10 Ways to Stay Inspired as an Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurs are a unique group of people. Many attributes set us apart from others -- the deep levels of desire, independence, needs for freedom, levels of dedication and a willingness to take risks.

However, many entrepreneurs suffer from creative blocks due to being so wrapped up in tasks. To a large extent, we all have to let the processes of creativity and inspiration come to us from the outside because it is not always an internal process we can count on. Inspiration waxes and wanes along any person’s journey to success. Yet, there are many ways to stay inspired through outside sources to keep our engines of motivation and excitement roaring.

1. Read

Keep one or more motivational books or readings with you at all times. Sometimes it only takes one sentence to get your mind in gear on what you want to achieve in your day, your business and the bigger picture of your life. Reading something that hits home reminds you that your path to success is worth the hard work. Having a book on hand is like having a pocket coach. When you need it you can reach for it at a moment’s notice.

2. Rest or Time alone

The majority of time in your life will be spent in the consistent company of other people on a regular basis. Even when the connections you have are positive, it is still taxing on your energy to be constantly giving out. It is vital to the human spirit to have a certain amount of time alone to detox and re-energize. Inspiration cannot come from a dry well of energy resources. It is important to refuel and take time for yourself.

3. Money

Money is a great motivator; not the root of all evil. Money is a tool and resource which can be used for so much good. Money is also one of the greatest rewards acknowledging your hard work. It is not wrong to work for money, or to have making more money as a priority and important goal in your life. You should always strive to make more money. Increases in money often come hand-in-hand with increases in status and position; all which build confidence. With money comes the freedom to do more things. Having this type of freedom brings more happiness. You are never more inspired than when you are happy.

4. Music

Music can be one of the most direct ways to find inspiration. Inspiration is a drive, but as much as it is a drive, is also an emotion. You either feel inspired or not. Emotions, the full range of them, make up inspiration. If you’re hurt or angry, the right song can inspire you to succeed. If you have a creative block the right music can open your mind. It has been proven that music is in sync with our brain waves, and when people listen to Mozart before taking intelligence tests they score up to 10 points higher. So if you want to find some inspiration, listen to some great music.

5. Exercise

Getting outside, moving your body, getting fresh air and working up a sweat are highly creative ways to find inspiration. When you are at work, your mind is only focused on the task at hand, which leaves very little room for your right brained activities such as inspiration to come forth. When you exercise, the left brain is distracted by the task of exercising, allowing the more right brained emotions and ideas to come through. Further, when you push yourself physically you learn how strong you are emotionally, and this helps to keep you inspired and believing in your capacities to continue pressing forward.

6. Gratitude

Wherever there is gratitude there is a spark of life, wherever there is a spark of life there is inspiration. The more grateful you are for what you have the more motivated it makes you to want to sustain and elevate above your current level of success. Abundance is a beautiful thing. A great way to practice gratitude is to write thank you on every check and every receipt as a way to remind yourself of how blessed you are to have the abundance to spend the money you spend. When you are grateful you become plentiful. The feeling of being in abundance is inspiring because it is not a feeling you want to lose. You become more deeply committed to all you do when you treasure what you have. There is no room for complacency when you are grateful.

7. Vision

If you lose inspiration, go back to the drawing board and either create the vision of what it is that you want, or be brave and flexible enough in your mindset to reinvent the vision you currently work from to more effectively move forward. Having a vision is a way of creating a future benchmark of achievement that sits out luminously in front of you; you knowing you won’t be satisfied until you achieve it. A vision inspires the willingness to strive for what you want. It inspires you to live your dream.

8. (Healthy) Competition

Competition breeds inspiration, whether you’re competing with yourself, a score, a dollar amount, another person, for a raise, a bonus etc. Competition inspires you to get to that next level. It motivates you to prove yourself to yourself and to those others who matter when pushing yourself forward. Getting to that next level will require hard, work, training, and motivation. There is nothing more inspiring than wanting to win. You will naturally do nearly anything to feel that sense of accomplishment.

9. Other people’s stories 

A great way to find inspiration is to study other inspirational people. Read their biographies, watch movies that are touching. The last book that I read that was really inspiring was Will, by Will Smith. There is something so intoxicatingly inspiring about the underdog having a major comeback or victory. If you feel low on inspiration take a day to read, watch a film, or otherwise study others who others have made it against all odds. Emulate in your life, what inspires you about these people and these stories.

