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Dental A Team Podcast
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This podcast is here to give dentists and all dental office team members, in EVERY position, TACTICAL and PRACTICAL TIPS to:
- Be more efficient
- Have more fun
- Improve doctor and team communications
- Eliminate frustration
- And make your life easier!
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New episodes every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.
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Seriously, Stop Shying Away From Accountability
Mar 2500:18:30Tap to summarizeDoes it seem like there are communication troubles in your practice? Spoiler alert: That usually has to do with accountability. Kiera and Dana riff on why creating an accountability ladder a) isn't as difficult as you think, and b) will save tons of time, energy, and money. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and I've got the one and only Dana back with me today. I wanted to podcast with Dana, so I ⁓ maybe selfishly took her for two podcasts today. So Dana, welcome back to the podcast. How are you today? DAT-Dana (00:12) Doing pretty good, I'm ready for round two. The Dental A Team (00:15) Good. I do love podcasting because Dana and I were just able to rift and jive and it's fun. I think when you work with people for quite a while and you both have a ton of passion, makes podcasting very easy. So Dana, I wanted to just kick us off today on, I think, accountable teams. I think accountability is a buzzword in practices and people might be like, womp, womp, accountability. But I'm going to say like, no, it's not womp, womp. It's a, if you don't have accountability, your team is freaking chaos. And yet I think offices don't want to have accountability and then we're going to do a pivot of like what happens if your doctor doesn't want to be accountable. So tune in. I hope you guys are ready. We're going to dive into it because it happens and I don't just think it's teams that aren't accountable. It's also doctors that aren't accountable. Like what do do because if accountability is such a like ick and issue and constant stressor for everybody. Well, like what the heck? Like how do we, how do we fix this and overcome? So Dana, let's dig in. Let's talk about like I'm gonna just walk us through. It's gonna be a short rift today, but walk me through like, we get new offices. And I found that usually the number one issue they have is communication, which usually leads down to accountability. That's at least what I find. But I think that it's like, well, where do you start and how do you know like, is my team accountable? Is it not like, what do accountable teams look like? What do accountable teams not look like? Walk me down through like what you see in the practices you consult. DAT-Dana (01:35) Yeah, I agree with you. It typically will come down to communication. And so when I talk to a team about accountability, I always say, there's accountability ladder, right? So we have to hold ourselves accountable first, right? Then we've got leadership team to hold us accountable. And then we've got practice owner typically there at the top. But there's always a caveat to that. And that is it has to be seen from the top down. So yes, we have to hold those lines. We have to follow those ladders as far as the chain of accountability. But the tone for accountability is set from the top down. So if we don't have an accountable practice owner, we're probably not gonna have accountable leaders, which means we're not gonna have an accountable team. And so that's usually how I kind of open that discussion and that it does really come down to communication and some personal integrity, right? If we say we're gonna do something, do it. And if we notice that somebody isn't, have the conversation. So like you said, it really truly comes down to 100%. of communication ⁓ and clear expectations. The Dental A Team (02:39) Yeah. Gosh, Dana, like I love the accountability letter. Thank you. I have not heard that from you. So I think that's a fun, like you're right. It does start as you. And then it goes to your leadership team or your direct manager. And then it goes to the practice owner. And as you said that, just thought like, my husband and I were chatting the other day and something Jason, hi, I don't know why I do the things I do half the time. Jason and I were watching love is blind. So we decided to say like, okay, if we were in the pods, what questions would we ask each other? And Jason, think Jason is a very, uh, he hears what's not being said. And Jason said, I would ask the question of what things are going to make it really easy to be in a relationship with you and what things are going to make it really hard to be in a relationship with you. And I was like, that's pretty good. Pretty great question. And I told Jason, I said, like, one of the things for me with Jason is a lot of times Jason, feel, um, tries to kind of like form himself into the relationship he is. And so he'll maybe not say everything a hundred percent the way like, Like we had an issue and he was like, you know, like, and tried to just like almost sugar coat it for the person. And I, I called JSAO. I was like, Jay, why, like, why, why don't you just say like, I'm sorry. And Jason told me, he said like, well, in this scenario I'm embarrassed because I didn't do X, Y, or Z. And, ⁓ gosh, this is coming from years and years and years of coaching. ⁓ so that's the only reason I was able to see it. And thankfully Jason and I have a very open relationship where like he tells me like the hardest thing for me is like, girl, you gotta let go of control. think Dana would agree. Like I need to just let go and like trust people like that is my zone. So he will call me out of like care. That's like you're controlling, like just let it go. Thank you. ⁓ and for him, I was like, just having that personal integrity, I know will give you confidence cause I've done it as well. So for example, if I'm embarrassed with something, say like, Hey, I missed that and I'm really sorry. Like I dropped the ball, but even in those small little instances of like, I don't know if like Dana, I was supposed to do a podcast and I messed up with her. It's like, Hey Dana, I'm real sorry. I dropped the ball on that podcast. You can count on me in the future to do X, Y, Z. And in those small little subtle areas, I think that that's where you start to build personal accountability and confidence. And then like you said, Dana, it then is like peer to peer. And I know it gets weird and people are like, I'd rather not tell my team. I'm like, really? Cause let's just play, let's play the game. We either tell our team members and we have direct honest communication where we're able to have that. Or we sit in artificial harmony where everyone's walking on eggshells. Like you choose me, which practice you actually want to live in. And then that's also going to help us start to have that. And I do think, Dana, like as consultants, it's really fun to be able to open the floor to teach people like, okay, let's start with ourselves. And like, this is how we're going to have personal integrity. Like you literally say what you, if you tell someone you're going to get back to them by Friday, you get back to them by Friday. And we start with these little accountability check-ins. Like if you messed up, you take ownership for that and you say what people can count on you for. Then we go into like this week, everyone's going to hold each other accountable to one thing. So everybody's going to do that together. Like We all know ever...
