Business Of Dentistry with Dr. Russell Kirk

Just to give you an update of my practice right now, we initially did a gradual rollout, bringing in our team members back on piecemeal over a period of three weeks.  And now, we’re back full-time – basically, with a new way of doing business. Obviously, the downtime has given us some time to assess a few issues we have found pre-pandemic that need to be addressed.  In a clinic setting, patients can easily transfer diseases to the dental team and vice versa. This happens when you're handing stuff to and from patients (ex. paperwork, clipboards, ink, pens, insurance cards, credit cards, cash, etc.)  In this episode, I’m going to discuss a few things that we have done in our practice to reduce or eliminate person-to-person contact so we could mitigate the risk of any transfer of disease. In this episode, you’ll hear: How to implement the e-prescription system Things you can include in your online paperwork Handling payments (cards, check, and cash) Other safety practices you can do in your clinic   Connect wi

How are you going to approach things once your state allows you to reopen your office? Do you think you’re going back to where you were pre-pandemic?  There are a lot of questions that are yet to be answered because these are unprecedented times. But there will certainly be a huge paradigm shift both in your practice and in your patients.  It’s not going to be the same – it probably won’t ever be the same. What we do and how we do it are going to be different now.  Today, Dr. Victor Martel joins me as we talk about the possible changes and challenges that we, as dental care providers and business owners, need to consider as we’re preparing for the reopening of our offices.  Victor received his dental degree from Rutgers School of Dental Medicine in New Jersey. He is a Fellow at the Academy of General Dentistry and the President of Florida Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. He is a visiting faculty member at Baylor University and a former faculty member at the Dawson Academy. Based in West Palm Beach, Florida, Vic

Practicing for 23 years now, Dr. Justin Moody is one of the most credentialed Implantologists in the U.S. He is the Founder and Director of Implant Pathway, a continuing education program that focuses on the surgical placement of dental implants. Dr. Moody is also an international speaker and he builds strong mentorships with doctors who take his courses through live surgical training at the end of their Implant Pathway continuum.  In today’s episode, we discuss different topics including what he’s been doing during this pandemic and his plans moving forward. We also talk about the Implant Pathway and how we can use this downtime to learn more about implants.  Justin specifically brings up the issue we’re facing right now where dentists are viewed as nonessential, and even “dangerous,” at this time of the pandemic – when we could have become force multipliers in the healthcare system. He makes a valid point about how dentists should really be regarded as specialists in our field in the same way that MDs are i

During this pandemic, our unemployment rate has swelled up to 30% and that may still end up in double digits. As a business owner, you have to make sure you’re prepared – and NOW is the perfect time to do that with our current downtime. It's not rocket science. It's just a matter of not taking it for granted.  In today’s episode, Dr. Mark Costes talks about things related to the pandemic and how things are going to change going forward with our practices. Mark likes to call everything that’s happening right now as just a reset. Dr. Mark Costes is a keynote speaker, an author, an entrepreneur, and a multi-practice owner. During the course of his career, Mike had set up dental assisting school franchises and has acquired over a dozen successful dental practices.  He is the co-founder of Dental Success Network, a vibrant community of dentists around the world focused on helping dentists become better business owners, better clinicians, and better people. He is also the founder of the Dental Success Institute and

With a lot of offices shut down during this pandemic, being able to continue our dental practice has become a real challenge.    Telemedicine has been around for a while, but not so much for dentistry. Part of it is that we all have this notion that we have to have face-to-face interaction to make it work. But we’re finding out in this COVID-19 pandemic that’s not necessarily the case. There are actually things we can handle remotely, especially with what our guest today has been doing in teledentistry for the last five years.    Today, I want to share with you something that you could adopt in your practice right now and even post-COVID. I’m bringing in Dr. Vilas Sastry of Teledentistry.com. Through their dental practice platform, we can use technology to perform teledentistry, which eliminates the need for patients to go to the emergency room.   Dr. Vilas Sastry obviously had not predicted that a pandemic like this could happen, not in a million years – but what he predicted was a technological revolution i

