Prologue
Your Success in Dentistry Rests on a “3-Legged Stool”
A concept dental school rarely teaches: the three supports every practice stands on, and why letting any one of them weaken topples the other two.
The Issue
Fall 2010
Contents
Getting Started
Buy a Practice or Start from Scratch: What’s the Fastest Way to the Top for New Doctors?
Start from scratch, buy an existing practice, or associate? The factors new graduates carrying $250,000 to $300,000 in debt should weigh before deciding.
Getting Started
Beyond the walls of private practice: Opportunities at any career stage in the Army Reserve
A 1987 UCLA graduate on keeping her Long Beach practice while serving as a major in the U.S. Army Reserve Dental Corps, and what the Reserve offers at any career stage.
Getting Started
Smart Starts ~ Getting your Practice off on the Right Path
Most dentists get one clean start. How to use it: choosing a team deliberately, committing to training, and settling the systems and goals before the doors open.
Business Fundamentals
What Constitutes Value When Buying a Dental Practice?
A practice is a bundle of assets and its sale price is the sum of their values. How to value each one, and why negotiating a good deal can destroy the value you came to buy.
Business Fundamentals
Business Administration for the Aspiring Practice Owner
The parts of running a practice new owners most often get wrong: staffing and compensation, patient coordination, inventory control, accounting and fraud prevention.
Business Fundamentals
Protect Your Most Valuable Asset: YOU
Dentists lose range of motion, and sometimes their careers, to posture. What ergonomics offers the operatory, and the cues and equipment that stop the damage accumulating.
Business Fundamentals
Navigating the Dental Malpractice Maze
Roughly 8,500 dentists are named as defendants each year. What to ask when choosing a professional liability carrier, and which policy terms decide how well you are covered.
Practice Builders
Your Best Shot at a First Impression: Creating Long Term Patient Relationships
Half of Americans avoid dental care for fear of the needle, and many dentists dread giving injections too.
Practice Builders
It’s a Great Profession, So Make the Most of It!
Dentistry came through the recession and healthcare reform comparatively unscathed. A case for organized dentistry, and for taking an active role in preserving the profession.
The Power To Succeed
The Key to a Great Practice? A Great Leader!
A practice that runs without daily drama is built, not found. How leaders develop teams that set goals, take personal accountability for them, and execute systems consistently.