the DPR Editorial Team

The number one mission in today’s dental economy is to increase practice production. But how do we get there?

 suggests a 3-Step Method to Increase Practice Production. The steps include:

		Setting Targets-15 to 20 highly specific, measurable and achievable goals.

		Developing Systems-step-by-step methods to achieve increased production.

		Creating Value Scripts-to influence patient behavior.

These are the main steps of the method, but Levin says daily checklists are a major part of the plan on every level.

A system is only as good as its weakest link, and having daily checklists enable staff and teams to do their jobs better, define tasks with deadlines, keep everyone accountable and ensure tasks are completed on time.

Watch the entire video tip from Dr. Levin and learn how you can use checklists to improve your practice production on a more effective and efficient level.

Consider visiting our Morning Huddle Sponsor, Isolite Systems, here. 

Articles

Checklists — the secret tool to increased practice production [VIDEO]

Dentistry presents its practitioners with some unique situations and unique problems that go along with those situations. We are fortunate that we have companies that not only help solve those problems, but also approach these problems in ways that allow them to be solved while giving our patients or our practices maximum benefit in the process.

DPR GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR KEVIN HENRY AND DR. JOHN FLUCKE DISCUSS DPR'S 2014 INNOVATOR PROFILES:

This is something, the importance of which, cannot be emphasized enough. I am continually impressed with solutions that incorporate the core principles that ensure quality dentistry, but also bring enough of the current cutting-edge science of materials to provide state-of-the-art care to our patients. 

The following 17 companies offer these types of solutions. Click through each of them to see just a sample of what kind of innovations they're presenting our industry, and follow the links to read in even more detail.

Click here to start discovering what solutions these innovators are offering.

Top photo throughout: Colin Anderson/Getty Images

 Innovator Profile: "The newest addition to KaVo’s high-speed collection, the 

 now has 20 percent more power (compared to 6500BR) at 23 Watts, the same industry leading noise level of 57 dB, and NEW Direct Stop Technology (DST). Direct Stop Technology stops the bur in less than one second (on average) when the doctor steps off the foot control. This increases working efficiency and reduces the potential for soft tissue damage."

: "With OP300 Maxio, we were not only able to provide all the renowned 

 product features, such as stable patient positioning, but also introduce new ones like Automatic Dose Control for panoramic modality or the additional 3D fields-of-view."

: "Furniture and cabinetry are a direct expression of the practice’s personality. It’s important to consider the image you want to reflect when making these choices. Choosing cabinetry that is functional and beautiful ensures clinicians are reaping the benefits of ergonomic storage, and projecting an image of professional excellence to patients."

Click here to learn more about Pelton & Crane's cabinetry and chair options, along with apps and seminars to improve you practice design.

: "It’s a whole new world in caries detection--it has been reinvented. Not only have we moved beyond fluorescence with a better technology, we’ve made the unit easy to use and fully integrated with one of the world’s best imaging software programs, DEXIS."

Click here to read about the CariVu along with all the other exciting products and innovations brought to you from DEXIS.

: "The NOMAD brought about the first true change in the way dental professionals take X-rays. How many homes do you walk into and see a corded phone on the wall anymore? The same holds true in the dental practice. Why hang a wall-mounted X-ray? Times have changed."

Click here to read all about the NOMAD intraoral X-ray, which can be carried easily from one operatory to another.

: "With i-CAT FLX, I have access to detailed and precise information for more precise treatment planning and implementation. The insights that I gain into the patient’s specific dentition allow me to achieve accuracy and also to avoid potential surgical and restorative complications."

Dr. Michael DiTolla, DDS, FAGD, Director of Clinical Education and Research, 

: "When I started practicing back in the Dark Ages, dentistry was fun. Now I see how far we have come and how everything is so much faster and more efficient today. For example, look at a lot of direct composites that are being done today. We used to have to put on six to seven layers and cure incrementally. With SonicFill, I can do bulk fill in a single step."

Dr. Susan Becker Doroshow, 2015 President of 

, on the 150th Midwinter Meeting: "The benefits of attending a live program-interacting with speakers, networking with other professionals, handling new products on the exhibit floor, to name just a few-make this continuing education format one that will never be supplanted by online learning. 

 longevity and reputation as the leader in scientific dental meetings has given us a competitive edge."

Click here read all about CDS' plans for 2015's Midwinter Meeting, and what they're doing to celebrate the 150th meeting.

