Dental A Team Podcast

Dental A Team
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This podcast is here to give dentists and all dental office team members, in EVERY position, TACTICAL and PRACTICAL TIPS to: - Be more efficient - Have more fun - Improve doctor and team communications - Eliminate frustration - And make your life easier! Jump in! We are thrilled you have decided to LEVEL UP and be part of the DENTAL A TEAM! New episodes every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

  1. 1D AGO

    Patient Flow Is Different in 2026. This Is What to Do about It.

    Three months into 2026 and the Dental A-Team is already clocking how different patient flow is this year. Kiera talks about optimizing your practice for that unique 2026 patient. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera. And today I hope you're just having the best day. I hope that you're realizing things are so good. Things are amazing. I hope that you are just like on cloud nine. And today I'm really excited because this is a topic that I was like just so jazzed about. Cause I realize our patient flow is something that is different for 2026. Like we have it different. It looks different. And I...   I'm just really excited. So if you're new to the Dental A Team podcast, welcome. I'm super excited to be here with you. I hope that you are just jazzed. And I think that, like I said, this is going to be something that is going to be very fun for you. And I hope that you take it on. I hope that you look at it. I hope that you just get excited to like, Hey, amazing. We're going to be able to like fix our 2026 patient flow. So when I look at this, like 2026 is   very, very, very different than what it was even like when I started the company back in 2016. I think patients in 2026, they're not more difficult. They're just super aware of their time. It's not just enough to be good at clinical excellence. You know how to be really easy to do business with. And if patients feel like energy's off or the vibe's not there, they're going to possibly just leave without saying anything. And so I just wanted to come on today   talk to you about some things that I'm seeing in 2026, things that we're seeing with amazing practices that are doing really, really well to help you all, like let's optimize our patient experience, which I know I've talked so many years about patient experience, but I thought like the patient is different today in 2026, they're more used to everything being online. And I think let's not be foolish. We still sometimes have older patients and we need to make sure that we're not adapting everything and changing, but the new generation of patients are definitely a different breed.   than what we had before, which every generation is different. So looking for this, I just want you guys to really like get excited. Welcome to the podcast. I'm Kiera Dent and our job is to help you guys have thriving practices, possibly impacting the world of dentistry and to truly just like make it to where you guys feel like you get tactical practical tips on the podcast. I love hanging out with you. I wanna remind you, you're doing better than you think you are. And if this podcast has inspired you, touch your life in any way.   please be sure to leave us a review. Those five stars keep us top of mind for everybody. And also pop us in Facebook groups, us, tag us on Instagram. We will comment, we will respond to you and we always appreciate it because that is your subtle way of being able to help us infiltrate the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible. So with that, I just want you guys to know that like, ⁓ this patient experience flow is going to help everything improve. And it's for our production, our case acceptance, our team energy, patient loyalty, all of that. So.   Getting this patient flow, I believe is so important. So I think like really, really, really working on the first 15 minutes of our patient experience because patients are gonna decide about your practice immediately and they're gonna look at Google reviews, they're gonna look at your social media presence and then it's gonna be on how they make the phone call. So what's gonna happen for it? Like how can we optimize this? And I think one thing is how is your like...   hello on the phone. So ⁓ even if we need to record it, listen back to it. I put a mirror always with my front office team members. I want them sitting up straight. I want them smiling really, really big, like almost a cheesy grin. People can feel that energy through it. And then I look at like, how can I make it the easiest, smoothest check-in for them to where when they get to my practice, after I won them over the phone, when they come into the office, they feel different. So how can I make sure my check-in is very fast and personable? How can I make sure there's like minimal paperwork that's like   just annoying, iPads that don't work. My team is prep, so when they come and get the patient from the waiting room, they are concierge luxury without the like high price tag of that. Like I just want people when they come into the practice, I feel like people care a lot more about how they feel. They care about the experience of it. I mean, you guys have TikTokers, YouTubers, Instagram people, like that's the world we live in and they are walking everywhere around you. And so...   we make sure that they're going to want to showcase our practice and feel that way on time, getting seated on time. These are big things. feel like time is people's greatest commodity and feeling like they're important is the second. So when we look at it, I think that as I look at my processes, what can we do to speed up our check-in? What can we do to like make our paperwork that is clunky? Could we review? And I'm not saying like have anything where you're not legal. Like, of course we need to keep our standards there and we want to get our health histories, but   Like for me, when I send new patient paperwork, I ask them to send it back to me 48 hours before their appointment to make sure my team can be prepared. Just think of how nice it is for the patient. Like that's how they confirm their appointments. Totally ripped this off of IVF clinics. They're charging me 25 grand plus. And for me to even schedule my first appointment, my paperwork had to be submitted 48 hours before. Like I could not do it, couldn't schedule. And they just set the tone with me. Like this is how they operate. It was fine. I wasn't annoyed by it. Like, great. I got it right back to them.   And then when I got there, they knew all of my history. They took me right back on time. I just felt like it was such a different experience versus someone who's like having me fill out paperwork in the waiting room. I've gone to others. I went to a psychiatrist the other day and I was like, fill out the paperwork in the waiting room. It's just versus the IVF clinic where it's all online, it's seamless, it's very easy. It's not clunky. They text it right to my phone. I can fill it in. I don't have to print things out. I just think, how can you make it to where when they walk in,   It's the feeling and experience you want them to have. And I also think for a lot of practices, identifying what feelings do we want our patients to have. If you need help, go look at your Google reviews, have ChatGPT help you and say like, are the top five feelings that our patients feel when they come in here? And then look to see, is that what I want them to feel? And if it's not, change it up. Like how I feel when I walk into a spa versus when I walk into a dental office versus when I walk into an amusement park, there are very different feels that they want me to feel. And each of them needs to curate it. So for yourself, how can I do that?   Some practices actually have curated scents. So when you go into the practice, all of their practices smell the same. Some people have coffee bars. ⁓ I just think it's, what do want? Do want them to feel like high end luxury? Do you want them to feel like we are your family practice in the neighborhood? All of it's gonna go into effect on your decor, on your paperwork, on your experience, on how we answer the phone. So really making sure that that's dialed in and that's very solid is going to help a lot. The next thing is going to be...   Well, and a way to like, just put a nice pretty bow on that is ask yourself, like, where do patients slow down when they, when they come to our practice or when they're trying to schedule, that's going to help you figure out where can we maybe optimize that? Is it through phones? Like we could use a phone center. Where is it that patients slow down when they're trying to get here? Are they trying to arrive? And then where as we, as a team, are we slowing down? What's taking us the longest? That's going to help you like, just really optimize this patient experience. The next thing is going to be on like clinical momentum. You guys have heard us talk.   heavy about block scheduling. And I don't just do this for production. I do this for ease and flow of a practice. Like we tell people all the time, a great day for you is a great day for a patient. And they might want the 10 o'clock, but what they really wants to get in and out on time and they want our doctor to do the best work. So we just guide them to the schedule and say like, perfect. So Dr. Mike does crowns at 10 a.m. on Mondays and 2 p.m. on Fridays. Like whatever time you want it to be, but we guide them.   So our schedule is there. I'm not kidding because what this does is doctors are not bouncing between room to room. Hygienic is not waiting on a super long exams. Assistants are trying to like get from room to room and then we're out of materials or we're out of equipment that we can't use because we didn't schedule appropriate. We only have one thing for implants. We've got two implants next door to each other. Patients feel that you might feel like you are a duck on water smooth and you're paddling like crazy underneath, but patients can feel when it's tension and chaotic. So how can we put into place block scheduling?   How can we like utilize assisted hygiene, use our hygienist to help numb our patients? What can we do for exams? Like we are big on hygienists, all have the exact same exams. So when doctors walk

