DMD Staff

The fourth annual Dykema conference was crawling with knowledgeable lawyers, dental professionals and entrepreneurs looking to share their knowledge about Dental Service Organizations. Arlene Steinfield, senior counsel JD specializing in labor employment law, met with DMD to talk about her area of expertise and under what circumstances she works with DSOs. Watch or read below to learn more about Steinfield and how DSOs may encounter trouble with labor laws.

How Dental Hygienists Can Benefit from DSOs

Why DSOs Should Consider Specialized Legal Counsel

Struggling to Promote Your Practice Online? Time to Strategize

Interview Transcript (Modified for Readability)  

“I've been representing DSOs for several years, and I represent them when they get sued by employees or former employees, in either a breach of contract action, or if they're claiming a violation of the Federal Employment Law statute, such as the Family and Medical Leave Act. [I also represent DSOs concerning] any kind of discrimination [lawsuit].

I also counsel DSOs when they're planning some kind of personnel action, such as a termination or whether or not counsel somebody. If they need to investigate a claim of discrimination internally, I can either perform the investigation or guide them through that process. It's mostly trying to be as proactive as possible so that we can avoid litigation, because if anyone gets sued it can get very expensive. So, my view is, if we can prevent litigation, then I'm doing my job on behalf of the client. If I can't avoid that situation, then what we try to do is to ensure that the facts are presented in such a way that it puts the company's position forward in the best possible light.”

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The fourth annual Dykema conference was crawling with knowledgeable lawyers, dental professionals and entrepreneurs looking to share their knowledge about Dental Service Organizations. Arlene Steinfield, senior counsel JD specializing in labor employment law, met with DMD to talk about her area of expertise and under what circumstances she works with DSOs. Watch or read below to learn more about Steinfield and how DSOs might encounter trouble with labor laws. 

Ask an Expert: DSOs and Labor Laws

Promoting your practice on social media can often feel like shouting into a void. Rita Zamora, an international speaker and expert on social media marketing and online reputation management, says gaining the visibility you desire may not be as difficult as you think. With just a little strategic planning, you and your practice can find the followers and exposure you have been missing. Watch or read below to find out what goes into social media strategy.

How to Get Patients Buzzing About Your Practice

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Join the Social Media Conversation to Reach Millennial Dental Patients

“I think the only 'wrong' thing that dentists can be doing with social media today is just not being strategic about it. Some practices are great at getting a lot of photos, being spontaneous, posting things and applying all sorts of hashtags without really thinking about what the goals are of social media. What type of procedures do you want to be doing more of? What type of patient are you looking to attract? I heard from some patients at a recent conference that some practices use snapchat as their tool of choice, but they were looking to grow big cosmetic cases in their practice. And so, when you look at patients that have the budget or are often interested in a major reconstructive case, sure, there might be some types of those patients on Snapchat. But more than likely, it may be a more mature patient. That patient is probably going to be spending more time of Facebook or maybe Instagram. You really have to be thoughtful about who you want to grow in your practice, look at where those patients are spending their time and then what type of content is going to resonate with them.”

Promoting your practice on social media can often feel like shouting into a void. Rita Zamora, an international speaker and expert on social media marketing and online reputation management, says gaining the visibility you desire may not be as difficult as you think. With just a little strategic planning, you and your practice can find the followers and exposure you have been missing. Watch or read below to find out what goes into social media strategy. 

Heidi Arndt spoke with Dentist's Money Digest to provide a perspective often overlooked in the dental community. 

At the fourth annual Dykema conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, Heidi Arndt spoke with Dentist’s Money Digest to provide a perspective often overlooked in the dental community. Arndt, a dental hygienist and owner of 

, hopes to enlighten her audience about the importance value of hygienists in a practice. Watch or read below to learn more.

“One of the biggest things that I found out early as a dental hygienist is the lack of support for hygienists after [they complete] school. So, in school we learn so much information on how to pass our boards [and] get licensed — our education is completely based off that. But, once we’re in the actual practice, there’s limited training and development for the dental hygienist. That’s where I feel like there’s a gap, and that’s where we fill the gap.

We create the training and the development for the dental hygienist after they get into the real world and experience the challenges that we have, such as understanding insurance, understanding CDT codes, understanding how to communicate with a patient, understanding how to communicate with the doctor, etc. Those are skills we did not learn in hygiene school, and so, we need to fill that gap for hygienists in order for them to be effective in the industry today.”