Transcribe →How to Reduce Overhead Without Cutting Team Members
Mar 2400:25:39Tap to summarizeDoes your P&L team cost feel high? Tiff and Dana provide insight on how to reduce your overhead besides scaling back team members. There could be easy solutions, from cleaning up definitions and job descriptions in your ops manual, to facing the numbers when it comes to debt, and many more. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello Dental A Team listeners. I am here with you today ⁓ with Dana. Dana, you know, is one of my favorite humans on earth. We are starting our Monday with you guys. And I know it may not be Monday while you're listening to this, but you know these are pre-recorded, these aren't live. That's not a shock to you. So we record these on Mondays and Fridays. And Dana has been so gracious to share her Monday morning with us. Dana, how are you on this beautiful day? DAT-Dana (00:27) I'm doing pretty good. I know I'm loving the weather right now. As you know, I'm like a sunshine lizard, right? So I love the sunshine we're getting right now. And I love some extra tip time on a Monday. It's a great start to the week. The Dental A Team (00:30) beautiful. I agree, I agree. was like, yesterday I was like, oh gosh, what is tomorrow? know, like, because I had prep the week before, I think we all kind of prep, but then Sunday you're like, wait a second though, what was that again? I've had two days to forget what I'm supposed to be doing tomorrow. And I checked, I'm like, oh yeah, podcasting with Dana is gonna be so great. So we're here today with you and Dana, this one's a really fun topic. I know you and I, notoriously, if anyone goes back into the archives and listens to the other 5,000, It feels as though it's been 5,000 podcasts on operations manuals that we've done. That's just Dana's fun girl for that. But today is team related but less about training and kind of operations manually kind of things. And I think it's just a really fun version of a team aspect. And I say that because this is coming at it from a business standpoint. I think you guys all know that Dental A Team focuses on profit. and profitability, but we focus first and foremost on happy people and having a fantastic business that can support your personal life, but then also having a fantastic business that supports an awesome team. And so being team focused and being people focused first, we truly believe that that's what creates a business that's sustainable over a lifetime and gets that profit for you. If we went profit first, not the book, we love the book. If we went profit first and never the people, I think we would just be doing you a disservice. So today is all about how to get profitable, how to be profitable without sacrificing the team. And Dana, I know you and I, I think our whole company is really, really strong in this belief, but you and I specifically very, very strongly believe that treating the team right and not looking at the team for the cuts in the overhead is, that's how we start. So I'm gonna. Just pick your brain some today, Dana. First of all, what are you seeing today? It's 2026, recording this. It's close to the beginning of the year. We're about almost done with Q1, honestly. So I'm flying by, but we're getting towards the end of Q1. But with that, we've had some financials. I don't know why, but in my world, financials are hard to come by this year. I love you CPAs, and I'm just hoping that we can get a little bit better towards Q2. But so far in the financials, what are you starting to see and what did you see out of 2025 with your clients? What kind of trends were you noticing? DAT-Dana (03:14) Yeah, think ⁓ financials, know expenses going up in different areas, a lot of that expense does come from team members. A lot of my conversations right now are like how do I show my team appreciation? How do I create things for my team when it comes to pay increase raises, things like that. ⁓ and still keep my payroll within where it should be. So a lot of team pieces are part of these financial conversations, I think even pretty heavy in 2026. The Dental A Team (03:46) Yeah, totally agree with you. I've seen those same things and towards the end of the year too, was like Christmas bonuses. I know you and I worked, we talked about it. So I know, I know at least you and I did. I'm sure the rest of the team did too, but we talked about it towards the beginning of last year, I think on a podcast of making sure that we were getting our clients prepped to give bonuses. So they're saving some little acorns every month over in a bucket for that. So hopefully it didn't hit them, but it still looks ugly on the PNL no matter what, you pull wherever you're pulling that money from. So. I totally agree. And then I do think wage increases. I mean, if we compare 2018, 2019 to today, drastic difference. And I know, I think in our brains, it doesn't feel like COVID was that long ago. It feels like it was yesterday, but gosh, like 2017, 2018, 2019, those were the years of like dentistry. Dentistry was really doing well for team's sake at least. It was easy to find people. You could pay people whatever you wanted. Like people really worked for their dollar. And then you flash forward now it's been, gosh, almost seven, eight years since that time period. when we, in dentistry, when it comes, and this is just my opinion, when it comes to pay and team pay, I think that we are all still very much stuck in seven, eight years, nine years ago, like time period. And we forget because COVID, the emphasis on COVID and the emphasis on the the world as it is today and all of our, gosh, attention is being so distracted by all of that stuff that it's almost like that time just disappeared. We didn't live that time. so team pay wise, we're still stuck back there, but the inflation and the reality is if you compared 2007 to 2017, You would never pay someone what we were paying in 2007 in 2017. Those, those pays would be so different. But I think we're trying to like transplant that still today of the gold, the golden years, the good old days of what money was back then, forgetting that that much time has elapsed in the middle. And we're just truly not caught up yet in my opinion. So I don't know, Dana, is that just me? Do you feel that that we just like, we lost years. like just forward jumped. DAT-Dana (06:07) Yeah. Yeah, I feel like it was kind of like a time warp and I feel like especially in dentistry because I don't think dentistry hurt a ton as far as what we were able to produce. But I think that there was a big time warp when it came to salary increases and things like that. And I'm talking about that a lot on my calls because you know, yes, is it astounding that we're paying people in the dentistry where what we are right now. But again, I always say look at your area, what is fair for your area, what is competitive for your area because these team members bring value. The Dental A Team (06:13) Yeah. <p dir="ltr...
Transcribe →Creating the Perfect Gatekeeper to Your Practice
Mar 1900:33:50Tap to summarizeKiera joins Dr. Paul Etchison on the Dental Practice Heroes podcast to talk about the infamous front desk and how to finally figure out what levers should be pulled and which should be pushed to get the department in ship-shape. The best part about this episode is that Kiera and Dr. Etchison make the steps to success easy to understand and implement. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners, this is Kiera. And today we are sharing a guest interview I did on another podcast. And it was too valuable not to bring you guys here. this episode, you're gonna hear this host lead the conversation and then I'll wrap us up at the end. I cannot wait. It was truly one of my most incredible episodes and I truly hope you enjoy. speaker-0 (00:19) Kiera, so glad to have you back on the podcast. It's always a joy having you on here. And I'll tell the listeners, I've worked personally with Kiera a number of occasions, someone I very much trust, someone I respect entirely in the industry and just knows her stuff and always a great guest to have you on. And today we're going to be talking about, you know, front desk stuff where I work with a lot of clients. Do you work with a lot of clients? I don't know if you share the same regard. I would love to hear your opinion on this, but I would say most of the clients that I work with, the front desk tends to be their most chaotic and unorganized department. I mean, do you feel that you share the same sentiment? speaker-1 (00:59) Yeah, Paul super excited to be on the podcast with you. Always enjoy a good chat and I mean, think proof's in the pudding. Do you remember the number one reason you called me to work with you the first time? Oh yeah, I was front office. speaker-0 (01:12) I think it was the second time and the third time. speaker-1 (01:14) It really all those times were and the answer is yes and this is why I created Dental A Team is because like Working in the dental college and seeing so many dental students like you guys learn how to Drop your box on an MO and like how do I have a perfect crown prep? You don't learn how do I do the billing and how do I do the insurance and how do I schedule patients like you learn how to have patient etiquette and great dentistry and so that's why I created Dental A Team like it's dentists and teams like hey dentist let's get you to rock your space and then let's work on the team side because because even myself as a team member, there was no learning. It was like, just do it. And I'm like, well, what do I just do? And so I think the front office just feels so elusive. It feels so scary. And like, Paul, you're in someone's mouth. You're not like, ⁓ how do I do an insurance claim? And so I think there's so many nuances, but also for dentists, the front office is the gatekeeper of your money. Like they're the ones who schedule for you. They're the ones who present your cases for you. They're the ones who collect the money for you. They're the ones who bill for you. So so much of your financial freedom and like, your paycheck is also directed by a department you don't even understand. So I think that that's why there's so much just like, it's not conflict, it's just almost like unknown and it feels daunting. And so you don't even know what levers to push or pull because you don't even understand how the how the engine works. It'd be like, hey, Kiera, my