We’ve trained hundreds of practices here at MPMB, both in state and out of state, and I would say roughly forty percent or more of them are not members of the ADA and their state associations. When I ask them why they chose not to be members, the answers have a common ground.  Another problem I believe is contributing to the decrease in ADA and State dental membership is the fragmentation of efforts protecting dentists from state to state. If there is one thing that has become clear to Tracy and I as we have passed legislation and defended dentists against dental insurance company’s uneth ..read more

How often do we hear dental thought leaders tell us to drop dental plans, or at least the worst ones? Inevitably, someone will ask the question, “which ones are the worst ones?” Or better yet, they ask, “please define what is meant by the ‘worst’ ones, aren’t they all bad?” Then there are the grumblings from all of us on how bad the reimbursement rates are, and how impossible it is to provide quality dentistry on a patient who is covered by a PPO plan you are a provider for.  Last but not least is our front office team members who have to deal with the dental insurance plans, their reps ..read more

So many thought leaders in our profession despise this very topic. They cringe at the thought someone like me would even suggest to you that your mission is to make money. But it’s called reality. The mission of any business should be to achieve success, and that success is accomplished by being profitable on all, or as many procedures as possible, which leads us to the term “vision.” Support the show ..read more

In this discussion, I ask them some very important questions. Please allow me to just jump to their answers for now, I’m sure you can figure out the questions, and here are their answers: 1-We are maintaining infection, not eliminating it. This just doesn’t make sense… 2-I’ve always felt that periodontal disease can be eliminated, but not with our current treatment protocols, and especially not with my office treating it to insurance limitations. 3-I have no idea why we don’t use antibiotics. It doesn’t make sense. 4-All of our patients bleed in almost all the areas of needed SRP at the six-we ..read more

It seems like every week I see an advertisement from a dental consultant advocating the need to drop dental insurance and build a strictly fee-for-service (FFS) practice. Many of these dental consultants teach their clients what I call a very deceptive tactic, one that loses the patient’s trust right from the beginning every time, and we begin our podcast right there. Support the show ..read more

Why do so many solo dentists take the stink bait offers of DSOs without investigating what they are really giving up when swallowing hook, line, and sinker to these predators? The main reason dentists give up their autonomy and business opportunities are because they don’t know what they don’t know. We are going to tell you what the corporate predators are not telling you, that you need to know. We begin right here! There are so many places to begin this topic on that I almost do not know where to start. So, I think I’ll begin with our own experiences here at MPMB. Support the show ..read more

I read a statement from a dentist on one of the dental networking groups that caught my eye. The comment, for some reason, made me feel bad for that dentist, and my heart really ached for him. That may sound a bit cheesy, but I care about all of you, and your teams. Tracy and I learned so much about the inner workings of dental insurance companies when we got our Utah Dental Law passed. Some of it good, and some really bad, but grateful for the educational experience we had with the Network Leasing, Down-coding, and Bundling Protections Law. Back to this dentist’s comments, his deductive logic ..read more

What happens if the office manager croaks, the hygienist calls in sick, or the dental assistant runs off with prince charming? Does anyone see the need for some cross-training? Missing a team member for even one day can lead to chaos in a dental office. Team members feel overwhelmed, which could ultimately lead to a decline in the quality of patient care. It doesn’t have to be this way. Let Go Of Your Control.... Support the show ..read more

The majority of dental teams have been convinced that if dental insurance won’t pay for it, they have to write it off. Heaven forbid you actually charge the patient directly for services the PPO Plan won’t cover. Dental insurance plans don’t pay for tooth whitening, yet most dental offices charge the patient for it directly. The same applies to electric toothbrushes. In addition, most dental insurance plans don’t pay for dental implants. Yet every office seems to charge for those products and services, right? In those three examples just listed, you wouldn’t think of not charging the patient ..read more

Over the last several months Tracy and I have observed “Leaders” emerge from the ranks of every type of dental team member in the dental offices we have had the opportunity to train. Leadership is critical to the success of any business, and it’s why two of our team training modules focus on leadership skills. And it’s why we take a deep dive into effective leadership skills in our office manager/front office trainings. Support the show ..read more