Love and Orthodontics - Love & Orthodontics

What if your dreams were bigger?

10/31/2017

What could happen if your dreams were bigger?

What if you took your dreams and lifted them up - and up?

What habits could be better? What actions could be bolder? How good could you feel?

Who could you help today?

“It is one of the most beautiful compensations of life, that no man can sincerely try to help another without helping himself.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Set yourself up for success! Choose a dream and magnify it. Then think of 2 or 3 actions you will take to move you toward that dream. And take the actions. Today.

Can you do it? Will you do it?

How good will success feel?

Go for it!

Your Practice: How To Get What You Want

10/26/2017

Where Dr Chris works: The Orthodontic and Pediatric Department entrance of the Advanced American Dental Center in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

"We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us." -- Joseph Campbell.

Michael E. Gerber's "The E-Myth Dentist" is an excellent book on the business of dentistry .

Though she prides herself as being a Texas girl, Dr. Chris Baker practices in the Khalidiya neighborhood of Abu Dhabi, UAE.

“You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want.”       ~ Zig Ziglar

Before you go further, read that quote from Zig Ziglar a couple of more times. That’s a WOW!

The question is, what do you want? That’s the “rub”. Work to figure out what you do want. So often we hold life in our hands like water, squeezing tightly to hold onto the water, and life trickles away.

“We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us.”        ~ Joseph Campbell

We need to figure out who we are, what we are here to do, to create, to become, what we truly want.

So just what DO we want, anyway?

I would venture a guess:

You want to Be Loved.

Nurture relationships with patients and their parents. These are the people who make your practice possible. Fall in love with them.

Creating love between your company (you and your staff) and those you serve will be absolutely priceless. You’ll go home amazed every night to think how much you are enjoying serving and loving everyone.

And, the funny part is that a love and caring-focused culture in a practice is a rarity and most fail  in this department. Yet this is a great   opportunity - to love and be loved by those in your practice.

“Do what you do so well that they will want to [experience] it again and bring their friends.”   ~ Walt Disney

What else do you want? You want to enjoy every minute of your life.

While that seems obvious, few of us do this. We function by rote, and habitually. As Michael E. Gerber says, practice “Internal awareness and external intention.” Do what you are doing intentionally. It’s the Ram Dass thing, “Be here now.” Be present this moment. Let the fear float away like clouds.

“Learn to enjoy every minute of your life. Be happy now. Don't wait for something outside of yourself to make you happy in the future. Think how really precious is the time you have to spend, whether it's at work or with your family. Every minute should be enjoyed and savored.”   ~ Earl Nightingale

Any other wants? You want to have a successful business. It’s what you do for a living and   to support your family.

In our orthodontic and dental practices we are the doctor, the manager, the business owner, the entrepreneur. These are big roles that often feel overwhelming and complex. We go into these roles assuming that because we know how to provide orthodontic or dental care, we can do it all. We have a huge job!

We have a plan - or perhaps we should say a “wish list,” of what we assume the practice will accomplish.

As my recent blogs have discussed, our business plan, our dream, vision, purpose and mission need to be systematized so the system accomplishes what it should.

All these wants - and more - are dependent on YOU. You are the key. But - what to do?

Here are some benchmarks to help:

Benchmark 1. WRITE down what you want. Sit down in a quiet place where you will not be disturbed, with no phone, no computer, no TV, or other media. Take your pad of paper and pen.

Start with “want to be loved, enjoy every minute of my life, and have a successful business,” which are true for all of us.

Then think about you. Who are you? What did you come here to do, be, create, experience? Write it all down.

Plan to refer to the list as you go through your next week or two, and edit as needed, or just review and remember what YOU want.

Benchmark 2. Begin developing your relationships with the patients and parents in an even more meaningful way. Be real, be honest, be genuine. Genuinely interact. Use their name, as you greet and talk to them. Their name is the sweetest word in their world!

Show them - and TELL them - you are HONORED to evaluate and treat them. The great orthodontist   Dr. Walter A. Doyle   often reminded his students, "They are not YOUR patients; You are THEIR doctor. "

Listen. For the moments you are with each patient, focus on that person (or the parent with them.) Stay focused, and do not let your mind wander onto the trillions of other things in your day.

