Dental Practices

Dentists: Are Dental Hygienists Worth Their Weight in Gold?(video)

November 14, 2011 By Catherine Hughes Leave a Comment

Dentists: Are Dental Hygienists Worth Their Weight in Gold?(video) In our story, Dental Hygienists Among the Fastest Growing Occupations in the U.S. we revealed that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook for 2008-2018 expects the demand to hire more hygienists to perform preventive dental care will continue to grow.

According to the ADA, independent dentists reported paying full-time dental hygienists $33.90 per hour in 2008.

Considering the current economic environment The Wealthy Dentist decided to conduct a survey asking dentists if they pay their hygienists an hourly wage or if compensation is based on commission.

It seems most dentists still pay their dental hygienists an hourly wage, but some feel paying on commission is more fair. Said one dentist, “Hygienists are worth their weight in gold!” Another dentist disagreed saying, “Practices couldn’t run without them, but the current economics barely breaks even at best … hygienists seem to think they are cash cows for the office and fail to recognize the support and facilities the utilize.”

It’s an interesting economic issue. Click on Play to hear more of what dentists say about paying hygienists –

How do you pay the hygienist in your practice?

Filed Under: Dental Videos Tagged With: dental hygienists, dental practice management, Dental Practices, dental surveys, dentist, dentistry, dentists, economy, survey, video marketing

Dental Practice Burnout: 5 Symptoms and 5 Remedies

October 4, 2011 By Catherine Hughes 2 Comments

Dental Practice Burnout: 5 Symptoms and 5 Remedies According to the University of California, Irvine Department of Medicine, the health professionals most at risk for burnout are physicians, nurses, social workers, dentists, care providers in oncology and AIDS-patient care personnel, among others.

In many of The Wealthy Dentist surveys dentists have complained of career burnout.

Burnout is considered either emotional or physical exhaustion, usually caused by stress at work. It was initially described in the 1950s by Hans Selye as ‘the nonspecific response of the body to any demand made upon it and discouragement in the work setting’.

According to the U.C. Irvine report, burnout is viewed also as a complex of psychological responses (strain) to the particular stress of constant interaction with people who are in need. Differing from other interactional symptoms related to job stress is the effect on others seen as a depersonalization of clients.

Symptoms of Burnout -

1. Negative Feelings.
Feelings of disillusionment and being ‘stretched too thin’. Feeling that you aren’t making a ‘difference’ in your approach to lifelong goals. Other feelings of burnout are the feeling of being ‘run down’, easily frustrated and feeling that you are unable to concentrate.

2. Interpersonal Problems.
Your tolerance level drops as the burnout grows and you find yourself increasingly unable to handle social interactions. You begin to dehumanize your relationships by thinking of your dental patients not as people but as objects.

3. Physical Manifestations.
Burnout shows up physically as exhaustion, muscle pain, headaches, insomnia, respiratory illnesses, gastrointestinal disorders, depression, and hypertension.

4. Substance Abuse.
Often people suffering from burn-out will self-medicate their anxiety, depression and insomnia with drugs or alcohol.

5. Inefficiency at Work.
Burnout causes productivity to wane as you become less effective overall, either by hiding in your office or staying away from work more often.

Remedies for Burnout -

1. Take a Two Week Vacation.
Quite often by distancing yourself from your work you will be able to make some decisions on things you can do differently to alleviate stress when you return to your dental practice.

2. Cut Back Your Work Hours.
Sometimes burnout appears from an unwillingness to delegate job duties. Consider cutting back on your work load by delegating tasks you don’t enjoy and consider cutting back your dental practice hours if you can.

3. Schedule Time For You During the Day.
Make sure you always take a lunch break. Make it at least an hour and a half three days a week and schedule some light exercise for the last half hour like a brisk walk around the block or a yoga class.

4. Put Your Health First.
Go to bed at the same time every night and work on getting enough sleep. Look at your diet and see where you can cut out high sugar foods, and make time to relax with good friends on weekends.

5. Write Your Thoughts Down.
Some people find that keeping a journal at home and expressing your feelings of frustration on paper can go a long ways towards helping you deal with burnout. Commenting anonymously on this blog might even help too.

The most critical thing about burnout is to recognize it’s a shout out from your exhausted self. Try changing things up a bit in your life to break out of your routine. Come into the office thirty minutes later, drive a different route to work, learn a new hobby, or work on something you love. Take a break and list all the reasons you chose dentistry as your profession in the first place.

Have you ever suffered from burnout? What advice would you give dentists for dealing with burnout?

Filed Under: Practice Management, The Wealthy Dentist Tagged With: burnout, dental, dental management, dental practice, dental practice management, Dental Practices, dentist, dentistry, dentists, economy, recession

Dental Practice Management: Raising Treatment Fees Driven by the Economy

September 13, 2011 By Catherine Hughes 2 Comments

One of the most complex decisions when it comes to running a dental practice is raising treatment fees.

Many dentists are hesitant to increase their fees over fears that they will see a reduction in patients.

The fact that the U.S. is currently reentering a second major economic slowdown in three years turns a fee increase into a serious dental practice management issue.

As one Illinois dentist put it, “I am concerned about raising fees and losing patients who already have money woes.”

The Wealthy Dentist decided to survey dentists and ask them when was the last time they raised their
fees. Here is how dentists responded:

27% raised their fees in the last 6 months.
29% raised their fees in the last year.
26% raised their fees in the last 2 years.
11% raised their fees in the last 3 years.
7% raised their fees in the last 5 years.