    19 min

  2. 2D AGO

    How to Drop Your Overhead FAST

    This one's for the business owners out there! Kiera discusses all things overhead — what's normal, what's high, how to lower it, and what overhead even means in the first place. She then goes into specific tips of what it takes to lower that overhead quickly and responsibly. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and oh I hope you're ready for today's podcast today's podcast is one that I Love but you might not love it But guess what after today you're going to love it and you're going to know why because this is an episode for the business owners out there and office managers and team members guys, I   Love, love, love, love, love talking about overhead. What's normal, what's high and how to lower your overhead and what does overhead even mean? And I know that this is something where maybe you've heard it in the past and guess what? One of the greatest tools to learning is remembering. And so today I'm gonna walk you through how we get overhead and how we're able to lower it fast. ⁓ I have found when consulting hundreds and hundreds of offices, the number one pain point is cashflow. We actually just created ⁓ like,   amazing little graph and document of how offices are looking at things and how we, this is like just a pyramid. And if you guys are watching, we're going to see how good I do. Gosh, I'm not, okay, Paul, it's not pretty enough. I won't share it yet, but we actually built this like pyramid to show kind of a proven path from chaos to control and how we go.   Like what is the base layer that causes offices the most amount of stress and how it goes up. so base layer of this triangle is cashflow and profit stability. Then after that, it's time delegation or removing the doctors a bottleneck. Then we go up to systems and consistency. Then we do leadership and CEO transition, and then it's legacy and optionality. So, and this was like really fun because I like put it all together and I was like, okay, guys, I figured out what causes Dennis the most. Like we're talking hundreds and thousands of offices and putting it together.   And then our marketing team was amazing and Paul, shout out to him, he took it and he was like, all right, here, here you go. This is what it is. And what I looked at is so many people come in and like, here, we need systems, like, because we don't have cash. So they think that the systems will get them the cash, but knowing the right system. And this is oftentimes where it feels like whack-a-mole is we're putting in the wrong system, trying to get the outcome. And so it's like putting in the correct lever to be able to move. And then you're like, well, I need a leadership team.   But if you're on cashflow row, you're not thinking about a leadership team. You're like, I gotta get out of the burning bush. But if you're on cashflow positive, you're like, gosh, I'm just like stuck in all the weeds. Well, great, we need like to build you a leadership team and we need to get systems in place for you. And we need to look at which systems are not working. And so that's why I wanted to go into overhead for you today of how, like what is overhead and how is it working for me or against me? And how do I get this down fast, AKA more profit for you. And that's not because we wanna be rich and like,   whatever, I want you to actually be very wealthy. You like put in a lot of time and effort, but we want you to be making profit as a business. If you're not making money, it's a hobby and it's a liability and it's stressful. And we need to get you out of that stress zone so you can do the best dentistry, the best care. So when I look at offices, a lot of times they're not under producing, they might be overspending. And when I look at profitability, there's three levers. We need to produce more, collect more, or reduce our spending. are the three ways to get there.   And so that's how we're gonna look at these. Those three make more profit. So when I look at this and when I look at your biggest pain point that most offices are struggling with is cashflow. And why? Because you were taught to be a dentist, you weren't taught to be a business owner. So you're like, great, I made money, but I don't know how to spend the money and I don't know what I'm overspending. I was talking to someone and ⁓ this is a dear friend to me and she's running her business and this is like leading me into a possible other business idea that's been percolating for me. She was like, Kiera.   She's not in dentistry. She's in a different industry. she's like, Kiera, I made 200,000 this last year. And I was like, dang girl, I'm super freaking proud of you. And she's like, I took them 48,000. And I was like, what? She's like, yeah. And I said, well, hold on. She doesn't have employees. She's solo. And I was like, but why? Like, okay, 200,000, let's take taxes out of there. Even if you're sitting at 37%, which you're not, let's just.   we'll chunk 40 out of that, okay? Like let's do 40%. So was like, that's like 80. That's like really high. You probably are like 60,000 out for taxes. So we'll put you at 200,000 minus 60,000. We're at 140. Where did you spend like a hundred grand? And she was like, Kiera, I don't know. I don't know. And I thought to how many business owners feel like her? How many people feel like, but I made this money, but I don't have it and I don't know why.   Like gosh, 200,000 only taking home 48. Like you might as well go work for someone else. She's like, I worked more. I'm not with my family. I've done all these things. And I feel like that's how I feel so many dentists feel. They're like, I'm working harder than I was as an associate. I have all this stress. I'm not sleeping. I'm not with my family. And I'm not even making the money that I want to be making. And so I'm just really pro of like, Hey, there are solutions and there are ways. I think understanding what overhead is, understanding how business works.   and using it within your dental office is going to help. So, Dental A Team, I'm obsessed with helping you guys have your best lives. ⁓ Our job is to help you hit profit goals, control costs, not always have to produce and work more. Like let's work smarter, not harder. ⁓ And really it's just to positively impact the world of dentistry. We call it the Yes Model. So focusing on you as a human, earnings and profitability, and then systems and team development. Your business should truly serve your life, not the other way around. And so, ⁓   Let's just like dive into what is overhead. I don't want any of you to be like my friend and honest. I'm going to get that friend out of that dilemma. I'm like, I think this is how I was. I think that it comes from, right? Like, why do we build companies? We build them out of like necessity for ourselves. We build them out of like things that we had. We build them from like, I've been there, done that. And here's how I'm going to help you. But we also need to learn how to be really strong business owners. And something I feel like I've been really proud of and something I'm really grateful for is   The language of business has actually made a lot of sense to me. was good with math. used to, you guys ready? Another random Kiera job. ⁓ I was a math tutor for quite a lot of my life actually and taught littles. I didn't go, I was not into calculus. I was doing algebra, geometry, like little kids. I had a whole tutoring business. Like that was another business I started up. Cause I found out what they were paying me as a tutor versus what they were charging the client. And I was like, heck no, I'm doing my own business. It is really hard to do marketing in case you're wondering for tutoring, but.   I got my little business over the summer and drove around all these houses. ⁓ But math has always kind of made sense to me. Like one plus one equals two. And I like it because with math, maths, it's very fun. And so when I look at overhead and I look at targets, I'm like, all right, what does it mean? So overhead is the total amount of money that it costs to run a business. Okay. So that's what overhead is. And you know what? These are pretty slides. So I think Paul will be just fine.   ⁓ We actually have an entire presentation that we did on like preventing cashflow leaks and what is like the dentist profit plan? So I'm gonna actually show you guys if you're watching awesome. I think this will be a fun thing for you to see   Okay, so what is overhead? And I think these slides just break it down really simply. And if you're audio listening, great, I'm gonna tell you what's on the slide. So what is overhead? It's all the costs to run a practice. So we're talking payroll, rent, labs, supplies,   anything under the roof.   It does not usually include Dr. Pay. Now I'm gonna throw a disclaimer. I am not a CPA. Talk to your CPAs about this. I'm gonna just tell you how Kiera has learned it and how it's made sense for me when it didn't make sense, okay? So that's overhead. And I get annoyed with the overhead and this is why I prefer to talk profit versus overhead because the fact that it doesn't include Dr. Pay annoys me per CPA usual guidelines. Now I'm not saying all CPAs, but usually this is like how it is. It's all the costs, but they don't include Dr. Pay because you're a business owner. So like, why should we pay you?   Now, what is profit? Profit is the total after overhead and doctors are paid. So I like doctors to be paid 30 % of production. Think about it, that's what associates are usually paid. You can be 35%, I don't actually care. Like whatever it is. So in this simple equation, we would do revenue or production, AKA collections, minus overhead, minus doctor pay equals profit or available funds, okay? So if we're in a practice

