Your Success in Dentistry Rests on a “3-Legged Stool”

If you’re beginning to transition from the world of “dental academia” into the world of “real,” I’m sure you are aware that there is so much more to learn. Here I’m going to share a unique concept with you that many dentists (unfortunately) never learn. Please don’t

be fooled by the simplicity of this concept. Its value is immense, and its application could hake a huge difference in the success of your dental practice.

We can all learn quite a bit from studying a little wooden stool. How, you say… and what does this have to do with being a successful dentist?

Leg #1: Your Clinical Skill and Expertise

Well, stick with me

and soon it’ll be crystal clear. Imagine for a minute that you’re sitting on a wooden, 3-legged stool. How comfortable do you think it would be if one or more of the supporting legs were a different length, or even if one leg were missing altogether? Not very…in fact, you may find yourself falling over onto the floor! Not a good proposition, huh?

The formula for success in any business – including dentistry – can be broken down into three primary components. Each component should be thought of as a “supporting leg” of a 3-legged stool. If the legs are of equal length, then the business they support is “in balance,” and on track for success. Further, the “length” of the legs determines the “height,” or level, at which the business

[Author’s Note: I intentionally wrote this article to an intended audience of “newer” dentists who are embarking on the journey of life in private dental practice as a key decision maker in the business. If you’re not planning on buying a practice or opening a new practice right away, then please SAVE this article after reading and dig it back up when you need it…because you will!]

operates. But when one or more of the legs is shorter than the others – or worse yet completely absent – you have an unstable business and a recipe for disaster.

sources for advanced training in all phases of dentistry exist today. This includes several “hands on” courses – many including live patient treatment – that in my opinion are the “ultimate” environments for learning. Do your due diligence and seek the training that feels most appropriate for you and your entire dental team. As you move through each successive level of courses, you will certainly uncover more things to learn! Yes, the investment is significant…and continual. However, the confidence that this training instills in you and your team is “priceless,” and will reward you and your practice many times over!

Unfortunaely, many dental practices are operating like a “crooked stool.” Simply put, the 3 “legs” that support the practice are frequently uneven lengths, creating a practice that is out of balance. The same analogy can be applied to a segment of a business. Let’s examine these supporting components, as applied to a private dental practice, and cover the necessary steps to grow each leg to their maximum and equal lengths. The result, a balanced and successful practice!

Leg #2: Your Practice’s Business Systems

Without question, the quality of your “product” – or the skill level with which

NEWS FLASH: In the “real world” of private practice dentistry, patients can actually say “No” to your treatment recommendations! And many do…more than most dentists would want to admit… for a variety of reasons. Without question, current economic forces make “treatment acceptance” more challenging than ever for a great number of patients. That said, often the failure to get a “Yes” boils down to breakdowns in the practice’s business systems and protocols.

you deliver your services – is a critical and necessary element for success. We all know that good clinical skills and continuing education are a MUST for advancing throughout your career. In dentistry, this is most essential.

Patients seeking dental services are becoming better educated and more demanding…and they should be. After all, they’re investing their discretionary income in you to help make them get healthier, look and feel better, and maybe even feel younger! Dentistry brings with it unique challenges that test your skills. It is of the utmost importance that you continually develop the advanced skills needed to deliver top quality dental services.

How easy will it be for new patients to enter your practice? How are they treated when they first arrive? What about your existing patients? Are there inefficient systems in your practice that pose as “roadblocks” that keep patients from getting the esthetic services that you’d like to provide for them? These are BIG issues

Numerous excellent post-graduate

that need to be handled properly if you want to build your practice.

From their first phone call to your practice through each and every visit, your new and existing patients must be made to feel as if they’re being “carried through your practice on a floating red carpet!” This principle applies especially to more affluent patients, who typically expect higher levels of service. And great service comes from great systems.

The doctor and the team must be on the same page in terms of how every system in the practice operates. New patient phone calls need to be handled with the utmost care. Each caller should be addressed by name, and openly and frequently invited to visit the practice at the earliest available moment. Barriers to entry need to be lowered or eliminated, such as unnecessary “screening” or “rules.”

Leg #3: Your Marketing…YES, Marketing!

Similarly, insurance and financial issues MUST be made as simple as possible for

Practice Makes Perfect

“Dr. Earl Douglas and the staff at ADS South have been real helpful in steering me in the right direction in the purchase of my first practice. Dr. Douglas’s experience, organization and detail-orientation, pointed out to me where improvement is needed and how to go about achieving it.”

Elizabeth H. Guerrero, DDS

patients to understand and adhere to. The more complicated any system becomes in the eyes of the patients, the less likely they will move forward with treatment, and these arenas are no exception. Do you want to boost business in your practice? Then make sure MULTIPLE financial

do for them, they won’t inquire. And they’re not going to “just know” about your services unless you and your team actively EDUCATE them. By “educate,” I certainly don’t mean teaching them how you can make their teeth straighter, whiter, etc. I mean simply showing your patients that these things are possible, and that they can have it NOW if they so desire.

options are available, for example, as it often becomes necessary to “get creative” when helping patients to come up with the total investment for the services they want.

Whether you market your dental practice internally or externally, or both (my recommendation), it is vitally important to understand that our patients do NOT necessarily want cleanings, fillings, porcelain veneers, or Invisalign aligners.

C’mon now…is marketing just as important as the other two “legs” above? You bet it is!

What they really want is to be healthy, comfortable, and beautiful! They want to know they’re going to keep their teeth and live a long time. They want people to tell them how great they look. They don’t

Consider for a moment how valuable your services would be, and how significant your systems would be, if no one knew what you could do for them. Not very!

You see, if your patients don’t know about ALL the wonderful things you can

See “Success” on page 35

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