You may have noticed that I didn't post last week.
Sorry. The voices were not saying nice things at all, and they have decided that it is fun to twitch my left eyelid - hello stress my old friend.
Funny thing about taking time off from work when you are a sole-proprietor, not only do you not make money during that week, but it takes a couple of weeks for the cash flow to get restarted. Oh, by the way, it's April and 2009 taxes are due along with the 1st payment of 2010 estimated taxes.
Let's see, what could make this better? I know, how about a stack of notes listing patients who want refunds of overpayments. Yeah, that does it. Not only do we not have money come in, we are giving back a few dollars here and there. That's fun. It's like Christmas.
It has brought up an interesting business question.
What do you think of when you think of your "Accounts Receivable"?
I'll give you my answer in a second, but first a brief story about my youngest daughter. Maddie and I were walking home from church yesterday (we live about 2 blocks from church), and she was really excited because she was going to a birthday party for lunch (that is an entirely different story - let's just say that my wife gets Mom 'o the Year for taking Maddie to that 4+ hour 5-year-old extravaganza).
Anyway, Maddie and I are holding hands and she is singing - cuz, I mean, why not. . .your 5, life is good, you have your priorities straight. So she is singing just nonsense words, and then I notice that she is walking behind me a little bit and walking very deliberately - if you have a child, you know that walk when your kid is trying not to step on a crack - just a different gait. Yeah, that's what she is doing. Except she isn't trying to avoid cracks; she is trying to walk in my shadow. Then she starts singing, "I'm walking in daddy's shadow, I'm walking in daddy's shadow. . ."
Get ready, deep thought from an emotionally exhausted business owner daddy.
See my kids walk in my shadow just like I walked in my dad's shadow. My shadow is simply an outline of who I am as a whole person. Shadows do not have emotions, they do not smile, they do not frown or cry. Your shadow is simply you. My daughter was excited to walk in my shadow. That's a pretty heavy burden for me right now. Not a bad burden, just heavy/deep/profound. I hope that I live a life worthy of my children walking in my shadow.
Now, I also hope that my shadow gets less round (are 6 packs visible in shadows? I know fat rolls are).
OK, back to Accounts Receivable.
As an insurance practice, I have a fairly consistent AR. It usually averages about 3/4 of my monthly collections in under 30 days. My 60+ is very low, and we stay on top of that. I look at my AR as my little savings account. I know that money will be coming in next month, and it keeps me calm because it is a steadying influence on our cashflow. Great month followed by a slow month, at least the money charged in the great month will be coming in during the slow month. During last March, however, we dropped our AR to 1/4 of our monthly collections. This was due to me being out of the office over spring break and then having a very slow (VERY SLOW) last 2 weeks of March.
Uh, oh. Panic attacks. That AR is getting dangerously close to $0.
Which got me to thinking. If I was a cash-only practice, I would want my AR to be as low as possible - right? Because I accept insurance, I'm thinking that I am being brainwashed a little to believe that a large under-30-day AR is a sign of a healthy practice.
What do you think? How should I look at my AR? What do you do to even out the cash flow?
BTW, my daughter won a mini-football at her birthday party - a Florida Gator football. What the *&^%# is a UF football doing in an arcade in Kansas City???? I would mail it down to Gammichia, but I'm not spending the postage for that piece of junk. :-)
Have a great week! Don't forget to send Uncle Sam his birthday money on Thursday.
ric
Monday, April 12, 2010
Friday, April 9, 2010
Small business owner
Hey all,
It's Friday, how bad can it be?
I am not feeling that good today (worn down), so if I say anything bad today, you can blame it on the terrible sleep I got because I was sweating all night.
Okay,
Most of us are in the same boat. Small business owners.
I mean this is a tough thing. We do teeth for most of our day. Then, if you are like me, you spend quite a bit of your time writing up charts, making treatment plans, reading letters from specialists, writing letters to specialists, you know, general patient care.
I have to tell you that I probably spend 4 to 5 hours after work, after everyone is gone, doing my work. It is a small miracle if my desk is free of stuff to do.
And if it does get clean, it doesn't stay that way for long.
But lately it has been too much for one person to handle.
The outside of the office needs to be painted.
The illuminated sign is not working.
We are running in ad in a neighborhood directory.
And we just won a Sertoma Award for community involvement.
Okay four things....how bad could it be.
Well if you know me, nothing is easy.
I will tell you about each of them.
Painting the outside of the office.
Well the last time the office was painted was over 15 years ago. And since then, we have changed our colors from a teal (yes, I said teal) to more warm tones like a tan and a brown.
We have changed the inside of the office to reflect this living-room feel. We changed our cards, and the last thing is to change the outside.
Well I went down to our local paint store and picked out what I thought was tan and brown and bought the pint-size cans to test the color on the building.
Should be no problem.
Well I put this stuff on the building, and it didn't look anything like what I wanted. Ten cans of paint later, I think I found what I was looking for.
Don't forget, I am the only one doing it.
I go to the paint store after work. I am up at 5:45 am, and I am at the paints store at about 5:45 pm. So it is a long day.
I come to work the next day, and in the middle of the day (I get 10 minutes between patients), and I went out and painted a 3ft x 3ft square with the new color.
I am convinced that the lighting in the paints store is not the same as outside.
So I finally get a color that I like, and then the staff comes outside and hates it.
Then my wife stops by for some reason or another and also hates it. Now I have 9 different opinions.
After all this (about a 3-week period), we all agree on a color, and I have to find a painter.
Next.
The sign.
I have a sign company that I have always worked with.
When I wanted to change the sign, I called them up and they did it.
When the sign needs to be fixed, they come out and do it.
I never have to question them or their bill.
But lately I have been not so happy with the way they are doing things.
They are getting a little sloppy, and I think their prices are going up.
For instance, my sign is not lighting up at night.
It is one of these signs that has four fluorescent bulbs on the inside, and it is on a photo sensor.
When it gets dark, it lights up.
The sign stopped working at night.
So I called them, and they sent me an estimate.
What would you think it would cost to come out and see what the problem was?
Now you are going to say I am cheap, and that is okay because I like to think that I am conscientious when it comes to spending money.
They wanted $180 to come look at the sign. They are 1 mile away.
They were going to change a ballast, which is the housing for the bulbs. The sign guy wanted $170 to replace a ballast. I have a light guy for the inside of the office, and he charges me $40 to change a ballast.
Then on the itemized estimate he is going to charge me $40 per bulb.
WHAT?!!! Are you freaking kidding me? The most expensive bulb at Home Depot is $8.
So guess what? Now my easy-peasy sign repair angle is kaput.
I now have to get on the phone and find another company.
More time out of my day.
Next
Advertising in the neighborhood directory.
I am so leery of spending any money advertising right now.
But there are some things you just have to bite the bullet on. You have to be visible in a neighborhood that is 3 miles from your office, especially if there are about 3000 families in this neighborhood.
The directory is 170 pages. So if I put a half page ad in this directory, I might as well have a fire with my $400 and burn it. Who is going to see a half-page ad in this huge book? NO ONE.
So to me, the only feasible option was get a premium ad (cover, inside cover, something like that), which means the ad is going to be seen. The only problem is that a premium ad spot can only be a full page and it is $1800.
Wow.
The guy called me a week later and told me that he could give me the inside cover and he could do it for $1300.
Sold.
It is a 8x10 ad space. Now I don't know about you, but I don't run a lot of ads. So I didn't have an ad. So I had to make an ad. Now the directory people have ad people to help you but...
it still takes hours of emailing to try to get your message across without driving the ad person completely batty.
One of the great things with getting a premium spot is that it comes with a full-page editorial page somewhere else in the directory.
