By Roger P. Levin, DDS

Orthodontists are experiencing increased competition and it’s not just coming from other orthodontists. More and more aligner treatments are being offered from general dentists and direct-to-consumer companies. This is having an effect on many orthodontic practices, but there are specific ways to protect the practice and maintain a highly successful future. Consider these five strategies to help protect your practice:

By Roger P. Levin, DDS

As a process that typically lasts for 18–24 months, ortho treatment can easily fall behind schedule if parents or adult patients aren’t diligent about keeping their appointments. You’ll always have overdue patients, but the following techniques will help you minimize the problem:

by Pat Rosenzweig

When a patient repeatedly cancels or no shows, what's your policy? While that may sound like an easy question to some of you, in many offices I get pitiful looks from the front desk staff when a patient – who has repeatedly missed appointments – insists on another 4 P.M. or Saturday time slot. The pitiful look is because the office has no real policy regarding these instances, and they have many other patients wanting those prime time appointments. I'm completely aware that we never want to upset our patients because we don't want them to leave or speak poorly of the practice. We do however, in all aspects of our life, need to set boundaries. These boundaries in an office not only keep your schedule running properly, but also show your staff you respect them as much as you do your patients. Because I know how much doctors dislike setting these boundaries and making these policies, let me suggest some and you can blame the evil consultants.

By K. Ryan Alexander

I travel the states implementing management systems in orthodontic practices, large and small. By definition, a system is “a set of principles or procedures according to which something is done; an organized scheme or method.” I have found that many practices are good at absorbing marketing ideas, fewer are good at getting the ideas accomplished, and even fewer are good at developing and fostering a robust marketing program based on multiple united systems.

by K. Ryan Alexander

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. Here are three ideals that, if followed, will take your practice to a new level of efficiency regardless of what kind of template you currently have in place.