Over the past year, we’ve watched fires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, and severe storms devastate communities and businesses. It makes you wonder: What if you drove to your office tomorrow morning and couldn’t go inside? Maybe the building was severely damaged.Maybe everything inside was gone.Maybe the building was still standing—but your practice was unusable. Would you […]
Tag: Team management
If You Have to Keep Asking Whether It Was Done, Something Is Wrong
You walk into the office and ask: ❓ “Did someone order the supplies?”❓ “Did we follow up with that parent?”❓ “Was the sterilizer testing done?”❓ “Did anyone call those overdue recall patients?”❓ “Did we ever get that equipment maintenance scheduled?” Sometimes the answer is yes. Sometimes you get the look that tells you it wasn’t. […]
Why Good Employees Sometimes Struggle
Good employees don’t want to guess. They want to succeed! So, How Can You Help Good Employees Succeed? Instead of hoping they’ll “pick it up as they go,” create a practice environment where success is intentional. Here are a few ways to start: ✔️ Clearly Define Every Role Every team member should know exactly what is […]
Hiring Without Experience? Here’s What the Most Successful Practices Do Differently
Over the past several months, I’ve had the privilege of speaking with pediatric dentists and their teams in Philadelphia, Myrtle Beach, Orlando, and most recently at the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry Annual Session in Las Vegas. One of my favorite parts of attending these meetings isn’t presenting. It’s listening. I enjoy meeting new pediatric […]
Basic Communication Skills in Pediatric Dentistry: Tips, Techniques & Comedy
Last Friday in Philadelphia, I had the privilege of speaking on communication in the pediatric dental office. Not clinical technique.Not materials. Communication. After decades in practice, I have learned that communication skills in pediatric dentistry are often the difference between calm resolution and unnecessary conflict. Most conflicts in a pediatric dental office are preventable. They […]
5 Keys to Effective Communication
Effective Communication in a Pediatric Dental Practice: Why It Matters Remember the childhood game “telephone”? One simple sentence turns into something completely unrecognizable by the time it reaches the last person. It’s funny in elementary school. It’s far less amusing in a pediatric dental practice. Miscommunication in a dental office can lead to confused […]
Running Your Practice Like a Well-Tuned Orchestra
Picture this: It’s Monday morning. You walk into the office and everything is already humming. The ops are set up, your staff is on time, the schedule is full (and booked out for months!), and there’s even a waiting list. The team is reviewing today’s patients, making sure they understand the needs of each child […]
Test Your Temper
We all get angry. But when stress runs high—like during the busy summer months in a pediatric dental office—those emotions can bubble over more quickly than we’d like. This quick quiz isn’t about judgment; it’s a tool to help you check in with yourself, recognize signs of rising frustration, and take small steps toward healthier […]
Top 10 Reasons Your Dental Office Needs an Onboarding System (Not Just Shadowing)
As a pediatric dentist, I know firsthand how busy our days can be. Between treating patients, communicating with parents, managing emergencies, and overseeing the team, the idea of onboarding a new hire often falls into the “just shadow someone and figure it out” category. But here’s the truth: sink-or-swim onboarding is costing your practice time, […]
Perfectionist Quiz
Almost everyone pursues perfection — doing the best job you can, setting goals and working hard to reach them, maintaining high standards. But perfectionism isn’t about any of this. Perfectionism is a long, maddening drive down a never-ending road for flawlessness; it provides no rest stops for mistakes, personal limitations or the changing of minds. […]