone and then go pick mentors. Like you said, go choose people that are really good in those areas. I think that's why I love consulting is we're able to give them good examples of leaders and also why we're bringing our doctors together. I'm just going to like throw another plug for that.

Kiera Dent (19:37.218)

Because when you see other people, you stop comparing upon an invisible measuring stick and you start to realize how good you're doing. And then maybe looking to see other people that can help you become 1 % better rather than striving for this unattainable perfection that's just an illusion and honestly the lowest standard that you could ever achieve. Perfection is the lowest standard because you'll never achieve it. And it's truly, in my opinion, dumb to say that I want to be this perfect leader or I need to do these things. It's dumb. It's unrealistic. So why are we even doing that?

I want to be a leader who gives grace. want to be a leader who leads from the front. I want to be a leader who does what I say I'm going to do and holds my team to the same standards. I'm going to be a leader who has goals that inspire me and makes me happy. I'm going to be a leader who allows my team to make decisions because I trust that my team is better than me. I trust that I surround myself with people that are brilliant because what we believe in our teams is actually who they become. It's not who they actually are. It's what we believe that they're capable of. They rise or fall to that standard.

And I think we do as leaders as well.

Well, Dana, that was such a fun, different topic, a different spin to leadership of what leaders should stop doing. And I think that's brilliant. And Dana, I think you do such a beautiful job of growing leaders and teaching offices how to be strong leaders from the doctors to the office managers to the team leads and just really giving them that guidance. And I think that that's probably a passion project that you have, which is why you're so passionate about it for sure. Yeah.

Dana (21:05.191)

Okay.

Kiera Dent (21:06.926)

Well, for all of you listening, stop doing these items. Start becoming that leader that you are destined to be. Your team needs you. Your team needs you to be that leader. And honestly, I think leadership can be lonely, but it doesn't have to be. So get the support, have the friends, have the people in your corner, have Dana in your corner, have Dental A Team in your corner, have someone in your corner that knows how to lead to give you that guidance. And stop beating yourselves up about it too. And if we can help you, here for you. Reach out [email protected].

And as always, thank you, Dana, for being on the podcast today. was always just a good time with you. Of course, and for all of you listening, thanks for listening, and we'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.
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#939: Strategic Tips for 2025
8 jan· Dental A Team Podcast
Figuring out how to drink from the firehouse of the new year can be overwhelming. Tiff and Britt give suggestions on where to start your journey to improving your practice’s growth, or perfecting your scheduling, or addressing high cancellations — or whatever your goal is in 2025.

Episode resources:

Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast

Join Dental A-Team Consulting

Leave us a review

Transcript:

The Dental A Team (00:00.983)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. I am so excited to be here with you today. I have pulled in the one and only Britt. We still need a really strong nickname for you, Britt, but I'm just excited to be here with you today. And I love Britt. People call me Tiff. I love Britt. I feel like it's just like rolls off the tongue. So we'll just, we'll stick with that for now, but we're here in the new year. I'm excited to have these conversations. I've pulled you for a few podcasts today and I just think that you are going to be so stellar.

at the content that we're gonna talk about. And doctors, I hope you're here to freaking learn. Britt, one of her nicknames is No BS Britt. So welcome to that. And I say that today because we're gonna be just talking a lot of business in a lot of the podcasts that we're recording today, but especially this one and some planning for the year. We're in 2025 now. So I wanna make sure you guys are just totally prepped and planned for it. So Britt, how are you on this fine, beautiful morning in Arizona today?

Britt (00:56.718)

mean I'm great. It's a sunny day every day pretty much here. So you got to love it. I love that. I'm like, I mean, there's a few nicknames out there, but I don't like spiffy Tiffy is such a good one that like, I don't know if the rest of us will get one that's like that same level, which is deserved. But yeah, so I've got a few but nothing quite like spiffy Tiffy.

The Dental A Team (01:09.455)

I know.

The Dental A Team (01:17.303)

I know, you had to come in early, you know? The nickname game started earlier than everyone else got here. That must be what it is, right? Yeah, yeah, yeah. think things just, my grandma called me Tiffy my whole life growing up. I was Tiffy. And so I think things just rhyme with Tiffy better, you know? It's like a hard end at Britt or Tiff. So it was easy to, it was easy to monopolize on that one. But it is.

Britt (01:19.266)

I know.

Britt (01:24.137)

It just takes some years. Eventually we'll get there.

The Dental A Team (01:45.709)

It is always sunny. I feel like this year I decided, or not this year, I guess last year, I told my son, I said, I think we just need to stop pretending like we live in a state or a space of life that actually has a winter. People who live in the tropics, they just realize, guess what? It's just going to be tropical. Like we're not going to get a winter and that's okay. And I think in Arizona and Phoenix, at least, like that's the life we need to start living. Stop pretending like it's going to be sweater weather. It's not going to happen.

So here we are. Yeah.

Britt (02:15.414)

saying, it's warmer this year. Every year we say like, it should be cooler. Like exactly, like it is what it is and you know what? I'm happy for it. I am perfectly fine not having freezing weather.

The Dental A Team (02:21.603)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (02:27.672)

I agree. I agree. The 70s in December, I will take it. It's fine. We'll just see what the summer looks like. So we'll chat back around on that when the summer comes.

Britt (02:32.161)

Absolutely.

We'll sound a little different then, but it's fine. It's short. It's short.

The Dental A Team (02:38.928)

Yeah, yeah, I love it. this kind of, honestly, all of it kind of goes into itself and the plans and the prepping and looking forward. And we are in the business of constantly looking at where we're going. But you also have to look at where you've been. And so in order to make sure your 2025 is super, super strong, you guys, we kind of wanted to revisit some of the pieces that we chatted about towards the end or towards the last quarter, Q4, of 2024.

some of those strategic planning tips and tricks that we had given you back then. We want to make sure that you guys actually implemented them and then look at, okay, implemented, now how do we use them? So I brought Brett here because Brett, think your business brain is brilliant and I want to make sure we don't miss any of the pieces. So guys, I know we chatted about this. It might be a review.

But I really want you to dig deep sometimes when you re-listen to a podcast or when you listen to something that has similar information, you're like, gosh, I didn't hear that last time or this means more to me today than it did when I listened to it three months ago because I'm in a different space. So I really want you to dive deep. I want you to listen in. One of the biggest pieces I think practices can miss is the opportunity to look at the stats and really, really look at where you've been.

where you're trying to go, but where you are right now. for it, correct me if I'm wrong. I think 99.9 % of the people who come to us, the clients, the potential clients, the future clients, the listeners are here saying, we need systems. And WATM is here and we get to build systems. And we come in and I'm like, gosh, you have so many systems. Like the reason that you feel chaotic is because you don't know where to start.

Britt (04:03.172)

you

The Dental A Team (04:25.893)

Right, Britt? So how do we help them? I really want them to learn how to check trends, know where to start, know what like 2025's focus needs to be, because systems, like you've got a whole dental practice, you've got multiple departments within your dental practice, and to say systems is quite overwhelming. It's like, you know, trying to pull a raindrop out of a rain cloud, it's just not possible, and it causes a lot of chaos and confusion, and I think narrowing that down helps people to be able to see.

What needs to come next? What's that next step? So Britt, you do work with a lot of clients and you've worked with a lot of clients over the last three years that you've been here with us. Thank you so much. A little longer than that now, but almost four. But how do you help them to really see that space, especially going into the new year to say, okay, what do I need to do this year to be super successful?

Britt (05:18.5)

I think Tiff, comes from planning for systems, yes, and also our big picture like ultimately shapes our priorities. So like, that's why I think even in Q4, we harp so much on like, all right, what's happened this year? What do you want to do next year? What are our goals for next year? Because having a path or having something we're shooting for helps us to prioritize some things. For example, let's say,

great, we want to grow 15 % next year, right? We've got the space, we know our schedule's not full, we want to grow our revenue, our collections by 15%, and then it's like, all right, then if.

what's going on that's keeping us from getting there. So then we like walk it back and those are some of the important stats that we need to set goals around and make sure we're tracking. If our schedule's not full, then it's like, all right, do we have enough patients to fill the schedule? Do we not have enough patients? Do we need to get more? Is it a marketing thing? Is it just better scheduling and follow up on our end? And that's gonna start to shape some of the systems. So like with this example.

The Dental A Team (06:10.801)

Go.

Britt (06:16.824)

Let's say our schedule's not full. All right, do we have block scheduling and how are we following up with people who don't have appointments? Those would be two systems that we would start with to get things rolling in the right direction to set us up for success in 2025 if you've got a growth goal like that.

The Dental A Team (06:17.234)

.

The Dental A Team (06:31.046)

Yeah. Yeah, I love that. I love that you narrowed it down from big to small. And that's what the trends will show us. And the mark that I think is truly must right is seeing the bigger picture, like you said, but on a small level, which sounds confusing and contradictory. you're like, how do you go like you're saying big, but you're saying small when we're looking at those big pieces, when we're tracking them. And I do love there's like a side tangent. I do love

the companies that come in and they pull your stats for you, right? So you've got an outside source and you log in and you can see all your stuff. You guys know what I'm talking about. There's multiple different companies and different systems out there. I do love those analytics companies and resources, but I really, really love too for you guys to know the actual numbers and to know how to pull them yourself, even if you're using an analytics company. I want you to be able to see both of them because I believe that if you

have your hands in it yourself, you're soaking in the knowledge. So either way, I want you to just verify, clarify, verify all the pieces, but having a space, I know we've got a lot of our clients, if not all of them by now, on our scorecard system. It's a simple, well simple is probably the wrong word to use there, but it's simple for our clients. It was a labor of love for us, but it's an Excel spreadsheet and I love going old school.

Britt (07:48.055)

You

The Dental A Team (07:54.48)

with those kind of simple tools like Excel, because I think if we can get all of that data and metrics onto one screen, right, even in a lot of the analytics, like you've got to, flipped between screens and you don't always see how one trend leads into another trend or one metric can negatively or positively affect a metric that it seems like it wouldn't. So you might have hygiene data on one screen, right, flip to another screen and you've got.

your production collections, and then another screen you got your AR. Well, guess what? There are different systems within each one of those screens, right, that affect all of them. And when we've got them all in one space, you guys, and you're looking at them, your brain is like, wait, this is a puzzle. Let me put this together. And you start seeing how they lead up or lead down into one another. So, Britt, like you're saying, our schedule's not full, right? This is a common, common, common statement.

from dental practices, my schedule's not full, or I have high cancellations. And it's very easy to be like, oh my gosh, I have all of the answers for that. Like, Britt could come up with like 15 different things for both of those problems. Schedule's not full, high cancellations. We can tackle it all, and I could implement, and Britt could implement 30 systems today, but the question is, are those systems the actual problem, or are we kind of like putting a band-aid?

over a bigger issue that's underlying that we may not be seeing underneath, right? So I love, Britt, that you said that like, great, let's talk, let's look at block scheduling. And you said, you didn't say let's do block scheduling. You said, do we have block scheduling in place? Because, you know, practices do that. Practices know how to do it. There's a million freaking podcasts. We're not the only company who does block scheduling, number one. And we have so many podcasts on block scheduling. So a lot of people are doing it. So then we dig into,

Britt (09:41.86)

Thank

The Dental A Team (09:48.735)

how are we doing the block scheduling instead of just saying, this is how you should be doing it. Because I do think that's the mark that a lot of people overlook as well. know, coaches come in and they're like, well, this is how I want you to do it. Well, your way might be working. It might be something else. So really digging into those pieces. So Britt, as you're looking at these scorecards with your clients and we've used analytics companies, we still do, right? We have analytics that we use from companies and we have clients who use different companies.