car is making a sound and I'm like, good, I don't know what to do. Like, that's not even my realm. And I think that that's how a lot of dentists feel about the front office. So, yeah, that's why that's why I exist and why I love to be on the podcast and share because it doesn't need to feel daunting or scary, nor do you need to do it all. I think just being aware and knowing what things to look for, what things you can expect and having a hopefully a trusted voice in the industry where like, hey, I'm here, no judgment. Like just ask all the questions and let's help you guys get your team up to par. And also for team members, cause they, lot of times don't even know what they should do either. speaker-0 (03:05) Yeah, absolutely. They're just thrown in there and said, here, figure it out. Do it. Just answer the phone and do all this fun stuff. I mean, like, I think what struggles for dentists as practice owners is we just don't understand, like you mentioned. We don't understand, like, how to send a claim, how to look at an insurance breakdown. But whereas every other element of the practice, we have a deeper understanding on it. Do you think, I mean, I'm sure it would be beneficial, but is it necessary for a dentist to learn everything about claim submission and all these things? front desk related? Or can we get by with some more higher level organizations such as you provide? speaker-1 (03:41) I think, Paul, it depends on who you are. think Paul Etchison, I would say you probably can get by with some high level. You got it, you got it figured out, you can sift through. For some other doctors, they want to at least know. But I would say it's a blanket statement across the board. I think at least having a slight awareness, go up to the front office and just sit there and be like, hey, walk me through how you submit a claim. ⁓ I think you even knowing some of the jargon, the language of what's going on up there. Like, can I see an EOB? ⁓ That's like, and I think it's kind of like, go back Paul, being a business owner, I equate front office to like a PNL and CPA and bookkeeping. We have all learned how to run a business without being a CPA or a bookkeeper, but it's because we're in the language of the PNL. And I think, how can you get into the language of the front office? You know yourself, but. I think abdication and just like delegation, like hands off is probably a dangerous space to be, think for any business owner. Like I don't want to be in sales, but if I don't understand the sales process, that's not going to work. Marketing, like, okay, great. But I need to at least understand the nuances of it. And I think that's the same for front office. So I would say as a simple blip, why not just go up and listen to how your front office schedules? Why not go up and just see how they submit claims or verify insurance? And then, yes, I would talk to and listen to podcasts by the Dental A Team or other trusted individuals in the field. ⁓ We have online courses that we've created for all of these. Not so dentists learn it, but just to like, what's kind of my, I don't know, like front office for dummies, like go back to those books that they had, like, what's my quick overview to where I'm not going to get screwed over, I'm not going to get embezzled from, I'm going to know what to expect of my team. And I'm even happy to share even simple job descriptions of what those roles can and should be doing. I think even that knowledge alone helps doctors just feel more confident and competent of like, ⁓ my office manager should be actin...
Transcribe →Scale Your Dental Practice AND Reduce Overhead
Mar 1800:57:17Tap to summarizeRe-releasing a DAT listener favorite! Chris Sands and Brent Saunier are on the podcast to talk about the hottest topics in the dental accounting world. Founding partners of Pro-Fi 20/20, these dental CPAs chat with Kiera about how to reduce overhead and expand the number of patients coming in, expense metrics from the hundreds of offices Pro-Fi works with, a tax rule you NEED to live by, what to stay away from financially with your business, and a ton more. Pro-Fi 20/20 is an accounting business that the Dental A-Team recommend. This episode is a goldmine of information from two fellows who know what they're talking about — especially with regard to the dental industry. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: Kiera Dent (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera. And today we are bringing you something so special. I am so excited because this is one of our most popular episodes from the archives. Whether you're hearing this for the first time or catching it again, I am so excited because it's jam packed with a ton of takeaways that you can start using right now in your practice. We have released thousands, literally thousands of episodes. And I wanted to start bringing a few of these amazing episodes back for you. So I hope you enjoy. And as always, thanks for listening and I'll catch you next time. on the Dental A Team podcast. speaker-0 (00:31) today I wanted to bring on two special guests. These are actually CPA in the CPA world. Believe it or not, Dental A Team actually consults this company. So we definitely love them. They went a step above most CPA companies and they really wanted to get to know the ins and outs of the dental world. So I'm super jazzed to bring them on and to just have them dive into some of the hot topics in the accounting world. ⁓ two people that I trust and recommend heavily. ⁓ I They are one of my top three CPA firms that I refer and recommend constantly. So I'm excited to welcome Chris and Brent from Pro-Fi. How are you gentlemen today? speaker-1 (01:06) Awesome, Kiera. Thanks so much for having us. We're excited to be with you. speaker-0 (01:10) Yeah, absolutely. Brent, how are you doing today? speaker-2 (01:12) I am doing great. I appreciate the invite. I'm looking forward to this 30 minutes with you. speaker-0 (01:17) Yeah, absolutely. Well, who knows? We'll see how long this ends up going, guys. Brent, can't put a time on us. It could be dangerous zone. speaker-1 (01:24) You're lucky he said he's doing great because we're in the heat of extended tax season, so he's kind of in the trenches. Lucky he's in a good mood. speaker-0 (01:32) I know Tiffany has been trying to get back out to you guys to see you and Beth you heard this awesome rock star in the company She keeps saying like tiff. It's like extended tax time or it's this or it's that deadline I'm like, my gosh, you guys just have I think you're secretly adrenaline junkies of CPAs even though you don't come across that way But I think you love it cuz tax season I feel is just like adrenaline rush like trying to get to the deadline. I just can't imagine that stress like Every quarter every year you just hit it. So props to you guys. That's not my world but super jazz to have you guys on here. ⁓ so Chris let's dive in I know there's some things so we're gonna kind of hit on overhead we're gonna talk about some taxing some Some things to be aware of i'm just so excited because this is a world I don't know and I do purposely bring really really talented and educated cpas and financial advisors onto the podcast because I'm we have a three-fold approach in our company. It's focusing on Money and finances making sure your business is profitable you as a person and as an individual and then systems and teams top to bottom So I am big I think as a business owner. I wasn't profitable when I first started. I didn't know how to look at my numbers I didn't even know what the heck over influence. I was like googling how to figure it out So i'm just jazzing you guys are here. So Chris kind of take us away I know you had some great topics for today and i'm excited to just Rift a little bit with you, dive into these things, things that are really tangible for our practices now, especially where you guys work with hundreds of offices across the nation. Lots of good data to be pulling out for our practices listening. speaker-1 (03:04) Sure, well, ⁓ Kiera, I think that there's a lot of discussion around, does the DSO world seem to do a better job with overhead than the private practice world? I think a lot of private practice doctors are wondering that, they're frustrated or how do I get my overhead down? And a lot of times, I think when you focus on expenses, you tend to attract expenses. And in our world of accounting, I will often tell doctors that, ⁓ Accounting cannot make you money, it cannot generate revenue. The expenses part is the easy part for us that we can work on trying to reduce some things, but you either have a revenue problem or an expense problem. And in most cases it's actually, you creating enough revenue on your fixed expenses? And most of dentistry doesn't understand how simple that is to scale the dental business model when you look at it from a high level. You scale a business and reduce overhead with doctor production. Okay. And so that means you need enough patients to see the practice that I worked in from my experience was 40 to 60 new patients a month per doctor, per full-time doctor. And it means you need to be reinvesting enough into marketing. And I'll talk about that, that expense or reinvestment of marketing in a minute to get those new patients. And you need to be. monitoring the phones that get answered properly and there's conversion rate of those inbound calls to appointments scheduled. And then the real job is case acceptance. Okay, and so here I am in an accounting firm coming on your podcast and I bet you didn't think I was gonna like be talking about case acceptance. speaker-0 (04:46) was like, wonder we didn't talk about all your time. I'm just kidding. speaker-1 (04:49) So, know, dentistry is really the product that's being delivered. And if you're ethically diagnosing the need and creating the treatment plan, your job is to help the patient understand the urgency and necessity of fixing the problem and paying you to do that work. So your job isn't really the dentistry itself, it's case acceptance. And your first task is to become great at case acceptance yourself as a practicing clinician. But then the real task as the owner is to be able to teach other doctors to become good at it. So I think, you know, the only the only variable overhead that the dental business model has is paying doctors a percentage of the dental collections that they create. And then you h...