At the fourth annual Dykema conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, Heidi Arndt spoke with Dentist's Money Digest to provide a perspective often overlooked in the dental community. Arndt, a dental hygienist and owner of Enhanced Hygiene, hopes to enlighten her audience about the importance value of hygienists in a practice. Watch or read below to learn more.

Dykema, a law firm offering practical, results-oriented counsel to Dental Service Organizations (DSOs), holds its 4th annual conference in New Orleans June 15 to 16. Litigation attorney Brian Colao sat down with DMD to discuss the differences between general health care attorneys and those who specialize in dentistry. Across the board, the director of Dykema’s Dental Service Organizations Industry Group advises seeking out services that cater to their niche. Watch Colao’s clip or read the transcript below.

“Dentistry has a very unique and particular set of regulations. You often hear somebody say, ‘I’ve got a health care lawyer,’ and that often won’t cut it in a dentistry-related case or a dental type project because dental regulations are very unique. It’s a state by state basis, but it’s not uncommon for something to be allowed for a physician, but not a dentist.

[For example], a doctor regulation says 'ABC,' a dentist regulation says 'XYZ,' and they really are not comparable. Just because you’re a general health care lawyer does not mean [your skills] translate to the dental regulatory field. They’re very particular and very unique regulations. What I always tell people is, you certainly don’t need to hire me, but you need to hire an attorney that is specialized in dentistry. Don’t hire just a general health care attorney. There may be a big learning curve, the bill may be higher than you want, and you may not have the subject matter expertise that you’re hoping for, even with a very good health care lawyer that is otherwise very talented. If they don’t specialize in dentistry, you may not get the work done as efficiently as you want it done.” 

Dykema, a law firm offering practical, results-oriented counsel to Dental Service Organizations (DSOs), holds its fourth annual conference in New Orleans June 15 to 16. Litigation attorney Brian Colao sat down with DMD to discuss the differences between general health care attorneys and those who specialize in dentistry. Across the board, the director of Dykema's Dental Service Organizations Industry Group advises seeking out services that cater to their niche. Watch Colao's clip or read the transcript below. 

For many people, limited vacation days, work-related stress and family seem like good excuses to stay in one place. However, says M.D. Scott Parazynski, going outside daily routine can be the best and most rewarding way to manage time. Be it public service, extreme sports, or simply traveling somewhere new, unfamiliar environment and experiences are always accessible. See what else he has to say about adventuring below.

RELATED: More from Scot Parazynski, M.D.  

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Interview Transcript (Modified for Readability)

“Time management is a challenge in everyone’s life, and I have found a way through my career to use extreme environments as a catalyst for my innovations, for the products I’m bringing to market through my company and other things that I’m doing. They really marry well to adventure. But I think it’s important to recharge our batteries in whatever way makes most sense, and there are certainly a lot of great opportunities for working professionals to travel the world and see different countries, meet different people, even have really extraordinary adventures. I think it not only revitalizes our energy but also gives an opportunity to help others, so I would think that, for dentists in particular, there are opportunities to go serve in underserved parts of the world. There is a great need, I’ve certainly seen that throughout my travels, in remote parts of Nepal and Africa, where I spent some time as a young boy, there is a world of opportunity for public service but also adventure and exploration. People often ask me, ‘What’s left on your bucket list? You’ve been to space, you’ve climbed big mountains,’ but I always tell them my bucket list has never been fuller. There are places in the world I have yet to visit, and it doesn’t have to be an extreme adventure to be exciting for my wife and me. So, I’m really looking forward to the years ahead and the explorations, whether they’re deep sea snorkel expeditions or just going to a country that I’ve never been to.”

Discover more Dentist’s Money Digest® videos here.

Limited vacation days, work-related stress, money and family seem like good excuses to stay in one place. However, says M.D. Scott Parazynski, going outside daily routine can be the best and most rewarding way to manage time. Be it public service, extreme sports, or simply traveling somewhere new, unfamiliar environments and experiences are always accessible. See what else he has to say about adventuring below. 

Travel, Adventure are Necessary for Revitalization

Gary Zelesky, a professional speaker, has perceived some changes between generations when it comes to choosing a career path. Over time, he argues, people have become more focused on carving out a passion and making a difference. However, focusing too much on “me” can be detrimental in career development. Listen how Zelesky connects his claims about this topic to the dental industry.