    21 min

  3. 3D AGO

    Shuffling Team Member Personalities and Skillsets the Right Way

    Tiff and Trish break down what it means to have the right person in the right chair that's best for your practice. This means gauging comfort levels and the ability to stay calm, but it also means supporting each position so they feel like they can win at their job. Listeners are invited to review their positions based on what personality would thrive there — not only to increase treatment, but to make everyone's lives better, too. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. We are here today with, honestly, really fun one. These are some of my favorite subjects, the things that we talk about on here. I tell you guys that all the time, but I have Ms. Trish here with us today. Her internal nickname, Dental A Team name, for all of her clients, you guys can use this, is Tada. There's all kinds of reasons for it. We don't need to hash out today, but just know Tada is here. And I know I've said this on the podcast before, but if you're new here, you haven't heard it yet, I love.   podcasting with these women and I love also handpicking the topics. get topics given to us from our marketing company. We have a lot of input and say on them as the consultants, but really we just kind of look, I look ahead and I'm like, that's what we're doing in the month of March. So fantastic. And then I kind of handpick which consultants I want because I love when   I get to watch someone and partake with someone speaking on things that they're passionate about, that they truly thrive in and they love. And Trish, this topic specifically today, I know I tell you guys this, I don't know if you believe me or not, maybe you do, maybe you don't, but I know this is something that lights you up and I'm excited to be here with you. Thank you for blocking your calendar for me. Thank you for getting this set up. know it's like, both of us are like a little chaotic storms.   when it comes to things like this. So I know both of us were like frantically getting ready. So thank you. How are you today? And how excited are you to be here? Like just, you know.   Tricia Lee Ackerman (01:24) Thanks. ⁓   Thank you. Thank you.   I'm doing great. I always love it when I get to podcast with you.   The Dental A Team (01:34) Thank you, thank you. I ⁓ feel like all of you ladies bring your own sense of ease to podcasting for me, which is fantastic, because then I don't feel like totally exhausted by the end, so thank you. ⁓ Something you're really phenomenal at is people, Trish. I think you read people really well. I think you read people quickly, and I think that it's very easy for you to determine.   where people should sit or what they should be doing, what they're really great at. It's very easy for you to walk into a room and say, my gosh, this person is born to be a treatment coordinator. She is born to be a billing representative. you mentioned, gosh, what were we on? We were on some call this week. And you mentioned that you were a really great treatment coordinator. And I think we did it. It was on our coaching call we did together.   Tricia Lee Ackerman (02:24) Yes.   The Dental A Team (02:24) last week and you mentioned that you are a phenomenal treatment coordinator and is your passion and I think that reading people piece is part of that. It's part of who you are, it's part of your personality and it's part of what makes you a phenomenal consultant but also what fed into that piece of treatment coordinating for you and I think Trish if I had to read you correctly I think you love it and I think it lights you up to be able to read people and get people established in something they can be passionate about.   because you can read personalities. So very easy to see why this kind of topic we're doing, know, personality versus experience when it comes to team members. Very easy to see why that was such an easy fit for me to choose you to be here today. And before we dive in too much Trish, I want to ask what, ⁓ gosh, what about reading people and being able to peg that?   What do you love the most? What do you love when you walk into a room and you can say, my gosh, this, like what lights you up the most about it?   Tricia Lee Ackerman (03:28) I think what lights me up the most is like I can easily target somebody who is comfortable talking. So if somebody just kind of looks like their, you know, their shoulders are down, they look like they're at ease, that's going to be a pretty easy person to go and approach. Then you have your people that smile and they obviously they still look very friendly, but there is, it's, again, Tiff, it's like they don't have something written on their forehead. So it is really a read.   It's an internal emotional read that I have where it's like, you know what, that person actually probably doesn't want me just going up to them, just like starting a big conversation. And even if I do, you can read a person's body language and see how they're engaging back. And if the engagement back is kind of light, then like that's not a person that you push on. I'm not gonna make them have a conversation with me about a recent wedding they attended if they...   The Dental A Team (04:04) Yeah.   Tricia Lee Ackerman (04:24) clearly see if it's showing that they just kind of don't want to do that. So I don't know, like, I don't think there's a book that you can read on how to do this. Maybe there is. I, I personally think that this is something that you either kind of have or you don't. That's just my, that's just my thoughts on that. because again, I mean, some people really struggle, really struggle with knowing how to read a room. I'm sure they don't want to, but yeah, if there was a secret sauce, I would   love to share it, but I do think it's kind of an internal characteristic that you may or may not be born with.   The Dental A Team (05:01) For sure, I totally agree. actually, have my son, you he's 17 now, the recording of this and we've always, myself and just the people on my side that have been involved in his life and forming him into the kid that he is, we were always really big on being like socially aware and really just aware of his surroundings. One, because you know, as a parent, was a single mom scared to death that somebody's gonna steal my kid, you know.   So I made sure like he was always insanely, intentional about watching his surroundings, but then also being the one that's courteous to everyone else. Like you just don't be in the way and not so much that you make yourself small, but don't be in the way because it's very easy to just be like, ⁓ awesome. Yep, you go around, know, like don't make it a thing. Just be super aware. And I know that Brody's got that kind of intentionality and that intuitiveness that   he can read people as well. And I wonder, often I watch him do it, and I'm like, gosh, is that because you're so aware of your surroundings and you're watching for your next move, right? Because I know for me, it's like, where am I going to step next even of a crowded grocery store? What's the easiest path? When I'm driving down the street, well, which lane is going to be the easiest for me that I'm not an inconvenience to other people as well? So kind of like double dipping there.   So I watch him do these things and I think to myself, there are so many people that are not aware of their surroundings. Is that a piece of it, right? And like you said, it's kind of ingrained as personality. Anyway, it's high tangent there, but I think one thing to do is to really ramp up your awareness of present, I guess really, right? It's being present with where you are at and the people that you're with. Because when we're in our heads ahead or behind,   we're not here and we're not intentionally paying attention to the things going on in the people around us. How do you feel like then? I mean, where can we talk about hiring? We can talk about all the pieces, but realistically, we get the biggest question is like, gosh, do I hire for personality? Do I hire for ⁓ experience? Do they have to have dental experience? Do they have to have management experience? But really, I think this also applies to looking at the team that you have today and making sure that   Tricia Lee Ackerman (06:59) Anyway.   The Dental A Team (07:23) We say this all the time, right? Person, right? Seed. It's a massive piece. And I think these pieces you can take and apply to both. When it comes to personality, Trish, and it comes to not just like, that's one thing, to be able to read personalities and be able to be in a room and navigate the situation, but personality versus experience. How do you help practices differentiate the two, even in any situation at all?   Tricia Lee Ackerman (07:50) Well, obviously, ideally, personality and experience at a high level, both. That's perfect. That's awesome. But but more than more times than than than not, we do have that situation where the doctor will say like she was really not, you know, hiring for an office manager. She was really nice. She was really great. She was all these things. But that's awesome. However, that's a position where we do need to see the skill set.   What type of leadership ⁓ experience does she have? And maybe she doesn't have any, but can we set her up for some? And how quick, how sharp is this individual? Because if they're really, really, I use the word cool. We can train skills, but we really can't train cool. You kind of either cool or you're not. And if they really like this person and they're sharp, then maybe we should entertain giving them some leadership activity homework.   and see how that comes. If it's somebody that has all the experience in the world, say like as a treatment coordinator, they've been doing it for a ver

    26 min

  4. MAR 5

    Tax Day Is Coming! How Can You Keep More of What You Make?

