dentist office ideas

March 2023 Dental Office Management, Leadership, and Team Building Ideas
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March 2023 Dental Office Management, Leadership, and Team Building Ideas

Hello Friends,

The month of March will close out your first quarter of the year. I am happy to be sharing some dental practice management tips and ideas with you to be implemented during the month. All designed to help you end your first quarter strong!!

Are you looking for practice growth and marketing tips and ideas for March? You’ll find them here: Dental Marketing Ideas for March 2023

Here are your Dental Managment, Leadership, and Team Building Ideas for March 2023…

This month is full of opportunities to show appreciation for your hard-working employees, for employees to show appreciation for their doctors, and for the team to just have more fun!

Employee Spirit Month – If you want to increase employee trust, creativity, teamwork, engagement, and productivity, then it’s time to have some fun, commend more, and improve communication! See more team-building tips and ideas HERE

Practice Owners, if you would like to learn how coaching can help you better lead your team, and create greatness based on high-performance expectations and principles – Schedule your complimentary no-obligation 30-minute coaching consultation today at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com

National Dentists Day: March 6th   – Spend today celebrating the awesome dentists’ in your life! Be sure to take a picture(s) of your dentist(s) to post on your social media pages and Google My Business listing with a message of appreciation.

Dental Assistants Recognition Week: 5th – 11th – This is the week to celebrate your hard-working and awesome assistants! Be sure to take a picture(s) of your assistant(s) to post on your social media pages with a message of appreciation. Invite your patients to leave a review on Google and or Facebook about their positive experiences with your assistant or assistants at your office.

Employee Appreciation Idea – Starbucks Day: 31st – Bring in Starbucks as a surprise treat for them.

Office Numbers, Systems, & Goals – Are you satisfied with how your numbers are trending? If not, now is the perfect time to review your goals, examine your systems, and make any necessary adjustments.

Appointments – What does your preappointment and reappointment percentages look like? Six months from March is September and for many, it can be a slower month. Your reappointment percentage in March will have a direct impact on what your schedule looks like in September.

Same-Day Schedule Changes – Holes in the schedule are not OK. Encourage your patients to keep their reservations and for the ones that absolutely must break their appt… unless they are a habitual offender of breaking appts, PLEASE reschedule them while you have them on the phone. Refrain from asking – do you want to reschedule? Would you like to schedule? Do you want to call back to reschedule? ETC. Assume that they want to and say: “I know this appointment is important to you so while I have you on the phone let’s go ahead and reserve a more convenient time. I have ___ or ___ which works better for you?”

Daylight Saving Time Begins: 12th   (Turn Ahead 1 Hour)  @2:00 am)

Would you like to see an increase in production and office collections?  Would you like to decrease the amount of time and money being spent on chasing past-due patient and insurance balances?

Here are 3 quick tips for you:

  1. No surprises! – Present the patient’s treatment plan and estimated financial portion before treatment is started. If you accept and/or participate with their insurance, have up-to-date eligibility, a breakdown of benefits, and the insurance fee schedule on file for the patient and enter into your practice management software.
  2. Payment is due before or on the day of service – No billing the patient for co-pays or payment for services. (Hint: Collecting payment at the time of scheduling/reserving the appointment will reduce cancellations and no-shows.
  3. Daily, Weekly, and Monthly monitor your patient and insurance accounts receivable, collection, and credit reports.  (Carefully review write-offs, discounts, credits, charges, and payments.)

For additional tips and ideas visit here: Improve Dental Office Collections and Clean Up Unhealthy Accounts Receivable

Are you receiving my complimentary Practice Management and Marketing Ideas in your email inbox each month? If not, please start following us today. If you prefer, send me your email address at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com and I will send you an invitation to follow my blog. Don’t miss out on any of the ideas that I share each month!

Would you please do something for me? If you enjoy the ideas that I share or if they’ve been of help to you and your practice –  I would love and truly appreciate it if you would please take a second and leave a review/recommendation for me on GOOGLE and/or FACEBOOK. Looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you!!!

Yours for Greater Success,

~Betty (Dental Coach)

P.S. Please stop by and say hello to me on  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest

Children’s Dental Health Month Tips and Ideas
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Children’s Dental Health Month Tips and Ideas

Hello Friends ~

February is National Children’s Dental Health Month, what do you have planned to help educate families in your community about the need for better dental health? There are many wonderful opportunities and ways to help the children in your respective communities to smile happier and healthier.