Well who do you think has to write the editorial? Yep, yours truly.
Next
The president of the Sertoma Club comes in and tells me that my father and I have won the Service to Mankind award.
I was thrilled. He said the award ceremony is in June, but if I wouldn't mind putting together and essay that's "no big deal just a page and a half on how you serve the community."
NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Can I give the award back? Just don't make me write anything else.
No, I didn't say that, but it was funny that three days later I got an email from the president asking when I thought I would have that essay done by.
How about July?
No, I did it. That was another 6pm night.
All this is just a day in the life of a small business owner.
And the sad part is, once we take care of all of this...four more tasks will be in front of us.
We just have to take this in stride.
It is part of doing business.
I can't wait for the next four things. I hope they are as fun as the last four.
Have a good weekend,
I can't wait to get to bed,
john
It's Friday, how bad can it be?
I am not feeling that good today (worn down), so if I say anything bad today, you can blame it on the terrible sleep I got because I was sweating all night.
Okay,
Most of us are in the same boat. Small business owners.
I mean this is a tough thing. We do teeth for most of our day. Then, if you are like me, you spend quite a bit of your time writing up charts, making treatment plans, reading letters from specialists, writing letters to specialists, you know, general patient care.
I have to tell you that I probably spend 4 to 5 hours after work, after everyone is gone, doing my work. It is a small miracle if my desk is free of stuff to do.
And if it does get clean, it doesn't stay that way for long.
But lately it has been too much for one person to handle.
The outside of the office needs to be painted.
The illuminated sign is not working.
We are running in ad in a neighborhood directory.
And we just won a Sertoma Award for community involvement.
Okay four things....how bad could it be.
Well if you know me, nothing is easy.
I will tell you about each of them.
Painting the outside of the office.
Well the last time the office was painted was over 15 years ago. And since then, we have changed our colors from a teal (yes, I said teal) to more warm tones like a tan and a brown.
We have changed the inside of the office to reflect this living-room feel. We changed our cards, and the last thing is to change the outside.
Well I went down to our local paint store and picked out what I thought was tan and brown and bought the pint-size cans to test the color on the building.
Should be no problem.
Well I put this stuff on the building, and it didn't look anything like what I wanted. Ten cans of paint later, I think I found what I was looking for.
Don't forget, I am the only one doing it.
I go to the paint store after work. I am up at 5:45 am, and I am at the paints store at about 5:45 pm. So it is a long day.
I come to work the next day, and in the middle of the day (I get 10 minutes between patients), and I went out and painted a 3ft x 3ft square with the new color.
I am convinced that the lighting in the paints store is not the same as outside.
So I finally get a color that I like, and then the staff comes outside and hates it.
Then my wife stops by for some reason or another and also hates it. Now I have 9 different opinions.
After all this (about a 3-week period), we all agree on a color, and I have to find a painter.
Next.
The sign.
I have a sign company that I have always worked with.
When I wanted to change the sign, I called them up and they did it.
When the sign needs to be fixed, they come out and do it.
I never have to question them or their bill.
But lately I have been not so happy with the way they are doing things.
They are getting a little sloppy, and I think their prices are going up.
For instance, my sign is not lighting up at night.
It is one of these signs that has four fluorescent bulbs on the inside, and it is on a photo sensor.
When it gets dark, it lights up.
The sign stopped working at night.
So I called them, and they sent me an estimate.
What would you think it would cost to come out and see what the problem was?
Now you are going to say I am cheap, and that is okay because I like to think that I am conscientious when it comes to spending money.
They wanted $180 to come look at the sign. They are 1 mile away.
They were going to change a ballast, which is the housing for the bulbs. The sign guy wanted $170 to replace a ballast. I have a light guy for the inside of the office, and he charges me $40 to change a ballast.
Then on the itemized estimate he is going to charge me $40 per bulb.
WHAT?!!! Are you freaking kidding me? The most expensive bulb at Home Depot is $8.
So guess what? Now my easy-peasy sign repair angle is kaput.
I now have to get on the phone and find another company.
More time out of my day.
Next
Advertising in the neighborhood directory.
I am so leery of spending any money advertising right now.
But there are some things you just have to bite the bullet on. You have to be visible in a neighborhood that is 3 miles from your office, especially if there are about 3000 families in this neighborhood.
The directory is 170 pages. So if I put a half page ad in this directory, I might as well have a fire with my $400 and burn it. Who is going to see a half-page ad in this huge book? NO ONE.
So to me, the only feasible option was get a premium ad (cover, inside cover, something like that), which means the ad is going to be seen. The only problem is that a premium ad spot can only be a full page and it is $1800.
Wow.
The guy called me a week later and told me that he could give me the inside cover and he could do it for $1300.
Sold.
It is a 8x10 ad space. Now I don't know about you, but I don't run a lot of ads. So I didn't have an ad. So I had to make an ad. Now the directory people have ad people to help you but...
it still takes hours of emailing to try to get your message across without driving the ad person completely batty.
One of the great things with getting a premium spot is that it comes with a full-page editorial page somewhere else in the directory.
Well who do you think has to write the editorial? Yep, yours truly.
Next
The president of the Sertoma Club comes in and tells me that my father and I have won the Service to Mankind award.
I was thrilled. He said the award ceremony is in June, but if I wouldn't mind putting together and essay that's "no big deal just a page and a half on how you serve the community."
NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Can I give the award back? Just don't make me write anything else.
No, I didn't say that, but it was funny that three days later I got an email from the president asking when I thought I would have that essay done by.
How about July?
No, I did it. That was another 6pm night.
All this is just a day in the life of a small business owner.
And the sad part is, once we take care of all of this...four more tasks will be in front of us.
We just have to take this in stride.
It is part of doing business.
I can't wait for the next four things. I hope they are as fun as the last four.
Have a good weekend,
I can't wait to get to bed,
john
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Dilemma
Hey all,
I hope everyone had a great Easter. It was an awesome day at our house.
(Easter picture of the kids)
We usually do an Easter egg hunt at our house. I write clues for all the eggs and the kids have to follow the clues to the next egg, and then the last egg sends them to the room that their Easter presents are in.
(the first eggs with the first clues)
I have to say that this year was really tough because the Final Four was on 'til about midnight the night before and all my creative juices were dried up thanks to my attention being elsewhere.
It turned out great, in spite of me.
Easter dinner/lunch was great. We had some friends and family over and people from church that were going to be by themselves.
I don't want to tell you all this, but we went swimming.
Yeah, I said it...swimming. I knew you wouldn't believe me so I took a picture.
(Don't say anything about my grass. The winter beat my lawn down bad and it is just starting come back)
Not to rub salt in the wound or anything, but this week is the kids Easter break and on Monday we went to the beach.
More swimming and playing. Loads of fun.
You know we haven't talked about TV in awhile.
I have two words for you TWENTY-FOUR.
I love this show. It is so good. I think it is known that this is the last season. I heard that it is just getting too expensive to produce.
It is a shame because my wife has just gotten into it, and I have only seen three seasons.
We always DVR it. When we watch it and a commercial comes on it is like a race to see how fast we can get the next scene started. My record is 4 seconds.
We only watch a couple of shows.
My wife loves Chuck and I love my wife so we watch Chuck together.
I still watch and love How I Met Your Mother.
We watch both NCIS's and that is about it.
I have a couple of the BOSS undercover shows that I haven't watched yet.
My wife refuses to watch American Idol this year. She says that Ellen has no musical talent so why would she be a judge. She thinks the network has totally sold out and she refuses to watch.
I did some work on a woman that lives in another country.
She is the sister of one of my patients.