10. Give

When you give and you see the fruits of your labor. Seeing the significance of your impact on the world is so moving it inspires you to work more, and make more in order to give more. Giving is the greatest gift that gives back. To see that what you contribute to the world makes a huge difference in the lives of others. It is what inspiration is all about.

Part of the problem with inspiration for entrepreneurs is creating a healthier work-life balance. Many entrepreneurs often don’t give enough attention to their physical, mental, or emotional well-being. We work at all hours, eat whatever is closest to us, and blindly finish tasks under taxing conditions. This type of lifestyle is a recipe for burnout. The state of mind which allows us to find inspiration becomes more elusive if we aren’t addressing our own needs along the way.

Should You Lease or Buy a Space For Your Start-Up Dental Practice

One of the most common questions among dentists who want to start their own practice is whether to buy or lease a commercial property (Practice real Estate). Through in-depth analysis, it was concluded that buying commercial property is the better option if you plan on staying in the same location for 7 or more years. Therefore, considering the growth of your business will be a large decision making factor in choosing whether to lease or buy a space. 

On average, over a 15 year occupancy period, leasing commercial real estate costs as much as 86.6% more than buying commercial real estate. In cases where you lease a space for less than 7 years, oftentimes this cost will be less than buying. Therefore, seven years is considered the “breakeven” point in terms of occupancy costs. 

When determining whether to buy or lease commercial property for your practice, there are some questions to ask yourself:

• Will I outgrow my space, and if so, how many years will it take for me to outgrow my space?

• Am I in a position to tie up capital in commercial real estate?

• Do I want the flexibility of leasing? Or do I prefer the stability of having a mortgage?

• Am I up for the challenge and the hassle of maintaining a property?

• What are the local trends in the commercial real estate market?

There are benefits to both leasing and buying a commercial space and by considering the pros and cons of each, you will be able to choose the path right for yourself.

Commercial properties tend to store their value, making them a good investment. Additional benefits to purchasing real estate include, but are not limited to, equity upside, asset appreciation, rental potential and tax benefits. On the other hand, when leasing a commercial space, you have more liquidity, more flexibility, and additional tax benefits you are able to take advantage of. 

Overall, it is important to take the time to plan both your short term and long term goals in order to determine whether buying or leasing is the best choice to make. Ultimately, however, it is important to remember not to sacrifice location on the basis of buying or leasing a space for your dental practice. If investment in property is your concern, you always have the option to buy other real estate for investment purposes.

Guest Post by Armincoinc

Steps To Opening Your New Dental Practice

Ever since the thought of becoming a dentist crossed my mind back when I was a teenager, the goal of opening my own practice was right behind it. From my parents who were exemplary business owners to my dentist and mentor who had his own practice, the thought of working for someone else was never an attractive option for me. Fast forward a few years post-residency with a lot of experience in the field of dentistry under my belt, owning my dental practice has become a dream realized.

There are many factors involved in opening your own dental office which can be both confusing and overwhelming. Knowing the correct steps to take can help you save a lot of time and money and keep you on track to starting your dream dental practice.

1.Knowing Your Budget

The average cost to open a start-up dental practice is more than most people think. Depending on your location, most start up practices range from $350k - $450k in total costs. Before looking at spaces, or meeting with equipment companies and other specialists, the focus should be on talking to banks and getting approval for a loan.

2. Finding The Best Location

The location of your practice is first and foremost the best method of exposure for your future office. You want patients and lead sources to find you easily and quickly. An experienced realtor in the dental industry is your best resource when locating a space. They will help you find a location in good proximity of your targeted patient demographic and within your budget.

3.Selecting an Architect and Contractor

Once a potential space is located, it is time to begin dialogue with an architect or contractor who are experts in the dental industry. An experienced architect or contractor will be able to point out any red flags or potential hazards within a space that can affect costs significantly. They can also help provide a preliminary construction proposal to ensure the project stays within your budget.

4. Receiving Equipment, Cabinetry, IT and Computers

Architectural plans take approximately 8- 12 weeks to be completed and approved from the local governing body. Within this time frame is when equipment, cabinetry and IT/computer bids should be selected and received.