What is it that you look for the most and like big overarching that these practices and these doctors can really start keying into that show a space that like, want growth this year. That could mean anything. What are some overarching numbers that you like to track with your practices that will help them key into their focus this year?

Britt (10:39.78)

Yeah, and I'll go through some of those numbers and we want both like leading and lagging, right? So for example, if I want to hit 15 % growth and revenue, tracking that revenue is going to be a lagging measure. So we need to work on, all right, what are some leading things to get us to that end goal that are going to be helpful to track and see what's going on? Another reason for tracking is one, if we're implementing a system or adjusting a system,

Feelings are fleeting and numbers are facts, whatever that saying is. But the numbers actually will tell you, one, did you implement something that's actually having the impact you want it to have? And number two, if we shifted something, is it shifting it in the right direction for us? So is it useful or not? And sometimes there's things that we'll implement that are so cumbersome and it doesn't do anything, then it's like, why are we doing it? It should be easy and it should be effective at the end of the day.

The Dental A Team (11:10.741)

Mm-hmm.

The Dental A Team (11:18.439)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (11:31.304)

Yeah.

Britt (11:34.756)

And so that's kind of my little plug for also tracking numbers is one, knowing where we're at and two, knowing if the things that we're implementing are having the impact we want them to have. So some important ones, you're gonna have your big picture ones, right? And that's, you'll notice my brain thinks big to little. That's just kind of how I think, where's the end goal we wanna get to? And then what are the things that build up to that top most important thing?

So if it's revenue, right, then of course production and collection. We're only gonna collect as much as we produce and we've got to make sure that we're collecting everything that we actually do the work for and can have the potential to collect.

The Dental A Team (12:02.645)

Yeah.

Britt (12:07.64)

So that's gonna be one. And then it's like, all right, next level beyond that, what leads into those two things? Production is gonna be case acceptance, how we're scheduling, right? Those are gonna lead up to that production. And then on the collection side, it's like, all right, what's our AR? Where are all our buckets at? What's sitting out there? What are we not getting collected from patients? That are gonna be some of the big pieces.

And then you can kind of walk it down from there and great track by provider, track by hygienist. And then what are the other things? What's our SRP that's going to feed to our production? What's our fluoride that's going to be feeding to our production and what are the doctors diagnosing? Right? Cause we're the buckets are right. We're only going to make as much as we ever diagnose. And we only are going to make as much as we actually like get scheduled and complete from what we diagnose.

The Dental A Team (12:30.134)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (12:49.525)

Yeah.

Britt (12:54.756)

and then we've got to collect on the things that we actually complete. So we kind of work our way down that way. So those are some of my favorite ones, Tiff, and looking ahead can be super helpful. What are we scheduled to next week? Just to get team members looking ahead, and if we're not scheduled to go, then it should spur a plan of, okay, then what do we need to do to get next week's schedule to go? Or if there's holes in hygiene, what are we going to do to get those holes filled?

The Dental A Team (13:18.999)

Yeah, and what you just said right there to like all of that, I want everyone to take all of that and figure out how you can implement those pieces or what you're not looking at maybe, like what have you not been paying attention to that we can add in, not replace, but add into the metrics that you're looking at this year. But what you just said is if we're not scheduled to go next week, what's our action items now? A lot of practices, you know, get stuck in the lag measures. We know our lead measure, we know

we're supposed to make $250,000 each month, right? So that's our lead measure. Our lead measure is what are we supposed to produce and collect? How many new patients are we supposed to have? And then the first week of every month, we look back and we say, did we do that last month? And sometimes we did, right? Sometimes we didn't. And if we're not tracking it more frequently, like you said, if we're not looking at next week, what's next week's lead measure based on last week's lag measures?

We have to alter them sometimes. If last week or the week before we were down, that impacts us moving forward. So then we get to the last week, sometimes I hear office managers really rallying. They're like, okay, guys, we've got three days left and we need $30,000 in addition to what we already have on the schedule. And people are like, you want us to add 10 grand a day? What are you talking about? Like, yep, we need six Invisalign cases.

Britt (14:38.798)

to get, we can do it guys, right? Like come on.

The Dental A Team (14:43.096)

We got this, right? But what if 15 days ago, you were like, hey, we need $2,000 every day, right? Instead of three days, 30,000. Like, how do we make sure, you know, that we're looking at those things far enough ahead, but also looking at the backside? And I think you caved into it there on the weekly basis. So making sure doctors that, and this is how the scorecard works. We have it working off of.

monthly but also a weekly. The weekly will feed into the monthly for that purpose because we want to be able to see the trends within the weeks. We want to be able to predict what we need successfully so that hitting goals is easy. When I put practices on these kinds of metrics, these weekly metrics, I train a lot, does too, we train a lot of office managers on scorecards like this because it's the easiest way to learn how the numbers work and how the

small changes, like you said, Britt, affect those numbers so drastically. Sometimes you're like, gosh, ding it, our collections stinks and we've got cancellations all over the place. And so an office manager might be like, okay, guys, implement a $75 fee for every cancellations, black and white, they cancel, get $75 fee. And then all of a sudden it's like, that didn't help either one of them. We've got patients in an uproar and next month we realized we attritioned out 10 patients.

because of fees. So we might be too dramatic or too drastic in a systems implementation if we're not watching the rest of what's happening as well. So if you start to see the trends within the week, you might notice, you might even start paying attention, like, what was this week, right? We had high cancellations, but guess what? Maybe it's spring break and maybe parents forgot. So then maybe the metric we need to look at is how far out to the frequencies of our confirmations are.

Are we giving them enough notice and enough reminder notice four times like this when it's spring break rather than like, nope, cut it. People suck, $75, cross the board, we're doing it. And it's like, we weren't looking closely enough to the smaller trends within or the things that are sometimes hidden, like a break that we don't think about. So watching it on a weekly basis, I think sincerely helps with the AR. Britt, that's a huge piece that I think doctors

Britt (16:55.331)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (17:03.81)

I know they don't get trained on, like they don't know, we barely know, right? I'm like, we were trained by other people and other people and now we have all of the knowledge, but most front office people have been trained by other people. And now it's like, yes, Dental A Team, please teach me my AR, because now we know, right? What are the big pieces that doctors should be watching on a weekly basis when it comes to the AR? What do you train your doctors to look for?

Britt (17:28.964)

Yeah. And with AR, you want to look at the buckets, right? And buckets mean what's current zero to 30 days, then what's 31 to 60, and you look at it in 30 day chunks. So you can see.

how things are trending again with numbers, right? That's another piece of tracking it regularly is to see trends and what's trending, what direction are we heading? AR is a big one, right? We want most of that money that's due to us within the next 30 days, because it should mostly be insurance. We should have collected from patients their estimated portion at least.

The Dental A Team (17:52.056)

Yeah.

Britt (18:00.612)

And so it should be insurance. then from there, right, zero to six days. OK, maybe some claims take us a little bit longer to get paid. So like there's going to be a little chunk in there. And then 60 to 90, we shouldn't have as much. And by 90 plus, we really shouldn't have hardly anything, five percent or less really sitting in there. And so with doctors one knowing how much is in each bucket and then you can kind of see what insurance company was it was it United that had an issue this year and you saw everybody's buckets go from zero to 30.

The Dental A Team (18:03.578)

you

The Dental A Team (18:17.242)

Thank you.

Britt (18:30.566)

Oh, now there's a big chunk in 30 to 60 and there's a big chunk in 60 to 90 until that got resolved and the money's coming in so you can kind of watch where that bolus happens and if there's a bolus moving along into getting older there's something happening that we need to address that's causing that to happen.

The Dental A Team (18:32.468)

So,

The Dental A Team (18:49.498)

Totally agree. And you're right though, you have that big insurance thing that happened this year as multiple companies. And then I think that was the one that got super hit. But also I've had clients that have tracked it weekly, monthly, all those pieces and started realizing that they had payment plans that were lapsing that they didn't realize before. So I do not advocate, know that my team does not advocate in office payment plans, you guys, I hate them for this reason. They get lost. You're not a bank. you're a provider, a service provider.

Britt (19:09.624)

No. Don't do it.

The Dental A Team (19:18.661)

provide the services and get paid for what you do. If you need options for payment plans, please call us. Just let us know. Hello at the NLATN.com. Exactly.

Britt (19:24.952)

Pre-payment is your option. Pre-payment is the option. can force the payment and get it done once it can be paid for.

The Dental A Team (19:31.382)

Exactly. I always say, me help you build a savings account and we will save it here for you. And then we can get your treatment when you're done. But I had a lot of patients that, or a lot of practices that realized all of a sudden, like it wasn't necessarily just the insurance companies. We started really looking at it on a super fine scale because of what happened with the insurance. But then they're like, wait a second Tiff.

A lot of this is patient and I'm like, because you've not been looking at it, right? We've not tracked it like this on this kind of a scale. So these are the pieces you guys that really start to jump out. These are the things that I think you guys are waking up in the middle of the night, like, my gosh, what if this is a thing, right? And you're like, give me a system. Like, we have the systems. This is the system. Like track the trends, track what's happening, track where you're going, track where you've been so you can see where you need to go. So you know where you're going.

You know where you've been. Now do we need to add anything to where you're going in order to hit goals? Make sure your money is accounted for. Call us when you need systems, KPIs, key performance indicators, scorecards that track trends, and having people in your back pocket that are there to help you. Whether it's us, a consulting company, a coach, a friend, whomever it is, also having your team members on your side. So who's filling in this information and has your back there?

Britt (20:24.141)

Mm-hmm.

The Dental A Team (20:48.508)

Those are my biggest to-do's for your 2025. You guys don't over-complicate it. It's really easy to over-complicate it. It's really easy to try to tackle too much at one time. I want you guys to pull your data, pull your numbers, where are you trying to go, and which metric needs to be dialed first. So first quarter, which metric do we need to dial up in order to push you towards those goals? Britt mentioned earlier in the podcast, it might be billing.

It might be marketing. might be that you need more new patients. It might be scheduling. Like where is it that you're low in all of the different areas within your trends? So you can twist that dial, ramp it up, and then watch the other ones and see how those trends do so you can pick your next one. Britt, brilliant brain, brilliant Britt. I was going to call you today. Brilliant brain Britt. Thank you so much for all of the input and all of the work that you've put in. You helped me a ton with that scorecard.

Britt (21:33.7)

you

The Dental A Team (21:42.976)

for our clients, so thank you so much. cannot wait to have everyone on that ding-ding scorecard. It's going to be incredible. And you guys, if you're a client of ours, you're not on the scorecard yet, reach out to your consultant. Make sure that you've got all the data, you've got all the meetings and all the pieces together for that. If you're not yet a client, we can't wait to meet you. And if you're Forever Podcast listener, then freaking rock out, text us, email us.