She was having some trouble getting her dentist to change her amalgam fillings out. She sent me some photos of the tooth, and I thought it was a giant amalgam (socialized dentistry) and it needed a crown.
I told her what she needed, and she made an appointment.
Everything went great. The crowns turned out stunning. I was happy and she was thrilled, promising to come back on her next vacation to replace all the other amalgams.
About a month after she left I got this email.
I get this kind of letter or call about two times a year.
Now, this is not something that is terrible. This is not something that even was a blip on my radar. I got it and didn't think twice about it.
I don't mess around with stuff like this.
It isn't a blip on my radar screen because I am not going to do it.
I am not going to lie....PERIOD.
I don't lie for anyone's benefit.
I don't stretch the truth.
The teeth were not broken when I saw them. And if the insurance company ever called me, I would have called her first and explained to her that "Homey don't play that." (In Living Color reference).
I wouldn't have got my blood pressure up or anything. I would just ask them what they wanted me to do because I won't say that.
I don't care what the situation is.
I won't say that I did something in January when I did it December.
I won't charge out a crown if I don't take an impression.
I have told you in the past that I am so by the book.
I find it is so much easier to set a precedent and stick to it, instead of saying things like, "that isn't that bad, so I will do that one."
No, this isn't easy sometimes.
Sometimes I will have to look at a patient in the face and tell them, NO.
They look at me like, "I can't believe you won't do this."
What am I going to do? Put my license and future on the line to save you $75.
How about getting cash for coming in over the weekend?
Man this one has always been tough for me. I have to admit I always put it in the drawer.
I battle with this one every time, but so far I haven't been able to take it home.
How about this one? Patient is going to lose their insurance, they need a new veneer, but they are going to need a gingival graft also. I put a temp on the tooth and send it to the periodontist.
Can I charge out the veneer if I didn't take an impression? I don't think I can.
So even though I don't have any plans of going to completion until after the perio surg, I will go ahead and take the impression. Even though I know I will probably take another one in 10 weeks.
Do you battle this?
Do you take home the cash?
I would like to hear your stories. Remember it is anonymous.
And let's get something straight before you write me anything. I will not judge you. I am not thinking I am holier than thou. I will not think you are a lesser man or woman because you tell me you do something. Period.
Hope you are having a good week?
john
I hope everyone had a great Easter. It was an awesome day at our house.
(Easter picture of the kids)We usually do an Easter egg hunt at our house. I write clues for all the eggs and the kids have to follow the clues to the next egg, and then the last egg sends them to the room that their Easter presents are in.
(the first eggs with the first clues)I have to say that this year was really tough because the Final Four was on 'til about midnight the night before and all my creative juices were dried up thanks to my attention being elsewhere.
It turned out great, in spite of me.
Easter dinner/lunch was great. We had some friends and family over and people from church that were going to be by themselves.
I don't want to tell you all this, but we went swimming.
Yeah, I said it...swimming. I knew you wouldn't believe me so I took a picture.
(Don't say anything about my grass. The winter beat my lawn down bad and it is just starting come back)Not to rub salt in the wound or anything, but this week is the kids Easter break and on Monday we went to the beach.
More swimming and playing. Loads of fun.
You know we haven't talked about TV in awhile.
I have two words for you TWENTY-FOUR.
I love this show. It is so good. I think it is known that this is the last season. I heard that it is just getting too expensive to produce.
It is a shame because my wife has just gotten into it, and I have only seen three seasons.
We always DVR it. When we watch it and a commercial comes on it is like a race to see how fast we can get the next scene started. My record is 4 seconds.
We only watch a couple of shows.
My wife loves Chuck and I love my wife so we watch Chuck together.
I still watch and love How I Met Your Mother.
We watch both NCIS's and that is about it.
I have a couple of the BOSS undercover shows that I haven't watched yet.
My wife refuses to watch American Idol this year. She says that Ellen has no musical talent so why would she be a judge. She thinks the network has totally sold out and she refuses to watch.
I did some work on a woman that lives in another country.
She is the sister of one of my patients.
She was having some trouble getting her dentist to change her amalgam fillings out. She sent me some photos of the tooth, and I thought it was a giant amalgam (socialized dentistry) and it needed a crown.
I told her what she needed, and she made an appointment.
Everything went great. The crowns turned out stunning. I was happy and she was thrilled, promising to come back on her next vacation to replace all the other amalgams.
About a month after she left I got this email.
Quick email to say that all is well with the 2 new crowns you fitted.
I have submitted a claims form along with the invoice for the dental treatment to my travel Insurance company and now awaiting their response. I have explained to the insurance company that the dental work was for a broken tooth / filling and a dislodged crown (old gold one) caused by eating a toffee on the first day of my arrival.
Hopefully they may not require to contact you as I have provided proof of the work done along with the credit card payment details, but who knows.
Keep up the good work and look forward to seeing you again soon.....ish!Regards
Samantha
Samantha
btw...when I got home, I received my 'yearly' dental checkup reminder from my dentist - should be interesting to see how the dentist reacts to some "top quality workmanship" from overseas
I get this kind of letter or call about two times a year.
Now, this is not something that is terrible. This is not something that even was a blip on my radar. I got it and didn't think twice about it.
I don't mess around with stuff like this.
It isn't a blip on my radar screen because I am not going to do it.
I am not going to lie....PERIOD.
I don't lie for anyone's benefit.
I don't stretch the truth.
The teeth were not broken when I saw them. And if the insurance company ever called me, I would have called her first and explained to her that "Homey don't play that." (In Living Color reference).
I wouldn't have got my blood pressure up or anything. I would just ask them what they wanted me to do because I won't say that.
I don't care what the situation is.
I won't say that I did something in January when I did it December.
I won't charge out a crown if I don't take an impression.
I have told you in the past that I am so by the book.
I find it is so much easier to set a precedent and stick to it, instead of saying things like, "that isn't that bad, so I will do that one."
No, this isn't easy sometimes.
Sometimes I will have to look at a patient in the face and tell them, NO.
They look at me like, "I can't believe you won't do this."
What am I going to do? Put my license and future on the line to save you $75.
How about getting cash for coming in over the weekend?
Man this one has always been tough for me. I have to admit I always put it in the drawer.
I battle with this one every time, but so far I haven't been able to take it home.
How about this one? Patient is going to lose their insurance, they need a new veneer, but they are going to need a gingival graft also. I put a temp on the tooth and send it to the periodontist.
Can I charge out the veneer if I didn't take an impression? I don't think I can.
So even though I don't have any plans of going to completion until after the perio surg, I will go ahead and take the impression. Even though I know I will probably take another one in 10 weeks.
Do you battle this?
Do you take home the cash?
I would like to hear your stories. Remember it is anonymous.
And let's get something straight before you write me anything. I will not judge you. I am not thinking I am holier than thou. I will not think you are a lesser man or woman because you tell me you do something. Period.
Hope you are having a good week?
john
Friday, April 2, 2010
It's Friday, what do you expect?
You have to know there is so much going through my mind right now.
This Brican thing is consuming me. It is not even a big deal. I mean what is the worst thing that could happen. I have to pay $500 a month for this stupid thing. I didn't say I was happy about it, but if that is the worst thing that happens...then why can't I sleep.
I got on this Google Group and the thing is blowing up. I probably get 75 emails a day from this.
Here is the latest.
It appears there are two main attorneys who are pushing a class action suit against Brican/Viso.
I will get 15 emails a day from this site saying "okay, I just sent my check in to this attorney".
Needless to say, I was getting very weary of this. It appears to be very self-promoting for the attorney who everyone is backing.