Rhett Burnham, Director of Product Management, Practice Management Solutions at 

: "We get feedback from beta testers and focus groups prior to launching any new product or update. We have an online 

, so customers can request product enhancements or submit ideas for doing things better. This allows us to create innovative solutions, like 

: "MacPractice is the leading Apple software development company for doctors. Patrick Clyne, MacPractice’s President, directed the development of the first dental software with a graphical user interface, integrated tooth charting, QuickTime audio, intraoral video capture and integrated digital X-rays." 

Click here to find out how MacPractice is utilizing the power of Apple products to revolutionize your clinic.

Dr. Michael Scherer, DMD, MS, FACP, Diplomate, American Board of Prosthodontics: "When the 

 was introduced, I decided to implement it into my practice because, as a prosthodontist, I needed a narrow diameter dental implant that had little compromise for my patients with narrow ridges. I needed an implant that utilized the most effective, popular, and researched attachment system on the market that I know I can stand behind for years to come."

Click here to see how the ZEST LODI system can improve the esthetics and efficiciency of your implant work.

Dr. Paul L. Child Jr., DMD, CDT, Execusive Vice President, 

 is our best-selling product for a reason--it’s another unique BISCO product and it works! We’ve received a lot of feedback from clinicians who are implementing this amazing product into their restorative dentistry daily.

Reports of decreased sensitivity in deep preparations to reduced number of endodontic procedures are being conveyed as more clinicians discover this product."

Click here to see how TheraCal LC and other innovative solutions from BISCO can benefit your dental practice.

 can be implemented with the simple touch of buttons. It offers preset oil volume for each type, consistent cleaning and lubrication, chuck-cleaning function, low oil cost, and a compact body."

Click here to read about NSK's innovative handpiece-centered product offerings, and how these products are pushing the industry forward.

Richard Burde, Senior Brand Manager for indirect restoratives at 

: "Dental laboratories confirmed that all of the marginal detail was present and found the impressions acceptable. Crowns that were made from the impressions were clinically successful and fit well.

The result is possible because the pneumatic digit power™ Dispenser places the 

Aquasil Ultra Cordless Tissue Managing Impression Material

 directly into the sulcus through the ultra-thin intrasulcular tip capturing the finest marginal details."

Click here to discover how all the innovative product solutions from DENTSPLY Caulk can help your practice make a leap in efficiency and quality.

 lasers: "I love the fact that it offers both disposable tips and a long fiber-optic cable. I much prefer the long fiber-optic cable, which reduces overhead drastically. A 3-year warranty is a fantastic deal, and I also love the fact that both the duty cycle and the Hz can be adjusted. The more variability built into a laser, the better able the doctor is to treat patients’ different tissue types."

Click here to explore the ways Zolar's cutting-edge laser technology can help your practice.

 cuts and heals with water. Period. Water is the most important substance in the human condition. We use water to limit the negatives associated with dentistry. The WaterLase changes dentist and patient perceptions of what going to the dentist and taking care of their oral health means"

 Innovator Profile: "Developed in collaboration with dental professionals, the 

 is equipped with bristles featuring the latest in manufacturing technologies, such as 'micro-feathering splits at each bristle’s end and a Dome Trim design."

Click here to learn more about the GUM brands offered from Sunstar Americas, and how the toothbrush technology benefits clinicians and patients alike.

 Innovation drives our profession. Fortunately, dentistry has some amazing “renaissance” type of thinkers who are constantly problem solving from outside the box, inside the box, and under the box.

The DPR Innovator Profiles 2014: Pushing our industry forward

Asking for referrals is not being sales-y. Internal marketing is simply utilizing your current patients to reach new patients. It’s a smart and necessary – not to mention cost-efficient – marketing strategy.

Everyone in the practice from the front desk to hygiene to the dentists have the opportunity to interact with and influence patients. The entire team needs to be trained and comfortable with asking for referrals.

Verbal skills don’t always come naturally. It takes practice in order for the team to feel comfortable and confident enough to weave a referral request into everyday patient conversations. Hint: Ask for a referral whenever you receive a compliment!

72% of Internet users turn to the web when researching healthcare options. Make sure prospective patients can learn about your practice online; in addition to asking for referrals, remind patients to share their positive experiences by writing an online review of the practice on Yelp! or Google+ Local.

When it comes to acknowledging patient referrals, you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Take advantage of innovative solutions such as those from 

 a turnkey internal marketing program that automates referral tracking and help you easily incent both team members who ask for referrals and patients who refer!

Improving internal marketing systems is a marathon, not a sprint, and it takes time to build momentum. Commit to the ongoing process now and reap the rewards for the long-term. One easy way to ensure continuity is to make asking for referrals a regular topic in your morning huddle – so it doesn’t fall by the wayside. 