Ask us what you need and if you need help with these things. always here for all of you guys, no matter what your status is. Thank you so much. Reach out [email protected] Drop us a five star review. We can't wait to hear from you guys and hear how amazing your 2025 is going.
- Luisteren Nogmaals beluisteren Doorgaan Wordt afgespeeld...
- Later beluisteren Later beluisteren
#938: Fitness Amid Everyday Business
7 jan· Dental A Team Podcast
“Humans want to move, and life gets in the way.” Those are the words of Laura, Kiera’s personal trainer, who’s the guest for this episode. Together, Kiera and Laura discuss overcoming the often quite sedentary life of dentistry professionals by bringing on a source of accountability.

Episode resources:

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Transcript:

Kiera Dent (00:00.9)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera. And today I am so freaking pumped to introduce you to one of my dearest friends, someone who has transformed my life and that I just cannot wait to introduce to this audience. Welcome to the show, Laura, my personal trainer, macro guru, the one who knows all the things, who's helped me through so many personal injuries and actually has been able to like make a busy life, work with working out. Laura, welcome to the show today.

Laura (00:04.089)

And so, we're going to end it here.

Laura (00:27.021)

Thank you. I'm so happy to be here.

Kiera Dent (00:29.614)

I'm so happy you're here because I think that you have changed my life and you and I were chatting at the gym the other day and we actually talked about, well, I work with dentists, dentists are very busy, entrepreneurs are very busy, office managers are very busy and yet figuring out how to fit in this working out, eating healthy, taking care of ourselves. And you made a comment, you said, Kiera, they invest in their businesses, but their businesses require them to be their highest self like.

Let's do a podcast and talk about that. So I'm super jazzed to have you here today. Talk about all things. And as a fun side note, I did look up some data and believe it or not, if you work out, you make more money. So let's just add a little plug there too. But Laura, like let's kind of tell our listeners a little bit about you. How did you get into working out? How did you get into being this macro fitness guru that you've become that's changed the lives of so many? Kind of just walk us on your journey today.

Laura (01:00.461)

Yes.

Laura (01:09.049)

There we go.

Laura (01:21.921)

Yeah, I would love to. My journey started in college. I, like many other women, grew up insecure, like judging myself, comparing myself to other women. And I just came to a point in college, I remember the moment where I just realized

I don't want to live my life this way anymore. I want to feel confident. I want to feel strong. I felt disconnected to my younger self in a way. I grew up not necessarily in high school, more like actual elementary school. In my childhood years, I was very active. I did sports, I did gymnastics. And then you get into high school. I didn't do anything in high school. And then comes college and I just felt very disconnected to myself.

And I wanted to get back to that playful, confident, able person, able to do the things I wanted to do. And so I started going to the gym, had no idea what I was doing. I would just climb the StairMaster the whole time. And slowly, the gym I was working out at was kind of the StairMasters where

upstairs and you could look down into the rest of the gym. And I would just see at that time, this was like a decade ago or more, there were no women in the gym and all the girls were upstairs on the ellipticals and the stair masters and then all the dudes were downstairs. And I don't know, I just, started to see what they were doing and copied a little bit, you know, did a couple of the machines that I knew how to do, started to get hooked.

and was like, you know what, what if I made this a career? And I got certified in 2014 and the rest is history. mean, there's actually a lot more to it, but that's basically how it started. And fast forward to now, I feel extremely connected to my younger self through my movement. I have created a beautiful life that I'm able to do what I love and...

Kiera Dent (03:13.978)

you

Laura (03:29.613)

And yeah, help other women connect to their own bodies and their younger selves as well.

Kiera Dent (03:33.914)

I love it. And I love that you went through this journey because I think so many of us, well, I'll speak for myself. I'm not gonna speak for all the listeners. I feel like an idiot at the gym. They have reels about people at the gym of like idiots using like equipment so many times and we're at the gym. Laura was originally virtual. We started out virtual and I actually wanna get into like virtual versus in-person training and if there's a difference because when people are busy, there's solutions that way.

Laura (03:43.629)

Thank

Kiera Dent (04:01.028)

but I felt like such an idiot. And I think something that you've done for me, and that's why I wanted to bring you on here is because I feel like I was the worst workout person in the world. Like honestly, I feel like Laura should have fired me as a client. So we had a really rough start and I think it was honestly fear of my, like where I was at, fear of not knowing what I'm doing. Also, I do run a busy life. Laura, you told me I'm the second busiest person that you know, second to a lawyer. So I felt like that was like, all right, my life is a little bit more exciting.

but I also had a lot of injuries. And so that was why I hired a personal trainer is because I was actually losing so much muscle mass that I was starting to get more injuries because the current injuries were causing me not to do anything, which then was leading to more problems. And so was thinking about how many dentists and how many team members do we sit there all day long? We're very sedentary. I remember as an assistant and doctors, you're like, I don't sit, I don't even have time to pee, which I get, hear you.

but we're sitting there and yes, you're ergonomically correct, but it's like we work all day long. Where do we actually put in time for this body that's serving us? That's creating like the experience for our patients. Like where do we do that? And so even in the time Laura and I have worked together, I changed it from working out to honoring my body. And so Laura, I really wanted to dig into this of like, you've worked with a lot of people, you're a personal trainer, you're freaking genius at it. I love that you have modified so many workouts for me to be able to lift, to get strong.

Like just yesterday we were working out and we saw back muscles on me and like, that's something I haven't had for seven years. And so I'm excited because coming from a space where I couldn't lift, couldn't squat. couldn't lunge. Like literally none of those things were in my life. I have a very strong issue with food. I grew up anorexic most of my life and Laura, I know that you've been on a journey with that as well. And I think just all these different factors. I'm busy. People are busy. You were able to find like this, like.

little crack of sunshine in my life and then expand it more to where in my week I look out like look forward to working out. We've like reworked my schedule to make that a priority. And so I'm just curious, you work with a ton of people you worked with me. Let's bring this to the table. How do people when they're so busy, when they're so exhausted, when they've got the kids, they've got the job, they've got all the people like how do you even start working out? How does this even become a reality for people?

Kiera Dent (06:22.136)

What do you tell people when they're in that spot? Because I think every person listening to this podcast is probably there.

Laura (06:27.225)

Yeah, I think we all have some desire inside of us to move. Humans want to move and life gets in the way. And I think the determining factor of are you going to do this or not is are you willing to think deeply enough about why it's important in your life? Like what happens if you don't do this? Take yourself five, 10 years, 15, 20 years down the road.

What does life look like once you've retired and you have all this money to spend and all this adventure to have, but your body is not working properly and you can't truly experience life in the way that you want because your body is failing you. Like take yourself there, take yourself to that hard, reality that if you don't figure this out, you're going to have this experience of life. Or what if you do look at your life one year from now, if you decide to just commit 30 minutes a week.

Even if it's 10 minutes at a time, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 10 minutes, first thing in the morning, I wake up and I get on my Peloton or I do three sets of 20 squats. Like just start so small. What does life look like in a year? If you start that now and you don't stop in 10 years and 20 years, the trajectory of your life will be so different. And I think it's, that is the, like I said, determining factor, whether or not someone commits to this for the long haul.

You have to be very realistic about your about your situation and what you want out of life, know We're so serious about building businesses and making money and being successful But what happens once you get there and you don't have the vessel to carry you through that's that's very that's scary to me So that's that's where I take people

Kiera Dent (07:57.722)

Hmm.

Kiera Dent (08:09.496)

I agree. I completely agree. And I love that you did this because like at Tony Robbins, he calls it the like Ebenezer Scrooge experience where you like, he literally makes you walk down. It's like terrifying. You hear all these like thousands of people screaming like how awful it'd be. But I don't think we actually like make this as much of a reality. I don't think we see it. And for me, I thought, okay, I really do have a vision of myself. Tiff will tell you, gosh, it's awesome. Tiff and I have committed that we're gonna be like.

98 year old grannies. I'm gonna have cotton candy pink hair. She's gonna have cotton candy blue hair We're gonna be driving jazzy's with NOS like not because we have to but just because we want to we'll have our own drones like I got this whole vision, but I thought about it and I thought If I don't have a body to get me between let's say 35 when I started thinking about it to 95 like that's a huge span of time. We're talking 60 years

Laura (08:41.12)

huh.

my gosh.

Laura (08:47.705)

haha

Kiera Dent (09:02.104)

I can't just hope and pray that my body is going to last. Like this is an engine and I remember thinking, I love cars. I really love cars. And I thought like, Kiera, if you had a Ferrari sitting in the garage, how would you take care of this? And I'm like, I'd put the highest level of gas. I would wash it. I would like keep it protected. I would drive it so kind. And I remember I was on a podcast with another person and they said, you literally, your body is a billion. That's with a B as in body, a billion dollar asset. Do you treat it that way?

Laura (09:31.833)

Mm-hmm.

Kiera Dent (09:31.95)

And I thought, well, if I'm willing to give that love and care to a Ferrari, what if I thought about my own body as a Ferrari and how would I treat it? And it's crazy because for me that worked. And I started thinking like, I would eat better. Like I truly would take care of it. I would work out. I would prioritize it. And just like you said, starting with where we are, I think like any amount of movement is going to help. So even reading the book, Atomic Habits by James Clear, he talks about like habit stacking.

and just starting and like other books, essentialism, they talk about if it's too hard, we don't start. And so it's that startup effort. So I love Laura where you're like, okay, you get out of bed and you do one squat. Fantastic. Like you could start there and that's not as hard, but I think we go from like zero to 700. And I think that's the gap. so like, let's dive into, all right, I'm committed. I've decided I see the Ebenezer Scrooge. I see where I'm gonna be. I've got 60 years that I need to keep this.

Laura (10:06.935)

Mm-hmm.

Kiera Dent (10:25.174)

amazing body that I've been blessed with going. I also think about, here's another thought that's helped me too, of this body is not Kiera. This body is something that Kiera was given to take care of, just like a business, just like a team. And I've thought about my body and I'm like, when I separated the thought of like, I am this body and I started to see this body allows me to have life.

Laura (10:37.933)

Mm-hmm.

Kiera Dent (10:49.71)

This body allows me to podcast. This body allows me to work. This body allows me to work with clients. This body allows me to do all the fun things, to travel. And if I don't take care of her, A, like who am I with this body doing so much for me? And B, how can I take care of her even more? So it kind of became this fun game of like, this isn't for me. I'm good at serving a team. Why not serve my body as well when I realize that's not me? So if that helps you as well. So, okay, we're here, we're committed. Laura, it's like kicking off the new year. We're going to work out.

Do they need a trainer? What's the purpose of having a trainer? Like, can I do this on my own? Do I need a trainer? Is virtual or in person better? What are your thoughts around that? Because obviously I went for a trainer because I'm really terrible at accountability and also I had injuries and I didn't want to hurt myself. But like, how do you coach people through this?

Laura (11:36.385)

Yeah. I think, you know, and this is speaking from personal experience too. I also need the accountability. I love having a coach. I think having someone on your team, like linking arms, let's do this here are our goals is such a useful tool. And you're not, if you don't show up, you're not only not showing up for you, your body, but you're also not showing up for this person that's linked arms with you and put in effort and,

like actual love. Like I will just say, I truly love working with my clients. I, and I don't speak for all trainers, but I do know so many trainers that feel the exact same way. Like you really, it's, I don't know how to say this. I'm like about to say emotional attachment, but you really do become so attached to your clients and so committed to their goals that when they stop showing up or something happens and they get sidetracked, it's, it's

Kiera Dent (12:19.906)

Yeah.

