Hard as you may try to help your dental team members understand and appreciate your practice philosophy and vision, it sometimes becomes clear that there are gaps. One of the hidden benefits of inviting your team to create written systems is to seek and find any of these gaps...and then use them as opportunities for growth and development. When used in this Read More

Recently when working through some yoga I expected to not be able to do a particularly challenging pose. I was amazed that it was much easier than I thought. This ease came from the fact that I had all the fundamentals down, and I was strong at those. I realized thinking about this that it works the same way with teams. Often we want to have our dental team Read More

In the dental field we are all pretty familiar with the concept of recall for hygiene.  What if this same idea could help you foster healthier relationships and better organized systems within your entire practice?? So often it believed (or is it just a wish?) that having a single conversation can resolve any issue, fix any problem, or end any Read More

It's no secret that most patients come into our practices not truly understanding their current conditions, let alone the choices they have for their dental health. Many patients stay away for long periods of time because of their fear of the unknown, or out of shame or embarrassment, perpetuating the cycle of lack of care even more. It's a beautiful gift to Read More

Imagine going in for a dental appointment thinking that everything in your mouth is healthy and happy, and then learning that there are significant issues in multiple teeth that could require a great amount of attention. Scary right?  Well that was the experience of one very courageous hygienist today. What a challenging way to learn about the benefits of Read More

Experience tells me that transitions are often times stressful and especially so when "ending" relationships are part of the equation.  What if we could shift the dynamics to focus on supporting each other through the change rather than holding attention only on the hurt or disappointments? Today's video shares a story about one dental practice that's Read More

Although many dentists have developed a vision for their dental practices, I'm recognizing that many have never committed it to paper or clearly created ways to share and engage their team in bringing that vision to life. That being said, for those that HAVE put their vision in writing, when is the last time that you updated it based on your growth and Read More

From the mouths of babes...when a young dental hygienist first heard the idea of Treatment Planning along with the idea of enhancing her role as a Restorative Partner, her reply was beautiful. She said, "Oh you want me to learn about "treatment PLANTING!" Yes! That is exactly what we mean!  A Restorative Partner deeply appreciates the development process Read More

Ever heard the phrase "Unstated expectations are resentments waiting to happen"? I've actually been saying it for years...and only recently started asking myself how to better apply this concept in my day to day world.  As easy as it may seem to ask for what you really want, most of us are so busy being stuck in our own long term patterns that it simply Read More

Even though I THINK I'm being clear with my communication, and I THINK I'm really good at asking for what I want, it seems that somehow my message can sometimes tend to be a little bit foggier than I intend. Consider the difference between passive and direct communication. Does texting someone, "are you busy?" really send a message that you are in dire need Read More