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“There’s a different generation out there now. When my father’s generation was looking for work, here’s the thing: You never asked how much money you were going to make. You didn’t ask what the benefits were, you were just grateful that you had a job no matter what it was. Then you’ve got the baby boomers, and we were like, ‘Yeah, we kind of need to know, do some planning, how much are we going to make?’ But now you have — and I hate to say millennials because they hate that term – but you have the millennials who are thinking a little too highly about themselves and not enough about the person they may be working for. So, when I tell people when they’re looking for a job, ‘Make sure the number one, does it fit within the life of your passion? Is there any part of that job that you find a tremendous joy in doing?’ If there isn’t, you might want to rethink it, because after a while, you’re just going to burn out. The second thing I would do is have the team interview you -- not the boss, not the dentist, the team. Let them interview you and you interview then. Why? Because that’s who you’re going to be spending most of your time with, not the dentist. I tell them to build those relationships, and find out what they’re like. Call and find out about people who have been there, look up clients and ask them, ‘How was your experience?’ I’ve even had employees – maybe the dentist didn’t know – go in there as a patient and see what the treatment is like. I tell them to go in with humility. It’s about what you can give them, not always about what they can give you. I think that’s a healthy way to approach any job.”

Discover more Dentist’s Money Digest® coverage here.

Gary Zelesky, a professional speaker, has perceived some changes between generations when it comes to choosing a career path. Over time, he argues, people have become more focused on carving out a passion and making a difference. However, focusing too much on me can be detrimental in career development. Listen how Zelesky connects his claims about this topic to the dental industry. 



Generational Differences and Finding Your Passion within the Dental Industry

Brokerage liaison Brandy Keck of Carr Healthcare Realty, , knows a thing or two about demographics.

 Brokerage Liaison Talks Influence of Demographics on Real Estate Strategies

Brokerage liaison Brandy Keck of Carr Healthcare Realty, a firm that specializes in selling and buying real estate for medical professionals, knows a thing or two about demographics. Keck sat down with Dentist’s Money Digest® at the Yankee Dental Congress to provide insight on how Carr recommends real estate purchases to dental clients. It makes sense, she said for generalist and specialists to come together if patients can be referred back and forth.

"As far as where dentists are going right now, a lot of the dentists that we work with prefer to work with a demographics firm to really understand the market. And depending on their specialty and the demographics company that you’re using, you may have anywhere from a population of 1,400 to 2,000 people per dentist in a given area. So, when you’re looking at those numbers, they’re really trying to figure out where there’s a hole in the need for dentistry right now. The other thing they have to consider is a growing market — if there’s a market that’s booming right now, and a lot of population moving into an area, there’s going to be a need for dentists coming up. So, we usually want them to have some level of either a consultant or a demographics firm that they’re working with that can help kind of drive those numbers. Again, it’s a little different when you’re talking about an orthodontist versus an endo versus a general dentist of what those numbers per dentist look like. But they try to make those numbers work and they try to make it fit within what a given area can handle in terms of number of dentists.

It can make a lot of sense for two physicians to come within close proximity to one another if they can refer patients back and forth. So, you may see a physician group much closer together than you would, say, two dentists. In our world and Carr’s world, we really get to know the market as much as we can, especially in the dental world, so we want to know where all the dentists are and where all the trends are. There are times when we will have an ortho come to us and say, 'We really want to be located near a general dentist.' It may make sense for those two practices to be side by side because they can refer dentists back and forth. You see that there are far less dentists than there are physicians, so the number of times that’s happening happens a little more on the medical side than it does in the dental world. But we try that as much as we can: If there are there are two specialists, or a generalist and a specialist that would make sense to have in the same area, we’re telling the clients, 'Hey, take a look at this property, this may be a good feeder system back and forth.'

Brokerage liaison Brandy Keck of Carr Healthcare Realty, a firm that specializes in selling and buying real estate for medical professionals, knows a thing or two about demographics. Keck sat down with Dentist's Money Digest® at the Yankee Dental Congress to provide insight on how Carr recommends real estate purchases to dental clients. It makes sense, she said for generalist and specialists to come together if patients can be referred back and forth. 