Laura (12:31.189)

It affects you as a trainer too. So what I'm trying to say is if you feel like you need that accountability, 100 % get a trainer, find a trainer that you connect with. Don't just go to a random, I mean, you can do this, but it's not my recommendation going to like a chain gym. I won't name any names of gyms, but just a chain gym where there's trainers there, they're paying their trainers minimum wage. These people probably have very little experience and are not looking to create that relationship with you.

Kiera Dent (12:49.326)

Bye.

Laura (13:00.089)

I think it's important to find someone that you really connect with that feels like an ally and listens to you, sees you. That is very important. As far as online versus in person, it's completely what the plan that's going to work is the one you can stick with. So if you can get to a gym and you can see someone in person, you found someone in person that you connect with, great, go that route. But a lot of busy business people cannot do that. I have a lot of...

entrepreneurs and moms that can't get to the gym. So they do 30 minute at home workouts and they follow a workout on an app and that works beautifully for them. If I were to tell them you have to come in person, they would not be able to make it happen. So it's very different from person to person. You just need to check in with yourself and figure out what would work best for you. Try it, see if it works. If it doesn't make a change.

and so on, but there's either way in person or online. There's, you know, we have technology on our side nowadays. There's so many beautiful ways to get quality coaching through virtual. So I think a lot of people have this like stigma against online coaching because they're like, I want to make sure I'm doing everything right. I don't think I'll show up for myself, but truly looking at my own program and you might agree or disagree, but a lot of

the clients that I have online are held even more accountable than the people that I have in person because it's just a more robust program. So it's very different than a lot of people expect.

Kiera Dent (14:37.474)

I agree. And I did not expect virtual to be as good. I had done virtual in the past and I had someone who told me this trainer, she told me, said, Kiera, I'm actually not your coach. I'm just a programmer for you. And I remember that like cut me deep because I thought like, no, you did link arms with me. Like I want you to be as invested in this as I am. And meeting you, Laura, I...

purposely chose you because you're here in Reno and I was like, no, I want to go in person. And I actually think something very lovely about virtual and I will speak, your virtual was much different than other people's virtual. Like Laura is, doesn't mess around. It was an hour every single week where we would actually meet. We went over every single one of my workouts that I had completed. We did videos. And what I actually loved about that was being able to watch myself.

Laura (14:59.417)

and

Kiera Dent (15:20.236)

And with you, I started to pick out like when my moves weren't great. And something I loved about starting virtual and then going in person was I feel like I, I mean, you will say it so nice. You say like, let's pretty up that movement. Like let's make this prettier to where we're doing the move. And by prettying it up, it's not like I'm trying to look pretty. It's we're making perfect moves so we don't hurt ourselves. We're working the muscles better. And it's crazy because I think I was so.

like hypersensitive, I was hard to catch it in the mirror. I was hard to catch things. I'm like, Laura's not gonna like that. Like move my shoulder, get myself more of a statue because you forced me to watch my videos because that's all we had to do together. And so that was something I really liked about virtual. In person, I think I lift harder and I push myself harder because you're sitting there right next to me and I'm like, I wanna quit. And you're like, let's go, let's go, let's go. So that is, but it is interesting because we don't record me when I'm at the gym. I love when we do record because then I can see the little movements.

Laura (16:07.704)

Yes.

Kiera Dent (16:15.172)

But at home, I'm forced to watch myself more than I am at the gym. So I think those are two pros and cons. But Laura, I'm curious. There's so many trainers out there, just like there's consultants out there. Like how on earth do I sift through the noise and pick like someone who actually knows what the heck they're doing? Cause I did research on you to make sure you were actually a good trainer. I was ready to invest in myself, but like what questions do we even ask for? Like, are you a good trainer? Do you know what you're doing? Do you not know what you're doing? How do I like sort through that noise?

Laura (16:34.391)

Yeah.

Laura (16:41.689)

Mm-hmm.

Yeah, I think that experience is important. I think some people are have a natural skill to be able to connect with people and see how a body moves and know what changes need to be made to make it move properly. But it is like, you know, it takes a long time to master how to communicate with people. I do think I had not to toot my own horn or anything, but I feel like I

Kiera Dent (17:10.786)

You should, I brought you on the podcast. Cause I think you're a freaking expert at this and I think you do really well. And I worked with other people and that's why I brought you to like to drone horn because I sifted you out of a lot of people and I picked you intentionally because I knew you had eating disorders that you had dealt with. And I know food's a big portion, which we're going to talk about food next. I also checked with a bunch of people that I trusted to see, like, does Laura actually know her stuff or is she just another like nonsense trainer out there?

Laura (17:18.389)

Yeah.

Kiera Dent (17:36.046)

Like, and not nonsense trainer. I get that everybody's trying their best, but I needed somebody who was more experienced, who knew with having injuries. wasn't like, I got hurt really bad with my other trainer to where I couldn't walk for almost a month because like I told her I had a knee problem. She didn't make sure that I did it correctly. And lo and behold, I then like basically blew out my knee for an entire month. So like, how do we not get those issues and those injuries?

Laura (17:41.529)

Mm-hmm.

Laura (17:55.289)

Yeah, think I I mean, know what you need. First of all, go into your consultation. Hopefully you're doing consultation with these people if they don't require it, ask for it. Ask for a meeting first before you commit to anything and ask them about their experience. Tell them your situation and what you're looking for exactly. And if someone see you know, I feel like we're all pretty

Kiera Dent (18:08.043)

Hahaha

Laura (18:22.081)

I feel like we can read people, know, as humans, can read people. can tell typically if someone is like bullshitting you or telling you straight up. I will be the first person to say, I do not know everything, but I am willing to put in the work, do the research to try and figure out some solutions for you. And if I can't, I will refer you out. I have no problem referring you out. So I think, I think experience and honesty are like my two things to look for.

Kiera Dent (18:28.953)

Mm-hmm.

Laura (18:49.791)

in a trainer when you're doing your consultations. And then connection. know what I mean? Can you see yourself being able to build a relationship with this person, but also see them as coach, not a best friend, as coach, and respect them? I'm trying to think, how can you determine if this person, from a beginner's mindset, looking at, say Instagram, because let's just be honest, that's where we find a lot of our people,

Kiera Dent (18:54.926)

Mm-hmm.

Kiera Dent (19:17.476)

grade.

Laura (19:18.841)

looking at how someone moves, think, don't know, Kiera, tell me if you're like on Instagram and you're seeing a random trainer girl and you see her doing some moves from a beginner's mindset, can you tell if she's doing, you know, she's connected or do you have no idea? I don't know. I'm not in a beginner's mind. You know what I mean? So I'm trying to figure out how to, to offer that advice, like find someone who knows how to move their body.

Kiera Dent (19:37.761)

Yeah.

Kiera Dent (19:42.042)

I don't think my eye was definitely clued into it. I think things I looked for was, that person look the way I wanna look? Because I feel like if so, I...

Laura (19:46.402)

Yeah.

Laura (19:50.617)

I play walking the walk.

Kiera Dent (19:53.562)

Yeah, I mean, I want to look like them. So that was one thing. It's funny, Laura and I thought we were the same height when we were virtual training. And then in person, Laura's like a foot shorter than me. So that's always entertaining when I'm like, girl, that needs to go up a little higher. Like that bench is going to like cut my legs in half, like it needs to go up. So that was kind of a funny random, but I look for that now after working with you. I definitely can spot. And at first I was judgy about it and you did a good job of helping me see like

Laura (19:59.53)

you

Laura (20:05.721)

No.

Kiera Dent (20:21.956)

We're not judgy, we're just like wanting to make sure people take care of their bodies. so like looking for, I think a good trainer, watching the movements, you like get on me all the time of like, Kiera, don't go through the movement quickly, like go through it slowly. I want you super connected. Like if we're doing my lats, you you showed me a picture and you're like, I want you to visualize those lats. I want them like sucking down. I want you pulling, like right now I'm doing it. I feel those lats engaged back there.

Laura (20:25.273)

Thank

Kiera Dent (20:49.422)

But I think something I really loved was even, even having a trainer watch like maybe a squat or something and asking them like what they see for feedback. Laura, you're not afraid to give me feedback. You're not afraid to say like, Hey, like right there, need to like, like yesterday, you're like, get that hip up. And I'm like, I don't even know what you're talking about. My hips feel very up. And then it was like just a quick tilt of the hip and instantly the movement felt a lot stronger. So I think like those things as a beginner's mindset, really can help out because

Laura (21:14.777)

Mm-hmm.

Kiera Dent (21:17.324)

What I found is you are so meticulous about making sure my movement is not sloppy, that I'm connected. Like there was even a day I was picking up weights on my video. So it wasn't even the workout and you're like, Kiera, watch it right there. Cause when these weights get heavier, you're going to hurt your back and you need to lift these properly. And so I really think as a beginner, maybe even taking a workout, that sounds so funny, but like, Hey, could you just like tell me what you would like critique on this squat? You don't even know what the heck they're doing, but almost like taking that to the consultation. Yeah.

Laura (21:43.031)

Yeah, but just see how they go through. I like that idea.

Kiera Dent (21:46.618)

Now I can see it. I can see it a lot more, for me,

Laura (21:49.667)

Yeah, as a beginner, hard to know. I mean, you can sometimes you can scroll through someone's feed and see like, is there? What do they find important in workouts? What are they posting about? What do their workouts look like? Are they slow? Are they connected? Or are they just like rushing through? And I think you could spot a couple of things, but yeah, asking specific question as far as like, what is, what will we focus on when we're working out? You know, ask them what,

Kiera Dent (22:02.042)

Mm-hmm.

Laura (22:17.919)

What is your skill level on critiquing technique? Yeah, it's a hard, that's a hard, that piece is a little hard to figure out as a beginner and talking to trainers. That's something to think on.

Kiera Dent (22:30.858)

Mm-hmm. And that's something I would, I feel like you were so adamant with me about getting my movements perfect without adding weight. Cause I think a lot go to like wanting to get results. And for you, you don't care if my body's not changing very much at the beginning. If I'm not mastering my movements, that's gonna be what you're gonna be core focused on until I get those right. And I think to me, that's what I care about because once you master the movements, then you can lift the weight like,

Kiera Dent (22:57.016)

We were doing heavier weight than I ever thought. And I'm coming as a girl who could not squat, could not lunge, could not do any of that. Laura, kudos to you. You were able to work through it so much. So maybe even pretend you have all of my ailments when you go into the consultation and see, could they help you? And then you'd really know. that's something I really do love because Laura does do virtual. And so if you don't live in Reno, she was incredible. We did almost a year virtual before I went in person. And so I think like,

Laura (23:08.824)

Hahaha

Just ask Kiera to do the consultation with you and she'll tell you.

Kiera Dent (23:26.21)

mastering the techniques and getting into the workouts and like you, you hunted me down. And for some people virtual doesn't work, but I think for a lot of people giving that a go, I think is super helpful, but I really want to quickly pivot because I, it's going to be controversial Laura and I can't wait. And I didn't prepare you for this. but I think you'll have a good answer. Let's say I'm looking at this and I'm like, okay, I'm going to work out. but I hear like calories in like abs are made in the kitchen, not necessarily at the gym.

Laura (23:41.207)

Mm-hmm. Okay.