The tone is very positive for one attorney, and then the other guy is kind of getting slammed.
It is just enough to make you scratch your head.
Then, all of a sudden, I will write a comment like, "I am sitting here asking myself, why an attorney needs $200,000-$300,000 to start a class action suit. Can someone help with this?"
I got slammed for being indecisive, and I got a personal email from THE attorney himself asking me why I was questioning his integrity.
WHAT?
You are an attorney and you are suppose to be getting a very big class action suit prepared and apparently you have time to monitor message boards.
Things that make you go Hmmm.
Then I heard yesterday that once a judge certifies this as a class action suit with one attorney, the judge doesn't do it again for the other attorney. The other attorney and his clients are SOL.
See why my head is spinning!!!
Nothing yet from the AGD, ADA, FDA.
I watched The Hurt Locker last week. I liked it. I don't think it was the movie of the year. But when I think about it, this year's movies were pretty weak. So, yeah, maybe it would be in my top 10 of the year.
If you haven't seen it...I would definitely put in on my queue.
I also watched Office Space for the first time, and I have to say I wasn't that impressed.
I saw Law Abiding Citizen....dude this was a good movie. Very graphic killing scenes, so if that is not your thing DO NOT get this movie. But if you are okay with that, it is a must.
I got to tell, I really like Jammie Foxx. He is becoming my favorite actor (even though he has bad veneers).
Okay real quick, I wanted to talk about a product I have just heard about.
OraVerse.
Tell me you haven't heard of this.
I have told you in the past that I think I am a pretty with-it type of dentist.
I was reading an article and saw a blurb in which someone talked about a Dental Anesthesia Reversal agent.
WHAT??!!!
Now, I am thinking to myself. NO WAY.
Don't tell me there is something as big as a reversing agent and I haven't heard one iota about it.
So I went to REALITY and ask Dr. Miller if there was such a thing.
Then I went to the Internet while I was waiting for his answer.
Turns out there IS a reversing agent, and it is called OraVerse.
Here is what I got from an "expert" from REALITY.
I have used OraVerse dozens of times, all with favorable results. No pain, swelling, post-operative discomfort, etc. As an anecdotal test, I did class V's on 10 separate patients on maxillary right and left premolars. Used 1/2 carpule of 2% lido with epi both sides. Gave patient equal amount of OraVerse on one side only approx 10 minutes before dismissal. Asked patient to call as soon as either side felt normal. Average time for OraVerse was 30 minutes. Average time for control was 1.5 hours. Use it with all smile designs when buccal anesthetic is needed. Usually I will seat the case and then 30 minutes before I think I'm finished, I give the OraVerse. Patient is usually not numb when they leave. I don't charge for it with my larger cases but charge $11 a carpule in single tooth dentistry. When I offer it, about 25% want it. I would see a huge advantage with kids so they don't chew on their lips/tongue afterward. I just don't have any kids in my practice. I was a little nervous about using it thinking patients needed that extra time to be anesthetized for discomfort. While I have not used it on any large cases, I have used it several times on quadrant cases and the patients have loved it. No pain or discomfort of any degree afterward. I have offered it at no charge on my patients but the rep was in yesterday and said most everyone is charging.
What the heck? Someone at OraVerse needs to fire the head guy in the Marketing dept.
I mean I can't tell you how many people leave my office saying they hate being numb.
You don't know how many people will change an appointment because they have to work after. Now with OraVerse, they can be un-numb by the time they get back to work.
I mean how long have we been waiting for this? I have always said to those patients, "If they made something like that I would use it on you but unfortunately they don't so you are SOL."
(and yes I probably said it just that way).
I want it. I am going to use it. And I am ticked that I wasn't the first one to know about it.
Last thing,
I started putting tooth pictures on my Facebook account.
I have been getting good responses.
I will a before, during, and after shots of some really sweet fillings.
My dentists "friends" appreciate good work and the other people are intrigued. That is what we are looking for, people being intrigued with us.
I officially have 20 fans on my A Soft Touch in Family Dental Care business Facebook site.
Be a fan so I don't feel so inadequate.
Have a great Easter,
Oh my gosh, it is Easter and I wrote about OraVerse. I tell you what, I go through the day and the week just trying to get through. I even forget about Easter. I guess I should have told you how huge this holiday is for us Christians.
Holidays like Easter really make me weep. I go to church, and I thank God for what he did for me and thank him for blessing me with all the things I have. My wife, kids, my parents, my brothers and sisters, friends, my church, my ability to help people, my great job, you guys, and last but not least He opened up Heaven.
I won't go on, I am getting emotional.
John
This Brican thing is consuming me. It is not even a big deal. I mean what is the worst thing that could happen. I have to pay $500 a month for this stupid thing. I didn't say I was happy about it, but if that is the worst thing that happens...then why can't I sleep.
I got on this Google Group and the thing is blowing up. I probably get 75 emails a day from this.
Here is the latest.
It appears there are two main attorneys who are pushing a class action suit against Brican/Viso.
I will get 15 emails a day from this site saying "okay, I just sent my check in to this attorney".
Needless to say, I was getting very weary of this. It appears to be very self-promoting for the attorney who everyone is backing.
The tone is very positive for one attorney, and then the other guy is kind of getting slammed.
It is just enough to make you scratch your head.
Then, all of a sudden, I will write a comment like, "I am sitting here asking myself, why an attorney needs $200,000-$300,000 to start a class action suit. Can someone help with this?"
I got slammed for being indecisive, and I got a personal email from THE attorney himself asking me why I was questioning his integrity.
WHAT?
You are an attorney and you are suppose to be getting a very big class action suit prepared and apparently you have time to monitor message boards.
Things that make you go Hmmm.
Then I heard yesterday that once a judge certifies this as a class action suit with one attorney, the judge doesn't do it again for the other attorney. The other attorney and his clients are SOL.
See why my head is spinning!!!
Nothing yet from the AGD, ADA, FDA.
I watched The Hurt Locker last week. I liked it. I don't think it was the movie of the year. But when I think about it, this year's movies were pretty weak. So, yeah, maybe it would be in my top 10 of the year.
If you haven't seen it...I would definitely put in on my queue.
I also watched Office Space for the first time, and I have to say I wasn't that impressed.
I saw Law Abiding Citizen....dude this was a good movie. Very graphic killing scenes, so if that is not your thing DO NOT get this movie. But if you are okay with that, it is a must.
I got to tell, I really like Jammie Foxx. He is becoming my favorite actor (even though he has bad veneers).
Okay real quick, I wanted to talk about a product I have just heard about.
OraVerse.
Tell me you haven't heard of this.
I have told you in the past that I think I am a pretty with-it type of dentist.
I was reading an article and saw a blurb in which someone talked about a Dental Anesthesia Reversal agent.
WHAT??!!!
Now, I am thinking to myself. NO WAY.
Don't tell me there is something as big as a reversing agent and I haven't heard one iota about it.
So I went to REALITY and ask Dr. Miller if there was such a thing.
Then I went to the Internet while I was waiting for his answer.
Turns out there IS a reversing agent, and it is called OraVerse.
Here is what I got from an "expert" from REALITY.
