Dentaltown September 2016 - 10

howard speaks column Customer Returns-The Good Kind Nobody has customers "for life." If a hygienist works 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year, that's 2,000 hours. With that time, she can do twice-yearly cleanings on a thousand patients. And if the average new-patient flow at a dental office is only 25 patients per month, that should mean that every 40 months-just over three years-the office should need to add another full-time hygienist. (See chart to the right.) So this dentist opens up and has a hygienist getting 25 new patients a month ... and a year later you come back, and the practice still has only one hygienist, working two days a week. You come back 40 months later, and there should be another hygienist ... another 40 months, another hygienist ... until 10 years later when you come back to the practice, do the math and go, "Where are your four full-time hygienists?" Dentist: "Oh, we only have one, and she works three days a week." Me: "Well, what are you doing?" Dentist: "I spent money on advertising-I'm always getting new patients." I've never met a dentist who isn't focused on getting new patients. When you've lived in the same town for 40 years and gained 25 new patients a month, you've had 12,000 new patients. At the end of 40 years, you should have six full-time hygienists working 40 hours a week, 50 weeks a year. But instead, what does that doc have? One hygienist, still working three days a week. by Howard Farran, DDS, MBA, publisher, Dentaltown magazine 10 SEPTEMBER 2016 // dentaltown.com Formula for hygienist hours/year: 40 hours/week, 50 weeks/year = 2,000 hours 2,000 hours, divided by two (since each patient is seen twice a year), equals 1,000 hours per year, per full-time hygienist. Now, divide those 1,000 hours by the number of new patients you have per month to see how many months (or years) it will take before you should add another full-time hygienist. New Patients Per Month Months Years 8.3 1,000 divided by: 10 = 100 1,000 divided by: 20 = 50 4.2 1,000 divided by: 30 = 33 2.75 1,000 divided by: 40 = 25 2 1,000 divided by: 50 = 20 1.7 "Dam" straight advice Dentists don't blink at spending 3 percent on marketing and advertising, but why do we always want new patients until we die? Why don't we spend part of that money on patient loyalty? Think of the Hoover Dam. It was created by capturing an inflow of just a tiny bit of water and letting none of it escape. It accumulates, and eventually there's a lake that's so big you can't even swim across it. It's time to close the floodgates, and aim for keeping patients for life. Start tracking every time a patient asks for something: Why is she leaving and not coming back? Ask, and she might answer, "Well, I wanted evening appointments." Or Saturday appointments. Or you didn't take his insurance, or you couldn't put him to sleep for the procedure, or you didn't have nitrous oxide. Stop that trickle-emulate the Hoover Dam. Continued on p. 12 http://www.dentaltown.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Dentaltown September 2016

On Dentaltown.com
Howard Speaks: Customer Returns—The Good Kind
Professional Courtesy: A Ton of Trouble for a Free Toothbrush
Continuing Education Update
New Products
Monthly Poll: Equipment
Implant into Root Tip?
Mandible Radiolucency Routine Pano
Handoffs
Second Opinion: To Floss or Not to Floss? That Isn’t the Question
Test Your Reading Comprehension: How well can you interpret what’s visible in dental radiographs?
Understanding Fracture Toughness
The Right Stuff: Your checklist for adopting new software technology
Electronic Health Records: Is it time to make the transition?
Permanent Help for Temporary Employees: The right practice management software can make all the difference
A Complex Restorative Case
Making Friends with Benefits: How to understand what employee perks are really worth—and which ones
Scoring the Perfect Patient Handoff
The Road to Greatness
Industry News
Product Profile: ClearCorrect
The Five Risk Factors of Improper Ergonomics
CE: Laser Mucocele Removal in Pediatric Patients
Dentally Incorrect
Dentaltown September 2016 - Intro
Dentaltown September 2016 - Cover1
Dentaltown September 2016 - Cover2
Dentaltown September 2016 - 1
Dentaltown September 2016 - 2
Dentaltown September 2016 - 3
Dentaltown September 2016 - 4
Dentaltown September 2016 - 5
Dentaltown September 2016 - 6
Dentaltown September 2016 - 7
Dentaltown September 2016 - On Dentaltown.com
Dentaltown September 2016 - 9
Dentaltown September 2016 - Howard Speaks: Customer Returns—The Good Kind
Dentaltown September 2016 - 11
Dentaltown September 2016 - 12
Dentaltown September 2016 - 13
Dentaltown September 2016 - Professional Courtesy: A Ton of Trouble for a Free Toothbrush
Dentaltown September 2016 - 15
Dentaltown September 2016 - 16
Dentaltown September 2016 - 17
Dentaltown September 2016 - Continuing Education Update
Dentaltown September 2016 - 19
Dentaltown September 2016 - 20
Dentaltown September 2016 - 21
Dentaltown September 2016 - New Products
Dentaltown September 2016 - 23
Dentaltown September 2016 - Monthly Poll: Equipment
Dentaltown September 2016 - 25
Dentaltown September 2016 - 26
Dentaltown September 2016 - 27
Dentaltown September 2016 - Implant into Root Tip?