Laura (23:52.963)

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Kiera Dent (23:55.894)

So what's more important to you? Is it my diet and my macros, which we'll get into macros in a second. I had no clue what it was, or is it like technique and workout?

Laura (24:05.642)

gosh, that's an impossible question. Absolutely impossible. It definitely depends on what your goals are. What I think everyone's goal should be is to age in a graceful way. That's such a cliche thing to say, but to be healthy, you know, to be healthy and feel your absolute best and be able to show up for your family as you age. So, and with that goal, both of those things matter. If you're not.

Kiera Dent (24:22.97)

Mm-hmm.

Kiera Dent (24:31.322)

I knew you'd say both, I knew it!

Laura (24:33.689)

I can't, can't pick one or the other. I absolutely can't. And then if we go to the other goal that a lot of people have, which is aesthetics and like looking a certain way, both also matter very much. And it depends on like your body type, you know? So I can't, I can't give you a straight answer on that.

Kiera Dent (24:49.081)

Mm-hmm.

Kiera Dent (24:53.402)

Okay, well let's talk food because this was like, think Laura and I talked, I think on our last like virtual session and we were like debating, we wanted to continue. And I said, I like workout Laura. I don't like food Laura. And you said, I like workout Kiera. I don't like food Kiera. So let's talk about food because for me, food was actually a really tricky thing. It was something I did not enjoy. But.

Like, can we just touch on macros and like why you find macros important and what macros even are for those who don't even know what the heck we're talking about. And then I will share my version of this, of how I've like worked through it as someone who has struggled with my relationship with food for a lot of my life and just had like a huge, amazing win at Thanksgiving that was just like a really incredible way for me to see the progress I've made with this food journey. So Laura, talk about macros, food, how this works with your workouts.

Laura (25:26.51)

Yes.

Laura (25:33.497)

Mm-hmm.

Laura (25:45.901)

Yes. Yes. So macros, just to give you guys an idea of what they are, are macronutrients. All of our food are made up of macronutrients. Our proteins, our carbs, and our fats. These are the macro big nutrients in our food. There's also micronutrients, which are your vitamins and minerals within the foods that we eat. The reason I chose to do macros, I've done everything under the sun. From the time I was...

very young and doing like, I can't remember the name of the shakes that my mom was doing. You know, it's like, I have been quote unquote dieting for 20 years. And so I've done keto, I've done a meal plan, I've done competitive bodybuilding, I've done, what else is there? Whole 30. I've done, you know, like shakes, like the isogenics, 30 day cleanse. I've done cleanses, I've done all kinds of things.

Kiera Dent (26:16.682)

yeah.

Laura (26:40.721)

And why I landed on macros was because with all of those other diets, it was very hard to imagine doing it forever. like for keto, for example, keto diet is where you're eating very, very low carbs and your majority eating proteins and fats. For me, I'm like, I love my vegetables. I love my potatoes. I love my bread. I can't see myself never having those things again. It felt too restrictive.

And with meal plans, know, coach giving you a meal plan of like, here's what I want you to have for breakfast. Here's what I want you to have for lunch. There's not much flexibility. You don't have control. With macros, you're simply given, this is how much protein I want you to eat. This is how much carbs I want you to eat. And this is how many fats I want you to eat. And you get to fill those in the way that you want. There are guidelines. Of course, we don't want everyone having packaged food, their entire, you know, a hundred percent of their food. We want whole foods.

foods close to earth 80 % of the time, but for that other 20 % of the time, have fun, have what you want. I love cookies. I love Mexican food. love sushi. I love going out to dinner and I can make all of that work within my macros. And with clients specifically, the biggest win I always get with the whole macro counting thing is you just learn with the foods that you love, you learn what they're made up of and you learn how to use them to fuel your goals.

So people that love bagels, have a bagel before your workout, have a bagel after your workout. Having those starchy carbs before or after a workout is extremely beneficial to help energize you for your workouts and help recover your muscles from the workout that you just did. And then prioritize your fibrous foods later on in the day to help satiate yourself so you're not going to bed feeling starving.

So there's a strategy involved. get to, you learn so, so much about the foods you're already eating. You make these tiny, small little changes that will help you get the results that you've always dreamed of. And it's something that you can do forever.

Laura (28:46.809)

A lot of people, not everybody. Not everyone can do it. I also struggled with an eating disorder for a decade. I had bulimia for a long time and maybe not a decade. It started when I was like 13 for no good reason. Someone else, some girl was doing it. 13 years old, isn't that insane? And my, you know, I've been healed from that for about five, six years now.

Kiera Dent (29:03.47)

It's insane. It's insane.

Laura (29:12.453)

And I feel like I have been doing macros for about five, six years now. And I do feel like it was healing for me. It truly helped me stop the bad behavior of labeling foods good and bad, of binging because I was feeling so restricted on other diets. And yeah, it's just allowed a lot of freedom and flexibility for me and healed a lot of food trauma for me. So that's the gist.

Kiera Dent (29:16.506)

That's incredible.

Kiera Dent (29:40.622)

Yeah, that's incredible. And congratulations. I think that that's a big thing. Whether you're male or female, I think body image, think food issues. I think all of us have it, whether it's binging, whether it's not eating healthy, like all these things. And I think if we go back to like what you said of aging, like for me, I wouldn't be able to say yes to like hiking Machu Picchu when I'm 95. Like I really want to be that person where my last like...

Laura (29:50.041)

Mm-hmm.

Laura (30:02.489)

And I'm gonna turn it.

Kiera Dent (30:06.776)

I don't know, month of my life is when my body decides to give out on me because I've taken such good care of her. And Jason's like, no, no, no, let's just go in a car accident. let's not even have that last month. So, you know, we've upped our game, but just thinking about that, the food situation for me, I think going into it, that was hard because I'm adding a workout, plus I'm adding food and my default is if it's too hard to eat, I'm just not going to eat.

Laura (30:16.409)

Mm-hmm.

Hahaha

Kiera Dent (30:33.442)

And so that was like my big struggle with macros, but what was super fascinating to me was realizing how much fat was in food, like shocking amounts of fat. Like I was blown away when I started looking at labels, seeing that I could have almost the exact same food, but just eating different. like, instead of bacon, like you can have turkey bacon and get a ton of protein. Like it actually grills up way easier. It was kind of a fun puzzle. And like, I just got it to where it was like simple things like,

I understand it's fats, carbs and proteins for every meal. And Laura, you did a great job because like Jason, I go out to eat all the time. I'm on the road all the time. And so just even learning like, what can you eat at restaurants that works within macros? And agreed, it's not good or bad. Like I can straight up pound these amazing, like I love Laura. I don't think I've even told you this. When I'm done working out, uncrustable strawberry, like it's so good and it is amazing, but to not have that good or bad.

Laura (31:22.041)

yes.

Kiera Dent (31:28.726)

is such a freeing thing. so I really think the thing I loved was you said, Keir, if you want to build muscle, you've got to actually like have enough protein to build this muscle. And so learning that I'm not having food just for pleasure. I'm having food to fuel these goals that I want of looking a certain way of having the muscle strength to be able like right now, I just don't want to be a weak feeble grandma. Like that's really my goal is to just not be that. And so it's like, build the glutes, build the hams, build the back, build the arms like

Laura (31:56.003)

Mm-hmm.

Kiera Dent (31:56.728)

And it's been crazy because as I've been building muscle, I actually don't have as many problems because we've been able to like stabilize around my shoulders, stabilize around my knees. Like it still happens and there's still setbacks, but it's less and less compared to what it was. And so I knew you'd say food and workouts go hand in hand, but I think for everybody listening, I think just like a one or 2 % change in each of these areas is a great start. So it's like, do one squat and maybe think about like fats, proteins and carbs.

or maybe even just look at the labels of how many fats there are. Like just look at that and see. And I think that would be a fun thing. So I know as we kick off the new year, as I know we roll into this, usually we're looking at goals for our businesses. And I'm hoping with this podcast that you look at goals for your life. Goals of like, I look at my life and I want to travel a ton. But to do that, this amazing body that I've been blessed with also needs to be taken care of. And so that's what I was hoping bringing Laura on of like.

A, as a thank you, she's done so much for me and just like healing my, like my body. It's so fun when I hit gains at the gym and I'm like, Laura, we're freaking lifting like more than I ever thought I'd be able to. That has been so rewarding for me as a human. And so as a huge appreciation to Laura, like I want her on the podcast. I want to expose her to all of you. But secondly, it's a new year and I feel like giving you tools and resources to get on your health journey if you want to, to have resources in the industry. So I wanted Laura to be an example for you of

Hey, if it works great, reach out to her. If you want to chat with her, she does men and women. She tends to coach more women than men. That's okay. but there's lots of great coaches out there for men and women. She even critiqued Jason in my workouts. Jason did a lot of workouts with me at home. So it was fun. He and I did them together. I would tell him like, Laura says you need to get that leg up higher. Like it's not quite the right form. so that was a ton of fun we did together, but just having a resource out there, you could even follow her, look at kind of how she coaches.

Laura (33:44.217)

What?

Kiera Dent (33:51.758)

But just like learning the things that she's doing, I thought would be so valuable. Cause I hope that this year you give yourself not only the gift of growing your practice, but also becoming like having the body that you want, having the body that can feel your dreams and desires and truly honoring that body that does so much for you. So Laura, tell people how they can get in touch with you. I appreciate you so much. So just share with the world how they can connect with you. Cause I think you are such a gift to this world that I'm so grateful to know.

Laura (34:17.369)

Well, thank you so much. really appreciate it. so Instagram is probably one of the best ways to contact me. It's Laura Lee, MIT. I also have a website coached by laura.co and you can apply for coaching on that website. but yeah, as Kiera said, well, I want to add on to what you said that once you decide to start this journey, if you can commit to just like the small one to 2 % change,

and never stop, you're never going to regret it. It's the most beautiful, amazing journey that I have ever done for myself. And I watch women do it every single day. it's just, lives are changed and experience of life just goes through the roof. It's just such a better experience. So, yeah, just encouraging you start and don't stop and make it, make it small, make it doable, but start and don't stop. Yeah.

Kiera Dent (35:14.042)

Brilliant. I love it. And I will say, coming from someone who did not enjoy working out, I remember you said one time, like, you never regret going to the gym. And I've thought about that a lot. And I'm like, sometimes I regret driving to the gym because I don't want to be there. You've even asked me, like, are you excited to be here today? And I'm like, no, I don't want to be here. But every time I leave, I feel so good. And I think just like, as you said, start and don't stop and think about like,

Laura (35:23.961)

I'm sorry.

Laura (35:31.842)

We'll be back.

Kiera Dent (35:40.226)

Our bodies do so much for us. This is the one little simple act we get to do back for it that serves it. And I think about, I'm gonna do like a cheesy dental analogy, but telling so many patients about fluoride, we always say like, this is the most proactive and preventative thing you can do for your teeth. And I feel like similarly working out and eating well is most proactive and preventative thing that we can do for our bodies for long-term health and sustainability. So Laura, thank you for what you've done. I would really recommend, I hope all of you reach out, connect.

Do something for your body this year. I know a year from now when we're chatting in January of next year, you will be so grateful like I am that you cared about yourself enough, that you loved that body that does so much for you, that's allowed you to have the business and the life and the job and the family and all the different pieces that taking 15 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour every day to honor it is the greatest gift you'll ever give yourself. So Laura, thank you.