I have used OraVerse dozens of times, all with favorable results. No pain, swelling, post-operative discomfort, etc. As an anecdotal test, I did class V's on 10 separate patients on maxillary right and left premolars. Used 1/2 carpule of 2% lido with epi both sides. Gave patient equal amount of OraVerse on one side only approx 10 minutes before dismissal. Asked patient to call as soon as either side felt normal. Average time for OraVerse was 30 minutes. Average time for control was 1.5 hours. Use it with all smile designs when buccal anesthetic is needed. Usually I will seat the case and then 30 minutes before I think I'm finished, I give the OraVerse. Patient is usually not numb when they leave. I don't charge for it with my larger cases but charge $11 a carpule in single tooth dentistry. When I offer it, about 25% want it. I would see a huge advantage with kids so they don't chew on their lips/tongue afterward. I just don't have any kids in my practice. I was a little nervous about using it thinking patients needed that extra time to be anesthetized for discomfort. While I have not used it on any large cases, I have used it several times on quadrant cases and the patients have loved it. No pain or discomfort of any degree afterward. I have offered it at no charge on my patients but the rep was in yesterday and said most everyone is charging.
What the heck? Someone at OraVerse needs to fire the head guy in the Marketing dept.
I mean I can't tell you how many people leave my office saying they hate being numb.
You don't know how many people will change an appointment because they have to work after. Now with OraVerse, they can be un-numb by the time they get back to work.
I mean how long have we been waiting for this? I have always said to those patients, "If they made something like that I would use it on you but unfortunately they don't so you are SOL."
(and yes I probably said it just that way).
I want it. I am going to use it. And I am ticked that I wasn't the first one to know about it.
Last thing,
I started putting tooth pictures on my Facebook account.
I have been getting good responses.
I will a before, during, and after shots of some really sweet fillings.
My dentists "friends" appreciate good work and the other people are intrigued. That is what we are looking for, people being intrigued with us.
I officially have 20 fans on my A Soft Touch in Family Dental Care business Facebook site.
Be a fan so I don't feel so inadequate.
Have a great Easter,
Oh my gosh, it is Easter and I wrote about OraVerse. I tell you what, I go through the day and the week just trying to get through. I even forget about Easter. I guess I should have told you how huge this holiday is for us Christians.
Holidays like Easter really make me weep. I go to church, and I thank God for what he did for me and thank him for blessing me with all the things I have. My wife, kids, my parents, my brothers and sisters, friends, my church, my ability to help people, my great job, you guys, and last but not least He opened up Heaven.
I won't go on, I am getting emotional.
John
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
The Health Care Bill
Hey all,
I am so sorry about Friday. I know all of you are all waiting for my blog, with baited breath, on Fridays.
I took the day off to go on a field trip with my 6-year-old Noah.
I got half of the blog written but.....
I had something in mind for today, but with the whole Health Care bill thing brought up, I decided to change gears.
One thing before the blog.
Last week I wrote about Brican. The last thing I wrote in the Brican blog was about my financial adviser. Remember he was kidding around about his advice about skinning his knee, and I was kidding around and calling him a bad name. Well, it was kind of the tone of the blog entry, you know my attitude toward the whole thing. This is not how I truly feel about him.
I will tell you about our relationship.
I love this guy. I love how he does business. I love how he has treated me and my family and my business for the last 14 years. I apologize to him and his peeps if I ever gave the impression that I didn't appreciate his knowledge and advice.
Okay Health Care bill.
I have told you in the past that I am not politically savvy. I won't even pretend to be. But I wanted to have someone that is in the know about things like this.
So I asked Vinny Mayher DMD, MAGD (who I think is a pretty smart cookie and knows something about politics), the past president of the AGD to write for us a blog that tells us what he knows about the bill.
So without further ado....
Okay, I admit it. After years if THINKING I understood the legislative process, I am crying “uncle.” Having spent dozens of hours trying to read and understand the healthcare legislation, it is time to humbly admit that I really don’t know how, for sure, it will affect me.
Unlike the vast majority of individuals, dentists are potentially affected by this legislation in three separate ways: First, as healthcare providers, how does it affect us in the delivery and care of our patients, if at all? Second, as small business owners, is this legislation a help, a hindrance, or a nonentity when it comes to the bottom line of our practices? And, third, as individuals and family members, will this legislation deliver better quality healthcare to ourselves and our loved ones?
Having read all the bills including the CBO report of these bills, (Yes, I really don’t have a life), the best description I can use would be a modification of the age old “peeling back an onion" analogy; only one has to jump from one onion to another as facets of these bills change or as interpretations change.
I did breathe a sigh of relief when I read that the reconciliation bill; and its mandates did not subject small businesses with fewer than 50 employees to the mandate to provide health coverage or pay a fine. The House bill used a payroll amount of $500,000 as the yardstick. Clearly, some dental practices would exceed that and be subject to the requirements if that qualifier was enacted.
Providing dental coverage for all children is a good thing in concept. But, how this fits into the insurance “exchange” is rather confusing. Initially, stand alone dental plans, such as the Delta’s, were not included in this exchange. This would mean that children’s dental coverage would be managed by medical plans. Does this sound scary to you?
I personally asked my Congressman to make sure dental plans are stand-alone ones. He assured me that he would try to implement this. Depending on what you read, stand alone dental plans were allowed into the exchange. But, I’m still not sure how and, to what extent, this will happen. And, will these plans dictate how we will treat these children? We all know the answer to that. Dental plans were excluded from the so called, “Cadillac tax.”
The American Dental Association rallied its members to lobby their Congressman against this legislation mainly because it does not increase funds for dental Medicaid. In my opinion, this says a whole lot about the Congressional priorities. While there are all sorts of “feel good” measures for dentistry such as increased finding for Title VII dental residencies, (something we have been lobbying for about a hundred years!), and all sorts of special commissions, grant programs, and the like, by and large, dental care has been given a minuscule piece of the apple.
Which leads me to the point, is it a bad thing that dentistry is not “in the cross hairs” when it comes to healthcare reform? Should inclusion be a legislative priority? I guess if you feel that government has all the answers to dentistry’s needs, then your answer would be “yes.” If, however, you are of the “point that thing somewhere else” mindset, you can breathe easy.
For example, if the concept of midlevel providers concerns you, then there is a “bad news/good news” reality in this bill. Bad news: the bill creates a “demonstration program” to train and employ “alternative dental health care providers.” Good news: they are only allocating 4 million dollars for this program. Given the billions of dollars spent in this bill this is a pittance. Even the ADA has committed many times this amount in its furtherance of their “Community Dental Health Coordinator” midlevel provider program. So, I wouldn’t be expecting an army of midlevel providers marching down your street any time soon.
So, as general dentists “in the trenches,” what do we do now? For one thing, we can stay as informed as possible. This is not easy. Given all the complexities of this bill and possible future interpretations, it will be like playing on a basketball court during an earthquake!
One thing for sure, something’s coming down the track. We don’t know exactly what. And, we don’t know exactly when. For now, we need to continue to support AGD and ADA advocacy efforts through the AGD’s Advocacy Fund and ADPAC.
I won't say anything. I will let you marinate on this.
If you have any questions or comments, we welcome them.
Have a great Wednesday.
john (and vinny)
I am so sorry about Friday. I know all of you are all waiting for my blog, with baited breath, on Fridays.
I took the day off to go on a field trip with my 6-year-old Noah.
I got half of the blog written but.....
I had something in mind for today, but with the whole Health Care bill thing brought up, I decided to change gears.
One thing before the blog.
Last week I wrote about Brican. The last thing I wrote in the Brican blog was about my financial adviser. Remember he was kidding around about his advice about skinning his knee, and I was kidding around and calling him a bad name. Well, it was kind of the tone of the blog entry, you know my attitude toward the whole thing. This is not how I truly feel about him.
I will tell you about our relationship.
I love this guy. I love how he does business. I love how he has treated me and my family and my business for the last 14 years. I apologize to him and his peeps if I ever gave the impression that I didn't appreciate his knowledge and advice.
Okay Health Care bill.
I have told you in the past that I am not politically savvy. I won't even pretend to be. But I wanted to have someone that is in the know about things like this.
