When dental offices reopened amid the COVID-19 pandemic, some practice owners saw an increase in costs associated with PPE, coupled with a loss in revenue from scheduling fewer patients. Learn how Mark Ligocki, DDS, surpassed pre-COVID production and collections by performing new procedures and doing more same-day dentistry with the Solea all-tissue laser.
Educating Patients on the Importance of Oral Health and Routine Dental Care
Making sure patients are well informed of the importance of oral health before they even book their hygiene appointment can help curb anxiety or other barriers that may be preventing them from coming into the dental office. And with staff training on how to communicate key oral health messages with patients, the oral hygiene appointment can be the perfect way to build relationships and trust with patients.
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A Quality Assurance Approach of Infection Prevention from OSAP [Part 2]
In part two of its series “Implementing Routine Quality Assurance of Infection Prevention Policies and Procedures,” OSAP continues its close look at instrument reprocessing. Specifically, part two in this series outlines one approach to performing routine quality assurance related to packaging instruments during reprocessing.
The WHO Just Recommended the Delay of Routine Dental Care due to COVID-19. Now What?
The WHO recently recommended the delay of routine dental care in certain situations due to COVID-19. In a written response, the ADA said it “respectfully yet strongly disagrees” with the WHO’s recommendation. Roger P. Levin, DDS, shared a video outlining a scripted response dental practices can use to address patient concerns. Dr. Levin also offers three signs that may signal patients are opting out of routine dental care due to this news.
OnTarget Highlight: PPE Adherence in the Dental Practice
A recent global health pandemic has brought personal protective equipment (PPE) to the public’s attention, but dental professionals have long been familiar with the concept of PPE. Despite this, many workers fail to adhere to PPE requirements because they find equipment cumbersome, uncomfortable or disruptive to performing tasks and communicating with patients and personnel. To remove these barriers, dental offices must supply PPE that maximizes ease of use, comfort and performance.
How a Minnesota Practice Is Using Teledentistry to Advance Patient-Centered Care
When COVID-19 limited dental care in the midwestern state to emergencies only, Megan Beuckens, DDS, knew she had to find new ways to extend her skills beyond the reach of her operatory.
Boost Patient Confidence with Sterilization Solutions from A-dec
As dental practices continue to examine infection control guidelines to meet the demands of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, it’s important to consider how patients will feel as they walk into your office. A-dec has many solutions to not only improve the safety of your office, but also to visually show patients you’re keeping their health at the forefront.
How One Dental Practice Found Success with Teledentistry Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic
Michael Cruz and Dee Dee Meevasin, DMD, were running critical business operations at full sprint when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived in Las Vegas, threatening to stop them in their tracks. The technology-forward dental practice found ways to remain operational when faced with taking emergency appointments only. Teledentistry from OperaDDS allowed for virtual consults, triaging and as a general screening and communication tool.
Is Your Practice Ready for Teledentistry? Use RevenueWell’s Readiness Scale to Find Out
As states have relaxed stay-at-home orders and dental practices have started seeing patients for routine care again, teledentistry may still be top of mind for dental practices looking to give patients more ways to connect between visits. If you’ve been considering implementing teledentistry at your practice, how do you know if you’re ready? How do you know if teledentistry is right for your practice? How can you gauge its true impact on your business?
3 Steps to Create a Positive Patient Experience in the “New Normal”
Keeping patients updated with paperwork, reminders for their appointments and a list of what to expect when they get to the office will help ensure they keep their appointment. Here are three steps to create a positive patient experience and help make sure your schedule stays full and breaking appointments is a rarity.
Patient Messaging During COVID-19: Digital Communication Tools from Solutionreach
As part of its webinar series on supporting a new digital patient journey, Solutionreach recently shared some of the key areas of focus when communicating with patients during COVID-19. As patients look for a variety of up-to-date information, their healthcare provider could likely be their best source of trusted information.
Provide a Touch-Free Patient Experience with OperaDDS
Social distancing massively effects the dental industry, forcing us to change what our standard procedures are. In this new reality, we can’t just go paperless, we must go touchless. Continue reading for steps dental practices can take to provide a touch-free dental experience.
How to Construct a Curbside Waiting Room
Curbside waiting rooms and curbside check-in have become a necessity for dental practices. The experts at RevenueWell share how to successfully communicate, and create, this new reality to patients.
Wiz Guys Support Customers During COVID-19 and Beyond
Todd Wizner and Ben Wizner, also known as the “Wiz Dental Guys,” are a father-son duo of Patterson reps with knowledge spanning almost 35 years. Their unwavering commitment to their customers has especially shone through as the COVID-19 crisis has hit the nation. They knew this was going to have a big impact not only on their personal day-to-day jobs, but also on their core customers’ businesses.
A New Normal in Dentistry: The Touch-Free Patient Experience
As dental offices re-open and face the challenges created by COVID-19, how can a practice maintain the patient experience that patients have come to expect yet create reduced contact points within the practice? Ann-Marie DePalma, RDH, shares several ways to create a touchless patient experience.