Transcribe →If You Want to Change the World, Have a Morning Huddle
Mar 1700:24:35Tap to summarizeThis episode is all about the simple power of a morning huddle. Tiff and Trish talk about the why behind these daily meetings, including what to include versus not include, how to look for opportunities in the schedule, why everything goes a lot smoother with a bit of communication. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. We are back at you again. We've got another fun topic today. This is one, honestly, we talk about these a lot. We talk about morning huddles. That's what we're gonna do, spoiler alert, morning huddles. We talk about these a lot, but I feel like we have not had an awesome recording, an awesome podcast recording on this in quite a little while. So I'm actually super excited for what's to come. And I've got Ms. here with me today. cleared her calendar for some podcasting time with me today, which I always appreciate and adore. And we're actually, we pre-record these, you guys know this, so I'm just gonna drop this now. It kind of makes it a little funky, because this may be the end of March. I'm not sure where you're gonna get this, where this drops, so enjoy. But we're getting ready for our in-person mastermind. We'll be having another one in September, so that's why I don't mind talking about it. It's the end of February now, recording for March. But we're getting ready for our in-person event. Literally two days from now. I can't believe that I moved podcasting here, but Trish I think we were I was at least sick I had to reschedule everybody's been sick, but holy cow what an amazing week I feel like the energy and the team is is crazy We've got a slew of doctors and office managers coming to Phoenix tomorrow ⁓ At the airport is gonna be wild and I'm excited to see everybody in person Trish. How are you? How excited are you for this mastermind? Trish Lee Ackerman (01:26) so jazzed. They've just been so fun. It's one, it's always just neat to actually be able to like touch the people that we work with, hug the people that we work with, shake hands with the clients, with the new clients, and just on site is always just really, really, really fun. So I am very, excited for this and our weather is perfect for the people that are coming from the cold. So they'll be very happy. The spouses that are attending will really be enjoying the pool. It's just going to be a great, a great experience for everybody. The Dental A Team (01:43) I agree. I agree. think end of February in Phoenix has to be one of the best ideas we've ever had. I remember a couple years ago I have a practice out in Georgia and she and her girlfriends do, they do trips every year and it's this girls trip and it's so cute and it's so fun and they came out here and it was, it would have been like two weeks ago our time now so beginning of February which is always, February in Phoenix is, I think it's the best time. of the year to be in Phoenix. Hands down, February in Phoenix is my favorite month. And it poured. And it was freezing. And she's like, girl, we came here because it was snowing at home. And I was like, I they went to Sedona and it was freezing. And I was like, ⁓ dang it. But now, fast forward, this weekend ⁓ is literally the best time of the year to be here. And when we go in person, the reason this is super relevant is we do Trish Lee Ackerman (02:34) I bet. The Dental A Team (02:51) Morning huddles we implement with all of our practices. We strongly believe in them. We will tell you why. When we come in person to you, we get this really cool energy. And gosh, we love being boots on the ground in offices, seeing where you guys work, seeing how you work together, getting that intel and that information. And it's just, I think all consultants can say, sets us on fire. Having you guys all come to us is just like heartwarming in a way. It touches our souls that you want to be here with us and it's just a different, it's a different energy, a different vibration and having so many really cool brains and minds melding together to help one another and seeing the community and the camaraderie is just so cool. And I just, I'm so excited. So we're, we're stoked. The next one's in September. If you're not coming to this one or you're not, by the time you listen to this, you're not reminiscing on how cool it was. You better be here in September. Hello@TheDentalATeam.com. That's how you're going to get your ticket. You tell us you want to be here, we'll figure out a way. with that, we won't be talking about morning huddles this week because we do them as consultants. But Trish, morning huddles, I know, are super important. think every consultant probably on Earth right now is like, you should be doing morning huddles, especially Dental A Team consultants. What is your why behind a morning huddle? How do you explain the practices? How do we convince the people here that are like, we don't need morning huddle. What's your why? Trish Lee Ackerman (04:28) My why is because number one, communication to me is always like, you're never going to lose from communicating. When you have everybody on the same page in the morning to kind of start to direct the show for the day, it prepares you for those hiccups that can actually come up. There's this, I might have shared this with you, Tiff, there's this, and I don't remember the name of it, but it's a Navy SEAL video. And basically the title of it is like, if you want to change the world, make your bed every morning. The Dental A Team (04:55) Yes. Trish Lee Ackerman (04:58) When I watched that, was like, making the bed every morning, that's the morning huddle for the dental teams. And what he shares is like, if you can't do a simple task, like make your bed in the morning, how are you supposed to be prepared as your day goes on to face something more challenging? Because that's a simple task. The morning huddle is also, it's a pretty simple task, but it's kind of a big one because you get to look at this. Yes, you get to look at the schedule as a team. We don't need to go patient by patient by patient. Everybody can see that they're on the schedule. What we're looking for is our opportunities and to celebrate a win. Like do we have a win from yesterday? That will certainly get the team charged up. But what is happening today? Who's coming in and where are the opportunities, especially like say from the hygiene department, who's coming in on the hygiene schedule today with an existing treatment need? It's clear it's there because they didn't do it last time. We talk to them about it. when can we collaborate real quick on what are we going to do differently today? Do we need new photography? Like what's the story with that patient? But it's to align us as a team, note, like find our places. Like this would be a good place for an emergency. And, and again, just create clarity and accountability on what that day looks like right now. We know the dentistry changes many times and can throughout a day. <p ...