Naomi Cooper - President, Minoa Marketing & Chief Marketing Consultant, Pride Institute

This article originally appeared in the June 2014 issue of Dental Products Report. For more great articles about products in action, 

click here to subscribe to DPR: http://bit.ly/17ocF5z

01. Overcome Your Own Objections Asking for referrals is not being sales-y. Internal marketing is simply utilizing your current patients to reach new patients. It’s a smart and necessary – not to mention cost-efficient – marketing strategy. 02. Get Your Team Involved

The List: Top 6 Ways to Elevate Internal Marketing

 CEO Mark Hollis about the workflow benefits of using Apple products, and how his company can help dentists take it even further.

 iPads have brought the Apple esthetic and ease-of-use to dental practices in a major way. MacPractice, however, has been a champion of the Mac workflow and its benefits long before the iPad. What did you see in this platform?

This year, MacPractice is celebrating its 10th year. Many of us have been working with dentists who prefer Macs for 30 years. Mac users have always preferred the innovation, simplicity, beauty and superior reliability of Apple products.

Dental practices don’t want to deal with IT issues and frankly, cannot afford regular, monthly IT support. There was a Fortune 500 study done some years ago in which every PC that was replaced with a Mac reduced the company’s maintenance cost by 90% in addition to reducing the high cost of staff downtime. And if you do need Apple support, Apple is rated the best year after year. We follow Apple’s Mac OS and iOS development guidelines, as we have for 30 years, to deliver that same simplicity and consistency to dental practices.

Looking forward, Apple previewed Mac OS Mavericks and a new Mac Pro in June, both for release in 2013. Mavericks will create new ways for dentists to use a single Mac with up to three monitors in the treatment room. With Thunderbolt 2, Mac Pro owners will be able to back up a 20GB MacPractice database in about 2.5 minutes, twice the speed of Thunderbolt on current Macs, and several times the speed of USB3.

 MacPractice has been remarkably consistent in offering new features. What are some of the most recent that you can share with our readers?

The software business is challenging. You can never stop improving, innovating, adapting, fixing. Among many new features in MacPractice 4.4, which is 64 bit and can fully leverage the performance Mac OS X achieves by addressing multi-core Intel processors, we have introduced inventory, Time Clock, enhanced Internet interfacing, and new enhanced versions of our iPad Apps. We’ve continued to add more Mac native digital radiography and intraoral camera options at a variety of price points. We integrated Transworld Systems’ low-cost collections assistance, and we now offer automated Internet backup with Dolly Drive.

 What can you tell us about your current iPad apps and how they are being received?

With MacPractice DDS 4.3, we introduced an ecosystem of native apps for iPad and iPad mini that interoperate to eliminate data entry errors and redundancy, maximize staff time, improve patients’ experience with registration, and eliminate the use of paper in a dental practice. Patient Check In App, 

 work in tandem to achieve those objectives. iEDR assists the dentist, hygienist and assistant to enter visit notes and to educate and motivate patients by showing them an X-Ray or photo displayed on an iPad they can hold in their hand.

The popularity of our iPad apps has exceeded our expectations. We have enabled connectivity with MacPractice for more than 500 of those are our clients who downloaded each of the apps from the App Store. The reviews we’ve received from both staff and patients are very positive.

 As always, a major hurdle for dentists interested in MacPractice is the assumed headache around data migration from their current PC system. How do you help practices jump this hurdle?

: Our regional MacPractice Practice Consultants, most of whom have 20+ years of experience, are experts at getting a new practice up and running on the first day of training. The key to a successful start on a new software is timely and seamless data migration and competent on-site training. Some things have not changed in 30 years, and never will. Having assisted thousands of established dental practices over many years to abandon their PC and Unix software to move to Macs, we established a conversion team within MacPractice that is exclusively dedicated to the process. After a rehearsal in our office, we typically turn a data conversion around in a single day to avoid double data entry for the staff.

The reality is that many dentists stick with their vendor until cost or service becomes unbearable or until there is a Windows or software update that requires all new PC hardware. When they’re ready to switch, we’re here.

MacPractice Patient Check In App streamlines office workflow making it convenient for a patient to electronically “Check In” for an appointment scheduled in MacPractice DDS on an iPad or iPad mini at the office. Check In records the time, changes the appointment status to “Patient Checked In,” and every staff member is notified of the patient’s arrival at their MacPractice terminal.

With MacPractice Clipboard App, staff can select registration forms for review and completion by patients before handing them an iPad or iPad mini at both initial and follow-up visits. Registration information entered into MacPractice DDS when the appointment was made can be verified or corrected by patients, and demographics, patient photo, and a signed HIPAA release are automatically sent to their account, saving staff time and eliminating entry errors. Clipboard templates can be customized. Data flows from Clipboard to MacPractice and to iEDR.

