Video by Kevin Henry

When it comes to improving marketing for your dental practice, the office phone may be the last place you think to start. But if you want to grow your practice, it may be the hidden key to success.

According to Keaton Marks, director of business development for 

, the office phone is often an overlooked part of any dental practice, which can lead to many missed opportunities.

Marks recently sat down with Kevin Henry, content director for UBM Advanstar Dental Media Group, to discuss the importance of the phone and phone skills.  

“Not only should you be tracking what marketing is driving phone calls, but if our agents and our receptionists aren’t doing well on those phone skills, we’re going to miss so many opportunities,” Marks explains. He says that he and the rest of the Patient Pursuit team noticed the quicker they shared this message it became obvious to the rest of the community that the phone is an important marketing tool.

For example, Marks says when they listened in on various dental practice front desk phone calls, receptionists weren’t eager to book appointments, they were more passive with prospective patients. And this is just one of the problems they found that could hurt the growth of any practice.

To watch the full interview with Marks and Henry, see the video below.

How the phone can make or break your marketing efforts [VIDEO]

How the phone can make or break your marketing efforts

“It’s hard to decide what the next big marketing piece is going to be,” Marks says, “but the more you can stay cutting edge and know what’s out there, the better we can be.”

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If you’re dealing with daily aches and pain during the work day, Timothy Caruso has some tips for you.

In preparation for an upcoming webinar, Kevin Henry, group editorial director for Advanstar Dental Media, talked about ergonomics and pain the dental office with Caruso. The webinar led by Caruso is now available on-demand and focuses on easy ways to alleviate work-related pain.

Caruso tells Henry that two of the biggest mistakes he sees dentists make when it comes to improving ergonomics are not dealing with daily pain head on and thinking it’s too much work.

When these issues aren’t addressed, those daily pains can easily turn into chronic pain.

It’s also a misconception that keeping your focus on ergonomics means you have to re-fit an entire operatory, he says. In reality, there are simple changes every dentist, assistant and hygienist can make to improve conditions at work that may be causing pain.

One of Caruso’s tips to improve your working posture is to get help from a co-worker and photographs. He recommends a co-worker take a photo of you during the work day in the correct posture position and calls you out when in the incorrect posture position.

It’s easier to notice these mistakes when you’re “in the trenches” of daily work, so to speak.

Related to the webinar is also a free e-book, “7 Ways to Avoid Work-Related Pain and Extend Your Career” available here. In the e-book, we show you some common causes of musculoskeletal pain and offer tips on how to overcome them.

Timothy Caruso is a practicing Physical Therapist who has focused his professional expertise in the areas of manual therapy, orthopedics and neuromusculoskeletal disorders. He is a member of the ADA’s Ergonomic and Disability Support Advisory Committee and has worked extensively with the dental community since 1988.

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How to handle daily pain in the dental office before it becomes chronic [VIDEO]

Tim McNeely, CFP, CIMA, says financial planning and dentistry are more similar than most people probably think. It wasn’t until McNeely married a dentist that he discovered the similarities.

“When you show up at the dentist, the first thing they do is take an x-ray, look at your mouth, figure out what your problems and build a treatment plan,” he says.

The method is pretty much the same for financial planning.

The process starts by sitting down, figuring out the dentist's and dental practice’s financial problems and developing a plan of attack to fix them.

Talking with Advanstar Dental Media Content Director Kevin Henry, McNeely says dentists are routinely making mistakes when planning for their retirement and their overall business plan. Two of the major items sabotaging retirement are dentists not working with Certified Financial Planners and getting ripped off by Wall Street.

Watch the interview now to learn more from McNeely:

Tim McNeely, CFP, CIMA, says financial planning and dentistry are more similar than most people probably think.

Top financial mistakes most dentists are making [VIDEO]

Timothy J. McNeely	CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™
	Certified Investment Management Analysts?
	McNeely Financial Strategies LLC
	Digital Financial Planning™ for Dentists
	18919 Nordhoff St., Suite 6C | Northridge, CA 91324
	Call Tim at 818-534-4949 | Toll Free & Fax 855-FIN-XRAY

Securities are offered through
	Raymond James Financial Services, Inc.  Member 

What started as a purchase for Dr. Mike DiTolla’s co-worker has turned into a new love for the KaVo MASTERtorque™ M8900 L High-Speed Air Handpiece.

Dr. DiTolla recently purchased several of the new handpieces for his office and co-worker and while she was on vacation he decided to check them out. He says working with the dental air turbine of the KaVo MASTERtorque made him remember why he loved working with air-driven handpieces.

He says every office should have both electric and air-driven handpieces, but the KaVo MASTERtorque™ M8900 L High-Speed Air Handpiece is the top of the top.

Also new about the MASTERtorque™ M8900 L High-Speed Air Handpiece is the limited noise, DiTolla adds.

“That whine of dental air rotors is a noise that elicits fear in everyone on the planet,” he says. “When I went and borrowed my associates MASTERtorque™, I was a little worried because I’d always associated that high-pitch, terrifying whine with air rotors and I was surprised to that it was not that same experience that my old air rotor was. In fact, it might be quieter than my electric handpieces.”