In today’s episode, I’m sharing with you an email that I got from Sally Hogshead.    Sally Hogshead is an author, a speaker, and the CEO of How to Fascinate. Now she has a website and business basically centered around how you can learn how to fascinate others with who you are.    She has shared 10 lessons from the recessions she experienced through the years – the 9/11 attack in 2001, the Great Recession in 2008… and now this COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.    This is worth sharing as there are really good points that you might find useful and beneficial as they did for me.    Let’s all uplift each other as there’s no better time than now!   In this episode, you’ll hear: The 10 lessons Sally Hogshead has learned to weather economic downturns What it means to be a silver lining How you can refuse to recede and find opportunity in chaos   Resources: How to Fascinate The Recession Playbook About Sally Hogshead Fascinate Test   Connect with Russell: Dr. Russell Kirk Podcast Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/busi

After finishing this episode, we got the following notice from the SBA. I would continue to monitor their site just in case more money becomes available. Lapse in Appropriations Notice: SBA is unable to accept new applications at this time for the Paycheck Protection Program or the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL)-COVID-19 related assistance program (including EIDL Advances) based on available appropriations funding. EIDL applicants who have already submitted their applications will continue to be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. To learn more about the relief options available for your business, click here.   We've been shut down for about three weeks now and I wanted to give you a quick SBA loan update.    Today, I’m going over some good, confirmed Small Business Administration (SBA) information that you can use today (something that I received in my inbox). This is a direct email, which is official documentation or correspondence from them.    At this point, I am optimistic that some of

In the face of this present pandemic, do you think dentistry is dead?   There are some posts going around on social media saying that dentistry is dead. And I fully understand how this pandemic may be causing a lot of mental turmoil because of the uncertainty it brings to our practice and our business – but nobody knows anything at this point.    Even our government is still trying to figure things out.   We can't just bash our profession. It's easy to digress to this negative mindset. But it won't play well for any of us.    It’s a matter of choosing what kind of mindset we’re going to have at this point in time.   We don't know if things are going back to the way we were before and this is something we don’t have control over. But what we can control, however, is our mindset.    We all have to intentionally come from a mindset of abundance, not scarcity.    You have to plan accordingly and ramp up your game. How are you going to approach this to be prepared to kick the doors back open and go after this and

The coronavirus situation has been so dynamic and changes quickly. There has been a lot of information and misinformation. I've seen people approaching it very level-headedly, people in near panic mode, and people who seem to be taking this way too lightly. And I’ve been trying to stay in the middle of the road, trying not to be too quick to react or make any knee-jerk decisions that I might pay for later. But I also didn't want to move too slowly and fail to protect my surgical team, my patients, myself and my family.   This week, I’m just going to share with you what's going on, what I've seen on our side of things, and how I’m currently weathering the storm. I know that each of you is dealing with this in your own individual ways. You're not alone. It's not easy. It's challenging. There's going to be opportunities for us, opportunities to learn. We're going to fail. In some respects, we're not going to be able to answer all the questions correctly as we navigate this. And that's okay. We all just have to h

Stoicism has opened my eyes to a new way of thinking. I have been able to apply Stoic principles in my practice and my personal life. For those not familiar with Stoicism, it is a philosophy of personal ethics informed by its system of logic and its views on the natural world. Dr. Matthew Standridge is the person who introduced me to this philosophy. And this week, he is my guest!  Dr. Matthew Standridge is a dentist and host of the podcast, Ketodontist. Through his work, he explores the worlds of low carb and ketogenic diets, primal and paleo lifestyles, and oral and whole-body health. In this episode, we discuss Stoicism, including how to get started, books to read, and how we both apply Stoic principles and techniques in our everyday lives. Stoicism has made a significant impact on my life. I hope you find today’s episode insightful and impactful too.  In this episode, you’ll hear: Stoicism is an actionable philosophy The practical uses of Stoicism including some applications in the dental office setting