Develop ways to help the patient “own” their dental situation. It’s easy for us as giving, approval-addicted dentists, to let the patient “give” their dental needs to us. The reality is that their needs are theirs. We can offer treatments to help.

When the patient has not worn retainers adequately, TELL them, and NO, you should not make new ones for free.

When acidic plaque finally manages to start new decay, NO, you should not restore for free.

When the 12 year molar fractures due to apparent clenching, grinding, or just plain occlusal forces, even though it had a restoration before, NO, you should not take care of it for free.

But - remember - HOW you say it is everything. Loving, gentle explanation of what has happened in their mouth, with their teeth, without any judgement or finger-pointing is critical. Keep it informational.

Here's an example of how you can explain a diagnosis to a patient:

“Our human bodies are a tough place for teeth to ‘live.’ There are amazing pressures from biting, chewing, clenching. Teeth will always move and change from these pressures for our whole life. BUT - when you’ve had braces, you want the teeth to stay in the beautiful, functional position they’ve been put. So, the wear of your retainers is so very important. Your teeth need more wear than they’ve been getting. 7 out of 7 nights, (or 24/7, or whatever they need.)"

Communication and information is crucial. Diagnose thoroughly. Tell the patient what is going on. Otherwise, how can they know? Write scripts so your staff can communicate how the human body varies, is vulnerable, and will ALWAYS, ALWAYS change over time.

Say please and thank you frequently. Graciousness and kindness are what they want to experience as well as what you want to experience. You give it and watch it come back to you!

There's lots to think about and incorporate:
Time to get started! Go for it!

Start today, and let me know how it’s going.

Start Living Spectacularly Now!

10/23/2017

Today is the day you have.

Share your gifts from God. Share your time. Give your love without measure.

“Begin to live as though your prayers are already answered.” ~ Tony Robbins

Do what you can do - and it will be enough. If you get tired. It’s ok. God gave us sleep to rejuvenate and restore.

Do what you can do - It will turn out that it is very very good! In fact, you’ll do even better than you thought.

Share your compassion with everyone. Enjoy your loved ones immensely. Breathe. Laugh. Feel your overflowing gratitude.

Life will be even more spectacular than you pictured!! Start living spectacularly now.

To life and love,

What Exactly Are You Marketing in Your Practice?

10/19/2017

"Whether you realize it or not, your practice makes a promise to its patients. The promise will be derived from what the patients experience in your practice. " -- Dr Chris Baker

The Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building, is in the United Arab Emirates, where Dr Chris' practice is located.

Dr Chris Baker's excellent book on childhood oral health is, "Your Child's Smile."

With two patients sitting in the reception room, "Dr. T"      told his front desk staff he would be back in awhile, and went out the back door of his office. He was excited! The new special tires ordered for his beautiful Jaguar were in. He was off to collect them!

Two hours later, Dr. T   returned to see the patients who had waited that long, as well as the additional five patients who had arrived in the interim.

True story. I got it from his receptionist who was left trying to help the patients feel okay that they were waiting so long.

Another dentist I know of typically has patients scheduled for 11 a.m., but regularly arrives at his office at 1 or 2 p.m. to the waiting patients. One patient told the receptionist to call him when the doctor “gets there.” It was amazing this patient actually was willing to come back! (This doctor’s reputation as an elite, outstanding cosmetic practitioner will only go so far.)

Whether you realize it or not, your practice makes a promise to its patients.   The promise will be derived from what the patients experience in your practice.

If they experience chaos and long waits, your presented promise is chaos and long waits. This is because that is what the patients experience.

The promise will help patients decide whether they want to be part of your practice - or not.

Remember, your promise is defined to the patients by what your patients experience! Everything they experience in your practice. And, their experience is defined by their perceptions.

Whether you realize it or not, your practice makes a promise to the patients who come.

The promise may be stated or may be unstated.

I know, I know - you have a poignant ‘mission statement’ that evokes emotion in the    reading of it. No matter - if the patient experience is different, your promise is that of their experience.

And you may have hired marketing consultants. Or marketing people - to create - well, marketing materials. Like websites, like brochures, like Facebook pages, like signage, and so on.

Yet - what exactly are you marketing?

Are you marketing what you want to market? Will your marketing show how your practice is totally stand-out and offering (and delivering) what no other practice is promising? (OR DELIVERING?)

