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

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 Week5th – 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 IdeaStarbucks 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  FacebookTwitterInstagramLinkedIn, and Pinterest

Dental Marketing and Practice Growth Ideas for February 2023

Dental Marketing and Practice Growth Ideas for February 2023

Hello Friends –

Hope you all are having a wonderful & healthy start to 2023!

Are your plans set to exceed your established patients’ expectations, welcome more new patients, and strengthen your relationship with local businesses within the community? If not, hopefully, the ideas that I am sharing here will help you make plans to enjoy a happy and productive February!

February 2023 Dental Office Marketing & Practice Growth Ideas

Educational Ideas:

Through With The Chew: 19-25th / The Great American Spit Out: 23rd

February is American Heart Month –

Heart Health Talking Points: Dental Health and Heart Disease Are Related

Dental health and heart disease are intricately linked and the cost of avoiding advanced periodontal disease or even something as mild as gingivitis may very well prove to be the cause of serious medical problems in the future. Be good to your heart beginning with good oral health.

Tip: If you’re not currently taking your patients’ blood pressure at their appointments… make it a goal to start during the month of February. Many people see their dentist more regularly than a physician and could get an early warning about high blood pressure when getting their teeth cleaned or having other dental treatments done.

For Children’s Dental Health Month Tips and Ideas Visit Here: Dental Health Month Ideas

Pet Dental Health Month – Share pet dental health tips on your social media sites, ask people to share pictures of their pets on social media, and hand out dog treats packaged with your office information. Even if the patient doesn’t have a dog surely, they know someone who does… a great way to get your office name out there!

Grammy Awards: 5th – In-office and Social Media contest to match up the celebrity singers’ smiles to the names. Or a contest to vote on who will take home the best Album of the year.

February is International Boost Self-Esteem Month – A beautiful & healthy smile can boost one’s self-esteem and confidence.

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.

Social Media Post Content Ideas to Improve Engagement during the month of February

Bubble Gum Day: 3rd

Toothache Day: 9

Super Bowl LVII (57): 12th

National Hippo Day: 15th  

World Pistachio Day: 26 

It would be great to hear from you! 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

P.S. Please stop by and say hello to me on  FacebookTwitterInstagramLinkedIn, and Pinterest

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July 2022 Dental Marketing And Practice Growth Tips and Ideas

July 2022 Dental Marketing And Practice Growth Tips and Ideas

Hello Friends,

Happy Summer!

With the dental marketing ideas that I am sharing today along with some planning, enthusiasm and implementation you have the chance to really set yourselves apart from the other offices in the community, welcome more new patients, and exceed your current patients’ expectations (get them talking about how awesome you are!), have less stress and more fun as a team. Sound good to you?

Here are a few ideas to help you enjoy a terrific & productive July!

National Ice Cream Month

Treatment Offer – July is National Ice Cream Month and Close to 50% of Americans suffer from or experience tooth sensitivity from time to time. It’s safe to say that many of your patients may be suffering from tooth sensitivity or they know someone who does.

Your product/service feature during the month of July: Desensitizing Agents to treat tooth sensitivity.

Patient Appreciation – Offer free ice cream cones to your patients. How will offering free ice cream cones not incur any extra cost to you? Contact a local Ice Cream Shop for some cross-marketing. Ask if they would be willing to donate 4 or more FREE Ice Cream Cone Gift Certificates that you will use during the month of July for a weekly drawing that your patients will enter to win. What a fantastic way to exceed your patients’ expectations with no extra cost to you.

National Watermelon Month – Patient Appreciation Idea – Serve your patients’ watermelon slices or cubes as a special treat during their visit.

Get Ready For Kindergarten Month – For family-friendly offices – depending on your schedule, consider setting aside one or two days for “Get Ready for Kindergarten with Healthy Smiles” visits. Make it a fun experience for the children. Promote via your social media sites.

Would you please do something for me? If you appreciate and enjoy the complimentary ideas and content that I share each month  – I would LOVE for you to PLEASE leave me a review/recommendation on Google or Facebook. Simply click the following links.    GOOGLE   and/or  FACEBOOK Thank you so much!!

Dental Social Media Content Ideas to Encourage and Boost Engagement during the month of July. (Take some time to create and schedule posts for your Facebook page. As well as for Instagram and Google My Business)

dental social media content ideas from Betty Hayden Consulting

National Blueberries Month

Chocolate Day: 7

National Sour Candy Day: 18

National Lipstick Day: 29

National Avocado Day: 31

Doctors, I would love the opportunity to work along with you and your team to help you set and exceed your practice goals. If you would like to schedule a no-obligation, complimentary consultation to learn how my coaching program works, please email me at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com.

Are you receiving my complimentary dental marketing and practice management ideas that are sent right to your email inbox each month? If not, take a second and sign up. This way, you won’t miss a single idea! Feel free to email me at bhaydenconsulting@gmail.com and I will make sure you receive an invitation to follow my monthly ideas.

Yours for Greater Success,

~Betty – Dental Coach

Before you go, would you please do something for me? If you appreciate and enjoy the complimentary ideas and content that I share each month  – I would LOVE for you to PLEASE leave me a review/recommendation on Google or Facebook. Simply click the following links.    GOOGLE   and/or  FACEBOOK Thank you so much!!

How To Quickly Increase Dental Office Collections

How To Quickly Increase Dental Office Collections

Hello Friends,

Fear of cost moves many people to put off visiting the dentist or to cancel their appointments for scheduled treatment. Fear of presenting fees causes many team members to dread or avoid presenting treatment plans/financial expectations and asking for payment. These fears do not help the patient or the office.