So I asked Vinny Mayher DMD, MAGD (who I think is a pretty smart cookie and knows something about politics), the past president of the AGD to write for us a blog that tells us what he knows about the bill.
So without further ado....
Okay, I admit it. After years if THINKING I understood the legislative process, I am crying “uncle.” Having spent dozens of hours trying to read and understand the healthcare legislation, it is time to humbly admit that I really don’t know how, for sure, it will affect me.
Unlike the vast majority of individuals, dentists are potentially affected by this legislation in three separate ways: First, as healthcare providers, how does it affect us in the delivery and care of our patients, if at all? Second, as small business owners, is this legislation a help, a hindrance, or a nonentity when it comes to the bottom line of our practices? And, third, as individuals and family members, will this legislation deliver better quality healthcare to ourselves and our loved ones?
Having read all the bills including the CBO report of these bills, (Yes, I really don’t have a life), the best description I can use would be a modification of the age old “peeling back an onion" analogy; only one has to jump from one onion to another as facets of these bills change or as interpretations change.
I did breathe a sigh of relief when I read that the reconciliation bill; and its mandates did not subject small businesses with fewer than 50 employees to the mandate to provide health coverage or pay a fine. The House bill used a payroll amount of $500,000 as the yardstick. Clearly, some dental practices would exceed that and be subject to the requirements if that qualifier was enacted.
Providing dental coverage for all children is a good thing in concept. But, how this fits into the insurance “exchange” is rather confusing. Initially, stand alone dental plans, such as the Delta’s, were not included in this exchange. This would mean that children’s dental coverage would be managed by medical plans. Does this sound scary to you?
I personally asked my Congressman to make sure dental plans are stand-alone ones. He assured me that he would try to implement this. Depending on what you read, stand alone dental plans were allowed into the exchange. But, I’m still not sure how and, to what extent, this will happen. And, will these plans dictate how we will treat these children? We all know the answer to that. Dental plans were excluded from the so called, “Cadillac tax.”
The American Dental Association rallied its members to lobby their Congressman against this legislation mainly because it does not increase funds for dental Medicaid. In my opinion, this says a whole lot about the Congressional priorities. While there are all sorts of “feel good” measures for dentistry such as increased finding for Title VII dental residencies, (something we have been lobbying for about a hundred years!), and all sorts of special commissions, grant programs, and the like, by and large, dental care has been given a minuscule piece of the apple.
Which leads me to the point, is it a bad thing that dentistry is not “in the cross hairs” when it comes to healthcare reform? Should inclusion be a legislative priority? I guess if you feel that government has all the answers to dentistry’s needs, then your answer would be “yes.” If, however, you are of the “point that thing somewhere else” mindset, you can breathe easy.
For example, if the concept of midlevel providers concerns you, then there is a “bad news/good news” reality in this bill. Bad news: the bill creates a “demonstration program” to train and employ “alternative dental health care providers.” Good news: they are only allocating 4 million dollars for this program. Given the billions of dollars spent in this bill this is a pittance. Even the ADA has committed many times this amount in its furtherance of their “Community Dental Health Coordinator” midlevel provider program. So, I wouldn’t be expecting an army of midlevel providers marching down your street any time soon.
So, as general dentists “in the trenches,” what do we do now? For one thing, we can stay as informed as possible. This is not easy. Given all the complexities of this bill and possible future interpretations, it will be like playing on a basketball court during an earthquake!
One thing for sure, something’s coming down the track. We don’t know exactly what. And, we don’t know exactly when. For now, we need to continue to support AGD and ADA advocacy efforts through the AGD’s Advocacy Fund and ADPAC.
I won't say anything. I will let you marinate on this.
If you have any questions or comments, we welcome them.
Have a great Wednesday.
john (and vinny)
Monday, March 29, 2010
Movie Reference Monday
OK, not hearing the "funny voices" this morning but will pass along a quick joke that my daughter told me yesterday.
"Do you know how to make Lady Gaga cry?"
..........................................................wait for it...........................
"Pok-her Face". hahahahahahaha
Have you seen any of the Men in Black movies? Remember how at the end of each of the movies they always find a way of pointing out how we think our world is so large but compared to the vastness of space we are just a speck. Yeah, for some reason that is my feeling this morning.
We are in the midst of a slow cycle. Not hygiene, me. Seems like I hit those every 4 months or so. Anyone else have that? You hit a batch of patients that are just healthy as can be (grrrr). No decay, no pain, no crowns. Kind of hard to fill appointments in the restorative chair when the dentist is not diagnosing restorative needs. Too much time on my hands (or perhaps more appropriately, too much time with my hands on a keyboard and not in a mouth).
Maybe I should see about taking a job as the winter caretaker of a summer resort in Colorado.
All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.
On second thought, it may not be the healthiest decision for my family.
Yes, it seems to be more of a Monday issue than a Wednesday issue but that doesn't make it easier to resolve. 10 steps forward and 1 step back (more accurately just no step in either direction).
So that thought cycle leads me again to ponder the vastness of creation and the minuscule portion of it that I occupy. On January 19, 2006 the New Horizons probe was launched by NASA on a mission to make the closest pass of Pluto ever. This probe is the fastest man-made structure ever launched. It passed the moon a mere 9 hours after launch (took the Apollo missions 3 days to reach the moon). It used Jupiter's gravitational field to accelerate further. It is moving at 52,000 mph, every second it is traveling more than 14 miles. The Earth is roughly 23,000 miles in circumference, that is 2 orbits EVERY HOUR!!!
OK, why does this matter?
Even at that speed, the New Horizons probe will not pass by Pluto until the summer of 2015. That is 9 years. And at that point it is still not even out of our Solar System, let alone the galaxy. The Voyager probes that were launched when I was a child have left our solar system but has not yet passed beyond the gravitational influence of our sun.
The Universe is truly incomprehensible in size and scope. Maybe my current concerns are not that large after all. . . .
Never mind, that didn't help at all, they still haven't discovered small businesses on other planets.
Oh, and as an afterthought. Thanks D.C. for passing a remarkably confusing health care bill via an obscure parliamentary procedure. I'm a Political Science major and an attorney, and I can't tell if this thing is good or bad. All I know is that neither party seems willing to represent the individual, they truly represent themselves and care only about holding on to power (nothing new I know but this is getting silly).
I'm thinking 435 freshmen Congressmen and women and 33 new Senators may be a good start this November - just govern, is that too much to ask. If you couldn't tell there are enough other problems in the world.
Have a great day.
ric
"Do you know how to make Lady Gaga cry?"
..........................................................wait for it...........................
"Pok-her Face". hahahahahahaha
Have you seen any of the Men in Black movies? Remember how at the end of each of the movies they always find a way of pointing out how we think our world is so large but compared to the vastness of space we are just a speck. Yeah, for some reason that is my feeling this morning.
We are in the midst of a slow cycle. Not hygiene, me. Seems like I hit those every 4 months or so. Anyone else have that? You hit a batch of patients that are just healthy as can be (grrrr). No decay, no pain, no crowns. Kind of hard to fill appointments in the restorative chair when the dentist is not diagnosing restorative needs. Too much time on my hands (or perhaps more appropriately, too much time with my hands on a keyboard and not in a mouth).
Maybe I should see about taking a job as the winter caretaker of a summer resort in Colorado.
All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. All work and no play make Jack a dull boy. All work and no play make Jack a dull boy.
On second thought, it may not be the healthiest decision for my family.