    Kiera is joined by Derick Van Ness of Big Life Financial to talk about taxes, and how to handle them beyond simply thinking of them as a necessary evil. The pair discuss knowing your numbers, utilizing tax credits, the magic touch of a CPA, and more. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team Listeners, this is Kiera. And today I am super excited. This is one of our top favorite guests that has been on the podcast. We're bringing him back on because there are some new updates and our clients love him. I love him. He is incredible. Derick Van Ness, he is with Big Life Financial. And you might have heard him on the podcast before talking about R &D credits, tax saving ideas, CPA.   This man does a lot of your wealth and how to build and keep your wealth. So I always love our conversations and just like his good information. Plus, if I remember right, he might know Garrett Gunderson. So obviously I've been a fangirl since day one. Derick, welcome back to the show. How are you today?   Derick Van Ness (00:42) Well, I'm doing great and really happy to be here with you, Kiera. I'm not Garrett Gunderson because he is taller and better looking, but I'm a good second place.   The Dental A Team (00:48) Ha ha ha!   I think that you're great. The fact that you know Garrett Gunderson, that already just has elevated you. I mean, I think it was one of our first conversations we ever had. And I was like, have you ever read like Killing Sacred Cows? And you're like, I actually know Garrett Gunderson. I was like, what? Fangirling. So ⁓ anyway, Derick, for those who have not met you, haven't heard your episode, because we do have new listeners to the podcast. Just kind of give them a little intro of who is Derick Bennis? What is Big Life Financial? And give the listeners a little intro to who you are.   Derick Van Ness (01:20) Okay, well outside of being ⁓ in love with my wife, in love with art and in love with racing sailboats, what I do professionally is I help ⁓ doctors and dentists to be smarter with their money. So what does that mean? That means how do you, not so much to make it, I mean we do help people scale, but once you make the money, which is something a lot of dentists are good at, how do you keep it through tax savings? How do you grow it and how do you protect it, right?   And today we're going to talk a little bit about how do you keep more what you make? Because honestly, for dentists, even though taxes seem boring when you don't have to write that $50,000 or $100,000 or $200,000 check, it gets a lot cooler. If you would have told me I'd be a tax and financial guy when I was a kid, I probably would have just taken an early exit somewhere and jumped off a bridge. But I really see money in what we do as a lifestyle business. It's not about money.   The Dental A Team (02:01) Yeah.   Derick Van Ness (02:17) If you have enough, then money is what it is. When you don't have enough, it's a problem. And I just find for a lot of people, it's the reason or excuse that they constrain themselves. They don't spend time with family. They don't think do things that they want to do. They don't have the experiences that are going to change their life. So when we can get money out of the way, then you can live your big life, which is why the company's big life financial, because it doesn't matter if you have more or less money. The question is, what's the life you're living? What's your quality of life?   And so taxes are a big piece of that. Obviously we can't talk about everything on a podcast like this, because you'd be buried under a ton of bricks. But that's what I do is I try to make this stuff easy. I try to make it fun. And I want you to realize that the whole point of all this money stuff is so that you can live a life you want to   The Dental A Team (02:55) You   Which Derick, that's why we have connected. You have met my husband. have had personal conversations outside of the podcast because I very much align and subscribe to this lifestyle and this mode of thinking. I believe that practices should work for us and us not work for our practices. I believe that we became business owners to have these big lives and these, audacious dreams. And yet I feel so many people live below their, their potential. They are trapped. They are.   Derick Van Ness (03:33) Mm-hmm.   The Dental A Team (03:34) It's crazy. I ⁓ had a client and she actually made so much money last year, which was amazing because the year before she was like, Kiera, I want to make more. So I was like, great, we're going after profit and production like blinders on. Don't talk to me about anything else. And she had like a crazy year and she's like, great. Now I have this huge check. I've got to write in taxes. And I was like, not my problem. Like you need better CPA help on that, but glad we made you the money. But I bring that up because one, it was a huge win for a client, but two,   Derick Van Ness (03:52) I don't know.   Yep.   The Dental A Team (04:02) I think that people being able to keep the money that they make, hold on to more money that they make. Like I love that we live in America and it's a free country and that we get to pay taxes. Like I'm so freaking grateful for that. With that said, I do not want to pay one penny more than I need to. And I want to maintain and keep as much as I possibly can to live the life I want and to not feel the guilt of being a successful business owner and to do the fun things that I always imagined and dreamed of doing without the guilt of doing it. And I think so many people are so scared of.   Derick Van Ness (04:11) Yep.   The Dental A Team (04:32) being financially free, they're scared to spend money. They get hit with tax burdens left and right. I can't tell you how many dentists that I hear at the end of their career and they've had great careers, but they have no financial stability. like, Derick, this is the stuff that stresses me out and keeps me up at night and which is why you're on the podcast because I want people to be smarter. want them to be more educated and I want them to live happier lives. So let's walk through like R and D credits and CPA and like how people can live a more enriched   Derick Van Ness (04:33) Mm-hmm.   Yep.   The Dental A Team (05:02) big life today rather than waiting. I think it's just a fun topic to talk about. I'm intrigued, so let's talk about it.   Derick Van Ness (05:07) Yeah   Well, let's do. mean, we can start generally with taxes and then we can kind of move into the credits piece because it is like a it's just a small very segmented piece of what you do with your taxes. overall, the biggest thing I see is most people see taxes as like a necessary evil. This is the thing I have to deal with. When people see something as a necessary evil, what do they do? They do the minimum. Right. And what that really turns into is   You're not talking with your CPA. You're not coordinating with them. You're not being proactive. At the end of the year, you just want to do the least. So you just hand them all your stuff. I realize people don't come in boxes anymore. Now it's like, here's my QuickBooks password. Or I add you to my account. ⁓ And then they tell you how much you owe. But if you ran your business that way, if you just didn't look at anything all year, and at the end of the year, you're like, I wonder how we did. Wouldn't go so well if you didn't talk to your team about anything. What's that?   The Dental A Team (06:01) People do that though, Derick. They do it all the   time. This is not abnormal. They do it all the time. They're like, my gosh, I owe how much? my gosh, we didn't hit goal. And I'm like, ⁓ let's at least look at our numbers. Like that's step one. Step two, let's talk to our team. You're not wrong. I'm just shocked at how many people do this in real life. And I'm like, hey, there's a different way of living. like, maybe let's take that path. Just try it out. It's like t-shirt. Try that one on. It might feel better than your current oversized, like two baggy of clothes that don't fit. And then you're angry.   Derick Van Ness (06:11) I know.   The Dental A Team (06:30) the time. anyway go on didn't mean to interrupt the rant.   Derick Van Ness (06:32) What if I'm gonna be   a Gen Z VSCO girl? I I want the Oversight T-shirt and the angst.   The Dental A Team (06:36) Well, as I said it, as I   said it, I was like, well, that's like the current style. Like what's uncomfortable clothing? Maybe it's like the wool scratchy. I just came back from Iceland and I'll tell you what, I didn't buy a single shirt there. I was like, that is gonna scratch me. I know it's warm, but I'm not wearing that for the rest of time. Like there are softer clothes in this world that are equally as warm. Like I'll choose that. So that maybe you're wearing a wool scratchy sweater. Cause you never look at your numbers. You're always irritable. You're always angry.   Maybe you might get the oversized hoodie that's way more comfy. Maybe that's the better analogy for today.   Derick Van Ness (07:07) Well, and so you help them look at their numbers, right? What's your P &L? What are your KPIs? There are tax numbers too, right? Like I'm usually meeting with clients in September-ish to say, OK, how much have you made so far this year? What does that put us on track for December 31st? And then we have November, I'm sorry, September, October, November, December to do things to get that number at the end where you want it to be. I'm not talking about go out and spend $1.   to save $0.40, right? People do that. Oh, go buy a car. If you don't need a car, that's just a waste of money. I literally had someone who's like, should I just bu

    42 min

  5. MAR 4

    Billing Tips to Make You $$$ (For Work You've Already Done)