Be sure to see Pediatric Dental Marketing Ideas for how to Consistently Exceed Parent & Patient Expectations and Consistently Be Great! Visit here:  Pediatric Dental Marketing Ideas

Here are a few tips and ideas for February’s Children’s Dental Health Month

Dental Education Via Social Media Platforms – Take advantage of your office’s social media platforms and website to share a variety of fun and educational posts and short videos related to children’s dental health.  This is so easy, and free! Hint: If you get some unexpected open chair time, make a few short dental health videos. Don’t overthink it just have fun.

Content Ideas for Posts and Videos:

  • Healthy Lunch/Snack Ideas
  • How much sugar is in your drink or favorite snacks?
  • What to do in a Dental Emergency?
  • Ortho Care While at School
  • Dental Hygiene with Braces
  • Daily Toothbrushing Chart
  • Dental Health Tips (Importance of sealants, fluoride, mouthguards, regular dental visits.)
  • What kind of toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, and mouth rinse is best?
  • Baby Bottle Tooth Decay 
  • Tongue-Tie – What is it and how is it treated?

More Content Ideas – If you’re looking for Dental Health Month activities, crafts, printables, etc. please see my Pinterest board: Children’s Dental Health Month Ideas

Special Offers on Treatment during February – Consider having special pricing or promotions on Sealants, Ortho, Fluoride, Mouthguards, etc.

(Big Ticket) Gift Give Away Ideas – Have a drawing during the month of February for a cool gift basket, gift cards, theme park tickets, etc. that all the kids can enter for a chance to win.

Make their Day – Kids love free stuff! Be sure to do something extra special during February. Upgrade the toy treasure chest with better toys. Additional giveaway ideas, Toothbrushing chart, Imprinted toothpaste squeezers, hand sanitizer, balloons, stickers, etc.

School Dental Health Presentations – Typically, during Dental Health Month visits are made to the schools by dental office teams, or the children can visit the office for an in-office field trip with their classroom. Also, local libraries are often open to the idea of offering dental health presentations there.

Give Kids a Smile Day – Here are some ideas and tips to help you host a successful Give Kids a Smile Day in your office.

The ADA website has an excellent Give Kids A Smile Toolbox https://www.ada.org/en/public-programs/give-kids-a-smile  It’s loaded with information such as Planning, Promotion, Forms, etc.

Advertising/Marketing your Event – Here are just a few ways to do this:

  • Social Media Pages ~ Make good use of all your social media platforms to share information about GKAS day with posts and videos.
  • TV News ~ Fax & Email a press release.
  • Fliers ~ Create fliers for in-office use and to give out to those in your community.

It’s a fun day – exhausting yes, and a little heartbreaking but it feels good to volunteer your time and donate your services to help so many children in the community.

Looking for more dental marketing ideas for February? I got you! Check them out here: https://bettyhaydenconsulting.com/2023/02/03/dental-marketing-and-practice-growth-ideas-for-february-2023/

If you enjoy the ideas that I share or if they’ve been of help to you and your practice –  I would love and truly appreciate it if you would please take a second and leave a review/recommendation for me on GOOGLE and/or FACEBOOK. Looking forward to hearing from you. Thank you!!!

Don’t miss out on any of the ideas that I share each month! Are you receiving my complimentary Practice Management and Marketing Ideas in your email inbox each month? If not, please start following us today. If you prefer, send me your email address at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com and I will send you an invitation to follow my blog.

Yours for Greater Success,

~Betty

P.S. Please stop by and say hello to me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest

March 2022 Dentist Office Management and Leadership Tips and Ideas
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March 2022 Dentist Office Management and Leadership Tips and Ideas

Hello Friends,

The month of March will close out your first quarter of the year. Are you happy with how your collection, production, new patient, and patient retention numbers are trending? If not, now is the perfect time to make some adjustments.

March is an especially important month to work on not only being productive and happy but to successfully see to it that 100% of your hygiene continuing care patients schedule their next 6-month appointment. Why? Six months from March is September and for many, it can be a slower month. Your reappointment percentage in March will have a direct impact on what your schedule looks like in March.

Do you know what your reappointment percentages look like each month? Do you know how many of your active patients have a future appointment and how many are unscheduled? Those are smart numbers to track.

The practice management and leadership tips and ideas for March 2022 when implemented, will help you close out the first quarter strong.

Are you looking for practice growth and marketing tips and ideas for March? You’ll find them here: March 2022 Marketing Ideas

I would love and truly appreciate to hear from you – would you please, kindly leave a review/recommendation for me here on GOOGLE and/or FACEBOOK? Thank you!

March 2022 Dental Office Management and Leadership Tips and Ideas

March is full of opportunities to show appreciation for your hard-working employees, for employees to show appreciation for their doctors, and for the team to just have more fun!

