In this episode, Dr. Kuba and Bethany continue their conversation about selling a practice. In this episode, they discuss how to prepare a practice for selling. Where do associates fit in? What do potential buyers consider when looking at a practice? How long does it take to get a practice ready to sell? All of these questions and more will be covered in this episode. Whether you are planning to sell in 2 years or in 10 years, this episode contains critical information in order to ensure you receive top dollar for your practice when the time comes to sell.  Previous Episodes Worth ..read more

It is no secret that practicing ownership is exhilarating, rewarding, and utterly exhausting. There are often many moments when a practice owner asks, “Should I Sell My Practice?” With the ever-changing market of practice buyers and DSO buyers, it’s normal for a practice owner to wonder if life would be simpler and better with somebody else running the show. In this episode, Dr. Kuba shares her own experiences of fatigue and practice selling considerations. She and Bethany talk about very practical things practice owners should do when they find themselves considering the option to sell. Final ..read more

The kids are back, and boy do they have some opinions to share! Dr. Kuba and Bethany invite their kids back into the studio to get their perspective on the two-week firing (see last week’s episode). As a general rule of thumb, Bethany and Dr. Kuba invite their kids into the adult working world in order to teach them about work ethic, decision-making, and leadership. In this episode, the kids react to the events that led up to the most recent termination of Dr. Kuba’s newest employee. They share their reactions, thoughts, and support for Dr. Kuba’s decision to fire an employee so quickly. Liste ..read more

 In the current employment market, it can be very difficult to make the decision to fire an employee. Most practice owners wait until it’s overwhelmingly obvious that the employee won’t work out because they aren’t certain that another employee will come along. In this week’s episode, Dr. Kuba discusses her very fresh firing of an employee who only lasted two weeks. After terminating the employee, she started to have doubts on whether she made the right decision. She and Bethany discuss all of the small details that led to a big decision – firing her new employee. Listen as she unpacks he ..read more

 Dr. Jones is back! After practicing dentistry for over 40 years, he has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. In this episode, he answers questions about how to schedule time away from the practice. A self-proclaimed workaholic, Dr. Jones admits that being away from the practice has never been easy for him, but over the years, he realized the importance of taking a break and spending time with family. He also discusses how he decides to spend money. He admits that he’s quick to spend money on new technology or continuing education, so he has had to learn how to spend money on th ..read more

After leaving you on a cliffhanger, Dr. Kuba and Bethany wrap up the series on De-Escalation. In this episode, they provide one final example of an angry patient who erupted at Dr. Kuba’s office. Together, they identify mistakes that were made as well as improvements that could have prevented the explosion. Listeners are encouraged on a few remaining points of de-escalation and are encouraged to spend time training their team in the art of seeing the first signs of smoke and then putting out raging fires. Take notes and block time off to train your team on the critical art and skill of de-esca ..read more

 Isn’t it helpful to hear real examples of a patient escalating? In this episode, Dr. Kuba and Bethany role-play a real-life scenario that Bethany witnessed in one of her client’s offices. The patient grew increasingly upset at the check-out desk as he insisted that he had only received a “regular cleaning” rather than a periodontal maintenance cleaning. The patient simply seemed miffed at first but then escalated as the receptionist struggled to answer his questions. Finally, the hygienist had to be tagged in to attempt to de-escalate the angry patient. After presenting the role play, Dr ..read more

Do you know the signs of an angry patient? Can you spot those signs long before it is a full eruption of anger? More importantly, can your team identify the early signs of an upset patient? In this episode, Dr. Kuba and Bethany discuss some of the early signs of an angry patient and some of the usual causes of those upset patients. Agitated patients are in an emotional state that can be dangerous to staff members. These patients can become irrational and violent. Dr. Kuba and Bethany discuss the different smoke signals, distinguishing between angry and agitated patients. They also discuss the ..read more

Angry patients are certainly more common these days. It seems to take so little for them to escalate and either verbally express their feelings or potentially worse – take to the web to leave a negative review. These angry patients often leave team members and practice owners baffled, confused, and demoralized. In this series of episodes, Dr. Kuba and Bethany discuss a variety of ways that teams can prevent angry patient explosions. In the first episode of this series, Dr. Kuba and Bethany discuss the importance of consistent and deliberate observation in a practice. Incorporating regular eval ..read more

Managing employees tend to remain one of the hardest aspects of leading a dental practice. Over the last few years, it has been difficult to retain employees and keep them enthusiastically engaged in the practice. In this episode, Dr. Kuba and Bethany discuss the importance of spotting burnout, fatigue, or disengagement in an employee before they fizzle completely out. They discuss various ways to keep a pulse on employees, and they also discuss the importance of preparing for the loss of an employee. Finally, they encourage all listeners to be attentive and to prepare for all scenarios.  ..read more