Laura (36:34.275)

Thank you.

Kiera Dent (36:35.914)

Of course. And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.
- Luisteren Nogmaals beluisteren Doorgaan Wordt afgespeeld...
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#937: The Full Picture of Practice Success
2 jan· Dental A Team Podcast
Tiff and Dana start their first episode of the 2025 focused on getting the entire practice team on board with goals. This doesn’t mean just the numbers or just the patient experience, but all the pieces of the puzzle.

Episode resources:

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Transcript:

The Dental A Team (00:01.926)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. I am so excited to be back here today. We are recording quite a few podcasts today, Dana and I, and this is our second up, so we should still be super fresh for you. Just kidding, we're always fresh. Dana, your hair looks amazing. You guys know it's hair and leggings and workouts, apparel and...

protein bars for me. Like she is my girl who shares all of my same hopes, dreams, wishes, and desires in life. So Dana, your hair looks amazing today. I love it. Yeah. I used my...

Dana (00:33.454)

Well, you know, I'm podcasting with Tiff. I had to put a little effort in.

The Dental A Team (00:38.46)

Well, thank you. went and straightened it real quick, but I used my my crimper thing yesterday. I've used it quite a few times on my new haircut. I wasn't sure how it was going to work, but it worked. For all you male dentists out there listening, just give me a stitch. I'm sorry.

Dana (00:43.854)

Let's go!

The Dental A Team (00:51.26)

Dana, made her, this is like a year and a half, two years ago now, something like that. I made her give me a tutorial because she was doing this weird thing with her hair and I was like, my God, it looks so good. I need to know how to do my hair like that. She's like, just get this thing. I'm like, yeah, but I don't think you understand. I need a tutorial. So she literally did a tutorial for me on how to wave my hair. And it is actually really cute with my new cut. So thank you, Dana, for stepping up my game, my hair game.

and all of the other games. Your Tip Tuesdays, I'm always like dying to see what it's going to be. I have protein bars because of you. I have so many things. So thank you, Dana, for having all of the tips and the tricks in your back pocket every single time.

Dana (01:36.022)

can't take credit for it, I'm constantly asking my girlfriends, hey, what are you guys doing? Give me all the products too. So a lot of them are tips that have been shared with me that I just pass on.

The Dental A Team (01:46.182)

That's what this world is about, right? Everything we share on this podcast are things that we've learned along the way, either on our own from exploration or because we learned it from somebody else. And that is the beauty, I think, of life and really being able to have that community and that camaraderie where you can share those things. So you have your girlfriends, our doctors here at the Dental A Team have each other. We have a...

An amazing doctors group that I feel like is just like that, Dana, where I see things go off all the time on the little texting app and they're like, my gosh, what do you guys have for this? Or what new bond are you using? My bond sucks. Or cosmetic stuff. So I think that's...

That's how we do it. That's how we move along and that's how we were meant to do it. We were never meant to do life solo. We were meant to do life in groups with incredible, amazing people. And we are here for it every single day. We love our clients. We love you guys who are our clients and we love you guys who are not yet our clients. And we have those communities for you. So look for them. Instagram, Facebook, we've got all kinds of communities there for our clients who are listening. If you don't know what I'm talking about with this doctor,

collaboration sucker, you better be texting me right now. Same with Dana. If you are our client and you don't know what I'm talking about, you better be texting me right now. Let's get you in there. Awesome. Dana, today I really wanted to talk about teams and how doctors and leaders, so doctors and probably office managers, business administrators, can really utilize the team to help push goals.

I think oftentimes we have clients that come in, they onboard, and I hear a lot of the time, and Dana, I think you might as well, I don't talk to my team about numbers because I don't want them to think that I'm numbers driven. And I think it's super freaking common in the dental world because we have a really hard time differentiating black and white numbers and emotions. And

The Dental A Team (03:44.13)

I always like to say that emotions are fleeting, the way I felt when I woke up this morning, drastically different than how I feel right now. And that was like six hours, seven hours ago. Like within a day, I've had so many emotions come and go that if I'm constantly weighing out if something's working right or not, or if I'm growing or if I'm happy, if I'm sad, I'm just constantly trying to weigh out what that looks like based on my feelings, it's gonna be very difficult. But dentistry, we are in the

care profession and we are saturated, luckily I think this is an incredible asset to all of us, we are saturated with emotional beings, highly emotionally intelligent human beings that are keyed in first to how we feel.

So bringing in that numbers aspect can feel cold and sterile and it can feel like, Tiff, I'm here for the patients. I'm here for the patient experience. I don't wanna talk about the numbers. I've literally had a doctor say, I don't wanna look at the numbers. I don't wanna talk about them. And I said, okay, you don't want to yet, but we're gonna get there. Now Dana, I know you've had that as well. What do you feel is the reason that you've seen or reasons that you've experienced that doctors or business administrators might not want to talk about numbers?

Dana (04:58.923)

Yeah, I think a lot of it comes from a fear of when they talk about numbers, the team sees that only as profit, right? Or dollars, dollars, right? When we talk about numbers and dollars that go directly to the doctor or to the owner. And so I always feel like

The Dental A Team (05:08.433)

Yeah.

Dana (05:16.692)

Yeah, we want to talk about production. We want to talk about collections. We want to talk to dollars. We also want to talk about expenses, right? You want your team to have a full picture of numbers, not just the dollar, because when they have a full picture of the numbers and they also know what those numbers tell them in relation to patient care and patient experience, and all of those are part of numbers. And so I feel like you can't talk about numbers without talking about those other things too. And you can't highlight, like you have to highlight what the numbers tell you about those pieces, which are the

The Dental A Team (05:22.214)

Correct.

Dana (05:46.808)

that usually rally up the team that they really care about that are the reasons why they are there. And so when you make those connections of, yes, these are dollars, but these dollars tell us about patient care. These dollars tell us what an amazing patient experience we're creating for our patients. These dollars tell us how great we are at getting our patients to accept the treatment that we recommend to them. And these dollars come with expenses. And so they aren't just profit. They aren't just dollars that are sitting in a bank somewhere and accumulating interest.

The Dental A Team (06:10.789)

Yeah.

Dana (06:16.384)

and making you as the owner, right? And you as the owner should you take all the risk, right? So don't feel guilty about that either. You take all of the risk. It is all of your license. It is all in everything that you've created. So also don't feel guilty if you make a healthy profit from your practice. But I think when you have a full picture.

The Dental A Team (06:21.498)

Yeah.

Dana (06:33.334)

of expenses and what they tell you and all of those things numbers become really easy to talk about and team members can start to get behind those numbers when they understand what those numbers are telling them about the things that they care about.

The Dental A Team (06:49.692)

Totally agree. I 100 % stand by everything you just said. One thing that you made me think of is, because you're talking about this profit piece, gosh, I think a lot of dentists, you all want the profit, but I think a lot of you feel almost guilty for the profit, and especially when it comes to the numbers. That's why sometimes you don't want to talk about it. I totally understand that. But I think what you forget to see in that,

is how much decision making becomes easier when you know the numbers. When you know that you're truly profitable and when the practice knows you're truly profitable, the team meaning that it makes it much easier to make decisions. So can we take an extra day off next month because there's a festival in town and we all want to go to it? Can we buy the ultrasonic or the autoclave or the cavatron? how many cavatrons do we get asked for at the end of the year you guys? I just had one, I just had a call today.

Dana (07:41.003)

you

The Dental A Team (07:44.966)

They're like, hygiene department needs a cavern shot, and we need an ultrasonic, we need a sterilizer, and I'm like, cool, we've got to figure out where that's coming from. But the team, I mean the team, I just had this call with this doctor this morning, he's one of my favorite doctors I talked to, him and his wife. We have...

like tenfold changed their money and their financial situation and their practice and it has been incredible. They went from like an 82 % overhead to typically they're like 57 to 62 % right now. They're profiting, they're able to put money aside. He has a CE bucket I make him put money in, all of these different pieces. He's just bought a new practice to expand. It's huge. All of this stuff has happened in the last couple of years but it's because we were willing to start looking at the money.

Well, his team sent us this laundry list of like wishes and it's fantastic. And the office manager has gone through and she's priced everything and she's done it all correct so that now we can say, okay, well, what are the educated decisions based on the finances prior to working on this with them prior to working so hard at getting that, that overhead down by at least 20 % over the last two years. They weren't talking numbers a lot with the team. They were just going through the motions.

The only number that they really talked about was where's our production and are we at 98 %? Collections are higher, which are two fantastic numbers to talk about, but they weren't watching other pieces. They weren't watching the AR. They weren't watching necessarily the new patients super closely and what was happening is their AR was being padded with overpayments and so what was happening, profit was down, their overhead was high because they actually had a ton of money still outstanding, but it wasn't showing up in the initial reports.

know this, they didn't understand this, we had to break it down, we had to pull backwards, we had to start moving money around, all of these different things had to come into place and once the team understood what the numbers meant, what they could control, they were on board. They were like, my gosh, this is a disaster. Like how do we positively impact this? Because you guys, they care about your business too because they care about you. This specific practice, this team loves this doctor. I mean, I love this doctor and that's why

The Dental A Team (10:00.998)

like they are incredible human beings. Most of you guys out there are incredible human beings with teams who want you to do really well. When you do well, your team does well. And your team does well and can help promote that, like Dana said, when they know what they're going after. Does your team know how to win? Because emotions are fleeting and I might feel like, gosh, today was a fantastic day. It was so smooth and it flowed so well. And you're leaving the back door

complaining because we had $1,200 worth of treatment today and I'm like...

Today was great. Today, I wasn't running around like a chicken. It seemed to flow really well. And you're like, no, I couldn't even pay the people that were here today based off of the money that we brought in. That's the difference. And your team needs to be able to see that, to see where they can go. And Dana and I chatted earlier about really seeing those overarching goals, but then seeing how does my individual position in this practice add to that goal? So what is the goal of my position?

And how does that goal, that metric add into the larger metrics of the practice? So if I'm a billing representative, how does the work that I do directly affect profitability of the practice or overhead of the practice is probably easier to talk about, right? And Dana, I know we were just talking about this. So what are some other spaces like hygiene's an easy one because they're providers, right? But even as far as like treatment coordinators, billing or front office representatives, like what are you seeing with the practices you work at?

work with, not at, that you work with, that you're having those leading measures that are really, really contributing to the back end full arch goals.

Dana (11:45.622)

Yeah. And I think that that's, that's, it's, it's knowing what your other numbers tell you, right? Or what adjunct numbers then to look at that feed into some of those larger numbers like production and collections. So if I TC, right, how would you impact collections? Well, you would help increase production by getting more treatment accepted. And it's just breaking it down and making those connections for them. If I am the scheduler, well, how do I impact collections? Well, if I have a full schedule where we can produce it, then we're able to collect it. Right. So just breaking that all down. If I'm a

The Dental A Team (11:50.747)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (12:12.24)

Yeah. Yeah.

Dana (12:15.488)

dental assistant, well how do I affect production? Well you make sure that you're as efficient as possible so our appointment lengths can be as short as possible and you're part of reappointing right? So making sure that you get the next thing on the schedule, making sure that you're teeing things up for the doctor, all of those things help build production but sometimes it's difficult for team members to make those links or to see wow yeah like me doing that really does impact that.

number or that larger overarching goal. And so almost every number in the practice, each individual seat can contribute to it in some way. We just sometimes as leaders have to make those connections or draw those links for team members to see.