    Chances are, your accounts receivable (AR) is not dialed in. Kiera provides very tactical, specific tips on how to get your AR cleaned up and start bringing in money you've already earned. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and today is a very important topic But one the people like my rat rat rat, but guess what my rat rat rat is gonna make you a lot of money So I hope you're excited for it. So we'll take that rat rat rat into kaching Because it's dentistry party done and we're just gonna like help you out. I hope you guys enjoy hanging out with me This is my like nerdy geeky side that definitely loves and obsesses of being able to help you guys and it's been so fun I'm working with some people and teaching them about this and   getting them excited on how they can fix their AR ⁓ is something that just like really, really lights my fire because doctors, you do the freaking dentistry, get paid for it. Can I get an amen out there? Like seriously, you do the dentistry and AR and making sure you're paid is something that I am so obsessed about. So, and this doesn't mean doctors, have to do it yourself. So I want us to get into the AR like the womp, womp, womp, it's annoying, but guess what? These are billing tips that work that are gonna make you a lot of money for work that you've already done.   This is like people like, Kiera, how can I make more money and not do more work? And I'm like, just take the money, the what you've already done. it's crazy. lot of people come in and like, Kiera, you're really going to be able to like, ⁓ give us an ROI on your consulting. And I'm like, time. Why? Because I know your AR is out of control. have yet to meet a practice that has perfect AR. And if you are the practice email me, I'm going to give you a freaking shirt and we don't get out done on a team shirts anymore. So yeah, you should definitely email us. ⁓ there are a couple of practices out there.   But most the time, AR is something that is not dialed in. It does not have a plan. And this is something that is going to be very tactical for you. So first step is AR. What is AR? It's the accounts receivable. Okay. And there's two parts to it. AR has the patient portion and the insurance portion. Okay. So when we do dentistry, we need to make sure we collect money and we bill insurance and then we make sure that we get paid for that. Now, insurance is such a sneaky little game and I get so annoyed by it I love to teach people this.   So we need to have it where there's like a few processes that make AR really good. So we're gonna break it down very simply. Number one, good information in means good clean claims going out. I'm always like, we send clean claims. Clean claims mean, clean claims, clean claims. Clean claims, clean claims. ⁓ Clean claims. I'm gonna giggle saying it. I can hear the little jingle in my voice. Clean claims means that we...   have the correct information. So I've got the patient's name, the date of birth, the insurance information. That's all correct. I've got the group number and please for the love of everything, holy, do not make a million group numbers. Do not do that. Make sure AR are so messy and your insurance box is so messy. We just have it. We also need to have fee schedules that are up to date every single year. Please do that. We need to attach it. We do not want write-offs. So what this means, ⁓ also another like, it's not a pet peeve. It's just like,   Oh, I'm sorry. You need to like listen to the podcast and implement this. Stop reporting to me your fees in gross numbers and do it in net. So many times I get on calls with people and they're like, Kiera, we produced like 2 million, but we collected one. And I'm like, ouch. And they're like, well, like our net was like, you know, 1.2. I'm like, so tell me you produce 1.2. Let's live in real land numbers, not the 2 million. Cause you're always going to be mad at me. They're like, well, I produced 2 million, but I'm only making a million. Well, yeah.   Because guess what? You didn't really produce two million. I know you want to say you did, but guess what? Insurance is what really is paying you. So we've got to do that. And I know you don't want to, but when you will do this and you attach the correct fee schedules to it, you are actually going be able to predict your numbers better and your money and your finances are going to get better on your personal side too. So hear me out. It was the worst day. was worse than Christmas getting a lump of coal. I took our production and it dropped us by 30%. And guess what? My goals are to produce 20 grand in a five out practice per day. You want to know how hard that was? I was like, I'm never going to make it.   But guess what? Because I was reporting in real numbers, me even as a TC and an O.M. we were able to schedule more correctly and get us to the actual 15 grand of true 15, 20 grand per day of true production that we were collecting. How much do think my business grew? ⁓ a lot because we were actually producing incorrect numbers, not inflated numbers. So clean claims. We're back to that clean claims mean we've got correct information. We've got the correct ⁓ all of the information is correct.   We've got our insurance verification done and we've got the fee schedules attached. So then when I'm giving an estimate, I'm estimating to the best of my ability. We do not send pre-Ds. I call them pre-denials. You can have your own opinion, but I really truly do not like pre-denials. They take time, they waste energy. And to me, guess what? I got the best information. I'm a thousand dollars. I'm an insurance coupon. I need to be a dang good treatment coordinator that's able to communicate this. And if the patient owes money, guess what? We've got to be really good at communicating that too. This is our best estimate.   I'm gonna do my absolute best. We called your insurance company. I've got the best insurance verification. This is the absolute best I can get today. We're gonna take care of that. And on the flip side, hey, worst case scenario is you're gonna owe this much out of pocket. Tell them that. Then they're not mad at you when you call them. like, hey, insurance didn't pay as much as we thought. But remember, worst case scenario, this is what it is. And I can work with you to get that collected, okay? So then from there, we make sure we have correct documentation as well. We need to attach the correct narratives.   ⁓ insurance or excuse me, x-rays, intra-orals, whatever we need to get that paid. Insurance companies are obsessed with not paying for you, but it's because they play the game. So just figure out the rules of the game. We have our fee schedules in there. We send the correct documentation and we send it out every day and we check to make sure none of these claims get stuck in our claim sender. Okay, so we wanna make sure it goes through the clearing house. It doesn't get stuck there. I feel like that's like the post office for claims. We send it through and we make sure all of them get pushed through to the insurance company.   and then we follow up. And now this is where I need owners of each of them. So we need somebody to make sure that all of our intake process is correct. We need someone to make sure that our, what we send out in our claims is correct. And we tell the clinical team what we need for every single claim. And then from there, we have one person who owns our billing department. AR needs to have a clear owner. Who is our billing person that works on this every single day? Yes, you heard me. Because the goal is to get our claims paid within 30 days. You can do it. It's doable, but you gotta have a process.   So that person then their job is I recommend we run the AR list at the beginning of every single month. Then we put it into an Excel spreadsheet or however you want to do it. I found that it's easiest in Excel and then we have it color coded. And I like it to be broken down so that way the biller, their goal is to get through every single patient. Yes. And I have seen 2,500 patients, 7,500 patients. Like it is amazing how many like line items we can get. Hopefully you're more like the 500 to 700 patients on that AR list.   Then what we do from there is we've got patient portion and insurance portion. And what we want to do is we want to actually get this really, really dialed in to where we are collecting at time of service, the patient portion. My hope is that your patient portion that's due is very minimal. And the only time we have a patient portion due is because insurance didn't pay as much as we expected them to. So we got to go collect. We've already collected the money before they go out. Please, for the love of everything, holy do not let your patients just be like, I'll pay you with an insurance pays. Absolutely not.   collect the money today. It is much easier to collect today and give a refund than it is to go chase money. I'd rather you get paid today, wait on insurance. That's fine. But be like, hey, we call your insurance. We estimate really, really well. This is how much we're going to collect today. And then, hey, if it's good news, great. We're going to be able to get you a refund. And if it's not, then great. We're not going to have to call you and ask for as much in the future. So this is what we're estimating. This is our best estimate. We've called your insurance company. We've done everything we possibly can to make sure it's the best we can. And I guarantee you, we're going to take great care of you.   Collect the money. Then when it comes in, what I like for the biller to do is to look, what did this insurance company actually pay? And then go update your fee schedule to the true numbers, because fee schedule

    18 min

  6. MAR 3

    The Dental A-Team Podcast Evolution (Happy Birthday to Us!)

