The top 10 most-read Dental Practice Management articles of 2014

Every year, Dental Products Report and Dental Practice Management compile lists of the most-viewed and most-downloaded articles, products, e-books, webinars and how-to guides on dentalproductsreport.com. Here are the 10 most-viewed Dental Practice Management articles of 2014.

by Lisa Newburger, LISW-S

Why do you need to think about this? It’s simple … it’s all about patient care. Do you care about your patients? If so, part of that means caring about what they are thinking when they are sitting right in front of you. With my vast experience with dental hygienists, assistants, dentists, periodontists, TMJ experts and oral surgeons (you can imagine my Christmas list!), I can tell you that these are the things running through your patients’ minds. And guess what? It isn’t very pretty.

by Lisa Newburger, LISW-S

With a tip of the hat to David Letterman and his upcoming retirement, it’s time to roll out a Top 10 list of things that might go through your head on a daily basis but should never come out of your mouth.
Why do I share this list with you? Because you are human and there are times when you feel anger, resentment and frustration toward your patients (we aren’t even going to talk about your feelings about your colleagues in this article). But we aren’t ever “allowed” to share our true feelings with the patients, right? We have to use kind, gentle words without offending the patients because, let’s face it, we want their business, right?

Related reading: Do people with tooth loss really need dentures?

by Lisa Newburger, LISW-S

The third in a series of articles from Lisa Newburger, LISW-S, following the enormous feedback on her first two articles, dentists and dental team members are very interested in seeing things from a patient’s perspective, and that’s exactly what Lisa does with her writing. She has never worked a day in a dental practice but has spent plenty of time in the reception area and the dental chair as a patient. With that in mind, here is her view (as a patient) of what could be going wrong at the front desk.

by Kevin Henry

With a boom in group practices and changes in insurance sweeping over the dental landscape, we asked members of the Academy of Dental Management Consultants for their views on their thoughts on the current and future states of fee-for-service (FFS) dentistry. Is it stable? Is it going away?

by Tyson Steele

Many of the accepted “truths” regarding how to improve your dental practice are just plain erroneous or, at the least, misleading. Most of us believe these myths, however, because they sound so reasonable. Besides, it’s the conventional wisdom-everyone says the same things. Unfortunately, these myths can get you easily disoriented, shifting your focus away from good practice management strategies.

Related reading: The top 10 most-read articles of 2014

Continue reading on the next page to see the rest of 2014's top-viewed articles

by Patti DiGangi and Teresa Duncan

Creating codes to embrace new technologies, materials and procedures can lead to earlier arrest and prevention of oral disease and positively influence systemic health. For the past decade, the CDT codes were updated every two years. To facilitate a fast-moving world, CDT is now updated every year.

by Denise Ciardello

I was recently attending the Southwest Dental Conference and had to step out of a class to take a call. I found some tables that were outside the exhibit hall so I parked there to concentrate on my conversation. As I hung up, I noticed something very interesting. It was in the middle of “class time” and the line to Starbucks was quite long-so long that I was compelled to count. Here’s what I learned from that experience-and how it ties into the dental practice.

Related reading: Dr. Flucke's top 5 test drives of 2014

by Tija Hunter, CDA, EFDA, CDIA, FADAA

Working in a dental office is one of the greatest joys in my life. I sincerely love everything about it. Through the years, I have found some common mistakes dental assistants make, including myself. I have found that changing the way dental assistants do things (even just a little) will help you have low stress and a more enjoyable work environment.

by Lisa Newburger, LISW-S

Do the walls have ears? Perhaps eyes? Are you surprised to think that your patients are listening and watching everything you do? That’s a scary thought for some. There are five things I have overheard first-hand at dental practices that have made my toes curl. Even scarier is the fact that some of them I have heard over and over again.

Related reading: The top 5 dental industry trends of 2014

by Kristin Pelletier

Changing the way you approach case presentation can immediately remove the barriers to your treatment presentation and have your patients saying “yes.” Follow the tips outlined in this article and you’ll be on the road to healthy patients, a happy dental team and improved profitability.