Main features of the MASTERtorque™ M8900 include the following:

New: Most powerful (23 watts) KaVo high-speed with ceramic bearing

DST stops the bur in one second, increasing efficiency and improving safety during treatment

 DST reduces drawback of particles into the ball bearings for improved durability and hygiene

Quietest KaVo air high-speed at 57 decibels

Improved 4-port spray for better visibility

Push button auto chuck 3rd generation cellular optics with 5-year warranty

Automatic drive air adjustment - Use at minimum drive air pressure 38 psi (2.6 bar)

Dr. Mike DiTolla: New MASTERtorque™ M8900 L high-speed air handpiece is powerful, quiet and more [VIDEO]

Kevin Henry, editorial director for Advanstar Dental Media, sits down with 

 to talk about the birth of CAD-RAY Imaging Centers and how 

state-of-the-art 3D cone beam imaging technology

 is helping dentists make informed diagnoses and provide better treatment outcomes.

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Kevin Henry, editorial director for Advanstar Dental Media, sits down with Dr. Armen Mirzayan to talk about the birth of CAD-RAY Imaging Centers and how state-of-the-art 3D cone beam imaging technology is helping dentists make informed diagnoses and provide better treatment outcomes.

What You Should Know: Guided dental implants and CAD-RAY imaging centers [VIDEO]

During the 2013 DenMat Destination Education event this fall, Dr. Michael Miyasaki took some time to give you a behind-the-scenes discussion on 

He explains how dentists and hygienists can 

, why it’s a boon for more patients and a higher return on investment, and he divulges the biggest mistake he has seen people make with the soft-tissue laser.

“I look at a soft-tissue laser as an easy way to make my every day clinical dentistry easier,” Miyasaki says. Plus, the product is a great way to open your practice up to more procedures to bring in more patients, he adds.

With a soft-tissue laser, Miyasaki explains, you can complete procedures such as gingivectomies and soft- tissue recontouring – among a myriad of other procedures- without ever having to give the patient any type of injectable anesthetic.

“And I will tell you, that’s a thrill for many of the patients we have.”

So, what’s the biggest mistake Dr. Miyasaki has seen when using a soft-tissue laser? Watch the interview below and find out that and more.

During the 2013 DenMat Destination Education event this fall, Dr. Michael Miyasaki took some time to give you a behind-the-scenes discussion on soft-tissue lasers.

Dr. Michael Miyasaki explains the benefits of soft-tissue lasers for dentists, hygienists [VIDEO]

There are a lot of hurdles to success for general practitioners these days. Dr. Ed Lowe tells you how to overcome them.

 event, Dr. Ed Lowe took some time from his course designed to explain the 

 readers what success means for general practitioners .

Dr. Lowe sat down with Kevin Henry, Advanstar Dental Media Group editorial director, to discuss why GPs should treat their "patient as the president," what it really means to "stay busy" in their dental practices and more.

You can watch the entire conversation here:

Edward Lowe, B.Sc., D.M.D., is a 1986 graduate of the University of British Columbia’s Faculty of Dentistry. He maintains a full time private practice devoted to comprehensive functional aesthetic and reconstructive dentistry in downtown Vancouver, BC.

Dr. Ed Lowe: What success means for general practitioners [VIDEO]

Educators exploring the latest in minimally-invasive esthetic techniques, life-saving screening technology, soft-tissue management therapy and more.

Nov. 8 kicked off the three-day educational conference for dentists and dental team members, 

, in Las Vegas, Nev., also serving as a chance for the industry to learn more about DenMat’s newest dental products.

At the kick-off, Vice President and GM of Advanstar's Dental Media Group John Schwartz opened the event with DenMat's Robert Cartagena, chief operating officer, and Todd Tiberi, chief administrative officer. Destination Education is a chance to spend three inspirational and practice-changing days with 10 of the top educators in the dental industry.

During the event, which continues until Nov. 10, these educators are exploring the latest in minimally- invasive esthetic techniques, life-saving screening technology, soft-tissue management therapy and more.

At the opening, Cartagena also delved into DenMat’s growing goal of expanding its product line with the introduction of a few new key products from this year.

 is a multifunctional acrylic temporary crown and bridge material that reportedly offers stronger, more esthetic temporaries with a high luster that requires little to no polishing. According to DenMat, Perfectemp®10 is everything that defines a premium temporary crown and bridge material, delivering fast, strong, and esthetic temporaries for the patient and your practice. 

“It is a fantastic product,” says Cartagena. “The only problem with the product is that temporaries end up looking so good, that your patients may not want to come back for their permanent restorations,” he adds jokingly.

SplashMax, a premium quality VPS impression material

 featuring an improved formulation over the award-winning Splash® impression material, with instant hydrophilicity, maximum tear strength, excellent dimensional accuracy and high contrast colors. SplashMax provides detailed and consistent results at a highly competitive price.

“Last year we acquired a company called 

,” Cartagena continues, “a really fantastic line of magnification loupes. They are unbelievably light. The lightest weight and most comfortable loupes you will find on the market with a very stylish Adidas sports frame.”

 PeriOptix™ and the available products here.

But what Cartagena says is most exciting this year from DenMat is the 

 a multi-disciplinary approach to thin veneers and minimally invasive esthetics. More specifically, the 

novation technique uses a multi-disciplinary approach to anterior esthetics using the latest generation of Lumineers.

“It’s no longer about one material or prep philosophy. It’s using whatever is necessary to create a great, beautiful restoration.”

A complete listing of all THINNOVATION courses scheduled across the U.S. and Canada is listed on DenMat’s website at 