    The Dental A-Team Podcast has been around for seven years, if you can believe it! Kiera reflects on her original goal with the pod, how that goal (and dentistry in general) has changed since. It's been an evolution of leadership, systems, culture, and growth, and the ball is still rolling. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:02) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and happy birthday to the Dental A Team podcast. guys, gosh, if this was a child that I would have had, Dental A Team podcast today is seven years old. We started this back in 2019. So is that right? 2020 would be one, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, seven. Guys, seven years. We've been hanging out together. Like gosh, I would have a seven year old child. Like that's insane. And I just think like, thank you.   is what I is my biggest piece of ⁓ if I was blowing out the candles today, which I usually actually do. ⁓ That thank you for going on seven years of a journey. Thank you for listening to me when I used to car cast and I didn't have video and I was so new. I remember like one of my first ones was like nailing jello to a wall. And like, gosh, I just think back to don't break up with me and so many of the podcasts over the years and the guests that we've had and the   people that I've met because of this podcast, like I get emotional, I get grateful of, gosh, like we just think that these things happen. We think that, it was just right time, right place, but I believe that there's something far greater than that to where all of us were working, we were being prepared, we were being put into place where it didn't just slip into place and happen. It was something that was magical, it was euphoric, and it was meant to be able to reach each other, to be able to talk to each other, to be able to serve you.   to be able to have you implement and put things into your place in your practices, to be able to be right time, right place, but due to lots of preparation to be here. So if you're new to the podcast, welcome, I'm Kiera Dent. I had this crazy idea to create a podcast that helps dentists and teams come together. Being a team member myself and being a business owner, guys, like this is the perfect platform to bring that together. And I think I have such a special vantage point to be able to share with you doctor and team members perspectives. And so today I just wanted to think about like,   growth doesn't happen overnight. And what the podcast was versus what the podcast has become, it's crazy to see how far we've come and how much we've evolved. You guys, have like 1100 plus episodes, never in my wildest dreams that I think I would hit record that many times and talk to you for this many years and hang out with you and travel across the globe with you. But it's one of those things of today is going to be reflecting back and a forward looking episode. And this I think very much applies to practices, team member evolution and how it goes. And I think   days often feel long and years seem short. And when we can do this, we're gonna look at like, gosh, what the journey has been in seven years and how fast it goes and how slow it goes and hurdles and challenges. But you guys, this is about how we reflect on the growth we've had on our practices and how it's gonna be able to serve you guys moving forward. So as we go through this truly, I hope that today, I don't know, just wrap your arms around yourself, give you a giant hug and pretend that's me giving you a hug.   a hug for listening, a hug for sharing, hug for ⁓ leaving reviews, a hug for ⁓ giving ideas, a hug for sharing in Facebook groups where we glean information, a hug for ⁓ being a pen pal to me, a hug for ⁓ allowing me a space to share my life to the podcast. It's been something where I will wake up in the middle and I'm like, my gosh, I got a great idea. I'm gonna go like podcasts this of sharing tips and tricks and things that I feel you guys would really benefit and serve. So just giving you like,   Just give a squeeze because I adore you. love you and I'm so grateful for this. So as we reflect back, ⁓ I think oftentimes we see growth as much easier if we look back, right? Like little kids, you don't see them growing day on day and day. But when you measure on a wall, you're able to see the growth. And it's like, wow, we have this. And so when I started the podcast, my goal was like, let's give teams, let's give tactical. And we stayed that stayed true. ⁓   But over time it's expanded and I recognize the needs of practices. mean, hashtag COVID, things changed, it became radical. We went through the great migration together. We've gone through team members and the evolution of hiring and firing and culture and going from like dentists and to where it's like, wow, we aren't just here at Basic. We're now looking at CEOs and we're running these multimillion dollar businesses. We've got startup practices. I've got practices doing 30, 40, 50 million in their locations like.   It's an evolution of leadership and systems and culture and growth. like, all of this is like, we can't say stuck. I mean, now we've got AI introductions. It's like, gosh, like the crazy cool stuff. And so it's something to see like how both industry and conversations have matured over time. And I think also for you and your practice, think today, one of when you started that might be this year. Kudos. There's some of you I know that just bought your practices and I'm so freaking proud of you. Hashtag my Midwestern students. I'm so proud of both of you ⁓ and you both know who you are.   You might be on day one of your practice ownership. You also might be on day like, I don't know, a thousand. Gosh, like, is it crazy to think that day a thousand's only about three years in? You might be on day 20,000. Shoot, how many years is 20,000? I'm gonna do some math, because 20,000 divided by 365 days, you'd be at 54 years. Some of you actually might be there. Some of you are maybe like 10 years in, so you're on day like 3650. I don't know, that was so hard for me, okay?   3650, 10,000, what'd we say on that? If you're at 10,000 days, you're at 27 years in the practice. A thousand, like just think about that. Sorry, I know my math earlier was a little off. A thousand days, that'd be about like just over three years. That's what I meant by the 10,000. 10,000, shoot, you're in 27 years plus. But when we look at this, we think about how everything's evolved. And I want you guys to really look at like.   How have things evolved in dentistry, even since the time you became a dentist? And if you're a dentist in school, like look back, it's an evolution. And so I think it's like, the goal is always like growth, but I think it's expansion and impact more than it's growth. Like we can just grow, but we can be unhappy. But expansion is not just about size, it's about reach and influence. And it's one thing like we could have thousands of followers, which honestly, you guys, I'm blown away when I look to see where our podcast reaches and the countries and the international impact and the...   the state side impact and the number of offices. You guys like that is such a blessing to me. That was the goal. The goal was how can I have a voice, a positive impact of tactical of being your friend in the industry that's always going to go out and always about the best companies and bet the best practices and be on the cutting edge of things. That's what it is. And it's about reaching influence and impact. Like in every one of my vision boards, impact is in the middle. I want to impact your life in the most positive way. And so when you're looking at it for you,   It's not just about growth, it's about expansion and impact and influence. And so it's, what does it look like in a practice? Like as we grow, you're going to have stronger teams, you're going to have cleaner systems, you're going to have healthier leadership. Think back to day one of practice ownership, to day 10 of practice ownership, like it's very different. Dental A team as a company this year hits 10 years old. Can you believe that? I was three years in when I started this podcast. Kiera Dent has evolved. We have a stronger team. We have clearer systems. We have healthier leadership, but I'm still evolving. Is there an out as like...   me and a couple of people, Tip was like almost like employee number one. And those are two girls who wanted to make an impact in this world. And while that has stayed the same, there has been maturity because we've had to, we needed to have cleaner systems. We have to navigate the change. We have to have different challenges, different opportunities. And it's something where it's like, we want to create, I think you go from like rapid fire excitement to keeping that into this more mature of what's the legacy, what's the impact, what's the expansion that we're going to go to. And so   ⁓ I think it's a space for you and your practice of what do I want my growth, aka my expansion, which is going to be about influence and expansion. That's my growth. What do I want that to look like? What do I want my teams to look like? What do I my leadership to look like? What do I want our reach and our impact in our community to look like? What do I my legacy to start to feel like? And I remember I was like on a plane and I was filling in what my 10 year vision of my business looked like. And I remember being like,   gonna be? I said it in 2019. you know, that's three years away and I was like, I'm gonna be 43. I was 33 at the time. I was like, my gosh, I'm gonna be so old. Now I'm getting close to that and I'm like, wow, that wasn't too bad. But it was so hard for me to imagine 10 years from now. But I think that exercise forced me to really get crystal clear of what do I want my life, m