Using MacPractice iEDR, dentists, hygienists and assistants can create and view a patient’s visit notes and add new notes on an iPad or iPad mini for a current visit. All notes are incorporated into the patient’s record in ONC-ATCB Certified MacPractice DDS. Dentists can create and refill prescriptions electronically and view and show patient X-Rays and photos stored in MacPractice. iEDR interoperates with MacPractice DDS and also may be used remotely via the Internet to provide true portability to a dental practice.

DPR talks to MacPractice CEO Mark Hollis about the workflow benefits of using Apple products, and how his company can help dentists take it even further.

Dental Innovators: MacPractice delivers Apple-friendly software solutions to dental practice management

Keeping up with all the new cosmetic dentistry techniques, products, news and developments can seem like a full time job in itself. But it doesn’t have to be that way. 

Whether you want to expand your cosmetic practice or improve the aesthetics of your current restorative dentistry, 

Dental Products Report's Guide to Cosmetic Dentistry

 is your resource to stay on top of everything new and exciting in the world of cosmetic dentistry. 

Your guide to what’s new in cosmetic dentistry

Are you making any of these website mistakes? It could be hurting your dental practice.

Current and potential patients visit your website to learn more about your practice. If you have information about promotions that are over or an old phone number, patients will leave frustrated and confused. An out-of-date, unattractive design will also send them to the next practice’s website.

Regularly adding fresh content will not only keep your website interesting, but will also make it more likely to show up when patients are searching for a practice in your area. If it’s static, you’ll probably be left off the results page. Create a blog and update it with information about your practice.

Your phone number, email, street address, and links to social media should be easy to find. Consider adding a map. Make it easy for patients to contact and find you.

Your website can be a great marketing tool. Post before-and-after photos. Ask patients for testimonials and post them on your site. You do great work, and your website is a great place to show that off.

Many of your patients are Web-savvy. If your website is too cluttered or too confusing, they won’t stay very long and they likely won’t come back.

Creating links to articles about your practice or your social media pages is great, but won’t do you or your patients any good if the links don’t work.

When patients visit your website, they want to know what services you offer. They want to learn more about you and your team. Make sure you feature up-to-date information on you and your team members and the products and services you offer.

7 ways your website is hurting your business

 strategically unites the leading dental consumable, equipment, high tech, and specialty brands under a single global platform. But what does this mean for consumers?

 Content Director Kevin Henry recently had a chance to get to the bottom of the KaVo Kerr Group formation with Henk van Duijnhoven, senior vice president responsible for the KaVo Kerr Group.

1. It’s been said that the average dental practice has an average of five KaVo Kerr Group brands already in use in their practice. Why was it important to bring these brands together under one umbrella?

Our portfolio of brands are in virtually every dental practice around the world. Up until now, we lacked a halo or identity that bonded our brands together; therefore our customers didn’t realize there was common DNA and values that connected us. Thus KaVo Kerr Group simply tells our customers that we are uniquely connected together and that our products, processes and people work together to better dentistry. 

The KaVo Kerr Group is the halo that offers outstanding brands like KaVo, Kerr, 

, Instrumentarium, Ormco, Implant Direct, 

 and many others that our customers know and trust.

, how will it impact the average dental practice? 

Simply spoken, it’s our desire to enhance clinical outcomes and improve workflows so our clinicians can optimize and simplify their work and personal lives. Our culture is founded on the relentless pursuit of continuous improvement and we anticipate that by leveraging our portfolio of brands, technologies and resources that we can deliver greater value to our entire customer base including our distributors, clinicians, and institutional customers.

3. One of the main points I have heard from KaVo Kerr Group is that its portfolio of products complement each other. How important is that for the dental practitioner?

It’s very simple actually. Our job as a leading provider of outstanding brands is to simplify and enhance the lives of our clinicians. Helping them work more effectively, efficiently and confidently, will improve clinical outcomes and support our customer’s desires to be successful both in and out of work. 

Our business model creates a unique interrelationship between our brands, research and development, and global resources that will streamline workflows and simplify dentistry.

A great example is our Kerr Sonicfill product. This product improves quality of posterior bulkfill restorations and reduces the time a clinician spends on completing the restoration by combining KaVo sonic technology with Kerr composite know-how.

4. You’re launching over 20 new products at the 

upcoming 2014 Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting

We are committed to R&D and innovation over the long haul. The launches at Chicago Midwinter are a product of that intent and commitment. We have a thorough and sustainable processes that yield a steady flow of new products each year and 2014 will not disappoint. 