5. Planning for Staff

The construction period takes anywhere from 60 to 100 business days depending on the locations and size of the project. During this time you should be finding the right employees for your practice size and making sure you have everyone you need to run your office come opening.

6. Double Checking All Licensing & Legal Needs

It is very important to not push this step back. It can take months before you can accept insurances and in addition, you will need to be licensed in your state, have a national provider identifier number, and register with the DEA. All this needs to be done before construction is finished so you can start practicing right away.

7. Marketing

Planning is key, get the word out any and all ways you can from Social media (Instagram, Facebook, Tik Tok, Snapchat), TV ads, prints ads, online ads, promotional events, etc. Develop your website so that it stands out but also simple enough for patients to schedule.

When planned carefully and properly managed, the process towards opening your new dental practice can be exciting and fulfilling.

In part, a Guest Post by Sasha Hewadpal & Araik Safarian at: Arminocoinc

Structuring Office Hours Around The Holidays

Every year in our offices there seems to be this age old debate on holiday hours. Practice owners can get tunnel vision where we end up focusing on dollars and cents and “bottom lines.” We get a little hung up on how much we think we will be “losing” if we close the office on certain days. While office closure can affect our bottom line, with proper planning we can figure out ways to work around that issue and make it so the bottom line isn’t affected at all.

There are some holidays in which it is customary for the office to be closed. Some closures depend on where you practice (City and State) and others will be at the owner’s discretion. For example, it is customary to be closed on holidays such as New Year’s Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas Day. Other holidays like Veterans Day and Inauguration Day will be dictated by state. District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia are usually closed on Inauguration Days.

Below are the 2020 US Federal Holidays and the closures I plan for my Office:

Dr. Patrice Smith’s 2020 Holiday Schedule

In discussions with other dental professionals about holiday closures, we have different philosophies on when and how to handle closures. For me personally, the week of Christmas is a vacation week. This is the time of year I take to be with family, to relax, unwind and get ready to hit the ground running come January 2nd. I have found that team members also appreciate this time off to do the same. Some of my other dental colleagues feel differently.

Using Dental Benefits

Some of my colleagues argue that the week of Christmas is not ideal for closure since this is when patients have an opportunity to use their dental benefits which typically “run out” at the end of the year, or on December 31st.

Paid or Unpaid Holidays

This again is up to the employing doctor but can sometimes be dictated by labor laws.

• Associate Doctor (Salaried) - Paid Holidays

• Associate Doctor (Per Diem) - Unpaid Holidays

• Full Time Staff Member - Paid Holidays

• Part Time Staff Member - UnPaid Holidays

Plan Ahead & Be Creative

If you have an idea that you will take time off from the office / vacation for extended periods, one thing you can do is add one extra day per month to the schedule to make up for that anticipated time off.

Be considerate of your team, properly plan and enjoy time off. Everyone will be happy and the team will be energized and more than willing to give their all after a break.

The Right Time For Your Child To See An Orthodontist

Dr. Patrice Smith performing an Orthodontic evaluation.

Most people think that the best time to have their child see an Orthodontist is during the pre-teen and teenage years. However, there are good reasons to have your child get an orthodontic evaluation a lot sooner. The American Association of Orthodontists (AAO) recommends a check-up with an orthodontic specialist no later than age 7.


Why Should Your Child Get An Orthodontic Check-Up No Later Than Age 7?

• Orthodontists can spot subtle problems with jaw growth and emerging teeth while some baby teeth are still present.

• While your child’s teeth may appear to be straight, there could be a problem that only an orthodontist can detect.

• The check-up may reveal that your child’s bite is ne. Or, the orthodontist may identify a developing problem but recommend monitoring the child’s growth and development, and then if indicated, begin treatment at the appropriate time for the child. In other cases, the orthodontist might find a problem that can benefit from early treatment.

• Early treatment may prevent more serious problems from developing and may make treatment at a later age shorter and less complicated.

• In some cases, the orthodontist will be able to achieve results that may not be possible once the face and jaws have finished growing.

• Early treatment may give your orthodontist the chance to:

  • guide jaw growth

  • lower the risk of trauma to protruded front teeth

  • correct harmful oral habits

  • improve appearance

  • guide permanent teeth into a more favorable position

  • improve the way lips meet

• Through an early orthodontic evaluation, you’ll be giving your child the best opportunity for a healthy, beautiful smile.