What do you want your promise to be? Are you marketing that? Are you keeping that promise?

Ideally, your promise is one which expresses your positive passion and one which no business in dentistry actually delivers - except your practice!!

That’s what keeps your patients coming — because — you have provided them value that makes them happy, feel cared for, loved, and special, not to mention healthy!

Yet, look at how far from the ideal most businesses fall:

   •   A 2012 study published in Forrester Research found that customers reported their experiences as good or excellent only 37% of the time. That means 63% got a rating of “OK,” “poor,” or “very poor” from their customers.

   •   After an experience the customer/client experienced as poor, 89% of folks went to a competitor. Source: RightNow

   •   Would you believe that as many as 60% of people will pay more for a better customer experience? Source: Desk

   •   And the Genesys Report looked at the average annual value of each lost-to-a-competitor    business relationship. Can you imagine what your lost income and joy is, because of   the patients   who have walked out your   doors to go to another office, OR who have just given up on dental care?

• A 2009 study in China by Zhang and Pan showed that a non-financial measure, customer satisfaction, is significantly associated with contemporary and future financial performance. Furthermore, the enterprises with higher-level customer satisfaction   enjoy higher profitability. Customer satisfaction is proven to have a direct relationship with financial success.So, making your patients happy makes you happy, too!
What else, after all, is your goal?

What is your promise? My passion and promise in my practice is love. Love and Orthodontics. Caring. Joy.

Whatever your passion is, make it your promise. Remember (as mentioned in my Oct. 16 blog "An EXCELLENT dental practice: What makes the difference?" ) your product in your business is your promise. The dentistry - excellent, outstanding dental orthodontic care - is the commodity you deliver.

That’s great. There are lots of capable, outstanding docs out there. But what makes you stand out? What is different? What is not available in other practices? Whatever it is, is your promise. Build your commodity — outstanding care — around your promise.

Now - market your promise. Some ideas: We market our promise of love and caring by loving and caring - Genuinely and exuberantly. Truly finding ways to express our love. Writing thank-you notes for every little gift or food a patient or parent brings to the office. (And they do!) Greeting every patient and parent as soon as we see them.

With the staff, we review   our patients in the morning meeting to remind ourselves not only what orthodontic needs they have for this visit, and their payments status, but where they were going on vacation after the last visit, what special concerns they were having with their braces. We often walk into the room and for us girls, giving and getting a hug - with the mom, as well as with the patient.

Share recipes, share child raising, share laughs. If the parent is a dad, we find commonalities with him. Basketball (I went to dental school at the University of Kentucky, after all,) other sports (I grew up in Texas), travel, professions, and so much more.

Can you imagine? Relating, person-to-person costs nothing and brings us joy as we absorb the hugs and smiles and love returned to us. This is the parent’s, patient’s and our experience.

Market that.

And deliver on the promise!

An EXCELLENT dental practice: What makes the difference?

10/16/2017

Love sets us apart, both at home and at work. It is essential to the excellent practice of dentistry.

Living with love is an essential part of REAL life. Read about it in Dr Chris' book, REAL.

This blog is called Love and Orthodontics. Why? Because love makes the difference.

Dr Chris Baker practices at the Advanced American Dental Clinic in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

An excellent book on business management that takes love into consideration is Michael E. Gerber's The E-Myth Dentist.

Love is what sets us apart - in business, in relationship, in encounters, in family, in learning, in teaching, in situations, in catastrophe, in governing, in leadership, in selling, in buying, in living.

Dr. Edward and Dr. Sara, married dentists, had practiced for several years in their beautiful dental office at one of the Hospital Professional Buildings in their Midwestern town. One day they got notice that their lease was being recalled, because the hospital would be putting new "corporate doctors" into the offices of the professional building.

Those few years ago, medicine and medical practices were increasingly being “bought up” and “managed” by insurance companies - big corporations who typically ran the love in medicine right out the door.

A commodity is a marketable something produced to satisfy needs or wants. Orthodontic treatment is a commodity. A root canal treatment is a commodity.

“The commodity isn’t what’s important — the way it’s delivered is.”
~ Michael E. Gerber

A product is something that is the result of an action or process - the way your commodity is delivered. This is what Institutional Dentistry knows nothing about.