The Dental A Team (12:42.588)

Thank you.

The Dental A Team (12:53.308)

you

Totally agree. I was working with a pediatric practice last week and this was most of our meeting was spent on this and we spent at least two hours really diving into each department from the overarching goal standpoint and really the daily production that they're looking to hit to hit the monthly production and how does every department and each individual within that department control that and one of the most interesting pieces that was pulled out for them was the dental assistance and the dental assistance

you guys that is usually the toughest spot to like really pull something out of it. Same day treatment for sure, conversions like all those pieces but this one was really cool. It's a pediatric practice and they have their dental assistants chart prep.

48 hours ahead. So they're always like one and two days ahead doing the chart preps. Well, this team listed chart prepping as one of their issues when we first started our meeting. So I was like, let's talk about these chart preps. What is happening here? Well, they're spending like 40 minutes per provider at a four to five provider practice chart prepping for them.

And my mind was blown. And I was like, holy cow, this is taking you so long. And I started diving into it. This is just their normal every day. One of the complaints from the front office team was that they're getting last minute same day schedule changes that are necessary because the back office is chart prepping so late that they're coming up and saying, hey, we can't do that. You need to reschedule that patient.

The Dental A Team (14:22.352)

Well, what does that do? That tanks our production, it's bad customer service, completely changes the experience of the patient and the parent because it's a pediatric practice. So many things are entangled in that. And what we ended up doing was really breaking down that if we could change the metrics on this, right? So who's responsible for this? Who's going to do it every single day? So one of their metrics was someone is responsible for doing it and to decrease the amount of time. So their metrics right now is to get it

done by 838 am so the opener will do

this chart prep, they have to be done by 8 30 a.m. and they're they're timing themselves to get it down to 15 minutes. That is going to significantly change what they're able to do because what was happening is all of these dental assistants were like trying to get it done and it's like whoever can get to it and hey that's where I was and I started there and you can do this one over here while they're seeing patients throughout the day. So it wasn't actually getting done and when it was it was kind of just muddled.

So the whole point of it, like the value of the schedule was unseen. The value of same day treatment ads completely bypassed because we weren't actually looking at it and applying it to open appointments on the same day. And the value out of being cherished side and available for patients during patient time was lost. So appointments were taking too long. Can you imagine like your overall overarching goals, production collections, new patients, patient satisfaction, so your reviews, all of those pieces

are insanely impacted by something as easy as changing the chart prep and how they were doing it and how they were running it. I talked to the doctor yesterday and I didn't specifically look at the chart prep with her but they hit three out of four days last week they were 100 % to goal and they are over like they're over what

The Dental A Team (16:17.296)

producing what they should this month based on the projections. I was there a week ago and we put the attention back on it with the scheduling coordinators, with the whole team's attention is on this single day production, totally changed the game. Even just by the dental assistants looking at how effective their time use is. And Dana, what you said made me think of that because we under...

when it's not attached to cell fluoride, or how many night guards can we get? And I agree, do 80 % night guard case acceptance, diagnose 10 % more night guards than you usually do, recommend, whatever you want to call it. Like I agree with those, but I think we undervalue how much just time saving techniques can add back production. So Dana, you've worked with a lot of pediatric practices as well, and GP practices, but where else do you feel like from a

office standpoint, simple things like that. What else have you seen practices do to really get the back office on board with the goals? Because I do think a lot of times for an office we think numbers, right? It's not always, and I say that I'm a dental assistant by trade as well, but for an office thinks numbers first most of the time. Back office it's much more difficult to think the numbers because I think it's because it's more difficult to see the impact that we can have on those numbers. So what are some other areas that you've worked with practices on?

that have worked really well.

Dana (17:44.886)

Yeah, and I will say in my last pediatric practice, was we worked a ton on how the back impacts AR and billing. And sometimes they feel like, no, we don't impact that world at all. Well, actually, you do fairly significantly. And so making sure that you are walking out and attaching

The Dental A Team (17:59.749)

Yeah.

Dana (18:03.828)

everything that you did, every single thing that you did because you were in there. You know if that surface changed, you know if you added a tooth, you know. So making sure that everything is in there, making sure that you have, that the billing team has all of the pieces they need to build successfully. Did you take that pre-op x-ray? Did you take that post-op x-ray? Do we have period charting? Do we have all of the things that we need? Do we have the IOP of that decay of that tooth? So really just full picture of you guys actually impact billing tremendously and you also like you are

heavy hitters on the amount of time it takes for an insurance to reimburse or all of those pieces. And so we worked a ton on making sure everything was walked out, making sure everything was updated in the chart and getting them to check codes for the next appointment. You just saw the patient, you know that they had bite wings this time. So what better space for you to do than check codes for the next appointment.

The Dental A Team (18:38.671)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (18:55.798)

Mm-hmm.

Dana (18:56.354)

So that's another space where oftentimes like they don't realize that they impact those things. And I don't think a dental assistant is like, well, the things that I do really impact the timely filing and timely payment of insurance claims. It absolutely does though.

The Dental A Team (19:10.598)

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

I agree. I think that's brilliant. And when you're doing that, all you have to do then is take those pieces that Dana just spoke on and turn it into a measurement. The easiest space to do that is a percentage. Because if you say, sell five fluorides a day, or convert two same day treatments a day, a dental assistant is like, cool, I didn't have any opportunities for that today. So I got a big fat zero. So if you say we're converting 80 % of the opportunities given,

we can say I converted three out of five opportunities today or how many times, you what's the percentage? I want 100 % of all of the codes attached every single time. So then we can go back through and say, hey, there was 10 % here that we had to go back and ask questions or fix it. If you change that metric into a percentage or this out of this, you're going to get a much higher success rate and also doing it on a daily but weekly. So a lot of times I'll say, okay, everyone needs to ask for two

reviews a day, but at minimum 10 a week. So if you get to Friday and you were like, only asked for four this week, you know you have six people you got to ask today. So it's two a day, 10 a week or whatever that metric might be. But I love that you said that Dana, it truly does. And I do think as dental assistants, we underestimate that and we want to give everything away for free, by the way. We want I know hygienists too. We just want we just want to like, we just want to fix it. We want to make it better. But really seeing the value of those missing

those missing attachments like that $12 that $16 add that up over the course of 20 patients a month and that's a significant amount, you know, you're asking for cavatrons and I'm like, well, give me some PA's pay for it. I'll get you a cavatron tip. How can we calculate this? So just bringing that awareness up to your team I think really makes a difference you guys and they start thinking about it the same as they do their finances at home. It's finances at work as well and

Dana (20:57.272)

Yeah.

The Dental A Team (21:13.64)

in order to reinvest back into the patients, back into the practice and into your team, the profit has to be there. We have to meet these metrics. So biggest ways to get a team on board with that is to show them the path.

to win. If they can see it, they're going to freaking go for it you guys. If they know what that goal is, if they know what the metric is that they have to meet to say I won today, they're going to do it because everyone wants to feel really good about their jobs and this is an easy way for them to win. Just find those metrics. Dana, thank you so much. I knew picking your brain was going to be fantastic on this one. This was a super, super fun one to do and you guys, we do this all day. We do this with a lot of practices.

I know the back office side can be a little bit more difficult to pinpoint those pieces. office is a little bit easier. If and when you have questions, please reach out. [email protected]. You can drop something in the comments below. Give us a five star review. Let us know how you loved this. All of those pieces. Instagram, we're on Instagram, we're on Facebook. And just so you guys know, when those things come through, those questions, you email us, you Instagram message us, you Facebook messenger us, whatever the path is that you're

they get sent to the consulting team and the consulting team are the ones that are answering those questions for you so that it's always valuable information. We're always helping you dive into that next step. So if you're a current client, reach out to your dental consultant or the team. If you're not yet a client, you're a client to be or just a fantastic listener.

Please know you can reach out at [email protected] on Instagram or on Facebook or on all of those places. think we're even on YouTube and everything. I have no idea, we're everywhere. But [email protected] is the easiest, or Instagram and Facebook Messenger. All right, guys, we cannot wait to hear from you. We cannot wait to see that five star review pop through. Let us know what you thought, and go have a fantastic rest of your day.
- Luisteren Nogmaals beluisteren Doorgaan Wordt afgespeeld...
- Later beluisteren Later beluisteren
#936: 2025: The Year to Thrive
1 jan· Dental A Team Podcast
Happy New Year! Instead of setting resolutions to start off 2025, Kiera tries a different route: identity changes. What fights can you stop starting in your personal or professional life in order to become the best person, the best dental hygienist, the best doctor, the best _______ you can be in the new year?

Episode resources:

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Leave us a review

Transcript:

Kiera Dent (00:00.878)

Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and happy 2025. I feel so honored to be with you on New Year's Day today. I mean, I'm calling 2025 the year to thrive and no longer survive. Like, let's get real. Let's get on this. Let's stop surviving and let's start thriving. And so to kick off New Year's today, I was thinking about it. And usually on New Year's around this time, we're all setting our goals. We're setting our resolutions.

And I actually want to give you a different spin. Are you open for it? Like, let's start 2025 on a different note. And that is maybe instead of setting resolutions, let's set identity changes this year. Resolutions are fighting. Let's change that verbiage and change how we think about that. I'm so excited. I love this podcast. I love all of you. And I was thinking about resolutions and resolutions are like,

you know, I want to lose weight or I want to be this leader or I want my practice to be there. And I think resolutions are different than goals and changing an identity is actually the fastest way to do it. One of my favorite quotes of all time is the need to stay like the greatest, like the greatest driver within the human being is the need to stay consistent with who we believe we are, not who we actually are, but who we believe. And so changing identity,

is actually the fastest way to grow and to evolve and to hit the goals and to hit the resolutions. It's not just setting a resolution like up like a sticky note on a wall. Like I want to be this. Okay, great. But if we don't believe we are so like there was an example and they said like, I don't know if I can stop smoking. I've been a smoker. I am a smoker. You know, I'm gonna try really hard. Well, in their mind, they're still a smoker. So trying to put it up there, I'm gonna stop smoking is actually fighting against who they believe they are.

And that's a fight rather than a flow versus saying like, I'm not a smoker. Like I'm an identity. I don't smoke. I'm not a smoker for me. I've never smoked in my life. I'm not a smoker. That wouldn't even be a thing. Like, but I take it on of I'm not a smoker. And so oftentimes I love the book by James Clear, Atomic Habits. There were things I liked about things I didn't like about it. The overall piece that I really, really loved though, was when he talks about sometimes getting to these resolutions means we need to start thinking as that person.

Kiera Dent (02:20.942)

So if maybe today I don't feel like I'm not a smoker and I'm trying to get there, it would be like, what does a person who doesn't smoke do? And we start to act like them. And I have a really great example of my mom. My mom, she went and met with her doctor and her doctor said, you've got to start having more exercise in your life. You're not getting enough steps. You're not having any of these things and you need to start hitting 10,000 steps a day. Well, my mom, I was watching her and her and I started doing it. I had like, I'm just...

I enjoy a good challenge. And so when we were in Tokyo, I got several days in a row of hitting over 10,000 steps and there was a badge of hitting 30 days in a row. And so I was like, sweet, I'm going to hit 30 days. Like I'm to hit 10,000 steps. Like we're just going to do it. And my mom was doing it. I'm like the doctor told her she needed to do this. And it was really interesting. I remember meeting up with my mom one day and she's like, Kiera, how are your steps? And I was like, great. I've got like this, I did this earlier today. I set up my schedule. Like I went for my walk or whatever it was.