  Because patients differ in both physiological development and treatment needs, the ortho- dontist’s goal is to provide each patient with the most appropriate treatment at the most appropriate time.

The original article can be found on the AAO website here

5 Boss Behaviors To Grow Into

The Greatest Gift of Leadership is a Boss Who Wants You To Be Successful - Jon Taffer

A truly great boss is hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget. You’ve heard it before - people don’t leave jobs or their companies, they leave their bosses. This holds true as I think about the bosses I’ve had and as I reflect on the type of boss that I aspire to be.

Research has shown that there are a number of key leadership behaviors that bosses or managers can learn and develop. These behaviors are grounded in managing social-emotional reactions to our surroundings. By cultivating these behaviors, leaders can build a team that is accountable, trusting, resilient, proactive, and passionate about their work and the company’s mission.

Here are the 5 leadership behaviors that can have an impact on your team’s productivity and engagement:

• Compassion

  • Compassionate leadership means showing genuine interest in team members’ success and well-being. This leadership behavior establishes a commitment to understanding, but not necessarily agreeing. It is also a more objective form of empathy. Unlike empathy, compassion creates emotional distance so that the leader can make sound and proactive decisions on the team member’s behalf. This behavior will ultimately lead to more trust and loyalty from team members.

• Effective Listening

  • Listening can be more empowering than speaking. Effective communication skills are key to building trust with teammates and getting them to buy into your vision. Effective listening is a combination of both verbal and non-verbal communication skills that can be learned and practiced over time.

• Embracing Change

  • Great leaders are able to quickly change course and help their team evolve with the organization’s needs. These people enjoy the process of continually striving for improvement and pushing their teams to the next level. They also are not afraid to fail as they realize that mistakes are mere opportunities to better themselves.

• Embracing a Coaching Mindset

  Great leaders produce other great leaders through coaching. As a coach you are able to see each individual’s development and growth. Great leaders are able to tie people’s individual development to organizational objectives which increases accountability, improves retention, and develops stronger leaders within their teams.

• Cultivating an Inspiring Vision

  • Effective leaders prioritize the creation of an inspiring work environment which propels their teams to see beyond their perceived limitations and step up to new challenges. Motivational leaders have a keen understanding of how to create a strong sense of community and belonging within their organizations. They regularly celebrate and reward achievements, and sets the standard for performance. As a result, their teams tend to see lower turnover, increased productivity, and elevated levels of motivation.

Great leaders are skilled communicators that tend to be humble, compassionate, and transparent. Some are born with innate talents and a set of behaviors that make them particularly suited for greatness. However, many leadership behaviors can be learned, developed, and practiced over time.

Now, do you think you have what it takes to be a great Boss or Leader? Thought so, Let’s Do This!

A version of this article can be found at BetterUp.

Benefits of Social Media to Your Dental Practice

For many years, dentists relied almost exclusively on reputation, word of mouth, expensive advertising and flyer marketing to help build their practices. But, it’s a different time now and more likely than not, our patients/audience are on one or more social media platforms. Whether it’s Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat,etc being active on social media will give us the ability to drive traffic, reach new patients and build lasting relationships that will only benefit our practices.

Some great benefits of Social Media to our practices are:

1. Increased Visibility

   Social media allows for greater visibility, provides us the chance to reach a wide audience and create relationships with current and potential patients. Because of this increased visibility we are now able to spread information about our practices far and wide.

2. Reach & Interact with Potential Patients

   One of the most important things about social media is that we are able to reach and connect with our audience. It’s a great place for them to see customer testimonials, experiences, friendly office images and the results of our work. Responding to questions through social media helps as well - our patients will like the fact that their doctor is accessible.

3. Strengthen Patient Relationship

   Before now, patients needed to call the office and speak to the receptionist to schedule an appointment, ask questions or discuss a concern. Now that there’s social media, our patients have better access to us and our offices. They can send messages and get a quick response, and If our social media pages are less clinical, it will be easier for our audience to see us as relatable. The viral nature of social media also means it’s easy to spread information about you and your practice far and wide. By writing articles, posting videos and sharing information that demonstrates our expertise, we can begin to show our patients what we and our practice(s) are about. It is also a great tool to elicit responses by creating content that gets people to click, comment or share.