Brokerage Liaison Talks Influence of Demographics on Real Estate Strategies

Rita Zamora, an international speaker and expert on social media marketing and online reputation management, has some hot tips for setting your practice apart from the rest. According to Zamora, it is as simple as reading reviews online and seeing what people like and dislike. Let Zamora show youa few easy ways to improve your reputation and stand up to the competition.

“So, how would you take a patient from being static, as my friend Rachel Wall of 

 says, to ecstatic? A couple of suggestions that you all can use is to check out what happy patients are saying about their dental practices on online reviews. There are reviews publicly available for practices on Google, Facebook, Yelp, and most patients, if they’re authentic reviews, are going to share those little tidbits about that practice that made them really happy. Was it the way that the team greeted them at their first appointment, or was it the hot towels that made them feel like they were at a spa? I think a patient mentioned coffee house music was playing in the office that they really liked, or maybe it was the free WiFi that was available, or the fact that the doctor sent them a birthday card or flowers after a major treatment case to their workplace. So, there are a lot of little things that your team could be doing to really help take patients from that static, just “I’m satisfied.” They may like your practice, but they’re not excited, they’re not really completely thrilled and feeling like it’s an exceptional experience for them. That’s really going to secure a patient to your practice if they ever have a change in insurance, if there’s ever a glitch that happens, maybe your practice is running late one day and the patient had to wait a little bit longer. But when those patients really feel like they’ve got a strong relationship with you and they feel beyond satisfied, they’re really ecstatic and happy with your practice. They’re happy to share reviews with you, they’re happy to remain loyal and to refer their friends and family to you as well.” 

Rita Zamora, an international speaker and expert on social media marketing and online reputation management, has some hot tips for setting your practice apart from the rest. According to Zamora, it is as simple as reading reviews online and seeing what people like and dislike. Let Zamora show you how a few easy ways to improve your reputation and stand up to the competition. 



How to get Patients Buzzing about your Practice

In the competitive world of dental care, it is easy to become hyper-focused on the success of your own practice. Chris Bentson of Bentson Copple & Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in orthodontics, recognizes the value of merging expertise for both patients and specialists. In fact, according to Bentson, interdisciplinary practices are the future of the dental industry. The following is what he has to say about the benefits and convenience of multidisciplinary relationships.

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“Why should orthodontists consider partnerships with general dentists or other dental specialists, specifically pediatric dentists? It’s important, we believe, going forward, for convenience for the patient and to understand who the stakeholders in the adolescent patient are, which are 75 percent of the patients. So, if pediatric dentists really feel like they’re the gateway for the adolescent patient to pass through prior to orthodontics, we believe that the demographics of the pediatric specialty is growing faster than orthodontics. There’s a symbiotic relationship, and we will see many ortho-pedo relationships and partnerships and real estate relationships going forward. And it makes great sense for both parties. Same, to a lesser extent, with general dentists. We believe that these partnerships in interdisciplinary offices offer convenience for the patient and leverage for all the dentists involved in the relationship. We think we’ll see more group practices, multidisciplinary practices going forward.”

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Forming Partnerships in the Dental Community

Chris Bentson specializes in orthodontics. According to him, there are certain things that today's orthodontic patient expects when they come to your practice.

Chris Bentson is a partner at Bentson Copple & Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in orthodontics. As a byproduct of his work, Bentson has his finger on the pulse of business trends in the orthodontic field. According to him, there are certain things that today’s orthodontic patient expects when they come to your practice. Here’s what will keep them satisfied.

“Patients today want a number of items from their orthodontic practice. They want simplicity. They want care today, not tomorrow. They don’t want to wait, so they want access. They want flexibility on how they pay. They want flexibility about when they are seen. And they want feedback: How am I doing? Many of these are millennial characteristics. But practices that can provide the flexibility of how to get into orthodontics financially, that can give feedback to patients, that can make it easy for them to communicate with them, not through phone, or really through email, but through text, through live chat — through things like that. Technology is a big driver of how we want to be communicated with as consumers. Orthodontists that do that well are succeeding.”

Chris Bentson is a partner at Bentson Copple & Associates, a consulting firm that specializes in orthodontics. As a byproduct of his work, Bentson has his finger on the pulse of business trends in the orthodontic field. According to him, there are certain things that today's orthodontic patient expects when they come to your practice. Here's what will keep them satisfied.

DMD Staff

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