On the heels of my Vegas trip for the Invisalign Summit, I figured that this gambling reference would help drive home a point about a vital part of our practice’s future success. What does a dice combination in craps have to do with our practices? Watch this short video and find out. [wpvideo Wg0lMUhq] All…
I had a really nice new family in my office on Friday. Their story was a common one. They started orthodontic therapy in Houston about 4 months ago, but the flood and a job relocation has caused them to move to Dallas.  Their 15 year old young son, a star football player, was in my chair…
Both my dad and my grandfather were dentists, so I remember what dental practices were like 45 years ago. It was truly a different world. I remember my father telling me how one could actually be “in the black” (making a profit) in as little as a few months, and there was literally ZERO advertising…
As clinicians and business owners, we rely on our team members to serve specific needs for our practices and patients. After all, how can we perform our best orthodontics without someone to help us? We rely on our team members from the moment the phone is answered until the final recall visit. Â But, do you…
Every time I go to a physician’s office, I like to play a little game. I call it: “If I did this, I’d lose patients”. I try to count all of the things they do (or don’t do) that would cost me patients if I did them in my office. I’m sure you’ve done the…
If you’ve ever seen the movie “A Christmas Story” you’ll remember that all the lead character “Ralphie” wants for Christmas is a Red Rider BB gun. He envisioned the fun he’d have with it, but all he heard from everyone (including Santa) is “you’ll shoot your eye out”. Was he overconfident? Were those around him…
It’s hard to understand now, but people were calling Aaron Feuerstein crazy. They said he was nuts. What kind of CEO does the sorts of things he was doing? “That’s no way to run a business!” Of course, the haters were few and far between, but to many of us it was impossible to believe…
I was having a great conversation with one of my most respected and beloved orthodontic friends last night. She’s an amazing “emotional” balance to my “driver” style and the conversation of moms in orthodontics came up. I am genuinely amazed at how working moms are able to hold it all together irrespective of the age…
Recently, I’ve seen some great Facebook threads related to public perception of orthodontics and how we can help people understand the value of orthodontists. Simply by virtue of the rise of Smile Direct Club (SDC) there’s a pretty clear indication that the public views “teeth straightening” as a commodity. If you’re not sure what a…
If you’re a regular reader of my blog, then you know how much I stress the importance of clinicians understanding that while the clinical outcome is important (and is what lets us sleep at night), the public generally could care less. Nonetheless, every single day I see orthodontists trying to convince peers (and themselves) that…
