Dentaltown April 2013 - (Page 14)

howard speaks column » What Winners Do and Losers Don’t by Howard Farran, DDS, MBA, Publisher, Dentaltown Magazine For the last 25 years, I have been interested in what winners do and losers don’t. There are varying definitions of “what winners do,” so to make sure you understand what this column is about, I’m not defining winners as dentists who fit crowns within a few microns. I’m talking about the big picture here. One of the strongest predictors of being a winner is having a massive intellectual curiosity, which is easily measured by the number of hours of continuing education one takes. You will be a success if you pursue a Master of the Academy of General Dentistry (MAGD) designation. I’ve never met a dentist with an MAGD who has gone bankrupt. I just haven’t. If all you can do is take an X-ray, and do cleanings, fillings and crowns, you’re just not going to be successful. By the time you have forced yourself to cross-train in the very structured 16 different categories of continuing education requirements to get your Fellowship of the Academy of General Dentistry (FAGD) and then take another 600 hours to get your MAGD, you know how to recognize, diagnose and treat so many different oral health issues that you’re just always busy. A dentist with an MAGD can do twice as much dentistry on the same number of patients a regular dentist sees because an MAGD dentist can see it, understand it and diagnose it better. Another element in determining success is presenting treatment. It seems like everybody I know who takes home $300,000 a year always has a separate person presenting the treatment. These dentists do not present the treatment plans themselves. Dentists by and large are introverts and have a difficult time explaining things like gingivitis and irreversible pulpitis in layman’s terms to their patients. I still contend that 99 percent of all physicians, dentists and lawyers could never make the income they make if they were salespeople. Just because you’re the dentist and you own the business, it doesn’t mean you’re the best person to explain treatment. When you find an energetic person who can understand the treatment plan and can explain (aka, “sell”) it to your patients, your treatment acceptance skyrockets. It is very important to know what you’re good at, but I think it’s more important to know what you’re not good at. Data has shown that the average dentist fills 38 out of 100 cavities diagnosed. You should go to your report generator and look up your own numbers, but why is it some offices have an 80 percent close rate and other dentists have less than half that? How can you call yourself a winner when two-out-of-three people who come into your office with a cavity leave with a cavity and still have a cavity at the end of the year? I tire of the so-called 20-20-20 dentists (dentists who are so proud that they bond with a greater than 20 megapascal strength, their wear rates are less than 20 microns a year and their indirect crowns, inlays and onlays fit within 20 microns), who are so into the science and themselves that they completely ignore the big picture enough to realize they suck at getting actual dentistry done! Tell me again how well your inlays fit when you only do one out of every three you diagnose. The true litmus test for me is in answering, “Would I send my own children to your office?” I don’t want to send my four babies to a dentist who only has a one-in-three chance of even removing the cavity. I’d rather send my kids to a dentist whose fillings were 30 microns of wear a year and whose crowns fit at greater than 30 microns a year as long as the dentist at least numbed up the tooth and removed the decay. Another variable that determines success is whether or not you have an emergency operatory. We always talk about new patients, new patients, new patients. We all want more new patients. If I could sum up your receptionist’s job description in one sentence, it’s, “Your receptionist sells appointments.” If someone were to call your practice and say, “My tooth really hurts. Can I come in?” and all your operatories are scheduled, the answer is, “No.” So the patient calls another practice that will see her. My practice keeps an operatory open for emergencies all the time. Nobody schedules it. If you’re saying you can’t do this because continued on page 16 14 APRIL 2013 » dentaltown.com http://www.dentaltown.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown April 2013

Dentaltown.com Highlights
Howard Speaks: What Winners Do and Losers Don’t
Professional Courtesy: Three Cheers for IT
Continuing Education Update
Dentaltown Research: Lasers
“Funny Feeling” on Lower Right Jaw
Missing Laterals, Bonded Maryland Bridges, Ribbond or Something Else?
Corporate Profile: Henry Schein
New Products
Office Visit: A Giant in Dentistry
Do-it-Yourself Finance, Part V: Insurance
Two Techniques to Make a Bite Record for a Full-arch Case
Team Strength: What Drives Your Team to Do More?
Living by the Golden Dozen
Diagnosing Aesthetic Disharmonies
Cosmetic Case Presentation
Using Tetric EvoCeram Bulk Fill to Easily and Predictably Place Direct Posterior Restorations
Continuing Education: Utilizing Laser Procedures for Restorative Access
Product Profile: Imaging Sciences International’s i-CAT FLX
In This Issue: Preparing for the Future
Perio Reports
Ad Index
Profile in Oral Health: The RDH’s Approach to Periodontal Therapy: Past, Present and Future
Perio Maintenance
Dentally Incorrect
Dentaltown Special Supplement
Product Profile: Zimmer Dental
Full Lower – Converted to Immediate Load
Immediate Placement #19 and 20 with BSB
American Academy of Implant Dentistry 62nd Annual Meeting Preview
Raising Your Denture Patient to a Higher Standard
Back to the Future – Extractions and Small Diameter Implants for Overdentures
Continuing Education: Top Implantology Breakthroughs for the GP: Part 2

Dentaltown April 2013