In my practice, we recently started to utilize Facebook, Instagram and we are working on snapchat filters (kids love this!). The results so far have been great! Our patients learn more about our practice, staff and doctor(s), and they are leaving us really great feedback which is helping to drive traffic to our website and ultimately our practice. If you’re not already, you should definitely consider utilizing social media in your practice - if done correctly will benefit your practice in the long run.

Related Post: Social Media Blunders that Will Hurt a Young Doc’s Career

How to Negotiate Your Contract, Like a Boss

Many professionals find the idea of engaging in contract negotiation intimidating. For this reason, many skip it all together and accept what they're offered, or they negotiate very minimally.

 At this point, I have negotiated a few contracts to lend some insight on how to negotiate your contract to get what you want, what is fair and what you deserve. 

To Negotiate like a boss, especially if you're female, will take some mindset changes. Here I've outlined a few ways to successfully Negotiate your contract and get what you want.

1. Say NO

One of the greatest inhibitions in asking for your market value or what you think you're worth is the fear of rejection. Once you can get passed this fear you can move on to the negotiating table. Understand that the real Negotiating doesn't start until someone says no! Never just accept what you're being offered. Quite often contracts are written with wiggle room for that reason.  The goal of negotiating is to reach an agreement with someone whose interest may not necessarily be aligned with yours. In this context the word no is not a negative thing but offers grounds to problem-solve and come to a consensus and an agreement. The alternative is being stuck in a job with individuals who are happy to place their needs above yours. 

2. Ask for More Than What You Want

It's a much better negotiating strategy to ask for more than you actually want or think you will get. Allow each party to say no a couple times before saying yes. People aren't necessarily happy when they get what they want. Think about it: You sit with your potential employer and say " I would like a 10% increase from my previous salary and a corner office" and his/her immediate response is "Sure, no problem!" You will likely suffer from buyers' remorse and wonder if you should have asked for a 20% increase instead. 

3. Be Willing to Walk Away

A lot of negotiating is a mind game. The greatest bargaining advantage goes to the person who is perceived to have the least to lose. Establish your deal breaker or bottom line and be willing to walk away from a deal (or say you will). If you at least act like you're prepared to walk away if your bottom line isn't met then the other party will be more incentivized to meet your requirements. 

4. Get a Lawyer

You have looked over your contract thoroughly but you need a second pair of eyes on it. There may be some legal jargon that you don't understand or have over looked. A lawyer will be able to point some things out to you that you may have missed and can even negotiate on your behalf. In my experience it has been worth the money pay a lawyer to do some of the heavy lifting for you.

I know contract negotiations aren't always easy. You must ensure that you ask the right questions upfront, learn to say no, don't get bullied into signing on to something you will regret later and be willing to walk away. At the end of the day, make sure that you are getting a fair deal.

What to Do with a Signing Bonus

You've worked your butt off, passed all your board and licensing exams, graduated and landed your dream job. What could be better than landing your dream job and receiving a signing bonus also? According to a 2016 research publication by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, 52% of employers plan to offer signing bonuses to new graduates. You may be among those who will receive such a bonus but have you thought of what to do with this extra money?

Here are a few things you can do wit that "extra money"

1. Put towards immediate expenses

A new job may mean that you have to relocate to a new city. If the job does not cover relocation expenses, consider using a portion of your signing bonus to cover moving costs and apartment rental deposits. Remember to hold n to those receipts as you might be ale to deduct moving expenses fro your taxes.

2. Invest

Put your money to work! The sooner you start investing the longer it has to benefit from the effects of compounding interest. More on investing in a subsequent post.

3. Pay off debt

It's not uncommon to have accrued some debt while in school, particularly credit card debt. Use some of your bonus to pay down this debt. Start with paying the one with highest interest rate first then move to debts with lower interest.

4. Create an Emergency Fund

Surprise expenses happen all the time, no matter how well we try to plan for them. This is why it is important so have a stash in case of an emergency. Keep three to six months living expenses in a separate bank account from the one you use daily. I would also recommend keeping this in a high yield savings account so that you can benefit from the interest.

