Cambridge Dental Consultants makes the following general recommendations for staff benefits. Always check your state's specific rules and regulations:  Medical  Defined contribution route or individual plans are a good way to go. The usual range is $150 to $250 per month.  Dental care Staff members are eligible for no-charge dental care after three months of employment. We provide full time staff with free preventive and basic restorative care and home instructions as long as service is delivered during normal business hours when there is availability on the schedule.  The spouse and children of full time staff also receive dental care at...

Dental assistants have a lot of responsibilities in the practice. Sometimes it's hard to even think of them all. Kevin Tighe has created a very-close-to-complete list of duties for DAs. Purpose The purpose of a dental assistant is to help the dentist in every way possible, which enables the dentist to provide efficient, high-quality care to patients.  The first responsibility of an assistant is to become properly trained and apprenticed, so he or she can perform all the required tasks at maximum speed and efficiency. Top dental assistants also strive to maintain excellent patient relations, ensuring patients are well cared for, happy,...

An organized agenda and a leader to keep the meeting on track will lead to successful staff meetings. A poor way to run your dental office is to hold infrequent staff meetings or have them only when there’s a problem. Staff meetings should be useful and routine, not organized for emergencies because you’re upset, there have been problems, or somebody made a mistake. Do not call a meeting when one individual needs to be corrected, then talk about the person in the meeting as if it’s “everybody.” This does two things poorly—it chastises the person who hasn’t performed his or her...

The handling of new patient phone calls by your receptionist should be done honestly while effectively guiding the conversation.  The handling of new patient phone calls by your receptionist should be done honestly while effectively guiding the conversation.  When a new patient calls, whether FFS or PPO, their attention is typically on money. Your receptionist needs to move a patient’s attention off of money and onto why they really called: The patient’s actual need.  Pro Tip: Avoid the word “No”. Words matter. When a patient hears the word “No” they mentally check out. It is not logical but it’s true.  Out...