If you are selling only a commodity, you’re in the competition club. That’s where the lowest price wins.

But if you are selling the unique and valued product of love, you are rare. Your patients value your business because they think there is no close substitute -- and they are right.

Your business should have love, joy, caring, and gratitude as its products. Big institutions, such as corporations and government, do not provide these products of love.

Institutional medicine / institutional dentistry’s product is not love.

However, it can and should be OUR product that we individual dentists provide in OUR practices. This is a product where we can be very different from the “norm” and have folks waiting in droves at our door. This is a product that can transform lives. This is a product that can make our business stronger and successful, so we can transform even more lives.

Our website is called Love and Orthodontics – but why? Because love makes the difference.

Love is what life is really about. That’s why it leads to success and happiness, in business, in relationship, in encounters, in family, in learning, in teaching, in situations, in catastrophe, in governing, in leadership, in finances, in selling, in buying, in living

Love is what sets you apart, makes life worthwhile, and makes your work worth everything. See each and every one you encounter, as a brand new opportunity to fall in love.

By the way, Dr. Edward and Dr. Sara took the opportunities to love with them to their new office location. Life is great. Life is rewarding. Love is their life.

Patients often say “I used to love my dentist, but he retired. So, I went to the new dentist in the practice, and it just wasn’t the same. And I can’t even put my finger on what is different Something is missing."

Undoubtedly it is love.

Here’s an example about how you can provide love in your practice.

This story is about a boy named Sachi and what happened in a phone call from his mom. Sachi had come with his dad, for an orthodontic examination the day before. Now my receptionist came to say Sachi’s mom was on the phone and she wanted to talk to Dr Chris.

I picked up the call and greeted her with love and enthusiasm. She began: Sachi’s exam was a second opinion to another orthodontic exam. (I did not know that.) She went on to explain that the previous exam had not made them feel comfortable and they came searching a second opinion.

“Thank you for the opportunity to meet your family. Second opinions are important; it is important that you can find what makes you comfortable. God gives children parents with a sixth sense about what sounds and seems “right” for their child. Go with that. I was honored to see Sachi and share my thoughts.”

She said she her husband and her son were very comfortable with me and they wanted me to treat him.

“Thank you - I am honored to treat him.”

She replied, “ That’s the difference between you and the other doctor. You are honored to treat him, and the other doctor seemed to think we should be honored for him to treat my son.” (And she told me our fee was higher than the other doc’s fee!)

Takeaway lessons: love and be genuine. Readily express love in a genuine, professional manner to parents and their children.

See each and every one you encounter, as a brand new opportunity to fall in love.

Some E's in Our Lives

10/16/2017

Living in our Earth suits and through our Egos, our journey on this earth to which we come to learn and grow gives us challenge.

Some E’s that make it Easier, bEttEr, and grEatEr:

• Encouragement
• Enjoying
• hEalth
• hElping
• abundancE
• lovE

...and of course, icE crEam!

Make it an extraordinary wEEk!

Love,

Orthodontics: Minding Your Own Business - Keeping Your Money

10/10/2017

One of the best books in print about dental practice management is Michael E. Gerber's "The E-Myth Dentist."

Dr Chris practices orthodontics in both the USA and in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (above).

Written for parents, Dr Chris' book, Your Child's Smile, is also used as a dental school textbook for its thorough, well-researched information.

Great advice for people in every profession can be found in Jim Rohn's "Twelve Pillars."

Another photo of downtown Abu Dhabi, where Dr Chris practices.

A fun fact from Dr Chris: Lucy Hobbs Taylor (1833-1910) was the first female dentist in the USA. Today, slightly more than half of all American dental students are women. Without a doubt, Dr Taylor had no headaches from working with insurance companies!

So how can you enjoy your practice more? How can you begin to take control of the business of your practice? The answer lies in working ON your practice, as well as IN your practice. One place to begin is to wrest control of your income from the insurance companies.

Contemplate the fact that insurance companies in today’s world really function as managers of most of the dental practices into which they are allowed. How can you become the real entrepreneur and manager of your own business?

Remember, as Jim Rohn explains, ”if you don't have a plan for your life, you fall into somebody else's plan.” Know what they have planned for you – taking as much money from your practice as possible.