What do you do during down time? Pay bills, read journals, take online CE. . .yep, me too. What do you do when you have used your current supply of money to pay bills, read all your journals, and don't feel like reading another seminar on the benefits of flouride in your dentifrice? Remember it's a Monday so the crossword puzzle only takes 3 or 4 minutes to do. Your teams are all out of the NCAA tournament so you really have no interest in the remaining teams. Your baseball team is the Royals so not much to look forward to there.
What I'm saying is I have time on my hands and that can sometimes lead the voices to start-up the negative dialogue. Instead of peeling away the layers of the onion, I start adding layers. Small issues seem large, minor staff issues feel larger, normal monthly cash-flow ebbs take on epic proportions.
"Sounds like somebody has a case of the Mondays"Yes, it seems to be more of a Monday issue than a Wednesday issue but that doesn't make it easier to resolve. 10 steps forward and 1 step back (more accurately just no step in either direction).
So that thought cycle leads me again to ponder the vastness of creation and the minuscule portion of it that I occupy. On January 19, 2006 the New Horizons probe was launched by NASA on a mission to make the closest pass of Pluto ever. This probe is the fastest man-made structure ever launched. It passed the moon a mere 9 hours after launch (took the Apollo missions 3 days to reach the moon). It used Jupiter's gravitational field to accelerate further. It is moving at 52,000 mph, every second it is traveling more than 14 miles. The Earth is roughly 23,000 miles in circumference, that is 2 orbits EVERY HOUR!!!
OK, why does this matter?
Even at that speed, the New Horizons probe will not pass by Pluto until the summer of 2015. That is 9 years. And at that point it is still not even out of our Solar System, let alone the galaxy. The Voyager probes that were launched when I was a child have left our solar system but has not yet passed beyond the gravitational influence of our sun.
The Universe is truly incomprehensible in size and scope. Maybe my current concerns are not that large after all. . . .
Never mind, that didn't help at all, they still haven't discovered small businesses on other planets.
Oh, and as an afterthought. Thanks D.C. for passing a remarkably confusing health care bill via an obscure parliamentary procedure. I'm a Political Science major and an attorney, and I can't tell if this thing is good or bad. All I know is that neither party seems willing to represent the individual, they truly represent themselves and care only about holding on to power (nothing new I know but this is getting silly).
I'm thinking 435 freshmen Congressmen and women and 33 new Senators may be a good start this November - just govern, is that too much to ask. If you couldn't tell there are enough other problems in the world.
Have a great day.
ric
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Whistle Blowing
Hey guys,
Man Dr. Ric is funny. Loved Monday's blog.
Real life stuff and a great message. If he keeps this up people are going to demand that the Wednesday and Friday guy be eliminated.
Well a lot is going on so I will get right to it.
The message boards are blowing about Brican but I just don't know what is going to happen.
It appears there are about 1800 dentists/optometrists in my boat and they are all pissed off.
So it makes me feel a little less of a dumbass (misery loves company) but not much.
I watched the Hurt Locker this weekend.
This movie was very good. I thought it was intense. It was very well done. I believed the characters...I give it two molars up.
I finished with Three Cups of Tea. This is a true story about a guy who spends his life building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. What bad can you say about this guy?
Nothing.
But I will tell you that he puts his whole life into this, almost to a fault. He ignores everything, including his family and his safety, to get things done. I am not looking a gift horse in the mouth because I know that in order to be great at something you have to give up a lot. This guy has gave a lot (he worked as a nurse and slept on the floor of a friends apartment for a year just to save money to build his first school).
It became an interesting point in the book when he began to focus not on building schools but to build girls school. He felt that if you educate the women that life would start to change.
This is an interesting concept.
Mainly because men somehow are not around.
He didn't talk about where the men were but I was assuming they are in the military fighting again the Taliban or in the Taliban or just plain traveling to find work (maybe they were out building schools for other countries....low blow).
But none the less the men were gone and if you educate the women they can begin to educate the children and change the country.
This was an awesome point because in the times I have been to Mexico on mission trips there was a significant lack of men in the "family" centers. There were plenty of woman with lots of kids...but no men.
Things that make you go hmmmm.
Okay topic du jour.
I told you I was pissed about something and lucky for you I did not write this on Friday.
I was so hot last week my head was going to blow off.
I spend my whole life trying to make the worlds teeth better.
Now did I say I spend my whole life trying to make money off of people's teeth?
No!
Let me back up and tell you what happened last week that got me started.
I was having dinner with some friends. One was a previous patient that moved out of town and the other is a friend that lives across town and my office is kind of a pain to get to for him.
He goes to a dentist down the street from him (understandable).
So we get to talking about teeth at the dinner table.
Okay here are the stories....
Big M was a patient at my office. He is 28 years old. He was a patient here for a couple of years and he never had any work done because his teeth were in really good shape. He had a couple of occlusal amalgams but over all very good teeth.
He moved away. He went to another dentist and this new dentist told him he had 8 cavities.
EIGHT, OCHO, HUIT, ACHT (french and german....I googled it).
Now how do you go from a dentist in Orlando and be okay and then move to Georgia and have 8?
Now to this dentists credit, he/she did the first three and told him that they were "calcium deposits" and didn't need to do the other five.
Hmmm.
Now the other guy has been going to his dentist for a while. My friend is kind of lukewarm about his dentist. See he has never had a cavity. So to him he goes, gets his teeth cleaned and then gets out of there. No problem. He says that he doesn't even pay, his insurance covers the whole thing.
When we were talking he mentioned in passing, "my dentist just comes in and says 'hi' and reads my x-rays and leaves, it is so easy."
I said, "HOLD UP. Did you say that he reads your x-rays and leaves or does he actually look in your mouth?"
And he says, "No he doesn't look in mouth, he just says 'hi' and leaves.
WHAT?!!!
Once I started bitching about this stuff to my assistant she told me some of the things she heard. She goes on to tell me that her sister who lives 2 hours south of here was at the dentist and the assistant gave her an injection. Yeah, the dentist gave her one and the assistant asked if she was getting numb and she said, "No". So the assistant picked up the needle an proceeded to give her a "booster".
Oh no you didn't.
Okay we all hear of the stories....this dentist did this to me or I went to this guy and he did this to me. I am not talking about these kind of stories. I am not talking about getting story about a patient about how they perceived a situation.
I am talking about black and white. He charged you for an exam and you didn't get one. The assistant gave me an injection.
This kind of stuff makes my blood boil.
It is wrong in so many ways.
It is greed in the purest form. AND I AM SICK OF IT.
I hear this crap all the time and I am going to do something about. I am going to start whistle blowing.
People that are screwing the system are hurting our profession.
They are making it harder for guys/gals like me and you to do the right thing.
They are making health care more expensive (don't even get me started).
They are selfish SOB's and they must be stopped.
Now don't get me wrong I am not going to start calling the Board of Dentistry for every little thing. But wrong is wrong.
You and I both hear stories like this all the time and just shake our head. We cuss under our breath and move on.
NOT ANY MORE. No more Mr. Niceguy.
I think one of the reasons why I never make the call is because I feel for the dentist.
I would never want a call from the Board. I am the kind of guy that gets an envelope with an attorneys letter head on it and start an all out panic attack.
And you all know how I am with confrontation. And I am not doing anything wrong.
One thing though, maybe this guy is a good guy. Maybe he has just strayed a bit.
Does he deserve a full on investigation of his office. Should I get my friend to call the dentist and call them on it and see what they do.
(I was talking to a patient once who had the same thing done to them and he called the office about it. The person at the front that they talked to said, "you had an exam." He said, "No I didn't, the doctor never came in." She said, "Oh our hygienist did it."
Oh, no she didn't just say that.
Does anyone have a whistle I can borrow?)
I can see how this can be a slippery slope.
