dental practice Archives - The Wealthy Dentist

Dentists: Do You Offer Laughing Gas? (video)

January 18, 2022 By Jim Du Molin Leave a Comment

Nitrous oxide sedation at the dentist office is no longer the mainstay it once was, but laughing gas is still around. The Wealthy Dentist conducted a survey asking dentists if they still offer laughing gas.

We received a variety of responses from dentists.

A Texas dentist replied, “Nitrous should be available in all offices. This is just good customer service. It is not the dentist’s decision whether or not a patient needs it. All patients should be asked if they would like it. Charge a reasonable fee and it is money in the bank!”

A Washington dentist disagreed, “I think it’s nuts to use nitrous…the dentist and staff are breathing it (which has been shown to cause miscarriages and neurological problems, along with who wants a “high” dentist), it’s takes tons of time to set up, and it’s expensive!”

We found that specialists are significantly more likely than general dentists to offer conscious sedation. Since specialists often perform more intensive procedures than general dentists, they may have need for more sedation dentistry options.

To hear more of what dentists had to say about nitrous oxide, please click play and watch the following dental survey video –

Do you still offer nitrous oxide? Tell us what you think in the comments.

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Our survey question newsletter is emailed each Friday.

Filed Under: Dental Videos, Sedation Dentistry, The Wealthy Dentist Tagged With: Dental Care, dental practice, Dental Practices, dental survey, dental survey videos, dentist, dentistry, dentists, video marketing

Dental License by State Drives Many Dentists Crazy (video)

January 18, 2022 By Jim Du Molin Leave a Comment

As we all know, dentists are licensed by state dental boards and they can only practice in the state where they are licensed.

And this drives a lot of dentists crazy like the one who complained, “This is SUPPOSED to be a free country where people can relocate as desired. this current system is just regional protectionism. It sucks!”

The Wealthy Dentist conducted a survey that asked dentists if once a dentist is licensed in one state, should he or she be allowed to practice anywhere in the U.S.

Watch this video to hear what dentists had to say on universal licensure –

What are your thoughts on universal licensure? Should dentists be allowed to practice anywhere in the U.S. under one license?

Filed Under: Dental Videos, The Wealthy Dentist Tagged With: Dental, Dental Marketing, dental practice, dental survey, dental surveys, dentistry, dentists, Internet dental marketing, survey, universal licensure

Dental Safety: BPA Exposure and Dental Sealants (video)

January 18, 2022 By Jim Du Molin Leave a Comment

This week Campbell’s Soup Company announced that they are phasing out bisphenol A (BPA) in their canned food linings.

BPA is a chemical that can imitate human estrogen and is thought by some health care providers to be harmful to health. BPA is commonly used additive in food packaging and dental sealants.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also reported that they will make a decision by March 30th on whether to the ban the use of bisphenol A in food and beverage packaging.

Dental composites have revolutionized dentistry, especially cosmetic dentistry. But composite resins and dental sealants also contain BPA.

Warned one dentist, “It’s a dangerous chemical that we are placing in a sensitive area, free to leech out 24 hours a day.”

Another dentist said, “The cumulative release of BPA from composites appears to be minimal from the available research.”

Recently there’s been a lot of negative publicity about bisphenol A being linked to heart disease, obesity and diabetes. In light of these recent reports, The Wealthy Dentist conducted a survey asking dentists if they have dental safety concerns over dental composites.

Click on Play to hear how the dentists responded to the survey —

What are your thoughts on the use of BPA in cosmetic dentistry?

