Managing Dental Drama

Many dental offices experienced new and unpredictable patterns during and after the COVID crisis. During the volatile ups and downs, many practice owners found themselves so focused on new problems and new trends that marketing was an afterthought at best. As the waves of change have started to settle into a more predictable rhythm, the evident need for new patients has surfaced once again. In thi...

While disgruntled patients have always been a reality, they seem to be growing in number. The combination of massive social and economic changes has turned even some of the nicest patients into grumps. In this world-wide rise of grumpiness, the dental field certainly gets hit hard by the patients who are simply looking to fight. In this episode, Dr. Kuba and Bethany discuss specific disgruntled pa...

At 71 years young, Bethany’s Dad, Dr. Jones, is still practicing dentistry full-time and is loving every second of it. What is his secret? Dr. Jones shares a brief synopsis of his 45-year history in the dental field. Then, he focuses on mistakes he’s made throughout those years and what he has learned from those mistakes. Like many of our followers, Dr. Jones also hit a wall about 20 years into hi...

Although performance reviews and the office policy manual can often be two tools that fall to the bottom of the management tool bag, they are incredibly vital to running a successful practice. The office policy manual provides a management philosophy that becomes foundational to the team. It also clarifies rules, procedures, and expectations for team members while protecting the practice owner. Pe...

Do you ever feel pigeon-holed? You feel like you are out of options and too tired to fight for options? Every practice owner experiences seasons of simply wanting out. They want to walk away from the pressure and stress of it all. In this episode, Dr. Kuba and Bethany discuss the intentional strategy of bringing in producer help. For some practices, that could mean taking the leap of faith and hir...

At almost two years past the initial onset of the pandemic, staff costs continue to soar. Practice owners are often backed into a corner with staff pay increase requests, or staff members are “bought out” by another office in the area. Hiring new employees continues to be a punch in the gut because of their starting asking rates. Add in the supply cost increases that continue to rise, and many pra...

Do you remember the good ‘ole days of rock-solid cancellation policies and cancellation phone call scripts? The latest resurgence of COVID-19 has caused a rattling and even complete decomposition of the plan for handling patient cancellations. In this episode, Dr. Kuba and Bethany continue discussing the current impact of COVID-19 on the practice, specifically in the way of a schedule that never s...

In this episode, Dr. Kuba and Bethany commiserate together on the most recent impact of COVID-19 on the team and also on the schedule. This conversation is definitely real in every way – raw emotions, real reactions, and dialoguing together to find hope in yet another tough wave of this pandemic. Tune in to hear how other practice owners are weathering this storm while also finding some encouragem...

In today’s episode Bethany is flying solo! Dr. Kuba is busy running her practice as we near the end of 2021 and will be back and ready for 2022.. As Bethany discusses the top ten important things you should do to prepare for 2022, it’s important to remember to stop and evaluate your own health and get plenty of rest. We all too often pour our everything into ensuring our practice is running smooth...

In this follow up episode, Dr. Kuba and Bethany discuss the other valuable aspect of having strong bonus plans – their usefulness in disciplinary action. Not only are bonuses excellent at positively motivating team members, but they can also be used to negatively motivate team members. Bonuses can (and should) be taken away when an employee is significantly underperforming or failing to meet certa...

It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and with it comes the age-old question, “What should I do for my team in the way of a bonus or holiday gift?” Nearly every practice owner struggles with the why, how, and what of gift-giving at the end of the year. In this episode, Dr. Kuba and Bethany discuss not only year-end gift giving strategies but also on-going bonus plans for the rest of the year....

Keeping a dental office fully staffed now seems to be a full-time job. So many practice owners are struggling to run a full schedule because they are missing key team members. One creative strategy is to offload some of the administrative work in the practice to employees who work remotely or away from the office. By incorporating remote workers into the fold, practice owners no longer have to fin...