    21 min

  7. FEB 26

    We Need to Talk about That Bottleneck Problem

    Why is it so difficult for doctors to delegate, even when it so obviously impacts the team? Kiera and Dana discuss the art of delegation, and where it overlaps with clear expectations and accountability. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript:   The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and I love when I get the consultants to podcast with me. And today I got the one and only Dana,   I actually have a better nickname than Danie for you. I've like upgraded. I really do think you're Dynamite Dana. And so welcome to the show. Dynamite Dana. Like you just are dynamite in so many ways, so many areas. People love you. I know people are like donuts with Dana. That one was really catchy and clever, but I think like dynamite Dana is who I'm going to stick with. So how are you today there? Dynamite Dana.   The Dental A Team (00:27) Doing good. I'm glad you found one that felt right.   The Dental A Team (00:29) I mean, I still love Dainty   so much and that will probably always forever remain. ⁓ But Dana, truly you're a dynamite consultant and I've watched you evolve and it's like, ⁓ you were on the podcast with me last time where you took a practice from negative profitability to multi profitability in just a couple of months. And I think the dynamic and dynamite ability you have so like dynamic doesn't feel as cool as dynamite, but it's because you're this dynamic player and you're able to help teams, help doctors, help offices.   The Dental A Team (00:33) You   The Dental A Team (00:58) And really it's, think like role clarity, like really focusing on top priorities. And I think that that's like the clutch piece of consulting. If I like boil down what two consultants do differently is yes, we have this like Mary Poppins bag of tricks, but I think the piece is we know which Mary Poppins tool and prioritization and piece based on the numbers, based on the goals need to happen. And I think you're very, very dynamic and dynamite and being able to do that. So excited to have you on the show today.   The Dental A Team (01:26) Yeah, I'm really excited to be here. I haven't podcast in a while with you, so it's going to be fun.   The Dental A Team (01:31) great time girl.   think our last one was talking about your transformation practice. So today's gonna be fun because I think that this is a topic you and I see often is like   doctors struggle, teams struggle to delegate and they struggle to have like role clarity and I'm even guilty of this. Like I've watched myself like it's crazy when I have these podcast topics and I'm like hi it's me I know I'm the problem I know I'm hanging on to these issues I know I'm causing this chaos and so I kind of wanted to like talk about   why doctors struggle to delegate, why we get into this like bottleneck, and then what it can look like on the other side and how we've been able to help doctors. Like, I know you've got a couple in mind. I've got a couple in mind of what does it look like when we start to trust that process? So Dana, from your perspective, why do you feel like doctors don't delegate and we like bottleneck and we hold on or like owners and founders and office managers? Like, what is that? Like we know we're bottlenecking. Like it's annoying to me. I'm like, I know I'm having a temper tantrum and I don't know how to stop it. Like I know I'm not delegating. I know I'm holding on. know I'm freaking   like failing over here. What, like, why do think this is a rift? What are your thoughts?   The Dental A Team (02:32) I   I will say I feel like Dr. Personality is like a doer, right? They're so used to like to get to become a dentist, right? You have to have succeeded thus far in life. And I do feel like that in order to kind of get where they are, they've had to kind of always do right work really hard, hit the books really hard, hit the clinic really hard. And so I do feel like it's kind of ingrained in them just as humans is that they want to do all of the things. And I also think that there's a misconception of leadership. And being a good leader means doing all   things, making all the decisions, having everyone lean on you for everything.   The Dental A Team (03:07) Yeah, I love that you say that because ⁓ there's a book that, gosh, I should look up the name of it. mean, like, I really will actually, guys. Like, if you're watching, don't worry, I'm ⁓ looking this up right now. ⁓ But it's like the founder mindset. And I think so many of us, it's the founder's mentality, how to overcome the predictable crisis of growth. And I think about this book often because like you said, it's a...   what you have always done won't get you where you need to go. And like those habits and those patterns and the different pieces, it's this, like you said, like you had to work hard in dental school. You guys, watched you. Like I worked at a dental college. ⁓ We watched you be this person. And also there's a perfectionist piece of you literally are working in such small areas. Like the mouth is so small. You have to be perfect. You can't have that. Like, I mean,   shoot, you barely move that burr wrong and you're nicking the tooth next to it and you're like, dang, and now gotta like patch this thing up. Like you really do have such a small, finite controlling area. ⁓ But I think it's ⁓ a space of, we all know, Dana, it's like, logically, I know that if I delegate and I trust my team, my life gets better. So what do you feel like it is? Like, how do people actually let go of the vine? Maybe I'm asking for coaching for myself.   The Dental A Team (04:18) Yeah, and I think some of the hold back   is they might have tried to delegate something in the past and it didn't go very well, right? Because there's an art to actually delegating and delegating that is successful and setting real clear expectations. And so I find like, well, I've tried, right? But the person it fell through the cracks or there wasn't an accountability piece built in. And so I think it's like learning truly how to delegate correctly and delegate so that pieces come back to you and you're not chasing down the thing that you   thing that you gave because if you have to chase it down, if you have to check it, like it's still on your plate then, right? That, that it still hangs over your head if you, if those pieces aren't in place. And so sometimes I think too, it's like they have had a past history of trying to delegate and it's like not failing, but feeling like, I should have just done it anyway.   The Dental A Team (05:09) Totally. And I think as you said that like, I'm into now the how of like, okay, I hear that I agree. And I, it was funny, Jason, I, call it like tub talk, like think tank talk. Like we go out hot tubbing, we don't take our phones. It's like really beautiful and shoot, it just snowed. So I can't wait to get out there and like go hot tubbing in the snow. ⁓ it's a really magical world, but we were talking about it and I realized we're using a recruiter to help hire some team members for us that I'm really excited about that are like far out of my league that I don't even know how to hire. So   ⁓ brought in some executive recruiters for that. And I remember they were asking me, they're like, Kiera, what's going to break your trust the most? And I was like, I know actually, like for me, and so team members hearing this, the number one thing, and Dana, I'm saying this because you are not this person and I'm going to highlight you, I think there's also a space when doctors delegate to make sure the person we're delegating to is right person, right seat. ⁓ For me, I've learned that the way I lose trust the most is when people tell me they're going to follow through and they don't. Like I'm very, because I just feel like,   then don't do it. I get they have best intentions, but I'm more obsessed about outcomes and you delivering rather than you just taking a million things on to make me happy. ⁓ And so I thought about it, like, who are the people that I trust implicitly, like on our team and Jason, I'm not going to like do the role of X day. And I'm that's like unfair. You'll get to hear the like behind the scenes, Jason and Kiera talk. One doctor, he was like, Kiera, if I could just be a fly on the wall to hear the conversations you and Jason have. And I was like, I don't know if you want to know them all. ⁓   But I thought about it I was like, okay, my core crew that I really do trust, like what is it and how do I delegate to these people? Like Dana, I know, and this is why I called you Dynamite Dana and Dynamic Dana is Dana, I know with out of doubt, I can give you clients and you're gonna deliver and you're not gonna let me down and you're gonna follow up, you're gonna have scorecards, you're gonna show up to the coaching calls, you're going, like I never have to come and check in on you to make sure you're delivering to clients. Now, you may need help, that doesn't mean they're not gonna be like never asking, but I know you're gonna hit those deliverables. If I give you a project like, hey, you're gonna present,   Never in my mind have I been like, uh, Hope Dana is going to show up on that. Like I know I can count on Dana to be there. She's going to follow through. If she's got questions, you're going to proactively ask me. It like, I can give you tasks that they don't come back to me. Now there's other team members where I'm like, I feel like I'm playing whack-a-mole. I'm like, uh, did you check on that? Did you check on that? Did you check on that? Like, and I've noticed my anxiety is like lit to the next level. And I think as you were saying that and office managers and team members, I hope you hear this loud and clear.   This is the fastest way to break trust and not have