5. Treat Yourself

While this may have been your first thought, I put this last on the list for a reason. It is very tempting to blow this money on things that you may have wanted for a long time: that designer bag, downpayment on a new car, a shopping spree,a luxury vacation. While there's absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to treat yourself, take care that you don't overindulge. Take yourself (and maybe a friend or two) to a nice dinner to celebrate your new job, go to happy hour, even take yourself shopping. You earned it! but DO NOT blow all your money.

Keep in mind that this is not "free money." You will be paying taxes on it just like everything else. Most companies will explain the terms of your bonus in your contract so make sure you understand the terms. For example, if you quit your job before one year you may have to repay all or a percentage of the bonus. Typically this money isn't completely yours until you've satisfied some conditions or have reached a milestone within the company.

Social Media Blunders that Will Hurt a Young Doc's Career

Social media has become part of the every day life for most people. Whether it's Facebook, Instagram, twitter, LinkedIn or snapchat, it's where we communicate with friends, family, our potential patients/clients/customers and so we end up sharing a lot on these platforms. It's also where job recruiters, employers and, yes patients/clients/customers go to find you for whatever their reason.  So, when does sharing become too much? 

People are always watching and yes, while some may be inspired, motivated some are also judging, so it goes without saying that you must think twice about your content before you place it on the internet.  According to a research study 78% of job recruiters check search engines for backgrounds on candidates and about 63% check social media sites. 

Here's a short list of NOT To-Do's on Social Media for young professionals:

1. Badmouthing Employer and Coworkers

This is an absolute no-no! Gossiping about your co-workers, employer or company is a major turn off to potential employers and clients. A 2004 career builder survey found that 36% of hiring managers have passed on a candidate for this very reason. The logic is simple, putting down your company in the public sphere reflects poorly on you and shows that you may not be a team player. A simple tweet #myjobsucks #hatethisjob #crazycoworker may do a lot more harm than you can imagine. 

2. Spelling and Grammar Mistakes

Employers are looking to hire well educated, well spoken, detail oriented people to join their team. Having spelling or grammatical errors indicate that you are either ignorant, haphazard or not very well educated. According to a jobvite survey, 66% of recruiters have rejected a candidate due to improper use or poor grasp of the English language. 

3. Questionable Content

Recruiters look at everything. Be wary of the use of profanity, illegal drug references and sexual posts. Pictures with your friends out for a drink or a dinner date is quite normal and won't hurt but be mindful of pictures you or your friends may post (where you are tagged) in compromising situations. Go through your social media page(s) imagining that you are your boss or recruiter and ask yourself "based on my pictures/posts would I give me an interview?"  Also consider googling yourself from time to time to see what pops up.

4. Getting Too Personal

Sharing certain personal information online can sometimes come back to bite you. Think religion, politics, or any hot topic these days, like pregnancy and abortion. Voicing certain religious or political views can come across as biased. For example, a Carnegie mellon study that analyzed how hiring behavior is affected by what employers find online about candidates discovered significant discrimination against Muslim applicants versus Christian applicants.  Similarly, a study done by Rice University found that pregnant job candidates receive more interpersonal discrimination from employers. Even though employers cannot legally preclude people for that reason, they can simply give you a s tock reason for not hiring you. So sadly, try to keep that info to yourself until you have secured your position.

5. Being a Bully

Be Kind. Do not make offensive remarks whether about race, religion, political stance or anything for that matter. Don't be a troll. Enough Said. 

Source: LearnVest

The Benefits of Great Dental Photography

Photography is an invaluable, integral and necessary part of dentistry, especially Orthodontics. With the advent and widespread use of digital technology in our practices, imaging has become essential, much easier to incorporate and much more readily accessible.

My favorite new Toy: Canon Rebel SL2

There are various benefits of great photography in the dental practice and reasons everyone should be taking advantage of this wonderfully simple technology:  

1. Diagnosis and Treatment Planning

Intraoral photographs (and sometimes extraoral) are an important and in some areas of dentistry an integral part of patient records. It helps in completing the "entire picture" of a case. They enable the dental practitioner to get an in-depth look of the dentition, soft tissues and the facial structures to address any disharmony. Imaging aids in proper diagnosis and treatment planning.