Filed Under: Dental Safety, Dental Surveys, Dental Videos, The Wealthy Dentist Tagged With: BPA, Cosmetic Dentistry, Dental Care, Dental News, dental practice, dental sealants, dental survey, dental surveys, dentist, dentistry, dentists, product safety, survey

Dental Hyigienists and Dentists: Financial Considerations

January 18, 2022 By Jim Du Molin Leave a Comment

Turning a Profit on Your Dental Hygienist Investment
Editorial by Jim Du Molin

Once again, I’m putting my capitalist hat on and analyzing the economics of dental hygienists. (I started by discussing the economic aspects, and last week I talked about how you can turn a profit.) The dentist needs to begin by preparing an operatory for a hygienist, then actually hiring one. Done properly, the dentist will then start earning a healthy chunk of passive income. At this point, many hygienists may view the dentist as a fat capitalist who is getting rich off the sweat of their labor. They fail to recognize the cost of capital and risk.

As a capitalist, your risk is the cost of equipping the hygiene operatory. If you have to add a staff member in administration to schedule hygiene, that cost would also have to be considered.

In our example, we’ll assume that your cost is a $554-per-month loan payment on equipment for the hygiene operatory. When we subtract this cost from the previous increase in profit, the net return is $5,799 per month, or about ten times your risk. As the number of hygiene days per month increases, your return on investment continues to grow. And that’s what American Capitalism is all about.

Profit on Hygiene Investment

Number of hygiene days per month	4	8	12
Profit on hygiene production*	$1,169	$2,338	$3,506
Profit on dentist’s production*	$5,184	$5,184	$5,184
Less: capital investment	– $554	– $554	– $554
Total Net Profit per Month	$5,799	$6,968	$8,136
* before indirect overhead costs

If you’ve got comments on the economics of hiring hygienists, feel free to post them below!

Filed Under: Dental Editorials, Dental Hygiene, Practice Management Tagged With: dental hygienist, dental practice, dentist, hygienist

Dental Practice Management: Scheduling a Comprehensive Exam

January 18, 2022 By Jim Du Molin Leave a Comment

What is the best dental practice management policy on length of a new patient exam?

51% schedule a minimum of 40 minutes for comprehensive dental exams, this survey found.

Only 27% of dentists said they perform comprehensive exams in less than 30 minutes.

“Actually, I schedule an hour and sometimes it takes longer The compete exam is THE single greatest internal dental marketing technique,” offered one dentist, a subtle comment for comprehensive exams being a part of an overall dental marketing plan.

Here’s how dentists responded to this survey asking what length of time they schedule for an initial comprehensive exam:

4% 10 minutes.
10% 15 minutes.
10% 20 minutes.
3% 25 minutes.
22% 30 minutes
51% 40+ minutes.

Here are some further comments on scheduling comprehensive exams from dentists:

It should be one hour …

“One hour. It’s COMPREHENSIVE. That cannot be done in less than 45 minutes. It means you are looking at radiographs, perio probing, restorative, occlusion, TMJ, health history, and oral cancer exam. I defy anyone who says that a “comprehensive” exam can be done any faster.” (Georgia dentist)

“For new patients, an hour max, but if I only give them 20 minutes of my time, I don’t get the case as often.” (Illinois dentist)

“Really should schedule 50 or 60 minutes on adults.” (General dentist)

“We schedule one hour initial exam for perio charting, radiographs, photos, models, charting restoration, and for getting to know the patient.” (Michigan dentist)

“We schedule an hour, but sometimes it takes even longer.” (California dentist)

It should be more than an hour …

“We schedule 1 1/2 hours for initial medical history gathering, interview, complimentary Velscope cancer screening, necessary x-rays and comprehensive exam. NO cleaning at this appointment.” (Minnesota dentist)

“I actually spend and hour and a half for each new patient examination. Not one gets into hygiene without a NP exam.” (Washington dentist)

“My first appointment is 1.5 hours in length with a pre-paid reservation fee.” (California dentist)

“My patient is scheduled for 2 hours. In that time we take photos, x-rays, models and intra-oral images as well as the full exam, interview and charting with the doctor.” (New Jersey dentist)

“We schedule 90 minutes. 45 minutes for the exam and 45 minutes for records.” (Florida dentist)

Note: Survey sample included 100 respondents.