Dental professionals don’t always think of themselves as entrepreneurs. Let’s face it, not all dentists are entrepreneurs. Whether you are an entrepreneurial dentist or not, the risk for all dentists is not making a life outside of work. Today, Alistair MacDonald will help to enrich our minds, relationships, and share the meaning behind what it means to be a third rail entrepreneur. Alistair will share his entrepreneurial journey and some of the lessons he’s learned. We're both ingrained in dentistry. My hope is through our conversation listeners will come away with a new perspective on what we do as dentists now and in the future. Dental practice owner, Alistair McDonald is an entrepreneur and TEDx speaker, but he is not a dental professional. So, his views and insight are very interesting (and albeit a bit different than what we typically hear on this show). He's a wonderful storyteller and always brings a great point to each of his stories. His entrepreneurial journey is pretty amazing too. He's from Zimba

Are you considering selling your dental practice? Whether you are thinking about it or not, it is beneficial to know your options if that time comes.  This episode goes over some of the details including the risks and benefits of selling a private practice to Dental Service Organizations (DSOs) and to the private equity market. There are tremendous opportunities in the market right now for selling in one of these methods as opposed to selling directly to another dentist. My guest this week is Brian Colao, an attorney specializing in dental support organization, structuring, restructuring, and sales of private practices to dental support organizations or private equity agreements. Listen to this episode to consider ways to receive the best value possible for your practice and to have a greater understanding of your involvement in deals to make the future successful for your organization. In this episode, you’ll hear: Consolidation of practices is continuing at an unprecedented rate and selling directly to oth

This episode is filled with great information on the importance of taking a step back and ensuring your priorities, such as your health, are staying central to how you are living. Sometimes radical changes are necessary to achieve a level of self-care that is necessary for a good quality of life.  I am pleased to welcome Dr. Josie Dovidio to the Business of Dentistry podcast. After 22 years of owning her own practice, she is currently on a sabbatical from her dental career. She experienced a great deal of success within the field of dentistry, however, about a year ago she began to evaluate her health and realized she needed to make some changes.  So, she sold her practice. And yes, the adjustment period brought its own challenges, which we discuss in this episode. She also learned how to fill her time in productive ways aimed at calming instead of adding stress.  In this episode, you’ll hear: The importance of self-care in the dental profession. It’s so easy to let work control life and add stress. Stress i

This week it is my pleasure to speak with Duane Tinker and he has a very interesting background! Duane worked in the Texas law enforcement industry then transitioned to a dental office investigator. His challenge with transitioning to this role was learning the dental industry so he could do his job well. He dealt with areas such as investigating clinical complaints against practices, fraud, and people working outside the scope of their licensure.  Through this role, Duane met many dentists and realized they were great people—some just didn’t know, what they didn’t know. Drawing on his law enforcement experience, Duane recognized the value his experiences could have when shared with dental professionals, in a meaningful way, to prevent them from getting into situations such as the ones he was being assigned to investigate. This realization was the catalyst for opening his own business to help stand in the gap for dentists and help dentists prevent situations that could bring about legal action against them. D

Voice search and voice optimization are growing trends. After getting an Amazon Echo over the holiday season, the idea of artificial intelligence and voice search became intriguing. We have these voice-activated Smart Home devices in our homes that can control security cameras, lights, and even the thermostat. Smart Home devices also have the ability to tell you sports scores or current news. There is a remarkable amount of information at our fingertips.  How is voice search going to impact dentists and dental practices?  In this episode, I am going to share some of the information I’ve found which may help you to recognize what you need to do in order to get ahead of the curve. When someone asks their Google home device, “Okay, Google, find me the nearest oral surgeon” will your practice come up in the search results? Voice search is on the rise. Are you ready?  In this episode, you’ll hear: The growth of voice search and the importance of being top of mind in voice search capability for your specialty or p