I know this is true because as I coach dental office teams, during my in-office visits we quickly discover that in most cases solid collection protocols are lacking.

Would you like to see more patients not only accept treatment but pay for it before or at the time of service?  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 making collection calls and sending patient statements/letters? Great news, I can help you!

Dental Office Help to Increase Collections

Today, I’ll share with you a few tips to help make that happen.

  1. See the true value of dentistry – With each day and each patient you and your team have the privilege and opportunity to potentially change someone’s life or at the very least, help them smile healthier. A healthy smile is part of a healthy body, healthy smiles and bodies create healthy communities.  The entire team must believe this. The entire team must also wholly believe that you’re providing the best quality care. Having full confidence in the doctors and hygienists’ ability to provide quality care and to create beautiful and healthy smiles is a must. Give every patient the opportunity to say yes or no to your very best care!
  2. Be confident with fees The entire team should role play presenting small and large treatment plans and financial arrangements until everyone is comfortable saying the dollar amounts out loud and with pride.
  3. Financial policy Have a written financial policy that is kindly reviewed with the patient at their first appt. Have them sign and take a copy with them. For your existing patients, review with them any changes to your financial policies, have them sign and give them a copy to take home.
  4. Avoid assumptions and judgment Don’t make decisions for the patient as to whether they can afford the treatment based on your assumptions or reality. Remember this, Sympathy vs Empathy: Sympathy is feeling for the patient… deciding for them that they can’t afford the dental care, Empathy is feeling with the patient… yes, this is more than they were wanting to pay, however, you’re going to give them hope… you’re going to offer third-party financing, break up the treatment plan if possible or allow them to make payments as a credit until they have enough money to get started with treatment. Always offer the best treatment and flexible payment options and allow the patient to decide what they want to accept or not.
  5. No surprises! – Present treatment plan and financial portion before treatment is started. Make sure your numbers are as accurate as possible, especially when estimating the insurance portion. If you accept 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.
  6. Payment due before or on the day of service No billing the patient for co-pays or payment for services. (Hint: Collecting prior to appt. will reduce cancellations and no-shows. Another Hint: Collect co-pay before the patient goes back for treatment, especially if they’re having a lengthy or difficult appt. No one wants to stand at the front desk fumbling for money or to write a check with gauze hanging out of their mouth after an extraction, or numb and exhausted after a long appt. Make it more comfortable for them by collecting their payment and making any necessary follow up appts before they go back.)
  7. Make it easy for them to pay In addition to accepting cash, check and charge cards, offer third-party financing. Avoid in-office payment plans!
  8. Incentives Offer incentives for patients to pay when they make the reservation.
  9. Dealing with forgetful patients When a patient says they forgot to bring money…they can either call the payment in over the phone when they get home or give them an envelope with payment due date for them to mail in a check. Call the patient if payment isn’t received by the due date.
  10. When Insurance is involved – Always give the full treatment fee, the estimated insurance amount and the patient’s estimated co-pay that is due today. Let the patient know you’ll send in the claim and inform them if anything changes with the estimated insurance portion. Watch your insurance aging report closely. Promptly follow up on any unpaid claims, insurance rejections, and requests for add’l information.

There you have it, 10 tips to successfully collect payment before or at time of service.

Once you make a plan to consistently collect payments before or at time of service and hold your team accountable to follow through with that plan, you’ll wish you started it sooner.

Here are a few more tips to help make this a true success for you.

  • Daily, Weekly and Monthly, monitor your patient and insurance accounts receivables, collection and credit reports.  (Carefully review write-off’s, discounts, credits, charges, and payments.)
  • Avoid “Statement Groundhog Day” – Stop sending statement after statement to patients that are past due on making a payment. They ignore them and it costs you a lot of money. Get collection letters out and make some calls.
  • Each day, look at the day prior, what were your total production charges & collections? Pay close attention to the total patient responsibility vs patient payments, these numbers should be close to the same. If not, why not?
  • ALWAYS send out clean insurance claims! If your administrative team needs any training in this ever-changing insurance world with how to estimate co-pays, send out claims (daily), post insurance payments and adjustments…get them the proper training asap!
  • Insurance Claims Aging Report – Run your insurance aging report and start from the oldest and work down to the current claims… how old are some of those claims? What is the status of the claims? Where is your money? Now is a great time to clean up that report.
  • Don’t assume… know by who, when, what and how your money is being handled. It’s important for the entire team to understand why this information is necessary.
  • Set goals, share with your team what your production and collection goals are and how it benefits them to all work together as a team to reach or exceed these goals. Consider offering a small bonus or incentive when these goals are reached.

Print out these tips and suggestions and review them at your next team meeting.

If you appreciated these complimentary ideas I  would love for you to please leave me a review/recommendation here on GOOGLE and/or FACEBOOK.

Friends, if your office is struggling with collections please don’t wait to seek help. The longer that money sits out there the less you collect.  You deserve to be paid for the amazing dental care you provide.

Do you know what your accounts receivable totals look like? Do you know how many insurance claims are over 60+ days old? Do you know how many of your patients have made a payment within the last 30 days and how many are past-due? If you do not know what your office numbers look like, please examine, record, and measure these and other important key practice indicators. You need to know where you’re at currently to know how to best care for your patients and what your potential for increasing collections looks like. To help you get that data quickly, like within minutes – if your PMS is either Dentrix, Eaglesoft, or Open Dental you can request a complimentary, no-obligation practice data snapshot here: Game-Changing Awareness from Dental Intelligence  – Within minutes we’ll identify your practice’s strengths and uncover hidden opportunities.  I am happy to assist you with this at no charge.

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.

Yours for Greater Success,

~Betty – Dental Coach