    29 min

  8. FEB 25

    Here's How a 5-Star Front Office Operates

    Are you providing your patients with a 5-star treatment? It starts with your front office. Kiera breaks down what a full rollout of peak client care looks like, identifying five different points to utilize as soon as that patient walks through the door (or calls). Episode resources: 5 Star Treatment Planning Document Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment  Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera. And today, I am so excited. Today is gonna be one of my absolute favorite topics, and it is getting more patients to say yes to treatment. You guys, I obsess about this, and I talk about it a lot, and I just feel that these are some really good things. And so I wanted to go through our five-star treatment planning process with you today, so that way you guys are able to help more patients say yes, be able to maximize your practice.   Because at the end of the day, a patient who comes into your practice, they want to do dentistry. There is a treatment coordinator that I worked with for years and she always says like, Kiera, my thoughts are when I go in and I treatment plan, like the reason is patients are gonna say yes to me because they're at the practice, they want to get this help. And I just think having that mindset helps so much. And so this is a five-star treatment planning and we've actually created it for the entire practice. And   one I'm gonna go through is,   specific and then we actually broke it down for our front office team, our clinical team and our doctors of this process of five star treatment planning. And what's really fun is when we implement this into a practice, we do a full rollout with the team. And then what we do is actually once they complete it, they actually get to check off their stars. And there's actually way you can become five star certified in Dental A Team. So if you're new to the podcast, welcome. I'm Kiera. Dent really is my last name. I'm obsessed with all things dentistry and I'm obsessed with teams and doctors having their best life possible.   Our team is so committed to you, to your practice, to making sure that you are thriving and not just surviving. And so really giving you guys tips and tricks that you can go implement into your practice to help more patients say yes, to be able to help your team be so thorough and so productive and really making life easier. So we love to hear from you. I love pen pals. You can always reach out Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. And if you're ever curious of, I wonder what consulting could look like in my practice.   Be sure to book a call. It's complimentary. We go through your practice with you. We assess your practice. We give you a roadmap, whether you work with us or don't, to make sure that you are always being able to positively impact your team, your life, and your community. Because our goal is to positively impact the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible. So with that, five-star treatment planning. So these are the quick five stars that we go. And like I said, then it's broken down more in depth of what each department needs to do. ⁓   The first one is going to be more for front office team members. And it also can be for clinical team if we're actually having them present treatment in the back. And so the first star is when we go into it, we're going to smile and assume the yes. So before we even walk into the room, we have confidence. We know that we're going to go into it. We know that we're going to have patients say yes to us and we smile.   We are going to assume that the patient wants to do dentistry. Why are we going through and saying like, my gosh, this is a big case. my gosh. I don't know if they're going to accept. my gosh. my gosh. Stop that. Why are we doing that? There's absolutely no reason to do that. Patients are at the dental practice and just because they don't love the dentist doesn't mean that they don't want to have healthy mouths and healthy teeth and being able to have confidence. I say our mouths are the coolest thing ever. We get to smile with them. We get to talk with them. We get to eat with it.   Like there's so much value to it. Like it truly is, I think, the gateway to our confidence. It's the gateway to our health. And so being able to help patients have that. So I'm always going to assume, like my mantra is, everyone says yes to Kiera and there's always a solution and we will find it together. So we go in and we have that and we're going to assume the yes. We also gonna use what I call the three E's and that is edification, empathy and energy. So I'm gonna watch the patient and I'm going to edify the doctor, which is star number two.   I'm going to have empathy for what they're going through and not just assume it's run of the mill, just because it's a crown for us, doesn't mean that that might be life altering for our patients. But we're not going to put negativity out there. We're still going to be able to have empathy and positivity for them and help them see that this is the best place for them to get their treatment done and then making sure our energy matches. You guys, I come in really high. I have a lot of energy. So many people are like, Kiera, we want to consult with you because we love your energy and our team needs that. Well, guess what? Our whole team has to have that because this is who I am.   And sometimes you need to have energy and like, need to get too excited on the podcast and I need to rally you. But for some of you, I remember there was a doctor who's like, Kiera, you're like a little much for my team. And my team's more like, hey, how are you? Well, guess what? That team is actually a better fit with Britney Stone. Britney is a much better match energy wise than I am. And so just making sure that we mimic and mirror the patient across from us. So star number one is smile and assume the yes before we even walk into it.   Star number two is we want to rave about the doctor and repeat a perfect handoff. So we want our patients to feel like they're on the winning team. And I think about it, if I'm going in like, I'm going in for surgery. And if that treatment coordinator who's presenting to me, so I've met the doctor, they've diagnosed the treatment to me. Okay, so all that needs to happen before we get to this spot. But the doctor told me, Carrie, you need to come back for surgery. If that front office person that I'm talking to about my financials said to me, gosh Carrie, you're so lucky.   ⁓ Dr. Kressler is absolutely incredible and you're going to get such great care. I've seen him do this surgery multiple times. I know you're in the best hands and truly I'm here to make sure that you're taken care of. We're super excited for you and I know you're going to have great results. Like even me saying that I feel this whoosh of like confidence of OK, got it like I am making the absolute best decision I possibly can. And so this is what we do. So number start number one is smile and assume the S use our three E's. Number two is rave about the doctor. Help them see that we're on the winning team.   and use that perfect hand up. It'd be like, awesome, Kiera, you are so lucky. Dr. Jones is so incredible. He's done this treatment so many times and we're gonna get you taken care of. Dr. Jones wants to see you back for a crown. We need to get you scheduled in about two weeks. We need to do about 30 minutes and we're also gonna get your cleaning scheduled for that. This is gonna be amazing. Doctor is incredible. And then we move to the third star, is schedule the appointment first and give two options. We wanna get the commitment.   So a lot of times treatment coordinators will like come in like, how was your visit today? Meh, I'm at the dentist. Why don't we control this narrative? I'm going to smile like, Hey, it's so great to see. I'm so excited to get you helped out. Dr. Jones is so incredible. You've made a great choice. And I know he's going to take great care of you. We're to get you scheduled for that crown in two weeks. It's going to take us about 30. It's going to take us about an hour and a half. I hope a crown's not 30 minutes. It's going to take us about an hour and a half. And we're also going to get that cleaning scheduled. perfect. First things first, let's get you scheduled.   I've got Monday or Wednesday, which works best for you. That's when Dr. Jones does all of their crowns. I've got Monday or Wednesday, which works best for you. The reason I wanna move right into scheduling is because this is gonna help me get a commitment. And I believe that words are free and we should use them to our advantage. So when I'm going through this, let's just make it very easy for the patient. We smile and assume the yes, we rave about our doctor and talk about our perfect handoff, and then we move right into scheduling. Now the patient might be like, well, I wanna know what this is going to cost. I say, absolutely.   I want you to feel so solid and rock solid confident moving forward. Dr. Jones is extra busy. So we always just make sure we get you on the schedule, make sure we get that appointment set. I'm to go over all the financials. I want you to be super confident with that. But we'll just get you scheduled since the schedule is so busy. I've got Monday or Wednesday, which works best for you. Now, if they push back again, don't stress, talk to them. But this way they're able to see the flow, how we're going to do this. Because for me, what I'm also doing on that is I'm putting emphasis of we are doing treatment. And the question is how we want to pay for it, not the question of are we doing treatment or not.   I'm not forcing a patient, I'm not making them doing it, but sequence does matter when it comes to treatment planning. And you guys, I am a dang good treatment coordinator. 50, 60, $70,000 cases paid in f

    19 min
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About

This podcast is here to give dentists and all dental office team members, in EVERY position, TACTICAL and PRACTICAL TIPS to: - Be more efficient - Have more fun - Improve doctor and team communications - Eliminate frustration - And make your life easier! Jump in! We are thrilled you have decided to LEVEL UP and be part of the DENTAL A TEAM! New episodes every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.

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  • Creator
    Dental A Team
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    1.1K
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 668974
  • Show Website
    Dental A Team Podcast

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