Situational awareness is all about being aware of what is happening around you in terms of where you are, where you are supposed to be, and whether anyone or anything around you is a threat to your health and safety.  In this week’s episode I wanted to talk about situational awareness from the standpoint of business and having the awareness of things that may affect your business, your practice, and the way you operate on a daily basis; in this case, new laws coming into effect in 2020.  To prepare for this episode, I did a superficial, cursory internet search on new laws that are going into effect in 2020 for the business of dentistry.  I share some of the important ones that are being implemented and may have an impact on your business or on your practice. My hope is that this episode will bring to light some laws that may not have been on your radar and/or encourage you to do some research on new laws in your state so that you can be prepared.  In this episode, you’ll hear: Some laws that affect minimum w

As we end one year and begin a new one, I wanted to do something a little different this week on the show. After going over various topics, I settled on sharing my top ten list of software and apps I have used in my practice in 2019. Now these are not your typical oral surgery tools or products. In fact, most stray outside of the lane of dentistry. However, I've adopted, tweaked, and have used each of these products in my practice.  Today you will hear me talk about tools such as Camtasia, Enguard, and Rev, and how I am utilizing them in my day-to-day work. I will also share my experience and use of the Dental Success Network, which is a pseudo-Facebook app for dentistry. Listen to learn how I use these various tools on a daily and weekly basis; and how you might be able to do the same. Best wishes for a prosperous and productive New Year!  In this episode, you’ll hear: The unique way I’ve been using a podcast recording platform, Squadcast, to dictate short clinical notes How I use Camtasia to record informa

I will be the first to admit that I have difficulty maintaining focus when it comes to clinical and administrative tasks. Lately, I've been troubled by the distraction of the internet, because it is always there. It buzzes around in the background, when I should be trying to maintain focus between patients. I've made some attempts to find productivity applications that help me in this area. Recently, I’ve found an app that might just be the answer I’ve been looking for.  I’d like to introduce you to the app called Freedom Application. It is an app and website blocker for Mac, Windows, Android, iOS, and Chrome.  In today’s episode I share how I’ve been using the app to block out the internet noise and bring my focus back to my patients.  In this episode you’ll hear: How I deal with the distraction of the internet The myth of multitasking Freedom Application Blocker Getting real about habits   Resources mentioned in this episode: Freedom Application Voices of Dentistry 2020   Connect with Russell: Dr. Russell

Nothing is more frustrating than wasting time looking for what you need. My clinical team recently surprised me by creating a master inventory list for our office. They went through everything, reorganized and even recompiled our inventory numbers. Plus, what they did works in conjunction with our Sowingo. I must admit, it is great to have everything organized.  If you’re struggling with finding supplies in your office, I encourage you to take some time to organize. You will eliminate a great deal of frustration and enjoy more peace of mind. In this episode, I’ll provide some details on exactly how our office is organized, right down to the shelves, and offer inspiration so you can organize too. Today I also talk about year-end holiday sales and taxes. Are you in the market for equipment for your office? If so, now may be the time to buy new equipment and then take advantage of the Section 179 deduction on your taxes.  In this episode, you’ll hear: The importance of tracking your inventory How labeling drawe

I’m coming clean.  In this episode, I will discuss some recent patient situations I’ve been in where I didn’t feel I handled myself in the best way possible and how to cut ties when it has to be done. Communication is a key to good chairside manner. Sometimes, those lines of communication break down. It may be a significant other who tries to control the conversation instead of the patient. It may be a conflict in personalities. I’m here to tell you that you are going to run into some patients that you are glad to see go. You might feel guilty but, in the end, you will likely realize it’s for the best.    Sometimes you might come across a patient who disagrees with your professional opinion. You may have feelings of frustration or even guilt when this happens because your goal is to help as many people as you can. Having a patient try to drive treatment that goes against your professional opinion can be disheartening and as professionals, we have to accept that we can’t help every patient who walks through ou