The Midwinter meetings are always a great launching pad to showcase our new innovations and ring in the New Year. Considering we have over 15 relevant brands and a robust R&D group, it doesn’t take long to add up. 

We really hope our customers get excited and see the value in all our new innovations of 2014 and of course in years to come.

5. What’s the one message you want dental practitioners to know about KaVo Kerr Group?

Great question. Two things that we want to share. 

First, we simply want our customers to know that KaVo Kerr Group is a halo that represents an outstanding portfolio of brands that they use and trust every day and that we are committed to enhancing clinical outcomes, improving clinical workflows and simplifying dentistry. 

Second, we are committed to the dental community and will continue to invest in the lives of our distribution partners, clinicians, patients, educators, charitable groups and the entire dental profession.

6. What are the core values of KaVo Kerr Group and how does that affect its products?

Our values are trust, experience, choices, quality and smart innovation. As I’ve alluded to before, we simply want to enhance clinical outcomes and simplify the lives of our customers. The way it plays out is that we are relentless on defining, developing and ultimately delivering products and services that yield this promise.  If our products don’t meet this standard, then we don’t launch them. 

Our brands have established a relationship with our customers over the years and we take the responsibility of being good shepherds of our brands very seriously.

7. Do you believe your equipment and consumables can help a dental practitioner find a work/life balance?

Absolutely! We see it every day. One of our principles is that “when customers talk, we listen.” 

Our customers have unique problems that they need solved. Sometimes they are articulated problems and other times we simply observe them as we do our research. If we can cut a procedure time in half because of the interrelationship of the products, processes and techniques, then the patient and clinician both win. I’m sure you are the same as me-if I could get home a few minutes earlier or get some extra work done in the normal span of business-then I feel pretty good. If the patient has to make fewer visits to the offices, experience less complex cases and always works with a confident dentist, they win. This principle drives us every day! 

The best part of dentistry is that our customers are passionate about solving problems and enhancing clinical outcomes.  It’s what we all do.

8. The companies that make up KaVo Kerr Group have more than 500 years of industry experience-What does the future hold?

We’ve never been more excited. Our investments in innovation and R&D continue to increase and the steady flow of new products is very healthy. More than new products this year is not an anomaly. Our global team continues to work more effectively, sharing technologies and collaborating to solve problems. We continue to invest in our customers’ lives and are convinced that we will all win together.

The formation of the KaVo Kerr Group strategically unites the leading dental consumable, equipment, high tech, and specialty brands under a single global platform. But what does this mean for consumers?

What the new KaVo Kerr Group means for popular brands, new products and dentists

Are e-cigarettes really the safer alternative to cigarettes?

Kevin Henry, Modern Hygienist's group editorial director, talks to Anastasia Turchetta, RDH, about the rise in e-cigarette usage, what it means in terms of oral health and what dental professionals need to know about this current trend.

“We’re taking a new topic - the e-cigarette - into an old industry …,” Turchetta says. “The research isn’t out there yet, but there are still some keys things that I think we, as dental professionals, should ask.”

What dental professionals need to know about e-cigarettes [VIDEO]

According to Frank J. Milnar, DDS, AAACD, for the best results when working with zirconia, users should rely on instruments optimized for the high-strength material.

He says standard instruments often fail in these cases, requiring the operator to use multiple burs to adjust or polish a single restoration. In turn, if the instrumentation does not achieve a high luster on the restoration, the zirconia will be very unforgiving and antagonistic to the opposing dentition; therefore, a kit dedicated to high-strength ceramics offers the ideal solution.

 offers the instruments necessary for adjusting occlusion and reconfiguring the luster of zirconia restorations.

In this technique video from Dr. Milnar, the case demonstrates the placement of a full-contour zirconia crown using the LD0707 Cut, Finish and Polish kit from Komet USA.

How to get zirconia crowns right with the LD0707 kit from Komet [VIDEO]

From February 20-22, the entire DPR editorial team will descend upon the Windy City to provide our 

 yet of any event we’ve covered in the pages of 

2014 Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting

, we've put together a handy guide of 19 “must-see” products to check out if you’re hitting the showroom floor at McCormick Place West. The guide is hosted on our 

2014 Midwinter Meeting roundup microsite. 

Prior to the meeting, we'll be posting helpful dental show tips and 

 the meeting the DPR team will be updating the page with live updates from product launches, team member tweets on Twitter, booth interviews, videos and more. 

 so you'll keep up to date with all the Midwinter news when the big three days come.

From February 20-22, the entire DPR editorial team will descend upon the Windy City to provide our most in-depth coverage yet of any event we’ve covered in the pages of Dental Products Report or on the DPR website.