You’ve got to begin minding your own business. You’ve got to start somewhere. Here’s a suggestion.

Review all insurance companies with whom you work. Categorize them into:

Managed care plans (HMO, PPO, EPO, POS, Medicaid and Medicare) that you have contracted with to pay you for the patient care
insurance companies from whom you accept payment directly, but have no contract with them.

Then review each to discover:

Which reimburses at the lowest rates for your typical billed procedures. And, then, which is next lowest, and so forth.
Which uses the most amount of staff time (and staff numbers) for filing, paperwork, appeals, etc. You may be paying 5 or 6 staff members just to do paperwork to get low reimbursements. This may be a loss-center for your practice that is masquerading as income.
How much total income each brought into your practice over the last year.

Once you have done the reviews and have a clear idea of which are sucking the most money from your practice, there will decisions to be made. Decisions may include:

Reassign the patients in one or more plans to associates, as you prepare to transition the practice to free-market dentistry (no insurance participation) as soon as is feasible.
Spend your time minding your own business, prioritizing all managed care and government health insurance strategem, Medicaid and Medicare, and then study your contracts to see when you can release them or opt out. Your goal is to get out of the insurance business and stop letting the insurance companies take your money.
Study the insurance plans that you accept direct payment for the insurance portion. Even if you’re not a participating member of the PPO or other plan, you will be waiting longer for your money, spending more on staff to prepare and file claims, log in payments, and communicate with the insurance companies. For orthodontics, you may be waiting for quarterly payments or even every six months payments. You’re working for free for a long time. That means the insurance companies are the ones collecting interest on your money. And that interest is not in your practice or family’s bank account and will not ever be!

How often do you:

Pay a staffer to sit for 1/2 to 1 or more hours on the phone trying to facilitate payment of an insurance amount? It is somewhat typical for a staff member to be on the phone with an insurance company representative who is located out of the country - typically India or the Philippines, for 30 to 60 minutes at a time, concerning one claim which still may not be paid. Ever. And - how much do you pay that staff member per hour?
Write a “by report” for an insurance billing - after it’s already been returned for ‘more info’, and you spend time explaining the ‘medical necessity’, only to be rejected for payment. How much should you be making per hour? You just cost yourself twice that by a) not treating another patient during that time, and b) wasting your time writing such nonsense that the insurance company may or may not accept.
Think of communicative tools that are as manipulative as “usual and customary fee?” Whose usual? Whose customary? What on earth does that mean? Let me translate: It means, “These words make the patient think if you are over the ‘usual and customary’ fee, your fee is somehow exorbitant and improper. “ Several recent legal cases have shown that the UCR utilized by insurance companies was neither valid, accurate nor reliable. (Davekos v Liberty Mutual Ins. Co, NY Atty General and Ingenix UCR database, “which was shown to downwardly manipulate the data,” McCoy et al. v Health Net et al and others.)
Wait amazing amounts of time while the insurance gathers interest on YOUR money?
Have patients who carry two insurances, one for the husband and one for the wife, and find that the “secondary” insurance company denies any payment because the “primary” insurance company has already paid some of the billing, and the secondary insurance company’s small print in the contract pays nothing further. (Even if the patients pay for 2 insurance coverages.) And you’ve waited for your payment, never to come, then have to bill the patient and wait some more - possibly never to come.
Accept a credit card payment for which you pay a percentage

Stop it. Now.

Once your patient has consented to treatment, it is their responsibility to pay on the day of service. It is the responsibility of the dental insurance carrier (a third party) to directly reimburse the patient for the portion of the procedure that is covered. The actual contract is between the patient, usually as an employee and the insurance company.

Even if the patient makes the mistake of believing that the contract is between the dentist and the insurance company, it is not. You must be clear on that and let the patient know your expectations BEFORE treatment is begun. A written contract between you and the patient or parent is recommended.

Assignment of benefits to you costs you a heavy financial and most undesirable burden in your practice, most especially when you multiply it by hundreds of patients.

Outstanding over-the-top dental and orthodontic care, is your privilege, honor, and responsibility. It is based on a relationship between you and the patient, without interference from third parties.

When the payment is made by the patient, it is a clear statement that they are taking an active interest in their dental health, their loyalty is to you, and that they value your service.

