Beyond Bitewings

You may not believe embezzlement can happen in your practice, but it’s something one in every six dental offices in the United States experience. So although you may not think it is happening in your practice, it could very easily happen to you.  Allen Schiff, Certified Fraud Examiner, joins the team at Edwards & Associates to discuss embezzlement and what dental offices need to know abou...

When running a dental practice your front desk must be running as efficiently as possible, and one of the biggest wastes of time can be finding out the details of a patient’s dental plan.  Figuring out what is covered, how much etc., based on every single employer’s plan can take hours for your staff. Luckily, there’s a great solution, and Karen Newton of Dental Systems, Inc. is joining the E...

What is happening with your 2020 tax returns? It’s a question asked of the Edwards and Associates Team on a frequent basis, and one that unfortunately doesn’t have an easy answer. We can all agree the pandemic has thrown a few curve balls when it comes to running your practice, and unfortunately the 2020 tax returns are just one more area that’s being affected.  In today’s episode the team ta...

Is buying a CEREC worth the investment? It’s a question many dental practice owners are asking. In this episode of Beyond Bitewings, Dr. Peter Hazim joins the team at Edwards & Associates to share his experience with implementing a CEREC machine into his practice. Dr. Hazim shares how he bought his CEREC system right before the pandemic and how he has still seen a large return on his investmen...

Are your patients excited about visiting your practice? Many dentists have believed the answer to this question will never be ‘yes’ and that people just hate visiting the dentist. However, when Dr. Robin Bethel was building his first practice he was determined to build a practice where he would get an answer of ‘yes’ consistently from this question. In this episode of Beyond Bitewings, Dr. Bethel...

Can you require your employees to take a COVID shot? This is one of the most frequently asked questions of any business right now, and a very important topic within the dental community. In this episode of Beyond Bitewings, the team at Edwards & Associates welcome back Joe MacGregor, attorney at MacGregor & Oblad. They discuss why although there’s a pretty clear answer to this question now...

One of the hardest parts about running a dental practice can be feeling like you’re doing it all alone. Once you graduate from dental school, you’re no longer surrounded by peers. Yes, you hire staff, but leaning on them to help you overcome some of the struggles of running your business isn’t a possibility. The good news is that there’s an answer to this problem, and that answer is Dental Study C...

Finishing Dental School is only the beginning of a dentist’s journey. Not only do they need to understand their trade, but it’s equally as important to understand how to navigate their way through the world of business once they’re ready to start putting all that they’ve learned to work. In this episode of Beyond Bitewings, the Edwards & Associates team is joined by Joe McGregor, Attorney and...

Many dental practices look at credentialing with insurance companies as a way to attract patients, but there are other ways that dental practices can attract and keep their patients. One of those is through membership programs. On today’s episode of Beyond Bitewings, the team welcomes Katie Franklin, Program Director for Smile Advantage. Smile Advantage helps dental practices implement and run mem...

You’ve finally accomplished your goal of graduating from dental school. However, just when you thought you'd reached the end, you find yourself at the beginning and there are a lot of different options ahead of you in terms of starting your career. Should you jump in and start your own practice? Should you work as an employee for one company for a while and learn the ropes? Or should you work as a...

In a dental practice, the hygiene department is one of the most important teams in your practice, and dentists must understand how to utilize this team in the best way possible. Karen Davis, Owner of Cutting Edge Concepts, joins the Edwards and Associations team in this episode of Beyond Bitewings to discuss what dentists should know about hiring, managing, leading, and utilizing their dental hygi...

The Edwards and Associates team is back answering some of your most pressing questions. They’re kicking this episode off with one of the biggest questions they get about car buying and some of the biggest misconceptions when using your car as a tax deduction.  Also discussed in this episode is why putting your kids on your payroll could be beneficial and what you need to do to avoid raising a...

Should you start a dental practice from scratch or buy one with existing patients, and more importantly, existing cash flow? It’s the main question that new dentists ask, and one that should be considered heavily before jumping in. There are many things to consider when it comes to dental practice transitions, and the team from Edwards & Associates is discussing some of the important thin...