Solea Laser: Reduce Aerosols, Increase Appointments, Improve Patient Experience
It is essential to keep patient comfort and safety at the forefront while maximizing appointment efficiencies. The Solea laser is one way your practice can introduce an anesthesia-free appointment that reduces aerosols and allows you to get more work done with each appointment.
4 Ways to Reduce Aerosols During Dental Treatment
As we reenter the practice world, one question dominates every conversation. How do we best reduce the aerosol generated during dental treatment? David Rice, DDS, shares four ways you can keep you, your team and your patients safe.
The Road to Reopening: One Dental Practice’s Path to Safely Getting Back to Business
When Melissa Brown, DDS, founded Murray Hill Family Dental, she worked hard to prepare for many different business situations. But needing to close and reopen her practices due to a global pandemic isn’t one she could have imagined. Along with her husband, Troy Walton, director of business operations, they have built a loyal customer following and are an active and important part of their community.
Reopening Your Dental Practice: A COVID-19 Social Media Plan
Building out a robust social media strategy and consistently sharing relevant, informative and authentic content is a cornerstone of a larger marketing plan for most any business. As dentists start to reopen their practices after having been limited to only emergency care, it is important to revisit any current social media plans and adjust to the current realities and expectations of patients.
On-Demand Webinar: Respiratory Precautions and Aerosol Management Solutions
Managing respiratory risk is critical as dental practices begin resuming regular care amid COVID-19. In this on-demand webinar, OSAP and Patterson Dental discuss current respiratory precautions and aerosol management solutions from an equipment and technology standpoint for dental practices.
Critical Compliance Factors as You Reopen Your Dental Practice
A growing number of states are allowing businesses, including dental practices, to reopen. Is your practice ready to resume routine patient care? Linda Harvey, RDH, shares several compliance factors to consider as part of your reopening process.
Virtual Visits: Teledentistry to Serve Patients Remotely
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many of RevenueWell’s customers were mandated to temporarily halt elective treatments and have cut back their schedules to only accept emergency appointments. To meet this demand, RevenueWell recently announced its newest feature, Virtual Visits. Learn about this new teledentistry solution.
3 Key Dimensions to Successfully Rebound from a Crisis
Some companies have been able to not only accelerate growth but also increase profitability while facing economic headwinds. As dental offices begin to reopen and rebound from the COVID-19 crisis, practice owners should focus on three key dimensions to navigate the economic downturn and come out the other side stronger.
8 Expert Business Tips for Reopening Your Dental Office Amid a Pandemic
Whether you’re handling emergencies only, entirely shut down, or taking initial steps to reopen, you’re no doubt focused on the near-term future of your practice. Kathy Brodal, a Patterson Dental business educator, offers eight ways to plan, prepare and pull off a strategy for propelling your business forward effectively.
Dental Practice Reopening Webinar Series: Target, Communicate, Market to Your Patients
As practices reopen and prepare for the next stage, planning, patient communication and marketing will be more critical than ever. In a new four-part webinar series, we will share insights, best practices and action steps to support you on your reopen and restore journey.
Patients, Team and Office – What to Think About as You Look to Reopen Your Dental Practice
After being closed for a few weeks, reopening your dental practice can be a stressful task that may not be well rehearsed among your staff. Creating a task list, communicating with your staff and patients, and ensuring a safe office space will help assure a smooth reopening transition.
Social Distancing in Dentistry: HIPAA Compliance and Teledentistry Partners
Amid the coronavirus pandemic, many dentists have turned to teledentistry to stay connected with patients while practicing social distancing; providing consultation, evaluation and next step actions. But as with any new technology, teledentistry brings about new questions. Healthcare risk management and compliance expert, Linda Harvey, RDH, shares her expertise in assuring the teledentistry technology you choose for your practice is compliant with HIPAA rules and keeps the privacy and security of your patients intact.
3 Ways to Assure Your Dental Practice Comes Back Stronger than Ever
With most dental practices in the U.S. open for emergency care only, it can be easy to stress about the future of your practice. Amid the uncertainty, it’s important to remain optimistic and think of ways to turn the negatives into a positive. Imtiaz Manji, the co-founder and chairman of Spear Education, recently shared his ideas on how to navigate the coronavirus crisis and how dental practices can use this tough situation to improve their business and come back stronger.
Preventing the Spread of COVID-19: Infection Control in Dental Practices
Although every patient who enters a dental office should be treated as if they could have an infectious disease; times like these help us pause, take a step back and make sure we’re compliant with current guidelines set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). Here are some ways to make sure your dental office is OSHA compliant.
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Dentists Keep Communities Safe and Healthy During COVID-19 [Infographic]
By remaining open for emergency cases, dentists are helping to keep patients out of emergency rooms (ER) – reducing the burden on critical health care facilities that are overwhelmed amid the COVID-19 crisis. As the #DentalER social media movement gains traction, read on for some some dental emergency stats to put things in perspective.