Transcribe →Patient Flow Is Different in 2026. This Is What to Do about It.
Mar 1200:18:38Tap to summarizeThree months into 2026 and the Dental A-Team is already clocking how different patient flow is this year. Kiera talks about optimizing your practice for that unique 2026 patient. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera. And today I hope you're just having the best day. I hope that you're realizing things are so good. Things are amazing. I hope that you are just like on cloud nine. And today I'm really excited because this is a topic that I was like just so jazzed about. Cause I realize our patient flow is something that is different for 2026. Like we have it different. It looks different. And I... I'm just really excited. So if you're new to the Dental A Team podcast, welcome. I'm super excited to be here with you. I hope that you are just jazzed. And I think that, like I said, this is going to be something that is going to be very fun for you. And I hope that you take it on. I hope that you look at it. I hope that you just get excited to like, Hey, amazing. We're going to be able to like fix our 2026 patient flow. So when I look at this, like 2026 is very, very, very different than what it was even like when I started the company back in 2016. I think patients in 2026, they're not more difficult. They're just super aware of their time. It's not just enough to be good at clinical excellence. You know how to be really easy to do business with. And if patients feel like energy's off or the vibe's not there, they're going to possibly just leave without saying anything. And so I just wanted to come on today talk to you about some things that I'm seeing in 2026, things that we're seeing with amazing practices that are doing really, really well to help you all, like let's optimize our patient experience, which I know I've talked so many years about patient experience, but I thought like the patient is different today in 2026, they're more used to everything being online. And I think let's not be foolish. We still sometimes have older patients and we need to make sure that we're not adapting everything and changing, but the new generation of patients are definitely a different breed. than what we had before, which every generation is different. So looking for this, I just want you guys to really like get excited. Welcome to the podcast. I'm Kiera Dent and our job is to help you guys have thriving practices, possibly impacting the world of dentistry and to truly just like make it to where you guys feel like you get tactical practical tips on the podcast. I love hanging out with you. I wanna remind you, you're doing better than you think you are. And if this podcast has inspired you, touch your life in any way. please be sure to leave us a review. Those five stars keep us top of mind for everybody. And also pop us in Facebook groups, us, tag us on Instagram. We will comment, we will respond to you and we always appreciate it because that is your subtle way of being able to help us infiltrate the world of dentistry in the greatest way possible. So with that, I just want you guys to know that like, ⁓ this patient experience flow is going to help everything improve. And it's for our production, our case acceptance, our team energy, patient loyalty, all of that. So. Getting this patient flow, I believe is so important. So I think like really, really, really working on the first 15 minutes of our patient experience because patients are gonna decide about your practice immediately and they're gonna look at Google reviews, they're gonna look at your social media presence and then it's gonna be on how they make the phone call. So what's gonna happen for it? Like how can we optimize this? And I think one thing is how is your like... hello on the phone. So ⁓ even if we need to record it, listen back to it. I put a mirror always with my front office team members. I want them sitting up straight. I want them smiling really, really big, like almost a cheesy grin. People can feel that energy through it. And then I look at like, how can I make it the easiest, smoothest check-in for them to where when they get to my practice, after I won them over the phone, when they come into the office, they feel different. So how can I make sure my check-in is very fast and personable? How can I make sure there's like minimal paperwork that's like just annoying, iPads that don't work. My team is prep, so when they come and get the patient from the waiting room, they are concierge luxury without the like high price tag of that. Like I just want people when they come into the practice, I feel like people care a lot more about how they feel. They care about the experience of it. I mean, you guys have TikTokers, YouTubers, Instagram people, like that's the world we live in and they are walking everywhere around you. And so... we make sure that they're going to want to showcase our practice and feel that way on time, getting seated on time. These are big things. feel like time is people's greatest commodity and feeling like they're important is the second. So when we look at it, I think that as I look at my processes, what can we do to speed up our check-in? What can we do to like make our paperwork that is clunky? Could we review? And I'm not saying like have anything where you're not legal. Like, of course we need to keep our standards there and we want to get our health histories, but Like for me, when I send new patient paperwork, I ask them to send it back to me 48 hours before their appointment to make sure my team can be prepared. Just think of how nice it is for the patient. Like that's how they confirm their appointments. Totally ripped this off of IVF clinics. They're charging me 25 grand plus. And for me to even schedule my first appointment, my paperwork had to be submitted 48 hours before. Like I could not do it, couldn't schedule. And they just set the tone with me. Like this is how they operate. It was fine. I wasn't annoyed by it. Like, great. I got it right back to them. And then when I got there, they knew all of my history. They took me right back on time. I just felt like it was such a different experience versus someone who's like having me fill out paperwork in the waiting room. I've gone to others. I went to a psychiatrist the other day and I was like, fill out the paperwork in the waiting room. It's just versus the IVF clinic where it's all online, it's seamless, it's very easy. It's not clunky. They text it right to my phone. I can fill it in. I don't have to print things out. I just think, how can you make it to where when they walk in, It's the feeling and experience you want them to have. And I also think for a lot of practices, identifying what feelings do we want our patients to have. If you need help, go look at your Google reviews, have ChatGPT help you and say like, are the top five feelings that our patients feel when they come in here? And then look to see, is that what I want them to feel? And if it's not, change it up. Like how I feel when I walk into a spa versus when I walk into a dental office versus when I walk into an amusement park, there are very different feels that they want me to feel. And each of them needs to curate it. So for yourself, how can I do that...
Transcribe →How to Drop Your Overhead FAST
Mar 1100:20:45Tap to summarizeThis one's for the business owners out there! Kiera discusses all things overhead — what's normal, what's high, how to lower it, and what overhead even means in the first place. She then goes into specific tips of what it takes to lower that overhead quickly and responsibly. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and oh I hope you're ready for today's podcast today's podcast is one that I Love but you might not love it But guess what after today you're going to love it and you're going to know why because this is an episode for the business owners out there and office managers and team members guys, I Love, love, love, love, love talking about overhead. What's normal, what's high and how to lower your overhead and what does overhead even mean? And I know that this is something where maybe you've heard it in the past and guess what? One of the greatest tools to learning is remembering. And so today I'm gonna walk you through how we get overhead and how we're able to lower it fast. ⁓ I have found when consulting hundreds and hundreds of offices, the number one pain point is cashflow. We actually just created ⁓ like, amazing little graph and document of how offices are looking at things and how we, this is like just a pyramid. And if you guys are watching, we're going to see how good I do. Gosh, I'm not, okay, Paul, it's not pretty enough. I won't share it yet, but we actually built this like pyramid to show kind of a proven path from chaos to control and how we go. Like what is the base layer that causes offices the most amount of stress and how it goes up. so base layer of this triangle is cashflow and profit stability. Then after that, it's time delegation or removing the doctors a bottleneck. Then we go up to systems and consistency. Then we do leadership and CEO transition, and then it's legacy and optionality. So, and this was like really fun because I like put it all together and I was like, okay, guys, I figured out what causes Dennis the most. Like we're talking hundreds and thousands of offices and putting it together. And then our marketing team was amazing and Paul, shout out to him, he took it and he was like, all right, here, here you go. This is what it is. And what I looked at is so many people come in and like, here, we need systems, like, because we don't have cash. So they think that the systems will get them the cash, but knowing the right system. And this is oftentimes where it feels like whack-a-mole is we're putting in the wrong system, trying to get the outcome. And so it's like putting in the correct lever to be able to move. And then you're like, well, I need a leadership team. But if you're on cashflow row, you're not thinking about a leadership team. You're like, I gotta get out of the burning bush. But if you're on cashflow positive, you're like, gosh, I'm just like stuck in all the weeds. Well, great, we need like to build you a leadership team and we need to get systems in place for you. And we need to look at which systems are not working. And so that's why I wanted to go into overhead for you today of how, like what is overhead and how is it working for me or against me? And how do I get this down fast, AKA more profit for you. And that's not because we wanna be rich and like, whatever, I want you to actually be very wealthy. You like put in a lot of time and effort, but we want you to be making profit as a business. If you're not making money, it's a hobby and it's a liability and it's stressful. And we need to get you out of that stress zone so you can do the best dentistry, the best care. So when I look at offices, a lot of times they're not under producing, they might be overspending. And when I look at profitability, there's three levers. We need to produce more, collect more, or reduce our spending. are the three ways to get there. And so that's how we're gonna look at these. Those three make more profit. So when I look at this and when I look at your biggest pain point that most offices are struggling with is cashflow. And why? Because you were taught to be a dentist, you weren't taught to be a business owner. So you're like, great, I made money, but I don't know how to spend the money and I don't know what I'm overspending. I was talking to someone and ⁓ this is a dear friend to me and she's running her business and this is like leading me into a possible other business idea that's been percolating for me. She was like, Kiera. She's not in dentistry. She's in a different industry. she's like, Kiera, I made 200,000 this last year. And I was like, dang girl, I'm super freaking proud of you. And she's like, I took them 48,000. And I was like, what? She's like, yeah. And I said, well, hold on. She doesn't have employees. She's solo. And I was like, but why? Like, okay, 200,000, let's take taxes out of there. Even if you're sitting at 37%, which you're not, let's just. we'll chunk 40 out of that, okay? Like let's do 40%. So was like, that's like 80. That's like really high. You probably are like 60,000 out for taxes. So we'll put you at 200,000 minus 60,000. We're at 140. Where did you spend like a hundred grand? And she was like, Kiera, I don't know. I don't know. And I thought to how many business owners feel like her? How many people feel like, but I made this money, but I don't have it and I don't know why. Like gosh, 200,000 only taking home 48. Like you might as well go work for someone else. She's like, I worked more. I'm not with my family. I've done all these things. And I feel like that's how I feel so many dentists feel. They're like, I'm working harder than I was as an associate. I have all this stress. I'm not sleeping. I'm not with my family. And I'm not even making the money that I want to be making. And so I'm just really pro of like, Hey, there are solutions and there are ways. I think understanding what overhead is, understanding how business works. and using it within your dental office is going to help. So, Dental A Team, I'm obsessed with helping you guys have your best lives. ⁓ Our job is to help you hit profit goals, control costs, not always have to produce and work more. Like let's work smarter, not harder. ⁓ And really it's just to positively impact the world of dentistry. We call it the Yes Model. So focusing on you as a human, earnings and profitability, and then systems and team development. Your business should truly serve your life, not the other way around. And so, ⁓ Let's just like dive into what is overhead. I don't want any of you to be like my friend and honest. I'm going to get that friend out of that dilemma. I'm like, I think this is how I was. I think that it comes from, right? Like, why do we build companies? We build them out of like necessity for ourselves. We build them out of like things that we had. We build them from like, I'...
Transcribe →Shuffling Team Member Personalities and Skillsets the Right Way
Mar 1000:26:11Tap to summarizeTiff and Trish break down what it means to have the right person in the right chair that's best for your practice. This means gauging comfort levels and the ability to stay calm, but it also means supporting each position so they feel like they can win at their job. Listeners are invited to review their positions based on what personality would thrive there — not only to increase treatment, but to make everyone's lives better, too. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. We are here today with, honestly, really fun one. These are some of my favorite subjects, the things that we talk about on here. I tell you guys that all the time, but I have Ms. Trish here with us today. Her internal nickname, Dental A Team name, for all of her clients, you guys can use this, is Tada. There's all kinds of reasons for it. We don't need to hash out today, but just know Tada is here. And I know I've said this on the podcast before, but if you're new here, you haven't heard it yet, I love. podcasting with these women and I love also handpicking the topics. get topics given to us from our marketing company. We have a lot of input and say on them as the consultants, but really we just kind of look, I look ahead and I'm like, that's what we're doing in the month of March. So fantastic. And then I kind of handpick which consultants I want because I love when I get to watch someone and partake with someone speaking on things that they're passionate about, that they truly thrive in and they love. And Trish, this topic specifically today, I know I tell you guys this, I don't know if you believe me or not, maybe you do, maybe you don't, but I know this is something that lights you up and I'm excited to be here with you. Thank you for blocking your calendar for me. Thank you for getting this set up. know it's like, both of us are like a little chaotic storms. when it comes to things like this. So I know both of us were like frantically getting ready. So thank you. How are you today? And how excited are you to be here? Like just, you know. Tricia Lee Ackerman (01:24) Thanks. ⁓ Thank you. Thank you. I'm doing great. I always love it when I get to podcast with you. The Dental A Team (01:34) Thank you, thank you. I ⁓ feel like all of you ladies bring your own sense of ease to podcasting for me, which is fantastic, because then I don't feel like totally exhausted by the end, so thank you. ⁓ Something you're really phenomenal at is people, Trish. I think you read people really well. I think you read people quickly, and I think that it's very easy for you to determine. where people should sit or what they should be doing, what they're really great at. It's very easy for you to walk into a room and say, my gosh, this person is born to be a treatment coordinator. She is born to be a billing representative. you mentioned, gosh, what were we on? We were on some call this week. And you mentioned that you were a really great treatment coordinator. And I think we did it. It was on our coaching call we did together. Tricia Lee Ackerman (02:24) Yes. The Dental A Team (02:24) last week and you mentioned that you are a phenomenal treatment coordinator and is your passion and I think that reading people piece is part of that. It's part of who you are, it's part of your personality and it's part of what makes you a phenomenal consultant but also what fed into that piece of treatment coordinating for you and I think Trish if I had to read you correctly I think you love it and I think it lights you up to be able to read people and get people established in something they can be passionate about. because you can read personalities. So very easy to see why this kind of topic we're doing, know, personality versus experience when it comes to team members. Very easy to see why that was such an easy fit for me to choose you to be here today. And before we dive in too much Trish, I want to ask what, ⁓ gosh, what about reading people and being able to peg that? What do you love the most? What do you love when you walk into a room and you can say, my gosh, this, like what lights you up the most about it? Tricia Lee Ackerman (03:28) I think what lights me up the most is like I can easily target somebody who is comfortable talking. So if somebody just kind of looks like their, you know, their shoulders are down, they look like they're at ease, that's going to be a pretty easy person to go and approach. Then you have your people that smile and they obviously they still look very friendly, but there is, it's, again, Tiff, it's like they don't have something written on their forehead. So it is really a read. It's an internal emotional read that I have where it's like, you know what, that person actually probably doesn't want me just going up to them, just like starting a big conversation. And even if I do, you can read a person's body language and see how they're engaging back. And if the engagement back is kind of light, then like that's not a person that you push on. I'm not gonna make them have a conversation with me about a recent wedding they attended if they... The Dental A Team (04:04) Yeah. Tricia Lee Ackerman (04:24) clearly see if it's showing that they just kind of don't want to do that. So I don't know, like, I don't think there's a book that you can read on how to do this. Maybe there is. I, I personally think that this is something that you either kind of have or you don't. That's just my, that's just my thoughts on that. because again, I mean, some people really struggle, really struggle with knowing how to read a room. I'm sure they don't want to, but yeah, if there was a secret sauce, I would love to share it, but I do think it's kind of an internal characteristic that you may or may not be born with. The Dental A Team (05:01) For sure, I totally agree. actually, have my son, you he's 17 now, the recording of this and we've always, myself and just the people on my side that have been involved in his life and forming him into the kid that he is, we were always really big on being like socially aware and really just aware of his surroundings. One, because you know, as a parent, was a single mom scared to death that somebody's gonna steal my kid, you know. So I made sure like he was always insanely, intentional about watching his surroundings, but then also being the one that's courteous to everyone else. Like you just don't be in the way and not so much that you make yourself small, but don't be in the way because it's very easy to just be like, ⁓ awesome. Yep, you go around, know, like don't make it a thing. Just be super aware. And I know that Brody's got that kind of intentionality and that intuitiveness that he can read people as well. And I wonder, often I watch him do it, and I'm like...
Transcribe →Tax Day Is Coming! How Can You Keep More of What You Make?
Mar 500:42:08Tap to summarizeKiera is joined by Derick Van Ness of Big Life Financial to talk about taxes, and how to handle them beyond simply thinking of them as a necessary evil. The pair discuss knowing your numbers, utilizing tax credits, the magic touch of a CPA, and more. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team Listeners, this is Kiera. And today I am super excited. This is one of our top favorite guests that has been on the podcast. We're bringing him back on because there are some new updates and our clients love him. I love him. He is incredible. Derick Van Ness, he is with Big Life Financial. And you might have heard him on the podcast before talking about R &D credits, tax saving ideas, CPA. This man does a lot of your wealth and how to build and keep your wealth. So I always love our conversations and just like his good information. Plus, if I remember right, he might know Garrett Gunderson. So obviously I've been a fangirl since day one. Derick, welcome back to the show. How are you today? Derick Van Ness (00:42) Well, I'm doing great and really happy to be here with you, Kiera. I'm not Garrett Gunderson because he is taller and better looking, but I'm a good second place. The Dental A Team (00:48) Ha ha ha! I think that you're great. The fact that you know Garrett Gunderson, that already just has elevated you. I mean, I think it was one of our first conversations we ever had. And I was like, have you ever read like Killing Sacred Cows? And you're like, I actually know Garrett Gunderson. I was like, what? Fangirling. So ⁓ anyway, Derick, for those who have not met you, haven't heard your episode, because we do have new listeners to the podcast. Just kind of give them a little intro of who is Derick Bennis? What is Big Life Financial? And give the listeners a little intro to who you are. Derick Van Ness (01:20) Okay, well outside of being ⁓ in love with my wife, in love with art and in love with racing sailboats, what I do professionally is I help ⁓ doctors and dentists to be smarter with their money. So what does that mean? That means how do you, not so much to make it, I mean we do help people scale, but once you make the money, which is something a lot of dentists are good at, how do you keep it through tax savings? How do you grow it and how do you protect it, right? And today we're going to talk a little bit about how do you keep more what you make? Because honestly, for dentists, even though taxes seem boring when you don't have to write that $50,000 or $100,000 or $200,000 check, it gets a lot cooler. If you would have told me I'd be a tax and financial guy when I was a kid, I probably would have just taken an early exit somewhere and jumped off a bridge. But I really see money in what we do as a lifestyle business. It's not about money. The Dental A Team (02:01) Yeah. Derick Van Ness (02:17) If you have enough, then money is what it is. When you don't have enough, it's a problem. And I just find for a lot of people, it's the reason or excuse that they constrain themselves. They don't spend time with family. They don't think do things that they want to do. They don't have the experiences that are going to change their life. So when we can get money out of the way, then you can live your big life, which is why the company's big life financial, because it doesn't matter if you have more or less money. The question is, what's the life you're living? What's your quality of life? And so taxes are a big piece of that. Obviously we can't talk about everything on a podcast like this, because you'd be buried under a ton of bricks. But that's what I do is I try to make this stuff easy. I try to make it fun. And I want you to realize that the whole point of all this money stuff is so that you can live a life you want to The Dental A Team (02:55) You Which Derick, that's why we have connected. You have met my husband. have had personal conversations outside of the podcast because I very much align and subscribe to this lifestyle and this mode of thinking. I believe that practices should work for us and us not work for our practices. I believe that we became business owners to have these big lives and these, audacious dreams. And yet I feel so many people live below their, their potential. They are trapped. They are. Derick Van Ness (03:33) Mm-hmm. The Dental A Team (03:34) It's crazy. I ⁓ had a client and she actually made so much money last year, which was amazing because the year before she was like, Kiera, I want to make more. So I was like, great, we're going after profit and production like blinders on. Don't talk to me about anything else. And she had like a crazy year and she's like, great. Now I have this huge check. I've got to write in taxes. And I was like, not my problem. Like you need better CPA help on that, but glad we made you the money. But I bring that up because one, it was a huge win for a client, but two, Derick Van Ness (03:52) I don't know. Yep. The Dental A Team (04:02) I think that people being able to keep the money that they make, hold on to more money that they make. Like I love that we live in America and it's a free country and that we get to pay taxes. Like I'm so freaking grateful for that. With that said, I do not want to pay one penny more than I need to. And I want to maintain and keep as much as I possibly can to live the life I want and to not feel the guilt of being a successful business owner and to do the fun things that I always imagined and dreamed of doing without the guilt of doing it. And I think so many people are so scared of. Derick Van Ness (04:11) Yep. The Dental A Team (04:32) being financially free, they're scared to spend money. They get hit with tax burdens left and right. I can't tell you how many dentists that I hear at the end of their career and they've had great careers, but they have no financial stability. like, Derick, this is the stuff that stresses me out and keeps me up at night and which is why you're on the podcast because I want people to be smarter. want them to be more educated and I want them to live happier lives. So let's walk through like R and D credits and CPA and like how people can live a more enriched Derick Van Ness (04:33) Mm-hmm. Yep. The Dental A Team (05:02) big life today rather than waiting. I think it's just a fun topic to talk about. I'm intrigued, so let's talk about it. Derick Van Ness (05:07) Yeah Well, let's do. mean, we can start generally with taxes and then we can kind of move into the credits piece because it is like a it's just a small very segmented piece of what you do ...