What do you "whistle blow" for?
Fraud?
Breaking rules?
Over treatment?
Attitude toward patients?
I mean I want to blow the whistle ever time I think a disservice has been done to a patient.
But if there was no intent then the dentist didn't do anything wrong.
(As much as I try to avoid it, I have to admit that someone out there has felt duped by me)
But I am going to do it.
I am at the point in my career that I am starting not to care if dentists like me anymore (except for you guys). I try to do a good job, I try to be very honest, I do my best and care about my patient. If someone has a problem with me then they just don't know me.
Do I have some personality problems that some might not like? Yes
Am I boisterous? Yes. Do I act unprofessional sometime? Yes
Will all of the above rub people the wrong way? Yes.
Now if you only care only about yourself, if you are dishonest, if you are greedy, if you are a fraud, if you over treat, if you don't do your best.
Well then consider yourself warned. I am blowing the whistle on you.
In my best Mel Gibson in Brave Heart speeches.....Are you with me on this one? Come on, LET'S DOOOOO ITTTT!!!
Now that I said the above....what do you think?
Have you blown the whistle on someone?
Did you want to and didn't do it?
I would love to hear about it.
Man Dr. Ric is funny. Loved Monday's blog.
Real life stuff and a great message. If he keeps this up people are going to demand that the Wednesday and Friday guy be eliminated.
Well a lot is going on so I will get right to it.
The message boards are blowing about Brican but I just don't know what is going to happen.
It appears there are about 1800 dentists/optometrists in my boat and they are all pissed off.
So it makes me feel a little less of a dumbass (misery loves company) but not much.
I watched the Hurt Locker this weekend.
This movie was very good. I thought it was intense. It was very well done. I believed the characters...I give it two molars up.
I finished with Three Cups of Tea. This is a true story about a guy who spends his life building schools in Pakistan and Afghanistan. What bad can you say about this guy?
Nothing.
But I will tell you that he puts his whole life into this, almost to a fault. He ignores everything, including his family and his safety, to get things done. I am not looking a gift horse in the mouth because I know that in order to be great at something you have to give up a lot. This guy has gave a lot (he worked as a nurse and slept on the floor of a friends apartment for a year just to save money to build his first school).
It became an interesting point in the book when he began to focus not on building schools but to build girls school. He felt that if you educate the women that life would start to change.
This is an interesting concept.
Mainly because men somehow are not around.
He didn't talk about where the men were but I was assuming they are in the military fighting again the Taliban or in the Taliban or just plain traveling to find work (maybe they were out building schools for other countries....low blow).
But none the less the men were gone and if you educate the women they can begin to educate the children and change the country.
This was an awesome point because in the times I have been to Mexico on mission trips there was a significant lack of men in the "family" centers. There were plenty of woman with lots of kids...but no men.
Things that make you go hmmmm.
Okay topic du jour.
I told you I was pissed about something and lucky for you I did not write this on Friday.
I was so hot last week my head was going to blow off.
I spend my whole life trying to make the worlds teeth better.
Now did I say I spend my whole life trying to make money off of people's teeth?
No!
Let me back up and tell you what happened last week that got me started.
I was having dinner with some friends. One was a previous patient that moved out of town and the other is a friend that lives across town and my office is kind of a pain to get to for him.
He goes to a dentist down the street from him (understandable).
So we get to talking about teeth at the dinner table.
Okay here are the stories....
Big M was a patient at my office. He is 28 years old. He was a patient here for a couple of years and he never had any work done because his teeth were in really good shape. He had a couple of occlusal amalgams but over all very good teeth.
He moved away. He went to another dentist and this new dentist told him he had 8 cavities.
EIGHT, OCHO, HUIT, ACHT (french and german....I googled it).
Now how do you go from a dentist in Orlando and be okay and then move to Georgia and have 8?
Now to this dentists credit, he/she did the first three and told him that they were "calcium deposits" and didn't need to do the other five.
Hmmm.
Now the other guy has been going to his dentist for a while. My friend is kind of lukewarm about his dentist. See he has never had a cavity. So to him he goes, gets his teeth cleaned and then gets out of there. No problem. He says that he doesn't even pay, his insurance covers the whole thing.
When we were talking he mentioned in passing, "my dentist just comes in and says 'hi' and reads my x-rays and leaves, it is so easy."
I said, "HOLD UP. Did you say that he reads your x-rays and leaves or does he actually look in your mouth?"
And he says, "No he doesn't look in mouth, he just says 'hi' and leaves.
WHAT?!!!
Once I started bitching about this stuff to my assistant she told me some of the things she heard. She goes on to tell me that her sister who lives 2 hours south of here was at the dentist and the assistant gave her an injection. Yeah, the dentist gave her one and the assistant asked if she was getting numb and she said, "No". So the assistant picked up the needle an proceeded to give her a "booster".
Oh no you didn't.
Okay we all hear of the stories....this dentist did this to me or I went to this guy and he did this to me. I am not talking about these kind of stories. I am not talking about getting story about a patient about how they perceived a situation.
I am talking about black and white. He charged you for an exam and you didn't get one. The assistant gave me an injection.
This kind of stuff makes my blood boil.
It is wrong in so many ways.
It is greed in the purest form. AND I AM SICK OF IT.
I hear this crap all the time and I am going to do something about. I am going to start whistle blowing.
People that are screwing the system are hurting our profession.
They are making it harder for guys/gals like me and you to do the right thing.
They are making health care more expensive (don't even get me started).
They are selfish SOB's and they must be stopped.
Now don't get me wrong I am not going to start calling the Board of Dentistry for every little thing. But wrong is wrong.
You and I both hear stories like this all the time and just shake our head. We cuss under our breath and move on.
NOT ANY MORE. No more Mr. Niceguy.
I think one of the reasons why I never make the call is because I feel for the dentist.
I would never want a call from the Board. I am the kind of guy that gets an envelope with an attorneys letter head on it and start an all out panic attack.
And you all know how I am with confrontation. And I am not doing anything wrong.
One thing though, maybe this guy is a good guy. Maybe he has just strayed a bit.
Does he deserve a full on investigation of his office. Should I get my friend to call the dentist and call them on it and see what they do.
(I was talking to a patient once who had the same thing done to them and he called the office about it. The person at the front that they talked to said, "you had an exam." He said, "No I didn't, the doctor never came in." She said, "Oh our hygienist did it."
Oh, no she didn't just say that.
Does anyone have a whistle I can borrow?)
I can see how this can be a slippery slope.
What do you "whistle blow" for?
Fraud?
Breaking rules?
Over treatment?
Attitude toward patients?
I mean I want to blow the whistle ever time I think a disservice has been done to a patient.
But if there was no intent then the dentist didn't do anything wrong.
(As much as I try to avoid it, I have to admit that someone out there has felt duped by me)
But I am going to do it.
I am at the point in my career that I am starting not to care if dentists like me anymore (except for you guys). I try to do a good job, I try to be very honest, I do my best and care about my patient. If someone has a problem with me then they just don't know me.
Do I have some personality problems that some might not like? Yes
Am I boisterous? Yes. Do I act unprofessional sometime? Yes
Will all of the above rub people the wrong way? Yes.
Now if you only care only about yourself, if you are dishonest, if you are greedy, if you are a fraud, if you over treat, if you don't do your best.
Well then consider yourself warned. I am blowing the whistle on you.
In my best Mel Gibson in Brave Heart speeches.....Are you with me on this one? Come on, LET'S DOOOOO ITTTT!!!
Now that I said the above....what do you think?
Have you blown the whistle on someone?
Did you want to and didn't do it?
I would love to hear about it.
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