Suburban dentists were 3 times as likely to have raised their fees than their urban or rural counterparts.

What dentists had to say:

Economic woes …

“I am hesitant to raise fees due to present “slow” period.” (Kansas dentist)

“I raised them in the last 6 months, but I had not raised them for 3 years because of the economy.” (Texas dentist)

“We wait and see how the economy does.” (Tennessee dentist)

“It’s tough-as-hell to do in this economy.” (Illinois dentist)

“With this economy and my competition, I felt I should lower some of my fees.” (Missouri oral surgeon)

Keeping pace with inflation …

“We at least raise them annually to cover for inflation (approximately 3%). We raised our gold crown fees significantly more due to the increased price of gold and the lab fees.” (Ohio dentist)

“We raise them every year usually by about 2 – 3%.” (Minnesota dentist)

“Gold is up, so fees must follow. Our distributors adding gas surcharges, so they need to be addressed.” (New York dentist)

“Fees should be raised every year to keep up with inflation, increased supply fees and the loss of value of the dollar.” (Kansas dentist)

“We raise them every year on Jan. 1.” (Florida dentist)

“We raise our fees on a rolling schedule. We raise fees in certain areas (hygiene one quarter, crowns the next quarter etc.) every quarter. We base our fee increases on the prevailing fees in our zip code which we obtain through an annual fee survey which we purchase. While it may not be 100% accurate, it gives us a guide as to the fees in the area.” (Illinois dentist)

Insurance is a problem …

“How can we raise fees when insurance dictates everything anyway? One time a patient has Met-life that pays the fee for a service and the next time that we see them they still have Met-life, but the fee-schedule plan is at greatly reduced fee. Our fees don’t seem to make much of a difference. The insurance companies set fees at 1995 levels.” (Texas dentist)

“Are other dentists experiencing denied, or reduced fees that are submitted to the insurance companies lately (e.g., Delta)?” (California dentist)

“I haven’t raised fees for 3-4 years. I used to raise them every year. But raising fees is almost a moot point because the majority of my patients are on PPO insurances that are not raising fees at all, and in some cases, lowering reimbursements.” (Nevada dentist)

Have you raised your treatment fees? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!

Filed Under: The Wealthy Dentist Tagged With: dental, dental management, dental marketing, dental practice, dental practice management, Dental Practices, dental survey, dentist, dentistry, economy, marketing, recession, survey

Tooth Whitening Wars in North Carolina: Is Your State Next?

August 9, 2011 By Catherine Hughes 6 Comments

The FTC and Teeth Whitening Wars in North Carolina In North Carolina, tooth-whitening services can be administered by non-dentists in hair salons, retail stores, and at kiosks in shopping malls.

And the FTC in North Carolina believes a dentist doesn’t need to be present.

In 2010 the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners attempted to reign in the non-dentists by sending out 42 letters notifying tooth-whitening providers that they were illegally practicing dentistry and ordered them to stop.

As reported by DrBicuspid.com, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) then initiated an action against the North Carolina dental board, alleging that the board violated federal law in their attempts to block non-dentists from providing tooth-whitening services.

In February 2011, the dental board retaliated by filing a lawsuit against the FTC, accusing the commission of violating the U.S. Constitution in its attempts to keep the North Carolina State Board of Dental Examiners from regulating tooth-whitening services being offered by non-dentists.

A FTC judge fired back by denying the dental board’s motion to dismiss the FTC’s complaint and unanimously rejected the argument that the state action doctrine exempts it from antitrust scrutiny under the Federal Trade Commission Act.

The FTC judge further ruled that the North Carolina State Dental board’s efforts to block non-dentists from dispensing whitening services constitutes an illegal anti-competitive conspiracy.

In an email to DrBicuspid.com, Board attorney Noel Allen writes, “If a clear state statute, a century of court precedents, and the United States Constitution no longer allow the state of North Carolina, acting through its General Assembly, to define the practice of dentistry to protect our citizens from the illegal and unsafe practice of dentistry, then it should be the Congress or the U.S. Supreme Court that pronounces the death of that state right. The decision should not come from the FTC acting on its own initiative, without even so much as internal rule to support it.”

The North Carolina State Dental Board argues that they never tried to stifle competition and were only trying to protect the public from non-licensed dental treatments.

The battle between dentists and teeth-whitening providers is being fought in other states as well. Recently the Connecticut State Dental Commission ruled that tooth whitening is dentistry and can no longer be performed without a dentist present, while another judge ruled against the New Jersey Dental Association in their legal battle against a chain of tanning salons offering tooth-whitening services.

What are your thoughts? Do you think tooth-whitening services require a dental license?

For the entire story by DrBicuspid.com see: FTC Judge Rules That NC Dental Board Acted Illegally

Filed Under: Dental News, Legal, The Wealthy Dentist Tagged With: cosmetic dentistry, Dental Practices, legal dental news, teeth whitening

Dentist Boasts Patients Travel 4 Hours for His Dental Treatments (video)

August 2, 2011 By Catherine Hughes Leave a Comment

dental patient travel distance An implantologist boasts that many of his dental patients travel up to four hours by car for their dental treatments at his practice. However, as surprising as it might seem, it is not unusual for dental patients to travel hundreds of miles to see their favorite dentist.

The Wealthy Dentist conducted a survey that asked dentists how far some of their dental patients travel for an appointment at their practice.

Dentists responded that many of their patients travel five to ten miles, but others continue to see them after moving hundreds, or even thousands of miles away.

Click on Play to hear what dentists had to say about patients who travel for their dental appointments -