“The strength of the team is each member. The strength of each member is the team.” Phil Jackson

Employee Spirit Month – If you want to increase employee trust, creativity, teamwork, engagement, and productivity, then it’s time to have some fun, commend more, improve communication and huddle up! See more team building tips and ideas HERE

National Dentists Day: March 6th   – Spend today celebrating the awesome dentists’ in your life! Be sure to take a picture(s) of your dentist(s) to post on your social media pages and Google My Business listing with a message of appreciation.

Dental Assistants Recognition Week: 6th – 12th – This is the week to celebrate your hard-working and awesome assistants! Be sure to take a picture(s) of your assistant(s) to post on your social media pages with a message of appreciation. Invite your patients to leave a review on Google and or Facebook about their positive experiences with your assistant or assistants at your office.

Get more Patient Reviews on Google and Facebook – Celebrate your doctors and assistants by asking your patients to leave a review about their office experience on Google and/or Facebook. (For example, let them know that if your assistant or one of your assistants helped to make their appointment special you’d love to hear about it in their review. )

What are your plans to make March a great month?

Doctors if you would like to learn how coaching can help you better lead your team, create greatness based on high-performance expectations and principles – Schedule your complimentary no-obligation 30-minute coaching consultation today at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com

Are you receiving my complimentary Practice Management, Leadership, and Marketing Ideas in your email inbox each month? If not, please start following today – you’ll be glad you did.  If you prefer, send me your email address at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com and I will send you an invitation to follow my blog.

Yours for Greater Success,

~Betty – Dental Coach

P.S. Please stop by and say hello to me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Pinterest

Dental Office Daily Huddle Agenda, Tips, and Ideas for Success
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Dental Office Daily Huddle Agenda, Tips, and Ideas for Success

Hello Friends,

Morning Huddles – How does that make you feel when you read that? Do you ever feel like your attempt to conduct a daily morning huddle is just a big hassle? That the meetings are a waste of time? Or maybe you’re already conducting morning meetings and want to make them more effective, Please keep reading!

Today, I want to share with you some tips and suggestions that will help you have effective morning huddles and answer some questions that many of you have asked about morning huddles.

Why should I have a morning huddle/meeting?

The morning meeting is essential for a successful day. If you tried in the past to have a morning huddle and it didn’t work out… try again! However, this time, please follow my tried and true suggestions & tips. Every dental office wants to produce more, collect more, stress less, have happy doctors and team members and consistently exceed patient expectations. Right? Well, effective morning huddles help to make those things a reality.

When should the morning huddle start? and How long should it last?

Twenty – twenty-five minutes before the first scheduled patient.   It should last no more than 10-15 minutes. Taking 10-15 minutes first thing in the morning to ensure the day starts off happy and productive is well worth it.

Who should attend the morning meeting?

Everyone. If scheduling prevents everyone from attending…at the very least the doctor(s), hygienist(s ), assistants, and someone representing the administrative team. It is imperative for a team member to be assigned at every meeting to update the employee(s) not present of what was discussed/announced. No one should be left in the dark. This eliminates any “I didn’t know” or “no one told me!”

Who leads the huddle?

Rotate team members to conduct the meeting and make certain that everyone stays on point and that the meeting ends and starts on time (appoint a time-keeper)! Doctors (lead by example) be present at the start of the huddle and end each meeting on a positive note. Team members from each department can & should contribute what pertains to their particular department.

How do we prepare for the huddle?

Each employee should be assigned a task/responsibility for each huddle. For example, Hygienists should be checking their own charts/routing slips (checking for unscheduled treatment, are they due for: health history update, full perio charting, x-rays, etc. any family members due for appts, that the patient is due for today’s appt) at least the day prior and assistants check the charts for the doctors.

Your PMS may have a daily huddle report you can generate to show your production, collection, treatment plans, broken appts, etc. from the day prior and the appointment information you need to review for today.  If you’re not sure if it does or not, it’s definitely worth looking into as it will be a huge time-saver!

Or Dental Intelligence has an awesome fully automated morning huddle feature! You can check it out AND get a complimentary data analysis here: get.dentalintel.net/betty-hayden-consulting

What do you talk about?

Focus on: Today, Tomorrow, and a little bit of yesterday 😉

START and END the meeting with something POSITIVE.  Review your office intention/vision for the day.