Stay out of the relationship between the patient and their insurance carrier and employer. Make your relationship with the patient fantastic, based on outstanding, over-the-top dental and orthodontic care.

When Life Seems Terribly Difficult

10/9/2017

Know that

Everything that has happened was supposed to happen - proof? It happened.
Every decision you made was supposed to be that way.
Your emotion of sadness, loneliness come from fear.
What you are most fearful of, is the unknown.
Better things are waiting for you.
Your destiny awaits.

Keep your eyes up and forward. Looking back will keep you in fear. Of course you are afraid - you can only see the past! Looking up and forward will take you to your destiny. As you walk forward, the path appears. Did you ever realize it is your steps that make the path?

Keep taking the next step. One at a time.

One step at a time.

It’s glorious, this life,

Hi Sweet Friend!

10/2/2017

"It's not in constantly chasing the things that we think we want that leads to a sense of 'enoughness'. It is rather, the practice of gratitude for what we already have that makes our life feel full." -- Julie Ann Cairnes

"Use your problems, you gifts that make you dig out and figure out who you are, what you're made for and what you're responsible for giving." -- Tony Robbins

As we grow together, making people feel special and seeing life as fantastic, we start to see each situation, each moment in a precious light.

When we replace our expectations with gratitude, we experience magnificent outcomes and miracles.

“It’s not in constantly chasing the things that we think we want that leads to a sense of ‘enoughness’.  It is rather, the practice of gratitude for what we already have that makes our life feel full.”   ~ Julie Ann Cairnes

When you realize and know you are the exact person, with both strengths and weaknesses, that you are supposed to be, you will know you can fulfill your purpose through lifelong learning and personal growth.

During your continual improvement, you are not only becoming your magnificent self, but also help others become greater and happier as well.

"Use your “problems, your gifts that make you dig out and figure out who you are, what you’re made for and what you’re responsible for giving.”   ~ Tony Robbins

Joy awaits!

Are you earning money for yourself - or for someone else?

10/1/2017

This is a BIG deal - dentists do not get an MBA in dental school. They typically do not even get so much as a course in business. Dental school is not designed to teach dentists how to run a business. Dental or medical school is designed to train doctors to care for patients.

Perhaps the best book in print right now on the business of operating a dental practice is Michael E. Gerber's "The E-Myth Dentist."

To be successful (and that is defined differently for each person), we must have a growing business.

Author Jim Rohn wrote, "If you don't design your own life plan, chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much."

"The whole problem with dentist-as-employee versus dentist-as-business owner, is that in our dentist-as-employee role, we want and expect the salary for the job done, but really hate to have to look at what the costs are and what monies are needed to run the business, including investment capital for growth. " -- Dr Chris Baker

The best book on pediatric dental care and health of children is Dr Chris Baker's "Your Child's Smile."

Dental school prepares us to be technically capable. Just how capable and outstanding is up to us. With time and work IN our practices, and with continuing education, we can grow, learn and sharpen our skills.

However - and this is a BIG deal - we do not get an MBA in dental school. We do not even get so much as a course in business. Dental school is not designed to teach us how to run a business. Dental or medical school is designed to train doctors to care for patients.

And many to most of us end up in private practice. Guess what that is? A business.

A dental practice is a business that most of us don’t see as a business. We see it through our eyes of caring for our patients, as — get ready for this — a place to “do” dentistry and make a living. That is what it should be.

However, without the dentist having some training and education in how to run a business, the practice can become:

   - an overwhelming amount of work for a doctor who has to work to manage the business-end of things after hours and on weekends. Some of you are spending 60 or more hours a week total, trying to get it all to work.

   - a siphon for the practice’s hard-earned money to flow to insurance companies, dental suppliers, patients who do not pay promptly or at all, landlords, banks, and the government.

   - a job for you that takes most of your free time away from your family, not to mention your emotional well-being and peace of mind.

   - stress, stress, stress.

Most dentists do things backwards. We are first, technical experts in our profession; second, a manager of our business; and third, an entrepreneur. We need to switch that around, but our passion lies in the first, technical expertise.

We went into dentistry to “do” dentistry. Yet we can enjoy the dentistry even more when the management and entrepreneurship are “up front”, well-handled and flowing.

