Resources

A well-designed Doctor Time Scheduling template is vital to the efficiency and bottom line of any orthodontic practice. However, your templates are only half of the solution. A well-organized, disciplined team is the glue that holds your scheduling system together.

At nearly every initial consulting visit, I am accused of being an alien: “Well, Ryan, your scheduling system is terrific, but how are we supposed to stay on time if our patients do not cooperate? I don’t know what planet you’re from, but here on earth, patients are regularly late for their appointments, have multiple broken brackets, and terrible oral hygiene to boot!”

On the day I joined Millenium Management Services as a consultant, I perused the library in the office, eager to learn everything at once. One book, in particular, caught my attention. It was entitled “Insider Information”. Intrigued by what secrets I might glean from its pages, I flipped through it.

The practice of orthodontics has inherently within it the ability to be a great business. We get to deal in the highest of American values by delivering beautiful teeth that will give a lifetime of joy and satisfaction. There are few better gifts a parent can give their child than a beautifully aligned set of pearly whites that can unlock the key to a better bite, a better job, and perhaps even a better looking spouse.

“That is so easy!,” exclaimed my new associate. “This stuff is not so hard after you have learned it.” After 28 years of teaching orthodontic management and marketing to over four hundred offices I often feel that it is so simple and easy.

It is vital that the Buyer’s and Seller’s needs and goals are identified early, and are realistic. In most cases a senior doctor should never take in a partner in order to make more money, as this dream rarely results in orthodontics.

For many dental offices the greatest challenge is to hire and develop excellent personnel. The tendency is to look for an assistant with experience and one who mirrors the doctor’s detail oriented personality.