  • Ata-boy/gal minute – What did we do “right” yesterday? How did we go the extra mile for a patient? Did you notice any team member that did something nice for a patient or another team member? Did anything happen yesterday that could be improved upon or avoided in the future? If yes, How?
  • Today’s Appointments – have all patients been confirmed?
  • Lab Cases – have we double checked that all lab cases have arrived and are correct?
  • Holes – Can a hygiene patient in need of restorative slide over into the doctor’s chair? Is there anyone coming in with the doctor that is due in hygiene? If not, how will we remain productive during this downtime?  
  • Emergency time – Where can we put the “true emergencies”?
  • Potential trouble spots – Review schedule for any potential trouble/hiccups/hangups. Such as: doctor needed in multiple places at the same time, habitually late patient, copays that must be collected, difficult patient, etc. Do everything in your power to start, stay & end on time, exceed patient expectations and work together as a team for a smooth & happy day.
  • New Patients / Referral Sources – Who are our new patients today and how did they hear about our office? Everyone be ready to warmly greet all patients but be sure to introduce yourselves to all new patients. Thank them for coming in.
  • Pre-op calls – Any new patients coming in tomorrow or the next day that the provider can call and welcome?
  • Same day services – Identify any patients that would benefit from same day services (fluoride, X-rays, sealants, desensitizing agents, whitening, mouthguards, better home care tools/products, etc.)
  • Family Members – Do you have any patients coming in with unschedled family members due in hygiene? Who will appoint them?
  • Post-op calls – Did we call yesterday’s patients to check in on them? Preferably the doctor and hygienist should make their own calls. (Who do you call? All new patients and any patients that had anesthetic, extraction, or perio treatment. Also, any patients that may have been fearful.
  • Social Media – Who will help with that today? Ask patients to like the office (or check-in) on Facebook, follow on Twitter & Instagram. So many reasons throughout the day to post to your social media sites, such as: a patient brings in a treat, to welcome a new patient to the office, a child joined your kid’s club/team, celebrate a beautiful cosmetic restoration/teeth whitening, team members having fun or being silly, etc.
  • Testimonials/Reviews – Who is a candidate for providing a testimonial/review/recommendation? Be alert throughout the day to ask for testimonials/reviews. Especially when a patient compliments the office on something… ask for a written or online testimonial. Take their picture (with permission) to post on your social media sites/website. NOTE: If a patient that is coming in for today has previously filled out an online survey be sure to review it. If they had a problem make certain it’s not repeated and if it was praise be sure to thank the team and the patient!
  • Goals – Look at Production, Scheduling & Collection goals vs actual for yesterday, today and tomorrow. Reminder to collect all co-pays at the time of appointment!!
  • Open Chair Time – Total Open Chair Time Hours for Yesterday and Tomorrow
  • Broken Appointments – How many same-day cancellations and missed appointments were there for yesterday? How many were rescheduled?
  • Treatment plans and Unscheduled Treatment –  Remember, offer the very best treatment options to your patients, let’s not “watch” or “wait until next visit” chances are it will only worsen. Give every patient the opportunity to say yes or no to your very best care. Were there any patients that came in yesterday that we treatment planned and they did not schedule an appointment? WHY? / Unscheduled Treatment – anyone coming in today with already diagnosed treatment that is unscheduled? Who & How will we reintroduce treatment to the patient(s)?
  • Conclusion – End the meeting on a positive note. Tell a funny joke, read a positive quote and/or thank your team. Watch a quick motivational, educational or funny video clip. This meeting sets the tone for the day… Make it a happy one! Let’s go change someone’s life or at the very least help them smile bigger and healthier!

Here are a few additional tips for a successful morning huddle:

Come prepared! Have ready copies of the schedule (today and tomorrow). Charts/treatment should be reviewed (by the provider/assistant) one to two days prior to the huddle. Be sure to have available your collection, scheduling, and production goals for today and tomorrow and yesterday’s results.

  • Stand for the meeting. This helps to keep the huddle on time and hold everyone’s attention.
  • Maintain a positive attitude regarding the importance of DAILY morning meetings.
  • Use a check-list! This will help you stay on time and cover all points.
  • FOOD! Every once in a while surprise the team with bagels, donuts, coffee, muffins, etc. 

I strongly encourage you to implement daily morning huddles, simply because I know that they’re effective and I want all of you to have happier, more productive, and stress-free work days!

If you would like to schedule a no-obligation, complimentary consultation to learn how our coaching program works, please email me at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com.

Remember this: Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance!

Betty Hayden Consulting Dental Coach

If you already conduct daily huddles, way to go! Feel free to share with me any of your tips for successful huddles.

Should you need any help implementing these ideas or have any other questions that I can help you answer…I’m ready to help.

Don’t miss out on any of the ideas that I share each month! Are you receiving my complimentary Practice Management and Marketing Ideas in your email each month? If not, please start following us today. If you prefer, send me your email address (to bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com) and I will send you an invitation to follow my blog.

 I would love and truly appreciate it for you to please take a second to leave a review/recommendation for me here on GOOGLE and/or FACEBOOK – Thank you!!!

Huddle Up and Have a Great Day!

Yours for Greater Success!

~Betty

P.S. Please stop by and say hello to me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest