It's a common but frustrating situation—patients, whether new or returning, arrive for their appointment without their new or updated insurance details. The most straightforward approach is to have the patient prepay for the visit, assuring them that the claim will be submitted to their insurance and that they’ll be reimbursed for any overpayment once coverage is confirmed. However, not every patient is willing or able to prepay, which puts the practice in a difficult positio

Running a dental practice is about more than just clinical skill—it’s about building a business that thrives financially. A major pain point for many practice owners is not fully understanding their financial data and feeling disconnected from their financial reality.

Behavioral economics shows us that gut instinct isn’t always right. While our brains evolved to enable our survival, the very instincts we possess in order to save and protect ourselves may be thwarting our efforts to financially prosper. But if we can recognize these biases in ourselves and our patients, we can make clearer decisions, deliver better care and build healthier practices. Sometimes, the smartest move isn’t to double down on the ticket you’ve already bought—it’s

This question has circulated around offices for decades: Do we submit crowns and other multi-visit procedures upon starting or at completion? The answer is not a simple yes or no. As with most things in life, it’s not that easy, and anyone giving you a straight answer is missing part of the story. So, let’s review the facts and the complete situation so you can decide what to do within your own office:

In recent years, “AI in healthcare” has referred to tools that support radiographic diagnosis. Years earlier it referred to scripted chatbots pretending to hold a conversation. None of it fixed the communication gap that actually matters. But now we’re seeing something new: Agentic AI. This refers to systems that understand language and use it to autonomously perform actions.

When my 25-year-old niece told me salary wasn’t her top concern in a job search, I realized just how much the workforce has evolved. Purpose now matters as much as pay — and in dentistry, that’s changing everything.

Dental insurance can feel like a tangled web of rules, contracts and affiliations. In this episode of the Dental Slang Podcast, I had the chance to sit down with Dr. Travis Campbell, better known in dentistry as The Dental Insurance Guy. Travis has built a reputation for simplifying one of the most frustrating aspects of practice ownership: managing insurance in a way that benefits both patients and providers.

As a dental practice owner, one of your most important responsibilities is ensuring that your practice remains profitable. Part of this involves managing your team’s compensation, including the distribution of bonuses. While bonuses can serve as an effective tool for incentivizing high performance and rewarding exceptional effort, the way many practices approach bonuses can have unintended consequences for both their staff and their bottom line.

Improving the profitability and performance of your dental hygiene department requires more than excellent clinical skill or motivating patients. In today’s challenging environment, where wage demands rise but insurance reimbursements often stagnate, hygienists may feel undervalued, hindered by outdated equipment, inefficient scheduling, and limited incentives. The key to success lies in strategically optimizing coding, scheduling, communication, and operational workflows to

As a practice owner, running a dental practice requires delivering quality care to patients while managing the business side effectively. However, finding financial clarity can often feel like navigating open waters without a map or compass, drifting aimlessly, hoping to reach your destination without a clear sense of direction. With rising material costs, fluctuating patient demand, and managing team members, it can be tough to pinpoint exactly where to focus efforts for gro

Insurance refund demand after a patient complaint? Don’t rush to pay. These requests are often based on misunderstanding, not clinical error, and can usually be challenged with the right documentation and strategy.

Many patients are postponing care not because they don’t need it—but because they can’t justify it. P.A.I.N.—short for Patient Activity Income Narrative—is a strategic framework developed by Bottom Line Business Planning that helps dental practices interpret patient behavior through the lens of financial pressure.

Insurance can be complex and highly detailed on a good day, and therefore easy to get tripped up even for the most experienced dental...

If you’re a business owner, you likely understand your numbers well enough to follow your accountant's explanations, but the real...

When it comes to money, many of us are more aligned with Tom Cruise's famous line, “Show Me the Money,” than Biggie Smalls “Mo’ Money Mo’...

Explore 10 critical questions every dentist needs to ask before buying into a practice. Whether you’re an associate looking to take the...

ost high-end offices (1.5M+) work on some sort of bonus or incentive program. Many corporations also run on some form of incentive or...

Dental insurance isn’t the most satisfying aspect of life as a dentist. Therefore, it’s easy to blame insurance for our challenges, and...

In dentistry, the relationship between marketing and insurance is a critical yet often overlooked aspect of practice management.

Disagreements between dentist owners and associates can be disheartening, and social media often highlights these conflicts. The root of...

One’s use of language can give patients an impression of an approachable and trustworthy person or a cold and arrogant clinician...

As a general dentist who owns three multidisciplinary practices, my peers often ask me for advice when they’re ready to incorporate new...

Let’s face it, insurance claims get denied. When it happens, it’s important to understand what recourse you have. In most cases, you...

What happens when a big dental company that services practicing dentists purchases a company that directly competes with those same...

Patients who have dental insurance go to the dentist far more frequently than those who do not. The availability of insurance does serve...