You asked, now receive! So many practice owners struggle with effective team building ideas. After receiving foundational ideas in episode twelve, this episode takes a deep dive into multiple team building examples that Dr. Kuba has executed in her practice. Self-proclaimed as “Off the Wall Ideas,” Dr. Kuba shares her creative and fun events including her original team building event. She and Beth...

Today’s episode called for a well-timed detour. Drama hit Dr. Kuba’s office, and it required corrective conversations with two of her employees. Within these conversations, Dr. Kuba had a light-bulb moment when she realized her impact as a leader on these two employees. Using the analogy of a fruit orchard, Dr. Kuba explains how she reached a new level of understanding in how to manage her team. W...

Dr. Kuba, a self-proclaimed introverted homebody, has an extensive team building calendar. Why? She believes it is foundational to creating and maintaining a good office culture. Her strategy works. Although she could never claim a perfect practice culture, her team has a strong unity and sense of value. Most team members who join Dr. Kuba’s practice are loyal because they feel seen, heard, and va...

To have a manager or to not have a manager – that is the question! After years of functioning with the traditional office manager model, Dr. Kuba found herself anxious about what would happen if her manager decided to leave. When her manager was finally burned out and done with managing, Dr. Kuba and Bethany had to incorporate a new model. In this episode, the details of how the team lead model co...

What do patient personalities have to do with anything? Our answer – personalities impact EVERYTHING including our interactions with patients and/or patient guardians. Continuing the conversation on personalities, Dr. Kuba and Bethany describe the specific ways that customizing communication based on the patient’s personality not only makes the communication more effective but also saves time and...

Do personalities really matter? The non-surprising answer – absolutely. After discussion of the four main personality types and then revealing their own personalities, Dr. Kuba and Bethany reflect on the various ways that the four distinct dispositions have impacted the practice. They discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each type and the difficulty a practice owner might have when he or she fa...

Although we know it, we often forget just how important clinical documentation is in the everyday life of a dental practice. This episode serves as a reminder of all the reasons why it is vital to prioritize good notes. Dr. Kuba shares about a time when a patient complained to the State Dental Board, and her documentation was suddenly under review. Due to her personal experience and the experience...

One of the hardest decisions to make when managing a practice is whether or not to fire an underperforming employee. In some cases, it can feel like an incredibly emotional decision. In this episode, Dr. Kuba and Bethany dig into some important self-reflection questions to start with when deciding on an employee’s future with the business. Despite the hardships associated with firing an employee,...

We are putting Dr. Kuba on the spot in a special edition of “What Would Kuba Do?” In this show, Bethany presents Dr. Kuba with three scenarios from her dramatic week of sour employees and turns the table to see how Dr. Kuba would handle things. Have you ever had a  Sour Patch employee? Maybe they’ve always been a bit moody, or maybe they suddenly became sour and you just can’t figure out why. Eith...

The landscape of dental insurance has changed drastically since it’s inception in the 1950’s. In a post-pandemic world, insurance has digressed at an alarming rate. Reimbursements are constantly being lowered, and new clauses and rules of payments are leaving many in-network providers in a difficult predicament. How is it possible to continue to be successful when we are receiving less money from...

So often practice owners find themselves at a place in their life and in their practice where they are completely dissatisfied. We believe arriving at a state of dissatisfaction or even frustration is caused by a series of misguided decisions along the way. It is critical for a practice owner to periodically pause, determine their “why” or their purpose, and then begin to make decisions that align...

Are you paralyzed in fear each time you read a negative patient review? Or do you avoid reading patient reviews because of the stress they cause? Positive and negative dental patient reviews are unfortunately a fact of life, and they deserve our attention.  Show hosts Bethany Petty and Dr. Reena Kuba dive into the following important topics: The importance of either personally reading reviews or a...

Have you posted a job opening recently only to find that nobody applied? Or maybe you received applications but they weren’t qualified for the job? Many places around the country are experiencing a depleted workforce making it impossible to have a full team and full schedule. Other places are finding under qualified people to work and are having to rework their expectations to continue running the...