When is a good time to start adding providers to your dental practice? Trying to time when to add a hygienist or an associate doctor can be overwhelming--hoping you have enough patients but not waiting until it’s too late.  This is one of the biggest questions the team at Edwards & Associates are asked by their clients, and one they’re answering in today’s podcast. As companies are l...

CARES Act, PPP Loans, Employee Retention Credit, understanding the rules between these relief programs and offerings can be an overwhelming task. Making things more difficult are the constantly changing rules. In this episode of Beyond Bitewings, the Edwards & Associates team brings some clarity to the Employee Retention Credit changes. They discuss what the changes mean for those who may have...

Buying a dental practice does not automatically make you a great leader. Many dental practice owners find themselves in a predicament where not only do they need to learn how to build a practice, but more importantly, they need to learn how to lead their team to see that practice thrive. In this episode of Beyond Bitewings, the Edwards & Associates team welcomes Dr. Sharon Tiger, a nationally...

We would probably all prefer to forget about 2020! But as hard as it was, it taught us that you can never be too prepared for the unexpected. In this episode of Beyond Bitewings, the Edwards & Associates team discusses what dental practice owners can do to prepare themselves for the next catastrophe. The next significant event may not be a pandemic. It could be something much more lo...

Hiring can be a challenging event for any dental office, and it may sometimes feel like a hit or a miss when it comes to finding the right staff. However, it doesn’t have to be such a burden or a guessing game. In this episode of Beyond Bitewings, the Edwards & Associates team welcomes Linda Allen, a Management Consultant for dental practices across the nation. Linda focuses on helping dental...

Almost one year ago PPP was an acronym no one knew, and now it’s a source of everyday conversation. As 2021 offers hope for a new year, it also offers some new PPP rules for PPP loan forgiveness, payback, and a new opportunity to receive more help for businesses that suffered from losses in 2020. In this episode of Beyond Bitewings the Edward & Associates Team breaks down what dental business...

The thought of loans can cause a lot of stress, especially when building and growing your dental practice. What’s the best loan? Has the lending process changed considering the pandemic? And are banks making it harder to obtain dental practice loans? These are just some of the questions the team at Edwards & Associates answer in this episode of Beyond Bitewings. They discuss the questions lend...

Insurance can be a necessary evil in the world of dentistry, and if dentists are doing their own negotiating of reimbursement rates, they could end up overpaying as much as 20 - 25 % for PPO programs. In this episode of Beyond Bite Wings, the Edwards & Associates team welcomes Shelley DeGroff of PPO Advisors. Shelley, having over a decade of experience in the dental industry, knows the ins and...

When it comes to leasing dental offices, many dental office owners will seek help when negotiating their initial lease but fail to put in the same amount of effort when it comes to renegotiating their lease renewal. This can be a big mistake.  In this episode of Beyond Bitewings, the team at Edwards & Associates talks to Evan Reynolds of Dental Space Advisors who helps answer some of the...

Marketing can be an overwhelming task within a dental practice. Understanding where to best spend your marketing dollars and how to measure results is crucial for the success of your practice. Eric Hubbard and Andre Santos of Pain Free Dental Marketing join the Edwards & Associates team to talk about some of the biggest marketing questions and struggles dental practice owners have. In thi...

It’s hard to imagine, but 2020 is already almost over, which means it’s time to start making sure your dental practice tax planning is tied up for 2020. Many dental offices are finding themselves with more cash in the books, and they’re wondering what they should do with it. Plus, everyone is trying to understand the guidelines for the loans, grants, and unemployment paid during the shutdown. Some...

As we wrap up 2020, many dentists are wondering how they can optimize the money they received through various grants and loans because of COVID. In this episode of Beyond Bitewings, the Edwards & Associates team discusses the loan forgiveness status and strategies for making sure you’re best prepared for whatever may come in 2021. There are a lot of questions about PPP loan forgiveness, and th...