Transcribe →Billing Tips to Make You $$$ (For Work You've Already Done)
Mar 400:17:39Tap to summarizeChances are, your accounts receivable (AR) is not dialed in. Kiera provides very tactical, specific tips on how to get your AR cleaned up and start bringing in money you've already earned. Episode resources: Subscribe to The Dental A-Team podcast Schedule a Practice Assessment Leave us a review Transcript: The Dental A Team (00:00) Hello, Dental A Team listeners. This is Kiera and today is a very important topic But one the people like my rat rat rat, but guess what my rat rat rat is gonna make you a lot of money So I hope you're excited for it. So we'll take that rat rat rat into kaching Because it's dentistry party done and we're just gonna like help you out. I hope you guys enjoy hanging out with me This is my like nerdy geeky side that definitely loves and obsesses of being able to help you guys and it's been so fun I'm working with some people and teaching them about this and getting them excited on how they can fix their AR ⁓ is something that just like really, really lights my fire because doctors, you do the freaking dentistry, get paid for it. Can I get an amen out there? Like seriously, you do the dentistry and AR and making sure you're paid is something that I am so obsessed about. So, and this doesn't mean doctors, have to do it yourself. So I want us to get into the AR like the womp, womp, womp, it's annoying, but guess what? These are billing tips that work that are gonna make you a lot of money for work that you've already done. This is like people like, Kiera, how can I make more money and not do more work? And I'm like, just take the money, the what you've already done. it's crazy. lot of people come in and like, Kiera, you're really going to be able to like, ⁓ give us an ROI on your consulting. And I'm like, time. Why? Because I know your AR is out of control. have yet to meet a practice that has perfect AR. And if you are the practice email me, I'm going to give you a freaking shirt and we don't get out done on a team shirts anymore. So yeah, you should definitely email us. ⁓ there are a couple of practices out there. But most the time, AR is something that is not dialed in. It does not have a plan. And this is something that is going to be very tactical for you. So first step is AR. What is AR? It's the accounts receivable. Okay. And there's two parts to it. AR has the patient portion and the insurance portion. Okay. So when we do dentistry, we need to make sure we collect money and we bill insurance and then we make sure that we get paid for that. Now, insurance is such a sneaky little game and I get so annoyed by it I love to teach people this. So we need to have it where there's like a few processes that make AR really good. So we're gonna break it down very simply. Number one, good information in means good clean claims going out. I'm always like, we send clean claims. Clean claims mean, clean claims, clean claims. Clean claims, clean claims. ⁓ Clean claims. I'm gonna giggle saying it. I can hear the little jingle in my voice. Clean claims means that we... have the correct information. So I've got the patient's name, the date of birth, the insurance information. That's all correct. I've got the group number and please for the love of everything, holy, do not make a million group numbers. Do not do that. Make sure AR are so messy and your insurance box is so messy. We just have it. We also need to have fee schedules that are up to date every single year. Please do that. We need to attach it. We do not want write-offs. So what this means, ⁓ also another like, it's not a pet peeve. It's just like, Oh, I'm sorry. You need to like listen to the podcast and implement this. Stop reporting to me your fees in gross numbers and do it in net. So many times I get on calls with people and they're like, Kiera, we produced like 2 million, but we collected one. And I'm like, ouch. And they're like, well, like our net was like, you know, 1.2. I'm like, so tell me you produce 1.2. Let's live in real land numbers, not the 2 million. Cause you're always going to be mad at me. They're like, well, I produced 2 million, but I'm only making a million. Well, yeah. Because guess what? You didn't really produce two million. I know you want to say you did, but guess what? Insurance is what really is paying you. So we've got to do that. And I know you don't want to, but when you will do this and you attach the correct fee schedules to it, you are actually going be able to predict your numbers better and your money and your finances are going to get better on your personal side too. So hear me out. It was the worst day. was worse than Christmas getting a lump of coal. I took our production and it dropped us by 30%. And guess what? My goals are to produce 20 grand in a five out practice per day. You want to know how hard that was? I was like, I'm never going to make it. But guess what? Because I was reporting in real numbers, me even as a TC and an O.M. we were able to schedule more correctly and get us to the actual 15 grand of true 15, 20 grand per day of true production that we were collecting. How much do think my business grew? ⁓ a lot because we were actually producing incorrect numbers, not inflated numbers. So clean claims. We're back to that clean claims mean we've got correct information. We've got the correct ⁓ all of the information is correct. We've got our insurance verification done and we've got the fee schedules attached. So then when I'm giving an estimate, I'm estimating to the best of my ability. We do not send pre-Ds. I call them pre-denials. You can have your own opinion, but I really truly do not like pre-denials. They take time, they waste energy. And to me, guess what? I got the best information. I'm a thousand dollars. I'm an insurance coupon. I need to be a dang good treatment coordinator that's able to communicate this. And if the patient owes money, guess what? We've got to be really good at communicating that too. This is our best estimate. I'm gonna do my absolute best. We called your insurance company. I've got the best insurance verification. This is the absolute best I can get today. We're gonna take care of that. And on the flip side, hey, worst case scenario is you're gonna owe this much out of pocket. Tell them that. Then they're not mad at you when you call them. like, hey, insurance didn't pay as much as we thought. But remember, worst case scenario, this is what it is. And I can work with you to get that collected, okay? So then from there, we make sure we have correct documentation as well. We need to attach the correct narratives. ⁓ insurance or excuse me, x-rays, intra-orals, whatever we need to get that paid. Insurance companies are obsessed with not paying for you, but it's because they play the game. So just figure out the rules of the game. We have our fee schedules in there. We send the correct documentation and we send it out every day and we check to make sure none of these claims get stuck in our claim sender. Okay, so we wanna make sure it goes through the clearing house. It doesn't get stuck there. I feel like that's like the post office for claims. We send it through and we make sure all of them get pushed through to the insurance company. and then we follow up. And now this is where I need owners of each of them. So we need somebody to make sure that all of our...
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