So here we are, in our practice, and… If you, as the dentist, are thinking of yourself as a dentist-as-employee, that mentality often lets the insurance companies in. These companies love to take the job and salary of a “manager.”

Contemplate the fact that insurance companies in today’s world really function as managers of most of the dental practices into which they are allowed.

As Jim Rohn so beautifully explains, ”if you don't have a plan for your life, you fall into somebody else's plan.” Guess what they have planned for you – taking as much money from your practice as possible.

To be successful (and that is defined differently for each person) we must have a growing business. To have a growing, successful business, we must work on our practice, and not just in our practice (as the technician).

Understand, there are plenty of other people and businesses who have great plans for the money you earn in your practice, and it’s not just the insurance companies. It includes the suppliers (dental supply companies), the government (Medicaid and Medicare), the patients (who do not pay their bills - on time or at all).

Another example of others who have great plans for the money earned by dentists are corporate dental companies and their executives. With student loan debt skyrocketing, young dental school graduates are working for corporations as employees, working unbelievably hard, for less compensation than should be for the work being done. And, these corporations typically make millions.

As dentists, our personalities tend to be overly giving to the point that we hurt ourselves and our families. We seem to think that, in some way, we shouldn't be charging for our services, or that we should charge, but just not too much. What is that about?

I think it's about our natures, which tend to be approval-addicted, as we attempt to love and care for everybody we can.

We hire staff members and expect them to carry out our wishes, and don't even have a system in place so they know exactly what that those wishes and systems are. First, it shouldn't be our wishes, but rather the needs of our business that determines what they do. Second, we need to have this all systematized, so that the staff members know what it is is expected of them.

The whole problem with dentist-as-employee versus dentist-as-business owner, is that in our dentist-as-employee role, we want and expect the salary for the job done, but really hate to have to look at what the costs are and what monies are needed to run the business, including investment capital for growth.

The scariest growth is growth that occurs and requires more capital, more employees, supplies, and equipment — and we have no monies available. So we take it from our families, our living. Or, that growth potential falls flat on its face.

We don’t get this stuff in dental school, and then we find ourselves in business without a good understanding of our business. Yes, you are dedicated to learning and growing in dentistry. But you could use some mentoring, help. advice, on systematizing and learning to work ON your business, as well as IN your practice.

Start with the book by Michael E. Gerber, The E Myth Dentist. It’s a great read. Then, think about topics like free-market dentistry, how to transition from being “under the thumb” of insurance companies to being in the “free market”, (Can you get out of insurance and have a great practice? - YES), how to take control of your practice, how to have everything you need to be congruent with what you want to do.

Management, marketing and finances all depend on your vision - what you want, first and foremost, from and in your practice.

There are answers. They lie in learning more about your business. You’ll actually spend less time ON the business when you start understanding more about it, and can even spend less time IN your business as well, without giving up your hard-earned living. I’ve done it. I’ve systematized. I have lots and lots of systems and plans already documented that can be shared. I’ve seen the results.

You know what? Most dentists live their practice lives on other people’s terms - those of insurance companies, staff, family members, colleagues. Their days are spent achieving other people’s goals and working toward other people’s agendas. Be one of the five percent who don’t.

Right now, you have the choice — step forward into growth and development through self-education, or step backwards into apparent safety and security, which are only apparent. You’re either growin’ or you’re dyin’.

Don’t get pulled into other people’s stuff that doesn’t serve you well!

There are other people working ON this practice and business stuff. Want a book list? Want recommendations for GREAT seminars? Want to be part of the Mastermind group to share and learn more about this, through email, online, in person, etc.? Contact me. There are so many great things going on; ideas, mentorship and structure. In the meantime, get The E-Myth Dentist, and read it, then read Gerber’s The Most Successful Small Business in the World, Jim Rohn’s The Twelve Pillars.

Dr Chris Baker

America's most-trusted teacher of orthodontic continuing education, Dr. Chris Baker has practiced and taught for more than 30 years, and is a current or former faculty member of three U.S. dental schools. She is a pediatric dentist, author, blogger, dental practice consultant, and mentor. Dr. Chris is also Past President and Senior Instructor of the American Orthodontic Society. She is based in Texas, USA, but lectures around the world.

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