Improve communication with scripting. Look at any successful ortho practice and you will see an office that communicates extremely well. Communication affects every aspect of the patient and parent …

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Answer calls by the third ring. Whenever the phone rings, it may be a parent of a prospective new patient. Regardless of how busy the practice may be, pick up the call quickly and be prepared… with …

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Use multiple resources to promote your practice in the community. Your ortho practice should utilize various marketing outlets, including your website and social media, to create greater awareness …

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Leave personal problems at home. Patients and their parents should never be able to tell that your day didn’t start off so well because you got caught in traffic. Nothing in your behavior should …

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Do your part to make delegation work. Everyone on the practice team needs to understand the value of delegation and help make it work. The objective is to give responsibility for virtually all …

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Take advantage of in-office and offsite training opportunities. Whether it’s a lunch-and-learn, a dental conference, tradeshow or seminar, make the most of training opportunities when they occur. …

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Advice for the Orthodontist – Give your staff clear expectations. To perform well, team members need to know what they are supposed to accomplish. Providing staff accurate job descriptions helps them …

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Advice for the Orthodontist – Avoid micro-managing. Delegation is a much more efficient and satisfying way to manage. First, train team members to handle all non-clinical tasks. By doing so, you’ll …

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If you detect a mistake a fellow team member has made, talk to that person about it first. We all make mistakes. If you spot one, go straight to the source. Often it can be corrected before any damage …

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Collect 99% of all money owed to the practice. Production, no matter how much it increases, doesn’t count unless the practice collects its fees. Review your policies to tighten up collections. Switch …

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Use an e-newsletter to strengthen relationships with parents and patients. Send out a monthly or quarterly newsletter via email. It can include practice news, short helpful articles, patient …

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Maintain observation patients on a regular schedule. Observation patients should be seen every six months, no exceptions… certainly not every year or two as is often the case in some practices. When …

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