2. Patient Education and Communication

The old adage is true that a picture is worth a thousand words. How many times have you tried to explain to a patient something about occlusion by using your hands? - placing one hand over the other to represent the jaws? In comparison, in showing them photographs any scenario can be easily and simply explained. 

3. Consultation/Referral to Specialists

It is typical for an Orthodontist to send radiographs in addition to photographs when transferring a case to another Orthodontist. However, it is not typical among the other specialties in dentistry. Photographs add an entirely new dimension to our reports when we send them to our colleagues.  Taking Oral pathology for example, a picture of a soft tissue lesion can enable the pathologist to brainstorm differentials without having the patient in the office.

4. Marketing and Advertising

It is no doubt that beautiful, clear and detailed photographs are eye catching and shows a superior level of professionalism to potential new patients. The quality of your photographs, when placed on your website and/or on your social media pages is your first impression and tells a lot about you and your practice. 

5. Legal Documentation

Our records (including photographs) are legal documents. They can come in handy if (God forbid) theres a malpractice lawsuit or the like. 

6. Self Improvement and Education

We as dentist always strive to improve our skill set. We are lifelong learners and always looking for opportunities to learn, enhance and grow as practitioners.  We can use our photographs to document cases and assess areas that need improving or we can even use it for education purposes among our peers. 

Tech Talk: Practice Advancement

We are most certainly in the technological age and it seems to be moving at lightning speed. How do we keep up?! The dilemma many of us face in our practices is deciding which technology is worth purchasing and will yield the best return on investment (ROI).

We want to keep up with technology to ensure we are providing the best quality care and treatment options for our patients. Moreover, the implementation of technology in our practices (if used to its full potential) enables us to be more efficient and thus increases our potential for growth. These things set our practices apart and make us unique and "more cool" (because c'mon, we are in the information age and we are marketing to millennials). Technology, although it can get pricey, is an excellent way to achieve the growth and marketability that will keep our staff and patients engaged. 

A simple example would be the smart watch. You certainly don't need a smart watch and if you get it just to check the time then you would be missing out on it's many capabilities. A smart watch integrates apps, monitors heart rate, doubles as a fitness tracker, reminds you when you need to stand or breathe, sends/receives messages and phone calls, serves as your personal assistant with voice command and can even be integrated in your dental practice for efficiency.

Liken the smart watch to any other piece of technology you get for your practice. You have to explore it's many capabilities to reap the benefits that it can afford you.

As providers we can incorporate different forms of technology into our practices to stimulate growth. Several are listed below:

 Intraoral Scanners 

Cone Beam CT

3D Printing

Aligner Therapy

In the end, it's up to you to explore the different options to see what would be most beneficial to your practice.  There are many things to take into consideration when contemplating the purchase of new equipment. No matter where your practice is located, the demographics, or even office culture, technology can be used as a means to improve quality of care, efficiency and to increase patient acceptance.

Apple Watch Integration In Your Practice

The Apple Watch has become very popular and surprisingly quite useful among healthcare providers, particularly dental offices. The apple watch and other smart watches offer doctors increased efficiency, an opportunity to potentially increase production, ergonomic benefits, and more.

We all know constant communication is vital in delivering quality patient care in any practice and the way in which new and current patients interact with our practice has changed drastically. Internet use has shifted from mainly desktop usage to almost strictly mobile usage, this means our patients are looking to interact with us differently than before. Many of our practices have moved away from manually tracking and reminding patients of upcoming appointments to sending email and text communication.

The apple watch can be used among the office staff to communicate pertinent information to each other or to the doctor.  What do we do right before we see a patient? We figure out his or her name, check whether there are any pertinent medical issues, what the last procedure was, what we have scheduled to do this time and what bay/chair they are seated in. If we are doing this manually, we are killing our productivity without even realizing it.

Here are a few benefits of apple watch integration in your practice (granted that your software management system is compatible):

• Secure Messaging that allows the staff to to send, reply and read messages to patients

• Appointment Reminders that can be scheduled to be sent 1 week, 1 day, 1 hour before the appointment (or however frequent you wish to schedule them).

• Appointment Information that the doctor can access for details pertaining to the patient and the appointment.

• Doctor Paging to let the doctor know that his/her patient is now ready to be seen, including what room, chair or bay they are seated in.

What other ways do you think smart watches can be incorporated in your practice?