I was like, well, you know, maybe I'll get it tonight. Maybe I won't. And in that moment, I thought like, my mom has this is just like a hope and a wish rather than an identity. And not to say I was better than her. It was just for me, I had already decided like, this is what I do. This is who I am. And I'm going to hit this like, period. I don't care what I've got to do. If I've got to walk at midnight, I'll do that. In airports, I'm like rolling my suitcase up and down and walking just because it was something I was committed to. I remember my mom and I were talking and I said, mom,

Like I pulled James, James Clear into the equation. said, mom, like, what would a healthy person do that would hit their steps every day? And I said, maybe just consider that. And so my mom started actually asking herself the question. She's like, well, like, what would a healthy person do? They would start taking a walk on their lunch break. And I was so proud of my mom. My mom started taking walks on her lunch break. And then my mom said, like, a healthy person would get up in the morning and they'd go for a walk before they'd go to work. So my mom started getting up and going for a walk at work or before work.

And then my mom, was interesting. I was listening to her and she's like, you know, I've already been prepping like it's going to be winter time and it's going to be like rainy and snowy. And she's like, I don't like the cold. And so she's like, what would a healthy person do with that? They would go walk at the mall and they would plan their schedule to be able to go do that. And I was so proud of my mom because she went from someone who was like, maybe I'll get this AKA setting a resolution to this is who I am. This is my identity. I am this healthy person.

Kiera Dent (04:42.466)

but she had to get there by thinking of herself as this other person. What would this person do? And so when we're looking at our businesses and we're looking at our goals and we're looking at the things we want to do, what would a doctor who produces 3 million a year do? What would a CEO who owns a $3 million business, what would they do? What would an office manager who runs a $2.5 million practice, what would they do? How would they start their day? What things would they actually work on? What things would they delegate? What things would they not do?

What things would they, how would they present their cases? How would they close their cases? How would they follow up with their cases? If it was a hygienist who produced 3.3 times their pay, what would that hygienist do? They would be looking at their schedule every single day. They would be checking for comp exams and for x-rays when their x-rays are due. They would be looking for fluoride and adjunct services, sealants. They would be tracking their metrics. They would be tracking their numbers. They would be adding these things to their patient schedules because they're obsessed about their patients and want their patients to thrive.

What would a dental assistant do that could add same day treatment every single day? They'd be prepping their schedule. They would be talking to the treatment coordinators of how do we up our, how do we talk to the patients about this? They would be figuring it out. They would be looking at their schedule all the time. They'd be talking to the patients. They'd be helping the patients realize this is better for them and they don't have to come back for multiple visits. What would a biller do that has 98 % collections? And they don't spend all day doing it. They would be

prioritizing their time, they'd be doing their insurance verification in batches. They would be calling patients instead of sending statements. They'd be proactive with that. They'd be collecting balances when the patients are in the chair. They'd be working their 90, 60, 30 days. They would be having set aside time. They would have a schedule set up to where they actually followed through on this. They would not make excuses for it. And they would own their results. And I think if we think this way and we change our identities, and again, maybe we're not there today,

But as we're setting these resolutions, what would someone who has great family work-life balance do? Well, they would set up their date nights for their spouse. They would set up their kid time. Those would be the first things. They would have their work schedule in there. If they know that they only want to work four days a week, they then build a schedule with block scheduling. And they start to realize that they might add additional treatment in, higher dollar treatment, whether it's cosmetic or implants or sleep or different things like that. They would look at it.

Kiera Dent (07:06.06)

A CEO of a practice would be looking at their numbers every single day, if not weekly. The reality is you've got to know your numbers forwards and backwards. They would love numbers and obsess about numbers. They would love to solve puzzles and crack codes. They would make sure that they empower their team to make decisions and that they're focusing on the top pieces. They would hold their team accountable. They would have agreements. They would make sure that this team is actually operating at the highest level. And if they don't know how to do it, they would hire people to help train their team to do it.

a doctor who's producing three million. They're confident with their presentations. They aren't afraid to tell patients what they need. They're very good with their case acceptance. They're really good with their handoffs. They're really good with their comprehensive diagnosis. If they're not good with that, they would put in AI, so Pearl or Overjet, to use on their x-rays to make it easier for them. But they would actually get confident presenting treatment. Now, what does a confident dentist who presents treatment look like? They go in, they have a great rapport with the patient.

And if this isn't you, I have some doctors and we change their names. So we have like Dr. Marvelous or we have the confident guy or like whatever it is for you. I don't care. Choose your name. But that person walks in and they're confident with the patient and they would have a rapport with the patient and then they would ask the patient, I lean you back in? And they would say yes. And they would say perfect. Can I do a comprehensive exam? And the patient would say yes. they're

the patient up to say yes to them and they show them healthy teeth and not healthy teeth and they're able to go through a comprehensive exam with them and show them what they need to do. They're not using little league words and major league situations. They're being honest with the patient of what they need and they're being confident with their diagnosis and what that patient needs. They're using our perfect NDTR handoff of the next visit, the date to return, the time needed for the appointment, making sure their re-care is scheduled for every single patient and they consistently do that and if they forget they

tie a string of floss around their finger or they have this little sticky note underneath the patient's chair. I literally have doctors do this when they're so committed to doing it, but they hold it consistent. They review their cases with their treatment coordinators every single week. Where did I crush it? Where could I improve? They record themselves. Don't worry, you keep it HIPAA compliant, but they record themselves and they actually watch back their treatment cases to see what did I say? What did I miss? How could I say this better? They tee it up with their hygienist. They do what would doctor do with their hygiene team? And they say,

Kiera Dent (09:24.472)

All right, this is how we diagnose it. This is how we preheat the oven with our hygienist. They help their hygienist and they do CE with their hygienist about perio and how we treat our patients that way. They work with their whole team and they do whatever it is, full team handoffs or morning huddles or case acceptance, but they're doing those items. But what they're really doing is they're picking the one, two or three items that are actually going to move their practice forward the most with the least amount of effort and the greatest amount of gain. And they're really great at prioritizing.

And what I'm doing is I'm describing to you doctors that I work with. I'm describing office managers that I work with, hygienists that I work with, people within our consulting company that are doing this ridiculously well. I'm telling you literally, these are what these people do. A successful CEO, they block themselves. They have at least two to four hours every single week dedicated to working on the business. And they're doing it within working hours for two reasons. One, they believe in a healthy work-life balance.

And two, they know that if they put it during production time, they're actually going to use that time productively because they know if they're producing 500 or 750 or a thousand or $5,000 per hour, if they block those two hours, they need to ensure that those two hours are giving them at least, let's say they're at 500 an hour, at least $1,000 of benefit. If they're at $5,000 an hour, it's at least $10,000 of value in those two hours. You instantly start to think about yourself differently, but notice.

Well, what we've done is we've changed your identity. We've asked the questions of what would this type of a doctor do? What would this type of a CEO do? What would this type of an office manager do? And then we start to become that person. And we stopped fighting against, I hope and wish that I'll become this person. Instead, we started to be like my mom. My mom does not miss her 10,000 steps anymore because what my mom is, is someone who consistently hits 10,000 steps every day. Rain or shine, good health, bad health, whatever it is, because my mom is so committed.

to being that person, just like the person who's not a smoker. And they've taken on that identity of I don't smoke. That's a person and it's crazy because we can't change that. And it's like the fastest way to change is to become and to change our identity. And the way we change our identity is start to ask, what would we do in this instance? And so for you, would think, look at your goals and ask yourself, what do we want to achieve as a practice? Hopefully you've set them up. If not, or if you have, come join us January 31st.

Kiera Dent (11:48.814)

We are actually doing thriving in 2025 with maximum momentum and I would love to have you there. It's a Friday. It's going to be a couple hours for you guys. Don't even stress about it. Two hours. So from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. Pacific time. Come join us. I would love you. Let's get that thriving in 2025 and we're gonna help you actually set your goals for this year. We're gonna help you actually build the momentum with you and your team. And as you're building this, as you're crafting it, ask yourself,

Who do I need to become to make these goals a reality? Who we are today, we need to rise above. think about like as gross as it is snakes. Snakes slough off their old skin. They outgrow it. They literally slough it off and leave it behind and they emerge and grow into the next version that they need to be. Penguins literally molt off their feathers and evolve. And it's for us, what do we need to shed off? What do we need to let go of? What favorite excuse do we need to have?

What do we need? What identity do we need to take on to become the person who rises up, who gets bigger shoulders to carry a larger practice? Meaning we become better leaders, we delegate better, we own these things. And if you need mentors or you need guides, that's why I'm so excited to, to bring together people within consulting. Sometimes we just need to see other people to see how to do it. We need someone to model after. and so if you've got a great mentor, amazing. If you've got a great idea of who you want to be amazing. If you don't,

Amazing. Let's give you some people reach out anytime. [email protected]. But join us for for our thriving in 2025. Maximize momentum and let's maximize let's help you. But right now on New Year's Day, I want you to decide who are you going to be in 2025 to truly thrive and then think of what does that person do and maybe even list the attributes of that person list the things that they don't do. What are the things that they're not doing to make sure that they're thriving?

And then let's not set resolutions, but let's actually achieve goals. Let's actually achieve dreams. Let's actually live the life that we were destined to live. Let's stop managing our circumstances and start creating our lives. Let's start becoming creators rather than managers. Let's start being who we were meant to be and not have it be a hope and a wish, but a true resolution, a true identity shift to be that person. And I promise you, you will thrive in 2025.

Kiera Dent (14:09.368)

Some of you may be looking back and thinking 2024 was not the best year for me. Reach out, let's thrive and not just survive. I would love to help you. I would love to be here. I will be here on the podcast with you. And I would love to help you one-on-one or in a group setting or in person or virtual, whatever it is, but commit to yourself. Let's thrive in 2025 and this is who you will be. And then commit to doing whatever it takes to get there. Rain, shine, good weather, bad weather.

you've got it, you don't have it, but you become that person to where when we are celebrating 2026, you look back and say, I became who I was destined to be. I achieved the goals that I set out because I changed the identity of who I was to who I want to be. And I promise you this year will be much different. Cheers to 2025. I'm committing to thriving in 2025. And I hope you're along with me. If you are, send me an email. [email protected]. at TheDentalATeam.com. Kiera, I am thriving in 2025. You can even send me

who you're gonna be, your attributes. I will be your accountability buddy for you. But when we write it, we commit. When we think about it, it's a wish. When we write it, it's possible. And when we schedule it, it becomes real. So whatever you've gotta do to get this schedule, then to become this person, I implore you to do so. You deserve it. Your patients need you. Your team needs you. You need this for you. You need this. And I just say, play full out.

Give yourself everything that you're destined to have and let's freaking thrive in 2025. And as always, thanks for listening. I'll catch you next time on the Dental A Team Podcast.
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#954: Getting Your Team Aligned

#953: How to Overcome Negative Production Impacts

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#944: Reignite Your Passion

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#940: What Leaders Should Not Do

#939: Strategic Tips for 2025

#938: Fitness Amid Everyday Business

#937: The Full Picture of Practice Success

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