Dentaltown September 2016 - 29
Dentaltown September 2016 - 30
Dentaltown September 2016 - 31
Dentaltown September 2016 - 32
Dentaltown September 2016 - 33
Dentaltown September 2016 - 34
Dentaltown September 2016 - 35
Dentaltown September 2016 - Mandible Radiolucency Routine Pano
Dentaltown September 2016 - 37
Dentaltown September 2016 - 38
Dentaltown September 2016 - 39
Dentaltown September 2016 - 40
Dentaltown September 2016 - 41
Dentaltown September 2016 - Handoffs
Dentaltown September 2016 - 43
Dentaltown September 2016 - 44
Dentaltown September 2016 - 45
Dentaltown September 2016 - 46
Dentaltown September 2016 - 47
Dentaltown September 2016 - Second Opinion: To Floss or Not to Floss? That Isn’t the Question
Dentaltown September 2016 - 49
Dentaltown September 2016 - Test Your Reading Comprehension: How well can you interpret what’s visible in dental radiographs?
Dentaltown September 2016 - 51
Dentaltown September 2016 - 52
Dentaltown September 2016 - 53
Dentaltown September 2016 - Understanding Fracture Toughness
Dentaltown September 2016 - 55
Dentaltown September 2016 - The Right Stuff: Your checklist for adopting new software technology
Dentaltown September 2016 - 57
Dentaltown September 2016 - 58
Dentaltown September 2016 - 59
Dentaltown September 2016 - 60
Dentaltown September 2016 - 61
Dentaltown September 2016 - Electronic Health Records: Is it time to make the transition?
Dentaltown September 2016 - 63
Dentaltown September 2016 - 64
Dentaltown September 2016 - 65
Dentaltown September 2016 - Permanent Help for Temporary Employees: The right practice management software can make all the difference
Dentaltown September 2016 - 67
Dentaltown September 2016 - A Complex Restorative Case
Dentaltown September 2016 - 69
Dentaltown September 2016 - 70
Dentaltown September 2016 - 71
Dentaltown September 2016 - 72
Dentaltown September 2016 - 73
Dentaltown September 2016 - 74
Dentaltown September 2016 - 75
Dentaltown September 2016 - Making Friends with Benefits: How to understand what employee perks are really worth—and which ones
Dentaltown September 2016 - 77
Dentaltown September 2016 - 78
Dentaltown September 2016 - 79
Dentaltown September 2016 - 80
Dentaltown September 2016 - 81
Dentaltown September 2016 - 82
Dentaltown September 2016 - 83
Dentaltown September 2016 - Scoring the Perfect Patient Handoff
Dentaltown September 2016 - 85
Dentaltown September 2016 - 86
Dentaltown September 2016 - 87
Dentaltown September 2016 - 88
Dentaltown September 2016 - 89
Dentaltown September 2016 - The Road to Greatness
Dentaltown September 2016 - 91
Dentaltown September 2016 - 92
Dentaltown September 2016 - Industry News
Dentaltown September 2016 - Product Profile: ClearCorrect
Dentaltown September 2016 - 95
Dentaltown September 2016 - 96
Dentaltown September 2016 - 97
Dentaltown September 2016 - The Five Risk Factors of Improper Ergonomics
Dentaltown September 2016 - 99
Dentaltown September 2016 - 100
Dentaltown September 2016 - 101
Dentaltown September 2016 - 102
Dentaltown September 2016 - 103
Dentaltown September 2016 - CE: Laser Mucocele Removal in Pediatric Patients
Dentaltown September 2016 - 105
Dentaltown September 2016 - 106
Dentaltown September 2016 - 107
Dentaltown September 2016 - 108
Dentaltown September 2016 - 109
Dentaltown September 2016 - 110
Dentaltown September 2016 - 111
Dentaltown September 2016 - Dentally Incorrect
Dentaltown September 2016 - Cover3
Dentaltown September 2016 - Cover4
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