Larry the Accountodontist
May 8, 2012 | 
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Larry Goldberg
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2012 Reports Show Dental Spending Increase
April 25, 2012 | Subscribe to our RSS Feed
Are Happy Days Here Again?
It has been on the front page of the ADA News of January 16, 2012 and reported on MSNBC: Dental spending is on the upswing. Reporting on data from 2010 showed that dental spending increased by 2.3%. Now that is not a huge increase by any definition, but following the dismal 2008 and 2009 years when most dental practices saw a significant drop in their collections, any increase in dental spending is to be taken as a positive.
In 2011 I noticed an uptick in collections in the majority of my dental practice clients and wrote about it in a 2011 blog post. As I mentioned not every dental practice saw positive growth due to economic circumstances not being as favorable in their geographic region.
It seems like patients may be getting more comfortable paying for dental treatment at the present time. It is too early to see how dental spending did across the country in 2011 compared to 2010. One can only hope that the increase in spending continues to increase now and in the future.
Tell us what your experience has been. Has your dental practice seen an increase in collections relative to the past two or three years? What changes, if any, have you made in your dental practice to weather the stormy weather of the past few years?
Are You Covered?
January 10, 2012 | Subscribe to our RSS Feed
You have seen them in airports, at the supermarket and I recently saw one at a construction site in lower Manhattan where the World Trade Center revitalization continues. What am I talking about?
Automated external defibrillators (AED’s).
Do you have one in your dental office? If your answer is no, my response is why not? 
At a recent client meeting the client recounted a conversation he had with his attorney. In that discussion the lawyer mentioned that AED’s were found at the locations mentioned above and many more places. Places where no health care is being given. With that in mind the attorney suggested that the dentist would have no leg to stand on if a patient had a cardiac arrhythmia while in the dental office.
Think about it. Dental patients are in what may be an extremely stressful situation for some of them. On top of that you are injecting them with local anesthetic with or without some type of vasoconstrictor. And then you may be using some type of sedation technique for further dental patient control.
Do you think you have any chance to successfully defend a malpractice case should a patient die while in your dental chair or dental office? When that defense attorney asks, “Why can a person find an AED in an airport, a supermarket or even a construction site but you Dr. Jones (not an actual name), a dentist and healthcare provider, don’t have one in your dental office, and why is that?” What is your answer going to be, a stammering, bumbling “Er, um, I don’t know or “It was too expensive”, or some other answer that no judge or jury is going to accept.
So whatever your reason has been up to this point for not purchasing an AED for your dental office please reconsider and buy one as soon as possible for yourself and more importantly for your patients.
Do You See What I See?
December 30, 2011 | Subscribe to our RSS Feed
You take pride in your dental office. You have all the latest technology, your clinical work is top-notch, and you charge fees that reflect your commitment to providing your patients with the highest quality treatment.
But when is the last time you looked at your dental office from the eyes of your patients instead of the view of peering into their oral cavity? Does the appearance of your office reflect the same high quality you seek to impart in your patient’s dental treatment?
Go to your reception area one evening after your office has closed and look around. Is the carpet clean? Do the chairs have stains on the cushions so big a psychiatrist could use them for a Rorschach test? Are the blinds in good condition or are some of the slats cracked, bent or even missing? Is the cove molding (that plastic border running along the bottom of the wall just above the 
carpeting) still attached to the wall?
How about taking a seat in the dental chair and get the view your patient sees as you approach with handpiece in hand, minus your smiling face buried under your mask. Are those light fixtures a little dusty? Forget dust bunnies, we’re talking dust hippos. How about those ceiling tiles, do they have those nasty brown stains from a leaky roof because your landlord just won’t get over to fix the leak or change the tiles? Are the walls looking a little weathered because they haven’t been painted since George Bush the elder was in office?
I think you get the message. Ask your staff for some feedback. They can lend an extra set of eyes for things that may need fixin’ up. Spend a little money to freshen up your dental office so that it reflects the same high quality you aim to provide in your dental treatment. Don’t be surprised when your patients comment on the improved appearance. I guarantee they will notice what you have done.
Questions for the Accountodontist?
larry.goldberg@glassjacobson.com
To Market, To Market…
November 22, 2011 | Subscribe to our RSS Feed
No, this blog is not about a Mother Good nursery rhyme, but rather some marketing tips that you might be able to use in your dental office. They are not from some dental guru or me, but from your peers. Check out this video to see what other dentists and their staff are doing to make their dental practices grow. These people were all participants at The Madow Brothers LIVE Brainstorming meeting held in Baltimore, MD in September 2011.
Even if you think marketing is a four letter word listen to what other dentists are saying. Maybe you can pick up an idea or two to take your dental practice to new levels. Most of what is talked about is internal marketing tools that are very inexpensive to implement. Thanks to Dave and Rich Madow and all the dental folks who shared their ideas.
Need help growing your dental practice? Contact Larry the Accountodontist.